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Public Notice: Cache Creek Casino Resort; Public Comment on Draft Synthetic Minor New Source Review Permit in Indian Country

How to Comment

Comments accepted through: 04/01/2019

All written comments or requests for a public hearing must be received or postmarked by April 1, 2019. Comments may be submitted via the following methods:
Online: www.regulations.gov
Docket ID: EPA-R09-OAR-2018-0653
E-mail: R9airpermits@epa.gov
U.S. Mail: Sheila Tsai (AIR-3)
U.S. EPA Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901

Any person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public hearing during the public comment period. These comments must raise any reasonably ascertainable issue with supporting arguments by the close of the public comment period (including any public hearing). Please address comments with the subject “Comments on Draft Synthetic Minor NSR Permit for Cache Creek Casino Resort.”

All comments that are received via email or through www.regulations.gov will be included in the public docket without change and will be available to the public, including any personal information provided, within a few days of receipt. Comments submitted to EPA through U.S. Mail or another non-electronic delivery method will also be included in the public docket without change and will be available to the public, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information the disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Information that is considered to be CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as such and should be submitted only through U.S. Mail or a non-electronic delivery method; such information should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. If a commenter sends e-mail directly to EPA, the e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the public comment. Please note that an e-mail or postal address must be provided with comments if the commenter wishes to receive direct notification of EPA’s final decision regarding the draft permit following the public comment period. For information about CBI or multimedia submissions and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit Commenting on EPA Dockets.

Tribal Minor New Source Review Permitting in Region 9

Publish Date: 02/28/2019

Summary

Proposed Action

Tribal Synthetic Minor NSR Permit Application #2018-006-SM
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (EPA) provides notice of and requests public comment on the EPA’s proposed action relating to the draft synthetic minor New Source Review (NSR) permit for the Cache Creek Casino Resort (“Source”). The Source is located at 14455 State Highway 16, Brooks, California 95606, within the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The EPA is proposing to issue this synthetic minor NSR permit to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The contact for the Source is Mike Hill, Facilities Engineering Manager, (530) 796-5277.

This draft permit, if finalized, will place enforceable restrictions on the potential to emit of the Source’s existing operations so that the provisions and requirements for major sources under the NSR and title V programs in 40 CFR parts 51, 52, and 71 do not apply. It will also authorize, as a modification to the existing Source, construction of three natural gas non-emergency generators, two diesel-fired emergency generators, and four boilers, consistent with the minor NSR regulations for Indian country (40 CFR 49.151-161). Cache Creek is a 415,000 square-foot gaming facility powered by the grid and four standby diesel engines. This permit action will establish the existing equipment at Cache Creek as an existing synthetic minor source at 24.19 ton per year (tpy) of NOx emissions and 6.72 tpy of CO emissions. The modification will increase NOx emissions by 14.68 tpy and CO emissions by 58.65 tpy. More information on the emission changes and limitations associated with this draft permit can be found in Section 5 of the technical support document for this action. Upon completion of the modification, the Source will be a major stationary source as defined in Section II.A.4 of Appendix S to 40 CFR part 51.

Draft Permit Review

A copy of the draft permit prepared by the EPA, the technical support document for the draft permit, and the permit application and supporting materials are available for review by the public through the online docket listed above, by contacting the permit writer at R9airpermits@epa.gov, or at the following locations:

  1. At the US EPA Region 9 office (address at right), Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., excluding federal holidays. Due to building security procedures, please call Sheila Tsai at (415) 972-3328 at least 48 hours in advance to arrange a visit.
  2. Cache Creek Mini-Mart
    14151 Winners Way
    Brooks, CA 95606
    Open to the public 24 hours a day
    Contact: Sarah Morgan, Natural Resources Manager
    Email: SMorgan@yochadehe-nsn.gov
    Phone: (530) 796-3400
  3. These materials are also available to tribal citizens and tribal government employees at the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Community Center, 18960 Puhkum Road, Brooks, CA 95606, Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm.

Public Hearing

A public hearing has not been scheduled for the draft permit action. However, anyone may request a public hearing. Any request for a public hearing must be made in writing and state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised at the hearing. The EPA will hold a hearing whenever there is, on the basis of requests, a significant degree of public interest in a draft synthetic minor NSR permit. The EPA may also hold a public hearing at its discretion, whenever, for instance, such a hearing might clarify one or more issues involved in the synthetic minor NSR permit decision. The EPA will provide notice at least 30 days in advance of the date and time of any scheduled public hearing. The 30-day public comment period will be extended to the close of any public hearing on the Cache Creek Casino Resort.

Final Action

Before taking final action on the draft permit, the EPA will consider all written comments submitted during the public comment period. The EPA will send notice of our final permit decision to each person who submitted comments and contact information during the public comment period or requested notice of the final permit decision. The EPA will summarize the contents of all substantive comments and provide written responses in a document accompanying the EPA’s final permit decision. The 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 the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board 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 shall become effective immediately upon issuance.

Additional Information: If you have questions, or if you wish to obtain further information, please contact Sheila Tsai at (415) 972-3328, via email at R9airpermits@epa.gov, or at the EPA mailing address above. If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive future information about this draft permit decision or other permit decisions issued by EPA Region 9, please contact the EPA at the address listed above or send an email to R9airpermits@epa.gov.

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

Applicant or Respondent

Cache Creek Casino Resort
14455 State Highway 16
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
Brooks, CA 95606

Docket Number: