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Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition To Object to Title V Permit for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.'s Gathering Center 1, Prudhoe Bay, AK

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 


[Federal Register: May 11, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 91)]
[Notices]
[Page 26813]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11my07-52]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8313-7]

Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition To Object to
Title V Permit for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.'s Gathering Center 1,
Prudhoe Bay, AK

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final order on petition to object to state operating
permit.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA) section 505(b)(2) and 40 CFR
70.8(d), the EPA Administrator signed an order dated April 20, 2007,
denying a petition to object to a state operating permit issued by the
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) to BP
Exploration (Alaska) Inc.'s (BPX) Gathering Center 1 (Revision 1 to GC1
permit), Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. This order constitutes final action on
the petition filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
(PEER) on behalf of Bill MacClarence on April 14, 2004, requesting that
EPA object to the issuance of Revision 1 to the GC1 permit. Pursuant to
section 505(b)(2) of the CAA, any person may seek judicial review in
the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit within
60 days of this notice under section 307 of the CAA.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final order, the petition, and all pertinent
information relating thereto are on file at the following location:
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, Office of Air, Waste, and
Toxics (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. The
final order is also available electronically at the following Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/region07/programs/artd/air/title5/petitiondb/petitiondb.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Natasha Greaves, Office of Air, Waste
and Toxics, EPA Region 10, telephone (206) 553-7079, e-mail 
greaves.natasha@epa.gov. Interested parties may also contact the Alaska
Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air Quality, 555
Cordova Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2617.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Clean Air Act affords EPA a 45-day period to review and object
to, as appropriate, operating permits proposed by state permitting
authorities. Section 505(b)(2) of the CAA authorizes any person to
petition the EPA Administrator within 60 days after the expiration of
this review period to object to a state operating permit if EPA has not
done so. Petitions must be based only on objections to the permit that
were raised with reasonable specificity during the public comment
period provided by the state, unless the petitioner demonstrates that
it was impracticable to raise these issues during the comment period or
that the grounds for the objection or other issue arose after the
comment period.
    On April 19, 2004, EPA received a petition from PEER on behalf of
Bill MacClarence requesting that EPA object to the issuance of Revision
1 to the GC1 permit on the grounds that: (1) Revision 1 to the GC1
Permit violates Title V of the CAA because it does not explain the
departure from ADEC's March 7, 2003 draft permit and because the
provisions of Prevention of Significant Deterioration, National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and New Source
Performance Standards are all based on the aggregated impact of air
emissions and this permit did not aggregate all facilities within the
Prudhoe Bay Unit (PBU); (2) the pollution consequences of this
violation are significant becasue elevated levels of nitrogen oxide on
the North Slope of Alaska present a serious health problem for workers
and native communities in the region and have been created by not
aggregating facilities within the PBU; and (3) ADEC and EPA failed to
exercise proper regulatory oversight in this matter by issuing the
final permit with no public notice or discussion. The order explains
the reasons behind EPA's decision to deny PEER's petition for objection
on all grounds.

    Dated: May 1, 2007.
Elin D. Miller,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 07-2334 Filed 5-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M

 
 

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