[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15526-15528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07218]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2017-0143; FRL-9976-50-Region 7]


Air Plan Approval; Iowa; Amendment to the Administrative Consent 
Order, Grain Processing Corporation, Muscatine, Iowa; Proposal

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the State 
of Iowa to incorporate an amendment to the Administrative Consent Order 
(ACO) for Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), Muscatine, Iowa. The 
revision amends the ACO to change the date for completion of 
performance testing from May 31, 2017, to May 31, 2018, to allow the 
state more time to complete the remaining air construction permit 
applications submitted by GPC, and to specify testing requirements as 
appropriate in the final permits. When the state submitted the request 
to amend the ACO, twelve of the 107 permits were incomplete. At this 
time, only two permits have not been issued by the State. The air 
quality in Muscatine, Iowa, has not been adversely impacted by the 
remaining pending permit approvals. This revision will not impact the 
schedule for installation and operation of control equipment, will not 
alter any other compliance dates, and will not adversely affect air 
quality in Muscatine, Iowa, as explained in the revised Technical 
Support Document that is part of this docket.
    This proposal will also address adverse comments submitted to the 
docket.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 11, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2017-0143 to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Hamilton, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 11201 Renner 
Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219 at (913) 551-7039, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA. This section provides additional information by 
addressing the following:

I. Background
II. What is being addressed in this document?
III. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
IV. EPA's Response to Comment
V. What action is EPA taking?
VI. Incorporation by Reference
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    On August 25, 2017, EPA proposed to approve a revision to the Iowa 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) which amended the Administrative 
Consent Order (ACO) for Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), Muscatine, 
Iowa. The revision amended the ACO to change the date for completion of 
performance testing from May 31, 2017, to May 31, 2018, to allow the 
state more time to complete processing the remaining air construction 
permit applications submitted by GPC, and to specify testing 
requirements as appropriate in the remaining final permits. See 82 FR 
40519. In

[[Page 15527]]

conjunction with the August 25, 2017 notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPR), EPA issued a direct final rule (DFR) approving the amended ACO. 
See 82 FR 40491. In the DFR, EPA stated that if adverse comments were 
submitted to EPA by September 25, 2017, the action would be withdrawn 
and not take effect. EPA received an adverse comment prior to the close 
of the comment period. EPA withdrew the DFR on October 12, 2017. See 82 
FR 47396.
    This proposal will also address adverse comments submitted to the 
docket.

II. What is being addressed in this document?

    This proposed revision to the Iowa State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
will incorporate an amendment to the Administrative Consent Order (ACO) 
with Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), Muscatine, Iowa. The revision 
changes the date for completion of performance testing from May 31, 
2017, to May 31, 2018, to allow the state more time to complete 
processing the remaining air construction permit applications submitted 
by GPC, and to specify testing requirements as appropriate in the 
remaining final permits. This amendment will not impact the schedule 
for installation and operation of control equipment, will not alter any 
other compliance dates, and will not adversely affect air quality in 
the Muscatine, Iowa, area as explained in the Technical Support 
Document that is part of this docket.
    This proposal will also address adverse comments submitted to the 
docket.

III. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The state submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The state instituted a 
30-day comment period; no comments were received. The submission also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. In 
addition, as explained above and in more detail in the revised 
Technical Support Document which is part of this docket, the revision 
meets the substantive SIP requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 
including section 110 and implementing regulations.

IV. EPA's Response to Comment

    The public comment period for EPA's proposed rule opened August 25, 
2017, the date of its publication in the Federal Register, and closed 
on September 25, 2017. During this period, EPA received an adverse 
comment. The adverse comment and EPA's response is as follows:
    Comment 1: The commenter first stated that the TSD was not 
available in the docket. The TSD was not available in the docket when 
the proposal and direct final notices were published on Friday, August 
25, 2017.
    Response 1: The TSD was made publicly available on Monday, August 
28, 2017 which was one business day. EPA did not grant an extended 
comment period as suggested by the commenter. When the TSD was 
available in the docket, no additional comments were received through 
the end of the comment period (September 25, 2017). However, because 
the TSD was not publicly available on the date the notice was 
published, this proposal allows for additional comment.
    Comment 2: The commenter stated that granting an extension for GPC 
to perform testing may cause a violation of emission limits, which 
could cause a delay in issuing permits, and therefore cause additional 
air pollution that would have an adverse impact on air quality in 
Muscatine, Iowa.
    Response 2: The amendment to the ACO which provides a one-year 
extension on performance tests, only affects two of the total of 107 
required permits. The remaining 105 permits have already been issued by 
the State. This ACO revision does not delay or allow an extension of 
the requirements for implementation of the control measures required by 
the ACO. GPC is still required to conduct the performance testing; the 
deadline is merely adjusted for the two outstanding permits. The 
permits that have been finalized, including the permit that allowed the 
facility to convert from burning coal to natural gas, have resulted in 
improved air quality in Muscatine, Iowa. There have been no exceedances 
of the 2006 24-hour NAAQS for fine particulate matter with a diameter 
of PM2.5 since July 2015, before the natural gas conversion.
    The complete and quality assured ambient air quality monitoring 
data for the area shows that the area has, and continues to attain the 
NAAQS. Background information with regard to air quality in Muscatine, 
Iowa, as well as design values of air monitors are included in the 
revised TSD, included in this docket.

V. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is proposing to approve a SIP revision submitted by the State 
of Iowa to incorporate an amendment to the Administrative Consent Order 
(ACO) with Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), Muscatine, Iowa. EPA is 
also responding to comments received in the docket, and by responding 
to comments provides additional information with regard to the 
remaining permits to be finalized by the State of Iowa. A revised TSD 
is included as part of this docket to support the revision to the ACO.
    We are processing this as a proposed action because we are 
soliciting comments. Final rulemaking will occur after consideration of 
any comments.

VI. Incorporation by Reference

    In this action, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference Iowa's EPA-approved State source-specific permits described 
in the direct final amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below. EPA 
has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally 
available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 7 
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 State Implementation Plan, 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 by the 
Director of the Federal Register in the next update to the SIP 
compilation.\1\
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    \1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act 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, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions

[[Page 15528]]

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 an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     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; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    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).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. 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 June 11, 2018. 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, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: March 27, 2018.
Karen A. Flournoy,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
    For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA proposes to amend 40 
CFR part 52 as set forth below:

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.

Subpart Q--Iowa

0
2. Section 52.820 paragraph(d) is amended by revising the entry ``(29) 
Grain Processing Corporation'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.820  Identification of plan.

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    (d)* * *

                                EPA-Approved Iowa Source-Specific Orders/Permits
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                                                        State
        Name of source           Order/Permit No.  effective date     EPA approval date         Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
(29) Grain Processing           Administrative            1-16-17  12/1/14, 79 FR 71025;   The last sentence of
 Corporation.                    Consent Order                      amendment approved      Paragraph 5, Section
                                 No. 2014-AQ-A1.                    [date of final          III and Section VI
                                                                    publication in the      are not approved by
                                                                    Federal Register],      EPA as part of the
                                                                    [final Federal          SIP.
                                                                    Register citation].
 
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[FR Doc. 2018-07218 Filed 4-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


