Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Second Period Regional Haze Plan

<RULE> ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0545; FRL-12100-02-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> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Wisconsin or WDNR) on July 30, 2021, along with subsequent information discussed herein, as satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for the program's second implementation period. Wisconsin's SIP submission and the subsequent information 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. The SIP submission 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 CAA. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This final rule is effective on December 19, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0545. All documents in the docket are listed on the <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, <E T="03">i.e.,</E> Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business Information (PBI), 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 <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> 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. We recommend that you telephone Charles Hatten, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 886-6031 before visiting the Region 5 office. <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> </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. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. EPA's Evaluation of WDNR's Documentation Regarding Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill's Boiler B26</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Response to Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. What action is EPA taking?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> On August 9, 2024, (89 FR 65492), EPA proposed to partially approve and partially disapprove the Wisconsin regional haze SIP revision. In the same notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), EPA also proposed to approve the Wisconsin regional haze SIP in full if WDNR provided evidence that boiler B26 at the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill had permanently ceased operations. A detailed analysis of Wisconsin's plan and EPA's evaluation are contained in the NPRM and will not be restated here. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. EPA's Evaluation of WDNR's Documentation Regarding Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill's Boiler B26</HD> As noted in the NPRM, WDNR indicated that the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill ceased operation of its coal-fired cyclone Boiler B26 in 2022 and decided to retire it. In its place, the facility installed a new natural gas-fired Boiler B40 under title I construction permit 22-MMC-035, which WDNR issued on May 24, 2022. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The facility's application for construction permit 22-MMC-035 stated, “The facility intends to install a new natural gas fired boiler and retire its coal fired cyclone boiler...with the new boiler (B40) being used to meet steam demand in winter months.” The application described the retirement of Boiler B26 as part of a two-phased project to retire all coal-fired boilers at the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill. This plan was articulated in 2013 in the preliminary determination and analysis for construction permit 13-SDD-014, which stated that upcoming operational changes “will result in the removal of an additional coal fired boiler (B26).” As noted in the NPRM, WDNR stated that the shutdown of Boiler B26 would be reflected in an upcoming title V operating permit renewal. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  The application and final permit for construction permit 22-MMC-035 are included in the docket and is available on WDNR's website: <E T="03">https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/warp_ext/AM_PermitTracking2.aspx?id=3002301.</E> </FTNT> Following the publication of the NPRM, on September 17, 2024, WDNR issued the renewal for the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill's operation permit. The operation permit 74400810A-P30 is the renewal of the facility's title V operation permit 744008100-P22. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> The operation permit renewal includes a condition that “Operation of coal-fired Boiler B26 is prohibited,” a condition which became effective immediately upon issuance of the permit. In Table 2 of the operation permit renewal, the status of Boiler B26, along with its associated emissions stacks S09 and S32, electrostatic precipitator C06, baghouse C32, and boiler fly ash handling system Process P52, are all denoted as “will no longer be operated.” As publicly reported, <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> the shuttering of Boiler B26 allowed the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill to also eliminate its generation of fly ash. The 2022 and 2023 Air Emissions Inventory Summary Reports for the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill, published by WDNR, show that B26 last operated in the second quarter of 2022. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  On August 2, 2024, WDNR provided notice to the public of the draft proposed operation permit 74400810A-P30 for the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill for a 30-day comment period. The operation permit 74400810A-P30 issued on September 17, 2024, as well as the analysis and preliminary determination for the operation permit renewal are publicly available on WDNR's website at <E T="03">https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/AirPermits.</E> Copies of both documents are included in the docket for this rulemaking. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  “Rhinelander, Mosinee Mills Convert from Coal to Natural Gas with Multimillion-dollar Investment,” Becky Jacobs, Wausau Daily Herald, published September 25, 2023. A copy of this news article is included in the docket. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  The 2022 and 2023 Air Emissions Inventory Summary Reports for the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill, published by WDNR, are included in the docket and are available on WDNR's website at <E T="03">https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/warp_ext/AM_PermitTracking2.aspx?id=3002301.</E> </FTNT> As noted in the NPRM, “if the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill were to resume the operation of Boiler B26 or replace it with a comparable coal-fired boiler after the title V operation permit 74400810A-P30 is renewed, either boiler would be considered a new source and the emissions would be limited by WDNR's construction permitting process requiring a PSD [Prevention of Significant Deterioration] review and BACT [Best Available Control Technology].” 89 FR 65492, 65506 (August 9, 2024). By issuing the title V operation permit renewal 74400810A-P30, WDNR revoked the facility's permission to operate Boiler B26, specifically, under permit condition ZZZ.11, and a revision to the operation permit renewal on its own would not allow Boiler B26 to recommence operation. In order for the facility to regain the ability to legally operate Boiler B26, WDNR would require the Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander Mill to acquire a new construction permit under Wisconsin's SIP-approved construction permitting program. The permit application would trigger New Source Review and PSD requirements under Wisconsin Administrative Code NR 405, including BACT, and analyses of air quality and air quality impacts. EPA finds that Wisconsin has met the terms described in EPA's proposal in order to received full approval. In place of coal-fired Boiler B26, Ahlstrom-Munksjö-Rhinelander constructed new Boiler B40 in 2022 such that it would burn natural gas only, using low oxides of nitrogen (NO <E T="52">X</E> ) burners and flue gas recirculation to reduce NO <E T="52">X</E> emissions. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> According to the 2023 Air Emissions Summary Inventory Report, emissions for Boiler B40 in its first full year of operation resulted in 6.84 tons per year (tpy) NO <E T="52">X</E> and 0.114 tpy sulfur dioxide (SO <E T="52">2</E> ). <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  Construction and operation of Boiler B40 was approved through construction permit 22-MMC-035 and operation permit renewal 74400810A-P30, both of which include the emission limitations applicable to Boiler B40 for particulate matter (PM <E T="52">10</E> and PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ), visible emissions, and NO <E T="52">X</E> . In the analysis and preliminary determination, Boiler B40's potential to emit was determined to be 2.19 tpy PM <E T="52">10</E> , 2.19 tpy PM <E T="52">2.5</E> , 15.8 tpy NO <E T="52">X</E> ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 42k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━