Air Plan Approval; Michigan and Minnesota; Revision to Taconite Federal Implementation Plan

<RULE> ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0215; FRL-12351-02-R5]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Approval; Michigan and Minnesota; Revision to Taconite Federal Implementation 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 finalizing nitrogen oxide (NO <E T="52">X</E> ) and/or sulfur dioxide (SO <E T="52">2</E> ) limits for the indurating furnaces at five taconite facilities in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) addressing the requirement for best available retrofit technology (BART) at taconite facilities. EPA is also modifying the Upper Predictive Limit (UPL) equations used to establish NO <E T="52">X</E> and SO <E T="52">2</E> emission limits under the FIP. Finally, the EPA is revising reporting provisions to require reports be submitted to the EPA electronically. The EPA is finalizing these actions pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA) sections 110 and 169A. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This final rule is effective on February 2, 2026. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0215. All documents in the docket are listed on the <E T="03">https://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 the disclosure of which 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">https://www.regulations.gov</E> or at the EPA, 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. The EPA recommends that you telephone Kathleen D'Agostino, at (312) 886-1767 before visiting the Region 5 office. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For information about this final rule, contact Kathleen D'Agostino, Air and Radiation Division (AR18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604; telephone number (312) 886-1767; email address <E T="03">dagostino.kathleen@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <E T="03">Preamble acronyms and abbreviations.</E> Throughout this preamble 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">BART best available retrofit technology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CAA Clean Air Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CBI Confidential Business Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CEMS continuous emissions monitoring system</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Cliffs” Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Cliffs facilities” Tilden, Hibbing, Minorca, Northshore, and United Taconite</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Conservation Groups” the National Parks Conservation Association, Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and Sierra Club, collectively</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EPA Environmental Protection Agency</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FIP Federal Implementation Plan</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Hibbing” Hibbing Taconite Company</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Minorca” Minorca Mine</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NESHAPs National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Northshore” Northshore Mining Company—Silver Bay</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> NO <E T="52">X</E>  nitrogen oxide </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NSPS New Source Performance Standards</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Original 2013 FIP” FIP promulgated on February 6, 2013 (78 FR 8706)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PBI Proprietary Business Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PRA Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RHR Regional Haze Rule rule promulgated on July 1, 1999 (64 FR 35714), codified at 40 CFR part 51, subpart P.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> SO <E T="52">2</E>  sulfur dioxide </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“Tilden” Tilden Mining Company</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UPL Upper Predictive Limit</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">“U.S. Steel” United States Steel</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UTAC United Taconite</FP> </EXTRACT> <E T="03">Organization of this document.</E> The information presented in this preamble is organized as follows: <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Public Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. What action is the EPA taking?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> On February 6, 2013 (78 FR 8706), the EPA promulgated a FIP that included BART limits for certain taconite furnaces in Minnesota and Michigan (the “Original 2013 FIP”). On April 16, 2016 (81 FR 21672), in response to petitions for reconsideration and due to new information submitted to the EPA after promulgation of the Original 2013 FIP, the EPA revised the Original 2013 FIP (the “2016 Revised FIP”). The 2016 Revised FIP revised emission limits for certain facilities and established a process to confirm or modify those emission limits using continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) data that were to be collected after the installation of the selected low-NO <E T="52">X</E> technology. Under the 2016 Revised FIP, NO <E T="52">X</E> emission limits do not become enforceable until the EPA confirms or modifies the emission limits in accordance with set procedures. On December 4, 2024 (89 FR 96152), the EPA proposed to modify the UPL equations used to establish NO <E T="52">X</E> and SO <E T="52">2</E> emission limits and to finalize NO <E T="52">X</E> and/or SO <E T="52">2</E> limits for the indurating furnaces at five taconite facilities in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Original 2013 FIP and 2016 Revised FIP (the “2024 Proposed Rule”). These facilities include Tilden Mining Company (“Tilden”), located at 101 Cci Mine Road, Ishpeming, Michigan; Hibbing Taconite Company (“Hibbing”), located at 4950 Highway 5 North, Hibbing, Minnesota; Minorca Mine (“Minorca”), located at 5950 Old Highway 53, Virginia, Minnesota; Northshore Mining Company—Silver Bay (“Northshore”), located at 10 Outer Drive, Silver Bay, Minnesota, and United Taconite (“UTAC”), located at 8470 Townline Road, Forbes, Minnesota. Tilden, Minorca, Northshore, and UTAC are owned by Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. (“Cliffs”), formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources, and Hibbing is jointly owned by Cliffs and United States Steel (“U.S. Steel”). The primary units identified as being subject to BART at Tilden, Hibbing, Minorca, UTAC, and Northshore include the following pelletizing (indurating) furnaces: Tilden Grate Kiln Line 1, Hibbing Straight-Grate Lines 1-3, Minorca Straight-Grate Line 1, UTAC Grate Kiln Lines 1 and 2, and Northshore Straight-Grate Furnaces 11 and 12. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Fuel sulfur content BART limits were also set for two process boilers and a line dryer at Tilden. Those limits are not impacted by this action. </FTNT> Specifically, the EPA proposed to establish the following NO <E T="52">X</E> limits, with compliance to be determined on a rolling 30-day average: 3.0 pounds (lbs) NO <E T="52">X</E> per million British Thermal Unit (MMBtu) for all fuels for Tilden Line 1; a crossline average limit of 1.5 lb NO <E T="52">X</E> /MMBtu for Hibbing Lines 1, 2, and 3; a crossline average emission limit of 3.0 lbs NO <E T="52">X</E> /MMBtu for all fuels for UTAC Lines 1 and 2; and 1.6 lbs NO <E T="52">X</E> /MMBtu for Minorca's indurating furnace. The EPA proposed to establish the following SO <E T="52">2</E> limits, with compliance to be determined on a rolling 30-day average: 189 pounds of SO <E T="52">2</E> per hour (lbs/hr) for all fuels for Tilden Line 1; an aggregate emission limit of 247.8 lbs SO <E T="52">2</E> /hr for Hibbing Lines 1, 2, and 3; 68.2 lbs SO <E T="52">2</E> /hr for Minorca's indurating furnace; and an aggregate limit of 17.0 lbs SO <E T="52">2</E> /hr for Northshore Furnaces 11 and 12. The EPA also proposed to revise the reporting requirements to require reports be submitted to the EPA electronically. An explanation of the CAA requirements, a detailed analysis of how these requirements apply to the taconite facilities, and the EPA's reasons for proposing the modified equations and revised limits were provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking and will not be restated here. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Public Comments</HD> The EPA held a virtual public hearing on December 9, 2024. The EPA received no verbal or written comments at the virtual public hearing. The comment period on the proposed action described above closed on January 21, 2025. The EPA received one comment letter from the National Parks Conservation Association, Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and Sierra Club (collectively, the “Conservation Groups”). The Conservation Groups' comments are summarized and addressed below. 1. <E T="03">Comment:</E> The Conservation Groups stated that Minnesot ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 73k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━