Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Kentucky; Redesignation of the Kentucky Portion of the Cincinnati-Hamilton 1997 Annual Fine Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area to Attainment, 65458-65472 [2011-26773]
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[FR Doc. 2011–27189 Filed 10–20–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA–R04–OAR–2010–0937–201118; FRL–
9480–2]
Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans and Designation
of Areas for Air Quality Planning
Purposes; Kentucky; Redesignation of
the Kentucky Portion of the CincinnatiHamilton 1997 Annual Fine Particulate
Matter Nonattainment Area to
Attainment
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
On January 27, 2011, the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, through
the Kentucky Energy and Environment
Cabinet, Division of Air Quality (DAQ),
submitted a request to redesignate the
Kentucky portion of the CincinnatiHamilton, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
(hereafter referred to the ‘‘Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area’’) fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment
area to attainment for the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS); and to approve a
State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision containing a maintenance plan
for the Kentucky portion of the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. The Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is comprised
of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton
Counties in Kentucky (hereafter referred
to as the ‘‘Northern Kentucky Area’’ or
‘‘Area’’); Butler, Clermont, Hamilton,
and Warren Counties in Ohio; and a
portion of Dearborn County in Indiana.
EPA is proposing to approve the
redesignation request for Boone,
Campbell, and Kenton Counties, along
with the related SIP revision, including
the Commonwealth’s plan for
maintaining attainment of the PM2.5
standard in the Northern Kentucky
Area. EPA is also proposing to approve
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SUMMARY:
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Kentucky’s nitrogen oxides (NOX) and
PM2.5 Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets
(MVEBs) for 2015 and 2021 for the
Northern Kentucky Area. On December
9, 2010, and January 25, 2011,
respectively, Ohio and Indiana
submitted requests to redesignate their
portion of the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area to attainment for the
1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is taking
action on the requests from Ohio and
Indiana in an action separate from these
proposed actions.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before November 21, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04–
OAR–2010–0937, by one of the
following methods:
1. https://www.regulations.gov: Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
2. E-mail: benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov.
3. Fax: (404) 562–9019.
4. Mail: EPA–R04–OAR–2010–0937,
Regulatory Development Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Ms.
Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, Regulatory
Development Section, Air Planning
Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the
Regional Office’s normal hours of
operation. The Regional Office’s official
hours of business are Monday through
Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal
holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R04–OAR–2010–
0937. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
made available online at https://
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 through https://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail,
information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The https://
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 https://
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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, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional information
about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA
Docket Center homepage at https://
www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the
electronic docket are listed in the
https://www.regulations.gov index.
Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available,
i.e., CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on
the Internet and will be publicly
available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically in https://
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the Regulatory Development Section,
Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. EPA
requests that if at all possible, you
contact the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to
schedule your inspection. The Regional
Office’s official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30,
excluding federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel
Huey of the Regulatory Development
Section, in the Air Planning Branch,
Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street,
SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. Joel
Huey may be reached by phone at (404)
562–9104, or via electronic mail at
huey.joel@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What are the actions EPA is proposing to
take?
II. What is the background for EPA’s
proposed actions?
III. What are the criteria for redesignation?
IV. Why is EPA proposing these actions?
V. What is EPA’s analysis of the request?
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VI. What is EPA’s analysis of Kentucky’s
proposed NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for the
Northern Kentucky Area?
VII. What is the status of EPA’s adequacy
determination for the proposed NOX and
PM2.5 MVEBs for 2015 and 2021 for the
Northern Kentucky Area?
VIII. What is EPA’s analysis of the proposed
2008 base year emissions inventory for
the Northern Kentucky Area?
IX. Proposed Action on the Redesignation
Request and Maintenance Plan SIP
Revision Including Proposed Approval
of the 2015 and 2021 NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for the Northern Kentucky Area.
X. What is the effect of EPA’s proposed
actions?
XI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What are the actions EPA is
proposing to take?
In this action, EPA is proposing to
make a determination that this Area is
continuing to attain the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS 1 and to take several
additional actions related to Kentucky’s
request to redesignate the Northern
Kentucky Area which are summarized
as follows and described in greater
detail throughout this notice of
proposed rulemaking: (1) To redesignate
the Northern Kentucky Area portion of
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area
to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS; (2) to approve, under CAA
section 172(c)(3), the emissions
inventory submitted with the
maintenance plan for Northern
Kentucky; and (3) to approve, under
section 175A of the CAA, the Northern
Kentucky Area’s 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS maintenance plan into the
Kentucky SIP, including the associated
MVEBs. In addition, and related to
today’s actions, EPA is also notifying
the public of the status of EPA’s
adequacy determination for the
Northern Kentucky Area MVEBs for the
PM2.5 NAAQS.
First, EPA proposes to determine that,
if EPA’s proposed approval of the 2008
baseline emissions inventory for the
Northern Kentucky Area is finalized, the
Area has met the requirements for
redesignation under section 107(d)(3)(E)
of the CAA. In this action, EPA is
proposing to approve a request to
change the legal designation of Boone,
Campbell, and Kenton Counties from
nonattainment to attainment for the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The
emissions inventory for the Northern
Kentucky Area is being proposed for
approval today.
1 On September 29, 2011, at 76 FR 60373, EPA
determined that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area attained the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS by its
applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010, and
that the Area was continuing to attain the PM2.5
standard with monitoring data that was currently
available.
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Second, EPA is proposing to approve
under the CAA, Kentucky’s 2008
emissions inventory for the Northern
Kentucky Area (under CAA section
172(c)(3)). Kentucky selected 2008 as
the attainment emissions inventory year
for the Northern Kentucky Area. This
attainment inventory identifies a level
of emissions in the Area that is
sufficient to attain the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS.
Third, EPA is proposing to approve
Kentucky’s 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
maintenance plan for the Northern
Kentucky Area (such approval being one
of the CAA criteria for redesignation to
attainment status). Since maintenance of
the standard in the Northern Kentucky
Area is based in large part on
maintaining control of power plant
emissions, promulgation of the
Transport Rule, also known as the Cross
State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR),2 was
necessary to make recent reductions in
power plant emissions (or equivalent
reductions at other power plants)
permanent and enforceable. The
maintenance plan is designed to help
keep the Northern Kentucky Area in
attainment of the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS through 2021. Consistent with
the CAA, the maintenance plan that
EPA is proposing to approve today also
includes NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for the
years 2015 and 2021 for the Northern
Kentucky Area. EPA is proposing to
approve (into the Kentucky SIP) the
2015 and 2021 MVEBs that are included
as part of Kentucky’s maintenance plan
for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
Further, EPA proposes to make the
determination that the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is continuing
to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
and that all other redesignation criteria
have been met for the Northern
Kentucky Area. The bases for EPA’s
determination for the Area are discussed
in greater detail below.
EPA is also notifying the public of the
status of EPA’s adequacy process for the
newly-established NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for 2015 and 2021 for the
Northern Kentucky Area. The adequacy
comment period for the Northern
Kentucky Area MVEBs began on
February 14, 2011, with EPA’s posting
of the availability of this submittal on
EPA’s Adequacy Web site (https://
www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/
transconf/currsips.htm). The Adequacy
comment period for these MVEBs closed
on March 16, 2011. No adverse
comments were received during the
2 See ‘‘Federal Implementation Plans to Reduce
Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and
Ozone in 27 States; Correction of SIP Approvals for
22 States’’ (76 FR 48208, August 8, 2011).
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65459
Adequacy public comment period.
Please see section VIII of this proposed
rulemaking for further explanation of
this process and for more details on the
MVEBs.
Today’s notice of proposed
rulemaking is in response to Kentucky’s
January 27, 2011, SIP submittal, which
requests redesignation of the Northern
Kentucky Area portion of the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area to attainment
for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS and
addresses the specific issues
summarized above and the necessary
elements for redesignation described in
section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA.
II. What is the background for EPA’s
proposed actions?
Fine particle pollution can be emitted
directly or formed secondarily in the
atmosphere. The main precursors of
PM2.5 are sulfur dioxide (SO2), NOX,
ammonia and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs). Unless otherwise
noted by the State or EPA, ammonia and
VOCs are presumed to be insignificant
contributors to PM2.5 formation,
whereas SO2 and NOX are presumed to
be significant contributors to PM2.5
formation. Sulfates are a type of
secondary particle formed from SO2
emissions of power plants and
industrial facilities. Nitrates, another
common type of secondary particle, are
formed from NOX emissions of power
plants, automobiles, and other
combustion sources.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated
the first air quality standards for PM2.5.
EPA promulgated an annual standard at
a level of 15 micrograms per cubic meter
(mg/m3), based on a 3-year average of
annual mean PM2.5 concentrations. In
the same rulemaking, EPA promulgated
a 24-hour standard of 65 mg/m3, based
on a 3-year average of the 98th
percentile of 24-hour concentrations. On
October 17, 2006, at 71 FR 61144, EPA
retained the annual average NAAQS at
15 mg/m3 but revised the 24-hour
NAAQS to 35 mg/m3, based again on the
3-year average of the 98th percentile of
24-hour concentrations.3 Under EPA
regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the
primary and secondary 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS are attained when the
annual arithmetic mean concentration,
as determined in accordance with 40
3 In response to legal challenges of the annual
standard promulgated in 2006, the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit
(DC Cir.) remanded this NAAQS to EPA for further
consideration. See american Farm Bureau
Federation and National Pork Producers Council, et
al. v. EPA, 559 F.3D 512 (DC Cir. 2009). However,
given that the 1997 and 2006 Annual NAAQS are
essentially identical, attainment of the 1997 Annual
NAAQS would also indicate attainment of the
remanded 2006 Annual NAAQS.
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CFR part 50, Appendix N, is less than
or equal to 15.0 mg/m3 at all relevant
monitoring sites in the subject area over
a 3-year period.
On January 5, 2005, at 70 FR 944, and
supplemented on April 14, 2005, at 70
FR 19844, EPA designated the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area as
nonattainment for the 1997 PM2.5
NAAQS. In that action, EPA defined the
1997 PM2.5 Cincinnati-Hamilton Area to
include Boone, Campbell, and Kenton
Counties in Kentucky, Butler, Clermont,
Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio,
and a portion of Dearborn Country
containing the Lawrenceburg Township
in Indiana. On November 13, 2009, at 74
FR 58688, EPA promulgated
designations for the 24-hour standard
established in 2006, designating the Tristate Cincinnati-Hamilton Area as
attainment for this NAAQS. That action
clarified that the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area was classified
unclassifiable/attainment for the 24hour NAAQS promulgated in 1997. EPA
did not promulgate designations for the
annual average NAAQS promulgated in
2006, since the NAAQS was essentially
identical to the annual NAAQS
promulgated in 1997. Therefore, the Tristate Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is
designated nonattainment for the annual
NAAQS promulgated in 1997, and
today’s action only addresses this
designation.
All 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS areas were
designated under subpart 1 of title I,
part D, of the CAA. Subpart 1 contains
the general requirements for
nonattainment areas for any pollutant
governed by a NAAQS and is less
prescriptive than the other subparts of
title I, part D. On April 25, 2007, at 72
FR 20664, EPA promulgated its PM2.5
Implementation Rule, codified at 40
CFR part 51, subpart Z, in which the
Agency provided guidance for state and
Tribal plans to implement the 1997
PM2.5 NAAQS. This rule, at 40 CFR
51.1004(c), specifies some of the
regulatory consequences of attaining the
NAAQS, as discussed below.
On May 12, 2005, EPA published the
Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which
addressed the interstate transport
requirements of the CAA and required
states to significantly reduce SO2 and
NOX emissions from power plants (70
FR 25162). The associated Federal
Implementation Plans (FIPs) were
published on April 28, 2006 (71 FR
25328). However, on July 11, 2008, the
DC Circuit Court issued its decision to
vacate and remand both CAIR and the
associated CAIR FIPs in their entirety
(North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 836
(DC Cir., 2008)). EPA petitioned for
rehearing, and the Court issued an order
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remanding CAIR to EPA without
vacating either CAIR or the CAIR FIPs
(North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176
(DC Cir., 2008)). The Court left CAIR in
place to ‘‘temporarily preserve the
environmental values covered by CAIR’’
until EPA replaces it with a rule
consistent with the Court’s opinion (id.
at 1178). The Court directed EPA to
‘‘remedy CAIR’s flaws’’ consistent with
its July 11, 2008, opinion but declined
to impose a schedule on EPA for
completing that action (id). As a result
of these court rulings, the power plant
emission reductions that resulted solely
from the development, promulgation,
and implementation of CAIR, and the
associated contribution to air quality
improvement that occurred solely as a
result of CAIR in the Northern Kentucky
Area could not be considered to be
permanent.
On August 8, 2011, EPA published
the Cross State Air Pollution Rule
(CSAPR) in the Federal Register under
the title, ‘‘Federal Implementation Plans
to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine
Particulate Matter and Ozone in 27
States; Correction of SIP Approvals for
22 States’’ (76 FR 48208, August 8,
2011) to address interstate transport of
emissions and resulting secondary air
pollutants and to replace CAIR. The
CAIR emission reduction requirements
limit emissions in Kentucky and states
upwind of Kentucky through 2011, and
the CSAPR requires similar or greater
reductions in the relevant areas in 2012
and beyond. The emission reductions
that the CSAPR mandates may be
considered to be permanent and
enforceable. In turn, the air quality
improvement in the Northern Kentucky
Area that has resulted from electric
generating units emission reductions
associated with CAIR (as well as the
additional air quality improvement that
would be expected to result from full
implementation of the CSAPR) may also
be considered to be permanent and
enforceable. EPA proposes that the
requirement in section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii)
has now been met because the emission
reduction requirements of CAIR address
emissions through 2011 and EPA has
now promulgated CSAPR which
requires similar or greater reductions in
the relevant areas in 2012 and beyond.
Because the emission reduction
requirements of CAIR are enforceable
through the 2011 control period, and
because CSAPR has now been
promulgated to address the
requirements previously addressed by
CAIR and gets similar or greater
reductions in the relevant areas in 2012
and beyond, EPA is proposing to
determine that the emission reductions
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that led to attainment in the Northern
Kentucky Area can now be considered
permanent and enforceable. Therefore,
EPA proposes to find that the transport
requirement of CAA section
107(d)(3)(E)(iii) has been met for the
Northern Kentucky Area.
The 3-year ambient air quality data for
2007–2009 indicated no violations of
the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS for the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. As a result,
on January 27, 2011, Kentucky
requested redesignation of the Northern
Kentucky Area to attainment for the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The
redesignation request included three
years of complete, quality-assured
ambient air quality data for the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS for 2007–2009,
indicating that the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS
had been achieved for the entire Tristate Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. Under
the CAA, nonattainment areas may be
redesignated to attainment if sufficient,
complete, quality-assured data is
available for the Administrator to
determine that the area has attained the
standard and the area meets the other
CAA redesignation requirements in
section 107(d)(3)(E). From 2007 through
the present, the annual PM2.5 design
values for the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area have declined. While
annual PM2.5 concentrations are
dependent on a variety of conditions,
the overall downtrend in annual PM2.5
concentrations in the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area can be
attributed to the reduction of emissions,
as will be discussed in more detail in
section V of this proposed rulemaking.
III. What are the criteria for
redesignation?
The CAA provides the requirements
for redesignating a nonattainment area
to attainment. Specifically, section
107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA allows for
redesignation provided the following
criteria are met: (1) The Administrator
determines that the area has attained the
applicable NAAQS; (2) the
Administrator has fully approved the
applicable implementation plan for the
area under section 110(k); (3) the
Administrator determines that the
improvement in air quality is due to
permanent and enforceable reductions
in emissions resulting from
implementation of the applicable SIP
and applicable federal air pollutant
control regulations and other permanent
and enforceable reductions; (4) the
Administrator has fully approved a
maintenance plan for the area as
meeting the requirements of section
175A; and (5) the state containing such
area has met all requirements applicable
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to the area under section 110 and part
D of title I of the CAA.
EPA has provided guidance on
redesignation in the General Preamble
for the Implementation of title I of the
CAA Amendments of 1990 (April 16,
1992, 57 FR 13498, and supplemented
on April 28, 1992, 57 FR 18070) and has
provided further guidance on processing
redesignation requests in the following
documents:
1. ‘‘Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,’’ Memorandum from John
Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4,
1992 (hereafter referred to as the
‘‘Calcagni Memorandum’’);
2. ‘‘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
3. ‘‘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.
IV. Why is EPA proposing these
actions?
On January 27, 2011, the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, through
DAQ, requested the redesignation of the
Northern Kentucky Area to attainment
for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
EPA’s preliminary evaluation indicates
that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area has attained the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS and has met the
requirements for redesignation set forth
in section 107(d)(3)(E), including the
maintenance plan requirements under
section 175A of the CAA. Additionally,
EPA is proposing to approve the 2008
baseline emission inventory under
section 172(c)(3) because Kentucky has
used methodology consistent with EPA
guidance and implementing regulations
to develop this inventory. EPA is also
announcing the status of its adequacy
determination for both the NOX and
PM2.5 MVEBs for 2015 and 2021, which
are relevant to the requested
redesignation.
V. What is EPA’s analysis of the
request?
As stated above, in accordance with
the CAA, EPA proposes in today’s
action to: (1) Redesignate the Northern
Kentucky Area to attainment for the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS; (2) approve
the Northern Kentucky Area emissions
inventory submitted with the
maintenance plan; and (3) approve into
the Kentucky SIP, the Northern
Kentucky’s 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
maintenance plan, including the
associated MVEBs. These actions are
based upon EPA’s determination that
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area
continues to attain the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS and that all other
redesignation criteria have been met for
the Northern Kentucky Area, provided
EPA approves the emissions inventory
submitted with the maintenance plan.
The five redesignation criteria provided
under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) are
discussed in greater detail for the Area
in the following paragraphs of this
section.
As stated above, in accordance with
the CAA, EPA proposes to make the
determination that the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is continuing
to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
and that all other redesignation criteria
have been met for the Northern
Kentucky Area. The bases for EPA’s
determination for the Area are discussed
in greater detail below.
Criteria (1)—The Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area Has Attained the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
For redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment, the CAA requires
EPA to determine that the area has
attained the applicable NAAQS (CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E)(i)). EPA is
proposing to determine that the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area continues to
attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
For PM2.5, an area may be considered to
be attaining the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS if it meets the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS, as determined in
accordance with 40 CFR 50.13 and
Appendix N of part 50, based on three
complete, consecutive calendar years of
quality-assured air quality monitoring
data. To attain these NAAQS, the 3-year
average of the annual arithmetic mean
concentration, as determined in
accordance with 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix N, is less than or equal to
15.0 mg/m3 at all relevant monitoring
sites in the subject area over a 3-year
period. The relevant data must be
collected and quality-assured in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and
recorded in the EPA Air Quality System
(AQS). The monitors generally should
have remained at the same location for
the duration of the monitoring period
required for demonstrating attainment.
On September 29, 2011, at 76 FR
60373, EPA finalized a determination
that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area was attaining the 1997 PM2.5
NAAQS, and that this Area attained the
1997 PM2.5 NAAQS by its applicable
attainment date of April 5, 2011. For
that action EPA reviewed PM2.5
monitoring data from monitoring
stations in the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area for the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS for 2007–2009. The
public was provided a 30-day comment
period to review and provide comment
to EPA on the analysis of this data. EPA
did not receive any comments, adverse
or otherwise, on the Agency’s
determination that the Area had
attaining data for the period of 2007–
2009, and continued to have attaining
data through the finalization of EPA’s
proposal in September 2011. As such,
EPA is not seeking additional comment
in today’s action regarding this data. As
noted in EPA’s September 29, 2011,
action these data were quality-assured
and recorded in AQS. The annual mean
of the PM2.5 concentrations for 2007–
2010 and the 3-year average of these
values (i.e., design values) are
summarized in Table 1.
TABLE 1—DESIGN VALUE CONCENTRATIONS FOR THE TRI-STATE CINCINNATI-HAMILTON AREA FOR THE 1997 ANNUAL
PM2.5 NAAQS (μG/M3)
Annual mean concentrations
Location
County
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2007
John Hill ..............
Dixie ....................
Bonita & St John
Nilles ...................
Hook Field ...........
Clermont Center
Grooms ...............
Seymour & Vine ..
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Campbell, KY ......
Kenton, KY .........
Butler, OH ...........
Butler, OH ...........
Butler, OH ...........
Clermont, OH ......
Hamilton, OH ......
Hamilton, OH ......
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3-Year design values
Monitor ID
21–037–3002
21–117–0007
39–017–0003
39–017–0016
39–017–1004
39–025–0022
39–061–0006
39–061–0014
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14.36
14.20
15.40
14.94
14.62
14.01
14.63
16.59
Fmt 4702
2008
2009
11.83
11.99
13.80
13.75
n/a
11.75
12.48
15.06
Sfmt 4702
11.34
11.04
12.83
13.08
n/a
11.01
12.11
13.38
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2010 2
11.8
* 12.1
13.6
13.5
n/a
12.0
* 12.7
14.8
21OCP1
2007–2009
2008–2010 4
12.3
12.4
13.9
13.8
14.6
12.2
13.1
15.0
11.6
11.5
13.4
13.4
n/a
11.6
12.4
14.4
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TABLE 1—DESIGN VALUE CONCENTRATIONS FOR THE TRI-STATE CINCINNATI-HAMILTON AREA FOR THE 1997 ANNUAL
PM2.5 NAAQS (μG/M3)—Continued
Annual mean concentrations
Location
County
2007
WM. Howard Taft
W. 8th .................
E. Kemper ...........
Sherman .............
Murray .................
Southeast ............
Hamilton, OH ......
Hamilton, OH ......
Hamilton, OH ......
Hamilton, OH ......
Hamilton, OH ......
Warren, OH ........
3-Year design values
Monitor ID
39–061–0040
36–061–0042
36–061–0043
39–061–7001
39–016–8001
39–165–0007
15.09
15.90
14.85
15.09
16.07
13.98
2008
2010 2
2009
12.62
14.40
13.32
13.74
14.40
11.92
12.73
13.71
n/a
12.97
13.40
11.70
13.3
14.5
n/a
14.1
* 17.6
11.9
2007–2009
2008–2010 4
13.4
14.6
14.1
14.0
14.6
12.4
12.9
14.2
n/a
13.6
n/a
11.8
* Design value does not meet data completeness requirements due to closure or start-up of the monitoring stations.
4 The preliminary PM
2.5 ambient air quality data for 2010 for the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area indicates that the Area is attaining the
NAAQS with all 2008–2010 design values below the NAAQS of 15.0 μg/m3.
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As discussed above, the design value
for an area is the highest annual mean
concentration recorded at any monitor
in the area for a 3-year period.
Therefore, the 3-year design value
(2007–2009) submitted by Kentucky for
redesignation of the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area is 15.0 mg/m3, which
meets the NAAQS as described above.
Several of the above monitoring sites do
not meet the 75 percent completeness
criteria. In these cases, operation of the
monitoring sites were started or shutdown during the 2007–2010 timeframe.
Additional details can be found in
EPA’s final clean data determination for
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area
(76 FR 60373). EPA has reviewed more
recent preliminary data which indicates
that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area continues to attain the 1997 PM2.5
NAAQS beyond the submitted 3-year
attainment period of 2007–2009. The
design value for the most recent 3-year
period of 2008–2010 will be certified by
the time EPA takes final action on this
proposed rule.2 At that time, EPA will
again ensure that current air quality data
demonstrates that the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is continuing
to meet the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
If the Area does not continue to attain
before EPA finalizes the redesignation,
EPA will not go forward with the
redesignation. As discussed in more
detail below, the Commonwealth of
Kentucky has committed to continue
monitoring in this Area in accordance
with 40 CFR part 58.
Criteria (5)—Kentucky has met all
Applicable Requirements under Section
110 and part D of the CAA; and Criteria
(2)—Kentucky has a fully approved SIP
under section 110(k) for the Northern
Kentucky Area
For redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment, the CAA requires
EPA to determine that the state has met
all applicable requirements under
section 110 and part D of title I of the
CAA (CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(v)) and
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that the state has a fully approved SIP
under section 110(k) for the area (CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii)). EPA proposes
to find that Kentucky has met all
applicable SIP requirements for the
Northern Kentucky Area under section
110 of the CAA (general SIP
requirements) for purposes of
redesignation. Additionally, EPA
proposes to find that the Kentucky SIP
satisfies the criterion that it meet
applicable SIP requirements for
purposes of redesignation under part D
of title I of the CAA (requirements
specific to 1997 Annual PM2.5
nonattainment areas) in accordance
with section 107(d)(3)(E)(v). Further,
EPA proposes to determine that the SIP
is fully approved with respect to all
requirements applicable for purposes of
redesignation in accordance with
section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii). In making these
determinations, EPA ascertained which
requirements are applicable to the Area
and, if applicable, that they are fully
approved under section 110(k). SIPs
must be fully approved only with
respect to requirements that were
applicable prior to submittal of the
complete redesignation request.
a. The Northern Kentucky Area Has Met
all Applicable Requirements Under
Section 110 and Part D of the CAA
General SIP requirements. Section
110(a)(2) of title I of the CAA delineates
the general requirements for a SIP,
which include enforceable emissions
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 limitations.
General SIP elements and requirements
are delineated in section 110(a)(2) of
title I, part A of the CAA. These
requirements include, but are not
limited to, the following: Submittal of a
SIP that has been adopted by the state
after reasonable public notice and
hearing; provisions for establishment
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and operation of appropriate procedures
needed to monitor ambient air quality;
implementation of a source permit
program; provisions for the
implementation of part C requirements
(Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD)) and provisions for the
implementation of part D requirements
(New Source Review (NSR) permit
programs); provisions for air pollution
modeling; and provisions for public and
local agency participation in planning
and emission control rule development.
Section 110(a)(2)(D) requires that SIPs
contain certain measures to prevent
sources in a state from significantly
contributing to air quality problems in
another state. To implement this
provision, EPA has required certain
states to establish programs to address
the interstate transport of air pollutants
(e.g., NOX SIP Call,5 CAIR,6 and the
CSAPR). The section 110(a)(2)(D)
requirements for a state are not linked
with a particular nonattainment area’s
designation and classification in that
5 On October 27, 1998 (63 FR 57356), EPA issued
a NOX SIP Call requiring the District of Columbia
and 22 states to reduce emissions of NOX in order
to reduce the transport of ozone and ozone
precursors. In compliance with EPA’s NOX SIP Call,
Kentucky developed rules governing the control of
NOX emissions from EGUs, major non-electric
generating units (EGU) industrial boilers, major
cement kilns, and internal combustion engines.
EPA approved Kentucky’s rules as fulfilling Phase
I and Phase II of the NOX SIP Call on October 23,
2009 (74 FR 54755).
6 On May 12, 2005 (70 FR 25162), EPA
promulgated CAIR which required 28 upwind
States and the District of Columbia to revise their
SIPs to include control measures that would reduce
emissions of SO2 and NOX. Various aspects of CAIR
rule were petitioned in court and on December 23,
2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit remanded CAIR to EPA (see North
Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176 (DC Cir., December
2008)) which left CAIR in place to ‘‘temporarily
preserve the environmental values covered by
CAIR’’ until EPA replaces it with a rule consistent
with the Court’s ruling. The Court directed EPA to
remedy various areas of the rule that were
petitioned consistent with its July 11, 2008 (see
North Carolina v. EPA,531 F.3d 836 (DC Cir., July
11, 2008)), opinion, but declined to impose a
schedule on EPA for completing that action. Id.
Therefore, CAIR is currently in effect in Kentucky.
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state. EPA believes that the
requirements linked with a particular
nonattainment area’s designation and
classifications are the relevant measures
to evaluate in 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. Thus, EPA does not
believe that the CAA’s interstate
transport requirements should be
construed to be applicable requirements
for purposes of redesignation. However,
as discussed later in this notice,
addressing pollutant transport from
other states is an important part of an
area’s maintenance demonstration.
In addition, EPA believes other
section 110 elements that are neither
connected with nonattainment plan
submissions nor linked with an area’s
attainment status are applicable
requirements for purposes of
redesignation. The area will still be
subject to these requirements after the
area is redesignated. The section 110
and part D requirements which are
linked with a particular area’s
designation and classification are the
relevant measures to evaluate in
reviewing a redesignation request. This
approach is consistent with EPA’s
existing policy on applicability (i.e., for
redesignations) of conformity and
oxygenated fuels requirements, as well
as with section 184 ozone transport
requirements. See Reading,
Pennsylvania, proposed and final
rulemakings (61 FR 53174–53176,
October 10, 1996), (62 FR 24826, May 7,
1997); Cleveland-Akron-Loraine, Ohio,
final rulemaking (61 FR 20458, May 7,
1996); and Tampa, Florida, final
rulemaking at (60 FR 62748, December
7, 1995). See also the discussion on this
issue in the Cincinnati, Ohio,
redesignation (65 FR 37890, June 19,
2000), and in the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, redesignation (66 FR
50399, October 19, 2001).
EPA has not yet completed
rulemaking on a submittal from
Kentucky dated August 26, 2008,
addressing ‘‘infrastructure SIP’’
elements required under the Clean Air
Act (CAA or ‘‘the Act’’) section 110(a)(2)
for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. However,
these are statewide requirements that
are not a consequence of the
nonattainment status of the Northern
Kentucky Area. EPA believes that
section 110 elements not linked to an
area’s nonattainment status are not
applicable for purposes of
redesignation. See the Reading,
Pennsylvania, proposed and final
rulemakings (61 FR 53174–53176,
October 10, 1996 and 62 FR 24826, May
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Jkt 226001
7, 1997), the Cleveland-Akron-Loraine,
Ohio, final rulemaking (61 FR 20458,
May 7, 1996), and the Tampa, Florida,
final rulemaking (60 FR 62748,
December 7, 1995). Therefore,
notwithstanding the fact that EPA has
not yet completed rulemaking on
Kentucky’s submittal for the PM2.5
infrastructure SIP elements of section
110(a)(2), EPA believes it has approved
all SIP elements that must be approved
as a prerequisite for the redesignation to
attainment of the Northern Kentucky
Area.
Title I, Part D requirements. EPA
proposes that with approval of
Kentucky’s base year emissions
inventory, which is part of the
maintenance plan submittal, the
Kentucky SIP will meet applicable SIP
requirements under part D of title I of
the CAA. As discussed in greater detail
below, EPA believes the emissions
inventory is approvable because the
2008 direct PM2.5, SO2, and NOX
emissions for Kentucky were developed
consistent with EPA guidance for
emissions inventories and represent a
comprehensive, accurate and current
inventory as required by section
172(c)(3).
Part D, subpart 1 applicable SIP
requirements. EPA has determined that
if the approval of the base year
emissions inventories, discussed in
section IX of this rulemaking, is
finalized, the Kentucky SIP will meet
the applicable SIP requirements for the
Northern Kentucky Area for purposes of
redesignation under part D of the CAA.
Subpart 1 of part D, found in sections
172–176 of the CAA, sets for the basic
nonattainment requirements applicable
to all nonattainment areas. All areas that
were designated nonattainment for the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS were
designated under subpart 1 of the CAA.
The applicable subpart 1 requirements
are contained in sections 172(c)(1)–(9)
and in section 176.
For purposes of evaluating this
redesignation request, the applicable
part D, subpart 1 SIP requirements for
all nonattainment areas are contained in
sections 172(c)(1)–(9) and in section
176. A thorough discussion of the
requirements contained in section 172
can be found in the General Preamble
for Implementation of title I (57 FR
13498, April 16, 1992).
Subpart 1 Section 172 Requirements.
Section 172(c)(1) requires the plans for
all nonattainment areas to provide for
the implementation of all reasonably
available control measures (RACM) as
expeditiously as practicable and to
provide for attainment of the NAAQS.
EPA interprets this requirement to
impose a duty on all nonattainment
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65463
areas to consider all available control
measures and to adopt and implement
such measures as are reasonably
available for implementation in each
area as components of the area’s
attainment demonstration. Under
section 172, states with nonattainment
areas must submit plans providing for
timely attainment and meeting a variety
of other requirements. However,
pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1004(c), EPA’s
final determination that the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area was attaining
the PM2.5 standard suspended
Kentucky’s obligation to submit most of
the attainment planning requirements
that would otherwise apply.
Specifically, the determination of
attainment suspended Kentucky’s
obligation to submit an attainment
demonstration and planning SIPs to
provide for reasonable further progress
(RFP), RACM, and contingency
measures under section 172(c)(9).
The General Preamble for
Implementation of Title I (57 FR 13498,
April 16, 1992) also discusses the
evaluation of these requirements in the
context of EPA’s consideration of a
redesignation request. The General
Preamble sets forth EPA’s view of
applicable requirements for purposes of
evaluating redesignation requests when
an area is attaining a standard (General
Preamble for Implementation of Title I
(57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992)).
Because attainment has been reached
in the Tri-state Cincinnati Area, no
additional measures are needed to
provide for attainment, and section
172(c)(1) requirements for an attainment
demonstration and RACM are no longer
considered to be applicable for purposes
of redesignation as long as the Area
continues to attain the standard until
redesignation. See also 40 CFR
51.1004(c).
The RFP plan requirement under
section 172(c)(2) is defined as progress
that must be made toward attainment.
This requirement is not relevant for
purposes of redesignation because EPA
has determined that the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area, which
includes the Northern Kentucky Area,
has monitored attainment of the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See General
Preamble, 57 FR 13564. See also 40 CFR
51.1004(c). In addition, because the Tristate Cincinnati-Hamilton Area has
attained the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
and is no longer subject to a RFP
requirement, the requirement to submit
the section 172(c)(9) contingency
measures is not applicable for purposes
of redesignation. Id.
Section 172(c)(3) requires submission
and approval of a comprehensive,
accurate, and current inventory of actual
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emissions. As part of Kentucky’s
redesignation request for the Northern
Kentucky Area, Kentucky submitted a
2008 base year emissions inventory. As
discussed below in section VIII, EPA is
proposing to approve the 2008 base year
inventory submitted with the
redesignation request as meeting the
section 172(c)(3) emissions inventory
requirement.
Section 172(c)(4) requires the
identification and quantification of
allowable emissions for major new and
modified stationary sources to be
allowed in an area, and section 172(c)(5)
requires source permits for the
construction and operation of new and
modified major stationary sources
anywhere in the nonattainment area.
EPA has determined that, since PSD
requirements will apply after
redesignation, areas being redesignated
need not comply with the requirement
that a NSR program be approved prior
to redesignation, provided that the area
demonstrates maintenance of the
NAAQS without part D NSR. 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.’’ Kentucky
has demonstrated that the Northern
Kentucky Area will be able to maintain
the NAAQS without part D NSR in
effect, and therefore Kentucky need not
have fully approved part D NSR
programs prior to approval of the
redesignation request. Nonetheless,
Kentucky currently has a fully-approved
part D NSR program in place.
Kentucky’s PSD program will become
effective in the Northern Kentucky Area
upon redesignation to attainment.
Section 172(c)(6) requires the SIP to
contain control measures necessary to
provide for attainment of the NAAQS.
Because attainment has been reached,
no additional measures are needed to
provide for attainment.
Section 172(c)(7) requires the SIP to
meet the applicable provisions of
section 110(a)(2). As noted above, EPA
believes the Kentucky SIP meets the
requirements of section 110(a)(2)
applicable for purposes of
redesignation.
176 Conformity Requirements.
Section 176(c) of the CAA requires
states to establish criteria and
procedures to ensure that federallysupported or funded projects conform to
the air quality planning goals in the
applicable SIP. The requirement to
determine conformity applies to
transportation plans, programs and
projects that are developed, funded or
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Jkt 226001
approved under title 23 of the United
States Code (U.S.C.) and the Federal
Transit Act (transportation conformity)
as well as to all other federallysupported or funded projects (general
conformity). State transportation
conformity SIP revisions must be
consistent with federal conformity
regulations relating to consultation,
enforcement and enforceability that EPA
promulgated pursuant to its authority
under the CAA.
EPA believes it is reasonable to
interpret the conformity SIP
requirements 7 as not applying for
purposes of evaluating the redesignation
request under section 107(d) because
state conformity rules are still required
after redesignation and federal
conformity rules apply where state rules
have not been approved. See Wall v.
EPA, 265 F.3d 426 (upholding this
interpretation)(6th Cir. 2001); see also
60 FR 62748 (December 7, 1995, Tampa,
Florida). Thus, the Northern Kentucky
Area has satisfied all applicable
requirements for purposes of
redesignation under section 110 and
part D of the CAA.
b. The Northern Kentucky Area Has a
Fully Approved Applicable SIP Under
Section 110(k) of the CAA
If EPA issues a final approval of the
base year emissions inventories, EPA
will have fully approved the applicable
Kentucky SIP for the Northern Kentucky
Area for the 1997 Annual PM2.5
nonattainment area under section 110(k)
of the CAA for all requirements
applicable for purposes of
redesignation. EPA may rely on prior
SIP approvals in approving a
redesignation request (see Calcagni
Memorandum at p. 3; Southwestern
Pennsylvania Growth Alliance v.
Browner, 144 F.3d 984, 989–90 (6th Cir.
1998); Wall, 265 F.3d 426) plus any
additional measures it may approve in
conjunction with a redesignation action
(see 68 FR 25426 (May 12, 2003) and
citations therein). Following passage of
the CAA of 1970, Kentucky has adopted
and submitted, and EPA has fully
approved at various times, provisions
addressing the various SIP elements
applicable for the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS in the Northern Kentucky Area
(65 FR 37879, June 19, 2000).
As indicated above, EPA believes that
the section 110 elements not connected
with nonattainment plan submissions
7 CAA Section 176(c)(4)(E) requires states to
submit revisions to their SIPs to reflect certain
federal criteria and procedures for determining
transportation conformity. Transportation
conformity SIPs are different from the motor vehicle
emission budgets that are established in control
strategy SIPs and maintenance plans.
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and not linked to the area’s
nonattainment status are not applicable
requirements for purposes of
redesignation. In addition, EPA believes
that since the part D subpart 1
requirements did not become due prior
to submission of the redesignation
request, they are also not applicable
requirements for purposes of
redesignation. Sierra Club v. EPA, 375
F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004); 68 FR 25424,
25427 (May 12, 2003) (redesignation of
the St. Louis-East St. Louis Area to
attainment of the 1-hour ozone
NAAQS). With the approval of the
emissions inventory, EPA will have
approved all Part D subpart 1
requirements applicable for purposes of
this redesignation.
Criteria (3)—The Air Quality
Improvement in the Kentucky Portion of
the Tri-State Cincinnati-Hamilton Area
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
Nonattainment Area Is Due to
Permanent and Enforceable Reductions
in Emissions Resulting From
Implementation of the SIP and
Applicable Federal Air Pollution
Control Regulations and Other
Permanent and Enforceable Reductions
For redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment, the CAA requires
EPA to determine that the air quality
improvement in the area is due to
permanent and enforceable reductions
in emissions resulting from
implementation of the SIP and
applicable federal air pollution control
regulations and other permanent and
enforceable reductions (CAA section
107(d)(3)(E)(iii)). EPA believes that
Kentucky has demonstrated that the
observed air quality improvement in the
Northern Kentucky Area is due to
permanent and enforceable reductions
in emissions resulting from
implementation of the SIP, federal
measures, and other state adopted
measures.
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5,
refers to airborne particles less than or
equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter.
Although treated as a single pollutant,
fine particles come from many different
sources and are composed of many
different compounds. One of the largest
components of PM2.5 is sulfate, which is
formed through various chemical
reactions from the precursor SO2. The
other major component of PM2.5 is
organic carbon, which originates
predominantly from biogenic emission
sources. Nitrate, which is formed from
the precursor NOX, is also a component
of PM2.5. Crustal materials from
windblown dust and elemental carbon
from combustion sources are less
significant contributors to total PM2.5.
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State and federal measures enacted in
recent years have resulted in permanent
emission reductions. Most of these
emission reductions are enforceable
through regulations. A few nonregulatory measures also result in
emission reductions. The federal
measures that have been implemented
include:
Tier 2 vehicle standards. In addition
to requiring NOX controls, the Tier 2
rule reduced the allowable sulfur
content of gasoline to 30 parts per
million (ppm) starting in January of
2006. Most gasoline sold prior to this
had a sulfur content of approximately
300 ppm.
Heavy-duty gasoline and diesel
highway vehicle standards. The second
phase of the standards and testing
procedures, which began in 2007,
reduces particulate matter (PM) and
NOX from heavy-duty highway engines
and also reduces highway diesel fuel
sulfur content to 15 ppm. The total
program is expected to achieve a 90 and
95 percent reduction in PM and NOX
emissions from heavy-duty highway
engines, respectively.
Nonroad spark-ignition engines and
recreational engines standards. Tier 1 of
this standard, implemented in 2004, and
Tier 2, implemented in 2007, have
reduced and will continue to reduce PM
emissions.
Large nonroad diesel engine
standards. Promulgated in 2004, this
rule is being phased in between 2008
and 2014. This rule will reduce sulfur
content in nonroad diesel fuel and,
when fully implemented, will reduce
NOX and direct PM2.5 emissions by over
90 percent from these engines.
NOX SIP Call. On October 27, 1998
(63 FR 57356), EPA issued a NOX SIP
Call requiring the District of Columbia
and 22 states to reduce emissions of
NOX. Affected states were required to
comply with Phase I of the SIP Call
beginning in 2004, and Phase II
beginning in 2007. Emission reductions
resulting from regulations developed in
response to the NOX SIP Call are
permanent and enforceable.
CAIR and the Cross-State Air
Pollution Rule (CSAPR). As previously
discussed, the remanded CAIR,
originally promulgated to reduce
transported pollution, was left in place
to ‘‘temporarily preserve the
environmental values covered by CAIR’’
until EPA replaced it with a rule
consistent with the Court’s opinion. To
remedy CAIR’s flaws, EPA promulgated
the final CSAPR on August 8, 2011.
CSAPR addresses the interstate
transport requirements of the CAA with
respect to the 1997 ozone, 1997 PM2.5
and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. As noted
previously, the requirements of CAIR
address emissions thru the 2011 control
period and CSAPR requires similar or
greater emission reductions in the
relevant areas in 2012 and beyond.
The state measures that have been
implemented to date and relied upon by
Kentucky to demonstrate attainment
and/or maintenance include NOX SIP
Call regulations, open burning bans, and
fugitive emissions standards.
EPA believes that PM2.5 and PM2.5
precursor reductions in and around the
Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area have
contributed to improved air quality. The
majority of the improvement in ambient
PM2.5 concentrations has resulted from
reductions in emissions from coal fired
power plants. In addition, local controls
of NOX and SO2 installed on Unit 2 of
the Duke Energy East Bend coal fired
utility plant in the Boone County have
decreased emissions by approximately
38 and 53 percent, for NOX and SO2
respectively, between 2005 and 2009.
These reductions, prompted by the NOX
SIP Call and CAIR, included upgrades to
flue gas desulfurization system in
response to CAIR and selective catalytic
reduction (SCR) system installation as a
result of the NOX SIP Call. A summary
of the emissions reductions from 2005
to 2009 is for the entire Tri-state
Cincinnati Hamilton Area is provided in
Table 2. EPA’s analysis shows that
reductions of SO2 and NOX emissions,
in tons per year (tpy) are greater than
decreases in emissions that could be
attributed to any decreases in electrical
demand in the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area. These reductions are
permanent and enforceable through the
NOX SIP Call and CSAPR.
TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS FROM COAL FIRED UTILITIES IN THE TRI-STATE CINCINNATI-HAMILTON
AREA 8
Facility—county
Emissions difference from
2005–2009
(tpy)
Percent
reduction
SO2
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Kentucky
East Bend—Boone Co .............................................................................................
Indiana
Tanners Creek—Dearborn Co .................................................................................
Ohio
Miami Fort—Hamilton Co .........................................................................................
W.H. Zimmer—Clermont Co ....................................................................................
Walter C. Beckjord—Clermont Co ...........................................................................
NOX
Percent
reduction
1,942
53
1,516
38
30,091
65
4,432
56
52,243
8,095
24,982
67
36
37
10,927
11,507
2,065
72
76
16
Because PM 2.5 concentrations in the
Cincinnati-Hamilton area are impacted
by the transport of sulfates and nitrates,
the area’s air quality is affected by
regulation of SO2 and NOX emissions
from power plants. Table 3, below,
presents statewide EGU emissions data
compiled by EPA’s Clean Air Markets
Division for the years 2002 and 2008.
Emissions for 2008 reflect
implementation of CAIR.
8 Data reflects reported actual emissions from the
Clean Air Markets Division Database https://
camddataandmaps.epa.gov/gdm/
index.cfm?fuseaction=emissions.wizard. Data is not
normalized for output.
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TABLE 3—COMPARISON OF 2002 AND 2008 STATEWIDE EGU NOX AND SO2 EMISSIONS (TPY) FOR STATES IMPACTING
THE CINCINNATI-HAMILTON AREA
NOX
SO2
State
2002
Net change
2002–2008
2008
2002
2008
Net change
2002–2008
Alabama ...................................................
Illinois .......................................................
Indiana .....................................................
Kentucky ..................................................
Michigan ...................................................
Missouri ....................................................
Ohio ..........................................................
Pennsylvania ............................................
Tennessee ...............................................
West Virginia ............................................
Wisconsin .................................................
161,559
174,247
281,146
198,599
132,623
139,799
370,497
200,909
155,996
225,371
88,970
112,625
119,930
190,092
157,903
107,624
88,742
235,049
183,658
85,641
99,484
47,794
¥48,934
¥54,317
¥91,054
¥40,696
¥25,000
¥51,057
¥135,448
¥17,251
¥70,356
¥125,887
¥41,175
448,248
353,699
778,868
482,653
342,999
235,532
1,132,069
889,766
336,995
507,110
191,257
357,546
257,357
565,459
344,356
326,501
258,269
709,444
831,915
208,069
301,574
129,694
¥90,702
¥96,342
¥213,409
¥138,297
¥16,498
22,737
¥422,625
¥57,851
¥128,926
¥205,536
¥61,563
Total ..................................................
2,129,716
1,428,541
¥701,175
5,699,195
4,290,184
¥1,409,011
Table 3 shows that states impacting
the Cincinnati-Hamilton area reduced
NOX and SO2 emissions from EGUs by
701,175 tons per year (tpy) and
1,409,011 tpy, respectively, between
2002 and 2008. In summary, reductions
of EGU emissions of SO2 and NOX
contributed to the air quality
improvement in the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area. Given the remanded
status of CAIR, this air quality
improvement could not be considered
permanent at the time DAQ submitted
its request for redesignation of the
Northern Kentucky Area. However,
since that time the CSAPR has been
finalized, which mandates even greater
reductions than have already occurred
under CAIR and, more importantly,
more reductions than are needed to
maintain the standard in the Area.
Therefore, the final promulgation of the
CSAPR in combination with the other
measures cited by Kentucky and
described above, ensure that the
emission reductions that led the Area to
attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
can be considered permanent and
enforceable for purposes of section
107(d)(3)(E)(iii).
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Criteria (4)—The Northern Kentucky
Area Has a Fully Approved
Maintenance Plan Pursuant to Section
175A of the CAA
For redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment, the CAA requires
EPA to determine that the area has a
fully approved maintenance plan
pursuant to section 175A of the CAA
(CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(iv)). In
conjunction with its request to
redesignate the Northern Kentucky Area
to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS, DAQ submitted a SIP revision
to provide for the maintenance of the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS for at least
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10 years after the effective date of
redesignation to attainment. EPA
believes this maintenance plan meets
the requirements for approval under
section 175A of the CAA.
a. What is required in a maintenance
plan?
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth
the elements of a maintenance plan for
areas seeking redesignation from
nonattainment to attainment. Under
section 175A, the plan must
demonstrate continued attainment of
the applicable NAAQS for at least 10
years after the Administrator approves a
redesignation to attainment. Eight years
after the redesignation, the
Commonwealth of Kentucky must
submit a revised maintenance plan,
which demonstrates that attainment will
continue to be maintained for the 10
years following the initial 10-year
period. To address the possibility of
future NAAQS violations, the
maintenance plan must contain such
contingency measures, as EPA deems
necessary, to assure prompt correction
of any future 1997 Annual PM2.5
violations. The Calcagni Memorandum
provides further guidance on the
content of a maintenance plan,
explaining that a maintenance plan
should address five requirements: The
attainment emissions inventory,
maintenance demonstration,
monitoring, verification of continued
attainment, and a contingency plan. As
is discussed more fully below, EPA
finds that the Commonwealth’s
maintenance plan includes all the
necessary components and is thus
proposing to approve it as a revision to
the Kentucky SIP.
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b. Attainment Emissions Inventory
The Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area attained the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS based on monitoring data for
the 3-year period from 2007–2009. The
Commonwealth selected 2008 as the
attainment emission inventory year. The
attainment inventory identifies the level
of emissions in the Area, which is
sufficient to attain the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. The Commonwealth
began development of the attainment
inventory by first generating a baseline
emissions inventory for the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. As noted
above, the year 2008 was chosen as the
base year for developing a
comprehensive emissions inventory for
the primary PM2.5 precursors, SO2 and
NOX, for which projected emissions
could be developed for 2011, 2015,
2018, and 2021. The projected inventory
included with the maintenance plan
estimates emissions forward to 2021,
which is at the 10-year interval required
in section 175(A) of the CAA. In
addition to comparing the final year of
the plan, Kentucky compared interim
years to the 2008 baseline to
demonstrate that these years are also
expected to show continued
maintenance of the annual fine
particulate matter standard.
The emissions inventories are
composed of four major types of
sources: point, area, on-road mobile and
non-road mobile. The attainment and
future year emissions inventories were
projected by Lake Michigan Air
Directors Consortium using the 2005
base year inventory methodology as
provided in the Appendix D of
Kentucky’s Submittal. The future year
emissions inventories have been
estimated using projected rates of
growth in population, traffic, economic
activity, expected control programs, and
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other parameters. Non-road mobile
emissions estimates were based on the
EPA’s non-road mobile model, with the
exception of the railroad locomotives,
commercial marine, and aircraft engine.
These emissions are estimated by taking
activity data, such as landings and
takeoffs, and multiplying by an
Economic Growth Analysis System
emission factor. On-road mobile source
emissions were calculated using EPA’s
MOVES2010 mobile emission factors
model. The 2008 SO2, NOX and PM2.5
emissions for the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area, as well as the emissions
for other years, were developed
consistent with EPA guidance and are
summarized in Table 5 of the following
subsection discussing the maintenance
demonstration.
c. Maintenance Demonstration
The January 27, 2011, final submittal
includes a maintenance plan for the
Northern Kentucky Area. This
demonstration:
(i) Shows compliance with and
maintenance of the annual PM2.5
standard by providing information to
support the demonstration that current
and future emissions of SO2, NOX and
PM2.5 remain at or below 2008
emissions levels.
(ii) Uses 2008 as the attainment year
and includes future emission inventory
65467
projections for 2011, 2015, 2018, and
2021.
(iii) Identifies an ‘‘out year’’ at least 10
years after EPA review and potential
approval of the maintenance plan. per
40 CFR part 93, NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs
were established for the last year (2021)
of the maintenance plan. Additionally,
Kentucky also opted to establish MVEBs
for the interim year of 2015. See section
VI below.
(iv) Provides, as shown in Tables 4, 5,
and 6 below, the actual and projected
emissions inventories, in tpy, for the
Northern Kentucky Area, and Table 7
below shows the actual and emissions
inventories for the entire Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area.
TABLE 4—ANNUAL PM2.5 FOR THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA
PM2.5
Actual and projected estimated emissions (tpy)
Sector
2008
2011
2015
2018
2021
Point .........................................................................................................
Area .........................................................................................................
Nonroad ...................................................................................................
Mobile ......................................................................................................
246.14
921.66
497.22
645.62
260.41
922.39
457.58
513.85
280.39
923.39
408.89
371.11
295.19
924.46
372.32
320.84
310.51
925.55
338.50
275.38
Total ..................................................................................................
2,310.64
2,154.23
1,983.78
1,912.82
1,849.94
TABLE 5—ANNUAL NOX FOR THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA
NOX
Actual and projected estimated emissions (tpy)
Sector
2008
2011
2015
2018
2021
Point .........................................................................................................
Area .........................................................................................................
Nonroad ...................................................................................................
Mobile ......................................................................................................
2,094.21
4,015.59
8,168.48
13,114.20
1,891.67
4,095.47
7,219.36
10,135.95
1,646.47
4,203.83
6,086.95
6,996.22
1,549.91
4,286.15
5,202.60
5,618,08
1,457.54
4,369.53
4,410.56
4,435.96
Total ..................................................................................................
27,392.48
23,342.46
18,933.47
16,656.74
14,673.59
TABLE 6—ANNUAL SO2 FOR THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA
SO2
Actual and projected estimated emissions (tpy)
Sector
2008
2011
2015
2018
2021
Point .........................................................................................................
Area .........................................................................................................
Nonroad ...................................................................................................
Mobile ......................................................................................................
2,844.98
2,756.35
832.54
42.74
2,761.67
2,785.21
728.03
45.94
2,653.54
2,824.05
604.74
50.50
2.613.08
2,853.38
513.85
54.46
2,573.07
2,882.91
433.13
58.62
Total ..................................................................................................
7,422.44
6,476.61
6,132.83
6,034.77
5,947.73
TABLE 7—EMISSION ESTIMATES FOR THE TRI-STATE CINCINNATI-HAMILTON AREA
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Year
NOX (tpy)
SO2 (tpy)
2008 .............................................................................................................................................
2015 .............................................................................................................................................
2021 .............................................................................................................................................
Difference from 2008 to 2021 ..............................................................................................
148,706.15
105,712.02
78,819.13
¥69,887.02
117,016.14
112,250.26
88,510.27
¥28,505.87
Tables 4 through 7 summarize the
2008 and future projected emissions of
direct PM2.5 and precursors from the
emissions for the relevant pollutants
and precursors are expected to be below
the’’ attainment level’’ emissions in
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counties in the Northern Kentucky Area,
and Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area.
As reflected in these tables, future
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PM2.5 (tpy)
8,904.64
8,634.55
8,202.63
¥702.01
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2008, and thus illustrates that the
Northern Kentucky and Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area as a whole
are expected to continue to attain the
1997 PM2.5 NAAQS through 2021. In
situations where local emissions are the
primary contributor to nonattainment, if
the future projected emissions in the
nonattainment area remain at or below
the baseline emissions in the
nonattainment area, then the ambient
air quality standard should not be
violated in the future. EPA and the
Commonwealth believe that a
significant portion of the nonattainment
problem in the Northern Kentucky Area
is due to transport of power plant
emissions from power plants outside the
nonattainment area. EPA recently
finalized the CSAPR, which mandates
substantial regional reductions of SO2
and NOX emissions in the Eastern
United States.
In CSAPR, EPA quantifies the
reductions needed in specific states to
address each covered state’s significant
contribution to nonattainment and
interference with maintenance of
specific NAAQS. In that action, EPA
also established FIPs to ensure that the
significant contribution to
nonattainment and interference with
maintenance identified by EPA is
prohibited.
The modeling for the final CSAPR
identified nine states, including
Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, that have
emissions that affect the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area’s air quality.
Table 8, below, shows state-wide
emission estimates for SO2 and NOX for
2005, 2012, and 2014, for the nine
eastern states that were determined to
have a significant effect on the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area’s air quality
in relation to the 1997 Annual NAAQS.
The values for 2005 reflect base year
emissions estimates. The values for
2012 reflect estimates for a scenario in
which neither the CAIR nor a
replacement for the CAIR is in effect,
reflecting a baseline that EPA used in
developing its proposed rule. The
values for 2014 reflect estimates of the
mandated CSAPR reductions. These
estimates are taken from Tables 6–1
(NOX) and 6–2 (SO2) of the emissions
technical support document for the
Transport Rule, available at https://
www.epa.gov/airquality/transport/pdfs/
TR_Proposal_Emissions_TSD.pdf. These
estimates exclude emissions from fires,
which are a small fraction of the
inventory (well under 0.1 percent) that
is projected to remain constant and does
not materially affect the comparison
here.
TABLE 8—SO2 AND NOX EMISSIONS FOR STATES SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE TRI-STATE CINCINNATIHAMILTON AREA 1997 ANNUAL PM2.5 NONATTAINMENT AREA (TPY)
SO2 emissions
State
2005 base
NOX emissions
2012 (w/o
transport rule)
2014 (with
transport rule)
2005 base
2012 (w/o
transport rule
2014 (with
transport rule)
572,424
1,276,270
1,047,371
516,950
490,190
421,979
1,173,296
388,191
535,586
780,885
1,076,470
986,601
866,376
415,042
570,575
1,119,680
708,905
645,431
182,630
361,138
396,403
304,834
300,560
315,283
303,071
218,065
184,341
435,837
816,239
614,861
773,276
638,546
505,195
704,936
471,705
294,016
345,073
552,864
505,039
542,886
478,625
353,407
566,301
338,154
206,630
247,270
453,167
386,251
480,743
410,319
317,092
454,248
270,171
144,970
Total ..................................................
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Kentucky ..................................................
Ohio ..........................................................
Indiana .....................................................
Illinois .......................................................
Michigan ...................................................
Missouri ....................................................
Pennsylvania ............................................
Tennessee ...............................................
West Virginia ............................................
6,422,257
7,169,965
2,566,325
5,254,611
3,888,979
3,164,231
While EPA has not made emission
estimates for 2021 that are premised on
the implementation of the CSAPR, Table
8 above shows emission estimates that
EPA has made for 2014 that include
reductions from the implementation of
the CSAPR. These emission estimates
show a substantial decline in SO2 and
NOX emissions comparable to that
shown in Kentucky’s maintenance plan.
Given the substantial degree of control
of the various electric EGUs in the Tristate Cincinnati-Hamilton Area, EPA
finds Kentucky’s projection of such
emission declines through 2021 to be
appropriate forecasts of future
emissions. The promulgation of the
CSAPR requires additional control
beyond those projected by Kentucky
will result in emission reductions in
excess of those needed for continued
maintenance of the PM2.5 Annual
NAAQS in the Northern Kentucky Area.
A maintenance plan requires the state
to show that projected future year
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emissions will not exceed the level of
emissions which led the Area to attain
the NAAQS. Kentucky has projected
emissions as described previously and
determined that emissions in the
Northern Kentucky Area will remain
below those in the attainment year
inventory for the duration of the
maintenance plan.
As discussed further in section VII of
this proposed rulemaking, 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. The attainment level
of emissions is the level of emissions
during one of the years in which the
area met the NAAQS. Kentucky has
decided to allocate a portion of the
available safety margins to the Area’s
NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for both 2015
and 2021 for the Northern Kentucky
Area and has calculated the safety
margin in its submittal. Specifically,
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18.56 tpy and 27.54 tpy of the available
PM2.5 safety margin for the Kentucky
portion of the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area will be allocated to the
2015 and 2021 Northern Kentucky Area
MVEBs, respectively. In addition,
1,049.43 tpy and 963.17 tpy of the
available NOX safety margins will be
allocated to the 2015 and 2021 MVEBs,
respectively. This allocation and the
resulting available safety margin for the
Northern Kentucky Area are discussed
further in section VI of this proposed
rulemaking.
d. Monitoring Network
There are currently two monitors
measuring PM2.5 in the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area (two in the
Northern Kentucky Area and twelve in
the remainder in the Ohio portion of
this Area). The Commonwealth of
Kentucky, through DAQ, has committed
to continue operation of the monitors in
the Northern Kentucky Area in
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compliance with 40 CFR part 58 and
have thus addressed the requirement for
monitoring. EPA approved Kentucky’s
2010 monitoring plan on October 8,
2010. Ohio has made a similar
commitment in their redesignation and
maintenance plan submission to EPA
for this Area. There is no monitor in the
Indiana portion of this Area.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
e. Verification of Continued Attainment
The Commonwealth of Kentucky,
through DAQ, has the legal authority to
enforce and implement the
requirements of the Northern Kentucky
Area 1997 Annual PM2.5 maintenance
plan. This includes the authority to
adopt, implement and enforce any
subsequent emissions control
contingency measures determined to be
necessary to correct future PM2.5
attainment problems.
DAQ will track the progress of the
maintenance plan by performing future
reviews of triennial emission
inventories for the Northern Kentucky
Area as required in the Air Emissions
Reporting Rule (AERR) and
Consolidated Emissions Reporting Rule
(CERR). For these periodic inventories,
DAQ will review the assumptions made
for the purpose of the maintenance
demonstration concerning projected
growth of activity levels. If any of these
assumptions appear to have changed
substantially, then DAQ will re-project
emissions for the Northern Kentucky
Area.
f. Contingency Measures in the
Maintenance Plan
The contingency measures are
designed to promptly correct a violation
of the NAAQS that occurs after
redesignation. 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 occurs after
redesignation. The maintenance plan
should identify the contingency
measures to be adopted, a schedule and
procedure for adoption and
implementation, and a time limit for
action by the Commonwealth. A state
should also identify specific indicators
to be used to determine when the
contingency measures need to be
implemented. The maintenance plan
must include a requirement that a state
will implement all measures with
respect to control of the pollutant that
were contained in the SIP before
redesignation of the area to attainment
in accordance with section 175A(d).
In the January 27, 2011, submittal,
Kentucky affirms that all programs
instituted by the Commonwealth and
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EPA will remain enforceable and that
sources are prohibited from reducing
emissions controls following the
redesignation of the Area. The
contingency plan included in the
submittal includes a triggering
mechanism to determine when
contingency measures are needed and a
process of developing and
implementing appropriate control
measures. The Commonwealth of
Kentucky will use actual ambient
monitoring data as the triggering event
to determine when contingency
measures should be implemented.
Kentucky has identified a primary
trigger as occurring when the 3-year
average of annual mean PM2.5
concentration is greater than the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS of 15.0 mg/m3, as
described in the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area. In the event of a
monitored violation of the 1997 Annual
NAAQS, the Commonwealth commits to
adopt one or more of the following
control measures within nine months in
order to bring the Area into compliance.
All regulatory programs will be
implemented within 18 months of the
triggering monitored violation:
• Implementation of a program to
require additional emissions reductions
on stationary sources;
• Implementation of fuel programs,
including incentives for alternative
fuels;
• Restriction of certain roads or lanes,
or construction of such lanes for use by
passenger buses or high-occupancy
vehicles;
• Trip-reduction ordinances;
• Employer-based transportation
management plans, including
incentives;
• Programs to limit or restrict vehicle
use in downtown areas, or other areas
of emission concentration, particularly
during periods of peak use;
• Programs for new construction and
major reconstruction of paths or tracks
for use by pedestrians or by nonmotorized vehicles when economically
feasible and in the public interest;
• Diesel reduction emissions
strategies, including diesel retrofit
programs;
• Any other control program that is
developed and deemed to be more
advantageous for the area.
A secondary trigger will occur in the
event that a measured value of the
weighted annual mean is 15.5 mg/m3 or
greater in a single calendar year in any
portion of the maintenance area. In such
a case, the Commonwealth will evaluate
existing controls measures and
determine whether any further emission
reduction measures should be
implemented. In addition to the triggers
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indicated above, Kentucky will monitor
regional emissions through the CERR
and AERR, and compare them to the
projected inventories and the attainment
year inventory.
EPA has concluded that the
maintenance plan adequately addresses
the five basic components of a
maintenance plan: attainment
inventory, monitoring network,
verification of continued attainment,
and a contingency plan. Therefore, the
maintenance plan SIP revision
submitted by the Commonwealth of
Kentucky for the Northern Kentucky
Area meets the requirements of section
175A of the CAA and is approvable.
VI. What is EPA’s analysis of
Kentucky’s proposed NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for the Northern Kentucky
Area?
Under section 176(c) of the CAA, new
transportation plans, programs, and
projects, such as the construction of
new highways, must ‘‘conform’’ to (i.e.,
be consistent with) the part of the state’s
air quality plan that addresses pollution
from cars and trucks. Conformity to the
SIP means that transportation activities
will not cause new air quality
violations, worsen existing violations, or
delay timely attainment of the NAAQS
or any interim milestones. If a
transportation plan does not conform,
most new projects that would expand
the capacity of roadways cannot go
forward. Regulations at 40 CFR part 93
set forth EPA policy, criteria, and
procedures for demonstrating and
assuring conformity of such
transportation activities to a SIP. The
regional emissions analysis is one, but
not the only, requirement for
implementing transportation
conformity. Transportation conformity
is a requirement for nonattainment and
maintenance areas. Maintenance areas
are areas that were previously
nonattainment for a particular NAAQS
but have since been redesignated to
attainment with an approved
maintenance plan for that NAAQS.
Under the CAA, states are required to
submit, at various times, control strategy
SIPs and maintenance plans for
nonattainment areas. These control
strategy SIPs (including RFP and
attainment demonstration) and
maintenance plans create MVEBs for
criteria pollutants and/or their
precursors to address pollution from
cars and trucks. Per 40 CFR part 93, a
MVEB must be established for the last
year of the maintenance plan. A state
may adopt MVEBs for other years as
well. The MVEB is the portion of the
total allowable emissions in the
maintenance demonstration that is
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allocated to highway and transit vehicle
use and emissions. See 40 CFR 93.101.
The MVEB serves as a ceiling on
emissions from an area’s planned
transportation system. The MVEB
concept is further explained in the
preamble to the November 24, 1993,
Transportation Conformity Rule (58 FR
62188). The preamble also describes
how to establish the MVEB in the SIP
and how to revise the MVEB.
After interagency consultation with
the transportation partners for the Tristate Cincinnati-Hamilton Area,
Kentucky has elected to develop MVEBs
for NOX and PM2.5 for the Northern
Kentucky Area (i.e., Boone, Campbell
and Kenton Counties).9 Kentucky is
developing these MVEBs, as required,
for the last year of its maintenance plan,
2021. Kentucky also established MVEBs
for the interim year of 2015. The MVEBs
reflect the total on-road emissions for
2015 and 2021, plus an allocation from
the available NOX and PM2.5 safety
margin. Under 40 CFR 93.101, the term
safety margin is the difference between
the attainment level (from all sources)
and the projected level of emissions
(from all sources) in the maintenance
plan. The safety margin can be allocated
to the transportation sector; however,
the total emissions must remain below
the attainment level. The NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs and allocation from the safety
margin were developed in consultation
with the transportation partners and
were added to account for uncertainties
in population growth, changes in model
vehicle miles traveled and new
emission factor models. The NOX and
PM2.5 MVEBs for the Northern Kentucky
Area are defined in Table 9 below.
available safety margin for the Northern
Kentucky Area to the NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for 2015 and 2021. The NOX
safety margin allocation is 1,049.43 tpy
and 963.17 tpy for 2015 and 2021,
respectively. Likewise, the PM2.5 safety
margin allocation is 18.56 tpy and 27.54
tpy for 2015 and 2021, respectively.
Through this rulemaking, EPA is
proposing to approve the MVEBs for
PM2.5 and NOX for 2015 and 2021,
including the allocation from the PM2.5
and NOX safety margins, for the
Northern Kentucky Area because EPA
has made the preliminary determination
that the Area maintains the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS with the
emissions at the levels of the budgets.
Once the MVEBs for the Northern
Kentucky Area are approved or found
adequate (whichever is completed first),
they must be used for future conformity
determinations and the metropolitan
planning organizations must use the
MOVES model in future PM2.5
conformity determinations for their
long-range transportation plans and
transportation improvement plans. After
thorough review, EPA has preliminarily
determined that the budgets meet the
adequacy criteria, as outlined in 40 CFR
93.118(e)(4), and is proposing to
approve the budgets because they are
consistent with maintenance of the
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS through 2021.
VII. What is the status of EPA’s
adequacy determination for the
proposed NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for
2015 and 2021 for the Northern
Kentucky Area?
When reviewing submitted ‘‘control
strategy’’ SIPs or maintenance plans
containing MVEBs, EPA may
TABLE 9—NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA affirmatively find the MVEB contained
therein adequate for use in determining
MVEBS
transportation conformity. Once EPA
[tpy]
affirmatively finds the submitted MVEB
is adequate for transportation
PM2.5
NOX
conformity purposes, that MVEB must
2015 Mobile Emissions
371.11
6,996.22 be used by state and federal agencies in
determining whether proposed
2015 Safety Margin Allocation ......................
18.56
1,049.43 transportation projects conform to the
SIP as required by section 176(c) of the
2015 Total Mobile
CAA.
Budget ................ 389.67
8,045.65
EPA’s substantive criteria for
2021 Mobile Emissions
275.38
6,421.15 determining adequacy of MVEBs are set
out in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). The process
2021 Safety Margin Allocation ......................
27.54
963.17 for determining adequacy consists of
three basic steps: Public notification of
2021 Total Mobile
a SIP submission, a public comment
Budget ................ 302.92
7,384.32 period, and EPA’s adequacy
determination. This process for
As mentioned above, Kentucky has
determining the adequacy of submitted
chosen to allocate a portion of the
MVEBs for transportation conformity
purposes was initially outlined in EPA’s
9 MVEBs for the remaining portion of the Tri-state
May 14, 1999, guidance, ‘‘Conformity
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is addressed in the Ohio
Guidance on Implementation of March
and Indiana submissions for this Area, and will be
addressed through a separate EPA action.
2, 1999, Conformity Court Decision.’’
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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
Revisions for Existing Areas;
Transportation Conformity Rule
Amendments—Response to Court
Decision and Additional Rule Change,’’
on July 1, 2004 (69 FR 40004).
Additional information on the adequacy
process for transportation conformity
purposes is available in the proposed
rule entitled, ‘‘Transportation
Conformity Rule Amendments:
Response to Court Decision and
Additional Rule Changes,’’ 68 FR 38974,
38984 (June 30, 2003).
As discussed earlier, Kentucky’s
maintenance plan submission includes
NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for the Northern
Kentucky Area for 2015 and 2021, the
last year of the maintenance plan. EPA
reviewed the NOx and PM2.5 MVEBs
through the adequacy process. The
Kentucky SIP submission, including the
Northern Kentucky Area NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs, was open for public comment
on EPA’s adequacy Web site on
February 14, 2011, found at: https://
www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/
transconf/currsips.htm. The EPA public
comment period on adequacy for the
MVEBs for 2015 and 2021 for Northern
Kentucky Area closed on March 16,
2011. EPA did not receive any
comments on the adequacy of the
MVEBs, nor did EPA receive any
requests for the SIP submittal.
EPA intends to make its
determination on the adequacy of the
2015 and 2021 MVEBs for the Northern
Kentucky Area for transportation
conformity purposes in the near future
by completing the adequacy process that
was started on February 14, 2011. After
EPA finds the 2015 and 2021 MVEBs
adequate or approves them, the new
MVEBs for NOX and PM2.5 must be used
for future transportation conformity
determinations. For required regional
emissions analysis years between 2015
and 2021, the applicable budgets will be
the new 2015 MVEBs established in the
maintenance plan. Starting in 2021, the
applicable budgets will be the new 2021
MVEBs. Both the 2015 and 2021 MVEBs
are defined in section VII of this
proposed rulemaking.
VIII. What is EPA’s analysis of the
proposed 2008 base year emissions
inventory for the Northern Kentucky
Area?
As discussed in section V above,
section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires
areas to submit a base year emissions
inventory. As part of Kentucky’s request
to redesignate the Northern Kentucky
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Area, the Commonwealth submitted a
2008 attainment year emissions
inventory to meet this requirement.
Emissions contained in the submittal
cover the general source categories of
point sources, area sources, on-road
mobile sources, and non-road mobile
sources. All emission summaries were
accompanied by source-specific
descriptions of emission calculation
procedures and sources of input data.
Kentucky’s submittal documents 2008
emissions in the Northern Kentucky
Area in units of tpy. Table 10 below
provides a summary of the 2008
emissions of direct PM2.5, NOX, and SO2
for the Northern Kentucky Area.
TABLE 10—NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA 2008 EMISSIONS FOR PM2.5, NOX, BY SOURCE CATEGORY
[tpy (percent total)]
NOX
PM2.5
Point Source Total ...............................................................................................
Area Source Total ................................................................................................
On-Road Mobile Source Total .............................................................................
Non-Road Mobile Source Total ...........................................................................
246.14
921.66
645.62
497.22
Total for all Sources .....................................................................................
2,310.64
In today’s notice, EPA is proposing to
approve this 2008 base year inventory as
meeting the section 172(c)(3) emissions
inventory requirement.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
IX. Proposed Actions on the
Redesignation Request and
Maintenance Plan SIP Revisions
Including Approval of the NOX and
PM2.5 MVEBs for 2015 and 2021 for the
Northern Kentucky Area
EPA previously proposed to
determine that the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area was attaining the 1997
PM2.5 NAAQS on June 3, 2011, at 76 FR
32110. EPA did not receive any
comments, adverse or otherwise, on its
June 3, 2011, and will take final action
on this determination through an action
separate from today’s action. Further,
EPA is now taking three separate but
related actions regarding the Area’s
redesignation and maintenance of the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
First, EPA is proposing to determine,
based on complete, quality-assured and
certified monitoring data for the 2007–
2009 monitoring period, and after
review of preliminary data in AQS for
2008–2010, that the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area continues to attain the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Provided
that EPA takes final action to approve
the 2008 base emissions inventory, EPA
is proposing to determine that the
Northern Kentucky Area has met the
criteria under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)
for redesignation from nonattainment to
attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS. On this basis, EPA is
proposing to approve Kentucky’s
redesignation request for the Northern
Kentucky Area.
Second, EPA is proposing to approve
Kentucky’s 2008 emissions inventory
for the Northern Kentucky Area (under
CAA section 172(c)(3)). Kentucky
selected 2008 as the attainment
emissions inventory year for the
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[10.7]
[39.9]
[27.9]
[21.5]
Northern Kentucky Area. This
attainment inventory identifies a level
of emissions in the Area (as a part of the
Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area) that
is sufficient to attain the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS and also is a current,
comprehensive inventory that meets the
requirements of section 172(c)(3).
Third, EPA is proposing to approve
the maintenance plan for the Northern
Kentucky Area, including the PM2.5 and
NOX MVEBs for 2015 and 2021
submitted by Kentucky for the Northern
Kentucky Area, as meeting the
requirements of section 175A of the
CAA. The maintenance plan
demonstrates that the Area will
continue to maintain the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS, and the MVEBs meet all
of the adequacy criteria contained in 40
CFR 93.118(e)(4) and (5). Further, as
part of today’s action, EPA is describing
the status of its adequacy determination
for the PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs for 2015
and 2021 in accordance with 40 CFR
93.118(f)(1). Within 24 months from the
effective date of EPA’s adequacy
determination or EPA’s final action to
approve the MVEBs (whichever comes
first), the transportation partners will
need to demonstrate conformity to the
new PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs pursuant to
40 CFR 93.104(e).
If finalized, approval of the
redesignation request would change the
official designations of Boone,
Campbell, and Kenton in the Northern
Kentucky Area for the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS, found at 40 CFR part 81,
from nonattainment to attainment. EPA
is also proposing to approve, into the
Kentucky SIP, the maintenance plan for
the Northern Kentucky Area, the
emissions inventory submitted with the
maintenance plan, and the 2015 and
2021 MVEBs.
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SO2
2094.21 [7.6]
4,015.59 [14.7]
13,114.20
8,168.48 [29.8]
2,844.98
2,756.35
42.74
832.54
27,392.48
[43.9]
[42.6]
[0.7]
[12.9]
6,476.61
X. What is the effect of EPA’s proposed
actions?
EPA’s proposed actions establish the
basis upon which EPA may take final
action on the issues being proposed for
approval today. Approval of Kentucky’s
redesignation request would change the
legal designation of Boone, Campbell,
and Kenton Counties in Kentucky for
the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS, found
at 40 CFR part 81, from nonattainment
to attainment. Approval of the
Commonwealth’s request would also
incorporate a plan for maintaining the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the
Northern Kentucky Area through 2021
into the Kentucky SIP. This
maintenance plan includes contingency
measures to remedy any future
violations of the 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS and procedures for evaluation
of potential violations. The maintenance
plan also establishes NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for the Northern Kentucky Area
portion of the Tri-state CincinnatiHamilton Area. The proposed NOX and
PM2.5 MVEBs for 2021 for the Northern
Kentucky Area are 7,384.32 tpy and
302.92 tpy, respectively. Kentucky also
chose to establish interim year MVEBs
for 2015 of 8,045.65 tpy and 389.67 tpy
for NOX and PM2.5, respectively. Final
action would also approve the Northern
Kentucky Area’s emissions inventory
under CAA section 172(c)(3).
Additionally, EPA is notifying the
public of the status of its adequacy
determination for the NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for 2015 and 2021 pursuant to
40 CFR 93.118(f)(1).
XI. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the CAA, redesignation of an
area to attainment and the
accompanying approval of a
maintenance plan under section
107(d)(3)(E) are actions that affect the
status of a geographical area and do not
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impose any additional regulatory
requirements on sources beyond those
imposed by state law. A redesignation to
attainment does not in and of itself
create any new requirements, but rather
results in the applicability of
requirements contained in the CAA for
areas that have been redesignated to
attainment. Moreover, the Administrator
is required to approve a SIP submission
that complies with the provisions of the
Act and applicable Federal regulations.
42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions,
EPA’s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the CAA. Accordingly, these proposed
actions merely approve state law as
meeting federal requirements and does
not impose additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law. For
that reason, these proposed actions:
• Are not ‘‘significant regulatory
action[s]’’ subject to review by the
Office of Management and Budget under
Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993);
• Do not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Are certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Do 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);
• Do not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Are not economically significant
regulatory actions based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Are not significant regulatory
actions subject to Executive Order
13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
• Are not subject to requirements of
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the CAA; and
• Do not provide EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this proposed rule does
not have Tribal implications as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because
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the SIP is not approved to apply in
Indian country located in the
Commonwealth, and EPA notes that it
will not impose substantial direct costs
on Tribal governments or preempt
Tribal law.
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, and Particulate matter.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 6, 2011.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2011–26773 Filed 10–20–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Parts 1 and 25
[IB Docket No. 11–133; FCC 11–121]
Review of Foreign Ownership Policies
for Common Carrier and Aeronautical
Radio Licensees
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
In this document, the
Commission is initiating a review of its
policies and procedures that apply to
foreign ownership of common carrier,
aeronautical en route and aeronautical
fixed radio station licensees. The
Commission seeks to reduce to the
extent possible the regulatory costs and
burdens imposed on common carrier,
aeronautical en route and aeronautical
fixed radio station applicants, licensees,
and spectrum lessees; provide greater
transparency and more predictability
with respect to the Commission’s
foreign ownership filing requirements
and review process; and facilitate
investment from new sources of capital,
while continuing to protect important
interests related to national security,
law enforcement, foreign policy, and
trade policy.
DATES: Submit comments on or before
December 5, 2011, and replies on or
before January 4, 2012. Written
comments on the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA) proposed information
collection requirements must be
submitted by the public, Office of
SUMMARY:
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Management and Budget (OMB) and
other interested parties on or before
December 20, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by Docket No. 11–133, by any
of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Federal Communications
Commission’s ECFS Web site: https://
fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• People with Disabilities: Contact the
FCC to request reasonable
accommodations (accessible format
documents, sign language interpreters,
CART, etc.) by e-mail to
FCC504@fcc.gov, phone: 202–418–0530
(voice), tty: 202–418–0432.
In addition to filing comments as
described above, a copy of any
comments on the PRA information
collection requirements contained
herein should be submitted to the FCC
via email to PRA@fcc.gov and to
Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via e-mail to
Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov or via
fax at 202–395–5167.
For detailed instructions on
submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process,
see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan O’Connell or James Ball, Policy
Division, International Bureau, FCC,
(202) 418–1460 or via e-mail to
Susan.OConnell@fcc.gov,
James.Ball@fcc.gov. On PRA matters,
contact Cathy Williams, Office of the
Managing Director, FCC, (202) 418–2918
or via e-mail to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
summary of the Commission’s Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking in IB Docket No.
11–133, FCC 11–121, adopted and
released on August 9, 2011. The full text
of this document is available for
inspection and copying during normal
business hours in the FCC Reference
Center, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20554. The document
also is available for download over the
Internet at https://transition.fcc.gov/
Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/
db0809/FCC-11-121A1.pdf. The
complete text also may be purchased
from the Commission’s duplicating
contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
(BCPI), located in Room CY–B402, 445
12th Street, SW., Washington, DC
20554. Customers may contact BCPI at
its Web site, https://www.bcpiweb.com,
or call 1–800–378–3160.
Comment Filing Procedures
Pursuant to §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested
parties may file comments and reply
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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 204 (Friday, October 21, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65458-65472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26773]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0937-201118; FRL-9480-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Kentucky; Redesignation of
the Kentucky Portion of the Cincinnati-Hamilton 1997 Annual Fine
Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area to Attainment
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On January 27, 2011, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division of Air Quality (DAQ),
submitted a request to redesignate the Kentucky portion of the
Cincinnati-Hamilton, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (hereafter referred to the
``Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area'') fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) nonattainment area to attainment for the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS); and to
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision containing a
maintenance plan for the Kentucky portion of the Tri-state Cincinnati-
Hamilton Area. The Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is comprised of
Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky (hereafter referred to
as the ``Northern Kentucky Area'' or ``Area''); Butler, Clermont,
Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio; and a portion of Dearborn County
in Indiana. EPA is proposing to approve the redesignation request for
Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties, along with the related SIP
revision, including the Commonwealth's plan for maintaining attainment
of the PM2.5 standard in the Northern Kentucky Area. EPA is
also proposing to approve Kentucky's nitrogen oxides (NOX)
and PM2.5 Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for 2015
and 2021 for the Northern Kentucky Area. On December 9, 2010, and
January 25, 2011, respectively, Ohio and Indiana submitted requests to
redesignate their portion of the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area to
attainment for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is taking action on
the requests from Ohio and Indiana in an action separate from these
proposed actions.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 21, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2010-0937, by one of the following methods:
1. https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov.
3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0937, Regulatory Development Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Ms. Lynorae Benjamin, Chief,
Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides
and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours
of operation. The Regional Office's official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2010-0937. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
https://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 through https://www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The https://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 https://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, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at https://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
https://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in https://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30,
excluding federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Huey of the Regulatory
Development Section, in the Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Joel
Huey may be reached by phone at (404) 562-9104, or via electronic mail
at huey.joel@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What are the actions EPA is proposing to take?
II. What is the background for EPA's proposed actions?
III. What are the criteria for redesignation?
IV. Why is EPA proposing these actions?
V. What is EPA's analysis of the request?
[[Page 65459]]
VI. What is EPA's analysis of Kentucky's proposed NOX and
PM2.5 MVEBs for the Northern Kentucky Area?
VII. What is the status of EPA's adequacy determination for the
proposed NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for 2015 and 2021
for the Northern Kentucky Area?
VIII. What is EPA's analysis of the proposed 2008 base year
emissions inventory for the Northern Kentucky Area?
IX. Proposed Action on the Redesignation Request and Maintenance
Plan SIP Revision Including Proposed Approval of the 2015 and 2021
NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for the Northern Kentucky
Area.
X. What is the effect of EPA's proposed actions?
XI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What are the actions EPA is proposing to take?
In this action, EPA is proposing to make a determination that this
Area is continuing to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS \1\
and to take several additional actions related to Kentucky's request to
redesignate the Northern Kentucky Area which are summarized as follows
and described in greater detail throughout this notice of proposed
rulemaking: (1) To redesignate the Northern Kentucky Area portion of
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area to attainment for the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS; (2) to approve, under CAA section
172(c)(3), the emissions inventory submitted with the maintenance plan
for Northern Kentucky; and (3) to approve, under section 175A of the
CAA, the Northern Kentucky Area's 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
maintenance plan into the Kentucky SIP, including the associated MVEBs.
In addition, and related to today's actions, EPA is also notifying the
public of the status of EPA's adequacy determination for the Northern
Kentucky Area MVEBs for the PM2.5 NAAQS.
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\1\ On September 29, 2011, at 76 FR 60373, EPA determined that
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area attained the 1997
PM2.5 NAAQS by its applicable attainment date of April 5,
2010, and that the Area was continuing to attain the
PM2.5 standard with monitoring data that was currently
available.
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First, EPA proposes to determine that, if EPA's proposed approval
of the 2008 baseline emissions inventory for the Northern Kentucky Area
is finalized, the Area has met the requirements for redesignation under
section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. In this action, EPA is proposing to
approve a request to change the legal designation of Boone, Campbell,
and Kenton Counties from nonattainment to attainment for the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The emissions inventory for the Northern
Kentucky Area is being proposed for approval today.
Second, EPA is proposing to approve under the CAA, Kentucky's 2008
emissions inventory for the Northern Kentucky Area (under CAA section
172(c)(3)). Kentucky selected 2008 as the attainment emissions
inventory year for the Northern Kentucky Area. This attainment
inventory identifies a level of emissions in the Area that is
sufficient to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
Third, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS maintenance plan for the Northern Kentucky Area
(such approval being one of the CAA criteria for redesignation to
attainment status). Since maintenance of the standard in the Northern
Kentucky Area is based in large part on maintaining control of power
plant emissions, promulgation of the Transport Rule, also known as the
Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR),\2\ was necessary to make recent
reductions in power plant emissions (or equivalent reductions at other
power plants) permanent and enforceable. The maintenance plan is
designed to help keep the Northern Kentucky Area in attainment of the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS through 2021. Consistent with the
CAA, the maintenance plan that EPA is proposing to approve today also
includes NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for the years 2015
and 2021 for the Northern Kentucky Area. EPA is proposing to approve
(into the Kentucky SIP) the 2015 and 2021 MVEBs that are included as
part of Kentucky's maintenance plan for the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS.
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\2\ See ``Federal Implementation Plans to Reduce Interstate
Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone in 27 States;
Correction of SIP Approvals for 22 States'' (76 FR 48208, August 8,
2011).
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Further, EPA proposes to make the determination that the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is continuing to attain the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS and that all other redesignation criteria have
been met for the Northern Kentucky Area. The bases for EPA's
determination for the Area are discussed in greater detail below.
EPA is also notifying the public of the status of EPA's adequacy
process for the newly-established NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for 2015 and 2021 for the Northern Kentucky Area. The adequacy
comment period for the Northern Kentucky Area MVEBs began on February
14, 2011, with EPA's posting of the availability of this submittal on
EPA's Adequacy Web site (https://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm). The Adequacy comment period for these MVEBs
closed on March 16, 2011. No adverse comments were received during the
Adequacy public comment period. Please see section VIII of this
proposed rulemaking for further explanation of this process and for
more details on the MVEBs.
Today's notice of proposed rulemaking is in response to Kentucky's
January 27, 2011, SIP submittal, which requests redesignation of the
Northern Kentucky Area portion of the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS and
addresses the specific issues summarized above and the necessary
elements for redesignation described in section 107(d)(3)(E) of the
CAA.
II. What is the background for EPA's proposed actions?
Fine particle pollution can be emitted directly or formed
secondarily in the atmosphere. The main precursors of PM2.5
are sulfur dioxide (SO2), NOX, ammonia and
volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Unless otherwise noted by the State
or EPA, ammonia and VOCs are presumed to be insignificant contributors
to PM2.5 formation, whereas SO2 and
NOX are presumed to be significant contributors to
PM2.5 formation. Sulfates are a type of secondary particle
formed from SO2 emissions of power plants and industrial
facilities. Nitrates, another common type of secondary particle, are
formed from NOX emissions of power plants, automobiles, and
other combustion sources.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated the first air quality standards
for PM2.5. EPA promulgated an annual standard at a level of
15 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\), based on a 3-year average
of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations. In the same rulemaking,
EPA promulgated a 24-hour standard of 65 [mu]g/m\3\, based on a 3-year
average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations. On October
17, 2006, at 71 FR 61144, EPA retained the annual average NAAQS at 15
[mu]g/m\3\ but revised the 24-hour NAAQS to 35 [mu]g/m\3\, based again
on the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour
concentrations.\3\ Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the primary
and secondary 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS are attained when the
annual arithmetic mean concentration, as determined in accordance with
40
[[Page 65460]]
CFR part 50, Appendix N, is less than or equal to 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ at
all relevant monitoring sites in the subject area over a 3-year period.
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\3\ In response to legal challenges of the annual standard
promulgated in 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia circuit (DC Cir.) remanded this NAAQS to EPA
for further consideration. See american Farm Bureau Federation and
National Pork Producers Council, et al. v. EPA, 559 F.3D 512 (DC
Cir. 2009). However, given that the 1997 and 2006 Annual NAAQS are
essentially identical, attainment of the 1997 Annual NAAQS would
also indicate attainment of the remanded 2006 Annual NAAQS.
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On January 5, 2005, at 70 FR 944, and supplemented on April 14,
2005, at 70 FR 19844, EPA designated the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area as nonattainment for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. In that
action, EPA defined the 1997 PM2.5 Cincinnati-Hamilton Area
to include Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky, Butler,
Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio, and a portion of
Dearborn Country containing the Lawrenceburg Township in Indiana. On
November 13, 2009, at 74 FR 58688, EPA promulgated designations for the
24-hour standard established in 2006, designating the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area as attainment for this NAAQS. That action
clarified that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area was classified
unclassifiable/attainment for the 24-hour NAAQS promulgated in 1997.
EPA did not promulgate designations for the annual average NAAQS
promulgated in 2006, since the NAAQS was essentially identical to the
annual NAAQS promulgated in 1997. Therefore, the Tri-state Cincinnati-
Hamilton Area is designated nonattainment for the annual NAAQS
promulgated in 1997, and today's action only addresses this
designation.
All 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS areas were designated under subpart
1 of title I, part D, of the CAA. Subpart 1 contains the general
requirements for nonattainment areas for any pollutant governed by a
NAAQS and is less prescriptive than the other subparts of title I, part
D. On April 25, 2007, at 72 FR 20664, EPA promulgated its
PM2.5 Implementation Rule, codified at 40 CFR part 51,
subpart Z, in which the Agency provided guidance for state and Tribal
plans to implement the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. This rule, at 40
CFR 51.1004(c), specifies some of the regulatory consequences of
attaining the NAAQS, as discussed below.
On May 12, 2005, EPA published the Clean Air Interstate Rule
(CAIR), which addressed the interstate transport requirements of the
CAA and required states to significantly reduce SO2 and
NOX emissions from power plants (70 FR 25162). The
associated Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) were published on April
28, 2006 (71 FR 25328). However, on July 11, 2008, the DC Circuit Court
issued its decision to vacate and remand both CAIR and the associated
CAIR FIPs in their entirety (North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 836 (DC
Cir., 2008)). EPA petitioned for rehearing, and the Court issued an
order remanding CAIR to EPA without vacating either CAIR or the CAIR
FIPs (North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176 (DC Cir., 2008)). The Court
left CAIR in place to ``temporarily preserve the environmental values
covered by CAIR'' until EPA replaces it with a rule consistent with the
Court's opinion (id. at 1178). The Court directed EPA to ``remedy
CAIR's flaws'' consistent with its July 11, 2008, opinion but declined
to impose a schedule on EPA for completing that action (id). As a
result of these court rulings, the power plant emission reductions that
resulted solely from the development, promulgation, and implementation
of CAIR, and the associated contribution to air quality improvement
that occurred solely as a result of CAIR in the Northern Kentucky Area
could not be considered to be permanent.
On August 8, 2011, EPA published the Cross State Air Pollution Rule
(CSAPR) in the Federal Register under the title, ``Federal
Implementation Plans to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate
Matter and Ozone in 27 States; Correction of SIP Approvals for 22
States'' (76 FR 48208, August 8, 2011) to address interstate transport
of emissions and resulting secondary air pollutants and to replace
CAIR. The CAIR emission reduction requirements limit emissions in
Kentucky and states upwind of Kentucky through 2011, and the CSAPR
requires similar or greater reductions in the relevant areas in 2012
and beyond. The emission reductions that the CSAPR mandates may be
considered to be permanent and enforceable. In turn, the air quality
improvement in the Northern Kentucky Area that has resulted from
electric generating units emission reductions associated with CAIR (as
well as the additional air quality improvement that would be expected
to result from full implementation of the CSAPR) may also be considered
to be permanent and enforceable. EPA proposes that the requirement in
section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) has now been met because the emission
reduction requirements of CAIR address emissions through 2011 and EPA
has now promulgated CSAPR which requires similar or greater reductions
in the relevant areas in 2012 and beyond. Because the emission
reduction requirements of CAIR are enforceable through the 2011 control
period, and because CSAPR has now been promulgated to address the
requirements previously addressed by CAIR and gets similar or greater
reductions in the relevant areas in 2012 and beyond, EPA is proposing
to determine that the emission reductions that led to attainment in the
Northern Kentucky Area can now be considered permanent and enforceable.
Therefore, EPA proposes to find that the transport requirement of CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) has been met for the Northern Kentucky Area.
The 3-year ambient air quality data for 2007-2009 indicated no
violations of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS for the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. As a result, on January 27, 2011, Kentucky
requested redesignation of the Northern Kentucky Area to attainment for
the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The redesignation request
included three years of complete, quality-assured ambient air quality
data for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS for 2007-2009,
indicating that the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS had been achieved for
the entire Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. Under the CAA,
nonattainment areas may be redesignated to attainment if sufficient,
complete, quality-assured data is available for the Administrator to
determine that the area has attained the standard and the area meets
the other CAA redesignation requirements in section 107(d)(3)(E). From
2007 through the present, the annual PM2.5 design values for
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area have declined. While annual
PM2.5 concentrations are dependent on a variety of
conditions, the overall downtrend in annual PM2.5
concentrations in the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area can be
attributed to the reduction of emissions, as will be discussed in more
detail in section V of this proposed rulemaking.
III. What are the criteria for redesignation?
The CAA provides the requirements for redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment. Specifically, section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA
allows for redesignation provided the following criteria are met: (1)
The Administrator determines that the area has attained the applicable
NAAQS; (2) the Administrator has fully approved the applicable
implementation plan for the area under section 110(k); (3) the
Administrator determines that the improvement in air quality is due to
permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from
implementation of the applicable SIP and applicable federal air
pollutant control regulations and other permanent and enforceable
reductions; (4) the Administrator has fully approved a maintenance plan
for the area as meeting the requirements of section 175A; and (5) the
state containing such area has met all requirements applicable
[[Page 65461]]
to the area under section 110 and part D of title I of the CAA.
EPA has provided guidance on redesignation in the General Preamble
for the Implementation of title I of the CAA Amendments of 1990 (April
16, 1992, 57 FR 13498, and supplemented on April 28, 1992, 57 FR 18070)
and has provided further guidance on processing redesignation requests
in the following documents:
1. ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4, 1992 (hereafter referred to as the
``Calcagni Memorandum'');
2. ``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
3. ``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.
IV. Why is EPA proposing these actions?
On January 27, 2011, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through DAQ,
requested the redesignation of the Northern Kentucky Area to attainment
for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA's preliminary
evaluation indicates that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area has
attained the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS and has met the
requirements for redesignation set forth in section 107(d)(3)(E),
including the maintenance plan requirements under section 175A of the
CAA. Additionally, EPA is proposing to approve the 2008 baseline
emission inventory under section 172(c)(3) because Kentucky has used
methodology consistent with EPA guidance and implementing regulations
to develop this inventory. EPA is also announcing the status of its
adequacy determination for both the NOX and PM2.5
MVEBs for 2015 and 2021, which are relevant to the requested
redesignation.
V. What is EPA's analysis of the request?
As stated above, in accordance with the CAA, EPA proposes in
today's action to: (1) Redesignate the Northern Kentucky Area to
attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS; (2) approve the
Northern Kentucky Area emissions inventory submitted with the
maintenance plan; and (3) approve into the Kentucky SIP, the Northern
Kentucky's 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS maintenance plan,
including the associated MVEBs. These actions are based upon EPA's
determination that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area continues to
attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS and that all other
redesignation criteria have been met for the Northern Kentucky Area,
provided EPA approves the emissions inventory submitted with the
maintenance plan. The five redesignation criteria provided under CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E) are discussed in greater detail for the Area in
the following paragraphs of this section.
As stated above, in accordance with the CAA, EPA proposes to make
the determination that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is
continuing to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS and that
all other redesignation criteria have been met for the Northern
Kentucky Area. The bases for EPA's determination for the Area are
discussed in greater detail below.
Criteria (1)--The Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area Has Attained the
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA
requires EPA to determine that the area has attained the applicable
NAAQS (CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(i)). EPA is proposing to determine that
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area continues to attain the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. For PM2.5, an area may be
considered to be attaining the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS if it
meets the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS, as determined in
accordance with 40 CFR 50.13 and Appendix N of part 50, based on three
complete, consecutive calendar years of quality-assured air quality
monitoring data. To attain these NAAQS, the 3-year average of the
annual arithmetic mean concentration, as determined in accordance with
40 CFR part 50, Appendix N, is less than or equal to 15.0 [micro]g/m\3\
at all relevant monitoring sites in the subject area over a 3-year
period. The relevant data must be collected and quality-assured in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and recorded in the EPA Air Quality
System (AQS). The monitors generally should have remained at the same
location for the duration of the monitoring period required for
demonstrating attainment.
On September 29, 2011, at 76 FR 60373, EPA finalized a
determination that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area was attaining
the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, and that this Area attained the 1997
PM2.5 NAAQS by its applicable attainment date of April 5,
2011. For that action EPA reviewed PM2.5 monitoring data
from monitoring stations in the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area for
the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS for 2007-2009. The public was
provided a 30-day comment period to review and provide comment to EPA
on the analysis of this data. EPA did not receive any comments, adverse
or otherwise, on the Agency's determination that the Area had attaining
data for the period of 2007-2009, and continued to have attaining data
through the finalization of EPA's proposal in September 2011. As such,
EPA is not seeking additional comment in today's action regarding this
data. As noted in EPA's September 29, 2011, action these data were
quality-assured and recorded in AQS. The annual mean of the
PM2.5 concentrations for 2007-2010 and the 3-year average of
these values (i.e., design values) are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1--Design Value Concentrations for the Tri-State Cincinnati-Hamilton Area for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS ([mu]g/m\3\)
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Annual mean concentrations 3-Year design values
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Location County Monitor ID 2008-2010
2007 2008 2009 2010 \2\ 2007-2009 \4\
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John Hill.......................... Campbell, KY......... 21-037-3002 14.36 11.83 11.34 11.8 12.3 11.6
Dixie.............................. Kenton, KY........... 21-117-0007 14.20 11.99 11.04 * 12.1 12.4 11.5
Bonita & St John................... Butler, OH........... 39-017-0003 15.40 13.80 12.83 13.6 13.9 13.4
Nilles............................. Butler, OH........... 39-017-0016 14.94 13.75 13.08 13.5 13.8 13.4
Hook Field......................... Butler, OH........... 39-017-1004 14.62 n/a n/a n/a 14.6 n/a
Clermont Center.................... Clermont, OH......... 39-025-0022 14.01 11.75 11.01 12.0 12.2 11.6
Grooms............................. Hamilton, OH......... 39-061-0006 14.63 12.48 12.11 * 12.7 13.1 12.4
Seymour & Vine..................... Hamilton, OH......... 39-061-0014 16.59 15.06 13.38 14.8 15.0 14.4
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WM. Howard Taft.................... Hamilton, OH......... 39-061-0040 15.09 12.62 12.73 13.3 13.4 12.9
W. 8th............................. Hamilton, OH......... 36-061-0042 15.90 14.40 13.71 14.5 14.6 14.2
E. Kemper.......................... Hamilton, OH......... 36-061-0043 14.85 13.32 n/a n/a 14.1 n/a
Sherman............................ Hamilton, OH......... 39-061-7001 15.09 13.74 12.97 14.1 14.0 13.6
Murray............................. Hamilton, OH......... 39-016-8001 16.07 14.40 13.40 * 17.6 14.6 n/a
Southeast.......................... Warren, OH........... 39-165-0007 13.98 11.92 11.70 11.9 12.4 11.8
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* Design value does not meet data completeness requirements due to closure or start-up of the monitoring stations.
\4\ The preliminary PM2.5 ambient air quality data for 2010 for the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area indicates that the Area is attaining the NAAQS
with all 2008-2010 design values below the NAAQS of 15.0 [micro]g/m\3\.
As discussed above, the design value for an area is the highest
annual mean concentration recorded at any monitor in the area for a 3-
year period. Therefore, the 3-year design value (2007-2009) submitted
by Kentucky for redesignation of the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area
is 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\, which meets the NAAQS as described above. Several
of the above monitoring sites do not meet the 75 percent completeness
criteria. In these cases, operation of the monitoring sites were
started or shut-down during the 2007-2010 timeframe. Additional details
can be found in EPA's final clean data determination for the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area (76 FR 60373). EPA has reviewed more recent
preliminary data which indicates that the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area continues to attain the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS beyond the
submitted 3-year attainment period of 2007-2009. The design value for
the most recent 3-year period of 2008-2010 will be certified by the
time EPA takes final action on this proposed rule.\2\ At that time, EPA
will again ensure that current air quality data demonstrates that the
Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is continuing to meet the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. If the Area does not continue to attain
before EPA finalizes the redesignation, EPA will not go forward with
the redesignation. As discussed in more detail below, the Commonwealth
of Kentucky has committed to continue monitoring in this Area in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58.
Criteria (5)--Kentucky has met all Applicable Requirements under
Section 110 and part D of the CAA; and Criteria (2)--Kentucky has a
fully approved SIP under section 110(k) for the Northern Kentucky Area
For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA
requires EPA to determine that the state has met all applicable
requirements under section 110 and part D of title I of the CAA (CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E)(v)) and that the state has a fully approved SIP
under section 110(k) for the area (CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii)). EPA
proposes to find that Kentucky has met all applicable SIP requirements
for the Northern Kentucky Area under section 110 of the CAA (general
SIP requirements) for purposes of redesignation. Additionally, EPA
proposes to find that the Kentucky SIP satisfies the criterion that it
meet applicable SIP requirements for purposes of redesignation under
part D of title I of the CAA (requirements specific to 1997 Annual
PM2.5 nonattainment areas) in accordance with section
107(d)(3)(E)(v). Further, EPA proposes to determine that the SIP is
fully approved with respect to all requirements applicable for purposes
of redesignation in accordance with section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii). In making
these determinations, EPA ascertained which requirements are applicable
to the Area and, if applicable, that they are fully approved under
section 110(k). SIPs must be fully approved only with respect to
requirements that were applicable prior to submittal of the complete
redesignation request.
a. The Northern Kentucky Area Has Met all Applicable Requirements Under
Section 110 and Part D of the CAA
General SIP requirements. Section 110(a)(2) of title I of the CAA
delineates the general requirements for a SIP, which include
enforceable emissions 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 limitations. General SIP elements and
requirements are delineated in section 110(a)(2) of title I, part A of
the CAA. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the
following: Submittal of a SIP that has been adopted by the state after
reasonable public notice and hearing; provisions for establishment and
operation of appropriate procedures needed to monitor ambient air
quality; implementation of a source permit program; provisions for the
implementation of part C requirements (Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD)) and provisions for the implementation of part D
requirements (New Source Review (NSR) permit programs); provisions for
air pollution modeling; and provisions for public and local agency
participation in planning and emission control rule development.
Section 110(a)(2)(D) requires that SIPs contain certain measures to
prevent sources in a state from significantly contributing to air
quality problems in another state. To implement this provision, EPA has
required certain states to establish programs to address the interstate
transport of air pollutants (e.g., NOX SIP Call,\5\ CAIR,\6\
and the CSAPR). The section 110(a)(2)(D) requirements for a state are
not linked with a particular nonattainment area's designation and
classification in that
[[Page 65463]]
state. EPA believes that the requirements linked with a particular
nonattainment area's designation and classifications are the relevant
measures to evaluate in 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. Thus, EPA does not believe that the CAA's interstate
transport requirements should be construed to be applicable
requirements for purposes of redesignation. However, as discussed later
in this notice, addressing pollutant transport from other states is an
important part of an area's maintenance demonstration.
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\5\ On October 27, 1998 (63 FR 57356), EPA issued a
NOX SIP Call requiring the District of Columbia and 22
states to reduce emissions of NOX in order to reduce the
transport of ozone and ozone precursors. In compliance with EPA's
NOX SIP Call, Kentucky developed rules governing the
control of NOX emissions from EGUs, major non-electric
generating units (EGU) industrial boilers, major cement kilns, and
internal combustion engines. EPA approved Kentucky's rules as
fulfilling Phase I and Phase II of the NOX SIP Call on
October 23, 2009 (74 FR 54755).
\6\ On May 12, 2005 (70 FR 25162), EPA promulgated CAIR which
required 28 upwind States and the District of Columbia to revise
their SIPs to include control measures that would reduce emissions
of SO2 and NOX. Various aspects of CAIR rule
were petitioned in court and on December 23, 2008, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit remanded CAIR to EPA
(see North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176 (DC Cir., December 2008))
which left CAIR in place to ``temporarily preserve the environmental
values covered by CAIR'' until EPA replaces it with a rule
consistent with the Court's ruling. The Court directed EPA to remedy
various areas of the rule that were petitioned consistent with its
July 11, 2008 (see North Carolina v. EPA,531 F.3d 836 (DC Cir., July
11, 2008)), opinion, but declined to impose a schedule on EPA for
completing that action. Id. Therefore, CAIR is currently in effect
in Kentucky.
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In addition, EPA believes other section 110 elements that are
neither connected with nonattainment plan submissions nor linked with
an area's attainment status are applicable requirements for purposes of
redesignation. The area will still be subject to these requirements
after the area is redesignated. The section 110 and part D requirements
which are linked with a particular area's designation and
classification are the relevant measures to evaluate in reviewing a
redesignation request. This approach is consistent with EPA's existing
policy on applicability (i.e., for redesignations) of conformity and
oxygenated fuels requirements, as well as with section 184 ozone
transport requirements. See Reading, Pennsylvania, proposed and final
rulemakings (61 FR 53174-53176, October 10, 1996), (62 FR 24826, May 7,
1997); Cleveland-Akron-Loraine, Ohio, final rulemaking (61 FR 20458,
May 7, 1996); and Tampa, Florida, final rulemaking at (60 FR 62748,
December 7, 1995). See also the discussion on this issue in the
Cincinnati, Ohio, redesignation (65 FR 37890, June 19, 2000), and in
the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, redesignation (66 FR 50399, October 19,
2001).
EPA has not yet completed rulemaking on a submittal from Kentucky
dated August 26, 2008, addressing ``infrastructure SIP'' elements
required under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'') section 110(a)(2)
for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. However, these are statewide
requirements that are not a consequence of the nonattainment status of
the Northern Kentucky Area. EPA believes that section 110 elements not
linked to an area's nonattainment status are not applicable for
purposes of redesignation. See the Reading, Pennsylvania, proposed and
final rulemakings (61 FR 53174-53176, October 10, 1996 and 62 FR 24826,
May 7, 1997), the Cleveland-Akron-Loraine, Ohio, final rulemaking (61
FR 20458, May 7, 1996), and the Tampa, Florida, final rulemaking (60 FR
62748, December 7, 1995). Therefore, notwithstanding the fact that EPA
has not yet completed rulemaking on Kentucky's submittal for the
PM2.5 infrastructure SIP elements of section 110(a)(2), EPA
believes it has approved all SIP elements that must be approved as a
prerequisite for the redesignation to attainment of the Northern
Kentucky Area.
Title I, Part D requirements. EPA proposes that with approval of
Kentucky's base year emissions inventory, which is part of the
maintenance plan submittal, the Kentucky SIP will meet applicable SIP
requirements under part D of title I of the CAA. As discussed in
greater detail below, EPA believes the emissions inventory is
approvable because the 2008 direct PM2.5, SO2,
and NOX emissions for Kentucky were developed consistent
with EPA guidance for emissions inventories and represent a
comprehensive, accurate and current inventory as required by section
172(c)(3).
Part D, subpart 1 applicable SIP requirements. EPA has determined
that if the approval of the base year emissions inventories, discussed
in section IX of this rulemaking, is finalized, the Kentucky SIP will
meet the applicable SIP requirements for the Northern Kentucky Area for
purposes of redesignation under part D of the CAA. Subpart 1 of part D,
found in sections 172-176 of the CAA, sets for the basic nonattainment
requirements applicable to all nonattainment areas. All areas that were
designated nonattainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
were designated under subpart 1 of the CAA. The applicable subpart 1
requirements are contained in sections 172(c)(1)-(9) and in section
176.
For purposes of evaluating this redesignation request, the
applicable part D, subpart 1 SIP requirements for all nonattainment
areas are contained in sections 172(c)(1)-(9) and in section 176. A
thorough discussion of the requirements contained in section 172 can be
found in the General Preamble for Implementation of title I (57 FR
13498, April 16, 1992).
Subpart 1 Section 172 Requirements. Section 172(c)(1) requires the
plans for all nonattainment areas to provide for the implementation of
all reasonably available control measures (RACM) as expeditiously as
practicable and to provide for attainment of the NAAQS. EPA interprets
this requirement to impose a duty on all nonattainment areas to
consider all available control measures and to adopt and implement such
measures as are reasonably available for implementation in each area as
components of the area's attainment demonstration. Under section 172,
states with nonattainment areas must submit plans providing for timely
attainment and meeting a variety of other requirements. However,
pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1004(c), EPA's final determination that the Tri-
state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area was attaining the PM2.5
standard suspended Kentucky's obligation to submit most of the
attainment planning requirements that would otherwise apply.
Specifically, the determination of attainment suspended Kentucky's
obligation to submit an attainment demonstration and planning SIPs to
provide for reasonable further progress (RFP), RACM, and contingency
measures under section 172(c)(9).
The General Preamble for Implementation of Title I (57 FR 13498,
April 16, 1992) also discusses the evaluation of these requirements in
the context of EPA's consideration of a redesignation request. The
General Preamble sets forth EPA's view of applicable requirements for
purposes of evaluating redesignation requests when an area is attaining
a standard (General Preamble for Implementation of Title I (57 FR
13498, April 16, 1992)).
Because attainment has been reached in the Tri-state Cincinnati
Area, no additional measures are needed to provide for attainment, and
section 172(c)(1) requirements for an attainment demonstration and RACM
are no longer considered to be applicable for purposes of redesignation
as long as the Area continues to attain the standard until
redesignation. See also 40 CFR 51.1004(c).
The RFP plan requirement under section 172(c)(2) is defined as
progress that must be made toward attainment. This requirement is not
relevant for purposes of redesignation because EPA has determined that
the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area, which includes the Northern
Kentucky Area, has monitored attainment of the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. See General Preamble, 57 FR 13564. See also 40
CFR 51.1004(c). In addition, because the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton
Area has attained the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS and is no
longer subject to a RFP requirement, the requirement to submit the
section 172(c)(9) contingency measures is not applicable for purposes
of redesignation. Id.
Section 172(c)(3) requires submission and approval of a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual
[[Page 65464]]
emissions. As part of Kentucky's redesignation request for the Northern
Kentucky Area, Kentucky submitted a 2008 base year emissions inventory.
As discussed below in section VIII, EPA is proposing to approve the
2008 base year inventory submitted with the redesignation request as
meeting the section 172(c)(3) emissions inventory requirement.
Section 172(c)(4) requires the identification and quantification of
allowable emissions for major new and modified stationary sources to be
allowed in an area, and section 172(c)(5) requires source permits for
the construction and operation of new and modified major stationary
sources anywhere in the nonattainment area. EPA has determined that,
since PSD requirements will apply after redesignation, areas being
redesignated need not comply with the requirement that a NSR program be
approved prior to redesignation, provided that the area demonstrates
maintenance of the NAAQS without part D NSR. 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.'' Kentucky has demonstrated that the
Northern Kentucky Area will be able to maintain the NAAQS without part
D NSR in effect, and therefore Kentucky need not have fully approved
part D NSR programs prior to approval of the redesignation request.
Nonetheless, Kentucky currently has a fully-approved part D NSR program
in place. Kentucky's PSD program will become effective in the Northern
Kentucky Area upon redesignation to attainment. Section 172(c)(6)
requires the SIP to contain control measures necessary to provide for
attainment of the NAAQS. Because attainment has been reached, no
additional measures are needed to provide for attainment.
Section 172(c)(7) requires the SIP to meet the applicable
provisions of section 110(a)(2). As noted above, EPA believes the
Kentucky SIP meets the requirements of section 110(a)(2) applicable for
purposes of redesignation.
176 Conformity Requirements. Section 176(c) of the CAA requires
states to establish criteria and procedures to ensure that federally-
supported or funded projects conform to the air quality planning goals
in the applicable SIP. The requirement to determine conformity applies
to transportation plans, programs and projects that are developed,
funded or approved under title 23 of the United States Code (U.S.C.)
and the Federal Transit Act (transportation conformity) as well as to
all other federally-supported or funded projects (general conformity).
State transportation conformity SIP revisions must be consistent with
federal conformity regulations relating to consultation, enforcement
and enforceability that EPA promulgated pursuant to its authority under
the CAA.
EPA believes it is reasonable to interpret the conformity SIP
requirements \7\ as not applying for purposes of evaluating the
redesignation request under section 107(d) because state conformity
rules are still required after redesignation and federal conformity
rules apply where state rules have not been approved. See Wall v. EPA,
265 F.3d 426 (upholding this interpretation)(6th Cir. 2001); see also
60 FR 62748 (December 7, 1995, Tampa, Florida). Thus, the Northern
Kentucky Area has satisfied all applicable requirements for purposes of
redesignation under section 110 and part D of the CAA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ CAA Section 176(c)(4)(E) requires states to submit revisions
to their SIPs to reflect certain federal criteria and procedures for
determining transportation conformity. Transportation conformity
SIPs are different from the motor vehicle emission budgets that are
established in control strategy SIPs and maintenance plans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. The Northern Kentucky Area Has a Fully Approved Applicable SIP Under
Section 110(k) of the CAA
If EPA issues a final approval of the base year emissions
inventories, EPA will have fully approved the applicable Kentucky SIP
for the Northern Kentucky Area for the 1997 Annual PM2.5
nonattainment area under section 110(k) of the CAA for all requirements
applicable for purposes of redesignation. EPA may rely on prior SIP
approvals in approving a redesignation request (see Calcagni Memorandum
at p. 3; Southwestern Pennsylvania Growth Alliance v. Browner, 144 F.3d
984, 989-90 (6th Cir. 1998); Wall, 265 F.3d 426) plus any additional
measures it may approve in conjunction with a redesignation action (see
68 FR 25426 (May 12, 2003) and citations therein). Following passage of
the CAA of 1970, Kentucky has adopted and submitted, and EPA has fully
approved at various times, provisions addressing the various SIP
elements applicable for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the
Northern Kentucky Area (65 FR 37879, June 19, 2000).
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 redesignation. In addition, EPA believes that since the
part D subpart 1 requirements did not become due prior to submission of
the redesignation request, they are also not applicable requirements
for purposes of redesignation. Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th
Cir. 2004); 68 FR 25424, 25427 (May 12, 2003) (redesignation of the St.
Louis-East St. Louis Area to attainment of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS).
With the approval of the emissions inventory, EPA will have approved
all Part D subpart 1 requirements applicable for purposes of this
redesignation.
Criteria (3)--The Air Quality Improvement in the Kentucky Portion of
the Tri-State Cincinnati-Hamilton Area 1997 Annual PM2.5
NAAQS Nonattainment Area Is Due to Permanent and Enforceable Reductions
in Emissions Resulting From Implementation of the SIP and Applicable
Federal Air Pollution Control Regulations and Other Permanent and
Enforceable Reductions
For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA
requires EPA to determine that the air quality improvement in the area
is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting
from implementation of the SIP and applicable federal air pollution
control regulations and other permanent and enforceable reductions (CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii)). EPA believes that Kentucky has demonstrated
that the observed air quality improvement in the Northern Kentucky Area
is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting
from implementation of the SIP, federal measures, and other state
adopted measures.
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, refers to airborne
particles less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Although
treated as a single pollutant, fine particles come from many different
sources and are composed of many different compounds. One of the
largest components of PM2.5 is sulfate, which is formed
through various chemical reactions from the precursor SO2.
The other major component of PM2.5 is organic carbon, which
originates predominantly from biogenic emission sources. Nitrate, which
is formed from the precursor NOX, is also a component of
PM2.5. Crustal materials from windblown dust and elemental
carbon from combustion sources are less significant contributors to
total PM2.5.
[[Page 65465]]
State and federal measures enacted in recent years have resulted in
permanent emission reductions. Most of these emission reductions are
enforceable through regulations. A few non-regulatory measures also
result in emission reductions. The federal measures that have been
implemented include:
Tier 2 vehicle standards. In addition to requiring NOX
controls, the Tier 2 rule reduced the allowable sulfur content of
gasoline to 30 parts per million (ppm) starting in January of 2006.
Most gasoline sold prior to this had a sulfur content of approximately
300 ppm.
Heavy-duty gasoline and diesel highway vehicle standards. The
second phase of the standards and testing procedures, which began in
2007, reduces particulate matter (PM) and NOX from heavy-
duty highway engines and also reduces highway diesel fuel sulfur
content to 15 ppm. The total program is expected to achieve a 90 and 95
percent reduction in PM and NOX emissions from heavy-duty
highway engines, respectively.
Nonroad spark-ignition engines and recreational engines standards.
Tier 1 of this standard, implemented in 2004, and Tier 2, implemented
in 2007, have reduced and will continue to reduce PM emissions.
Large nonroad diesel engine standards. Promulgated in 2004, this
rule is being phased in between 2008 and 2014. This rule will reduce
sulfur content in nonroad diesel fuel and, when fully implemented, will
reduce NOX and direct PM2.5 emissions by over 90
percent from these engines.
NOX SIP Call. On October 27, 1998 (63 FR 57356), EPA issued a
NOX SIP Call requiring the District of Columbia and 22
states to reduce emissions of NOX. Affected states were
required to comply with Phase I of the SIP Call beginning in 2004, and
Phase II beginning in 2007. Emission reductions resulting from
regulations developed in response to the NOX SIP Call are
permanent and enforceable.
CAIR and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). As previously
discussed, the remanded CAIR, originally promulgated to reduce
transported pollution, was left in place to ``temporarily preserve the
environmental values covered by CAIR'' until EPA replaced it with a
rule consistent with the Court's opinion. To remedy CAIR's flaws, EPA
promulgated the final CSAPR on August 8, 2011. CSAPR addresses the
interstate transport requirements of the CAA with respect to the 1997
ozone, 1997 PM2.5 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. As noted previously,
the requirements of CAIR address emissions thru the 2011 control period
and CSAPR requires similar or greater emission reductions in the
relevant areas in 2012 and beyond.
The state measures that have been implemented to date and relied
upon by Kentucky to demonstrate attainment and/or maintenance include
NOX SIP Call regulations, open burning bans, and fugitive
emissions standards.
EPA believes that PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursor
reductions in and around the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area have
contributed to improved air quality. The majority of the improvement in
ambient PM2.5 concentrations has resulted from reductions in
emissions from coal fired power plants. In addition, local controls of
NOX and SO2 installed on Unit 2 of the Duke
Energy East Bend coal fired utility plant in the Boone County have
decreased emissions by approximately 38 and 53 percent, for
NOX and SO2 respectively, between 2005 and 2009.
These reductions, prompted by the NOX SIP Call and CAIR,
included upgrades to flue gas desulfurization system in response to
CAIR and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system installation as a
result of the NOX SIP Call. A summary of the emissions
reductions from 2005 to 2009 is for the entire Tri-state Cincinnati
Hamilton Area is provided in Table 2. EPA's analysis shows that
reductions of SO2 and NOX emissions, in tons per
year (tpy) are greater than decreases in emissions that could be
attributed to any decreases in electrical demand in the Tri-state
Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. These reductions are permanent and
enforceable through the NOX SIP Call and CSAPR.
Table 2--Summary of Emissions Reductions From Coal Fired Utilities in the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area \8\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facility--county Emissions difference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from 2005-2009 (tpy)
-------------------------
SO2 Percent Percent
reduction NOX reduction
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kentucky
East Bend--Boone Co..................................... 1,942 53 1,516 38
Indiana
Tanners Creek--Dearborn Co.............................. 30,091 65 4,432 56
Ohio
Miami Fort--Hamilton Co................................. 52,243 67 10,927 72
W.H. Zimmer--Clermont Co................................ 8,095 36 11,507 76
Walter C. Beckjord--Clermont Co......................... 24,982 37 2,065 16
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because PM2.5 concentrations in the Cincinnati-Hamilton
area are impacted by the transport of sulfates and nitrates, the area's
air quality is affected by regulation of SO2 and
NOX emissions from power plants. Table 3, below, presents
statewide EGU emissions data compiled by EPA's Clean Air Markets
Division for the years 2002 and 2008. Emissions for 2008 reflect
implementation of CAIR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Data reflects reported actual emissions from the Clean Air
Markets Division Database https://camddataandmaps.epa.gov/gdm/index.cfm?fuseaction=emissions.wizard. Data is not normalized for
output.
[[Page 65466]]
Table 3--Comparison of 2002 and 2008 Statewide EGU NOX and SO2 Emissions (tpy) for States Impacting the Cincinnati-Hamilton Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOX SO2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Net change Net change
2002 2008 2002-2008 2002 2008 2002-2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................................. 161,559 112,625 -48,934 448,248 357,546 -90,702
Illinois................................................ 174,247 119,930 -54,317 353,699 257,357 -96,342
Indiana................................................. 281,146 190,092 -91,054 778,868 565,459 -213,409
Kentucky................................................ 198,599 157,903 -40,696 482,653 344,356 -138,297
Michigan................................................ 132,623 107,624 -25,000 342,999 326,501 -16,498
Missouri................................................ 139,799 88,742 -51,057 235,532 258,269 22,737
Ohio.................................................... 370,497 235,049 -135,448 1,132,069 709,444 -422,625
Pennsylvania............................................ 200,909 183,658 -17,251 889,766 831,915 -57,851
Tennessee............................................... 155,996 85,641 -70,356 336,995 208,069 -128,926
West Virginia........................................... 225,371 99,484 -125,887 507,110 301,574 -205,536
Wisconsin............................................... 88,970 47,794 -41,175 191,257 129,694 -61,563
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................... 2,129,716 1,428,541 -701,175 5,699,195 4,290,184 -1,409,011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3 shows that states impacting the Cincinnati-Hamilton area
reduced NOX and SO2 emissions from EGUs by
701,175 tons per year (tpy) and 1,409,011 tpy, respectively, between
2002 and 2008. In summary, reductions of EGU emissions of
SO2 and NOX contributed to the air quality
improvement in the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area. Given the
remanded status of CAIR, this air quality improvement could not be
considered permanent at
