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Minnesota Regional Haze Plan

Under the Clean Air Act the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has promulgated regulations designed to improve visibility in our nation’s largest national parks and wildernesses (“Class I areas”).  The Regional Haze Rule is found in 40 CFR part 51.308. 

Minnesota has two Class I areas – the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.  In addition, emissions from Minnesota contribute to visibility impairment in Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park.

States are responsible for developing a Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) that identifies sources that cause or contribute to visibility impairment, includes control strategies for those sources and Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determinations for certain older emission sources, and makes a demonstration of reasonable progress toward reaching visibility goals.

The Minnesota Regional Haze SIP was submitted to U.S. EPA on December 30, 2009.

Minnesota's Regional Haze SIP

Below are several documents that make up Minnesota's Regional Haze SIP.  The documents are divided into smaller files for easier downloading.

• Minnesota's Regional Haze SIP
• Appendices to Regional Haze SIP, Part 1 (Chapters 1-7)
• Appendices to Regional Haze SIP, Part 2 (Chapters 8-10)
• Modeling Technical Support Document (TSD)
  • TSD Appendices

Implementation

The Regional Haze SIP includes a concept plan focusing on major sources in Northeast Minnesota as one part of its long term strategy for improving visibility. As part of the Northeast Minnesota Plan, the MPCA has committed to annually tracking emissions from subject sources.

• NE Minnesota Emissions Tracking Spreadsheet

Information Used in Developing the SIP

Stakeholder and Public Meetings

• September 7, 2005, Stakeholder Meeting
  • CAIR Presentation
• Regional Haze Presentation
  

• October 4, 2005:
  • BART Strategy Presentation
  • BART CALPUFF Modeling Protocol Presentation
    
    
• January 31, 2007:
  • Introduction
  • Regional Haze in the Upper Midwest Technical Information
  • Upcoming CENRAP Technical Work
  • PSAT and Minnesota Modeling work
  • FLM Consultation and Concerns - Bruce Polkowsky
  • Status of BART Implementation
  • Treatment of New Mining Sources in Permitting
  • Treatment of New Sources in the SIP
    
    
• May 15, 2007:
  • Haze Technical Work Update
  • Setting RPG and Analyzing Control Strategies
  • Update on BART
  • BWCAW History and Mission – Trent Wickman and Chris Holbeck
  • Voyageurs National Park History and Mission – Chris Holbeck
  • Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness – Carolyn Sampson
  • Voyageurs National Park Association – Cory MacNulty
  • LTS and Concept Plan for NE Minnesota
    
    
• April 10, 2008: Regional Haze SIP Public Meeting
  • Public Meeting Materials

BART-Related Information

• Appendix Y to 40 CFR part 51 U.S. EPA's Guidelines for BART Determinations Under the Regional Haze Rule
  
  
• Proposed Best Available Retrofit Technology Strategy for Minnesota
  
  
• Response to Comments on Proposed BART Strategy for Minnesota, 12/15/05
  
  
• BART rulemaking
  
  
• Identification of BART Sources in Minnesota
  • The MPCA developed a list of BART-Eligible sources by mailing a Request for Information (RFI) in late July 2005 to facilities that are major sources under New Source Review. If a facility identified any BART-eligible units, they followed the instructions below and used the "BART Eligible Unit Spreadsheet" to provide information about those unit(s).
  • List of BART Sources
  • BART Questionaire
  • BART Eligible Unit Spreadsheet
  • BART Spreadsheet Instructions
    
    
• Modeling of BART Sources in Minnesota
  • BART Modeling Protocol to Determine Sources Subject-to-BART in the State of Minnesota, Draft.
  • Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) Modeling Protocol to Determine Sources Subject-to-BART in the State of Minnesota," Final
  • MPCA Response to Comments on Draft Best Available Retrofit Technology Modeling Protocol for Minnesota (Available for Public Comment October 10-November 4, 2005
  • RESULTS of Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) Modeling to Determine Sources Subject-to-BART in the State of Minnesota
    
    
• BART Analysis Guidance for Facilities
  • Guidance for Facilities Conducting a BART Analysis
  • Suggested Format for a BART Analysis
    
    
• BART Analyses Submitted by Facilities
  NOTE: These BART analyses were performed by the facility and were submitted in Sept. 2006. MPCA staff have not yet assessed whether the analyses follow the BART Analysis Guidance. Modeling results are contained in the analyses, however, detailed modeling files submitted by the facility are not posted here.
  • Hibbing Taconite (file size = 9.3 MB)
  • Mittal Steel USA, Minorca Mine (file size = 4.1 MB)
    
  • Northshore Mining Company- Taconite Processing (file size = 4.2 MB)
  • United Taconite, LLC (file size = 8.2 MB)
  • U.S. Steel Corporation, Keetac (file size = 8.6 MB)
  • U.S. Steel Corporation, Minntac (file size = 9.3 MB)
  • Minnesota Power, Taconite Harbor Unit 3
  • Northshore Mining Company, Silver Bay Power Facility Unit 2 (file size = 4 MB)
  • Xcel Energy, Sherburne County Plant Units 1 & 2 (file size = 8 MB)
    
    
• Revised BART Information (Fall 2008, Post-CAIR)
• Minnesota Power, Taconite Harbor Unit 3
• Northshore Mining Company, Silver Bay Power Facility Unit 2
• Xcel Energy, Sherburne County Plant Units 1 & 2

Technical Information

• Potential Impacts of the Federal Regional Haze and Best Available Retrofit Technology Rules on the Taconite Industry in Minnesota, September 2003
• Evaluation of Minnesota Taconite Wet Scrubbers at Minntac, Keewatin Taconite, Hibbing Taconite, and United Taconite

Links to Other Regional Haze Sites

• EPA Visibility Program 
• CENRAP (Central Regional Air Planning Association)
• LADCO (Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium and the Midwest Regional Planning Organization)
• IMPROVE: Interagency Monitoring Site 

Regional Haze Plan Contacts

• Margaret McCourtney, 651-757-2558, margaret.mccourtney@state.mn.us - Modeling
• Gordon Andersson, 651-757-2197, gordon.andersson@state.mn.us - Natural and baseline visibility conditions, smoke management plan
• Catherine Neuschler, 651-757-2607, catherine.neuschler@state.mn.us – Regional Haze SIP