Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Second Period Regional Haze Plan

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0545; FRL-12100-01-R5]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Second Period Regional Haze Plan</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to partially approve and partially disapprove the Wisconsin regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Wisconsin or WDNR) on July 30, 2021. In the alternative, EPA is proposing to approve the Wisconsin regional haze SIP in its entirety so long as WDNR provides evidence to EPA that operation of coal-fired cyclone Boiler B26 at the Ahlstrom-Munksjö—Rhinelander Mill has permanently ceased. In the event evidence is provided confirming the federally enforceable and permanent shutdown of the Ahlstrom-Munksjö—Rhinelander Mill Boiler B26, EPA proposes to find that Wisconsin's SIP submission addresses the requirement that states must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility, including regional haze, in mandatory Class I Federal areas, and also addresses other applicable requirements for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the Clean Air Act (CAA). </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Written comments must be received on or before September 9, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0545 at <E T="03"> https://www.regulations.gov</E> or via email to <E T="03">langman.michael@epa.gov.</E> For comments submitted at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's docket at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> any information you consider to be confidential business information (CBI), Proprietary Business Information (PBI), 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. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI, PBI, or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Charles Hatten, Air and Radiation Division (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6031, <E T="03">hatten.charles@epa.gov.</E> The EPA Region 5 office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> Throughout this document whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean EPA. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. What action is EPA proposing?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background and Requirements for Regional Haze Plans</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Regional Haze Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Roles of Agencies in Addressing Regional Haze</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Requirements for Regional Haze Plans for the Second Implementation Period</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Identification of Class I Areas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Calculations of Baseline, Current, and Natural Visibility Conditions; Progress to Date; and the Uniform Rate of Progress</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Long-Term Strategy for Regional Haze</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Reasonable Progress Goals</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Monitoring Strategy and Other State Implementation Plan Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Requirements for Periodic Reports Describing Progress Towards the Reasonable Progress Goals</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Requirements for State and Federal Land Manager Coordination</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. EPA's Evaluation of Wisconsin's Regional Haze Submission for the Second Implementation Period</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Background on Wisconsin's First Implementation Period SIP Submission</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Wisconsin's Second Implementation Period SIP Submission and EPA's Evaluation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Identification of Class I Areas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Calculations of Baseline, Current, and Natural Visibility Conditions; Progress to Date; and the Uniform Rate of Progress</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Long-Term Strategy for Regional Haze</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Selection of Sources for Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Emission Measures Necessary To Make Reasonable Progress</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Wisconsin's Long-Term Strategy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. EPA's Evaluation of Wisconsin's Compliance With 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2)(i)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">5. Consultation With States</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">6. Five Additional Factors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Reasonable Progress Goals</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Monitoring Strategy and Other Implementation Plan Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Requirements for Periodic Reports Describing Progress Towards the Reasonable Progress Goals</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Requirements for State and Federal Land Manager Coordination</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Proposed Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. What action is EPA proposing?</HD> On July 30, 2021, WDNR submitted a revision to its SIP to address regional haze for the second implementation period. WDNR made this SIP submission to satisfy the requirements of the CAA's regional haze program pursuant to CAA sections 169A and 169B and the Regional Haze Rule (RHR) at 40 CFR 51.308(f). EPA is proposing to partially approve and partially disapprove the Wisconsin regional haze SIP. In the alternative, EPA is proposing to approve the Wisconsin regional haze SIP in its entirety in the event that WDNR provides sufficient evidence to EPA, before final action in this rulemaking, that coal-fired cyclone Boiler B26 at the Ahlstrom-Munksjö—Rhinelander Mill has permanently ceased operating, which typically includes evidence that Boiler B26 is being dismantled and/or decommissioned. In the event that WDNR is able to provide sufficient evidence of the federally enforceable and permanent shutdown of the Ahlstrom-Munksjö—Rhinelander Mill Boiler B26, EPA is proposing to find that the Wisconsin regional haze SIP submission for the second implementation period meets the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and thus proposes to approve Wisconsin's submission into its SIP. However, without evidence that the Ahlstrom-Munksjö—Rhinelander Mill has permanently ceased operation of Boiler B26, EPA proposes to partially approve and partially disapprove the Wisconsin regional haze SIP for the second implementation period. In the event that WDNR does not provide sufficient evidence of the federally enforceable and permanent shutdown of Boiler B26 at the Ahlstrom-Munksjö—Rhinelander Mill, EPA is proposing, for the reasons described in this document, to approve the elements of Wisconsin's regional haze SIP related to requirements contained in 40 CFR 51.308(f)(1), (f)(3) through (6), (g)(1) through (5), and (i)(2) through (4), and disapprove the elements of Wisconsin's SIP related to the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2) due to insufficient information regarding cessation of operations at Boiler B26. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background and Requirements for Regional Haze Plans</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Regional Haze Background</HD> In the 1977 CAA Amendments, Congress created a program for protecting visibility in the nation's mandatory Class I Federal areas, which include certain national parks and wilderness areas. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> CAA 169A. The CAA establishes as a national goal the “prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility in mandatory class I Federal areas which impairment results from manmade air pollution.” CAA 169A(a)(1). The CAA further directs EPA to promulgate regulations to assure reasonable progress toward meeting this national goal. CAA 169A(a)(4). On December 2, 1980, EPA promulgated regulations to address visibility impairment in mandatory Class I Federal areas (hereinafter referred to as “Class I areas”) that is “reasonably attributable” to a single source or small group of sources. 45 FR 80084, December 2, 1980. These regulations, codified at 40 CFR 51.300 through 51.307, represented the first phase of EPA's efforts to address visibility impairment. In 1990, Congress added section 169B to the CAA to further address visibility impairment, specifically, impairment from regional haze. CAA 169B. EPA promulgated the RHR, codified at 40 CFR 51.308, <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> on July 1, 1999. 64 FR 35714, July 1, 1999. These regional haze regulations are a central component of EPA's comprehensive visibility protection program for Class I areas. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Areas statutorily designated as mandatory Class I Federal areas c ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 180k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━