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This action will address the agency's technology review under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112(d)(6) of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for four subparts in 40 CFR part 63 (subparts F, G, H, and I) which are commonly referred to together as the Hazardous Organic NESHAP (HON) and that apply to the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) and to equipment leaks from certain non-SOCMI processes. This action will also address the agency's technology review of the NESHAP for two subparts in 40 CFR part 63 (subparts U and W) that apply to the Group I and Group II Polymers and Resins industries. The HON standards were most recently updated when the agency conducted a residual risk and technology review (RTR) on December 21, 2006. Similarly, the Group I and II Polymers and Resins NESHAP were most recently updated when the agency conducted its RTR on December 16, 2008, and April 21, 2011. The HON and Group I and II Polymers and Resins NESHAP contain maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for controlling emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from process vents, storage vessels, transfer operations, heat exchange systems, wastewater streams, and equipment leaks. The HAP emitted from these emission sources include, but are not limited to, ethylene oxide, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, vinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride, methanol, hexane, toluene, xylenes, and chloroprene. The agency also plans to consider risks from the SOCMI source category and from the Neoprene Production source category in the Group I Polymers and Resins NESHAP during its technology review and to ensure the standards continue to provide an ample margin of safety to protect public health. Lastly, this action will also address the agency's review, under CAA section 111(b)(1)(B), of four New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) in 40 CFR part 60 (subparts III, NNN, RRR, and VVa) for emissions of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) from SOCMI air oxidation unit processes, SOCMI distillation operations, SOCMI reactor processes, and equipment leaks located at SOCMI sources. These subparts were originally promulgated pursuant to section 111(b) of the CAA on June 29,1990 (subparts III and NNN), August 31, 1993 (subpart RRR), and November 16, 2007 (subpart VVa). On April 25, 2023, the EPA published a proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (see 88 FR 25080) for this action. In addition, the EPA has conducted public outreach activities, including hosting an informational webinar on April 13, 2023, and holding a public hearing on the proposed rulemaking on May 16, 2023.

Overall Description of Deadline: United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, California Communities Against Toxics Environmental Integrity Project, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Ohio Valley Environmental Council, Rise St. James, and Sierra Club Plaintiffs, v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Defendant. Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-03733-RJL

Statement of Need:

The EPA has a mandatory duty under CAA section 111 to at least every 8 years, review and, if appropriate, revise its NSPS governed by this section of the CAA. Similarly, EPA has a mandatory duty under CAA section 112 to at least every 8 years, review, and revise as necessary (taking into account developments in practices, processes, and control technologies), its NESHAP promulgated under this section of the CAA. Thus, this action will address EPA’s mandatory obligations to conduct such reviews for various NSPS (40 CFR part 60, subparts III, NNN, RRR, and VVb) and NESHAP (40 CFR part 63, subparts F, G, H, I, U and W) that apply to the chemical industry, for which EPA is under a consent decree deadline to finalize such actions. The proposed rulemaking for this action was previously published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2023 (see 88 FR 25080).

Summary of the Legal Basis:

EPA has a mandatory duty to conduct reviews of its NSPS and NESHAP under CAA sections 111 and 112, respectively, at least every 8 years. Pursuant to a consent deadline of March 29, 2024, the Administrator of EPA must sign a final rule containing any revisions of EPA’s review of various chemical sector rules, including various NSPS (40 CFR part 60, subpart III, NNN, RRR, and VVb) and NESHAP (40 CFR part 63, subparts F, G, H, I, U, and W) that apply to the chemical industry.

Alternatives:

None, as EPA has a mandatory duty to conduct its review of these rules and is under a consent decree deadline to do so.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

The anticipated costs and benefits of the final action are to be determined. For the proposed action that published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2023 (see 88 FR 25080), EPA estimated the costs of implementing the proposed rules at approximately $501 million in total capital costs and approximately $190 million a year in total annualized costs. For benefits in the proposed action, EPA also estimated the value of the health benefits of reducing ozone as result of reducing VOC emissions. EPA estimates that the value of those benefits would be $6.3 million in 2024 and could be as much as $62 million (2021 dollars, 3 percent discount rate).

Risks:

The EPA is conducting a discretionary residual risk assessment in this action under CAA section 112(f)(2) to address unacceptable risks from ethylene oxide and chloroprene emissions coming from HON and Neoprene Production sources covered under the Group I Polymers and Resins NESHAP, respectively.