Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Kentucky; Redesignation of the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland 1997 Annual Fine Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area to Attainment, 69409-69422 [2012-28090]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 223 (Monday, November 19, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69409-69422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28090]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0751; FRL-9751-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation 
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Kentucky; Redesignation of 
the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland 1997 Annual Fine 
Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area to Attainment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On February 12, 2012, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through 
the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division for Air Quality 
(DAQ), submitted a request to redesignate the Kentucky portion of the 
tri-state Huntington-Ashland, West Virginia-Kentucky-Ohio fine 
particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter 
referred to as the ``Huntington-Ashland Area'' or ``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 Huntington-Ashland Area. The Huntington-Ashland Area is 
comprised of Boyd County and a portion of Lawrence County in Kentucky; 
Lawrence and Scioto Counties and portions of Adams and Gallia Counties 
in Ohio; and Cabell and Wayne Counties and a portion of Mason County in 
West Virginia. EPA is proposing to approve the redesignation request 
and the related SIP revision for Boyd and Lawrence Counties in 
Kentucky, including the Commonwealth's plan for maintaining attainment 
of the PM2.5 standard in the Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland Area. EPA is also proposing to approve the on-road 
motor vehicle insignificance finding for direct PM2.5 and 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) for the Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland Area. On May 4, 2011, and June 30, 2011, 
respectively, Ohio and West Virginia submitted requests to redesignate 
their portions of the Area to attainment for the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is taking action on the requests from Ohio 
and West Virginia separately from these proposed actions.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 10, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2012-0751, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: R4-RDS@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
    4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0751, 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-
2012-0751. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit through www.regulations.gov or 
email, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email 
comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your 
email address will be automatically captured and included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on 
the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that 
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, 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 
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 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,

[[Page 69410]]

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?
VI. What is EPA's analysis of Kentucky's proposed regional on-road 
motor vehicle insignificance determination for the Kentucky portion 
of the Huntington-Ashland area?
VII. What is the status of EPA's adequacy determination for the on-
road motor vehicle insignificance determination for the Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland area?
VIII. Proposed Actions on the Redesignation Request and Maintenance 
Plan SIP Revision for the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland 
Area
IX. What is the effect of EPA's proposed actions?
X. 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 
Huntington-Ashland Area is continuing to attain the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS \1\ and to take additional actions related to 
Kentucky's request to redesignate the Kentucky portion of the Area, 
which are summarized as follows and described in greater detail 
throughout this notice of proposed rulemaking: (1) to redesignate the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area to attainment for the 
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS; and (2) to approve, under section 
175A of the CAA, Kentucky's 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS 
maintenance plan for the Commonwealth's portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area into the Kentucky SIP.
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    \1\ On September 7, 2011, at 76 FR 55542, EPA determined that 
the Huntington-Ashland 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 the Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland 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 Boyd County and 
a portion of Lawrence County from nonattainment to attainment for the 
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
    Second, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS maintenance plan for the Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland Area (such approval being one of the CAA criteria 
for redesignation to attainment status). The maintenance plan is 
designed to help keep the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 
Area in attainment of the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS through 
2022. As explained in Section V, EPA is also proposing to approve that 
attainment can be maintained through 2023. The maintenance plan that 
EPA is proposing to approve today includes an insignificance 
determination for the on-road motor vehicle contribution of direct 
PM2.5 and NOX to ambient PM2.5 levels 
in the Kentucky portion of Huntington-Ashland Area for transportation 
conformity purposes. EPA is proposing to approve (into the Kentucky 
SIP) the on-road motor vehicle insignificance finding that is included 
as part of Kentucky's maintenance plan for the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS.
    Further, EPA proposes to make the determination that the 
Huntington-Ashland Area is continuing to attain the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS and that all other redesignation criteria have 
been met for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area. The 
bases for EPA's determination for the Area are discussed in greater 
detail below.
    EPA is also providing the public with an update on the status of 
EPA's adequacy process for the on-road motor vehicle insignificance 
determination for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area. 
Please see section VII of this proposed rulemaking for further 
explanation of this process and for details.
    Today's notice of proposed rulemaking is in response to Kentucky's 
February 12, 2012, SIP revision, which requests redesignation of the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 secondary 
PM2.5 are sulfur dioxide (SO2), NOX, 
ammonia and volatile organic compounds (VOC). Unless otherwise noted by 
the state or EPA, ammonia and VOC 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.\2\ 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 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.
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    \2\ In response to legal challenges of the annual standard 
promulgated in 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. 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 (D.C. 
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 Huntington-Ashland Area as 
nonattainment for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. In that action, EPA 
defined the 1997 PM2.5 Huntington-Ashland Area to include 
Boyd County and a portion of Lawrence County in Kentucky; Lawrence and 
Scioto Counties and portions of Adams and Gallia Counties in Ohio; and 
Cabell and Wayne Counties and a portion of Mason County in West 
Virginia. On November 13, 2009, at 74 FR 58688, EPA promulgated 
designations for the 24-hour standard established in 2006, designating 
the Huntington-Ashland Area as attainment for this NAAQS. That action 
clarified that the Huntington-Ashland Area was classified 
unclassifiable/attainment for the 24-hour NAAQS promulgated in

[[Page 69411]]

1997. EPA did not promulgate designations for the annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS promulgated in 2006 since that NAAQS was 
essentially identical to the annual PM2.5 NAAQS promulgated 
in 1997. Therefore, the Huntington-Ashland Area is designated 
nonattainment for the annual PM2.5 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. That rule, at 40 
CFR 51.1004(c), specifies some of the regulatory results of attaining 
the NAAQS, as discussed below.
    The 3-year ambient air quality data for 2008-2010 indicated no 
violations of the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the 
Huntington-Ashland Area. As a result, on February 12, 2012, Kentucky 
requested redesignation of the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 
The redesignation request includes three years of complete, quality-
assured ambient air quality data for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 
NAAQS for 2008-2010, indicating that this NAAQS had been achieved for 
the entire Huntington-Ashland 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 
Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-
Ashland Area can be attributed to the reduction of pollutant 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 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 February 12, 2012, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through DAQ, 
requested the redesignation of the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 
The Huntington-Ashland Area has attained the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS, and EPA's preliminary evaluation indicates that 
the Area 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. EPA is also announcing the status of its 
adequacy determination for both the NOX and direct 
PM2.5.

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 Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland Area to attainment for the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS; and (2) approve into the Kentucky SIP the 1997 
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS maintenance plan for the Kentucky portion 
of the Huntington-Ashland Area. These actions are based upon EPA's 
determination that the Huntington-Ashland Area continues to attain the 
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS and that all other redesignation 
criteria have been met for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area. 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.

Criteria (1)--The Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 [mu]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 7, 2011, at 76 FR 55542, EPA finalized a determination 
that the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland Area for the 1997

[[Page 69412]]

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. As such, EPA is not seeking 
additional comment in today's action regarding this data. As noted in 
EPA's September 7, 2011, action these data were quality-assured and 
recorded in AQS. As summarized in Table 1 below, the 3-year averages 
(i.e., design values) of the PM2.5 concentrations for the 
years 2009, 2010, and 2011 show steady declines in ambient 
PM2.5 concentrations in the Huntington-Ashland Area.

  Table 1--Design Value Concentrations for the Huntington-Ashland Area for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS ([mu]g/
                                                      m\3\)
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                                                                                    3-Year design values
             Location                   County, state        Monitor ID   --------------------------------------
                                                                            2007-2009    2008-2010    2009-2011
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Huntington........................  Cabell, WV...........     54-011-0006         14.3         13.1         12.1
Ashland Primary (FIVCO)...........  Boyd, KY.............     21-019-0017         12.4         11.4         10.8
Lawrence County Hospital (LCH) \3\  Lawrence, OH.........     39-087-0010         13.3           NA           NA
Ironton Department of               Lawrence, OH.........     39-087-0012         12.2         12.2         11.4
 Transportation (DOT) \4\.
Portsmouth........................  Scioto, OH...........     39-145-0013         12.3         11.6         10.9
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     As discussed above, the design value for an area is the highest 
average annual mean concentration recorded at any monitor in the area 
for a 3-year period. Therefore, the 3-year annual design value 
submitted by Kentucky for redesignation of the Huntington-Ashland Area, 
for the period 2008-2010, is 13.1 [mu]g/m\3\, which meets the NAAQS as 
described above. Additional details can be found in EPA's final clean 
data determination for the Huntington-Ashland Area (76 FR 55542, 
September 7, 2011). The most recent complete, quality-assured and 
certified ambient monitoring data result in an annual design value for 
the Huntington-Ashland Area of 12.1 [mu]g/m\3\, which also meets the 
NAAQS, for the period 2009-2011. In addition, EPA has reviewed more 
recent preliminary data that are available in AQS for the year 2012, 
although not yet complete and certified, and notes that this data also 
indicates the Huntington-Ashland Area continues to attain the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS beyond the submitted 3-year attainment period of 
2008-2010. 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.
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    \3\ The Lawrence County Hospital Site was shut down in February 
2008. The Ironton DOT site began operation on the same day the 
Lawrence County Hospital Site ceased monitoring.
    \4\ The Ironton DOT site did not begin operation until February 
2008.
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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 Kentucky Portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland 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 Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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. The section 110(a)(2)(D) requirements for 
a state are not linked with a

[[Page 69413]]

particular nonattainment area's designation and classification in that 
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 the Reading, Pennsylvania, proposed and 
final rulemakings (61 FR 53174, October 10, 1996), (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 at (60 FR 
62748, December 7, 1995). See also the discussion on this issue in the 
Cincinnati, Ohio, redesignation (65 FR 37879, June 19, 2000), and in 
the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, redesignation (66 FR 50399, October 19, 
2001).
    EPA 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 on October 3, 2012. See 77 FR 60307. However, 
these are statewide requirements that are not a consequence of the 
nonattainment status of the Huntington-Ashland Area. As stated above, 
EPA believes that section 110 elements not linked to an area's 
nonattainment status are not applicable for purposes of redesignation. 
Therefore, EPA believes it has approved all SIP elements under section 
110 that must be approved as a prerequisite for redesignating the 
Huntington-Ashland Area to attainment.
    Title I, Part D, subpart 1 applicable SIP requirements. EPA 
proposes to determine that the Kentucky SIP meets the applicable SIP 
requirements for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 forth 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 
Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland Area, 
no additional measures are needed to provide for attainment, and the 
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. 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 Huntington-Ashland Area, which includes the Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 emissions. On 
April 11, 2012, EPA approved Kentucky's 2002 base-year emissions 
inventory for the Huntington-Ashland Area as part of the SIP revision 
submitted by the Commonwealth to provide for attainment of the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS in the Area. See 77 FR 21663.
    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

[[Page 69414]]

Redesignation to Attainment.'' Kentucky has demonstrated that the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area will be able to 
maintain the NAAQS without part D NSR in effect; therefore, Kentucky 
need not have fully approved part D NSR programs prior to approval of 
the redesignation request. Kentucky's PSD program will become effective 
in the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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.
    Section 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 \5\ 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 Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area has satisfied all applicable 
requirements for purposes of redesignation under section 110 and part D 
of the CAA. Nonetheless, EPA approved the Kentucky Conformity SIP on 
April 21, 2010. See 75 FR 20780.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 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 Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area Has a Fully 
Approved Applicable SIP Under Section 110(k) of the CAA
    EPA has fully approved the applicable Kentucky SIP for the Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area (77 FR 60307, October 
3, 2012).
    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). EPA 
has 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 Kentucky portion of 
the Huntington-Ashland 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.
    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.

[[Page 69415]]

    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.
    Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine Standard. Promulgated in 
2010, this rule regulates emissions of air toxics from existing diesel 
powered stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines that meet 
specific site rating, age, and size criteria. When all of the 
reciprocating internal combustion engine standards are fully 
implemented in 2013, EPA estimates that annual PM2.5 
emissions from these engines will be reduced by approximately 2,800 
tons.
    Category 3 Marine Diesel Engine Standards. Promulgated in 2010, 
this rule establishes more stringent exhaust emission standards for new 
large marine diesel engines with per cylinder displacement at or above 
30 liters (commonly referred to as Category 3 compression-ignition 
marine engines) as part of a coordinated strategy to address emissions 
from all ships that effect U.S. air quality. Near-term standards for 
newly built engines will apply beginning in 2011, and long-term 
standards requiring an 80 percent reduction in NOX emissions 
will begin in 2016.
    NOX SIP Call. On October 27, 1998 (63 FR 57356), EPA issued the 
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 Transport Rule. On May 12, 2005, EPA published the 
Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which requires significant reductions 
in emissions of SO2 and NOX from electric 
generating units to limit the interstate transport of these pollutants 
and the ozone and fine particulate matter they form in the atmosphere. 
See 76 FR 25162. The D.C. Circuit initially vacated CAIR, North 
Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir. 2008), but ultimately remanded 
the rule to EPA without vacatur to preserve the environmental benefits 
provided by CAIR, North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176, 1178 (D.C. Cir. 
2008). In response to the Court's decision, EPA issued the Transport 
Rule, also known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, to address 
interstate transport of SO2 and NOX in the 
eastern United States. See 76 FR 48208 (August 8, 2011). On August 21, 
2012, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision to vacate the Transport Rule. 
In that decision, the Court also ordered EPA to continue administering 
CAIR ``pending the promulgation of a valid replacement.'' EME Homer 
Generation, L.P. v. EPA, No. 11-1302 (D.C. Cir., August 21, 2012).\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ The Court's judgment is not final, as of November 7, 2012, 
as the mandate has not yet been issued.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In light of the these unique circumstances and for the reasons 
explained below, EPA proposes to approve the redesignation request and 
the related SIP revision for Boyd County and a portion of Lawrence 
County in Kentucky, including Kentucky's plan for maintaining 
attainment of the standard in the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area. The air quality modeling analysis conducted for the 
Transport Rule demonstrates that the Huntington-Ashland Area would be 
able to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS even in the 
absence of either CAIR or the Transport Rule. See ``Air Quality 
Modeling Final Rule Technical Support Document,'' App. B, B-44, B-55--
56, and B-62. This modeling is available in the docket for this 
proposed redesignation action. Nothing in the D.C. Circuit's August 
2012 decision disturbs or calls into question that conclusion or the 
validity of the air quality analysis on which it is based.
    In addition, CAIR remains in place and enforceable until 
substituted by a ``valid'' replacement rule. Kentucky's SIP revision 
lists CAIR as a control measure that became state-effective February 2, 
2007, and was approved by EPA on October 4, 2007, for the purpose of 
reducing SO2 and NOX emissions. The monitoring 
data used to demonstrate the area's attainment of the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS by the April 2010 attainment deadline was also 
impacted by CAIR. To the extent that Kentucky is relying on CAIR in its 
maintenance plan, the recent directive from the D.C. Circuit in EME 
Homer ensures that the reductions associated with CAIR will be 
permanent and enforceable for the necessary time period. EPA has been 
ordered by the Court to develop a new rule, and the opinion makes clear 
that after promulgating that new rule EPA must provide states an 
opportunity to draft and submit SIPs to implement that rule. CAIR thus 
cannot be replaced until EPA has promulgated a final rule through a 
notice-and-comment rulemaking process, states have had an opportunity 
to draft and submit SIPs, EPA has reviewed the SIPs to determine 
whether they can be approved, and EPA has taken action on the SIPs, 
including promulgation of a federal implementation plan, if 
appropriate. These steps alone will take many years, even with EPA and 
the states acting expeditiously. The Court's clear instruction to EPA 
that it must continue to administer CAIR until a ``valid replacement'' 
exists provides an additional backstop; by definition, any rule that 
replaces CAIR and meets the Court's direction would require upwind 
states to eliminate significant downwind contributions to downwind 
nonattainment and prevent interference with maintenance in downwind 
areas.
    Further, in vacating the Transport Rule and requiring EPA to 
continue administering CAIR, the D.C. Circuit emphasized that the 
consequences of vacating CAIR ``might be more severe now in light of 
the reliance interests accumulated over the intervening four years.'' 
EME Homer, slip op. at 60. The accumulated reliance interests include 
the interests of states who reasonably assumed they could rely on 
reductions associated with CAIR, which brought certain nonattainment 
areas into attainment with the NAAQS. If EPA were prevented from 
relying on reductions associated with CAIR in redesignation action, 
states would be forced to impose additional, redundant reductions on 
top of those achieved by CAIR. EPA believes this is precisely the type 
of irrational result the Court sought to avoid by ordering EPA to 
continue administering CAIR. For these reasons also, EPA believes it is 
appropriate to allow states to rely on CAIR, and the existing emission 
reductions achieved by CAIR, as sufficiently permanent and enforceable 
for purposes such as redesignation. Following promulgation of the 
replacement rule, EPA will review SIPs as appropriate to identify 
whether there are any issues that need to be addressed.
    Other measures. There are also other actions, independent of CAIR, 
which have led to permanent and enforceable emission reductions at EGUs 
located within the Huntington-Ashland Area. For example, in the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area, the Big Sandy Power 
Station was required by a federally enforceable consent decree \7\ and 
2007 settlement agreement to install and continuously operate selective 
catalytic reduction (SCR) to reduce NOX emissions from Unit 
2 beginning January 1, 2009. The plant is also

[[Page 69416]]

required to install and continuously operate flue gas desulfurization 
(FGD) to reduce SO2 emissions from Unit 2 beginning December 
31, 2015. Operation of FGD controls has a co-benefit of reducing direct 
PM2.5 emissions as well. In the Ohio and West Virginia 
portions of the Area, a federally enforceable consent decree \8\ and 
2007 settlement agreement require the General James M. Gavin Power 
Plant (Ohio) and Mountaineer Power Plant (West Virginia) to install and 
continuously operate SCR and FGD on specified units and the Philip 
Sporn Plant (West Virginia) to retire, retrofit, or re-power one unit. 
Another consent decree,\9\ to which EPA was not a party, requires the 
J.M. Stuart Power Plant (Ohio) to install and continuously operate SCR 
on all of its units. To the extent that power plant emission reductions 
contributed to attainment in the Huntington-Ashland Area, these 
reductions are permanent and enforceable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ Entered with the United States District Court for the 
Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division (United States of America 
and State of New York, et al., v. American Electric Power Service 
Corp., et al., No. C2-99-1250 and 1182 (consolidated)).
    \8\ Id.
    \9\ Entered with the United States District Court for the 
Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (Sierra Club and Marilyn 
Wall v. The Dayton Power and Light Company, Duke Energy Ohio, Inc., 
and Columbus Southern Power Co., Civil Action No. 2: 04-cv-905).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to the consent decrees for power plants, Kentucky 
provided information in its submittal regarding other consent decrees 
in and near the Huntington-Ashland Area. In Greenup County, which is 
adjacent to the Huntington-Ashland PM2.5 nonattainment area, 
E.I. Dupont will reduce SO2 emissions at four sulfuric acid 
units with measures equivalent to best available control technology 
(BACT) \10\ and will continue to implement best work practices. AK 
Steel--Ashland Works, located in Boyd County, ceased all coke plant 
operations by June 23, 2011, as confirmed through a shutdown 
notification letter to DAQ. EPA notes that although Kentucky did not 
take credit for these consent decrees and shutdowns in their projection 
inventories, they are permanent and enforceable reductions that will 
contribute to further SO2 and NOX emission 
reductions in the Huntington-Ashland Area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ BACT is a source emissions limitation that is based on the 
maximum degree of control that can be achieved and is generally 
implemented through the prevention of significant deterioration 
(PSD) permitting program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The state measures that have been implemented to date and relied 
upon by Kentucky to demonstrate attainment and/or maintenance include 
the Commonwealth of Kentucky NOX SIP Call regulations, open 
burning bans, and fugitive emission standards.
    EPA believes that reductions in emissions of direct 
PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursors in and around the 
Huntington-Ashland 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 
that were prompted by the NOX SIP Call and CAIR. A summary 
of the emission reductions from 2005 to 2009 for the entire Huntington-
Ashland Area is provided in Table 2 below. EPA's analysis shows that 
the reductions of SO2 and NOX emissions, in tons 
per year (tpy), were greater than decreases in emissions that could be 
attributed to any decrease in electrical demand in the Huntington-
Ashland Area. While the average SO2 and NOX 
emission reductions from coal fired utilities in the Huntington-Ashland 
Area for the period 2005-2009 were 47 percent and 68 percent, 
respectively, the average facility power production in terms of heat 
input decreased by only about 5 percent during the same period. 
Furthermore, as discussed below, Kentucky's maintenance plan provides 
for verification of continued attainment by performing future reviews 
of triennial emissions inventories and also for contingency measures to 
ensure that the NAAQS is maintained into the future if monitored 
increases in ambient PM2.5 concentrations occur.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ Data reflects reported actual emissions from the Clean Air 
Markets Division Database at https://ampd.epa.gov/ampd/.

Table 2--Actual Emission Reductions From Coal Fired Utilities in the Huntington-Ashland Area for the Period 2005-
                                                    2009 \11\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Emission differences from 2005 to 2009 (tpy)
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                Facility--County                                      Percent                         Percent
                                                        SO2          reduction          NOX          reduction
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kentucky:
    Big Sandy--Lawrence County..................           9,873              20           7,621              61
West Virginia:
    Mountaineer--Mason County...................          40,214              94          10,073              79
    Philip Sporn--Mason County..................          22,433              57           5,020              56
Ohio:
    J.M. Stuart--Adams County...................          42,224              40          16,124              66
    Killen Station--Adams County................          17,592              90           3,083              52
    Gen J.M. Gavin--Gallia County...............           1,701               6          31,800              82
    Kyger Creek--Gallia County..................          16,032              22          15,209              82
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Criteria (4)--The Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 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

[[Page 69417]]

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.
b. Attainment Emissions Inventory
    The Huntington-Ashland 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 a level of 
emissions in the Area that 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 2015 and 2022. The projected inventory included with the 
maintenance plan estimates emissions forward to 2022, which is at the 
10-year interval required in section 175A of the CAA. In addition to 
comparing the final year of the plan, Kentucky compared an interim year 
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 the 
Visibility Improvement State and Tribal Association of the Southeast 
and the 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 other parameters. Non-road 
mobile emissions estimates were based on the EPA's NONROAD 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 Huntington-Ashland Area, as well as the emissions for other years, 
were developed consistent with EPA guidance and are summarized in Table 
6 of the following subsection discussing the maintenance demonstration.
    Section 175A requires a state seeking redesignation to attainment 
to submit a SIP revision to provide for the maintenance of the NAAQS in 
the Area ``for at least 10 years after the redesignation.'' EPA has 
interpreted this as a showing of maintenance ``for a period of ten 
years following redesignation.'' Calcagni Memorandum, p. 9. Where the 
emissions inventory method of showing maintenance is used, the purpose 
is to show that emissions during the maintenance period will not 
increase over the attainment year inventory. Calcagni Memorandum, pp. 
9-10.
    As discussed in detail in the subsection below, Kentucky's 
maintenance plan submission expressly documents that the Area's 
emissions inventories will remain below the attainment year inventories 
through 2022. Projected emissions inventory levels in 2022 are well 
below the attainment year inventory levels, and it is highly improbable 
that they will suddenly increase and exceed attainment year inventory 
levels in 2023. In addition, for the reasons set forth below, EPA 
believes that the Commonwealth's submission, in conjunction with 
additional supporting information, further demonstrates that the Area 
will continue to maintain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS at 
least through 2023. Thus, if EPA finalizes its proposed approval of the 
redesignation request and maintenance plans in 2013, the approval will 
be based upon this showing, in accordance with section 175A, and EPA's 
analysis described herein, that the Commonwealth's maintenance plan 
provides for maintenance for at least ten years after redesignation.
c. Maintenance Demonstration
    The February 12, 2012, final submittal includes a maintenance plan 
for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 projections for 2015 and 2022.
    (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 MVEB were considered for the last 
year (2022) of the maintenance plan.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ PM2.5 and NOX MVEB are not required 
for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area due to the 
insignificance finding for the mobile sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (iv) Provides, as shown in Tables 3, 4, and 5 below, the actual and 
projected emissions inventories, in tpy, for the Kentucky portion of 
the Huntington-Ashland Area. Kentucky incorporated the expected CAIR 
reductions into the projected SO2 and NOX 
inventories. The projected direct PM2.5 inventories do not 
include any reductions achieved as a co-benefit of CAIR implementation. 
Table 6 shows the 2008 actual and 2015 and 2022 projected emissions 
inventories for the entire Huntington-Ashland Area.

[[Page 69418]]



 Table 3--Actual (2008) and Projected Direct PM2.5 Emissions for the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland
                                                   Area (tpy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Sector                                    2008            2015            2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...........................................................       12,329.81        7,374.04        4,191.06
Area............................................................          124.25          120.60          117.98
Non-road........................................................          756.77          798.60          841.16
On-road.........................................................          104.18           54.28           30.77
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................       13,315.01        8,347.52        5,180.97
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Table 4--Actual (2008) and Projected NOX Emissions for the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area (tpy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Sector                                    2008            2015            2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...........................................................       17,952.52       19,919.31       21,886.10
Area............................................................        3,182.45        2,963.14        2,743.37
Non-road........................................................           50.84           58.01           63.68
On-road.........................................................        2,311.75        1,225.13          685.60
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................       23,497.56       24,165.59       25,378.75
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Table 5--Actual (2008) and Projected SO2 Emissions for the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area (tpy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Sector                                    2008            2015            2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...........................................................       46,835.66       17,880.04       23,873.83
Area............................................................          398.09          378.52          373.13
Non-road........................................................          579.92          606.63          626.51
On-road.........................................................           12.36           12.62           12.83
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................       47,826.03       18,877.81       24,886.30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   Table 6--Actual (2008) and Projected Total Emission Estimates for the Entire Huntington-Ashland Area (tpy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Year                                  PM2.5 (tpy)      NOX (tpy)       SO2 (tpy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008............................................................       20,990.20      152,377.14      230,690.12
2015............................................................       15,907.51      104,680.23      135,946.22
2022............................................................       12,601.44       83,700.01      113,779.08
Decrease from 2008 to 2022......................................        8,388.76       68,677.13      116,911.04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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. As reflected in Table 6, future emissions of all the 
relevant pollutants in the Huntington-Ashland Area are expected to be 
well below the 2008 ``attainment level'' emissions, thus illustrating 
that the Huntington-Ashland Area is expected to continue to attain the 
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS through 2022. Further, as reflected 
in Tables 3 through 5, future emissions direct PM2.5 and 
SO2 in the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area 
are expected to be well below the 2008 ``attainment level'' emissions, 
while future emissions NOX are expected to be slightly above 
the 2008 ``attainment level'' emissions. Because the SO2 and 
direct PM components are more significant to ambient PM2.5 
levels than the nitrate contribution,\13\ the significant projected 
reductions in these pollutants indicate that future emissions in the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area are expected to support 
continued maintenance of the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS through 
2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ In Kentucky, speciation data shows that the sulfate 
(SO4) component accounts for approximately one-third of 
the total ambient PM2.5 mass; the direct PM (organic 
carbon) component accounts for approximately one-fourth of the total 
ambient PM2.5 mass; and the nitrate (NH4 and 
NO3) component accounts for approximately one tenth of 
the total ambient PM2.5 mass. See Figure 1.3-4 of ``The 
Kentucky Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Attainment 
Demonstration for the Louisville, KY-IN, Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-
KY-IN, and Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH PM2.5 
Nonattainment Areas,'' November 2008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A maintenance plan requires the state to show that projected future 
year emissions will not exceed the level of emissions which led the 
area to attain the NAAQS. Kentucky has demonstrated maintenance by 
projecting emissions in 2022, as described previously, that will remain 
below those in the 2008 attainment year.
    As noted above, EPA believes that several pertinent factors 
demonstrate that the Huntington-Ashland Area will continue to maintain 
the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS at least through the year 2023. 
These include the circumstances that (1) all of the state and federal 
regulatory requirements that enabled the Area to attain the NAAQS will 
continue to be in effect and enforceable after the 10-year maintenance 
period; (2) the

[[Page 69419]]

most recent complete, quality-assured and certified annual 
PM2.5 design value (for the period 2009 to 2011) for the 
Area of 12.1 [mu]g/m\3\ is well below the standard of 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\; 
(3) as discussed in detail below, EPA is proposing in this action to 
approve Kentucky's determination that the direct PM2.5 and 
NOX contribution from motor vehicle emissions is 
insignificant for the Area and thus does not expect such emissions to 
contribute significantly to future ambient PM2.5 levels; and 
(4) as noted above, several of the largest sources in the Area have 
been required by permanent and enforceable consent decrees to install 
controls that achieve reductions in SO2 and NOX 
emissions as well as reductions in direct PM2.5 emissions. 
Therefore, EPA expects the projected downward trend in pollutant 
emissions in the Huntington-Ashland Area from the 2008 attainment year 
through the 2022 maintenance year, as shown in Table 6 above, to 
continue for at least the one additional year past 2022.
d. Monitoring Network
    There are currently four monitors measuring PM2.5 in the 
Huntington-Ashland Area (one in the Kentucky portion of the Area, one 
in the West Virginia portion of the Area, and two in the Ohio portion 
of the Area). The Commonwealth of Kentucky, through DAQ, has committed 
to continue operation of the monitors in the Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland Area in compliance with 40 CFR part 58 and have thus 
addressed the requirement for monitoring. EPA approved Kentucky's 2011 
monitoring plan on October 20, 2011. Ohio and West Virginia have made 
similar commitments in their redesignation and maintenance plan 
submissions to EPA for this Area.
e. Verification of Continued Attainment
    The Commonwealth of Kentucky, through DAQ, has the legal authority 
to enforce and implement the requirements of the Kentucky portion of 
the Huntington-Ashland 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 Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 state. 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 February 12, 2012, revision, Kentucky affirms that all 
programs instituted by the Commonwealth and 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 2-step triggering mechanism to determine 
when contingency measures are needed and a process of developing and 
implementing appropriate control measures. The Commonwealth will use 
actual ambient monitoring data as the triggering event to determine 
when contingency measures should be implemented. The secondary trigger 
is a pre-violation trigger, and thus activation does not necessarily 
mean a violation of the annual PM2.5 NAAQS has occurred or 
will occur. This pre-violation trigger allows the Commonwealth to begin 
evaluating the causes of increased ambient PM2.5 
concentrations and take corrective action to prevent a future 
violation. In the contingency plan, Kentucky has committed to taking 
action on the activation of a primary or secondary trigger. These 
triggers and the actions resulting from them are discussed more fully 
below.
    Kentucky has identified a primary trigger as occurring when the 3-
year average of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations in the 
Huntington-Ashland Area is greater than the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS of 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\. In the event of a monitored 
violation of the 1997 Annual NAAQS, the Commonwealth commits to 
adopting 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 non-motorized 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 [mu]g/m\3\ or greater in a single 
calendar year in any portion of the maintenance area. In such a case, 
the Commonwealth will evaluate existing control measures and determine 
whether any further emission reduction measures should be implemented. 
In addition to the triggers 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 Kentucky portion of

[[Page 69420]]

the Huntington-Ashland Area meets the requirements of section 175A of 
the CAA and is approvable.

VI. What is EPA's analysis of Kentucky's proposed regional on-road 
motor vehicle insignificance determination for the Kentucky portion of 
the Huntington-Ashland 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 in 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 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.
    Today's action addresses the element regarding on-road motor 
vehicle emissions and the requirement to establish MVEB. EPA is 
proposing to find that the direct PM2.5 and NOX 
emission contribution from motor vehicles to the air pollution in the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area are insignificant. The 
result of this determination, if finalized, is that Kentucky will not 
need to develop MVEB for direct PM2.5 and NOX for 
the Kentucky portion of the Area and the MPO will not need to perform a 
regional emissions analysis for either pollutant when it demonstrates 
conformity. See below for further information on the insignificance 
determination.
    Regional on-road motor vehicle insignificance. For motor vehicle 
emissions budgets to be approvable, they must meet, at a minimum, EPA's 
adequacy criteria (40 CFR 93.118(e)(4)). In certain instances, the 
Transportation Conformity Rule allows areas to forgo establishment of a 
MVEB where it is demonstrated that the regional motor vehicle emissions 
for a particular pollutant or precursor are an insignificant 
contributor to the air quality problem in an area. The general criteria 
for insignificance determinations can be found in 40 CFR 93.109(f). 
Insignificance determinations are based on a number of factors, 
including (1) the percentage of motor vehicle emissions in context of 
the total SIP inventory; (2) the current state of air quality as 
determined by monitoring data for that NAAQS; (3) the absence of SIP 
motor vehicle control measures; and (4) historical trends and future 
projections of the growth of motor vehicle emissions. EPA's rationale 
for providing for insignificance determinations is described in the 
July 1, 2004, revision to the Transportation Conformity Rule at 69 FR 
40004.\14\ Specifically, the rationale is explained on page 40061 under 
the subsection entitled ``XXIII.B. Areas With Insignificant Motor 
Vehicle Emissions.'' Any insignificance determination under review by 
EPA is subject to the adequacy and approval process for EPA's action on 
the SIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ In the March 24, 2010, final rule (75 FR 14260), provisions 
for insignificance determinations were outlined in 40 CFR 93.109(m). 
EPA revised 40 CFR 93.109 in its March 14, 2012, final rule (77 FR 
14979), and the provisions for insignificance determinations are now 
located at 40 CFR 93.109(f).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Through the adequacy and SIP approval process, EPA may find that a 
SIP demonstrates that regional motor vehicle emissions are an 
insignificant contributor to the air quality problem for the pollutant 
or precursor at issue. Upon the effective date of EPA's adequacy 
determination, federal regulations no longer require a regional 
emissions analysis (for the purpose of transportation conformity 
implementation) for the relevant pollutant or precursor. Areas with 
insignificant regional motor vehicle emissions for a pollutant or 
precursor are still required to make a conformity determination that 
satisfies other relevant conformity requirements. Additionally, such 
areas are required to satisfy the regional emissions analysis 
requirements for pollutants or precursors for which EPA has not made a 
determination of insignificance.
    The maintenance plan for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area, included as part of the SIP revision, contains a regional 
on-road motor vehicle insignificance determination for the direct 
PM2.5 and NOX contribution of motor vehicles to 
the air quality problem in the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area. As part of the preparation for its redesignation request, 
Kentucky consulted with the interagency consultation group for the 
Huntington-Ashland Area regarding the insignificance determination. The 
information provided by Kentucky supports EPA's proposal to determine 
that the direct PM2.5 and NOX contribution from 
on-road vehicles to PM2.5 air pollution in the Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area are insignificant. The 
information provided by Kentucky to EPA, as part of the SIP revision, 
addresses each of the factors listed in 40 CFR 93.109(f) and is 
summarized below. The 2008 on-road PM2.5 emissions and 
NOX emissions account for less than one percent of the total 
direct PM2.5 emissions and less than three percent of total 
NOX emissions from all sources in the SIP inventory for the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area. As shown in Tables 3 
and 4 above, Kentucky's maintenance plan demonstrates that on-road 
direct PM2.5 emissions and NOX emissions will 
continue to decrease through 2022, the end of the maintenance plan for 
the Huntington-Ashland Area. In addition, since 2007, the 
PM2.5 design value concentration has decreased by 27 percent 
such that the Area is now attaining the Annual PM2.5 NAAQS 
with a 2009-2011 design value of 12.1 [mu]g/m\3\, well below the 
standard of 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\. According to information provided by 
Kentucky, point sources contributed nearly 98 percent of the emissions 
in future years in the Huntington-Ashland Area. The maintenance plan 
does not contain any control measures that apply to on-road motor 
vehicles.

[[Page 69421]]

    After evaluating the information provided by Kentucky and weighing 
the factors for the insignificance determination outlined in 40 CFR 
93.109(f), EPA is now proposing to approve Kentucky's determination 
that the direct PM2.5 and NOX contribution from 
motor vehicle emissions to the pollution problem in the Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area is insignificant. EPA's 
insignificance determination should be considered and specifically 
noted in the transportation conformity documentation that is prepared 
for the Area. In addition, as discussed in Section V above, EPA is 
proposing that if this approval is finalized in 2013 the Area will 
continue to maintain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS through at 
least 2023. EPA is also proposing that the submitted insignificance 
finding is consistent with maintenance of the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS through 2023.

VII. What is the status of EPA's adequacy determination for the on-road 
motor vehicle insignificance determination for the Kentucky portion of 
the Huntington-Ashland area?

    When reviewing submitted ``control strategy'' SIPs or maintenance 
plans containing MVEB and/or insignificance determinations, EPA may 
affirmatively find the MVEB and/or insignificance determination 
contained therein adequate for use in determining transportation 
conformity. Once EPA affirmatively finds the submitted MVEB is adequate 
for transportation conformity purposes, that MVEB must be used by state 
and federal agencies in determining whether proposed transportation 
projects conform to the SIP as required by section 176(c) of the CAA. 
Further, once EPA affirmatively finds the submitted insignificance 
determination is adequate for transportation conformity purposes, the 
transportation partners are relieved of performing a regional emissions 
analysis of that pollutant or precursor but must document the 
insignificance determination in its conformity determination.
    EPA's substantive criteria for determining adequacy of an MVEB and/
or insignificance determination are set out in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). The 
process for determining adequacy consists of three basic steps: Public 
notification of a SIP submission, a public comment period, and EPA's 
adequacy determination. This process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted MVEB for transportation conformity purposes was initially 
outlined in EPA's May 14, 1999, guidance, ``Conformity Guidance on 
Implementation of March 2, 1999, Conformity Court Decision.'' EPA 
adopted regulations to codify the adequacy process 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 an insignificance determination that direct PM2.5 
and NOX emissions from on-road motor vehicles are an 
insignificant contributor to the air quality problem in the Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland area. On January 3, 2012, the 
Kentucky SIP submission, including the on-road motor vehicle 
insignificance finding, was open for public comment on EPA's adequacy 
Web site found at: https://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm. The EPA public comment period closed on February 2, 2012. 
EPA did not receive any comments on the adequacy of the insignificance 
determination, nor did EPA receive any requests for the SIP revision.
    EPA intends to make its determination on the adequacy of the 
insignificance finding for the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-
Ashland Area for transportation conformity purposes in the near future 
by completing the adequacy process that was started on January 3, 2012. 
Section 93.109(f) states that a regional emissions analysis is no 
longer necessary if EPA finds through the adequacy or approval process 
that a SIP demonstrates that regional motor vehicle emissions are an 
insignificant contributor to the air quality problem for that 
pollutant/precursor. A finding of insignificance does not change the 
requirement for a regional analysis for other pollutants and precursors 
and does not change the requirement for hot-spot analysis. After EPA 
finds the insignificance determination adequate or approves it, this 
on-road motor vehicle insignificance finding for direct 
PM2.5 and NOX applies to future transportation 
conformity determinations.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ The Huntington-Ashland Area already has an adequate 
insignificance finding for its submitted attainment demonstration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VIII. Proposed Actions on the Redesignation Request and Maintenance 
Plan SIP Revision for the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland 
Area

    EPA determined that the Huntington-Ashland Area was attaining the 
1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS on September 7, 2011. See 76 FR 
55542. EPA is now taking two 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 2008-2010 monitoring 
period and review of data in AQS for 2011 and 2012, that the 
Huntington-Ashland Area continues to attain the 1997 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also proposing to determine that the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland Area.
    Second, EPA is proposing to approve the maintenance plan for the 
Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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.
    If finalized, approval of the redesignation request would change 
the official designation of Boyd County and a portion of Lawrence 
County in the Kentucky portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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 Kentucky portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland Area.

IX. 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 Boyd County and a portion of Lawrence County in Kentucky for the 
1997 Annual PM2.5

[[Page 69422]]

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 Kentucky 
portion of the Huntington-Ashland 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. Additionally, EPA is 
notifying the public of the status of its adequacy determination for 
the NOX and PM2.5 pursuant to 40 CFR 
93.118(f)(1).

X. 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 
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 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, Incorporation by 
reference, 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: November 6, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2012-28090 Filed 11-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P