Air pollution control: National emission standards for hazardous air pollutants Virginia,
[Federal Register: January 26, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 16)]
[Notices]
[Page 3938-3940]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ja99-78]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6224-1]
Delegation of Authority of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS) for Source Categories; Virginia
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Informational notice.
SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce that on April 20, 1998, EPA granted the Commonwealth of Virginia's request for partial delegation of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs), and associated infrastructure programs. Virginia's request for partial delegation of authority only pertains to affected sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) for all source categories which are located at major sources. EPA granted the delegation with certain restrictions. The restrictions involve EPA's retainment of certain authorities including: implementation and enforcement of standards that control radionuclides or that apply to an area source which is not located at a major source, implementation and enforcement of an accidental release program, approvals of alternative means of limiting emissions, alternative control technologies, alternative test methods, alternative monitoring methods, and the authority to make certain applicability determinations. In addition, certain provisions will be delegated only on a case-by-case basis and require notification by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) to EPA. These provisions include: approvals of compliance extensions, site-specific test plans, performance evaluation plans; approvals of minor alternatives to test methods, monitoring, and shorter sampling times/volumes; and waivers of performance testing. On July 10, 1998, final guidance was issued in a Memorandum from the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) to the Regions regarding delegation of authorities to state and local air pollution control agencies. This memorandum identified authorities which may not be delegated to states, and included the waiver of recordkeeping. This authority, which was delegated to Virginia as part of the April 20, 1998 delegation of authority, was subsequently revoked in the EPA letter of November 19, 1998 to VADEQ.
EFFECTIVE DATES: The effective date of the delegation authority is April 20, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Copies of EPA's letter of delegation are available for public inspection at EPA's Region III Office, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 and the VADEQ regional offices and satellite offices during normal business hours. The addresses of these offices are provided below. Effective immediately, all notifications, requests, applications, reports and other correspondence required pursuant to 40 CFR part 63 for major sources, as defined in 40 CFR Part 70, to be sent to the Administrator should be submitted to the EPA Region III office and, with respect to sources located in listed counties and cities, to the VADEQ Air Permit Manager at the following addresses:
Southwest Regional Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 355 Deadmore St., P.O. Box 1688, Abingdon, Virginia 24212-1688, Tel. (540) 676-4800. Includes counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, Wythe and the cities of Bristol, Galax, and Norton.
West Central Regional Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 3019 Peters Creek Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019, Tel. (540) 562-6700. Includes the counties of Allegheny, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Roanoke and the cities of Clifton Forge, Covington, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem.
Lynchburg Satellite Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 7705 Timberlake Road, Lynchburg, Virginia 24502, Tel. (804) 582-5120. Includes the counties of Amelia, Amherst, Appomatox, Bedford, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward and the cities of Bedford, Danville, Lynchburg, Martinsville, and South Boston.
Valley Regional Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 4411 Early Road, P.O. Box 1129, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801, Tel. (540) 574-7800. Includes the counties of Augusta, Bath, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren, and the cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester.
Fredericksburg Satellite Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 300 Central Road, Suite B, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401, Tel. (540) 899-4600. Includes the counties of Albemarle, Caroline, Culpeper, Essex, Fauquier, Fluvanna, Gloucester, Greene, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Louisa, Madison, Mathews, Middlesex, Nelson, Northumberland, Orange, Rappahannock, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland, and the cities of Charlottesville, and Fredericksburg.
Northern Regional Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, Virginia 22193, Tel. (703) 583-3800. Includes the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
Piedmont Regional Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 4949-A Cox Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060-6295, Tel. (804) 527-5020.
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Includes the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George, Surry, and Sussex and the cities of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Hopewell, Petersburg, and Richmond.
Tidewater Regional Office--Department of Environmental Quality, 5636 Southern Boulevard, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462, Tel. (757) 518-2000. Includes the counties of Accomac, Isle of Wight, James City, Northampton, Southampton, and York and the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn Powers, Permits and Technical Assessment Section (3AP11), Air Protection Division, EPA Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Telephone: 215-814-2308.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 112(l) of the Clean Air Act, as amended November 15, 1990, and 40 CFR part 63, subpart E, authorizes EPA to delegate authority to any state agency which submits adequate regulatory procedures for implementation and enforcement of emission standards of hazardous air pollutants.
Virginia initiated the request for delegation of 40 CFR Part 63 in its initial letter, dated November 12, 1993, from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) Director seeking approval of its Title V program. In this letter, Virginia requested that EPA grant Virginia ``delegation of authority upon approval of the operating permit program, except Section 112(r), prevention of accidental releases.'' Virginia's request for partial delegation of authority only includes affected sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), as defined in 40 CFR part 63, for all source categories which are located at major sources, as defined in 40 CFR part 70. On February 6, 1998, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) forwarded to the EPA regulatory revisions adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board to confer to VADEQ the authority to implement and enforce existing National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) and associated infrastructure programs, pursuant to Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), as set forth in 40 CFR part 63. This letter also requested that automatic delegation be granted to Virginia for all future NESHAPs.
On July 10, 1997, EPA approved VADEQ's Title V Operating Permits Program (see 62 FR 31516 dated June 10, 1997). Requirements for approval, specified in 40 CFR 70.4(b), encompass CAA section 112(l)(5) requirements for approval of a program for delegation of CAA section 112 standards as promulgated by EPA as they apply to 40 CFR part 70 sources. Section 112(l)(5) requires that the State's program contain adequate authorities, adequate resources for implementation and an expeditious compliance schedule for enforcing standards, which are also requirements under 40 CFR part 70. Therefore, as part of the Title V Operating Permits Program approval, EPA also promulgated full approval under CAA section 112(l)(5) and 40 CFR 63.91 of the State's program for receiving delegation of the CAA section 112 standards that are unchanged from Federal standards as promulgated in 40 CFR part 63. This program for delegation only applies to sources covered by the 40 CFR part 70 program. The specific authority and commitments for Section 112 implementation is contained in detail in EPA's proposed interim approval of Virginia's Title V program (62 FR 12778 dated March 18, 1997). Today's notice serves to inform of the specific authorities which have been delegated to Virginia.
On April 20, 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency granted Virginia's request for partial delegation with certain restrictions. The following authorities will be retained by EPA Region III:
(1) implementation and enforcement of standards that control radionuclides (40 CFR part 63.12(b)(1));
(2) implementation and enforcement of standards that apply to an area source, as defined in 40 CFR part 63.2, which is not located at a major source, as defined in 40 CFR part 70;
(3) implementation and enforcement of an accidental release program, as defined in CAA section 112(r) and 40 CFR part 68;
(4) approval of alternative means of emission limitations and alternative control technologies;
(5) approval of alternative test methods;
(6) approval of alternative monitoring methods; and
(7) the authority to make certain applicability determinations, as required by formal requests from owners or operators of facilities or the public.
In addition, certain provisions of 40 CFR part 63 are delegated on a case-by-case basis to VADEQ and require VADEQ to notify US EPA Region III, in writing. These provisions include:
(1) compliance extensions;
(2) approval of site-specific test and performance evaluation plans;
(3) approval of minor alternatives to test methods and monitoring;
(4) approval of shorter sampling times/ volumes; and
(5) waiver of performance testing.
On July 10, 1998, final guidance was issued in a Memorandum from the OAQPS to the Regions regarding delegation of authorities to state and local air pollution control agencies. In this Memorandum, specific authorities were identified which could result in a ``change to the stringency of the underlying standard, which are likely to be nationally significant, or which may require a rulemaking''. Included as an authority which may not be delegated is the waiver of recordkeeping. This authority, which had been delegated to Virginia in EPA's letter of delegation of April 20, 1998, was subsequently revoked in the EPA letter of November 19, 1998. As of April 20, 1998, VADEQ has primary authority to enforce the standards in 40 CFR part 63 for CAA part 70 sources, however, EPA will retain independent enforcement authority.
Virginia has adopted by reference all existing NESHAPs and the corresponding amendments and revisions into 9 VAC 5-60-90 with only the wording changes provided by present state regulations. All future 40 CFR part 63 NESHAPs are automatically delegated, however, this delegation is conditioned upon each standard being legally adopted by the VADEQ and must be adopted by reference to the Federal regulations with only those wording changes provided by the present state regulations, and VADEQ must notify EPA Region III that it has adopted additional standards and that it intends to enforce the standards in conformance with the terms of this delegation.
If the Administrator determines that Virginia cannot adequately implement or enforce the requirements of 40 CFR part 63, this delegation may be revoked in whole or in part.
EPA hereby notifies the public that it has partially delegated the authority for implementation and enforcement of the NESHAPs for Source Categories, pursuant to CFR part 63, as outlined above, to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this notice informing the public of partial delegation of NESHAPS to VADEQ , as outlined above, from Executive Order 12866 review. This action is exempt from CRA review.
This notice is issued under the authority of sections 101, 110, 112 and
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301 of the Clean Air Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401, 7410, 7412, 7601).
Dated: December 15, 1998. W. Michael McCabe, Regional Administrator, EPA Region III.
[FR Doc. 99-1759Filed1-25-99; 8:45 am]
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