reconsideration (2020 Petition) under Clean Air Act section 307(d)(7)(B) of EPA’s 2020 Denial of their November 2017 petition for reconsideration. EPA is proposing to deny the 2020 Petition because the objections raised to the 2020 Denial are not centrally relevant under a scenario in which EPA finalizes the proposal to withdraw the present BART-alternative Texas SO2 Trading Program FIP for Texas EGUs and replaces those requirements with source-specific SO2 BART requirements. As part of EPA’s proposal to deny the 2020 Petition, the EPA is affirming the current Regional Haze Rule provision allowing states whose EGUs continue to participate in a CSAPR trading program for a given pollutant to continue to rely on CSAPR participation as a BART alternative for its BART-eligible EGUs for that pollutant.
What is the impact of this action?
- This proposed rule (if finalized) would impose SO2 and PM emission limits on 12 EGUs located at six power plants in Texas. Affected sources have flexibility to decide what control technology and/or operational changes to implement to meet these emission limits. The proposed SO2 emission limits are expected to reduce SO2 emissions in Texas by over 80,000 tons per year. The existing PM controls at the affected sources are sufficient to meet the PM emission limits proposed in this action.
What sources will be impacted by the proposed promulgation of source-specific BART, and where are these sources located?
- All six affected power plants are located in Texas. The attached map depicts the location of the affected sources (orange circles) and monitoring stations at the surrounding protected national parks and wilderness areas (blue circles).
- W.A. Parish Station is in Fort Bend County (approximately 25 miles southwest of Houston, TX).
- Fayette Power Project is in Fayette County (approximately halfway between Austin and Houston, TX).
- Coleto Creek Plant is in Goliad County (approximately 140 miles southwest of Houston, TX).
- Martin Lake Electrical Station is in Rusk County (in East Texas, approximately 140 miles east of Dallas, TX).
- Welsh Power Plant is in Titus County (in East Texas, approximately 130 miles east of Dallas, TX).
- Harrington Station is in Potter County (in Amarillo, TX, in the Texas Panhandle).
Why is EPA denying the August 28, 2020 petition for reconsideration related to CSAPR Better-Than-BART?
- EPA is proposing to deny the August 2020 Petition because the objections raised are not centrally relevant under a scenario in which EPA finalizes the proposal to withdraw the
