Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; 2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard for the Maryland Portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Nonattainment Area, 44522-44525 [2017-20324]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R03–OAR–2017–0149; FRL–9968–00–
Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; 2011 Base Year Inventory
for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard for the
Maryland Portion of the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City
Nonattainment Area
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is taking direct final
action to approve the 2011 base year
inventory for the Maryland portion of
the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic
City marginal nonattainment area for the
2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standard (NAAQS). The State of
Maryland submitted the emission
inventory, which included the ozone
precursors, nitrogen oxides (NOX) and
volatile organic compounds (VOC), as
well as several other pollutants, through
the Maryland Department of the
Environment (MDE) to meet the
nonattainment requirements for
marginal ozone nonattainment areas for
the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is
approving the 2011 base year emissions
inventory for the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS as a revision to the Maryland
State Implementation Plan (SIP) as the
inventory for NOX and VOC is in
accordance with the requirements of the
Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on
November 24, 2017 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse
written comment by October 25, 2017.
If EPA receives such comments, it will
publish a timely withdrawal of the
direct final rule in the Federal Register
and inform the public that the rule will
not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03–
OAR–2017–0149 at https://
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
stahl.cynthia@epa.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. For either manner of
submission, EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
confidential business information (CBI)
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or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. EPA will generally not consider
comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e.
on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission
methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the
full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
Sara
Calcinore, (215) 814–2043, or by email
at calcinore.sara@epa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Ground level ozone is formed when
NOX and VOC react in the presence of
sunlight. NOX and VOC are referred to
as ozone precursors and are emitted by
many types of pollution sources,
including motor vehicles, power plants,
industrial facilities, and area wide
sources, such as consumer products and
lawn and garden equipment. Scientific
evidence indicates that adverse public
health effects occur following exposure
to ozone. These effects are more
pronounced in children and adults with
lung disease. Breathing air containing
ozone can reduce lung function and
inflame airways, which can increase
respiratory symptoms and aggravate
asthma or other lung diseases. In
response to this scientific evidence, EPA
promulgated the first ozone NAAQS in
1979, the 0.12 part per million (ppm) 1hour ozone NAAQS. See 44 FR 8202
(February 8, 1979). EPA had previously
promulgated a NAAQS for total
photochemical oxidants.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a
revised ozone NAAQS of 0.08 ppm,
averaged over eight hours. 62 FR 38855.
This 8-hour ozone NAAQS was
determined to be more protective of
public health than the previous 1979 1hour ozone NAAQS. In 2008, EPA
revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS from
0.08 to 0.075 ppm. See 73 FR 16436
(March 27, 2008).1
1 On October 1, 2015, EPA strengthened the 8hour ozone NAAQS to 0.070 ppm. See 80 FR 65292
(October 16, 2015). This rulemaking addresses the
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and does not address
the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
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On May 21, 2012, the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City area was
designated as marginal nonattainment
for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 77
FR 30088. The designation of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
area as marginal nonattainment was
effective July 20, 2012. The
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area is comprised of
Cecil County in Maryland, as well as
counties in Delaware, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania. Under section 172(c)(3) of
the CAA, Maryland is required to
submit a comprehensive, accurate, and
current inventory of actual emissions
from all sources of the relevant
pollutants, i.e. the ozone precursors
NOX and VOC, in its marginal
nonattainment area, i.e., the Maryland
portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City nonattainment area.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA
Analysis
Under CAA section 172(c)(3), states
are required to submit a comprehensive,
accurate, and current inventory of actual
emissions from all sources (point,
nonpoint, nonroad, and onroad) of the
relevant pollutant or pollutants in the
nonattainment area. CAA section
182(a)(1) requires that areas designated
as nonattainment and classified as
marginal submit an inventory of all
sources of ozone precursors no later
than 2 years after the effective date of
designation. EPA’s guidance for
emissions inventory development calls
for actual emissions to be used in the
base year inventory. The state must
report annual emissions as well as
‘‘summer day emissions.’’ As defined in
40 CFR 51.900(v), ‘‘summer day
emissions’’ means, ‘‘an average day’s
emissions for a typical summer work
weekday. The state will select the
particular month(s) in summer and the
day(s) in the work week to be
represented.’’
On January 19, 2017, MDE submitted
a formal revision (SIP #16–15) to its SIP.
The SIP revision consists of the 2011
base year inventory for the Maryland
portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City nonattainment area for the
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. MDE
selected 2011 as its base year for SIP
planning purposes, as recommended in
EPA’s final rule, ‘‘Implementation of the
2008 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone: State
Implementation Plan Requirements.’’
See 80 FR 12263 (March 6, 2015). MDE’s
2011 base year inventory includes
emissions estimates covering the general
source categories of stationary point,
area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, onroad
mobile, and Marine-Air-Rail (M–A–R).
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In its 2011 base year inventory, MDE
reported actual annual emissions and
typical summer day emissions for the
months of May through September for
NOX, VOC, and carbon monoxide (CO).
Although MDE also reported annual
emissions for fine particulate matter
(PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and
ammonia (NH3) and typical summer day
emissions for CO, in this approval of the
2011 base year emissions inventory for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA is
approving only relevant ozone
precursors, which are VOC and NOX.2
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Table 1 summarizes the 2011 VOC
and NOX emission inventory by source
sector for Maryland’s marginal
nonattainment area. Annual emissions
are given in tons per year (tpy) and
summer weekday emissions are given
by tons per day (tpd).
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2011 EMISSIONS OF OZONE PRECURSORS FOR THE PHILADELPHIA-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY
NONATTAINMENT AREA
Summer weekday
(tpd)
Source sector
VOC
Point .................................................................................................................
Area .................................................................................................................
Nonroad ...........................................................................................................
Onroad .............................................................................................................
M–A–R .............................................................................................................
Anthropogenic Subtotal ...................................................................................
Annual
(tpy)
NOX
0.301
2.863
5.127
2.29
0.030
10.61
VOC
2.63
0.31
2.01
7.50
0.46
12.90
64.91
937.78
1,054.93
791.98
11.03
2,860.63
NOX
76.19
242.02
529.02
2,730.44
167.97
3,745.63
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Point sources are large, stationary,
and identifiable sources of emissions
that release pollutants into the
atmosphere. Maryland obtained its
point source data from the MDE Air and
Radiation Management Administration
(ARMA) point source emissions
inventory. ARMA identifies and
inventories stationary sources for the
point source emissions inventory
through inspections, investigations,
permitting, and equipment registrations.
Area sources, also known as nonpoint
sources, are sources of pollution that are
small and numerous and have not been
inventoried as specific point or mobile
sources. To inventory these sources,
they are grouped so that emissions can
be estimated collectively using one
methodology. Examples include
residential heating emissions and
emissions from consumer solvents. MDE
calculated nonpoint emissions for the
Maryland portion of the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area by multiplying
emissions factors specific for each
source category with some known
indicator of collective activity for each
source category, such as population or
employment data.
Nonroad sources are mobile sources
other than onroad vehicles, including
aircraft, locomotives, construction and
agricultural equipment, and marine
vessels. Emissions from different source
categories are calculated using various
methodologies. MDE relied on EPA’s
nonroad emissions calculations from the
National Mobile Inventory Model
(NMIM—April 5, 2009). Onroad or
highway sources are vehicles, such as
cars, trucks, and buses, which are
operated on public roadways. MDE
estimated onroad emissions using EPA’s
Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator
(MOVES) model, version 2010a, and
appropriate activity levels, such as
vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates
developed from vehicle count data
maintained by the State Highway
Administration (SHA) of the Maryland
Department of Transportation (MDOT).
M-A-R sources include marine vessels,
airports, and railroad locomotives. MDE
estimated M-A-R emissions using data
from surveyed sources or state and
federal reporting agencies.
EPA reviewed Maryland’s 2011 base
year emission inventory’s results,
procedures, and methodologies for the
Maryland portion of the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area and found them to
be acceptable and approvable for
sections 110, 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of
the CAA. EPA’s review and analysis is
detailed in a Technical Support
Document (TSD) prepared for this
rulemaking. The TSD is available online
at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID
No. EPA–R03–OAR–2017–0149.
2 The actual annual emissions and typical
summer day emissions were summarized by MDE
in Table 1–1: 2011 Base Year SIP Emission
Inventory Summary. A discrepancy was found
between the area annual emissions reported for
PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1–1 and the area annual
emissions reported for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 4–
1: 2011 Base Year SIP Area Source Emission
Inventories and the Nonpoint Annual data table
under Appendix C Area/Nonpoint Sources. Since
the anthropogenic totals in Table 1–1 correspond to
the annual emissions values, the anthropogenic
totals for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1–1 were also
affected by the discrepancy. In a correction letter,
MDE confirmed that the area annual emissions for
PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1–1 are 456.50 tpy for PM2.5
and 477.15 tpy for NH3. MDE also confirmed that
the corresponding anthropogenic totals for PM2.5
and NH3 are 625.04 tpy and 530.10 tpy. MDE has
submitted a corrected version of page 3 of the 2011
base year inventory to reflect the necessary
corrections to Table 1–1. The corrected version as
well as the correction letter are included in the
docket for this rulemaking even though the CAA at
sections 172 and 182 only require an inventory of
ozone precursors. See July 20, 2017 letter from
Brian Hug, Program Manager, Maryland Department
of the Environment to Cecil Rodrigues, Acting
Regional Administrator, EPA Region III, Subject:
SIP #16–15 ‘‘2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory
for the Maryland Portion of the PhiladelphiaAtlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD 2008 Ozone NAAQS
Nonattainment Area (Cecil County, MD)’’ Minor
Corrections.
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III. Final Action
EPA is approving the Maryland
January 19, 2017 SIP revision as meeting
requirements for a base year inventory
for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for
the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area because the
inventory for ozone precursors was
prepared in accordance with
requirements in sections 110, 172(c)(3)
and 182(a)(1) of the CAA and its
implementing regulations including 40
CFR 51.915. EPA is publishing this rule
without prior proposal because EPA
views this as a noncontroversial
amendment and anticipates no adverse
comment. However, in the ‘‘Proposed
Rules’’ section of this Federal Register,
EPA is publishing a separate document
that will serve as the proposal to
approve the SIP revision if adverse
comments are filed. This rule will be
effective on November 24, 2017 without
further notice unless EPA receives
adverse comment by October 25, 2017.
If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA
will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public
that the rule will not take effect. EPA
will address all public comments in a
subsequent final rule based on the
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proposed rule. EPA will not institute a
second comment period on this action.
Any parties interested in commenting
must do so at this time.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under the CAA, the Administrator is
required to approve a SIP submission
that complies with the provisions of the
CAA 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, this action
merely approves state law as meeting
federal requirements and does not
impose additional requirements beyond
those imposed by state law. For that
reason, this action:
• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• is 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.);
• does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
• does not have federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• is 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
• does 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 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 state, and EPA notes that
it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt
tribal law.
B. Submission to Congress and the
Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5
U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides
that before a rule may take effect, the
agency promulgating the rule must
submit a rule report, which includes a
copy of the rule, to each House of the
Congress and to the Comptroller General
of the United States. EPA will submit a
report containing this action and other
required information to the U.S. Senate,
the U.S. House of Representatives, and
the Comptroller General of the United
States prior to publication of the rule in
the Federal Register. A major rule
cannot take effect until 60 days after it
is published in the Federal Register.
This action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as
defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA,
petitions for judicial review of this
action must be filed in the United States
Court of Appeals for the appropriate
circuit by November 24, 2017. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the
Administrator of this final rule does not
affect the finality of this action for the
purposes of judicial review nor does it
extend the time within which a petition
for judicial review may be filed, and
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Applicable geographic area
*
*
2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard.
*
*
Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD
2008 ozone nonattainment area.
3. Section 52.1075 is amended by
adding paragraph (q) to read as follows:
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§ 52.1075
*
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*
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*
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Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Dated: September 8, 2017.
Cecil Rodrigues,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52—APPROVAL AND
PROMULGATION OF
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
1. The authority citation for part 52
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart V—Maryland
2. In § 52.1070, the table in paragraph
(e) is amended by adding an entry for
‘‘2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008
8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standard’’ at the end of the table
to read as follows:
■
§ 52.1070
*
Identification of plan.
*
*
(e) * * *
*
*
EPA approval date
Additional
explanation
*
01/19/2017
*
09/25/2017, [Insert
Federal Register
citation].
*
§ 52.1075(q).
Base year emissions inventory.
*
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
State submittal
date
Name of non-regulatory SIP revision
■
shall not postpone the effectiveness of
such rule or action. Parties with
objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in
response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action
published in the proposed rules section
of this Federal Register, rather than file
an immediate petition for judicial
review of this direct final rule, so that
EPA can withdraw this direct final rule
and address the comment in the
proposed rulemaking action.
This action approving Maryland’s
2011 base year inventory for the 2008 8hour ozone NAAQS for the Maryland
portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City nonattainment area may
not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section
307(b)(2).)
(q) EPA approves, as a revision to the
Maryland state implementation plan the
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2011 base year emissions inventory for
the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
marginal nonattainment area for the
2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standards submitted by the
Maryland Department of the
Environment on January 19, 2017, as
amended July 20, 2017. The 2011 base
year emissions inventory includes
emissions estimates that cover the
general source categories of stationary
point, area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile,
onroad mobile, and Marine-Air-Rail (M–
A–R). The inventory included actual
annual emissions and typical summer
day emissions for the months of May
through September for the ozone
precursors, VOC and NOX.
[FR Doc. 2017–20324 Filed 9–22–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R03–OAR–2016–0574; FRL–9968–15–
Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans; West
Virginia; Removal of Clean Air
Interstate Rule Trading Programs
Replaced by Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule Trading Programs
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is taking direct final
action to approve two state
implementation plan (SIP) revisions
submitted by the State of West Virginia.
These revisions pertain to two West
Virginia regulations that established
trading programs under the Clean Air
Interstate Rule (CAIR). The EPAadministered trading programs under
CAIR were discontinued on December
31, 2014 upon the implementation of
the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
(CSAPR), which was promulgated by
EPA to replace CAIR. CSAPR
established federal implementation
plans (FIPs) for 23 states, including
West Virginia. The submitted SIP
revisions request removal of regulations
that implemented the CAIR annual
nitrogen oxide (NOX) and annual sulfur
dioxide (SO2) trading programs from the
West Virginia SIP (as CSAPR has
supplanted CAIR). West Virginia’s SIP
revision submittal requesting removal of
a regulation that implemented the CAIR
ozone season trading program will be
addressed in a separate action. EPA is
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approving these SIP revisions in
accordance with the requirements of the
Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on
December 26, 2017 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse
written comment by October 25, 2017.
If EPA receives such comments, it will
publish a timely withdrawal of the
direct final rule in the Federal Register
and inform the public that the rule will
not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03–
OAR–2016–0574 at https://
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
stahl.cynthia@epa.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. For either manner of
submission, EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
confidential business information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. EPA will generally not consider
comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e.
on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission
methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the
full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marilyn Powers, (215) 814–2308, or by
email at powers.marilyn@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July
13, 2016, the State of West Virginia,
through the West Virginia Department
of Environmental Protection (WVDEP),
submitted three SIP revisions requesting
EPA remove from its SIP three
regulations that implemented the CAIR
(70 FR 25162, May 12, 2005) trading
programs: Regulation 45CSR39—Control
of Annual Nitrogen Oxides Emissions,
Regulation 45CSR40—Control of Ozone
Season Nitrogen Oxides Emissions, and
Regulation 45CSR41—Control of
Annual Sulfur Dioxide Emissions. This
action pertains to the two submittals
that remove 45CSR39 and 45CSR41, the
CAIR annual NOX and annual SO2
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44525
trading programs, respectively, from the
West Virginia SIP. The submittal
pertaining to removal of the CAIR ozone
season NOX trading program is not a
part of this action and will be addressed
in a separate action.
I. Background
In 2005, EPA promulgated CAIR (70
FR 25162, May 12, 2005) to address
transported emissions that significantly
contributed to downwind states’
nonattainment and interfered with
maintenance of the 1997 ozone and fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).
CAIR required 28 states, including West
Virginia, to reduce emissions of NOX
and SO2, precursors to the formation of
ambient ozone and PM2.5. Under CAIR,
EPA established federal implementation
plans (FIPs) comprised of separate cap
and trade programs for annual NOX,
ozone season NOX, and annual SO2.
States could comply with the
requirements of CAIR by remaining on
the FIP, which applied only to electric
generating units (EGUs), or by
submitting a CAIR SIP revision that
included as trading sources EGUs and
certain non-EGUs 1 that formerly traded
in the NOX Budget Trading Program
under the NOX SIP Call.2 West Virginia
submitted, and EPA approved, a CAIR
SIP revision that included EGUs and
certain non-EGUs as part of the State’s
regulation for the CAIR ozone season
trading program as well as EGUs in the
CAIR annual trading program for NOX
and SO2. See 74 FR 38536 (August 4,
2009).
The United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C.
Circuit) initially vacated CAIR in 2008,3
but ultimately remanded the rule to EPA
without vacatur to preserve the
environmental benefits provided by
CAIR.4 The ruling allowed CAIR to
remain in effect temporarily until a
replacement rule consistent with the
Court’s opinion was developed. While
EPA worked on developing a
replacement rule, the CAIR program
continued as planned with the NOX
annual and ozone season programs
1 These non-EGUs are defined in the NO SIP Call
X
as stationary, fossil fuel-fired boilers, combustion
turbines, or combined cycle systems with a
maximum design heat input greater than 250
million British thermal units per hour (MMBtu/hr).
2 In October 1998, EPA finalized the ‘‘Finding of
Significant Contribution and Rulemaking for
Certain States in the Ozone Transport Assessment
Group Region for Purposes of Reducing Regional
Transport of Ozone’’—commonly called the NOX
SIP Call. See 63 FR 57356 (October 27, 1998).
3 North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir.
2008).
4 North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176 (D.C. Cir.
2008).
E:\FR\FM\25SER1.SGM
25SER1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44522-44525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20324]
[[Page 44522]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2017-0149; FRL-9968-00-Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; 2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard for the Maryland Portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct
final action to approve the 2011 base year inventory for the Maryland
portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City marginal
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standard (NAAQS). The State of Maryland submitted the emission
inventory, which included the ozone precursors, nitrogen oxides
(NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), as well as
several other pollutants, through the Maryland Department of the
Environment (MDE) to meet the nonattainment requirements for marginal
ozone nonattainment areas for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is
approving the 2011 base year emissions inventory for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS as a revision to the Maryland State Implementation Plan
(SIP) as the inventory for NOX and VOC is in accordance with
the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on November 24, 2017 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by October 25,
2017. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform
the public that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2017-0149 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to
stahl.cynthia@epa.gov. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be confidential business information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the For Further Information Contact section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Calcinore, (215) 814-2043, or by
email at calcinore.sara@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Ground level ozone is formed when NOX and VOC react in
the presence of sunlight. NOX and VOC are referred to as
ozone precursors and are emitted by many types of pollution sources,
including motor vehicles, power plants, industrial facilities, and area
wide sources, such as consumer products and lawn and garden equipment.
Scientific evidence indicates that adverse public health effects occur
following exposure to ozone. These effects are more pronounced in
children and adults with lung disease. Breathing air containing ozone
can reduce lung function and inflame airways, which can increase
respiratory symptoms and aggravate asthma or other lung diseases. In
response to this scientific evidence, EPA promulgated the first ozone
NAAQS in 1979, the 0.12 part per million (ppm) 1-hour ozone NAAQS. See
44 FR 8202 (February 8, 1979). EPA had previously promulgated a NAAQS
for total photochemical oxidants.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a revised ozone NAAQS of 0.08
ppm, averaged over eight hours. 62 FR 38855. This 8-hour ozone NAAQS
was determined to be more protective of public health than the previous
1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS. In 2008, EPA revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS
from 0.08 to 0.075 ppm. See 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ On October 1, 2015, EPA strengthened the 8-hour ozone NAAQS
to 0.070 ppm. See 80 FR 65292 (October 16, 2015). This rulemaking
addresses the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and does not address the 2015
8-hour ozone NAAQS.
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On May 21, 2012, the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area was
designated as marginal nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
77 FR 30088. The designation of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic
City area as marginal nonattainment was effective July 20, 2012. The
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area is comprised
of Cecil County in Maryland, as well as counties in Delaware, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Under section 172(c)(3) of the CAA, Maryland
is required to submit a comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory
of actual emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutants, i.e.
the ozone precursors NOX and VOC, in its marginal
nonattainment area, i.e., the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
Under CAA section 172(c)(3), states are required to submit a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from
all sources (point, nonpoint, nonroad, and onroad) of the relevant
pollutant or pollutants in the nonattainment area. CAA section
182(a)(1) requires that areas designated as nonattainment and
classified as marginal submit an inventory of all sources of ozone
precursors no later than 2 years after the effective date of
designation. EPA's guidance for emissions inventory development calls
for actual emissions to be used in the base year inventory. The state
must report annual emissions as well as ``summer day emissions.'' As
defined in 40 CFR 51.900(v), ``summer day emissions'' means, ``an
average day's emissions for a typical summer work weekday. The state
will select the particular month(s) in summer and the day(s) in the
work week to be represented.''
On January 19, 2017, MDE submitted a formal revision (SIP #16-15)
to its SIP. The SIP revision consists of the 2011 base year inventory
for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. MDE selected 2011
as its base year for SIP planning purposes, as recommended in EPA's
final rule, ``Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone: State Implementation Plan Requirements.'' See 80
FR 12263 (March 6, 2015). MDE's 2011 base year inventory includes
emissions estimates covering the general source categories of
stationary point, area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, onroad mobile, and
Marine-Air-Rail (M-A-R).
[[Page 44523]]
In its 2011 base year inventory, MDE reported actual annual emissions
and typical summer day emissions for the months of May through
September for NOX, VOC, and carbon monoxide (CO). Although
MDE also reported annual emissions for fine particulate matter
(PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ammonia
(NH3) and typical summer day emissions for CO, in this
approval of the 2011 base year emissions inventory for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS, EPA is approving only relevant ozone precursors, which are VOC
and NOX.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The actual annual emissions and typical summer day emissions
were summarized by MDE in Table 1-1: 2011 Base Year SIP Emission
Inventory Summary. A discrepancy was found between the area annual
emissions reported for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table
1-1 and the area annual emissions reported for PM2.5 and
NH3 in Table 4-1: 2011 Base Year SIP Area Source Emission
Inventories and the Nonpoint Annual data table under Appendix C
Area/Nonpoint Sources. Since the anthropogenic totals in Table 1-1
correspond to the annual emissions values, the anthropogenic totals
for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1-1 were also
affected by the discrepancy. In a correction letter, MDE confirmed
that the area annual emissions for PM2.5 and
NH3 in Table 1-1 are 456.50 tpy for PM2.5 and
477.15 tpy for NH3. MDE also confirmed that the
corresponding anthropogenic totals for PM2.5 and
NH3 are 625.04 tpy and 530.10 tpy. MDE has submitted a
corrected version of page 3 of the 2011 base year inventory to
reflect the necessary corrections to Table 1-1. The corrected
version as well as the correction letter are included in the docket
for this rulemaking even though the CAA at sections 172 and 182 only
require an inventory of ozone precursors. See July 20, 2017 letter
from Brian Hug, Program Manager, Maryland Department of the
Environment to Cecil Rodrigues, Acting Regional Administrator, EPA
Region III, Subject: SIP #16-15 ``2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory
for the Maryland Portion of the Philadelphia-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-
DE-MD 2008 Ozone NAAQS Nonattainment Area (Cecil County, MD)'' Minor
Corrections.
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Table 1 summarizes the 2011 VOC and NOX emission
inventory by source sector for Maryland's marginal nonattainment area.
Annual emissions are given in tons per year (tpy) and summer weekday
emissions are given by tons per day (tpd).
Table 1--Summary of 2011 Emissions of Ozone Precursors for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
Nonattainment Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer weekday (tpd) Annual (tpy)
Source sector ---------------------------------------------------------------
VOC NOX VOC NOX
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................................... 0.301 2.63 64.91 76.19
Area............................................ 2.863 0.31 937.78 242.02
Nonroad......................................... 5.127 2.01 1,054.93 529.02
Onroad.......................................... 2.29 7.50 791.98 2,730.44
M-A-R........................................... 0.030 0.46 11.03 167.97
Anthropogenic Subtotal.......................... 10.61 12.90 2,860.63 3,745.63
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point sources are large, stationary, and identifiable sources of
emissions that release pollutants into the atmosphere. Maryland
obtained its point source data from the MDE Air and Radiation
Management Administration (ARMA) point source emissions inventory. ARMA
identifies and inventories stationary sources for the point source
emissions inventory through inspections, investigations, permitting,
and equipment registrations.
Area sources, also known as nonpoint sources, are sources of
pollution that are small and numerous and have not been inventoried as
specific point or mobile sources. To inventory these sources, they are
grouped so that emissions can be estimated collectively using one
methodology. Examples include residential heating emissions and
emissions from consumer solvents. MDE calculated nonpoint emissions for
the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area by multiplying emissions factors specific for each
source category with some known indicator of collective activity for
each source category, such as population or employment data.
Nonroad sources are mobile sources other than onroad vehicles,
including aircraft, locomotives, construction and agricultural
equipment, and marine vessels. Emissions from different source
categories are calculated using various methodologies. MDE relied on
EPA's nonroad emissions calculations from the National Mobile Inventory
Model (NMIM--April 5, 2009). Onroad or highway sources are vehicles,
such as cars, trucks, and buses, which are operated on public roadways.
MDE estimated onroad emissions using EPA's Motor Vehicle Emission
Simulator (MOVES) model, version 2010a, and appropriate activity
levels, such as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates developed from
vehicle count data maintained by the State Highway Administration (SHA)
of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). M-A-R sources
include marine vessels, airports, and railroad locomotives. MDE
estimated M-A-R emissions using data from surveyed sources or state and
federal reporting agencies.
EPA reviewed Maryland's 2011 base year emission inventory's
results, procedures, and methodologies for the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area and found them
to be acceptable and approvable for sections 110, 172(c)(3) and
182(a)(1) of the CAA. EPA's review and analysis is detailed in a
Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared for this rulemaking. The TSD
is available online at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-
R03-OAR-2017-0149.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the Maryland January 19, 2017 SIP revision as
meeting requirements for a base year inventory for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Atlantic City nonattainment area because the inventory for ozone
precursors was prepared in accordance with requirements in sections
110, 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of the CAA and its implementing
regulations including 40 CFR 51.915. EPA is publishing this rule
without prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial
amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the
``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal Register, EPA is publishing
a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP
revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective on
November 24, 2017 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse
comment by October 25, 2017. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will
publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the
public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the
[[Page 44524]]
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this
action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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, this
action merely approves state law as meeting federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
is 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.);
does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
is 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
does 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 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 state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by November 24, 2017. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules
section of this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking action.
This action approving Maryland's 2011 base year inventory for the
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area may not be challenged later
in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 8, 2017.
Cecil Rodrigues,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart V--Maryland
0
2. In Sec. 52.1070, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding an
entry for ``2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard'' at the end of the table to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1070 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable geographic State Additional
revision area submittal date EPA approval date explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
2011 Base Year Inventory for Maryland portion of 01/19/2017 09/25/2017, Sec. 52.1075(q).
the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National the Philadelphia- [Insert Federal
Ambient Air Quality Standard. Wilmington-Atlantic Register
City, PA-NJ-DE-MD citation].
2008 ozone
nonattainment area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0
3. Section 52.1075 is amended by adding paragraph (q) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1075 Base year emissions inventory.
* * * * *
(q) EPA approves, as a revision to the Maryland state
implementation plan the
[[Page 44525]]
2011 base year emissions inventory for the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City marginal nonattainment area for
the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards submitted
by the Maryland Department of the Environment on January 19, 2017, as
amended July 20, 2017. The 2011 base year emissions inventory includes
emissions estimates that cover the general source categories of
stationary point, area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, onroad mobile, and
Marine-Air-Rail (M-A-R). The inventory included actual annual emissions
and typical summer day emissions for the months of May through
September for the ozone precursors, VOC and NOX.
[FR Doc. 2017-20324 Filed 9-22-17; 8:45 am]
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