Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Nonattainment New Source Review (NSR): Aggregation

On January 30, 2009, the Natural Resources Defense Council ("NRDC") submitted a petition for reconsideration (the "NRDC Petition") of the rule addressing "aggregation" under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration and the Nonattainment New Source Review programs (collectively, "NSR") published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2009. This rule (the "NSR Aggregation Amendments") described when a source must combine ("aggregate") nominally-separate physical changes and changes in the method of operation for the purpose of determining whether they are a single change under NSR and result in a significant emissions increase. In response to the NRDC Petition, having found that the petitioner has raised objections to the rule that arose after the comment period and that are of central relevance to the rule, the EPA is convening a proceeding for reconsideration as provided for under the Clean Air Act section 307(d)(7)(B). In the near future, EPA will publish a notice in the Federal Register establishing a comment period and a hearing date for this proceeding.