Summary
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (EPA) is issuing a minor New Source Review (NSR) permit for the White Mountain Apache Timber Company (WMATCO” or “Source”). The Source is located at 501 E. Fatco Road, Whiteriver, Arizona 85941, within the Fort Apache Reservation. EPA is issuing this tribal minor NSR permit to White Mountain Apache Forest Industries, P.O. Box 1090, Whiteriver, Arizona 85941. The contact for the Source is Gary Moore, Operations Manager, (928) 338-5015.
This final permit authorizes operation of WMATCO’s log yard, large log mill and byproduct processing, a small log mill and byproduct processing, sorting and stacking storage, a propane boiler, dry kilns, dry storage, planers and byproduct processing, bundlers, remanufacturing plant and storage for shipment. Permitted emissions at the sawmill will be limited to 8.81 tons per year (tpy) of oxides of nitrogen (NOX), 85.5 tpy of volatile organic compounds (VOC) (primarily from the lumber drying kilns), 85.1 of particulate matter (PM), 51.2 tpy, of PM less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10), 27.8 tpy of PM less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) and 7.72 tpy of carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. The permit will ensure that the WMATCO facility will operate consistent with the minor NSR regulations for Indian country (40 CFR 49.151-161). More information on the emission and limitations associated with this draft permit can be found in Section 5 of the revised technical support document for this action.
Public comments
The public comment period started on March 12, 2020 and ended on April 30, 2020. No comments requesting a change in the draft permit or denial of the permit were received.
Administrative Record
The final permit and all other supporting information are available through www.regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0455. Contact Manny Aquitania (aquitania.manny@epa.gov) for other methods of obtaining information related to this permit at (415) 972-3977, or through EPA Region 9’s toll-free general information line at (866) 372-9378.
Permit Appeal
In accordance with 40 CFR 49.159, within 30 days after a final permit decision has been issued, any person who filed comments on the draft permit or participated in a public hearing may petition the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) to review any condition of the permit decision. Any person who failed to file comments or to participate in the public hearing may petition for administrative review only to the extent that the changes from the draft to the final permit or other new grounds were not reasonably ascertainable during the public comment period. The 30-day period within which a person may request review under this section begins with service of notice of the final permit decision. A petition to the EAB is a prerequisite to seeking judicial review of the final agency action under Section 307(b) of the CAA. For purposes of judicial review, final agency action occurs when we deny or issue a final permit and agency review procedures are exhausted. Following an appeal to the EAB, the EPA will issue a final permit decision as specified in 40 CFR 49.159(d)(8).
Permit Effective Date
Per 40 CFR 49.159(a)(3), this permit becomes effective immediately upon service of notice of the final permit decision because no comments requested a change in the draft permit or a denial of the permit.