Public Notice: Agua Caliente Fuel Rancho Mirage Draft Clean Air Act Minor New Source Review Permit

Summary

Announcement of Draft Permit and Request for Public Comment on Draft Clean Air Act Minor NSR Permit in Indian Country: Agua Caliente Fuel Rancho Mirage Tribal Minor NSR Permit Application # 2024-013-MNSR.

Proposed Action

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (EPA) provides notice of and requests public comment on EPA’s proposed action relating to the draft minor New Source Review (NSR) permit for the Agua Caliente Fuel Rancho Mirage (“Source”). The Source is located at 32279 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, California 92270, within the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. EPA is proposing to issue this minor NSR permit to Agua Caliente Tribal Corporation, 5401 Dinah Shore Drive, Palm Springs, California 92264. The contact for the Source is Dan Malcolm, (760) 883-1945.

This draft permit, if finalized, will authorize the modification of three underground storage tanks and twelve gasoline dispensers to increase the annual throughput limit on the total amount of gasoline dispensed from 15,000,000 gallons to 20,000,000 gallons per year, as well as include an annual throughput limit of 2,000,000 gallons on the total amount of diesel dispensed, consistent with the minor NSR regulations for Indian country (40 CFR §49.151-161). Agua Caliente Fuel Rancho Mirage is a gasoline dispensing facility that provides automobile and truck fuels such as regular gasoline, premium gasoline, and diesel.

After this modification, the total allowable emissions at the Source will be as follows: 9.67 tons per year (tpy) of volatile organic compounds (VOC), 7.04 tpy of nitrogen oxides (NOX), 1.52 tpy of carbon monoxide (CO), 0.50 tpy of particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10), and 0.50 tpy of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5). This modification will result in emissions increase in VOC.

This draft permit, if finalized, will also include practically enforceable emissions limitations on the annual throughputs of gasoline and diesel dispensed, as well as associated compliance requirements, that will limit the allowable emissions of VOC at the Source. Additionally, the increase in emissions of VOC triggered review under the minor NSR program, and we evaluated the chosen VOC control technologies to ensure they are sufficient and ensured VOC emissions will not adversely impact air quality. More information on the emission changes and limitations associated with this draft permit can be found in Section 7 of the technical support document for this action.

Draft Permit Review

The draft permit prepared by EPA, the technical support document for the draft permit, and all supporting materials are available for review by the public through the online docket, or by contacting the permit writer at R9airpermits@epa.gov.

You can also access the online docket at public locations near you with internet access, including:

Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory
Address: 71-100 CA-111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Contact: Bob Rekuc, Library Operations Manager
Email: info@ranchomiragelibrary.org
Phone: (760) 341-7323
Hours of Availability: Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Final Action

Before taking final action on the draft permit, EPA will consider all written comments submitted during the public comment period. EPA will send notice of our final permit decision to each person who submitted comments and provided contact information during the public comment period or requested notice of the final permit decision. EPA will summarize the contents of all substantive comments and provide written responses in a document accompanying EPA’s final permit decision. EPA’s final permit decision will become effective 30 days after the service of notice of the decision unless:

1. A later effective date is specified in the permit;
2. The decision is appealed to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) pursuant to 40 CFR §49.159(d); or
3. There are no comments requesting a change to the draft permit decision, in which case the final decision may become effective immediately upon issuance.

Appeals to the EAB: In accordance with 40 CFR §49.159 and 40 CFR §124.19, within 30 days after a final permit decision has been issued, any person who filed comments on the draft permit or participated in the public hearing may petition the EAB to review any condition of the permit decision. The 30-day period within which a person may request review under this section begins when the Region has fulfilled the notice requirements for the final permit decision. A petition to the EAB is, under section 307(b) of the Act, a prerequisite to seeking judicial review of the final agency action. For purposes of judicial review, final agency action occurs when EPA denies or issues a final permit and agency review procedures are exhausted.

Additional Information

If you have questions, or if you wish to obtain further information, please contact Po-Chieh Ting at (415) 972-3191, via email at R9airpermits@epa.gov. If you would like to be added to our notification list to receive future information about this draft permit decision or other permit decisions issued by EPA Region 9, please contact EPA at R9airpermits@epa.gov.

Learn More: About Tribal Minor New Source Review Permitting in Region 9

***Please bring the foregoing notice to the attention of all persons who would be interested in this matter.***

Applicants or Respondents

Docket Numbers

• EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0455