Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; North Dakota; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan; Federal Implementation Plan for Interstate Transport of Pollution Affecting Visibility and Regional Haze; Reconsideration

On April 6, 2012, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule partially approving and partially disapproving a North Dakota State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal addressing regional haze submitted by the Governor of North Dakota on March 3, 2010, along with North Dakota's SIP Supplement No. 1 submitted on July 27, 2010, and SIP Amendment No. 1 submitted on July 28, 2011. The Administrator subsequently received a petition requesting EPA to reconsider its approval of certain elements of North Dakota's regional haze SIP. Specifically, the petition raised several objections to EPA's approval of the State's best available retrofit technology (BART) emission limits for nitrogen oxides (NO<INF>X</INF>) for Milton R. Young Station (MRYS) Units 1 and 2 and Leland Olds Station (LOS) Unit 2. On March 15, 2013, EPA announced its decision to reconsider its approval of the State's NO<INF>X</INF> BART limits for these facilities. In the same action, EPA proposed to affirm its prior approval of these elements of North Dakota's SIP. As a result of this reconsideration process, EPA has concluded that no changes are warranted to its 2012 approval of the NO<INF>X</INF> BART limits for these units.