81 FR 52346 - Reconsideration on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and the Utility New Source Performance Standards Startup and Shutdown Provisions; Final Action

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 152 (August 8, 2016)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice that it has responded to two petitions for reconsideration of the final rule titled ``Reconsideration of Certain Startup/Shutdown Issues: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) From Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance (NSPS) for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units,'' published in the Federal Register on November 19, 2014. The Administrator denied the requests for reconsideration in separate letters to the petitioners. The letters and a document providing a full explanation of the agency's rationale for each denial is in the docket for these rules.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 152 (Monday, August 8, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52346-52347]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18684]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0234; FRL-9950-31-OAR]

40 CFR Parts 60 and 63


Reconsideration on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) 
and the Utility New Source Performance Standards Startup and Shutdown 
Provisions; Final Action

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final action denying petitions for reconsideration.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing 
notice that it has responded to two petitions for reconsideration of 
the final rule titled ``Reconsideration of Certain Startup/Shutdown 
Issues: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 
(NESHAP) From Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating 
Units and Standards of Performance (NSPS) for Fossil-Fuel-Fired 
Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small 
Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units,'' published 
in the Federal Register on November 19, 2014. The Administrator denied 
the requests for reconsideration in separate letters to the 
petitioners. The letters and a document providing a full explanation of 
the agency's rationale for each denial is in the docket for these 
rules.

DATES: August 8, 2016.

[[Page 52347]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jim Eddinger, Sector Policies and 
Programs Division (D243-01), Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, 
North Carolina 27711; telephone number: (919) 541-5426; fax number: 
(919) 541-5450; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    This Federal Register document, the petitions for reconsideration, 
the letters denying the petitions for reconsideration, and the document 
titled ``Denial of Petitions for Reconsideration of Certain Startup/
Shutdown Issues: MATS'' (Reconsideration Response Document) are 
available in the dockets the EPA established under Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2009-0234. The Reconsideration Response Document is available in 
the MATS docket by conducting a search of the title ``Denial of 
Petitions for Reconsideration of Certain Startup/Shutdown Issues: 
MATS.'' All documents in the dockets are listed on the 
www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business 
information 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 
electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA 
Docket Center (EPA/DC), Room 3334, EPA WJC West Building, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 
566-1744 and the telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742. 
This Federal Register document and the Reconsideration Response 
Document denying the petitions can also be found on the EPA's Web site 
at https://www.epa.gov/mats.

II. Judicial Review

    Section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) indicates which 
Federal Courts of Appeals have venue for petitions for review of final 
EPA actions. This section provides, in part, that the petitions for 
review must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit if: (i) The agency action consists of 
``nationally applicable regulations promulgated, or final action taken, 
by the Administrator,'' or (ii) such actions are locally or regionally 
applicable, if ``such action is based on a determination of nationwide 
scope or effect and if in taking such action the Administrator finds 
and publishes that such action is based on such a determination.''
    The EPA's actions denying the petitions for reconsideration are 
nationally applicable because the underlying rules--the ``National 
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) From Coal- and 
Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of 
Performance (NSPS) for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-
Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional 
Steam Generating Units,'' are nationally applicable. Thus, any 
petitions for review of the EPA's decisions denying petitioners' 
requests for reconsideration must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by October 7, 2016.

III. Description of Action

    On February 16, 2012, pursuant to sections 111 and 112 of the CAA, 
the EPA published the final rules titled ``National Emission Standards 
for Hazardous Air Pollutants From Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility 
Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel-
Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small 
Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units'' (77 FR 
9304). The NESHAP issued pursuant to CAA section 112 is referred to as 
the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), and the NSPS rule issued 
pursuant to CAA section 111 is referred to as the Utility NSPS. 
Following promulgation of the final rules, the Administrator received 
petitions for reconsideration of numerous provisions of both MATS and 
the Utility NSPS pursuant to CAA section 307(d)(7)(B). The EPA received 
20 petitions for reconsideration of the MATS rule and 3 petitions for 
reconsideration of the Utility NSPS.
    On November 30, 2012, the EPA issued a proposed rule reconsidering 
certain new source limits in MATS, the requirements applicable during 
periods of startup and shutdown for MATS and the Utility NSPS (for the 
particulate matter standard only), certain definitional and monitoring 
issues in the Utility NSPS, and additional technical corrections to 
both MATS and the Utility NSPS (77 FR 71323). On April 24, 2013, the 
EPA issued the final action on reconsideration of the new source MATS, 
the definitional and monitoring provisions in the Utility NSPS, and the 
technical corrections in both rules (78 FR 24073). The EPA issued the 
final action on reconsideration of the startup and shutdown provisions 
in the MATS and Utility NSPS on November 19, 2014 (79 FR 68777).
    The EPA received two petitions for reconsideration of the November 
19, 2014, final action on reconsideration of the startup and shutdown 
provisions in the MATS rule. One petition was submitted by the 
Environmental Integrity Project, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 
and the Sierra Club, and the other was submitted by the Utility Air 
Regulatory Group.
    CAA section 307(d)(7)(B) states that ``[o]nly an objection to a 
rule or procedure which was raised with reasonable specificity during 
the period for public comment (including any public hearing) may be 
raised during judicial review. If the person raising an objection can 
demonstrate to the Administrator that it was impracticable to raise 
such objection within such time or if the grounds for such objection 
arose after the period for public comment (but within the time 
specified for judicial review) and if such objection is of central 
relevance to the outcome of the rule, the Administrator shall convene a 
proceeding for reconsideration of the rule and provide the same 
procedural rights as would have been afforded had the information been 
available at the time the rule was proposed.''
    The EPA carefully reviewed the petitions for reconsideration and 
evaluated all issues raised to determine if they meet the CAA section 
307(d)(7)(B) criteria for reconsideration. In separate letters to the 
petitioners, the EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, denied the petitions 
for reconsideration. The letters were accompanied by a separate 
Reconsideration Response Document that articulates in detail the 
rationale for the EPA's final responses. These documents are all 
available in the docket for this action.

    Dated: July 29, 2016.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-18684 Filed 8-5-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P