v>EPA

United States
Environmental Protection
Agency

Proposed Federal Implementation Plan for the Detroit
Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area

Wayne County, Michigan	June 2022

We would like to hear from
you!

Contact EPA

For more information about the site
contact:

Abigail Teener

Environmental Engineer
(312) 353-7314 or by email at
DetroitFIP@epa.gov.

You may call EPA's Chicago office
toll-free at 800-621-8431, "
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

Comments on the proposed action
must be received on or before
July 18, 2022.

You may submit comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA-
R05-OAR-2021-0536, at

http://www.regulations.gov or via
email to arra.sarali@epa.gov.

More information on the submission
of written comments can be found
in the notice of proposed
rulemaking:

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc

nments/2022/06/0 i /2022-

11269/approval -and-promul gation-

of-air-qualitv-implementation-plans-

michigan-federal-implementation-

plan

Site documents can be found on the
following website:

https://www.epa.gov/mi/detroit-so2-
federal-implementation-plan

Map of Detroit Sulfur Dioxide fionattainment Area
Image credit: Google Earth

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a Federal Implementation
Plan, or FIP, for attaining the 2010 sulfur dioxide, or SO2, primary national
ambient air quality standard, referred to as NAAQS, for the Detroit SO3
nonattainment area in Wayne County, Michigan. The area is bounded on the
east by the Michigan-Ontario border, on the south by the Wayne County-
Monroe County border, on the west by Interstate 75 north to Southfield Road,
Southfield Road to Interstate 94, and Interstate 94 north to Michigan Avenue,
and on the north by Michigan Avenue to Woodward Avenue and a line on
Woodward Avenue extended to the Michigan-Ontario border. The FIP includes
an attainment demonstration and other elements required under the Clean Air
Act.

The proposed FIP attainment strategy includes previously approved limits for
the DTE Energy Trenton Channel coal-fired powerplant and the Carmeuse Lime
facility, as well as the shutdown of the DTE Energy River Rouge coal-fired
powerplant.

The proposed FIP regulatory language includes new SO2 emission limits
throughout the U.S. Steel facility. Additionally, the FIP includes several new
requirements for U.S. Steel's Boilerhouse 2, including the requirement to
combine and raise its stacks to increase dispersion, new limits, and installation
of a new Continuous Emissions Monitoring System.

EPA evaluated two separate operating scenarios as part of its modeling analysis
based on the separate limits proposed for U.S. Steel Boilerhouse 2. In both
scenarios, the modeling for the Detroit area showed a maximum concentration
of 73.6 parts per billion, or ppb, which is below the health-based standard of 75
ppb.

The maximum modeled concentration resulted from modeling all units at
maximum permitted levels based on the proposed emission limits included in
the FIP or emission limits that EPA has already approved, or maximum
uncontrolled emissions.


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Site Background

On June 22, 2010, EPA published a new 1-hour SO2 NAAQS of 75 ppb. Then on August 5, 2013, EPA designated 29
areas of the country as nonattainment for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, including the Detroit area within the state of Michigan.

Section 191 of the Clean Air Act directs states to submit state implementation plans for areas designated as nonattainment
for the SO2 NAAQS to EPA within 18 months of the effective date of the designation. Nonattainment is defined as any
area that does not meet (or that contributes to ambient air quality in a nearby area that does not meet) the national primary
or secondary ambient air quality standard for a NAAQS.

For a number of nonattainment areas, including the Detroit area, EPA published an action on March 18, 2016, finding that
Michigan and other pertinent states had failed to submit the required SO2 nonattainment plan by the submittal deadline.
Under Clean Air Act section 110(c), the finding triggered a requirement that EPA publish a FIP within two years of the
finding unless, by that time, (a) the state had made the necessary complete submittal, and (b) EPA had approved the
submittal as meeting applicable requirements.

Michigan submitted a Detroit SO2 attainment plan on May 31, 2016. However, on March 19, 2021, EPA partially
approved and partially disapproved Michigan's SO2 plan as submitted in 2016. EPA disapproved the plan's control
measures for two facilities as not demonstrating attainment. Therefore, EPA is proposing a FIP for the Detroit SO2
nonattainment area to help reduce SO2.

Reduced SO2 in the atmosphere means cleaner, healthier air for the residents of Detroit, especially children, the elderly,
and those who suffer from asthma. Reduced levels of SO2 and other sulfur oxides are also beneficial for the environment.
A decrease in these compounds means less haze and acid rain, which can harm sensitive ecosystems. This action is in line
with EPA's agency-wide commitment to advance environmental justice and deliver benefits to underserved and
overburdened communities.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

•	To download a copy of the proposed action, visit: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/03/19/2Q21-
05508/air-plan-approval-michigan-partial-approval-and-partial-disapproval-of-the-detroit-so2.

•	The proposed action and other background information are also available electronically at

http://www.regulations.gov. EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0536.

•	To review EPA's environmental justice policies and mandates, please visit:
https://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/learn-about-environmental-iustice

•	For further technical information about the rule, please contact Abigail Teener with EPA's Region 5 Air and
Radiation Division, at (312) 353-7314 or DetroitFIP@epa.gov.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Comments on the proposed action must be received on or before July 18, 2022. You may submit comments at
https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0536-0001 or via email to arra.sarah@epa.gov. For
comments submitted at http://www.regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting comments.


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