Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Carmeuse Lime, Inc. SO2

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0549; FRL-12784-01-R5]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT> Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Carmeuse Lime, Inc. SO <E T="0735">2</E> </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 approve the addition of Director's Final Findings and Orders (DFFOs) issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) to Carmeuse Lime, Inc. into the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO <E T="52">2</E> ) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The DFFOs establish a new emissions limit for SO <E T="52">2</E> emissions from the combined lime kiln stack that receives and emits SO <E T="52">2</E> emissions from two rotary lime kilns at the Carmeuse Lime Maple Grove Facility in Seneca County, Ohio. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before September 8, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0549 at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> or via email to <E T="03">arra.sarah@epa.gov.</E> For comments submitted at <E T="03">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 the disclosure of which 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> Cecilia Magos, Air and Radiation Division (AR18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-7336, <E T="03">magos.cecilia@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">I. Background</HD> On August 21, 2015 (80 FR 51052), EPA finalized the Data Requirements Rule (DRR) which required State air agencies to characterize ambient SO <E T="52">2</E> levels in areas with large sources of SO <E T="52">2</E> emissions to help implement the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS. Under the DRR, State air agencies must at a minimum, model or monitor air quality around sources that emit 2,000 tons per year (tpy) or more of SO <E T="52">2</E> , and that are not located in an area already designated nonattainment. An air agency could have avoided this requirement for a source emitting more than 2,000 tpy by adopting federally enforceable emission limits by January 13, 2017, that ensured the source would emit less than 2,000 tpy of SO <E T="52">2</E> . The DRR required State air agencies to notify EPA of their selected approach for characterizing air quality around SO <E T="52">2</E> sources subject to the DRR by July 1, 2016. On January 13, 2017, Ohio EPA submitted a list of applicable sources with SO <E T="52">2</E> emissions of 2,000 tpy or more, subject to the DRR pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1203. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The list of sources included Carmeuse Lime Maple Grove, Inc. (referred to as Carmeuse Lime) (Ohio EPA Facility ID #0374000010) in Seneca County, Ohio. On January 9, 2018 (83 FR 1098), EPA designated Seneca County as unclassifiable/attainment under the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS Round 3 designations process and required the identified sources to adopt DRR requirements by July 1. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Ohio EPA's “State of Ohio 2010 Revised Sulfur Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard Recommended Area Designations Round 3” can be found at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-04/recommendation-round-3-ohio.pdf.</E> </FTNT> Under the DRR (40 CFR 51.1205), for any area where modeling of actual SO <E T="52">2</E> emissions served as a basis for designating such area as attainment for the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS, the State air agency shall submit to EPA an annual ambient SO <E T="52">2</E> emissions report of applicable sources by July 1 of each year, including an assessment of the cause of any emission increases from the previous year and a recommendation regarding the need for additional dispersion modeling to determine if an area is still meeting the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS. After analyzing data from Ohio's 2023 Annual SO <E T="52">2</E> Emissions Review, Ohio EPA determined that new emission limits at Carmeuse Lime were needed to ensure that air quality standards are protected. On August 31, 2023, in preparation for Ohio's 2024 Annual SO <E T="52">2</E> Emissions Review, as recommended by Ohio EPA, new modeling using data from the 2020-2022 period for the Carmeuse Lime facility, showed a maximum modeled 3-year DV of 211.003 μg/m <SU>3</SU> , representing a modeled violation of the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS value of 196.4 μg/m <SU>3</SU> . The updated modeling included WIN Waste Innovations of Seneca County at maximum permitted emission rates. In response to the modeled violation, Ohio EPA conducted new modeling based on allowables, using a critical emission rate of 1,350.00 pounds per hour (lbs/hr) from the combined lime kiln stack at the Carmeuse Lime facility that would model compliance with the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS. This updated dispersion modeling showed a maximum modeled 3-year DV for SO <E T="52">2</E> of 192.2 μg/m <SU>3</SU> . In accordance with EPA's April 2014 “Guidance for 1-Hour SO <E T="52">2</E> Nonattainment Area SIP Submissions” (April 2014 SO <E T="52">2</E> Guidance)  <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> and 40 CFR 63.10021, Equation 9, Ohio EPA determined the allowable emission rate for SO <E T="52">2</E> from the combined lime kiln stack at Carmeuse Lime, resulting in an allowable emission rate of 1,170.0 lbs/hr as a 30-day rolling average. <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  EPA's “Guidance for 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide (SO <E T="52">2</E> ) Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plans (SIP) Submissions” can be found at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/so2-pollution/guidance-1-hour-sulfur-dioxide-so2-nonattainment-area-state-implementation-plans-sip.</E> </FTNT> On November 13, 2024, Ohio EPA submitted a request to incorporate into the Ohio SIP for the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS the DFFOs issued by Ohio EPA to Carmeuse Lime, establishing a new allowable 30-day rolling average SO <E T="52">2</E> emissions limit of 1,170.0 lbs/hr for the combined lime kiln stack shared by two rotary lime kilns. EPA proposes to determine that the adoption of the revised enforceable emission limit (alternatively “the revised DFFOs”) will ensure continued attainment of the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Analysis of Ohio EPA's Request</HD> Ohio EPA's November 13, 2024, SIP submittal requests to incorporate a new limit for Carmeuse Lime into the Ohio SIP through Ohio's DFFOs process and in accordance with the Data Requirements Rule at 40 CFR 51.1205. Ohio EPA is acting under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110(a)(2)(B) and section 110(a)(2)(K) authorities that provide for the appropriate operation to monitor, compile, and analyze ambient air quality data and modeling for a pollutant with an established NAAQS. Ohio EPA is also acting under CAA section 116, to adopt the DFFOs into the Ohio SIP, if the State elects to do so. Ohio EPA followed EPA's April 2014 SO <E T="52">2</E> Guidance to calculate the new limit issued to Carmeuse Lime that would provide for attainment of the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS. EPA's April 2014 SO <E T="52">2</E> Guidance is intended to provide guidance and recommendations to States to consider as they develop information used in future actions, which may involve SIPs, for the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS nonattainment areas. EPA finds the application of this guidance for the purpose of development of Ohio EPA's DFFOs appropriate to address the modeled violations of the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS. Under 40 CFR 51.1205(d), EPA may take appropriate action in an area that modeling indicates is not attaining the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS, including but not limited to requiring the adoption of enforceable emission limits to ensure continued attainment of the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS, designation or redesignation of the area to nonattainment, or issuance of a SIP Call. Therefore, as a result of modeled 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS violations, EPA proposes to find Ohio EPA's issuance of DFFOs establishing new SO <E T="52">2</E> emission limits for Carmeuse Lime is appropriate, and no further action is needed by EPA for this area. Due to modeled violations of the 2010 SO <E T="52">2</E> NAAQS, Ohio EPA perform ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 22k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━