Determination of Attainment, Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designations of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Ohio; Redesignation of Belmont County to Attainment of the 8-Hour Ozone Standard, 77666-77678 [E6-22140]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 248 / Wednesday, December 27, 2006 / Proposed Rules
boundaries of the park area and the
Regional Director determines that the
operation will not degrade any of the
natural or cultural resources of the park
area. Such a transfer station must
comply with the remaining provisions
of part 6 of this chapter. A transfer
station means a public use facility for
the deposit and temporary storage of
solid waste, excluding a facility for the
storage of a regulated hazardous waste.
19. Add § 13.1912 to read as follows:
§ 13.1912
Solid waste disposal.
(a) A solid waste disposal site may
accept non-National Park Service solid
waste generated within the boundaries
of the park area.
(b) A solid waste disposal site may be
located within one mile of facilities as
defined by this part so long as it does
not degrade natural or cultural resources
of the park area.
(c) A transfer station located wholly
on nonfederal lands within Wrangell-St.
Elias National Park and Preserve may be
operated without the permit required by
§§ 6.4(b) and 6.9(a) only if:
(1) The solid waste is generated
within the boundaries of the park area;
(2) The Regional Director determines
that the operation will not degrade any
of the natural or cultural resources of
the park area; and
(3) The transfer station complies with
the provisions of part 6 of this chapter.
(d) For purposes of this section, a
transfer station means a public use
facility for the deposit and temporary
storage of solid waste, excluding a
facility for the storage of a regulated
hazardous waste.
Dated: November 21, 2006.
David M. Verhey,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife
and Parks.
[FR Doc. E6–22100 Filed 12–26–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–EF–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
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[EPA–R05–OAR–2006–0046; FRL–8261–6]
Determination of Attainment, Approval
and Promulgation of Implementation
Plans and Designations of Areas for
Air Quality Planning Purposes; Ohio;
Redesignation of Belmont County to
Attainment of the 8-Hour Ozone
Standard
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
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SUMMARY: On June 20, 2006, the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio
EPA), submitted a request for EPA
approval of redesignation of Belmont
County (the Ohio portion of the
Wheeling, West Virginia-Ohio (WV–OH)
bi-state ozone nonattainment area) to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)
and a request for EPA approval of an
ozone maintenance plan for Belmont
County as a revision to the Ohio State
Implementation Plan (SIP). On August
24, 2006, the State submitted public
hearing records for the ozone
redesignation request and ozone
maintenance plan. On December 4,
2006, the State submitted a clarification
of its intent to implement contingency
measures in the event of an ozone
standard violation in the Wheeling,
WV–OH area subsequent to the
redesignation of this area to attainment
of the ozone standard. EPA is proposing
to approve Ohio’s request and
corresponding SIP revision. EPA is also
proposing to approve the Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOC) and
Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) Motor Vehicle
Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for Belmont
County, as supported by the ozone
maintenance plan for this County, for
purposes of conformity determinations.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before January 26, 2007. Submit your
comments, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA–R05–OAR–2006–0046, by one of
the following methods:
• www.regulations.gov: Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• E-mail: mooney.john@epa.gov.
• Fax: (312) 886–5824.
• Mail: John M. Mooney, Chief,
Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs
Branch (AR–18J), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
• Hand Delivery: John M. Mooney,
Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR–18J), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 77
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Regional Office’s
normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information. The
Regional Office’s official hours of
operation are Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding
Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR–2006–
0046. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
made available online at
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www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI, or otherwise
protected, through www.regulations.gov
or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an e-mail
comment directly to EPA without going
through www.regulations.gov your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters and any
form of encryption, and should be free
of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the www.regulations.gov
index. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, will be publicly
available only in hardcopy. Publicly
available docket materials are available
either electronically in
www.regulations.gov or in hardcopy at
the Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604. This facility is open from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding Federal holidays. It is
recommended that you telephone
Edward Doty, Environmental Scientist,
at (312) 886–6057, before visiting the
Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Edward Doty, Environmental Scientist,
Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs
Branch (AR–18), Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois
60604, (312) 886–6057,
doty.edward@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document whenever
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
the EPA. This supplementary
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 248 / Wednesday, December 27, 2006 / Proposed Rules
information section is arranged as
follows:
I. What Action is EPA Proposing to Take?
II. What Is the Background for These
Actions?
III. What Are the Criteria for Redesignation
to Attainment?
IV. What Are EPA’s Analyses of the State’s
Requests and What Are the Bases for
EPA’s Proposed Actions?
V. Has Ohio Adopted Acceptable Motor
Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the End
Year of the Ozone Maintenance Plans
Which Can Be Used To Support
Conformity Determinations?
VI. What Are the Effects of EPA’s Proposed
Actions?
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action is EPA Proposing to
Take?
We are proposing to take several
related actions for Belmont County,
Ohio. First, we are proposing to
determine that Belmont County has
attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS and
that Belmont County and the State of
Ohio have met the requirements for
redesignation to attainment of the 8hour ozone NAAQS under section
107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. We are,
therefore, proposing to approve the June
20, 2006 and August 24, 2006 requests
from the State of Ohio to change the
designation of Belmont County from
nonattainment to attainment of the 8hour ozone NAAQS.1
Second, we are proposing to approve
Ohio’s ozone maintenance plan for
Belmont County as a revision to the
Ohio SIP. The maintenance plan is
designed to keep Belmont County and,
in conjunction with a West Virginia
ozone maintenance plan for Marshall
and Ohio Counties, the entire Wheeling,
WV–OH area in attainment of the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS for the next 12 years,
through 2018. As supported by and
consistent with the ozone maintenance
plan, we are also proposing to approve
the 2018 VOC and NOX MVEBs for
Belmont County for conformity
determination purposes.
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II. What is the Background for These
Actions?
EPA has determined that ground-level
ozone is detrimental to human health.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated an
8-hour ozone NAAQS (62 FR 38856) of
0.08 parts per million parts of air (0.08
ppm) (80 parts per billion (ppb)).2 This
1 A separate proposed rule from EPA addresses a
request from the State of West Virginia to
redesignate Marshall and Ohio Counties, West
Virginia to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
See 71 FR 57894, October 2, 2006.
2 This standard is violated in an area when any
ozone monitor in the area (or in its impacted
downwind environs) records 8-hour ozone
concentrations with a three-year average of the
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8-hour ozone standard replaced a prior
1-hour ozone NAAQS, which was
promulgated on February 8, 1979 (44 FR
8202) and revoked on June 15, 2005.
Ground-level ozone is not emitted
directly by sources. Rather, emitted NOX
and VOC react in the presence of
sunlight to form ground-level ozone
along with other secondary compounds.
NOX and VOC are referred to as ‘‘ozone
precursors.’’
The CAA required EPA to designate
as nonattainment any area that violated
the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Ozone data
for the three most recent years at the
time when the 8-hour ozone
designations were initially established
(2001–2003) were considered to
establish the ozone designations. The
Federal Register notice making these
designations was signed on April 15,
2004, and was published on April 30,
2004 (69 FR 23857).
The CAA contains two sets of
provisions—subpart 1 and subpart 2—
that address planning and emission
control requirements for nonattainment
areas. (Both are found in title I, part D
of the CAA.) Subpart 1 contains general,
less prescriptive requirements for
nonattainment areas for any pollutant
governed by a NAAQS, and applies to
all nonattainment areas. Subpart 2
contains more specific requirements for
certain ozone nonattainment areas, and
applies to ozone nonattainment areas
classified under section 181 of the CAA.
In the April 30, 2004 designation
rulemaking, EPA divided 8-hour ozone
nonattainment areas into the categories
of subpart 1 nonattainment (‘‘basic’’
nonattainment) and subpart 2
nonattainment (‘‘classified’’
nonattainment) based on their 8-hour
ozone design values (i.e., on the threeyear average of the annual fourthhighest daily maximum 8-hour ozone
concentrations at the worst-case
monitoring sites in the designated areas)
and on their 1-hour ozone design values
(i.e., on the fourth-highest daily
maximum 1-hour ozone concentrations
over the three-year period at the worstcase monitoring sites in the designated
areas).3 8-hour ozone nonattainment
areas with 1-hour ozone design values
equaling or exceeding 121 ppb were
designated as subpart 2, classified
nonattainment areas. Classification of
the subpart 2 nonattainment areas were
based on the levels of the monitored 8annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour ozone
concentrations equaling or exceeding 85 ppb.
3 The 8-hour ozone design value and the 1-hour
ozone design value for each area were not
necessarily recorded at the same monitoring site.
The worst-case monitoring site for each ozone
concentration averaging time was considered for
each area.
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77667
hour ozone design values for each
nonattainment area. All other 8-hour
nonattainment areas were designated as
subpart 1, basic nonattainment areas,
which have no area-specific
classifications.
Emission control requirements for
classified nonattainment areas are
linked to area classifications. Areas with
more serious ozone pollution problems
are subject to more prescribed
requirements. The requirements are
designed to bring areas into attainment
by their specified attainment dates,
which also depend on the area
classifications. For example, marginal
nonattainment areas are subject to the
fewest mandated control requirements
and have the earliest attainment
deadline. Whereas, severe
nonattainment areas are required to
meet more mandated emission controls,
including tighter restrictions on the
sizes of existing VOC and NOX sources
required to install emission controls and
tighter restrictions on mandated
emission controls and offsetting of new
sources, and have a later attainment
deadline. In contrast, the attainment
deadline for basic nonattainment areas
does not depend on the magnitude of
the area 8-hour ozone design values.
Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part
50, the 8-hour ozone standard is
attained when the three-year average of
the annual fourth-highest daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone
concentrations is less than or equal to
0.08 ppm (i.e., less than or equal to
0.084 ppm or 84 ppb based on data
rounding conventions specified in
appendix I of 40 CFR part 50) over the
most recent three-year period at all
monitors in an area and in its impacted
downwind environs. (See 69 FR 23857
(April 30, 2004) for further information.)
Such supporting data must meet a
minimum data completeness
requirement. The completeness
requirement (specified in appendix I of
40 CFR part 50) for ozone data
supporting a determination of
attainment and a redesignation to
attainment is met when the annual
average percent of days with valid
ambient monitoring data is greater than
90 percent for the ozone seasons during
the three-year period, with no single
year with less than 75 percent data
completeness during the ozone season.
In the April 30, 2004 designation/
classification rulemaking, the Wheeling,
WV–OH area, including Belmont
County, was designated as subpart 1
nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone
standard. The designation was based on
ozone data collected during the 2001–
2003 period.
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On June 20, 2006, the State of Ohio
requested redesignation of Belmont
County to attainment of the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS based on ozone data
collected in these Counties during the
2003–2005 period. On August 24, 2006,
the State of Ohio completed the ozone
redesignation request by submitting
documentation of the public hearing
conducted by the State for the
redesignation request and ozone
maintenance plan. All information
contained in the State’s June 20, 2006
ozone redesignation request submittal
was unchanged through the State’s
public review process (summarized in
the August 24, 2006 submittal). On
December 4, 2006, the State submitted
a clarification to the State’s ozone
maintenance plan, indicating that the
State is committed to implement
contingency emission control measures
in the event of a violation of the 8-hour
ozone standard subsequent to the
redesignation of Belmont County and
the Wheeling, WV–OH area to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
Note that the State of West Virginia
has also submitted an ozone
redesignation request for the West
Virginia portion of the Wheeling, WV–
OH area (for Marshall and Ohio
Counties). The West Virginia ozone
redesignation request is being addressed
through a separate rulemaking process.
EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking on the West Virginia request
on October 2, 2006 (71 FR 57894).
III. What Are the Criteria for
Redesignation to Attainment?
The CAA provides the requirements
for redesignating a nonattainment area
to attainment. Specifically, section
107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA allows for
redesignation to attainment provided
that:
(1) The Administrator determines that
the area has attained the applicable
NAAQS based on current air quality
data; (2) the Administrator has fully
approved an applicable state
implementation plan for the area under
section 110(k) of the CAA; (3) the
Administrator determines that the
improvement in air quality is due to
permanent and enforceable emission
reductions resulting from
implementation of the applicable SIP,
Federal air pollution control
regulations, and other permanent and
enforceable emission reductions; (4) the
Administrator has fully approved a
maintenance plan for the area meeting
the requirements of section 175A of the
CAA; and (5) the state containing the
area has met all requirements applicable
to the area under section 110 and part
D of the CAA.
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EPA provided guidance on
redesignations in the General Preamble
for the Implementation of Title I of the
CAA Amendments of 1990 on April 16,
1992 (57 FR 13498), and supplemented
this guidance on April 28, 1992 (57 FR
18070). EPA provided further guidance
on processing redesignation requests in
the following documents:
‘‘Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Design
Value Calculations,’’ Memorandum
from Bill Laxton, June 18, 1990;
‘‘Maintenance Plans for Redesignation
of Ozone and Carbon Monoxide
Nonattainment Areas,’’ Memorandum
from G.T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon
Monoxide Programs Branch, April 30,
1992;
‘‘Contingency Measures for Ozone
and Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Redesignations,’’ Memorandum from
G.T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon
Monoxide Programs Branch, June 1,
1992;
‘‘Procedures for Processing Requests
to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,’’
Memorandum from John Calcagni,
Director, Air Quality Management
Division, September 4, 1992;
‘‘State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Actions Submitted in Response to Clean
Air Act (Act) Deadlines,’’ Memorandum
from John Calcagni, Director, Air
Quality Management Division, October
28, 1992;
‘‘Technical Support Documents
(TSD’s) for Redesignation of Ozone and
Carbon Monoxide Nonattainment
Areas,’’ Memorandum from G.T. Helms,
Chief, Ozone/Carbon Monoxide
Programs Branch, August 17, 1993;
‘‘State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Requirements for Areas Submitting
Requests for Redesignation to
Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon
Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS). On or
After November 15, 1992,’’
Memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air
and Radiation, September 17, 1993;
‘‘Use of Actual Emissions in
Maintenance Demonstrations for Ozone
and CO Nonattainment Areas,’’
Memorandum from D. Kent Berry,
Acting Director, Air Quality
Management Division, November 30,
1993;
‘‘Part D New Source Review (part D
NSR) Requirements for Areas
Requesting Redesignation to
Attainment,’’ Memorandum from Mary
D. Nichols, Assistant Administrator for
Air and Radiation, October 14, 1994;
and,
‘‘Reasonable Further Progress,
Attainment Demonstration, and Related
Requirements for Ozone Nonattainment
Areas Meeting the Ozone National
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Ambient Air Quality Standard,’’
Memorandum from John S. Seitz,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards, May 10, 1995.
IV. What Are EPA’s Analyses of the
State’s Requests and What Are the
Bases for EPA’s Proposed Actions?
EPA is proposing to: (1) Determine
that Belmont County has attained the 8hour ozone standard and approve the
redesignation of this County to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS;
and (2) approve the ozone maintenance
plan for this County and the VOC and
NOX MVEBs supported by the ozone
maintenance plan. The bases for our
proposed determination and approvals
are as follows:
1. Belmont County and the Wheeling,
WV–OH Area Have Attained the 8-Hour
Ozone NAAQS
For ozone, as noted above, an area
may be considered to be attaining the 8hour ozone NAAQS if there are no
violations of the NAAQS, as determined
in accordance with 40 CFR 50.10 and 40
CFR part 50 appendix I based on the
most recent three complete, consecutive
calendar years of quality-assured air
quality monitoring data at all
monitoring sites in the area and in its
impacted downwind environs. To attain
this standard, the average of the annual
fourth-high daily maximum 8-hour
average ozone concentrations measured
and recorded at each monitor (the
monitoring site’s ozone design value)
within the area and in its impacted
downwind environs over the most
recent three-year period must not
exceed the ozone standard. Based on the
ozone data rounding convention
described in 40 CFR part 50 appendix
I, the 8-hour ozone standard is attained
if the area’s ozone design value 4 is
0.084 ppm (84 ppb) or less. The data
must be collected and quality-assured in
accordance with 40 CFR part 50, and
must be recorded in EPA’s Air Quality
System (AQS).
As part of the June 20, 2006 ozone
redesignation request, the Ohio EPA
submitted ozone monitoring data
indicating the top four daily maximum
8-hour ozone concentrations for each
monitoring site in the Wheeling, WV–
OH area during the 2002–2005 period.
These ozone concentrations are part of
the quality-assured ozone data collected
in this area and recorded in the AQS.
The annual fourth-high 8-hour daily
maximum concentrations for each year
during the 2002–2005 period, along
4 The worst-case monitoring site-specific ozone
design value in the area or in its impacted
downwind environs.
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77669
with the three-year averages,5 are
summarized in Table 1.
TABLE 1.—ANNUAL FOURTH-HIGH DAILY MAXIMUM 8-HOUR OZONE CONCENTRATIONS IN PARTS PER MILLION (PPM)
Site ID
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54–069–0007
54–069–0007
54–069–0009
54–069–0010
County
.........
.........
.........
.........
Ohio
Ohio
Ohio
Ohio
(WV)
(WV)
(WV)
(WV)
.............
.............
.............
.............
Address
Year
Northern Panhandle .............................
Northern Panhandle .............................
Wheeling EPA ......................................
Warwood Water Plant ..........................
It is noted that the ozone monitor for
this area was moved several times
during the three-year attainment period.
While the monitor was relocated twice
after 2003, the monitoring site remained
within five miles of its original location
in 2003. Statistical analysis of data
submitted by the State of West Virginia,
which was conducted by EPA during
the review of the West Virginia ozone
redesignation request, led to the
conclusion that the various ozone
monitoring sites can be treated as one
and that, collectively, the three
monitoring sites have maintained the
integrity of the conclusions drawn
concerning the three-year averages of
the fourth-high daily maximum 8-hour
ozone concentrations. (See the
Technical Support Document prepared
for the review of the West Virginia
ozone redesignation request available at
EPA’s Region III Air Division office.
Also see 71 FR 57894, October 2, 2006.)
The monitored ozone concentrations
for 2002–2004 show that the entire
Wheeling, WV–OH area has attained the
8-hour ozone standard with a current
(2003–2005) ozone design value of 0.076
ppm. The data collected at the Ohio
County, West Virginia monitoring sites
satisfy the CAA requirement that the
ozone standard must be attained at all
sites in the ozone nonattainment area.
The three-year ozone design value for
the nonattainment area is less than
0.085 ppm.
West Virginia has committed to
continue ozone monitoring in this area
as part of the State’s ozone maintenance
plan (see 71 FR 57897, October 2, 2006).
Since the State of Ohio does not
conduct ozone monitoring in this area,
but relies on the State of West Virginia
for this purpose, the commitment of
West Virginia to continue monitoring in
this area meets the redesignation
requirement, in accordance with 40 CFR
part 58, that ozone monitoring will be
continued to assure continued
attainment of the 8-hour ozone
standard.
Percent observations
Fourth-high
concentration
100
99
100
100
0.097
0.076
0.063
0.089
2002
2003
2004
2005
We believe that the ozone monitoring
data submitted by the State of West
Virginia provide an adequate
demonstration that the Wheeling, WV–
OH area has attained the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. Therefore, we propose to
determine that Belmont County, Ohio,
as part of the Wheeling, WV–OH area,
has attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
Please note that available, non-quality
assured data for 2006 show that this
area continues to attain the 8-hour
ozone standard through 2006.
2. Belmont County and the State of Ohio
Have Met All Applicable Requirements
Under Section 110 and Part D of the
CAA and This Area Has a Fully
Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of
the CAA
We have determined that Belmont
County and the State of Ohio have met
all currently applicable SIP
requirements for Belmont County under
section 110 of the CAA (general SIP
requirements). We have determined that
the Ohio SIP meets the currently
applicable SIP requirements under
subpart 1 part D of title I of the CAA
(requirements specific to basic ozone
nonattainment areas). See section
107(d)(3)(E)(v) of the CAA. In addition,
we have determined that all applicable
requirements are approved in the Ohio
SIP. See section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) of the
CAA. In making these determinations,
we determined the CAA requirements
which are applicable to Belmont
County, and determined that the
applicable portions of the SIP meeting
these requirements are fully approved
under section 110(k) of the CAA. We
note that SIPs must be fully approved
only with respect to currently
applicable requirements of the CAA,
which in this case are those CAA
requirements applicable to Belmont
County at the time the State submitted
a complete ozone redesignation request
for this area, on August 24, 2006.
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NA
NA
0.079
0.076
a. Belmont County Has Met All
Applicable Requirements Under Section
110 and Part D of the CAA
The September 4, 1992 Calcagni
memorandum (see ‘‘Procedures for
Processing Requests to Redesignate
Areas to Attainment,’’ Memorandum
from John Calcagni, Director, Air
Quality Management Division,
September 4, 1992) describes EPA’s
interpretation of section 107(d)(3)(E) of
the CAA. To qualify for redesignation of
an area to attainment under this
interpretation, the state and the area
must meet the relevant CAA
requirements that apply at the time of
the State’s submittal of a complete
redesignation request for the area. See
also the September 17, 1993 Michael
Shapiro memorandum, and 66 FR
12459, 12465–12466 (March 7, 1995)
(redesignation of Detroit-Ann Arbor,
Michigan to attainment of the 1-hour
ozone NAAQS). Applicable
requirements of the CAA that come due
subsequent to the state’s submittal of a
complete redesignation request remain
applicable until a redesignation of the
area to attainment of the standard is
approved, but are not required as
prerequisites to redesignation. See
section 175A(c) of the CAA. Sierra Club
v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004). See
also 68 FR 25424, 25427 (May 12, 2003)
(redesignation of the St. Louis/East St.
Louis area to attainment of the 1-hour
ozone NAAQS).
General SIP requirements: Section
110(a) of title I of the CAA contains the
general requirements for a SIP, which
include: enforceable emission
limitations and other control measures,
means, or techniques; provisions for the
establishment and operation of
appropriate devices necessary to collect
data on ambient air quality; and
programs to enforce the emission
limitations. General SIP elements and
requirements are delineated in section
110(a)(2) of title I, part A of the CAA.
These requirements and SIP elements
include, but are not limited to, the
5 Three-year averages are specified for the last
year of each three-year period.
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following: (a) Submittal of a SIP that has
been adopted by the State after
reasonable public notice and a hearing;
(b) provisions for establishment and
operation of appropriate procedures
needed to monitor ambient air quality;
(c) implementation of a source permit
program; (d) provisions for the
implementation of part C requirements
(Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD)) and part D requirements (New
Source Review (NSR)) for new sources
or major source modifications; (e)
criteria for stationary source emission
control measures, monitoring, and
reporting; (f) provisions for air quality
modeling; and (g) provisions for public
and local agency participation.
SIP requirements and elements are
discussed in the following EPA
documents: ‘‘Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,’’ Memorandum from John
Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4,
1992; ‘‘State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Actions Submitted in Response to Clean
Air Act (CAA) Deadlines,’’
Memorandum from John Calcagni,
Director, Air Quality Management
Division, October 28, 1992; and ‘‘State
Implementation Plan (SIP)
Requirements for Areas Submitting
Requests for Redesignation to
Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon
Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or after
November 15, 1992,’’ Memorandum
from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting
Assistant Administrator, September 17,
1993. See also other guidance
documents listed above.
Section 110(a)(2)(D) of the CAA
requires SIPs to contain certain
measures to prevent sources in a state
from significantly contributing to air
quality problems in another state. To
implement this provision, EPA required
states to establish programs to address
transport of air pollutants (NOX SIP call
and Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR)).
EPA has also found, generally, that
states have not submitted SIPs under
section 110(a)(1) of the CAA to meet the
interstate transport requirements of
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) of the CAA (70 FR
21147, April 25, 2005). However, the
section 110(a)(2)(D) requirements for a
state are not linked with a particular
nonattainment area’s classification. EPA
believes that the requirements linked
with a particular nonattainment area’s
classification are the relevant measures
to evaluate when reviewing a
redesignation request. The transport SIP
submittal requirements, where
applicable, continue to apply to a state
regardless of the designation of any one
particular area in the state.
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We believe that these requirements
should not be construed to be applicable
requirements for purposes of
redesignation. Further, we believe that
the other section 110 elements
described above that are not connected
with nonattainment plan submissions
and that are not linked with an area’s
attainment status are also not applicable
requirements for purposes of
redesignation. A state remains subject to
these requirements after an area is
redesignated to attainment. We
conclude that only the section 110 and
part D requirements which are linked
with an area’s designation and
classification are the relevant measures
for evaluating this aspect of a
redesignation request. This approach is
consistent with EPA’s policy on
applicability of conformity and
oxygenated fuels requirements for
redesignation purposes, as well as with
section 184 ozone transport
requirements. See: Reading,
Pennsylvania proposed and final
rulemakings (61 FR 53174–53176,
October 10, 1996 and 62 FR 24826, May
7, 1997); Cleveland-Akron-Loraine,
Ohio final rulemaking (61 FR 20458,
May 7, 1996); and Tampa, Florida final
rulemaking (60 FR 62748, December 7,
1995). See also the discussion on this
issue in the Cincinnati, Ohio ozone
redesignation (65 FR 37890, June 19,
2000), and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ozone redesignation (66 FR 50399,
October 19, 2001).
We believe that section 110 elements
not linked to the area’s nonattainment
status are not applicable for purposes of
redesignation. Nonetheless, we also note
that EPA has previously approved
provisions in the Ohio SIP addressing
section 110 elements under the 1-hour
ozone standard. We have analyzed the
Ohio SIP as codified in 40 CFR part 52,
subpart KK and have determined that it
is consistent with the requirements of
section 110(a)(2) of the CAA. The SIP,
which has been adopted after reasonable
public notice and hearing, contains
enforceable emission limitations;
requires monitoring, compiling, and
analyzing ambient air quality data;
requires preconstruction review of new
major stationary sources and major
modifications of existing sources;
provisions for adequate funding, staff,
and associated resources necessary to
implement its requirements; requires
stationary source emissions monitoring
and reporting; and otherwise satisfies
the applicable requirements of section
110(a)(2).
Part D SIP requirements: EPA has
determined that the Ohio SIP meets
applicable SIP requirements under part
D of the CAA. Under part D, an area’s
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classification (subpart 1, marginal,
moderate, serious, severe, and extreme)
indicates the requirements to which it
will be subject. Subpart 1 of part D,
found in sections 172–176 of the CAA,
sets forth the basic nonattainment area
plan requirements applicable to all
nonattainment areas. Subpart 2 of part
D, found in section 182 of the CAA,
establishes additional specific
requirements depending on the area’s
nonattainment classification.
Part D, subpart 1 requirements: For
purposes of evaluating this
redesignation request, the applicable
subpart 1 part D requirements for all
nonattainment areas are contained in
sections 172(c)(1)–(9) and 176. A
thorough discussion of the requirements
of section 172 can be found in the
General Preamble for Implementation of
Title I (57 FR 13498). See also 68 FR
4852–4853, a notice of proposed
rulemaking for an ozone redesignation
for the St. Louis area, for a discussion
of section 172 requirements.
No requirements under part D of the
CAA came due for Belmont County
prior to the State’s submittal (August 24,
2006) of a complete ozone redesignation
request for this area. For example, the
requirement for an ozone attainment
demonstration, as contained in section
172(c)(1), is not yet applicable, nor are
the requirements for Reasonably
Available Control Measures (RACM)
and Reasonably Available Control
Technology (RACT) (section 172(c)(1)),
Reasonable Further Progress (RFP)
(section 172(c)(2)), and attainment plan
and RFP contingency measures (section
172(c)(9)). Therefore, none of the part D
requirements are applicable to Belmont
County for purposes of redesignation.
Section 176 conformity requirements:
Section 176(c) of the CAA requires
states to establish criteria and
procedures to ensure that Federallysupported or funded activities,
including highway projects, conform to
the air planning goals in the applicable
SIP. The requirement to determine
conformity applies to transportation
plans, programs, and projects
developed, funded, or approved under
Title 23 U.S.C. and the Federal Transit
Act (transportation conformity) as well
as to all other Federally-supported or
funded projects (general conformity).
State conformity SIP revisions must be
consistent with Federal conformity
regulations that the CAA required the
EPA to promulgate.
As with other 8-hour ozone
nonattainment area requirements, EPA
believes that the conformity
requirements do not apply for purposes
of evaluating the ozone redesignation
request under section 107(d) of the
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CAA. Further support for this view lies
in the fact that state conformity rules are
still required after redesignation of areas
to attainment of a NAAQS and Federal
conformity rules apply where state rules
have not been approved. See Wall v.
EPA, 265 F.3d 426 (6th Cir. 2001). See
also 60 FR 62748 (December 7, 1995)
(Tampa, Florida).
Part D new source review
requirements: EPA has determined that
areas being redesignated need not
comply with the requirement that a New
Source Review (NSR) program be
approved prior to redesignation,
provided that the area demonstrates
maintenance of the standard without
part D NSR, since Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD)
requirements will apply after
redesignation. A more detailed rationale
for this view is described in a
memorandum from Mary Nichols,
Assistant Administrator for Air and
Radiation, dated October 14, 1994,
entitled, ‘‘Part D New Source Review
Requirements for Areas Requesting
Redesignation to Attainment.’’ Ohio has
demonstrated that Belmont County will
be able to maintain the 8-hour ozone
standard without part D NSR in effect,
and therefore, we conclude that the
State need not have a fully approved
part D NSR program prior to approval of
the redesignation request. The State’s
PSD program will become effective in
Belmont County upon redesignation to
attainment. See rulemakings for Detroit,
Michigan (60 FR 12467–12468, March 7,
1995); Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio
(61 FR 20458, 20469–20470, May 7,
1996); Louisville, Kentucky (66 FR
53665, October 23, 2001); Grand Rapids,
Michigan (61 FR 31834–31837, June 21,
1996).
We conclude that Belmont County
and the State of Ohio have satisfied all
applicable requirements under section
110 and part D of the CAA to the extent
that these requirements apply for
purposes of reviewing the State’s ozone
redesignation request for this area.
b. Belmont County Has a Fully
Approved Applicable SIP Under Section
110(k) of the CAA
EPA has fully approved the Ohio SIP
for Belmont County under section
110(k) of the CAA for all applicable
requirements. EPA may rely on prior
SIP approvals in approving a
redesignation request (See the
September 4, 1992 John Calcagni
memorandum, page 3, Southwestern
Pennsylvania Growth Alliance v.
Browner, 144 F.3d 984, 989–990 (6th
Cir. 1998), Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426
(6th Cir. 2001)) plus any additional
measures it may approve in conjunction
with a redesignation action. See 68 FR
25426 (May 12, 2003). Since the passage
of the CAA of 1970, Ohio has adopted
and submitted, and EPA has fully
approved, provisions addressing the
various required SIP elements
applicable to Belmont County for
purposes of redesignation. No Belmont
County SIP provisions are currently
disapproved, conditionally approved, or
partially approved. As indicated above,
EPA believes that the section 110
elements not connected with
nonattainment plan submissions and
not linked to the area’s nonattainment
status are not applicable requirements
for purposes of reviewing of the State’s
redesignation request. EPA has also
noted that it may conclude that the
section 110 SIP submission approved
under the 1-hour standard will be
adequate for purposes of attaining and
maintaining the 8-hour standard. EPA
also believes that since the part D
requirements did not become due prior
to Ohio’s submission of a final,
complete redesignation request for
Belmont County, they also are not
applicable requirements for purposes of
redesignation.
3. The Air Quality Improvement in the
Wheeling, WV–OH Area Is Due to
Permanent and Enforceable Reductions
in Emissions Resulting From
Implementation of the SIP, Federal Air
Pollution Control Regulations, and
Other Permanent and Enforceable
Emission Reductions
In making this demonstration, the
States of West Virginia 6 and Ohio have
documented changes in VOC and NOX
emissions from all anthropogenic (manmade or man-based) sources in the
Wheeling, WV–OH area occurring
between 2002, an ozone standard
violation year, and 2004, one of the
years in which the Wheeling, WV–OH
area has recorded attainment of the 8hour ozone standard. The States have
also discussed permanent and
enforceable emission reductions that
have occurred elsewhere in the States
and in other upwind areas that have
contributed to the air quality
improvement in the Wheeling, WV–OH
area. Table 2 summarizes the VOC and
NOX emissions totals from the
anthropogenic sources in 2002 and 2004
for the Wheeling, WV–OH area. From
the table, it can be seen that VOC
emissions have essentially remained
constant between 2002 and 2004,
whereas NOX emissions have
significantly declined between 2002 and
2004.
The States of Ohio and West Virginia
conclude that the differences in the
2002 and 2004 emissions are due
primarily to the implementation of
permanent and enforceable emission
control requirements. The States have
asserted that these emission reductions
along with those occurring elsewhere in
the two States and in other upwind
areas have led to the observed
improvement in air quality in the
Wheeling, WV–OH area.
TABLE 2.—TOTAL ANTHROPOGENIC VOC AND NOX EMISSIONS FOR 2002 AND 2004 IN THE WHEELING, WV–OH AREA
[tons per day]
County
Point
Area
Non-road
Mobile
Total
2002 Volatile Organic Compounds
0.2
3.0
4.1
14.8
1.0
2.3
4.2
3.4
9.5
23.5
2002 Total .............................................................................................................
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Belmont County, Ohio ..................................................................................................
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia .................................................................
3.2
18.9
3.3
7.6
33.0
0.2
4.0
0.9
3.5
8.6
2004 Volatile Organic Compounds
Belmont County, Ohio ..................................................................................................
6 West Virginia submitted a separate ozone
redesignation request for its portion of the
Wheeling, WV–OH area. The West Virginia
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redesignation request is addressed in a separate
EPA proposed rule. West Virginia did supply
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emissions data for the Wheeling area to the State
of Ohio for inclusion in Ohio’s ozone request.
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TABLE 2.—TOTAL ANTHROPOGENIC VOC AND NOX EMISSIONS FOR 2002 AND 2004 IN THE WHEELING, WV–OH AREA—
Continued
[tons per day]
County
Point
Area
Non-road
Mobile
Total
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia .................................................................
3.0
15.4
2.3
2.8
23.5
2004 Total .............................................................................................................
Difference (2002–2004) 7 ...............................................................................
3.2
0.0
19.4
¥0.5
3.2
0.1
6.3
1.3
32.1
0.9
Belmont County, Ohio ..................................................................................................
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia .................................................................
31.8
152.2
0.3
3.4
3.0
5.6
7.4
5.4
42.5
166.6
2002 Total .............................................................................................................
174.0
3.7
8.6
15.8
209.1
Belmont County, Ohio ..................................................................................................
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia .................................................................
28.7
85.8
0.3
3.4
2.9
7.3
6.3
4.7
38.2
101.2
2004 Total .............................................................................................................
Difference (2002–2004) .................................................................................
114.5
59.5
3.7
0.0
10.2
¥1.6
11.0
4.8
139.4
69.7
2002 Nitrogen Oxides
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2004 Nitrogen Oxides
The significant decline in NOX
emissions in this area between 2002 and
2004 occurred primarily at Electric
Generating Units (EGU) and at large
industrial boilers as the result of the
implementation of the States’ NOX
emission control rules (resulting from
the implementation of EPA’s NOX SIP
call and acid rain emission controls
under title IV of the CAA). Besides the
NOX emission reductions occurring
within the nonattainment area itself, the
implementation of the States’ NOX
control rules have reduced NOX
emission throughout both Ohio and
West Virginia. The additional statewide
emission reductions have contributed to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone standard
in the Wheeling, WV-OH area.
We concur with the State of Ohio that
NOX emissions have been significantly
lowered in the Wheeling, WV-OH area
and throughout the States of Ohio and
West Virginia. We also concur with the
State that these emission reductions
have contributed to attainment of the 8hour ozone standard in the Wheeling,
WV-OH area. Therefore, the State of
Ohio has met this criteria for
redesignation of Belmont County to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone
standard.
Besides implementation of the NOX
emission control rules and despite the
general lack of decreasing emissions for
VOC (the data imply that existing VOC
control measures are reducing VOC
7 Positive differences indicate a decrease in
emissions over time from 2002 to 2004. Negative
differences indicate emissions were increasing over
time, primarily as the result of emission changes
from source growth exceeding the impacts of
implemented emission controls.
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emission at current rates that are
generally keeping pace with new source
growth), additional emission controls
are being implemented in the Wheeling,
WV-OH area which will also contribute
to attainment and maintenance of the 8hour ozone standard. The State of Ohio
notes that, in the mid-1990’s, the State
promulgated statewide rules requiring
Reasonably Available Control
Techniques (RACT) for significant new
sources of VOC emissions. The RACT
rules have been implemented for
significant new sources locating in Ohio
subsequent to the State adoption of the
rules. Additional implemented, or soon
to be implemented, emission control
rules include several Federal rules: (1)
Tier II emission standards for vehicles
and gasoline sulfur standards
(promulgated by EPA in February 2000
and currently being implemented); (2)
heavy-duty diesel engine emission
control rules (promulgated by the EPA
in July 2000 and currently being
implemented; and (3) clean air non-road
diesel rule (promulgated by the EPA in
May 2004 and currently being phased in
through 2009). All of these rules have
contributed to reducing VOC and NOX
emissions throughout the States of Ohio
and West Virginia and will contribute to
future emission reductions in these
States.
The State of Ohio commits to
continuing the existing VOC and NOX
emission controls after the Wheeling,
WV-OH area is redesignated to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone
standard.
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4. Belmont County Has a Fully
Approvable Ozone Maintenance Plan
Pursuant to Section 175A of the CAA
In conjunction with its request to
redesignate Belmont County to
attainment of the ozone NAAQS, Ohio
submitted a SIP revision request to
provide for maintenance of the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS in Belmont County and
in the entire Wheeling, WV-OH area
through 2018, exceeding the minimum
10 year maintenance period required by
the CAA.
a. What Is Required in an Ozone
Maintenance Plan?
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth
the required elements of air quality
maintenance plans for areas seeking
redesignation from nonattainment to
attainment of a NAAQS. Under section
175A, a maintenance plan must
demonstrate continued attainment of
the applicable NAAQS for at least 10
years after the Administrator approves
the redesignation to attainment. Eight
years after the redesignation, the State
must submit a revised maintenance plan
which demonstrates that maintenance of
the standard will continue for 10 years
following the initial 10 year
maintenance period. To address the
possibility of future NAAQS violations,
the maintenance plan must contain such
contingency measures, with a schedule
for implementation, as EPA deems
necessary, to assure prompt correction
of any future NAAQS violations. The
September 4, 1992 John Calcagni
memorandum provides additional
guidance on the content of maintenance
plans. An ozone maintenance plan
should, at minimum, address the
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following items: (1) The attainment VOC
and NOX emissions inventories; (2) a
maintenance demonstration showing
maintenance for the first 10 years of the
maintenance period; (3) a commitment
to maintain the existing monitoring
network; (4) factors and procedures to
be used for verification of continued
attainment; and (5) a contingency plan
to prevent and/or correct a future
violation of the NAAQS.
b. What Are the Attainment Emission
Inventories for Belmont County?
Ohio EPA prepared comprehensive
VOC and NOX emission inventories for
Belmont County, including EGU and
non-EGU point (significant stationary
sources), other (area) (smaller and
widely-distributed stationary sources),
Marine, Aircraft, and Rail mobile
(MAR), mobile on-road, and mobile
non-road sources for 2002 (the base
year). To develop the attainment year
(2004) and projected maintenance years
(2009 and 2018) emissions, the Ohio
EPA projected the 2002 emissions
applying various source categoryspecific growth factors and emission
control factors.
The State has thoroughly documented
how the 2002 base year emissions were
derived. The following summarizes the
procedures and sources of data used by
the Ohio EPA to derive the base year
emissions.
i. Point Sources. The primary source
of point source information was facilityspecific information collected annually
by the State for sources covered by Title
V source permits. This information
includes emissions, process rates,
operating schedules, emissions control
data, and other relevant information.
The State also used emissions data
provided by EPA’s EGU emission
inventory, maintained to support the
NOX SIP call emissions trading program
and the acid rain control program. The
sources included in the 2002 point
source inventory were identified using
Ohio’s Title V STARS database. The
emissions included in this database are
facility-reported actual emissions.
Ohio EPA defines point source
process emissions as those which occur
at an identifiable stationary stack or
vent. Point source emissions not emitted
from discrete stacks or vents are defined
to be fugitive emissions. Facilityspecific fugitive emissions are also
reported by each Title V facility and
stored in the Title V STARS database.
Point source emissions included in
the 2002 base year emissions inventory
were provided to the Lake Michigan Air
Directors Consortium (LADCO) in
National Emissions Inventory Input
Format (NIF) 3.0 format. LADCO
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imported and processed the NIF files in
the Emissions Modeling System (EMS)
and applied temporal and spatial
profiles to calculate July weekday
emissions rates. The Belmont County
emissions derived from this set of
emissions data were split into EGU
emissions and non-EGU emissions for
inclusion in the base year emissions
inventory used to support the Belmont
County ozone redesignation request.
ii. Area (Other) Sources. Area sources
are those sources which are generally
small, numerous, and have not been
inventoried as specific point, mobile, or
biogenic sources. The emissions for
these sources are calculated and
grouped by source type and are
estimated using various surrogates, such
as population, estimates of employees in
various occupational groups and
facility-types, etc. The area source
emissions are typically defined at the
county level.
To estimate the area source emissions,
Ohio EPA has either used published
Emission Inventory Improvement
Program (EIIP) emissions estimation
methodologies or other methodologies
typically used by other states. Area
source categories include: Various
stationary combustion sources (not
including the EGU sources included in
the point source portion of the
emissions inventory); human cremation;
agricultural pesticides; architectural
surface coatings; auto body refinishing;
consumer and commercial solvents;
degreasing and solvent cleaning (not
included in point source emissions);
fuel marketing; graphic arts (the
emissions from the smaller facilities not
included in the Title V STARS
database); hospital sterilizers; small
industry surface coating; small industry
rubber and plastics coating; landfills;
portable fuel containers; traffic
markings; and Privately Owned
Treatment Works (POTWs). The State
has documented the data sources and
emission factors or calculation
procedures used for each of these area
source categories.
iii. Non-Road Mobile Sources. The
non-road mobile source emissions
inventory was generated regionally by
running EPA’s National Mobile
Inventory Model (NMIM). The output of
the NMIM was converted to the NIF
format and submitted to LADCO for
processing in the EMS to obtain
spatially and temporally allocated
emissions for a July weekday. The basic
non-road algorithm for calculating
emissions in NMIM uses base year
equipment populations, average load
factors, available engine powers, activity
hours and emission factors to calculate
the emissions. To address concerns
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77673
about the accuracy of NMIM for some
source categories, LADCO contracted
with two consulting companies to
review the base data and make
recommended changes.
iv. Marine, Aircraft, and Rail (MAR)
Sources. Due to the significance of the
emissions from these source types, the
Ohio EPA has decided to treat these
source categories separately from other
non-road mobile sources. The MAR
emissions include emissions from
commercial marine, aircraft, and
locomotive sources.
Commercial marine vessels consist of
several different categories of vessel
types. For each vessel type, there are
unique engine types, emission rates, and
activity data sets. The emissions
inventory documentation lists the vessel
types and activity data sources by vessel
type, along with the special distribution
of each vessel type.
Locomotive activity was divided into
various rail categories: Class I
operations; Class II/III operations;
passenger trains; consumer lines; and
yard operations. Since Class I operations
are expected to be the most significant
rail operations in most areas, including
Belmont County, operators of Class I
operations were queried for activity and
emissions-related information for each
railroad line. Class I activity levels were
provided by county in terms of tonmiles of freight movement and
estimated fuel consumption. This
approach provided for more specific
estimates of emissions by railroad line.
Class II/III emissions were based on
national fuel consumption and per
employee fuel consumption estimates.
The number of employees in each
county was used to allocate the fuel
consumption to each county and,
therefore, the emissions to each county.
The passenger train estimates were
based on information provided by
AMTRAK on the weekly schedule of
train operation, and the emissions were
based on an assumption of 2.35 gallons
of fuel use per train-mile of travel. No
commuter lines or yard operations exist
in Belmont County.
EPA provided the aircraft emission
estimates based on Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) published
Landing and Take-Off (LTO) rates by
engine type for each airline and major
airport in the State of Ohio. The LTOengine information was combined with
engine type-specific emission factors
developed by the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO), and,
through use of an FAA Emissions and
Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS),
emissions were assigned to each county
in the State, including Belmont County.
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LADCO processed all of the MAR
emissions data through the EMS to
calculate July 2002 weekday emissions
for VOC and NOX.
v. On-Road Mobile Sources. A
regional transportation model operated
by the Belmont, Ohio, Marshall
Regional Council Metropolitan Planning
Organization (Bel-O-Mar), West Virginia
Department of Transportation
(WVDOT), and Ohio Department of
Transportation (Ohio DOT) was used to
estimate traffic levels, vehicle age and
type distributions, vehicle speeds, and
other emissions-related vehicle
parameters for the roadways in Belmont
County and elsewhere in the Wheeling,
WV-OH area. This vehicle travel
information, along with the MOBILE 6.2
vehicle emission factor model, was used
to estimate mobile source VOC and NOX
emissions for Belmont County and the
entire Wheeling, WV-OH area.
vi. Projected Emissions for the
Attainment Year. Ambient air quality
data showed that the Wheeling, WV-OH
area met the 8-hour ozone NAAQS in
2004. Ohio EPA used point source
growth data provided by individual
point source facilities along with other
source category growth estimates and
emission control estimates to estimate
2004 VOC and NOX emissions for
Belmont County. The State of West
Virginia estimated 2004 VOC and NOX
emissions for the remainder of the
Wheeling, WV-OH area. The estimated
2004 emissions have been compared to
the 2002 emissions to demonstrate the
basis for the improved air quality in the
Wheeling, WV-OH area. See Table 2
above for the 2004 attainment level
emissions.
c. Demonstration of Maintenance
To demonstrate maintenance of the
attainment of the 8-hour ozone standard
for at least 10 years following the
redesignation of the Wheeling, WV-OH
area to attainment of the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS, the State of Ohio and the State
of West Virginia projected the VOC and
NOX emissions in the Wheeling, WVOH area for the years of 2009 and 2018.
For Belmont County, Ohio EPA used
source growth estimates provided by
LADCO along with mobile source
growth estimates generated using the
regional transportation model and
MOBILE 6.2 to project the Belmont
County VOC and NOX emissions. The
methods used by the State of West
Virginia are described in West Virginia’s
ozone redesignation request (reviewed
in a separate EPA proposed rule. See 71
FR 57894, October 2, 2006). Note that a
maintenance demonstration need not be
based on modeling. See Wall v. EPA,
265 F. 3d 426 (6th Cir. 2001), Sierra
Club v. EPA, 375 F. 3d 537 (7th Cir.
2004). See also 66 FR 53094, 53099–
53100 (October 19, 2001) and 68 FR
25430–25432 (May 12, 2003).
Table 3 summarizes the VOC
emissions projected to occur in Belmont
County, Ohio and in Marshall and Ohio
Counties, West Virginia during the
demonstrated ozone maintenance
period. Similarly, Table 4 summarizes
the NOX emissions projected to occur in
the same area during the demonstrated
ozone maintenance period. The State of
Ohio and the State of West Virginia
chose 2018 as a projection year to meet
the 10-year maintenance demonstration
requirement, allowing several years for
EPA to complete the redesignation
rulemaking process. The States also
chose 2009 as an interim year to
demonstrate that VOC and NOX
emissions will remain below the
attainment year levels throughout the
10-year maintenance period.
TABLE 3.—PROJECTED VOC EMISSIONS IN THE WHEELING, WV-OH AREA
[tons/day]
2004 attainment
Source sector
2009 interim
2018 maintenance
Safety margin
Belmont County VOC Emissions
EGU Point ........................................................................................................
Non-EGU Point ................................................................................................
Area (Other) .....................................................................................................
Non-Road Mobile .............................................................................................
On-Road Mobile ...............................................................................................
Marine-Air-Railroad ..........................................................................................
0.17
0.03
4.03
0.88
3.52
0.05
0.12
0.03
3.85
0.76
*2.60
0.05
0.17
0.04
3.86
0.56
*1.52
0.5
Total Belmont County ...............................................................................
8.68
7.41
6.20
**2.48
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia VOC Emissions
EGU Point ........................................................................................................
Non-EGU Point ................................................................................................
Area (Other) .....................................................................................................
Non-Road Mobile (MAR included) ...................................................................
On-Road Mobile ...............................................................................................
0.5
2.5
15.4
2.3
2.81
0.7
2.1
7.3
2.1
2.22
0.7
2.6
8.4
1.8
1.24
Total Marshall and Ohio Counties ............................................................
23.51
14.42
14.74
Total Wheeling, WV-OH ...........................................................................
32.19
21.83
20.94
**8.77
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* Includes 15 percent mobile source budget increase as a safety margin. Actual projected 2018 on-road mobile source VOC emissions in Belmont County are 1.32 tons per day.
** Difference between 2004 attainment year emissions and 2018 maintenance year emissions.
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TABLE 4.—PROJECTED NOX EMISSIONS IN THE WHEELING, WV–OH AREA
[tons/day]
2004 attainment
Source sector
2009 interim
2018 maintenance
Safety
margin
Belmont County NOX Emissions
EGU Point ........................................................................................................................
Non-EGU Point ................................................................................................................
Area (Other) .....................................................................................................................
Non-Road Mobile .............................................................................................................
On-Road Mobile ...............................................................................................................
Marine-Air-Railroad ..........................................................................................................
28.61
0.08
0.29
1.35
6.29
1.54
20.96
0.08
0.36
1.16
* 4.69
1.38
18.85
0.08
0.38
0.63
* 1.91
1.28
Total Belmont County ...............................................................................................
38.16
28.63
23.13
**15.03
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia NOX Emissions
EGU Point ........................................................................................................................
Non-EGU Point ................................................................................................................
Area (Other) .....................................................................................................................
Non-Road Mobile (MAR included) ...................................................................................
On-Road Mobile ...............................................................................................................
73.20
12.6
3.4
7.3
4.67
51.1
10.6
1.8
5.2
3.75
14.9
11.3
2.0
4.6
1.47
Total Marshall and Ohio Counties ............................................................................
101.47
72.45
34.27
* * 67.20
Total Wheeling, WV–OH ..........................................................................................
139.63
101.08
57.40
....................
* Includes
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15 percent mobile source budget increase as a safety margin. Actual projected 2018 on-road mobile source NOX emissions in Belmont County are 1.66 tons per day.
**Difference between 2004 attainment year emissions and 2018 maintenance year emissions.
The Ohio EPA also notes that the
State’s EGU NOX emissions control
rules stemming from EPA’s NOX SIP call
and Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), to
be implemented beyond 2006, will
further lower NOX emissions in upwind
areas, resulting in decreased ozone and
ozone precursor transport into Belmont
County and the Wheeling, WV–OH area.
This will also support maintenance of
the ozone standard in this area.
The emission projections for Belmont
County and the Wheeling, WV–OH area
as a whole coupled with the expected
impacts of the States’ EGU NOX rules
and CAIR led to the conclusion that
Belmont County and the Wheeling,
WV–OH area should maintain the 8hour ozone NAAQS throughout the
required 10-year maintenance period
and through 2018. The projected
decreases in local VOC and local and
regional NOX emissions indicate that
peak ozone levels in the Wheeling, WV–
OH area may actually further decline
during the maintenance period.
Based on the comparison of the
projected emissions and the attainment
year emissions, we conclude that Ohio
EPA has successfully demonstrated that
the 8-hour ozone standard should be
maintained in Belmont County and in
the Wheeling, WV–OH area. We believe
that this is especially likely given the
expected impacts of the NOX SIP call
and CAIR. As noted by Ohio EPA, this
conclusion is further supported by the
fact that other states in the eastern
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portion of the United States are also
expected to further reduce regional NOX
emissions through implementation of
their ozone NOX emission control rules
for EGUs and other NOX sources
through the implementation of the NOX
SIP call and CAIR.
d. Contingency Plan
The contingency plan provisions of
the CAA are designed to result in
prompt correction or prevention of
violations of the NAAQS that might
occur after redesignation of an area to
attainment of the NAAQS. Section 175A
of the CAA requires that a maintenance
plan include such contingency
measures as EPA deems necessary to
assure that the State will promptly
correct a violation of the NAAQS that
might occur after redesignation. The
maintenance plan must identify the
contingency measures to be considered
for possible adoption, a schedule and
procedure for adoption and
implementation of the selected
contingency measures, and a time limit
for action by the State. The State should
also identify specific indicators to be
used to determine when the
contingency measures need to be
adopted and implemented. The
maintenance plan must include a
requirement that the State will
implement all measures with respect to
control of the pollutant(s) that were
included in the SIP before the
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redesignation of the area to attainment.
See section 175A(d) of the CAA.
As required by section 175A of the
CAA, Ohio has adopted a contingency
plan to address a possible future ozone
air quality problem in the Wheeling,
WV–OH area. The contingency plan has
two levels of actions/responses
depending on whether a violation of the
8-hour ozone standard is only
threatened (Warning Level Response) or
has actually occurred or appears to be
very imminent (Action Level Response).
A Warning Level Response will be
triggered whenever an annual (1-year)
fourth-high monitored 8-hour ozone
concentration of 88 ppb occurs within
the ozone maintenance area (within the
Wheeling, WV–OH) area. A Warning
Level Response will consist of a study
to determine whether the ozone value
indicates a trend toward higher ozone
concentrations or whether emissions
appear to be increasing. The study will
evaluate whether the trend, if any, is
likely to continue and, if so, the control
measures necessary to reverse the trend
taking into consideration ease and
timing for implementation, as well as
economic and social consideration, will
be selected for possible adoption.
Implementation of necessary controls in
response to a Warning Level Response
triggering will take place as
expeditiously as possible, but in no
event later than 12 months from the
conclusion of the most recent ozone
season (September 30).
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An Action Level Response will be
triggered whenever a two-year averaged
annual fourth-high monitored 8-hour
ozone concentration of 85 ppb occurs
within the maintenance area or
whenever a violation of the 8-hour
ozone standard is actually monitored in
the maintenance area. An Action Level
Response will also be triggered if a
violation of the 8-hour ozone standard
is monitored in the Wheeling, WV–OH
area. In the event that an Action Level
Response is triggered and is not due to
an exceptional event, malfunction, or
noncompliance with a source permit
condition or rule requirement, Ohio
EPA will determine the additional
emission control measures needed to
assure future attainment of the ozone
NAAQS. Emission control measures that
can be implemented in a short time will
be selected in order to be in place
within 18 months from the close of the
ozone season that prompted the Action
Level Response. Any new emission
control measure that is selected for
implementation will be given a public
review. If a new emission control
measure is already promulgated and
scheduled to be implemented at the
Federal or State level and that emission
control measure is determined to be
sufficient to address the upward trend
in peak ozone concentrations,
additional local measures may be
unnecessary. Ohio EPA will submit to
the EPA an analysis to demonstrate that
the proposed emission control measures
are adequate to reverse the upward
trend in peak ozone concentrations and
to maintain the 8-hour ozone standard
in the Wheeling, WV–OH area. The
selection of emission control measures
will be based on cost-effectiveness,
emission reduction potential, economic
and social considerations, or other
factors that the Ohio EPA and West
Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection (WVDEP) deem to be
appropriate. Selected emission control
measures will be subjected to public
review and the States will seek public
input prior to selecting new emission
control measures.
The State of Ohio ozone redesignation
request lists the following possible
emission control measures as
contingency measures in the ozone
maintenance portion of the State’s
submittal:
• Extension of Reasonably Available
Control Techniques (RACT)
requirements to include source
categories previously excluded. New
VOC RACT rules could be adopted for
the following source categories:
I Consumer products
I Architectural and industrial
maintenance coatings
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I Stage I gasoline dispensing
facilities (including pressure valves)
I Automobile refinishing
I Cold cleaner degreasers
I Portable fuel containers
I Synthetic organic compound
manufacturing
I Organic compound batch processes
I Wood products manufacturing
I Industrial wastewater
I Aerospace industry
I Ship building
I Bakeries
I Plastic parts coating
I Volatile organic liquid storage
I Industrial solvent cleaning
I Offset lithography
I Industrial surface coating; and
I Other sources with VOC emissions
greater than 50 tons per year;
• Revision of new source permitting
requirements to require more stringent
emissions control technology and/or
greater emissions offsets;
• NOX RACT, with the following
being potential source categories
covered by such RACT requirements:
I EGUs
I Asphalt batching plants
I Industrial/commercial and
institutional boilers
I Process heaters
I Internal combustion engines
I Combustion turbines
I Other sources with NOX emissions
exceeding 100 tons per year;
• Regulations to establish plant-wide
emission caps (potentially with
emission trading provisions);
• Stage II vapor recovery regulations
for gasoline service stations; and,
• Establishment of a Public
Awareness/Ozone Action Days Program,
focusing on increasing the public’s
understanding of air quality issues in
the region and on increasing support for
actions to improve the air quality,
resulting in reduced emissions on days
with the potential for high ozone
concentrations.
One or more of these regulatory
revisions would be selected within three
(3) months after verification of a
monitored ozone standard violation. For
each regulatory revision selected, a draft
rule will be developed within six (6)
months of selection. The State will file
the rule as an emergency rule, which
will be become effective within 42 days
after filing and fully implemented
within six (6) months after adoption.
Rules will be filed as legislative rules for
permanent authorization by the
Legislature during the following
legislative session. This approach means
that less than 18 months should elapse
from the time a violation of the standard
occurs until the appropriate control
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measure(s) is fully in place. No
contingency measure, however, will be
implemented without the State
providing the opportunity for full public
participation and review.
e. Provisions for a Future Update of the
Ozone Maintenance Plan
As required by section 175A(b) of the
CAA, the State commits to submit to the
EPA an update of the ozone
maintenance plan eight years after
redesignation of Belmont County to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
The updated maintenance plan will
provide for maintenance of the 8-hour
ozone standard in Belmont County and
the Wheeling, WV–OH area for an
additional 10 years beyond the period
covered by the initial ozone
maintenance plan.
We consider Ohio’s ozone
maintenance demonstration and
contingency plan to be acceptable.
V. Has Ohio Adopted Acceptable Motor
Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the End
Year of the Ozone Maintenance Plans
Which Can Be Used To Support
Conformity Determinations?
A. How Are the Motor Vehicle Emission
Budgets Developed and What Are the
Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for
Belmont County?
Under the CAA, states are required to
submit, at various times, SIP revisions
and ozone maintenance plans for
applicable areas (for ozone
nonattainment areas and for areas
seeking redesignations to attainment of
the ozone standard or revising existing
ozone maintenance plans). These
emission control SIP revisions (e.g.
reasonable further progress and
attainment demonstration SIP
revisions), including ozone maintenance
plans, must create MVEBs based on onroad mobile source emissions that are
allocated to highway and transit vehicle
use that, together with emissions from
other sources in the area, will provide
for attainment or maintenance of the
ozone NAAQS.
Under 40 CFR part 93, MVEBs for an
area seeking a redesignation to
attainment of the NAAQS are
established for the last year of the
maintenance plan (for the maintenance
demonstration year). The MVEBs serve
as ceilings on mobile source emissions
from an area’s planned transportation
system and are used to test planned
transportation system changes or
projects to assure compliance with the
emission limits assumed in the SIP. The
MVEB concept is further explained in
the preamble to the November 24, 1993
transportation conformity rule (58 FR
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62188). The preamble also describes
how to establish the MVEBs in the SIP
and how to revise the MVEBs if needed.
Under section 176(c) of the CAA, new
transportation projects, such as the
construction of new highways, must
‘‘conform’’ to (i.e., be consistent with)
the part of the SIP that addresses
emissions from cars, trucks, and other
on-roadway vehicles. Conformity to the
SIP means that transportation activities
will not cause new air quality standard
violations, or delay timely attainment of
the NAAQS. If a transportation plan
does not conform, most new
transportation projects that would
expand the capacity of the roadways
cannot go forward. Regulations at 40
CFR part 93 set forth EPA’s policy,
criteria, and procedures for
demonstrating and assuring conformity
of transportation activities to a SIP.
When reviewing SIP revisions
containing MVEBs, including
attainment strategies, rate-of-progress
plans, and maintenance plans, EPA
must affirmatively find that the MVEBs
are ‘‘adequate’’ for use in determining
transportation conformity. Once EPA
affirmatively finds the submitted
MVEBs to be adequate for transportation
conformity purposes, the MVEBs are
used by state and Federal agencies in
determining whether proposed
transportation projects conform to the
SIPs as required by section 176(c) of the
CAA. EPA’s substantive criteria for
determining the adequacy of MVEBs are
specified in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4).
EPA’s process of determining
adequacy of MVEBs consists of three
basic steps: (1) Providing public
notification of a SIP submission; (2)
providing the public the opportunity to
comment on the MVEBs during a public
comment period; and (3) finally making
a finding of adequacy. The process of
determining the adequacy of submitted
SIP MVEBs was initially outlined in
EPA’s May 14, 1999 guidance,
‘‘Conformity Guidance on
Implementation of March 2, 1999,
Conformity Court Decision.’’ This
guidance was finalized in the
Transportation Conformity Rule
Amendments for the ‘‘New 8-Hour
Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air
Quality Standards and Miscellaneous
Rule Amendments—Response to Court
Decision and Additional Rule Change’’
published on July 1, 2004 (69 FR
40004). EPA follows this guidance and
rulemaking in making its adequacy
determinations.
The Transportation Conformity Rule,
in 40 CFR 93.118(f), provides for
adequacy findings through two
mechanisms. First, 40 CFR 93.118(f)(1)
provides for posting a notice to the EPA
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conformity Web site at: https://
www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/
transconf/adequacy.htm and providing
a 30-day public comment period.
Second, a mechanism is described in 40
CFR 93.118(f)(2) which provides that
EPA can review the adequacy of an
implementation plan submission
simultaneously with its review of the
implementation plan itself. In this
notice, EPA is reviewing the adequacy
of the Belmont County motor vehicle
emission budgets as part of the review
and proposal on the overall ozone
maintenance plan. The State of Ohio
had previously requested parallel
processing and the expediency of this
review process is best suited to
following the 40 CFR 93.118(f)(2)
mechanism.
The Belmont County ozone
maintenance plan contains VOC and
NOX MVEBs for 2018. EPA has
reviewed the submittal and the
proposed VOC and NOX MVEBs for
Belmont County, and finds that the
MVEBs meet the adequacy criteria in
the Transportation Conformity Rule.
The 30-day comment period for the
adequacy period will be the same as the
30-day comment period for the
proposed approval of the MVEBs and
ozone maintenance plan. Any and all
comments on the adequacy or
approvability of the MVEBs should be
submitted during the comment period
stated in the DATES section of this
notice.
EPA, through this rulemaking, is
proposing to approve the MVEBs for use
to determine transportation conformity
in Belmont County because EPA has
determined that the budgets are
consistent with the control measures
and future emissions projected in the
SIP and that Belmont County and the
Wheeling, WV–OH area can maintain
attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS
for the relevant required 10-year period
with mobile source emissions at the
levels of the MVEBs. Ohio EPA has
determined the 2018 MVEBs for
Belmont County to be 1.52 tons per day
for VOC and 1.91 tons per day for NOX.
It should be noted that these MVEBs
exceed the on-road mobile source VOC
and NOX emissions projected by the
Ohio EPA for 2018, but do match the
on-road mobile source emissions for
2018 summarized in Tables 3 and 4
above. Through discussions with all
organizations involved in transportation
planning for Belmont County, Ohio EPA
decided to include 15 percent safety
margins in the MVEBs to provide for
mobile source growth not anticipated in
the projected 2018 emissions. Ohio EPA
has demonstrated that Belmont County
and the Wheeling, WV–OH area can
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77677
maintain the 8-hour ozone NAAQS with
mobile source emissions at the levels of
the MVEBs since total source emissions
with the increased mobile source
emissions will remain under the
attainment year levels.
B. What Is a Safety Margin?
A ‘‘safety margin’’ is the difference
between the attainment level of
emissions (from all sources) and the
projected level of emissions (from all
sources) in the maintenance plan for a
future maintenance year. As noted in
Tables 3 and 4 above, Belmont County
VOC and NOX emissions are projected
to have safety margins of 2.48 tons per
day for VOC and 15.03 tons per day for
NOX in 2018 (the differences between
the 2004, attainment year, and 2018
VOC and NOX emissions for all sources
in Belmont County).
The MVEBs requested by Ohio EPA
contain safety margins (selected by the
State) significantly smaller than the
safety margins reflected in the total
emissions for Belmont County. The
State is not requesting allocation of the
entire available safety margins actually
reflected in the demonstration of
maintenance. Therefore, even though
the State is requesting MVEBs that
exceed the projected on-road mobile
source emissions for 2018 contained in
the demonstration of maintenance, the
increase in on-road mobile source
emissions that can be considered for
transportation conformity purposes is
well within the safety margins of the
ozone maintenance demonstration.
C. Are the MVEBs Approvable?
The VOC and NOX MVEBs for
Belmont County are approvable because
they maintain the total emissions for
Belmont County at or below the
attainment year emission inventory
levels, as required by the transportation
conformity regulations.
VI. What Are the Effects of EPA’s
Proposed Actions?
Approval of the redesignation request
would change the official designation of
the Belmont County for the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS, found at 40 CFR part 81,
from nonattainment to attainment. It
would also incorporate into the Ohio
SIP a plan for maintaining the ozone
NAAQS through 2018. The maintenance
plan includes contingency measures to
remedy possible future violations of the
8-hour ozone NAAQS, and establishes
MVEBs of 1.52 tons per day for VOC
and 1.91 tons per day for NOX.
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VII. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR
51735, September 30, 1993), this action
is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’
and, therefore, is not subject to review
by the Office of Management and
Budget.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule does not impose
an information collection burden under
the provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of
power and responsibilities between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes,
as specified by Executive Order 13175
(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
and Safety Risks
This proposed rule also is not subject
to Executive Order 13045 ‘‘Protection of
Children from Environmental Health
Risks and Safety Risks’’ (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997), because it is not
economically significant.
Executive Order 13211: Actions That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
This proposed action merely proposes
to approve state law as meeting Federal
requirements and imposes no additional
requirements beyond those imposed by
state law. Accordingly, the
Administrator certifies that this
proposed rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601
et seq.).
Because it is not a ‘‘significant
regulatory action’’ under Executive
Order 12866 or a ‘‘significant regulatory
action,’’ this action is also not subject to
Executive Order 13211, ‘‘Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use’’ (66 FR 28355, May
22, 2001).
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (NTTAA), 15 U.S.C. 272,
requires Federal agencies to use
technical standards that are developed
or adopted by voluntary consensus to
carry out policy objectives, so long as
such standards are not inconsistent with
applicable law or otherwise impractical.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA’s
role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the Clean Air Act. Absent a prior
existing requirement for the state to use
voluntary consensus standards, EPA has
no authority to disapprove a SIP
submission for failure to use such
standards, and it would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for
EPA to use voluntary consensus
standards in place of a program
submission that otherwise satisfies the
provisions of the Clean Air Act.
Therefore, the requirements of section
12(d) of the NTTA do not apply.
Because this rule proposes to approve
pre-existing requirements under state
law and does not impose any additional
enforceable duty beyond that required
by state law, it does not contain any
unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as
described in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4).
Executive Order 13132: Federalism
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This action also does not have
Federalism implications because it does
not have substantial direct effects on the
states, on the relationship between the
national government and the states, or
on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government, as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,
August 10, 1999). This action merely
proposes to approve a state rule
implementing a federal standard, and
does not alter the relationship or the
distribution of power and
responsibilities established in the Clean
Air Act.
Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
This proposed rule also does not have
tribal implications because it will not
have a substantial direct effect on one or
more Indian tribes, on the relationship
between the Federal Government and
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National Technology Transfer
Advancement Act
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: December 19, 2006.
Bharat Mathur,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. E6–22140 Filed 12–26–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
PO 00000
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA–R05–OAR–2006–0046; FRL–8261–5]
Determination of Attainment, Approval
and Promulgation of Implementation
Plans and Designations of Areas for
Air Quality Planning Purposes; Ohio;
Redesignation of Allen and Stark
Counties to Attainment of the 8-Hour
Ozone Standard
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: On June 20, 2005, the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio
EPA), submitted a request for EPA
approval of redesignations of Allen
County (Lima) and Stark County
(Canton) to attainment of the 8-hour
ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standard (NAAQS), and a request for
EPA approval of ozone maintenance
plans for Allen and Stark Counties as
revisions to the Ohio State
Implementation Plan (SIP). Additional
supporting information was submitted
on August 24, 2006, and December 4,
2006. EPA is proposing to approve
Ohio’s requests and corresponding SIP
revisions. EPA is also proposing to
approve the Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOC) and Nitrogen Oxides
(NOX) Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets
(MVEBs) for Allen and Stark Counties,
as supported by the ozone maintenance
plans for these Counties, for purposes of
conformity determinations.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before January 26, 2007. Submit your
comments, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA–R05–OAR–2006–0046, by one of
the following methods:
• www.regulations.gov: Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• E-mail: mooney.john@epa.gov.
• Fax: (312) 886–5824.
• Mail: John M. Mooney, Chief,
Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs
Branch (AR–18J), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
• Hand Delivery: John M. Mooney,
Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR–18J), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 77
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Regional Office’s
normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information. The
Regional Office’s official hours of
operation are Monday through Friday,
E:\FR\FM\27DEP1.SGM
27DEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 27, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77666-77678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22140]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R05-OAR-2006-0046; FRL-8261-6]
Determination of Attainment, Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans and Designations of Areas for Air Quality Planning
Purposes; Ohio; Redesignation of Belmont County to Attainment of the 8-
Hour Ozone Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: On June 20, 2006, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
(Ohio EPA), submitted a request for EPA approval of redesignation of
Belmont County (the Ohio portion of the Wheeling, West Virginia-Ohio
(WV-OH) bi-state ozone nonattainment area) to attainment of the 8-hour
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and a request for
EPA approval of an ozone maintenance plan for Belmont County as a
revision to the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP). On August 24,
2006, the State submitted public hearing records for the ozone
redesignation request and ozone maintenance plan. On December 4, 2006,
the State submitted a clarification of its intent to implement
contingency measures in the event of an ozone standard violation in the
Wheeling, WV-OH area subsequent to the redesignation of this area to
attainment of the ozone standard. EPA is proposing to approve Ohio's
request and corresponding SIP revision. EPA is also proposing to
approve the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Nitrogen Oxides
(NOX) Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for Belmont
County, as supported by the ozone maintenance plan for this County, for
purposes of conformity determinations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 26, 2007. Submit
your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2006-0046, by
one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
E-mail: mooney.john@epa.gov.
Fax: (312) 886-5824.
Mail: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section,
Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
Hand Delivery: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois. Such deliveries
are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information. The Regional Office's official hours of operation
are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal
holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2006-0046. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI, or otherwise protected, through www.regulations.gov or e-mail.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters and any form of
encryption, and should be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hardcopy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov or in hardcopy at the Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
It is recommended that you telephone Edward Doty, Environmental
Scientist, at (312) 886-6057, before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Doty, Environmental Scientist,
Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18), Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6057, doty.edward@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA. This supplementary
[[Page 77667]]
information section is arranged as follows:
I. What Action is EPA Proposing to Take?
II. What Is the Background for These Actions?
III. What Are the Criteria for Redesignation to Attainment?
IV. What Are EPA's Analyses of the State's Requests and What Are the
Bases for EPA's Proposed Actions?
V. Has Ohio Adopted Acceptable Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for
the End Year of the Ozone Maintenance Plans Which Can Be Used To
Support Conformity Determinations?
VI. What Are the Effects of EPA's Proposed Actions?
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action is EPA Proposing to Take?
We are proposing to take several related actions for Belmont
County, Ohio. First, we are proposing to determine that Belmont County
has attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS and that Belmont County and the
State of Ohio have met the requirements for redesignation to attainment
of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. We
are, therefore, proposing to approve the June 20, 2006 and August 24,
2006 requests from the State of Ohio to change the designation of
Belmont County from nonattainment to attainment of the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS.\1\
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\1\ A separate proposed rule from EPA addresses a request from
the State of West Virginia to redesignate Marshall and Ohio
Counties, West Virginia to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. See
71 FR 57894, October 2, 2006.
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Second, we are proposing to approve Ohio's ozone maintenance plan
for Belmont County as a revision to the Ohio SIP. The maintenance plan
is designed to keep Belmont County and, in conjunction with a West
Virginia ozone maintenance plan for Marshall and Ohio Counties, the
entire Wheeling, WV-OH area in attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for
the next 12 years, through 2018. As supported by and consistent with
the ozone maintenance plan, we are also proposing to approve the 2018
VOC and NOX MVEBs for Belmont County for conformity
determination purposes.
II. What is the Background for These Actions?
EPA has determined that ground-level ozone is detrimental to human
health. On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated an 8-hour ozone NAAQS (62 FR
38856) of 0.08 parts per million parts of air (0.08 ppm) (80 parts per
billion (ppb)).\2\ This 8-hour ozone standard replaced a prior 1-hour
ozone NAAQS, which was promulgated on February 8, 1979 (44 FR 8202) and
revoked on June 15, 2005.
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\2\ This standard is violated in an area when any ozone monitor
in the area (or in its impacted downwind environs) records 8-hour
ozone concentrations with a three-year average of the annual fourth-
highest daily maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations equaling or
exceeding 85 ppb.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly by sources. Rather,
emitted NOX and VOC react in the presence of sunlight to
form ground-level ozone along with other secondary compounds.
NOX and VOC are referred to as ``ozone precursors.''
The CAA required EPA to designate as nonattainment any area that
violated the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Ozone data for the three most recent
years at the time when the 8-hour ozone designations were initially
established (2001-2003) were considered to establish the ozone
designations. The Federal Register notice making these designations was
signed on April 15, 2004, and was published on April 30, 2004 (69 FR
23857).
The CAA contains two sets of provisions--subpart 1 and subpart 2--
that address planning and emission control requirements for
nonattainment areas. (Both are found in title I, part D of the CAA.)
Subpart 1 contains general, less prescriptive requirements for
nonattainment areas for any pollutant governed by a NAAQS, and applies
to all nonattainment areas. Subpart 2 contains more specific
requirements for certain ozone nonattainment areas, and applies to
ozone nonattainment areas classified under section 181 of the CAA.
In the April 30, 2004 designation rulemaking, EPA divided 8-hour
ozone nonattainment areas into the categories of subpart 1
nonattainment (``basic'' nonattainment) and subpart 2 nonattainment
(``classified'' nonattainment) based on their 8-hour ozone design
values (i.e., on the three-year average of the annual fourth-highest
daily maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations at the worst-case monitoring
sites in the designated areas) and on their 1-hour ozone design values
(i.e., on the fourth-highest daily maximum 1-hour ozone concentrations
over the three-year period at the worst-case monitoring sites in the
designated areas).\3\ 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas with 1-hour
ozone design values equaling or exceeding 121 ppb were designated as
subpart 2, classified nonattainment areas. Classification of the
subpart 2 nonattainment areas were based on the levels of the monitored
8-hour ozone design values for each nonattainment area. All other 8-
hour nonattainment areas were designated as subpart 1, basic
nonattainment areas, which have no area-specific classifications.
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\3\ The 8-hour ozone design value and the 1-hour ozone design
value for each area were not necessarily recorded at the same
monitoring site. The worst-case monitoring site for each ozone
concentration averaging time was considered for each area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emission control requirements for classified nonattainment areas
are linked to area classifications. Areas with more serious ozone
pollution problems are subject to more prescribed requirements. The
requirements are designed to bring areas into attainment by their
specified attainment dates, which also depend on the area
classifications. For example, marginal nonattainment areas are subject
to the fewest mandated control requirements and have the earliest
attainment deadline. Whereas, severe nonattainment areas are required
to meet more mandated emission controls, including tighter restrictions
on the sizes of existing VOC and NOX sources required to
install emission controls and tighter restrictions on mandated emission
controls and offsetting of new sources, and have a later attainment
deadline. In contrast, the attainment deadline for basic nonattainment
areas does not depend on the magnitude of the area 8-hour ozone design
values.
Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the 8-hour ozone standard
is attained when the three-year average of the annual fourth-highest
daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations is less than or equal
to 0.08 ppm (i.e., less than or equal to 0.084 ppm or 84 ppb based on
data rounding conventions specified in appendix I of 40 CFR part 50)
over the most recent three-year period at all monitors in an area and
in its impacted downwind environs. (See 69 FR 23857 (April 30, 2004)
for further information.) Such supporting data must meet a minimum data
completeness requirement. The completeness requirement (specified in
appendix I of 40 CFR part 50) for ozone data supporting a determination
of attainment and a redesignation to attainment is met when the annual
average percent of days with valid ambient monitoring data is greater
than 90 percent for the ozone seasons during the three-year period,
with no single year with less than 75 percent data completeness during
the ozone season.
In the April 30, 2004 designation/classification rulemaking, the
Wheeling, WV-OH area, including Belmont County, was designated as
subpart 1 nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone standard. The designation
was based on ozone data collected during the 2001-2003 period.
[[Page 77668]]
On June 20, 2006, the State of Ohio requested redesignation of
Belmont County to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS based on ozone
data collected in these Counties during the 2003-2005 period. On August
24, 2006, the State of Ohio completed the ozone redesignation request
by submitting documentation of the public hearing conducted by the
State for the redesignation request and ozone maintenance plan. All
information contained in the State's June 20, 2006 ozone redesignation
request submittal was unchanged through the State's public review
process (summarized in the August 24, 2006 submittal). On December 4,
2006, the State submitted a clarification to the State's ozone
maintenance plan, indicating that the State is committed to implement
contingency emission control measures in the event of a violation of
the 8-hour ozone standard subsequent to the redesignation of Belmont
County and the Wheeling, WV-OH area to attainment of the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS.
Note that the State of West Virginia has also submitted an ozone
redesignation request for the West Virginia portion of the Wheeling,
WV-OH area (for Marshall and Ohio Counties). The West Virginia ozone
redesignation request is being addressed through a separate rulemaking
process. EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking on the West
Virginia request on October 2, 2006 (71 FR 57894).
III. What Are the Criteria for Redesignation to Attainment?
The CAA provides the requirements for redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment. Specifically, section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA
allows for redesignation to attainment provided that:
(1) The Administrator determines that the area has attained the
applicable NAAQS based on current air quality data; (2) the
Administrator has fully approved an applicable state implementation
plan for the area under section 110(k) of the CAA; (3) the
Administrator determines that the improvement in air quality is due to
permanent and enforceable emission reductions resulting from
implementation of the applicable SIP, Federal air pollution control
regulations, and other permanent and enforceable emission reductions;
(4) the Administrator has fully approved a maintenance plan for the
area meeting the requirements of section 175A of the CAA; and (5) the
state containing the area has met all requirements applicable to the
area under section 110 and part D of the CAA.
EPA provided guidance on redesignations in the General Preamble for
the Implementation of Title I of the CAA Amendments of 1990 on April
16, 1992 (57 FR 13498), and supplemented this guidance on April 28,
1992 (57 FR 18070). EPA provided further guidance on processing
redesignation requests in the following documents:
``Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Design Value Calculations,'' Memorandum
from Bill Laxton, June 18, 1990;
``Maintenance Plans for Redesignation of Ozone and Carbon Monoxide
Nonattainment Areas,'' Memorandum from G.T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon
Monoxide Programs Branch, April 30, 1992;
``Contingency Measures for Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Redesignations,'' Memorandum from G.T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon
Monoxide Programs Branch, June 1, 1992;
``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4, 1992;
``State Implementation Plan (SIP) Actions Submitted in Response to
Clean Air Act (Act) Deadlines,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni,
Director, Air Quality Management Division, October 28, 1992;
``Technical Support Documents (TSD's) for Redesignation of Ozone
and Carbon Monoxide Nonattainment Areas,'' Memorandum from G.T. Helms,
Chief, Ozone/Carbon Monoxide Programs Branch, August 17, 1993;
``State Implementation Plan (SIP) Requirements for Areas Submitting
Requests for Redesignation to Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon
Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). On or
After November 15, 1992,'' Memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, September 17, 1993;
``Use of Actual Emissions in Maintenance Demonstrations for Ozone
and CO Nonattainment Areas,'' Memorandum from D. Kent Berry, Acting
Director, Air Quality Management Division, November 30, 1993;
``Part D New Source Review (part D NSR) Requirements for Areas
Requesting Redesignation to Attainment,'' Memorandum from Mary D.
Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, October 14,
1994; and,
``Reasonable Further Progress, Attainment Demonstration, and
Related Requirements for Ozone Nonattainment Areas Meeting the Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard,'' Memorandum from John S. Seitz,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, May 10, 1995.
IV. What Are EPA's Analyses of the State's Requests and What Are the
Bases for EPA's Proposed Actions?
EPA is proposing to: (1) Determine that Belmont County has attained
the 8-hour ozone standard and approve the redesignation of this County
to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS; and (2) approve the ozone
maintenance plan for this County and the VOC and NOX MVEBs
supported by the ozone maintenance plan. The bases for our proposed
determination and approvals are as follows:
1. Belmont County and the Wheeling, WV-OH Area Have Attained the 8-Hour
Ozone NAAQS
For ozone, as noted above, an area may be considered to be
attaining the 8-hour ozone NAAQS if there are no violations of the
NAAQS, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR 50.10 and 40 CFR part 50
appendix I based on the most recent three complete, consecutive
calendar years of quality-assured air quality monitoring data at all
monitoring sites in the area and in its impacted downwind environs. To
attain this standard, the average of the annual fourth-high daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations measured and recorded at
each monitor (the monitoring site's ozone design value) within the area
and in its impacted downwind environs over the most recent three-year
period must not exceed the ozone standard. Based on the ozone data
rounding convention described in 40 CFR part 50 appendix I, the 8-hour
ozone standard is attained if the area's ozone design value \4\ is
0.084 ppm (84 ppb) or less. The data must be collected and quality-
assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, and must be recorded in
EPA's Air Quality System (AQS).
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\4\ The worst-case monitoring site-specific ozone design value
in the area or in its impacted downwind environs.
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As part of the June 20, 2006 ozone redesignation request, the Ohio
EPA submitted ozone monitoring data indicating the top four daily
maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations for each monitoring site in the
Wheeling, WV-OH area during the 2002-2005 period. These ozone
concentrations are part of the quality-assured ozone data collected in
this area and recorded in the AQS. The annual fourth-high 8-hour daily
maximum concentrations for each year during the 2002-2005 period, along
[[Page 77669]]
with the three-year averages,\5\ are summarized in Table 1.
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\5\ Three-year averages are specified for the last year of each
three-year period.
Table 1.--Annual Fourth-High Daily Maximum 8-Hour Ozone Concentrations in Parts Per Million (ppm)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent Fourth-high Three-year
Site ID County Address Year observations concentration average
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
54-069-0007............................ Ohio (WV)................. Northern Panhandle........ 2002 100 0.097 NA
54-069-0007............................ Ohio (WV)................. Northern Panhandle........ 2003 99 0.076 NA
54-069-0009............................ Ohio (WV)................. Wheeling EPA.............. 2004 100 0.063 0.079
54-069-0010............................ Ohio (WV)................. Warwood Water Plant....... 2005 100 0.089 0.076
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is noted that the ozone monitor for this area was moved several
times during the three-year attainment period. While the monitor was
relocated twice after 2003, the monitoring site remained within five
miles of its original location in 2003. Statistical analysis of data
submitted by the State of West Virginia, which was conducted by EPA
during the review of the West Virginia ozone redesignation request, led
to the conclusion that the various ozone monitoring sites can be
treated as one and that, collectively, the three monitoring sites have
maintained the integrity of the conclusions drawn concerning the three-
year averages of the fourth-high daily maximum 8-hour ozone
concentrations. (See the Technical Support Document prepared for the
review of the West Virginia ozone redesignation request available at
EPA's Region III Air Division office. Also see 71 FR 57894, October 2,
2006.)
The monitored ozone concentrations for 2002-2004 show that the
entire Wheeling, WV-OH area has attained the 8-hour ozone standard with
a current (2003-2005) ozone design value of 0.076 ppm. The data
collected at the Ohio County, West Virginia monitoring sites satisfy
the CAA requirement that the ozone standard must be attained at all
sites in the ozone nonattainment area. The three-year ozone design
value for the nonattainment area is less than 0.085 ppm.
West Virginia has committed to continue ozone monitoring in this
area as part of the State's ozone maintenance plan (see 71 FR 57897,
October 2, 2006). Since the State of Ohio does not conduct ozone
monitoring in this area, but relies on the State of West Virginia for
this purpose, the commitment of West Virginia to continue monitoring in
this area meets the redesignation requirement, in accordance with 40
CFR part 58, that ozone monitoring will be continued to assure
continued attainment of the 8-hour ozone standard.
We believe that the ozone monitoring data submitted by the State of
West Virginia provide an adequate demonstration that the Wheeling, WV-
OH area has attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Therefore, we propose to
determine that Belmont County, Ohio, as part of the Wheeling, WV-OH
area, has attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
Please note that available, non-quality assured data for 2006 show
that this area continues to attain the 8-hour ozone standard through
2006.
2. Belmont County and the State of Ohio Have Met All Applicable
Requirements Under Section 110 and Part D of the CAA and This Area Has
a Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of the CAA
We have determined that Belmont County and the State of Ohio have
met all currently applicable SIP requirements for Belmont County under
section 110 of the CAA (general SIP requirements). We have determined
that the Ohio SIP meets the currently applicable SIP requirements under
subpart 1 part D of title I of the CAA (requirements specific to basic
ozone nonattainment areas). See section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) of the CAA. In
addition, we have determined that all applicable requirements are
approved in the Ohio SIP. See section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) of the CAA. In
making these determinations, we determined the CAA requirements which
are applicable to Belmont County, and determined that the applicable
portions of the SIP meeting these requirements are fully approved under
section 110(k) of the CAA. We note that SIPs must be fully approved
only with respect to currently applicable requirements of the CAA,
which in this case are those CAA requirements applicable to Belmont
County at the time the State submitted a complete ozone redesignation
request for this area, on August 24, 2006.
a. Belmont County Has Met All Applicable Requirements Under Section 110
and Part D of the CAA
The September 4, 1992 Calcagni memorandum (see ``Procedures for
Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' Memorandum
from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division,
September 4, 1992) describes EPA's interpretation of section
107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. To qualify for redesignation of an area to
attainment under this interpretation, the state and the area must meet
the relevant CAA requirements that apply at the time of the State's
submittal of a complete redesignation request for the area. See also
the September 17, 1993 Michael Shapiro memorandum, and 66 FR 12459,
12465-12466 (March 7, 1995) (redesignation of Detroit-Ann Arbor,
Michigan to attainment of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS). Applicable
requirements of the CAA that come due subsequent to the state's
submittal of a complete redesignation request remain applicable until a
redesignation of the area to attainment of the standard is approved,
but are not required as prerequisites to redesignation. See section
175A(c) of the CAA. Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004).
See also 68 FR 25424, 25427 (May 12, 2003) (redesignation of the St.
Louis/East St. Louis area to attainment of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS).
General SIP requirements: Section 110(a) of title I of the CAA
contains the general requirements for a SIP, which include: enforceable
emission limitations and other control measures, means, or techniques;
provisions for the establishment and operation of appropriate devices
necessary to collect data on ambient air quality; and programs to
enforce the emission limitations. General SIP elements and requirements
are delineated in section 110(a)(2) of title I, part A of the CAA.
These requirements and SIP elements include, but are not limited to,
the
[[Page 77670]]
following: (a) Submittal of a SIP that has been adopted by the State
after reasonable public notice and a hearing; (b) provisions for
establishment and operation of appropriate procedures needed to monitor
ambient air quality; (c) implementation of a source permit program; (d)
provisions for the implementation of part C requirements (Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD)) and part D requirements (New Source
Review (NSR)) for new sources or major source modifications; (e)
criteria for stationary source emission control measures, monitoring,
and reporting; (f) provisions for air quality modeling; and (g)
provisions for public and local agency participation.
SIP requirements and elements are discussed in the following EPA
documents: ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4, 1992; ``State Implementation Plan
(SIP) Actions Submitted in Response to Clean Air Act (CAA) Deadlines,''
Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management
Division, October 28, 1992; and ``State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Requirements for Areas Submitting Requests for Redesignation to
Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or after November 15, 1992,'' Memorandum
from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator, September 17,
1993. See also other guidance documents listed above.
Section 110(a)(2)(D) of the CAA requires SIPs to contain certain
measures to prevent sources in a state from significantly contributing
to air quality problems in another state. To implement this provision,
EPA required states to establish programs to address transport of air
pollutants (NOX SIP call and Clean Air Interstate Rule
(CAIR)). EPA has also found, generally, that states have not submitted
SIPs under section 110(a)(1) of the CAA to meet the interstate
transport requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) of the CAA (70 FR
21147, April 25, 2005). However, the section 110(a)(2)(D) requirements
for a state are not linked with a particular nonattainment area's
classification. EPA believes that the requirements linked with a
particular nonattainment area's classification are the relevant
measures to evaluate when reviewing a redesignation request. The
transport SIP submittal requirements, where applicable, continue to
apply to a state regardless of the designation of any one particular
area in the state.
We believe that these requirements should not be construed to be
applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation. Further, we
believe that the other section 110 elements described above that are
not connected with nonattainment plan submissions and that are not
linked with an area's attainment status are also not applicable
requirements for purposes of redesignation. A state remains subject to
these requirements after an area is redesignated to attainment. We
conclude that only the section 110 and part D requirements which are
linked with an area's designation and classification are the relevant
measures for evaluating this aspect of a redesignation request. This
approach is consistent with EPA's policy on applicability of conformity
and oxygenated fuels requirements for redesignation purposes, as well
as with section 184 ozone transport requirements. See: Reading,
Pennsylvania proposed and final rulemakings (61 FR 53174-53176, October
10, 1996 and 62 FR 24826, May 7, 1997); Cleveland-Akron-Loraine, Ohio
final rulemaking (61 FR 20458, May 7, 1996); and Tampa, Florida final
rulemaking (60 FR 62748, December 7, 1995). See also the discussion on
this issue in the Cincinnati, Ohio ozone redesignation (65 FR 37890,
June 19, 2000), and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ozone redesignation
(66 FR 50399, October 19, 2001).
We believe that section 110 elements not linked to the area's
nonattainment status are not applicable for purposes of redesignation.
Nonetheless, we also note that EPA has previously approved provisions
in the Ohio SIP addressing section 110 elements under the 1-hour ozone
standard. We have analyzed the Ohio SIP as codified in 40 CFR part 52,
subpart KK and have determined that it is consistent with the
requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA. The SIP, which has been
adopted after reasonable public notice and hearing, contains
enforceable emission limitations; requires monitoring, compiling, and
analyzing ambient air quality data; requires preconstruction review of
new major stationary sources and major modifications of existing
sources; provisions for adequate funding, staff, and associated
resources necessary to implement its requirements; requires stationary
source emissions monitoring and reporting; and otherwise satisfies the
applicable requirements of section 110(a)(2).
Part D SIP requirements: EPA has determined that the Ohio SIP meets
applicable SIP requirements under part D of the CAA. Under part D, an
area's classification (subpart 1, marginal, moderate, serious, severe,
and extreme) indicates the requirements to which it will be subject.
Subpart 1 of part D, found in sections 172-176 of the CAA, sets forth
the basic nonattainment area plan requirements applicable to all
nonattainment areas. Subpart 2 of part D, found in section 182 of the
CAA, establishes additional specific requirements depending on the
area's nonattainment classification.
Part D, subpart 1 requirements: For purposes of evaluating this
redesignation request, the applicable subpart 1 part D requirements for
all nonattainment areas are contained in sections 172(c)(1)-(9) and
176. A thorough discussion of the requirements of section 172 can be
found in the General Preamble for Implementation of Title I (57 FR
13498). See also 68 FR 4852-4853, a notice of proposed rulemaking for
an ozone redesignation for the St. Louis area, for a discussion of
section 172 requirements.
No requirements under part D of the CAA came due for Belmont County
prior to the State's submittal (August 24, 2006) of a complete ozone
redesignation request for this area. For example, the requirement for
an ozone attainment demonstration, as contained in section 172(c)(1),
is not yet applicable, nor are the requirements for Reasonably
Available Control Measures (RACM) and Reasonably Available Control
Technology (RACT) (section 172(c)(1)), Reasonable Further Progress
(RFP) (section 172(c)(2)), and attainment plan and RFP contingency
measures (section 172(c)(9)). Therefore, none of the part D
requirements are applicable to Belmont County for purposes of
redesignation.
Section 176 conformity requirements: Section 176(c) of the CAA
requires states to establish criteria and procedures to ensure that
Federally-supported or funded activities, including highway projects,
conform to the air planning goals in the applicable SIP. The
requirement to determine conformity applies to transportation plans,
programs, and projects developed, funded, or approved under Title 23
U.S.C. and the Federal Transit Act (transportation conformity) as well
as to all other Federally-supported or funded projects (general
conformity). State conformity SIP revisions must be consistent with
Federal conformity regulations that the CAA required the EPA to
promulgate.
As with other 8-hour ozone nonattainment area requirements, EPA
believes that the conformity requirements do not apply for purposes of
evaluating the ozone redesignation request under section 107(d) of the
[[Page 77671]]
CAA. Further support for this view lies in the fact that state
conformity rules are still required after redesignation of areas to
attainment of a NAAQS and Federal conformity rules apply where state
rules have not been approved. See Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426 (6th Cir.
2001). See also 60 FR 62748 (December 7, 1995) (Tampa, Florida).
Part D new source review requirements: EPA has determined that
areas being redesignated need not comply with the requirement that a
New Source Review (NSR) program be approved prior to redesignation,
provided that the area demonstrates maintenance of the standard without
part D NSR, since Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
requirements will apply after redesignation. A more detailed rationale
for this view is described in a memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994, entitled,
``Part D New Source Review Requirements for Areas Requesting
Redesignation to Attainment.'' Ohio has demonstrated that Belmont
County will be able to maintain the 8-hour ozone standard without part
D NSR in effect, and therefore, we conclude that the State need not
have a fully approved part D NSR program prior to approval of the
redesignation request. The State's PSD program will become effective in
Belmont County upon redesignation to attainment. See rulemakings for
Detroit, Michigan (60 FR 12467-12468, March 7, 1995); Cleveland-Akron-
Lorain, Ohio (61 FR 20458, 20469-20470, May 7, 1996); Louisville,
Kentucky (66 FR 53665, October 23, 2001); Grand Rapids, Michigan (61 FR
31834-31837, June 21, 1996).
We conclude that Belmont County and the State of Ohio have
satisfied all applicable requirements under section 110 and part D of
the CAA to the extent that these requirements apply for purposes of
reviewing the State's ozone redesignation request for this area.
b. Belmont County Has a Fully Approved Applicable SIP Under Section
110(k) of the CAA
EPA has fully approved the Ohio SIP for Belmont County under
section 110(k) of the CAA for all applicable requirements. EPA may rely
on prior SIP approvals in approving a redesignation request (See the
September 4, 1992 John Calcagni memorandum, page 3, Southwestern
Pennsylvania Growth Alliance v. Browner, 144 F.3d 984, 989-990 (6th
Cir. 1998), Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426 (6th Cir. 2001)) plus any
additional measures it may approve in conjunction with a redesignation
action. See 68 FR 25426 (May 12, 2003). Since the passage of the CAA of
1970, Ohio has adopted and submitted, and EPA has fully approved,
provisions addressing the various required SIP elements applicable to
Belmont County for purposes of redesignation. No Belmont County SIP
provisions are currently disapproved, conditionally approved, or
partially approved. As indicated above, EPA believes that the section
110 elements not connected with nonattainment plan submissions and not
linked to the area's nonattainment status are not applicable
requirements for purposes of reviewing of the State's redesignation
request. EPA has also noted that it may conclude that the section 110
SIP submission approved under the 1-hour standard will be adequate for
purposes of attaining and maintaining the 8-hour standard. EPA also
believes that since the part D requirements did not become due prior to
Ohio's submission of a final, complete redesignation request for
Belmont County, they also are not applicable requirements for purposes
of redesignation.
3. The Air Quality Improvement in the Wheeling, WV-OH Area Is Due to
Permanent and Enforceable Reductions in Emissions Resulting From
Implementation of the SIP, Federal Air Pollution Control Regulations,
and Other Permanent and Enforceable Emission Reductions
In making this demonstration, the States of West Virginia \6\ and
Ohio have documented changes in VOC and NOX emissions from
all anthropogenic (man-made or man-based) sources in the Wheeling, WV-
OH area occurring between 2002, an ozone standard violation year, and
2004, one of the years in which the Wheeling, WV-OH area has recorded
attainment of the 8-hour ozone standard. The States have also discussed
permanent and enforceable emission reductions that have occurred
elsewhere in the States and in other upwind areas that have contributed
to the air quality improvement in the Wheeling, WV-OH area. Table 2
summarizes the VOC and NOX emissions totals from the
anthropogenic sources in 2002 and 2004 for the Wheeling, WV-OH area.
From the table, it can be seen that VOC emissions have essentially
remained constant between 2002 and 2004, whereas NOX
emissions have significantly declined between 2002 and 2004.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ West Virginia submitted a separate ozone redesignation
request for its portion of the Wheeling, WV-OH area. The West
Virginia redesignation request is addressed in a separate EPA
proposed rule. West Virginia did supply emissions data for the
Wheeling area to the State of Ohio for inclusion in Ohio's ozone
request.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The States of Ohio and West Virginia conclude that the differences
in the 2002 and 2004 emissions are due primarily to the implementation
of permanent and enforceable emission control requirements. The States
have asserted that these emission reductions along with those occurring
elsewhere in the two States and in other upwind areas have led to the
observed improvement in air quality in the Wheeling, WV-OH area.
Table 2.--Total Anthropogenic VOC and NOX Emissions for 2002 and 2004 in the Wheeling, WV-OH Area
[tons per day]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
County Point Area Non-road Mobile Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 Volatile Organic Compounds
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belmont County, Ohio..................................... 0.2 4.1 1.0 4.2 9.5
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia................ 3.0 14.8 2.3 3.4 23.5
------------------------------------------------------
2002 Total........................................... 3.2 18.9 3.3 7.6 33.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004 Volatile Organic Compounds
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belmont County, Ohio..................................... 0.2 4.0 0.9 3.5 8.6
[[Page 77672]]
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia................ 3.0 15.4 2.3 2.8 23.5
------------------------------------------------------
2004 Total........................................... 3.2 19.4 3.2 6.3 32.1
Difference (2002-2004) \7\....................... 0.0 -0.5 0.1 1.3 0.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 Nitrogen Oxides
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belmont County, Ohio..................................... 31.8 0.3 3.0 7.4 42.5
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia................ 152.2 3.4 5.6 5.4 166.6
------------------------------------------------------
2002 Total........................................... 174.0 3.7 8.6 15.8 209.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004 Nitrogen Oxides
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belmont County, Ohio..................................... 28.7 0.3 2.9 6.3 38.2
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia................ 85.8 3.4 7.3 4.7 101.2
------------------------------------------------------
2004 Total........................................... 114.5 3.7 10.2 11.0 139.4
Difference (2002-2004)........................... 59.5 0.0 -1.6 4.8 69.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The significant decline in NOX emissions in this area
between 2002 and 2004 occurred primarily at Electric Generating Units
(EGU) and at large industrial boilers as the result of the
implementation of the States' NOX emission control rules
(resulting from the implementation of EPA's NOX SIP call and
acid rain emission controls under title IV of the CAA). Besides the
NOX emission reductions occurring within the nonattainment
area itself, the implementation of the States' NOX control
rules have reduced NOX emission throughout both Ohio and
West Virginia. The additional statewide emission reductions have
contributed to attainment of the 8-hour ozone standard in the Wheeling,
WV-OH area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Positive differences indicate a decrease in emissions over
time from 2002 to 2004. Negative differences indicate emissions were
increasing over time, primarily as the result of emission changes
from source growth exceeding the impacts of implemented emission
controls.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We concur with the State of Ohio that NOX emissions have
been significantly lowered in the Wheeling, WV-OH area and throughout
the States of Ohio and West Virginia. We also concur with the State
that these emission reductions have contributed to attainment of the 8-
hour ozone standard in the Wheeling, WV-OH area. Therefore, the State
of Ohio has met this criteria for redesignation of Belmont County to
attainment of the 8-hour ozone standard.
Besides implementation of the NOX emission control rules
and despite the general lack of decreasing emissions for VOC (the data
imply that existing VOC control measures are reducing VOC emission at
current rates that are generally keeping pace with new source growth),
additional emission controls are being implemented in the Wheeling, WV-
OH area which will also contribute to attainment and maintenance of the
8-hour ozone standard. The State of Ohio notes that, in the mid-1990's,
the State promulgated statewide rules requiring Reasonably Available
Control Techniques (RACT) for significant new sources of VOC emissions.
The RACT rules have been implemented for significant new sources
locating in Ohio subsequent to the State adoption of the rules.
Additional implemented, or soon to be implemented, emission control
rules include several Federal rules: (1) Tier II emission standards for
vehicles and gasoline sulfur standards (promulgated by EPA in February
2000 and currently being implemented); (2) heavy-duty diesel engine
emission control rules (promulgated by the EPA in July 2000 and
currently being implemented; and (3) clean air non-road diesel rule
(promulgated by the EPA in May 2004 and currently being phased in
through 2009). All of these rules have contributed to reducing VOC and
NOX emissions throughout the States of Ohio and West
Virginia and will contribute to future emission reductions in these
States.
The State of Ohio commits to continuing the existing VOC and
NOX emission controls after the Wheeling, WV-OH area is
redesignated to attainment of the 8-hour ozone standard.
4. Belmont County Has a Fully Approvable Ozone Maintenance Plan
Pursuant to Section 175A of the CAA
In conjunction with its request to redesignate Belmont County to
attainment of the ozone NAAQS, Ohio submitted a SIP revision request to
provide for maintenance of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS in Belmont County and
in the entire Wheeling, WV-OH area through 2018, exceeding the minimum
10 year maintenance period required by the CAA.
a. What Is Required in an Ozone Maintenance Plan?
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the required elements of air
quality maintenance plans for areas seeking redesignation from
nonattainment to attainment of a NAAQS. Under section 175A, a
maintenance plan must demonstrate continued attainment of the
applicable NAAQS for at least 10 years after the Administrator approves
the redesignation to attainment. Eight years after the redesignation,
the State must submit a revised maintenance plan which demonstrates
that maintenance of the standard will continue for 10 years following
the initial 10 year maintenance period. To address the possibility of
future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must contain such
contingency measures, with a schedule for implementation, as EPA deems
necessary, to assure prompt correction of any future NAAQS violations.
The September 4, 1992 John Calcagni memorandum provides additional
guidance on the content of maintenance plans. An ozone maintenance plan
should, at minimum, address the
[[Page 77673]]
following items: (1) The attainment VOC and NOX emissions
inventories; (2) a maintenance demonstration showing maintenance for
the first 10 years of the maintenance period; (3) a commitment to
maintain the existing monitoring network; (4) factors and procedures to
be used for verification of continued attainment; and (5) a contingency
plan to prevent and/or correct a future violation of the NAAQS.
b. What Are the Attainment Emission Inventories for Belmont County?
Ohio EPA prepared comprehensive VOC and NOX emission
inventories for Belmont County, including EGU and non-EGU point
(significant stationary sources), other (area) (smaller and widely-
distributed stationary sources), Marine, Aircraft, and Rail mobile
(MAR), mobile on-road, and mobile non-road sources for 2002 (the base
year). To develop the attainment year (2004) and projected maintenance
years (2009 and 2018) emissions, the Ohio EPA projected the 2002
emissions applying various source category-specific growth factors and
emission control factors.
The State has thoroughly documented how the 2002 base year
emissions were derived. The following summarizes the procedures and
sources of data used by the Ohio EPA to derive the base year emissions.
i. Point Sources. The primary source of point source information
was facility-specific information collected annually by the State for
sources covered by Title V source permits. This information includes
emissions, process rates, operating schedules, emissions control data,
and other relevant information. The State also used emissions data
provided by EPA's EGU emission inventory, maintained to support the
NOX SIP call emissions trading program and the acid rain
control program. The sources included in the 2002 point source
inventory were identified using Ohio's Title V STARS database. The
emissions included in this database are facility-reported actual
emissions.
Ohio EPA defines point source process emissions as those which
occur at an identifiable stationary stack or vent. Point source
emissions not emitted from discrete stacks or vents are defined to be
fugitive emissions. Facility-specific fugitive emissions are also
reported by each Title V facility and stored in the Title V STARS
database.
Point source emissions included in the 2002 base year emissions
inventory were provided to the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium
(LADCO) in National Emissions Inventory Input Format (NIF) 3.0 format.
LADCO imported and processed the NIF files in the Emissions Modeling
System (EMS) and applied temporal and spatial profiles to calculate
July weekday emissions rates. The Belmont County emissions derived from
this set of emissions data were split into EGU emissions and non-EGU
emissions for inclusion in the base year emissions inventory used to
support the Belmont County ozone redesignation request.
ii. Area (Other) Sources. Area sources are those sources which are
generally small, numerous, and have not been inventoried as specific
point, mobile, or biogenic sources. The emissions for these sources are
calculated and grouped by source type and are estimated using various
surrogates, such as population, estimates of employees in various
occupational groups and facility-types, etc. The area source emissions
are typically defined at the county level.
To estimate the area source emissions, Ohio EPA has either used
published Emission Inventory Improvement Program (EIIP) emissions
estimation methodologies or other methodologies typically used by other
states. Area source categories include: Various stationary combustion
sources (not including the EGU sources included in the point source
portion of the emissions inventory); human cremation; agricultural
pesticides; architectural surface coatings; auto body refinishing;
consumer and commercial solvents; degreasing and solvent cleaning (not
included in point source emissions); fuel marketing; graphic arts (the
emissions from the smaller facilities not included in the Title V STARS
database); hospital sterilizers; small industry surface coating; small
industry rubber and plastics coating; landfills; portable fuel
containers; traffic markings; and Privately Owned Treatment Works
(POTWs). The State has documented the data sources and emission factors
or calculation procedures used for each of these area source
categories.
iii. Non-Road Mobile Sources. The non-road mobile source emissions
inventory was generated regionally by running EPA's National Mobile
Inventory Model (NMIM). The output of the NMIM was converted to the NIF
format and submitted to LADCO for processing in the EMS to obtain
spatially and temporally allocated emissions for a July weekday. The
basic non-road algorithm for calculating emissions in NMIM uses base
year equipment populations, average load factors, available engine
powers, activity hours and emission factors to calculate the emissions.
To address concerns about the accuracy of NMIM for some source
categories, LADCO contracted with two consulting companies to review
the base data and make recommended changes.
iv. Marine, Aircraft, and Rail (MAR) Sources. Due to the
significance of the emissions from these source types, the Ohio EPA has
decided to treat these source categories separately from other non-road
mobile sources. The MAR emissions include emissions from commercial
marine, aircraft, and locomotive sources.
Commercial marine vessels consist of several different categories
of vessel types. For each vessel type, there are unique engine types,
emission rates, and activity data sets. The emissions inventory
documentation lists the vessel types and activity data sources by
vessel type, along with the special distribution of each vessel type.
Locomotive activity was divided into various rail categories: Class
I operations; Class II/III operations; passenger trains; consumer
lines; and yard operations. Since Class I operations are expected to be
the most significant rail operations in most areas, including Belmont
County, operators of Class I operations were queried for activity and
emissions-related information for each railroad line. Class I activity
levels were provided by county in terms of ton-miles of freight
movement and estimated fuel consumption. This approach provided for
more specific estimates of emissions by railroad line. Class II/III
emissions were based on national fuel consumption and per employee fuel
consumption estimates. The number of employees in each county was used
to allocate the fuel consumption to each county and, therefore, the
emissions to each county. The passenger train estimates were based on
information provided by AMTRAK on the weekly schedule of train
operation, and the emissions were based on an assumption of 2.35
gallons of fuel use per train-mile of travel. No commuter lines or yard
operations exist in Belmont County.
EPA provided the aircraft emission estimates based on Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) published Landing and Take-Off (LTO)
rates by engine type for each airline and major airport in the State of
Ohio. The LTO-engine information was combined with engine type-specific
emission factors developed by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), and, through use of an FAA Emissions and
Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS), emissions were assigned to each
county in the State, including Belmont County.
[[Page 77674]]
LADCO processed all of the MAR emissions data through the EMS to
calculate July 2002 weekday emissions for VOC and NOX.
v. On-Road Mobile Sources. A regional transportation model operated
by the Belmont, Ohio, Marshall Regional Council Metropolitan Planning
Organization (Bel-O-Mar), West Virginia Department of Transportation
(WVDOT), and Ohio Department of Transportation (Ohio DOT) was used to
estimate traffic levels, vehicle age and type distributions, vehicle
speeds, and other emissions-related vehicle parameters for the roadways
in Belmont County and elsewhere in the Wheeling, WV-OH area. This
vehicle travel information, along with the MOBILE 6.2 vehicle emission
factor model, was used to estimate mobile source VOC and NOX
emissions for Belmont County and the entire Wheeling, WV-OH area.
vi. Projected Emissions for the Attainment Year. Ambient air
quality data showed that the Wheeling, WV-OH area met the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS in 2004. Ohio EPA used point source growth data provided by
individual point source facilities along with other source category
growth estimates and emission control estimates to estimate 2004 VOC
and NOX emissions for Belmont County. The State of West
Virginia estimated 2004 VOC and NOX emissions for the
remainder of the Wheeling, WV-OH area. The estimated 2004 emissions
have been compared to the 2002 emissions to demonstrate the basis for
the improved air quality in the Wheeling, WV-OH area. See Table 2 above
for the 2004 attainment level emissions.
c. Demonstration of Maintenance
To demonstrate maintenance of the attainment of the 8-hour ozone
standard for at least 10 years following the redesignation of the
Wheeling, WV-OH area to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, the State
of Ohio and the State of West Virginia projected the VOC and
NOX emissions in the Wheeling, WV-OH area for the years of
2009 and 2018. For Belmont County, Ohio EPA used source growth
estimates provided by LADCO along with mobile source growth estimates
generated using the regional transportation model and MOBILE 6.2 to
project the Belmont County VOC and NOX emissions. The
methods used by the State of West Virginia are described in West
Virginia's ozone redesignation request (reviewed in a separate EPA
proposed rule. See 71 FR 57894, October 2, 2006). Note that a
maintenance demonstration need not be based on modeling. See Wall v.
EPA, 265 F. 3d 426 (6th Cir. 2001), Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F. 3d 537
(7th Cir. 2004). See also 66 FR 53094, 53099-53100 (October 19, 2001)
and 68 FR 25430-25432 (May 12, 2003).
Table 3 summarizes the VOC emissions projected to occur in Belmont
County, Ohio and in Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia during
the demonstrated ozone maintenance period. Similarly, Table 4
summarizes the NOX emissions projected to occur in the same
area during the demonstrated ozone maintenance period. The State of
Ohio and the State of West Virginia chose 2018 as a projection year to
meet the 10-year maintenance demonstration requirement, allowing
several years for EPA to complete the redesignation rulemaking process.
The States also chose 2009 as an interim year to demonstrate that VOC
and NOX emissions will remain below the attainment year
levels throughout the 10-year maintenance period.
Table 3.--Projected VOC Emissions in the Wheeling, WV-OH Area
[tons/day]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004 2018
Source sector attainment 2009 interim maintenance Safety margin
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belmont County VOC Emissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EGU Point....................................... 0.17 0.12 0.17
Non-EGU Point................................... 0.03 0.03 0.04
Area (Other).................................... 4.03 3.85 3.86
Non-Road Mobile................................. 0.88 0.76 0.56
On-Road Mobile.................................. 3.52 *2.60 *1.52
Marine-Air-Railroad............................. 0.05 0.05 0.5
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Belmont County........................ 8.68 7.41 6.20 **2.48
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshall and Ohio Counties, West Virginia VOC Emissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EGU Point....................................... 0.5 0.7 0.7
Non-EGU Point................................... 2.5 2.1 2.6
Area (Other).................................... 15.4 7.3 8.4
Non-Road Mobile (MAR included).................. 2.3 2.1 1.8
On-Road Mobile.................................. 2.81 2.22 1.24
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Marshall and Ohio Counties............ 23.51 14.42 14.74 **8.77
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Wheeling, WV-OH....................... 32.19 21.83 20.94
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Includes 15 percent mobile source budget increase as a safety margin. Actual projected 2018 on-road mobile
source VOC emissions in Belmont County are 1.32 tons per day.
** Difference between 2004 attainment year emissions and 2018 maintenance year emissions.
[[Page 77675]]
Table 4.--Projected NOX Emissions in the Wheeling, WV-OH Area
[tons/day]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004 2009 2018 Safety
Source sector attainment interim maintenance margin
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belmon
