National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coke Ovens: Pushing, Quenching, and Battery Stacks, and Coke Oven Batteries; Rescission of Extension of Compliance Deadlines for Coke Oven Facilities

<RULE> ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 63</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0085, EPA-HQ-OAR- 2003-0051; FRL-8471.1-04-OAR]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2060-AW65</RIN> <SUBJECT>National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coke Ovens: Pushing, Quenching, and Battery Stacks, and Coke Oven Batteries; Rescission of Extension of Compliance Deadlines for Coke Oven Facilities</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule; rescission of interim final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rescinding the interim final rule (IFR) titled “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coke Ovens: Pushing, Quenching, and Battery Stacks, and Coke Oven Batteries; Residual Risk and Technology Review, and Periodic Technology Review,” published July 8, 2025. This rescission of the IFR effectively reinstitutes the compliance deadlines set forth in the 2024 final rule revising the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the coke ovens source category, published July 5, 2024. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective on December 5, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID Nos. EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0085 for the Pushing, Quenching, and Battery Stacks (PQBS) source category and EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0051 for the Coke Oven Batteries (COB) source category. All documents in the docket are listed on the <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov/</E> website. Although listed, some information is not publicly available, <E T="03">e.g.,</E> Confidential Business Information (CBI) 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 <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov/,</E> or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room Number 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the EPA Docket Center is (202) 566-1742. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For information about this final rule, contact the U.S. EPA, Attn: Jonathan Witt, Mail Drop: D243-04, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, P.O. Box 12055, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone number: (919) 541-5645; email address: <E T="03">witt.jon@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <E T="03">Preamble acronyms and abbreviations.</E> Throughout this document the use of “we,” “us,” or “our” is intended to refer to the EPA. We use multiple acronyms and terms in this preamble. While this list may not be exhaustive, to ease the reading of this preamble and for reference purposes, the EPA defines the following terms and acronyms here: <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AG acid gases</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">B/W bypass/waste heat</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CAA Clean Air Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CBI Confidential Business Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">COB coke oven batteries</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CRA Congressional Review Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">D/F dioxins and furans</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EIA Economic Impact Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EPA Environmental Protection Agency</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FR Federal Register</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HAP hazardous air pollutant(s)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HCl hydrochloric acid</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HCN hydrogen cyanide</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HF hydrogen fluoride</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> HNR heat and nonrecovery ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> no chemical recovery), or nonrecovery with no heat recovery </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HRSG heat recovery steam generator</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IFR interim final rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MACT maximum achievable control technology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NESHAP national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NTTAA National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OMB Office of Management and Budget</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PAH polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PM particulate matter</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PRA Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PQBS pushing, quenching, and battery stacks</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">VOHAP volatile organic HAP</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. General Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Does this action apply to me?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Where can I get a copy of this document and other related information?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. What is the statutory authority for this action?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. What rule is being rescinded?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Why is the EPA rescinding the IFR?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Executive Order 14192: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. General Information</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Does this action apply to me?</HD> As defined in the <E T="03">Initial List of Categories of Sources Under Section 112(c)(1) of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990</E> (57 FR 31576; July 16, 1992) and <E T="03">Documentation for Developing the Initial Source Category List, Final Report</E> (EPA-450/3-91-030, July 1992), the Coke Oven Batteries (COB) source category includes emissions from the batteries themselves. The Pushing, Quenching, and Battery Stacks (PQBS) source category includes emissions from pushing and quenching operations, and from battery stacks at a coke oven facility. A coke oven facility is defined as a facility engaged in the manufacturing of metallurgical coke by the destructive distillation of coal. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the COB source category (40 CFR part 63, subpart L) is 324199 for “All Other Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing,” and for the PQBS source category (40 CFR part 63, subpart CCCCC) is 331110 for “Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing.” The information provided in this section is not intended to be exhaustive but rather provides a guide for readers regarding the entities that this action is likely to affect. The compliance deadlines resulting from this action are directly applicable to the affected sources. Federal, state, local, and Tribal government entities will not be affected by this interim final action. Based on the information we have, 11 operating coke manufacturing facilities are subject to the NESHAP. If you have questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person listed in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 90 FR 29999, 29997 (July 8, 2025). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Where can I get a copy of this document and other related information?</HD> In addition to being available in the docket, an electronic copy of this action will be available on the internet at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/coke-ovens-batteries-national-emissions-standards-hazardous-air.</E> <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. What is the statutory authority for this action?</HD> The Clean Air Act (CAA), and CAA section 112 in particular (42 U.S.C. 7412), provides the statutory authority to issue this action. <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. What rule is being rescinded?</HD> On July 8, 2025, <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> the EPA issued an IFR that extended the compliance deadlines for certain standards that the EPA promulgated in the 2024 rule revisions to the Coke Ovens NESHAP. <E T="03">Id.</E> at 29997. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  89 FR 55684 (July 5, 2024). </FTNT> • For the PQBS source category, the EPA extended compliance deadlines from January 6, 2026, to July 7, 2027, for certain maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards, including: ○ New emission standards based on MACT for pushing operations: acid gases (AG), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), mercury (Hg), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (which is also a surrogate for dioxins and furans (D/F), formaldehyde, and volatile organic HAP (VOHAP));  <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  Acid gases include hydrochloric acid (H ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 26k characters. 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