
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 173 (Friday, September 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61969-61971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19201]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0580; FRL-11047-02-R5]


Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Approval of the Muskingum River SO2 
Attainment Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, under 
the Clean Air Act (CAA), a revision to the Ohio State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) intended to provide for attainment of the 2010 primary, 
health-based 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) national ambient 
air quality standard (NAAQS or standard) for the Muskingum River 
SO2 nonattainment area. This SIP revision (hereinafter 
referred to as Ohio's Muskingum River SO2 attainment plan or 
plan), includes Ohio's attainment demonstration and other attainment 
planning elements required under the CAA. EPA is finding that Ohio has 
appropriately demonstrated that the plan provides for attainment of the 
2010 1-hour primary SO2 NAAQS in the Muskingum River, Ohio 
nonattainment area and that the plan meets the other applicable 
requirements under the CAA. EPA is also incorporating by reference Ohio 
Director's Final Findings and Orders (DFFOs), issued on May 23, 2023, 
into the Ohio SIP. The DFFOs set forth additional requirements at Globe 
Metallurgical (Globe) to verify appropriate source characterization for 
modeling purposes.

DATES: This final rule is effective on October 10, 2023.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0580. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is 
not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard 
copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
through www.regulations.gov or at the Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays and facility 
closures due to COVID-19. We recommend that you telephone Gina 
Harrison, Environmental Scientist, at (312) 353-6956 before visiting 
the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina Harrison, Attainment Planning and 
Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604, (312) 353-6956, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

I. Background

    On January 18, 2022 (87 FR 2555), EPA partially approved and 
partially disapproved Ohio's SO2 plan for the Muskingum 
River area submitted on April 3, 2015, and October 13, 2015, and 
supplemented on June 23, 2020. EPA's January 18, 2022, final rule 
provided an explanation of the applicable provisions in the CAA and the 
measures and limitations identified in Ohio's attainment plan to 
satisfy these provisions.
    The partial disapproval started sanctions clocks for this area 
under CAA section 179(a)-(b), including a requirement for 2-for-1 
offsets for any major new sources or major modifications 18 months 
after the effective date of this action, and highway funding sanctions 
6 months thereafter, as well as initiated an obligation for EPA to 
promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) within 24 months, under 
CAA section 110(c).
    Ohio supplemented the attainment demonstration on June 24, 2022, 
substituting new measures in lieu of a land acquisition and modifying 
the air quality modeling to include the use of site-specific 
meteorological data. Ohio submitted additional supplemental information 
on July 28, 2022, and May 23, 2023, including revised DFFOs for Globe, 
issued on May 23, 2023, that supersede the June 23, 2020 DFFOs.

II. Proposed Rule

    On June 22, 2023 (88 FR 40726), EPA proposed to approve Ohio's SIP 
attainment plan submission for the Muskingum River SO2 
nonattainment area, which the state submitted to EPA on April 3, 2015, 
October 13, 2015, and June 23, 2020, and supplemented on June 24, 2022, 
July 28, 2022, and May 23, 2023. The SO2 attainment plan 
included Ohio's attainment

[[Page 61970]]

demonstration for this area. The attainment plan also addressed 
requirements for emission inventories, reasonably available control 
measures (RACM) and reasonably available control technology (RACT), 
reasonable further progress (RFP), and contingency measures. Ohio has 
previously addressed requirements regarding nonattainment area new 
source review. Because Ohio's submission provides an appropriate 
testing requirement to confirm the modeling, EPA has determined that 
Ohio's SO2 attainment plan for the Muskingum River 
SO2 nonattainment area meets the applicable requirements of 
CAA sections 110, 172, 191, and 192.
    A key element of Ohio's attainment plan is Ohio's revised DFFOs, 
issued to Globe on May 23, 2023. Among other requirements, Ohio's DFFOs 
retain SO2 emission limits for Globe set forth in the 2020 
DFFOs as a matrix of limits based on 26 separate operating scenarios at 
the two baghouses, where each of the 26 scenarios was modeled to 
demonstrate attainment and maintenance of the SO2 standard. 
As part of the proposed approval of Ohio's attainment plan for this 
area, EPA proposed to approve Ohio's May 23, 2023, DFFOs for the Globe 
facility into the SIP. These DFFOs supersede the previous 2020 DFFOs, 
retain the SO2 limits and other requirements set forth in 
the 2020 DFFOs, and require additional testing, monitoring, and 
confirmation of certain flow parameters for verification of source 
modeling characterization. For the reasons discussed in the proposed 
rule, EPA finds that these requirements are sufficient for the required 
attainment plan demonstration.

III. Public Comments

    The public comment period for EPA's proposed rule ended on July 24, 
2023. EPA received no comments on the proposal.

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving Ohio's SIP attainment plan submission for the 
Muskingum River SO2 nonattainment area, which the state 
previously submitted to EPA on April 3, 2015, October 13, 2015, and 
June 23, 2020, and supplemented on June 24, 2022, July 28, 2022, and 
May 23, 2023. This SO2 attainment plan included Ohio's 
attainment demonstration for this area. The attainment plan also 
addressed requirements for emission inventories, RACT/RACM, RFP, and 
contingency measures. By this action, EPA is codifying its approval of 
both Ohio's May 23, 2023, DFFOs issued to Globe and Ohio's attainment 
plan for the Muskingum River SO2 nonattainment area.
    This approval terminates the highway funding sanction and FIP 
clocks started under CAA section 179 resulting from EPA's partial 
disapproval of the prior SIP. It also removes the permitting offset 
sanction that has been in place since August 17, 2023.

V. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Ohio 
Regulations described in section II of this preamble and set forth in 
the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 below. EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these documents generally available through 
www.regulations.gov, and at the EPA Region 5 Office (please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have 
been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated 
by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable 
under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the 
final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by 
reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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    \1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, and 14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA.
    In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 
EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that 
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
    Ohio EPA did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as 
part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing 
regulations neither prohibit nor require such an evaluation. EPA did 
not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in this

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action. Consideration of EJ is not required as part of this action, and 
there is no information in the record inconsistent with the stated goal 
of E.O. 12898 of achieving environmental justice for people of color, 
low-income populations, and Indigenous peoples.
    This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and EPA 
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the 
Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a ``major 
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by November 7, 2023. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor 
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may 
be filed and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or 
action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: August 31, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, title 40 CFR part 52 is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.


0
2. In Sec.  52.1870:
0
a. Amend the table in paragraph (d) by adding an entry for ``Globe 
Metallurgical, Inc.'' before the entry for ``Hilton Davis''.
0
b. Amend the table in paragraph (e) under the heading ``Summary of 
Criteria Pollutant Attainment Plans'' by revising the entry entitled 
``SO2 (2010)'' for ``Muskingum River''.
    The addition and revision read as follows:


Sec.  52.1870  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *

                                  EPA Approved Ohio Source-Specific Provisions
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                                                           Ohio effective
          Name of source                    Number              date         EPA approval date       Comments
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Globe Metallurgical Inc...........  DFFOs................       5/23/2023  9/8/2023, [Insert      ..............
                                                                            Federal Register
                                                                            Citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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    (e) * * *

                        EPA Approved--Ohio Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Provisions
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                                          Applicable
               Title                 geographical or non-    State date         EPA approval         Comments
                                       attainment area
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                 Summary of Criteria Pollutant Attainment Plans
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                                                  * * * * * * *
SO2 (2010)........................  Muskingum River......       5/24/2023  9/8/2023, [Insert      ..............
                                                                            Federal Register
                                                                            Citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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0
3. Section 52.1873 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (b).

[FR Doc. 2023-19201 Filed 9-7-23; 8:45 am]
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