Air Plan Approval; ID, West Silver Valley PM2.5, 53201-53204 [2018-22285]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 204 / Monday, October 22, 2018 / Proposed Rules
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[FR Doc. 2018–22911 Filed 10–19–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R10–OAR–2017–0170; FRL–9985–39–
Region 10]
Air Plan Approval; ID, West Silver
Valley PM2.5 Clean Data Determination
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
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Written comments must be
received on or before November 21,
2018.
DATES:
Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10–
OAR–2017–0170, at https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from Regulations.gov.
The 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. The 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, 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.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) proposes to determine
that the West Silver Valley, Idaho
nonattainment area has clean data for
the 2012 annual fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality
Standard (NAAQS). This proposed
clean data determination (CDD) is based
upon quality-assured, qualitycontrolled, and certified ambient air
monitoring data showing the area has
attained the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based
SUMMARY:
on the 2015–2017 data available in the
EPA’s Air Quality System (AQS)
database. The EPA also proposes to take
final agency action on the September
2017 wildfire exceptional event at the
Pinehurst monitoring station, pursuant
to EPA regulations, as having affected
PM2.5 and PM10 values. Based on the
proposed clean data determination, the
EPA is also proposing to determine that
the obligation for Idaho to make
submissions to meet certain Clean Air
Act (CAA or the Act) requirements
related to attainment of the NAAQS for
this area are not applicable for as long
as the area continues to attain the 2012
annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
Justin Spenillo, at 206–553–6125, or
spenillo.justin@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, wherever
‘‘we’’, ‘‘us’’ or ‘‘our’’ are used, it is
intended to refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Clean Data Determination for the West
Silver Valley, Idaho Nonattainment Area
III. The EPA’s Proposed Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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53201
I. Background
On December 14, 2012, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
promulgated a revised primary annual
PM2.5 NAAQS to provide increased
protection of public health from fine
particle pollution (‘‘2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS’’).1 In that action, the EPA
strengthened the primary annual PM2.5
standard, lowering the level from 15.0
micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m3) to
12.0 mg/m3. The 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS is attained when the 3-year
average of the annual arithmetic means
does not exceed 12.0 mg/m3. See 40 CFR
50.18 and 40 CFR part 50, appendix N.
Effective April 15, 2015, the EPA made
designation determinations, as required
by section 107(d)(1) of the CAA, for the
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.2 In that
action, the EPA designated the West
Silver Valley area in Shoshone County,
Idaho (WSV NAA) as moderate
nonattainment for the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 81.313.
On March 26, 2018, the EPA issued a
finding of failure to submit under
section 110(k) of the CAA finding that
several states, including Idaho, failed to
submit specific moderate area SIP
elements for the 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS required under subpart 4 of
part D of Title I of the CAA.3 In
particular, Idaho failed to submit the
following specific moderate area SIP
elements for the WSV NAA: An
attainment demonstration; control
strategies, including reasonably
available control measures (‘‘RACM’’)
and reasonably available control
technologies (‘‘RACT’’); a reasonable
further progress (RFP) plan; quantitative
milestones; and contingency measures.
This finding triggered the sanctions
clock under Section 179 of the CAA, as
well as an obligation under Section
110(c) of the CAA for EPA to
promulgate a FIP no later than 2 years
from the effective date of the finding, if
Idaho does not submit, and the EPA has
not approved, the required SIP
submission.
On August 24, 2016, the EPA issued
the Fine Particulate Matter National
Ambient Air Quality Standards: State
Implementation Plan Requirements
(‘‘PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule’’).4 The
PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule is codified
at 40 CFR part 51, subpart Z and
provides rules for the implementation of
current and future PM2.5 NAAQS.
Over the past 2 decades, the EPA has
consistently applied its ‘‘Clean Data
Policy’’ interpretation to attainment
1 78
FR 3086, January 15, 2013.
FR 2206.
3 83 FR 14759.
4 81 FR 58010, effective October 24, 2016.
2 80
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related provisions of subparts 1, 2, and
4 of the CAA. The EPA codified the
approach in the Clean Data Policy in the
PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule (40 CFR
51.1015(a)) for the implementation of
current and future PM2.5 NAAQS. See
81 FR 58010, 58161 (August 24, 2016).
In accordance with 40 CFR 51.1015, the
EPA may issue a clean data
determination for a specific area if the
EPA determines the area has attained
the relevant NAAQS based on 3 years of
quality-assured, certified air quality
monitoring data. For a complete
discussion of the Clean Data Policy’s
history and the EPA’s longstanding
interpretation under the CAA, please
refer to the August 24, 2016 PM2.5 SIP
Requirements Rule (81 FR 58010).
As provided in 40 CFR 51.1015, so
long as an area continues to meet the
standard, finalization of a CDD
suspends the requirements for a
nonattainment area to submit an
attainment demonstration, associated
RACM and RACT, an RFP plan,
quantitative milestones, contingency
measures, and any other SIP
requirements related to the attainment
of the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The
requirement to submit a projected
attainment inventory as part of an
attainment demonstration or RFP plan is
also suspended by this determination.
As discussed in the 2016 PM2.5 SIP
Requirements Rule, the nonattainment
base emissions inventory required by
section 172(c)(3) of the CAA is not
suspended by this determination
because the base inventory is a
requirement independent of planning
for an area’s attainment. See 81 FR
58009 at 58028 and 58127–8 and 80 FR
15340 at 15441–2. Additionally, as
discussed in the PM2.5 SIP Requirements
Rule, and required by sections
110(a)(2)(C); 172(c)(5); 173; 189(a), and
189(e) of the CAA, nonattainment New
Source Review (NNSR) requirements are
not suspended by a CDD because this
requirement is independent of the area’s
attainment planning. See 81 FR 58010 at
58107 and 58127.
By extension, the requirement to
submit a motor vehicle emissions
budget (MVEB) for the attainment year
for the purposes of transportation
conformity is also suspended. A MVEB
is that portion of the total allowable
emissions defined in the submitted or
approved control strategy
implementation plan revision or
maintenance plan for a certain date for
the purpose of meeting RFP milestones
or demonstrating attainment or
maintenance of the NAAQS, for any
criteria pollutant or its precursors,
allocated to highway and transit vehicle
use and emissions. For the purposes of
the transportation conformity
regulations, the control strategy
implementation plan revision is the
implementation plan which contains
specific strategies for controlling the
emissions of and reducing ambient
levels of pollutants in order to satisfy
CAA requirements for demonstrations of
RFP and attainment. Given that MVEBs
are required to support the RFP and
attainment demonstration requirements
in the attainment plan, suspension of
the RFP and attainment demonstration
requirements through a CDD, also
suspends the requirement to submit
MVEBs for the attainment and RFP
years. The suspension of planning
requirements pursuant to 40 CFR
51.1015, does not preclude the state
from submitting suspended elements of
its moderate area attainment plan for
EPA approval for the purposes of
strengthening the state’s SIP.
The suspension of the obligation to
submit such requirements applies
regardless of when the plan submissions
are due. A clean data determination is
not equivalent to a redesignation, and
the state must still meet the statutory
requirements for redesignation in order
to be redesignated to attainment.
In accordance with 40 CFR
51.1015(a)(1) and (2), the CDD suspends
the aforementioned SIP obligations until
such time as the area is redesignated to
attainment, after which such
requirements are permanently
discharged; or the EPA determines that
the area has re-violated the PM2.5
NAAQS, at which time the state shall
submit such attainment plan elements
for the moderate nonattainment area by
a future date to be determined by the
EPA and announced through
publication in the Federal Register at
the time the EPA determines the area is
violating the 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS.
II. Clean Data Determination for the
West Silver Valley, Idaho
Nonattainment Area
Air Quality Data
Under the EPA regulations at 40 CFR
50.18 and part 50, appendix N, the 2012
annual PM2.5 NAAQS is met when the
3-year average of PM2.5 annual mean
mass concentrations for each eligible
monitoring site is less than or equal to
12.0 mg/m3. Three years of valid, annual
means are required to produce a valid
annual PM2.5 NAAQS design value. A
year of data meets data completeness
requirements when quarterly data
capture rates for all four quarters are at
least 75 percent from eligible
monitoring sites. See 40 CFR part 50,
appendix N. There is one PM2.5 eligible
monitoring site in the WSV NAA,
located in Pinehurst, Idaho. Table 1
shows the WSV NAA design value for
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the
years 2015–2017 at that Pinehurst,
Idaho monitoring site.
TABLE 1—2015–2017 ANNUAL PM2.5 VALUES FOR WEST SILVER VALLEY, SHOSHONE, IDAHO
Complete
quarters
Weighted mean
(μg/m3)
Monitor ID
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
13.6
9.3
12.3
4
4
4
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160790017 .....................................
Consistent with the requirements
contained in 40 CFR part 58, the EPA
has reviewed the PM2.5 ambient air
quality monitoring data for the
monitoring period from 2015 through
2017 for the WSV NAA, as recorded in
the AQS database, and has determined
the data meet the quality assurance
requirements set forth in part 58. In this
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respect, the data have been deemed
usable by the EPA for regulatory
compliance purposes. As shown in
Table 1, each quarter from 2015 through
2017 is complete with all four quarters
reporting data capture rates of at least 75
percent. The certified annual design
value for 2015–2017 is 11.7 mg/m3,
which is below the 2012 annual PM2.5
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Certified
annual design
value
2015–2017
(μg/m3)
11.7
standard of 12.0 mg/m3. Therefore, the
WSV NAA has attained the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with the
requirements in 40 CFR part 50, section
50.18 and appendix N.
Exceptional Event
The CAA allows for the exclusion of
air quality monitoring data from design
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value calculations when there are
exceedances caused by events, such as
wildfires or high wind events, that meet
the criteria for an exceptional event
identified in the EPA’s implementing
regulations, the Exceptional Events Rule
at 40 CFR 50.1, 50.14 and 51.930. In
2017, emissions from multiple wildfires
in the Pacific Northwest impacted PM2.5
and PM10 concentrations recorded at the
Pinehurst monitor within the WSV
NAA. For purposes of this proposed
action, on August 10, 2018, the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality
(IDEQ) submitted an exceptional event
demonstration to request exclusion of
the 2017 data impacted by wildfires.
The EPA evaluated the IDEQ’s
53203
exceptional event demonstration for the
flagged values of the 24-hour PM2.5 and
PM10 listed in Table 2, at the monitor in
Pinehurst, Idaho, with respect to the
requirements of the EPA’s Exceptional
Events Rule (40 CFR 50.1, 50.14, and
50.930). The EPA determined the event
and the IDEQ’s demonstration met the
exceptional event rule requirements.
TABLE 2—24-HR PM2.5 AND PM10 VALUES AT THE PINEHURST MONITORING STATION, CONCURRED ON BY THE EPA AS
MEETING THE EXCEPTIONAL EVENT CRITERIA
24-hr PM2.5
concentration
(μg/m3)
16–079–0017
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Date
9/4/2017
9/5/2017
9/6/2017
9/7/2017
9/8/2017
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
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On August 24, 2018, the EPA
concurred with the IDEQ’s request to
exclude event-influenced data listed in
Table 2. As such, the event-influenced
data have been removed from the data
set used for regulatory purposes. For
this proposed action, the EPA relies on
the calculated values that exclude the
event-influenced data (see Table 1,
above). The EPA now proposes to take
final regulatory action on the IDEQ’s
request to exclude PM10 and PM2.5 data
listed in Table 2, in regulatory
decisions. For further information, refer
to the IDEQ’s Exceptional Event
demonstration package and the EPA’s
concurrence and analysis located in the
docket for this proposed action.
III. The EPA’s Proposed Action
Pursuant to the Clean Data Policy
codified at 40 CFR 51.1015(a), the EPA
proposes to determine that based on 3years of certified, valid monitoring data
between 2015 and 2017, the WSV NAA
has attained the 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS. The EPA also proposes to take
final agency action on the wildfire
exceptional event that affected the
Pinehurst monitor as listed in Table 2
for both PM2.5 and PM10. Pursuant to 40
CFR 51.1015(a), and based upon our
proposed determination that the WSV
NAA has attained the standard, the EPA
proposes to determine that the
obligation to submit any attainmentrelated SIP revisions arising from
classification of the WSV NAA as a
moderate nonattainment area under
subpart 4 of part D, of title I of the Act
for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is not
applicable for so long as the area
continues to attain the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. In particular, if the EPA
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finalizes this determination, it will
suspend the requirements for the area to
submit an attainment demonstration,
RACM and RACT, RFP plan,
quantitative milestones, contingency
measures, and any other SIP
requirements related to the attainment
of the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, so
long as the area continues to meet the
standard. If today’s action is finalized as
proposed, the sanctions and FIP clocks
triggered by the EPA’s March 26, 2018,
finding of failure to submit will be
suspended. See 83 FR 14759.
This proposed determination of
attainment does not constitute a
redesignation to attainment. The WSV
NAA will remain designated
nonattainment for the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS until the EPA determines
the WSV NAA meets the CAA
requirements for redesignation to
attainment, including an approved
maintenance plan, pursuant to sections
107 and 175A of the CAA. The EPA is
soliciting public comments on EPA’s
proposed action. These comments will
be considered before taking final action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
This action proposes to exclude
certain air quality monitoring data from
design value calculations and suspend
certain federal requirements, and thus
would not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by
state law. For these reasons, this
proposed action:
• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
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144.9
222.2
147.1
123.8
116.7
24-hr PM10
concentration
(μg/m3)
16–079–0017
POC3
..............................
..............................
169.6
149.8
143.7
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• is not an Executive Order 13771 (82
FR 9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory
action because SIP approvals are
exempted under Executive Order 12866;
• 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
it does not involve technical standards;
and
• does not provide the 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).
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In addition, this proposed action does
not have tribal implications as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000), because the SIP
obligations discussed herein do not
apply to Indian tribes and, thus, this
proposed action will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
49 CFR Parts 523, 531, 533, 536, and
537
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
40 CFR Parts 85 and 86
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[NHTSA–2018–0067; EPA–HQ–OAR–2018–
0283; FRL–9984–62–OAR; NHTSA–2017–
0069]
RIN 2127–AL76; 2060–AU09
The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient
(SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years
2021–2026 Passenger Cars and Light
Trucks
Dated: October 3, 2018.
Chris Hladick,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2018–22285 Filed 10–19–18; 8:45 am]
Environmental Protection
Agency and National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.
ACTION: Proposed rule; correction.
AGENCY:
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
This document corrects
information in the proposed rule
published in the August 24, 2018 issue
of the Federal Register entitled The
Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE)
Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021–
2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks.
Specifically, a table in the Paperwork
Reduction Act section is corrected; two
minor changes are made to one
amendatory instruction in NHTSA’s
regulatory text, and the coefficients
specifying the proposed carbon dioxide
standards in EPA’s regulatory text have
been corrected to reflect EPA’s proposal
to exclude credits for direct A/C
emissions for purposes of compliance
SUMMARY:
with carbon dioxide standards after
model year 2020, as explained in
Section III of the proposed rule. This
document contains only clerical
corrections and makes no updates to
either the proposal or to the analysis
underlying the proposal. For the
reader’s information, an updated
Preliminary Regulatory Impact
Assessment (PRIA) will also be made
available concurrent with this notice;
that document will include descriptions
starting on the second page detailing the
corrections to various tables and figures
therein.
DATES: Comments for the proposed rule
must be received on or before October
26, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
EPA: Christopher Lieske, Office of
Transportation and Air Quality,
Assessment and Standards Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, 2000
Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI
48105; telephone number: (734) 214–
4584; fax number: (734) 214–4816;
email address: lieske.christopher@
epa.gov, or contact the Assessment and
Standards Division, email address:
otaqpublicweb@epa.gov. NHTSA: James
Tamm, Office of Rulemaking, Fuel
Economy Division, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590; telephone number: (202) 493–
0515.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In the proposed rule beginning at 83
FR 42986, in the issue of August 24,
2018, make the following corrections:
On page 43480, replace the existing
Table XII–2 with the following table:
TABLE XII–2—ESTIMATED BURDEN FOR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Manufacturers
Hours
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Prior Collection ................................................................................................
Current Collection ............................................................................................
Difference ........................................................................................................
On page 43489, third column, remove
the first instance of instruction 16 and
in the second, in paragraph (a)(4)(ii)
correct ‘‘8,877’’ to read ‘‘8,887.’’
On page 43494, replace existing Table
1 to Paragraph (c)(2)(i)(A) with the
following table:
Model year
2012 ......................................
2013 ......................................
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16:58 Oct 19, 2018
CO2
target value
(grams/mile)
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
and later ......................
244.0
237.0
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Cost
3,189.00
3,774.5
585.50
CO2
target value
(grams/mile)
Model year
Sfmt 4702
Government
228.0
217.0
206.0
195.0
185.0
175.0
166.0
182.0
Hours
$24,573.50
187,530.82
162,957.32
975.00
3,038.00
2,063.00
Cost
$31,529.00
141,246.78
109,717.78
On Page 43495 replace Table 1 to
Paragraph (c)(2)(i)(B) with the following
table:
Model year
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
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......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
22OCP1
CO2
target value
(grams/mile)
315.0
307.0
299.0
288.0
277.0
263.0
250.0
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 204 (Monday, October 22, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53201-53204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22285]
=======================================================================
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R10-OAR-2017-0170; FRL-9985-39-Region 10]
Air Plan Approval; ID, West Silver Valley PM2.5 Clean Data
Determination
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to
determine that the West Silver Valley, Idaho nonattainment area has
clean data for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This
proposed clean data determination (CDD) is based upon quality-assured,
quality-controlled, and certified ambient air monitoring data showing
the area has attained the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based on the
2015-2017 data available in the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS)
database. The EPA also proposes to take final agency action on the
September 2017 wildfire exceptional event at the Pinehurst monitoring
station, pursuant to EPA regulations, as having affected
PM2.5 and PM10 values. Based on the proposed
clean data determination, the EPA is also proposing to determine that
the obligation for Idaho to make submissions to meet certain Clean Air
Act (CAA or the Act) requirements related to attainment of the NAAQS
for this area are not applicable for as long as the area continues to
attain the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 21,
2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2017-0170, at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The 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. The 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, 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: Justin Spenillo, at 206-553-6125, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'',
``us'' or ``our'' are used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Clean Data Determination for the West Silver Valley, Idaho
Nonattainment Area
III. The EPA's Proposed Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On December 14, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
promulgated a revised primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS to provide
increased protection of public health from fine particle pollution
(``2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS'').\1\ In that action, the EPA
strengthened the primary annual PM2.5 standard, lowering the
level from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([micro]g/m\3\) to 12.0
[micro]g/m\3\. The 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is attained when
the 3-year average of the annual arithmetic means does not exceed 12.0
[micro]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR 50.18 and 40 CFR part 50, appendix N.
Effective April 15, 2015, the EPA made designation determinations, as
required by section 107(d)(1) of the CAA, for the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS.\2\ In that action, the EPA designated the West
Silver Valley area in Shoshone County, Idaho (WSV NAA) as moderate
nonattainment for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR
81.313.
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\1\ 78 FR 3086, January 15, 2013.
\2\ 80 FR 2206.
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On March 26, 2018, the EPA issued a finding of failure to submit
under section 110(k) of the CAA finding that several states, including
Idaho, failed to submit specific moderate area SIP elements for the
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS required under subpart 4 of part D
of Title I of the CAA.\3\ In particular, Idaho failed to submit the
following specific moderate area SIP elements for the WSV NAA: An
attainment demonstration; control strategies, including reasonably
available control measures (``RACM'') and reasonably available control
technologies (``RACT''); a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan;
quantitative milestones; and contingency measures. This finding
triggered the sanctions clock under Section 179 of the CAA, as well as
an obligation under Section 110(c) of the CAA for EPA to promulgate a
FIP no later than 2 years from the effective date of the finding, if
Idaho does not submit, and the EPA has not approved, the required SIP
submission.
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\3\ 83 FR 14759.
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On August 24, 2016, the EPA issued the Fine Particulate Matter
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: State Implementation Plan
Requirements (``PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule'').\4\ The
PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule is codified at 40 CFR part 51,
subpart Z and provides rules for the implementation of current and
future PM2.5 NAAQS.
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\4\ 81 FR 58010, effective October 24, 2016.
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Over the past 2 decades, the EPA has consistently applied its
``Clean Data Policy'' interpretation to attainment
[[Page 53202]]
related provisions of subparts 1, 2, and 4 of the CAA. The EPA codified
the approach in the Clean Data Policy in the PM2.5 SIP
Requirements Rule (40 CFR 51.1015(a)) for the implementation of current
and future PM2.5 NAAQS. See 81 FR 58010, 58161 (August 24,
2016). In accordance with 40 CFR 51.1015, the EPA may issue a clean
data determination for a specific area if the EPA determines the area
has attained the relevant NAAQS based on 3 years of quality-assured,
certified air quality monitoring data. For a complete discussion of the
Clean Data Policy's history and the EPA's longstanding interpretation
under the CAA, please refer to the August 24, 2016 PM2.5 SIP
Requirements Rule (81 FR 58010).
As provided in 40 CFR 51.1015, so long as an area continues to meet
the standard, finalization of a CDD suspends the requirements for a
nonattainment area to submit an attainment demonstration, associated
RACM and RACT, an RFP plan, quantitative milestones, contingency
measures, and any other SIP requirements related to the attainment of
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The requirement to submit a
projected attainment inventory as part of an attainment demonstration
or RFP plan is also suspended by this determination. As discussed in
the 2016 PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule, the nonattainment base
emissions inventory required by section 172(c)(3) of the CAA is not
suspended by this determination because the base inventory is a
requirement independent of planning for an area's attainment. See 81 FR
58009 at 58028 and 58127-8 and 80 FR 15340 at 15441-2. Additionally, as
discussed in the PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule, and required
by sections 110(a)(2)(C); 172(c)(5); 173; 189(a), and 189(e) of the
CAA, nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) requirements are not
suspended by a CDD because this requirement is independent of the
area's attainment planning. See 81 FR 58010 at 58107 and 58127.
By extension, the requirement to submit a motor vehicle emissions
budget (MVEB) for the attainment year for the purposes of
transportation conformity is also suspended. A MVEB is that portion of
the total allowable emissions defined in the submitted or approved
control strategy implementation plan revision or maintenance plan for a
certain date for the purpose of meeting RFP milestones or demonstrating
attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS, for any criteria pollutant or
its precursors, allocated to highway and transit vehicle use and
emissions. For the purposes of the transportation conformity
regulations, the control strategy implementation plan revision is the
implementation plan which contains specific strategies for controlling
the emissions of and reducing ambient levels of pollutants in order to
satisfy CAA requirements for demonstrations of RFP and attainment.
Given that MVEBs are required to support the RFP and attainment
demonstration requirements in the attainment plan, suspension of the
RFP and attainment demonstration requirements through a CDD, also
suspends the requirement to submit MVEBs for the attainment and RFP
years. The suspension of planning requirements pursuant to 40 CFR
51.1015, does not preclude the state from submitting suspended elements
of its moderate area attainment plan for EPA approval for the purposes
of strengthening the state's SIP.
The suspension of the obligation to submit such requirements
applies regardless of when the plan submissions are due. A clean data
determination is not equivalent to a redesignation, and the state must
still meet the statutory requirements for redesignation in order to be
redesignated to attainment.
In accordance with 40 CFR 51.1015(a)(1) and (2), the CDD suspends
the aforementioned SIP obligations until such time as the area is
redesignated to attainment, after which such requirements are
permanently discharged; or the EPA determines that the area has re-
violated the PM2.5 NAAQS, at which time the state shall
submit such attainment plan elements for the moderate nonattainment
area by a future date to be determined by the EPA and announced through
publication in the Federal Register at the time the EPA determines the
area is violating the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
II. Clean Data Determination for the West Silver Valley, Idaho
Nonattainment Area
Air Quality Data
Under the EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.18 and part 50, appendix N,
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is met when the 3-year average
of PM2.5 annual mean mass concentrations for each eligible
monitoring site is less than or equal to 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\. Three years
of valid, annual means are required to produce a valid annual
PM2.5 NAAQS design value. A year of data meets data
completeness requirements when quarterly data capture rates for all
four quarters are at least 75 percent from eligible monitoring sites.
See 40 CFR part 50, appendix N. There is one PM2.5 eligible
monitoring site in the WSV NAA, located in Pinehurst, Idaho. Table 1
shows the WSV NAA design value for the 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS for the years 2015-2017 at that Pinehurst, Idaho monitoring site.
Table 1--2015-2017 Annual PM2.5 Values for West Silver Valley, Shoshone, Idaho
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Weighted mean ([mu]g/m3) Complete quarters Certified annual
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ design value 2015-
Monitor ID 2017 ([mu]g/m3)
2015 2016 2017 2015 2016 2017
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160790017....................................... 13.6 9.3 12.3 4 4 4 11.7
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Consistent with the requirements contained in 40 CFR part 58, the
EPA has reviewed the PM2.5 ambient air quality monitoring
data for the monitoring period from 2015 through 2017 for the WSV NAA,
as recorded in the AQS database, and has determined the data meet the
quality assurance requirements set forth in part 58. In this respect,
the data have been deemed usable by the EPA for regulatory compliance
purposes. As shown in Table 1, each quarter from 2015 through 2017 is
complete with all four quarters reporting data capture rates of at
least 75 percent. The certified annual design value for 2015-2017 is
11.7 [mu]g/m\3\, which is below the 2012 annual PM2.5
standard of 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\. Therefore, the WSV NAA has attained the
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with the requirements
in 40 CFR part 50, section 50.18 and appendix N.
Exceptional Event
The CAA allows for the exclusion of air quality monitoring data
from design
[[Page 53203]]
value calculations when there are exceedances caused by events, such as
wildfires or high wind events, that meet the criteria for an
exceptional event identified in the EPA's implementing regulations, the
Exceptional Events Rule at 40 CFR 50.1, 50.14 and 51.930. In 2017,
emissions from multiple wildfires in the Pacific Northwest impacted
PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations recorded at the
Pinehurst monitor within the WSV NAA. For purposes of this proposed
action, on August 10, 2018, the Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality (IDEQ) submitted an exceptional event demonstration to request
exclusion of the 2017 data impacted by wildfires. The EPA evaluated the
IDEQ's exceptional event demonstration for the flagged values of the
24-hour PM2.5 and PM10 listed in Table 2, at the
monitor in Pinehurst, Idaho, with respect to the requirements of the
EPA's Exceptional Events Rule (40 CFR 50.1, 50.14, and 50.930). The EPA
determined the event and the IDEQ's demonstration met the exceptional
event rule requirements.
Table 2--24-hr PM2.5 and PM10 Values at the Pinehurst Monitoring
Station, Concurred on by the EPA as Meeting the Exceptional Event
Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
24-hr PM2.5 24-hr PM10
concentration concentration
Date ([micro]g/m3) 16- ([micro]g/m3) 16-
079-0017 POC1 079-0017 POC3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/4/2017.......................... 144.9 .................
9/5/2017.......................... 222.2 .................
9/6/2017.......................... 147.1 169.6
9/7/2017.......................... 123.8 149.8
9/8/2017.......................... 116.7 143.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On August 24, 2018, the EPA concurred with the IDEQ's request to
exclude event-influenced data listed in Table 2. As such, the event-
influenced data have been removed from the data set used for regulatory
purposes. For this proposed action, the EPA relies on the calculated
values that exclude the event-influenced data (see Table 1, above). The
EPA now proposes to take final regulatory action on the IDEQ's request
to exclude PM10 and PM2.5 data listed in Table 2,
in regulatory decisions. For further information, refer to the IDEQ's
Exceptional Event demonstration package and the EPA's concurrence and
analysis located in the docket for this proposed action.
III. The EPA's Proposed Action
Pursuant to the Clean Data Policy codified at 40 CFR 51.1015(a),
the EPA proposes to determine that based on 3-years of certified, valid
monitoring data between 2015 and 2017, the WSV NAA has attained the
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The EPA also proposes to take final
agency action on the wildfire exceptional event that affected the
Pinehurst monitor as listed in Table 2 for both PM2.5 and
PM10. Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1015(a), and based upon our
proposed determination that the WSV NAA has attained the standard, the
EPA proposes to determine that the obligation to submit any attainment-
related SIP revisions arising from classification of the WSV NAA as a
moderate nonattainment area under subpart 4 of part D, of title I of
the Act for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is not applicable
for so long as the area continues to attain the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. In particular, if the EPA finalizes this
determination, it will suspend the requirements for the area to submit
an attainment demonstration, RACM and RACT, RFP plan, quantitative
milestones, contingency measures, and any other SIP requirements
related to the attainment of the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, so
long as the area continues to meet the standard. If today's action is
finalized as proposed, the sanctions and FIP clocks triggered by the
EPA's March 26, 2018, finding of failure to submit will be suspended.
See 83 FR 14759.
This proposed determination of attainment does not constitute a
redesignation to attainment. The WSV NAA will remain designated
nonattainment for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS until the EPA
determines the WSV NAA meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to
attainment, including an approved maintenance plan, pursuant to
sections 107 and 175A of the CAA. The EPA is soliciting public comments
on EPA's proposed action. These comments will be considered before
taking final action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This action proposes to exclude certain air quality monitoring data
from design value calculations and suspend certain federal
requirements, and thus would not impose additional requirements beyond
those imposed by state law. For these reasons, this proposed 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);
is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866;
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 it does not involve technical standards; and
does not provide the 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).
[[Page 53204]]
In addition, this proposed action does not have tribal implications
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000),
because the SIP obligations discussed herein do not apply to Indian
tribes and, thus, this proposed action will not impose substantial
direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 3, 2018.
Chris Hladick,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2018-22285 Filed 10-19-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
