Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date, Extensions of the Attainment Date, and Reclassification of Several Areas Classified as Moderate for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 56781-56791 [2018-24816]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 220 / Wednesday, November 14, 2018 / Proposed Rules
counties in Florida, the modeling
analysis of potential receptors was not
complete for these counties. However,
the most recent ambient data (2015–
2017) for these counties indicates design
values well below the level of the 2012
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. In addition, the
highest value for these observed
monitors is 8.0 mg/m3 at the
Hillsborough County monitor (12–057–
3002), which is well below the NAAQS.
This is also consistent with historical
data: Complete and valid design values
in the 2006–2008, 2007–2009 and/or
2008–2010 periods for these counties
were all well below the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. This is also consistent
with historical data: Complete and valid
design values in the 2006–2008 and/or
2007–2009 periods for these counties
were well below the 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS. For these reasons, we find that
none of the counties in Florida with
monitoring gaps between 2009–2013
should be considered either
nonattainment or maintenance receptors
for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. For
these reasons, we propose to find that
emissions from Michigan will not
significantly contribute to
nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS in Florida. We find further
support in the fact that EPA’s source
apportionment modeling predicting
state impacts on downwind monitors in
2012 under the base case scenario in our
original CSAPR analysis, showing little
impact from Michigan to any of
Florida’s counties.
The conclusions of Michigan’s
analysis are consistent with EPA’s
expanded review of its March 23, 2017
submittal. All areas that Michigan
sources potentially contribute to are
expected to attain and maintain the
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, and as
demonstrated in its submittal, Michigan
will not contribute to projected
nonattainment or maintenance issues at
any sites in 2021. Michigan’s analysis
shows that through permanent and
enforceable measures currently
contained in its SIP, and other
emissions reductions occurring in
Michigan and in other states, monitored
PM2.5 air quality in all identified areas
that Michigan sources may impact will
continue to improve, and that no further
measures are necessary to satisfy
Michigan’s responsibilities under CAA
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I). Therefore, EPA
is proposing that prongs one and two of
the interstate pollution transport
element of Michigan’s infrastructure SIP
are approvable.
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IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve a portion
of Michigan’s March 23, 2017, submittal
certifying that the current Michigan SIP
is sufficient to meet the required
infrastructure requirements under CAA
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), specifically
prongs one and two, as set forth above.
EPA is requesting comments on the
proposed approval.
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
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);
• 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
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the CAA; and
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56781
• 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, the SIP is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where EPA or an
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the rule does not have
tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: October 29, 2018.
Cathy Stepp,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2018–24817 Filed 11–13–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2018–0226; FRL–9986–44–
OAR]
RIN 2060–AT97
Determinations of Attainment by the
Attainment Date, Extensions of the
Attainment Date, and Reclassification
of Several Areas Classified as
Moderate for the 2008 Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing three actions
related to the attainment date for 11
areas classified as ‘‘Moderate’’ for the
2008 ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS). First, the
agency is proposing to determine that
two areas—the Baltimore, Maryland,
and Mariposa County, California,
nonattainment areas—attained the
standard by the July 20, 2018,
attainment date. Second, the agency is
proposing to grant requests for a 1-year
attainment date extension to two other
areas: Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft.
Collins-Loveland, Colorado, and
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. Third,
SUMMARY:
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the agency is proposing to determine
that seven areas failed to attain the
standards by the attainment date:
Chicago-Naperville, Illinois-IndianaWisconsin; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas;
Greater Connecticut, Connecticut;
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas;
Nevada County (Western part),
California; New York-North New JerseyLong Island, Connecticut-New YorkNew Jersey; and San Diego County,
California. The effect of failing to attain
by the attainment date is that such areas
will be reclassified by operation of law
to ‘‘Serious’’ upon the effective date of
the final reclassification notice.
Consequently, the responsible state air
agencies must submit State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions
required to satisfy the statutory and
regulatory requirements for Serious
areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The
EPA is proposing deadlines for
submittal of those SIP revisions and
implementation of the related control
requirements. This proposed action is
necessary to fulfill the EPA’s statutory
obligation to determine whether ozone
nonattainment areas attained the
NAAQS by the attainment date, and,
within 6 months of the attainment date,
publish a notice in the Federal Register
identifying each area that is determined
as having failed to attain and identifying
the reclassification.
DATES:
Comments. Written comments must
be received on or before December 14,
2018.
Public Hearings. If anyone contacts us
requesting a public hearing on or before
November 29, 2018, we will hold a
public hearing. Additional information
about the hearing, if requested, will be
published in a subsequent Federal
Register document. Please refer to
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for
additional information on the comment
period and the public hearing.
ADDRESSES: Comments: Submit your
comments, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OAR–2018–0226, 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
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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/
comments.html.
Public Hearing. If anyone contacts us
requesting a public hearing on or before
November 29, 2018, we will hold a
public hearing. Please refer to
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for
additional information on the comment
period and the public hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further general information on this
proposed rule, contact Ms. Virginia
Raps, Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards (OAQPS), Air Quality Policy
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Mail Code: C539–01, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone
(919) 541–4383; fax number: (919) 541–
5315; email address: raps.virginia@
epa.gov. To request a public hearing or
information pertaining to a public
hearing on this notice, contact Ms.
Pamela Long at (919) 541–0641 or
long.pam@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
Entities potentially directly affected
by this proposed action include state,
local, and tribal air pollution control or
management agencies. Individuals and
entities potentially indirectly affected
by this action include owners and
operators of sources that emit volatile
organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen
oxides (NOX) emissions, which
contribute to ground-level ozone
formation within the ozone
nonattainment areas that are the subject
of this proposed notice.
B. What should I consider as I prepare
my comments for the EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this
information to the EPA through https://
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly
mark the part or all of the information
that you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information on any digital storage media
that you mail to the EPA, mark the
outside of the digital storage media as
CBI and then identify electronically
within the digital storage media the
specific information that is claimed as
CBI. In addition to one complete version
of the comment that includes
information claimed as CBI, a copy of
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the comment that does not contain the
information claimed to be CBI must be
submitted for inclusion in the public
docket. Information so marked will not
be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2
‘‘Public Information.’’
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments.
When submitting comments, remember
to:
a. Identify the rulemaking by docket
number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal
Register date and page number).
b. Follow directions—The agency may
ask you to respond to specific questions
or organize comments by referencing a
CFR part or section number.
c. Explain why you agree or disagree;
suggest alternatives and substitute
language for your requested changes.
d. Describe any assumptions and
provide any technical information and/
or data that you used.
e. If you estimate potential costs or
burdens, explain how you arrived at
your estimate in sufficient detail to
allow reproduction of your method and
the results.
f. Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns and suggest
alternatives.
g. Explain your views as clearly as
possible, avoiding the use of profanity
or personal threats.
h. Make sure to submit your
comments by the comment period
deadline identified under DATES in this
notice.
C. Where can I get a copy of this
document and other related
information?
In addition to being available in the
docket, an electronic copy of this notice
will be posted at https://www.epa.gov/
ozone-pollution.
D. What information should I know
about a possible public hearing?
To request a public hearing or
information pertaining to a public
hearing on this notice, contact Ms.
Pamela Long at (919) 541–0641 or
long.pam@epa.gov before 5 p.m. on or
before November 29, 2018. If requested,
further details concerning a public
hearing for this proposed rule will be
published in a separate Federal Register
document. For updates and additional
information on a public hearing, please
check the EPA’s website for this
rulemaking at https://www.epa.gov/
ozone-pollution.
E. How is this preamble organized?
The information and proposals
presented in this notice are organized as
follows:
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I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
B. What should I consider as I prepare my
comments for the EPA?
C. Where can I get a copy of this document
and other related information?
D. What information should I know about
a possible public hearing?
E. How is this preamble organized?
II. Overview and Basis of Proposal
A. Overview of Proposal
B. What is the background for the proposed
actions?
C. What is the statutory authority for the
proposed actions?
D. How does the EPA determine whether
an area has attained the 2008 ozone
standards?
III. What is the EPA proposing and what is
the rationale?
A. Determinations of Attainment by the
Attainment Date
B. Extensions of Moderate Area Attainment
Date
C. Determinations of Failure To Attain and
Reclassification
D. Serious Area SIP Revision Submission
Deadlines and RACT Implementation
Deadlines
IV. Environmental Justice Considerations
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review
B. Executive Order 13771: Reducing
Regulations and Controlling Regulatory
Costs
C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
D. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA)
F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
G. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
H. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
and Safety Risks
I. Executive Order 13211: Actions That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
J. National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act (NTTAA)
1 See
CAA section 181(b)(2).
the 2008 primary and secondary
NAAQS for ozone are identical, for convenience,
the EPA refers to them together as ‘‘the 2008 ozone
NAAQS.’’
3 The criteria for determining if an area is
attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS are set out in 40
CFR 50.15 and 40 CFR part 50, Appendix P.
4 A design value is a statistic used to compare
data collected at an ambient air quality monitoring
site to the applicable NAAQS to determine
compliance with the standard. The design value for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS is the 3-year average of the
annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
average ozone concentration. The design value is
calculated for each air quality monitor in an area
and the area’s design value is the highest design
value among the individual monitoring sites in the
area.
5 Design values attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS
must also meet minimum data completeness
2 Because
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K. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions
To Address Environmental Justice in
Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations
56783
A. Overview of Proposal
The EPA Administrator is required to
determine whether areas designated
nonattainment for an ozone NAAQS
attained the standard by the applicable
attainment date, and to take certain
steps for areas that failed to attain.1 For
a concentration-based standard, such as
the 2008 ozone NAAQS,2 a
determination of attainment 3 is based
on a nonattainment area’s design value.4
The 2008 ozone NAAQS are met at an
ambient monitoring site when the
design value does not exceed 0.075
parts per million (ppm). For areas
classified as Moderate nonattainment
for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the
attainment date is July 20, 2018.
Because the design value is based on the
three most recent, complete calendar
years of data, attainment must occur no
later than December 31 of the year prior
to the attainment date (i.e., December
31, 2017, in the case of Moderate
nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS). As such, the EPA’s proposed
determinations for each area are based
upon the complete, quality-assured and
certified ozone monitoring data from
calendar years 2015, 2016, and 2017.
All monitors in an area must be
considered when determining if the area
attains the NAAQS. To make the
determination that an area attains the
NAAQS, each monitor must have a
valid 5 design value meeting the
standard. If one or more monitors in an
area have a design value that exceeds
the standard, the area does not attain the
NAAQS.
This proposed action addresses 11 of
the 14 nonattainment areas that were
classified as Moderate for the 2008
ozone NAAQS as of the Moderate area
attainment date of July 20, 2018, that
have not already been reclassified to
Serious.6 The remaining three areas will
be addressed in separate actions:
(1) On September 27, 2016, May 17,
2018, and July 17, 2018, the Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality
submitted to the EPA for review
exceptional events demonstrations for
the Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona, Moderate
nonattainment area.7 Actions taken by
the EPA on the demonstrations may
affect a determination of attainment by
the attainment date for the area. The
proposed action to determine
attainment for the Phoenix-Mesa,
Arizona, area by the attainment date for
the Moderate 2008 ozone NAAQS will,
therefore, be addressed in a separate
Federal Register notice.
(2) The Imperial County, California,
Moderate nonattainment area is not
included in this proposed action. On
July 9, 2018, the California Air
Resources Board submitted the
‘‘Imperial County Clean Air Act Section
179B(b) Retrospective Analysis for the
75 ppb 8-Hour Ozone Standard,’’ which
may affect a determination of attainment
by the attainment date for this area.8
The proposed action to determine
attainment for the Imperial County,
California, area by the attainment date
for the Moderate 2008 ozone NAAQS
will be addressed in a separate Federal
Register notice.
(3) The Moderate nonattainment area
for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno
Mission Indians of the Pechanga
Reservation based in California is not
included in this proposed action
because the EPA has not yet finalized a
2015–2017 design value for the
nonattainment area.
Table 1 provides a summary of the
design values and the EPA’s proposed
air quality-based determinations for the
11 Moderate areas addressed in this
action.
requirements specified in 40 CFR part 50, Appendix
P to be considered valid.
6 The Kern County (Eastern Kern), California,
nonattainment area was reclassified from Moderate
to Serious effective August 6, 2018, in response to
a voluntary reclassification request submitted by
the state of California (see 83 FR 31334, July 5,
2018). SIP revisions addressing Serious area
requirements for Eastern Kern County will be due
on August 6, 2019, and the area must attain the
2008 ozone standards by July 20, 2021.
7 CAA section 319(b) defines an exceptional event
as an event that (i) affects air quality; (ii) is not
reasonably controllable or preventable; (iii) is an
event caused by human activity that is unlikely to
recur at a particular location or a natural event; and
(iv) is determined by the Administrator through
process established in regulation to be an
exceptional event. ADEQ submitted its
demonstration pursuant to 40 CFR 50.14, which
establishes the process by which states may request
that the Administrator determine that air quality
monitoring data showing exceedances or violations
of the NAAQS that are directly due to an
exceptional event may be excluded from regulatory
determinations, including whether a nonattainment
area has met the NAAQS by its deadline.
8 CAA section 179B(b) provides that where a state
demonstrates to the Administrator’s satisfaction
that an ozone nonattainment area would have
attained the NAAQS by the applicable attainment
date but for emissions emanating from outside the
United States, that area shall not be subject to the
mandatory reclassification provision, CAA section
181(b)(2). Note that the statute cites 42 U.S.C.
7511(a)(2), but that provision establishes ozone
attainment deadlines for severe areas under the 1hour standard. The EPA has long interpreted the
citation in CAA section 179B(b) to be a scrivener’s
error that was supposed to refer to 42 U.S.C.
7511(b)(2), which refers to consequences for failure
to attain by the attainment date.
II. Overview and Basis of Proposal
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TABLE 1—2008 OZONE NAAQS MODERATE NONATTAINMENT AREA EVALUATION SUMMARY
2008 NAAQS nonattainment
area
2015–2017
Design
value
(ppm)
Baltimore, MD ........................
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ............
Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft.
Collins-Loveland, CO.
Greater Connecticut, CT ........
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria,
TX.
Mariposa County, CA .............
Nevada County (Western
part), CA.
New York-N. New JerseyLong Island, CT-NJ-NY.
San Diego County, CA ...........
Sheboygan County, WI ..........
2017 4th Highest daily
maximum 8-hr average
(ppm)
0.075
0.078
0.079
0.079
Attained ..................................
Failed to Attain .......................
Failed to Attain .......................
Failed to Attain .......................
Not applicable ........................
0.079 ......................................
0.077 ......................................
0.075 ......................................
Not applicable.
No.
No.
Yes.
0.076
0.081
Failed to Attain .......................
Failed to Attain .......................
0.078 ......................................
0.079 ......................................
No.
No.
0.075
0.087
Attained ..................................
Failed to Attain .......................
Not applicable ........................
0.090 ......................................
Not applicable.
No.
0.083
Failed to Attain .......................
0.086 ......................................
No.
0.084
0.080
Failed to Attain .......................
Failed to Attain .......................
0.090 ......................................
0.075 ......................................
No.
Yes.
The data used to calculate both the
2015–2017 design values and the 2017
fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
averages are provided in the technical
support document (TSD) found in the
docket for this proposed action.9
The EPA proposes to find that the
Baltimore, Maryland, and Mariposa
County, California, Moderate
nonattainment areas attained by the
attainment date as evidenced by the
2015–2017 design values presented in
Table 1, which do not exceed 0.075
ppm. The EPA proposes to grant a 1year attainment date extension for the
Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. CollinsLoveland, Colorado, and Sheboygan
County, Wisconsin, nonattainment
areas. Colorado and Wisconsin have
complied with all requirements and
commitments pertaining to the area in
the applicable implementation plan,10
and demonstrated that the 2017 fourth
highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentrations do not exceed
0.075 ppm. Accordingly, the EPA
proposes to establish a new attainment
date of July 20, 2019, for these areas.
The EPA proposes to determine that
seven Moderate areas with a 2015–2017
design value greater than 0.075 ppm did
not attain by the attainment date and do
not qualify for a 1-year attainment date
extension under CAA section 181(a)(5),
as interpreted by the EPA in 40 CFR
51.1107. If the EPA determines that a
nonattainment area classified as
9 ‘‘Technical Support Document Regarding Ozone
Monitoring Data—Determinations of Attainment, 1Year Attainment Date Extensions, and
Reclassifications for Moderate Areas under the 2008
8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS),’’ Docket ID No. EPA–OAR–
2018–0226.
10 See CAA section 181(a)(5).
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Area failed to attain 2008
NAAQS but eligible for 1-year
attainment date extension
based on 2017 4th highest
daily maximum 8-hr average
≤0.075 ppm
2008 NAAQS
attained by the Moderate
attainment date
Moderate failed to attain by the
attainment date, the EPA shall publish
the identity of each such area in the
Federal Register no later than 6 months
following the attainment date and
identify the reclassification as required
under CAA section 181(b)(2)(B).
Furthermore, as required under CAA
section 181(b)(2)(A), if the EPA finalizes
the determinations that these seven
areas failed to attain by the attainment
date, they will be reclassified to Serious
by operation of law.11 The reclassified
areas will then be subject to the Serious
area requirement to attain the 2008
ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as
practicable, but not later than July 20,
2021.
Once reclassified as Serious, the
relevant states must submit to the EPA
the SIP revisions for these areas that
satisfy the statutory and regulatory
requirements applicable to Serious areas
established in CAA section 182(c) and
in the 2008 Ozone NAAQS SIP
Requirements Rule (see 80 FR 12264,
March 6, 2015).12 However, the
11 None of the 2015–2017 design values shown in
Table 1 for any of the seven areas proposed to be
reclassified as Serious equals or exceeds 0.113 ppm,
which is the threshold for reclassifying an area to
Severe under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) and 40 CFR
51.1103. Therefore, none of these areas are required
to be reclassified by operation of law to Severe or
Extreme.
12 In South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. v. EPA,
882 F.3d 1138 (DC Cir. 2018), the D.C. Circuit
granted in part and denied in part petitions for
review challenging the 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP
Requirements Rule. Among other things, the D.C.
Circuit vacated the portion of the rule that allowed
states to select an alternative baseline year (i.e., a
year other than 2011) for purposes of calculating
reasonable further progress. See id. at 882 F.3d at
1152–53. South Coast Air Quality Management
District petitioned the Court for rehearing on this
issue and the Court denied that petition. South
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deadlines specified in section 182(c)
have passed for plan submissions
applicable to areas originally classified
as Serious on July 20, 2012. For
instance, 40 CFR 51.1108 established
the deadline for Serious-area attainment
demonstrations to be 48 months after
the effective date of nonattainment
designation, or July 20, 2016, a date that
has passed and cannot be met by areas
reclassified in this notice. Under CAA
section 182(i), reclassified areas are
required to meet the requirements
associated with their newly reclassified
status according to the schedules
prescribed in connection with such
requirements, except that the
Administrator may adjust applicable
deadlines (other than attainment dates)
to the extent such adjustment is
‘‘necessary or appropriate to assure
consistency among the required
submissions.’’ Because these dates have
already passed, the EPA is using its
discretion granted under CAA section
182(i) to propose adjusting the
deadlines for submitting SIP revisions
that would otherwise apply under CAA
section 182(c).
As discussed in Section III.D of this
notice, the EPA proposes that the SIP
revisions, not including the Reasonably
Available Control Technology (RACT)
SIP revision required under CAA
sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f), will be
due 12 months after the effective date of
the final reclassification notice. The
EPA also discusses its proposed
deadlines, and solicits comments on
alternative due dates and deadlines, for
RACT SIP revisions and RACT
Coast, No. 15–1123, Order No. 1750751 (DC Cir.
September 14, 2018).
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implementation for the newly
reclassified Serious areas.
Wisconsin—81 FR 91841 December 19,
2016).
B. What is the background for the
proposed actions?
C. What is the statutory authority for the
proposed actions?
The statutory authority for the actions
proposed in this notice is provided by
the CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et
seq.). Relevant portions of the CAA
include, but are not necessarily limited
to, sections 181(a)(5) and 181(b)(2).
By way of background, CAA section
107(d) provides that when the EPA
establishes or revises a NAAQS, the
agency must designate areas of the
country as nonattainment, attainment,
or unclassifiable based on whether they
are not meeting (or contributing to air
quality in a nearby area that is not
meeting) the NAAQS, meeting the
NAAQS or cannot be classified as
meeting or not meeting the NAAQS,
respectively. Subpart 2 of part D of title
I of the CAA governs the classification,
state planning and emissions control
requirements for any areas designated as
nonattainment for a revised primary
ozone NAAQS. In particular, CAA
section 181(a)(1) requires each area
designated as nonattainment for a
revised ozone NAAQS to be ‘‘classified’’
at the same time as the area is
designated based on the extent of the
ozone problem in the area (as
determined based on the area’s ‘‘design
value,’’ which represents air quality in
the area for the most recent 3 years).
Classifications for ozone nonattainment
areas range from ‘‘Marginal’’ to
‘‘Extreme’’ based on the severity of the
area’s air quality problem. CAA section
182 provides the specific attainment
planning and additional requirements
that apply to each ozone nonattainment
area based on its classification. CAA
section 182, as interpreted by the EPA’s
implementing regulations at 40 CFR
51.1108—1117, also establishes the
timeframes by which air agencies must
submit and implement SIP revisions to
satisfy the applicable attainment
planning elements, and the timeframes
by which nonattainment areas must
attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
However, the EPA is proposing in
Section III.D of this notice to adjust the
deadlines for SIP revisions for any
newly classified Serious nonattainment
areas, as provided for in CAA section
182(i), including deadlines for RACT
SIP revisions and RACT
implementation.
Section 181(b)(2)(A) of the CAA
requires that within 6 months following
the applicable attainment date, the EPA
shall determine whether an ozone
nonattainment area attained the ozone
standard based on the area’s design
value as of that date. Section 181(a)(5)
On March 12, 2008, the EPA issued its
final action to revise the NAAQS for
ozone to establish new 8-hour standards
(73 FR 16436, March 27, 2008). In that
action, the EPA promulgated identical
revised primary and secondary ozone
standards designed to protect public
health and welfare that specified an 8hour ozone level of 0.075 ppm.
Specifically, the standards require that
the 3-year average of the annual fourth
highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentration may not exceed
0.075 ppm. The 2008 ozone NAAQS
retain the same general form and
averaging time as the 0.08 ppm ozone
NAAQS set in 1997, so that the only
difference is the more protective level of
0.075 ppm.
Effective on July 20, 2012, the EPA
designated 46 areas throughout the
country as nonattainment for the 2008
ozone NAAQS (77 FR 30088, May 21,
2012, and 77 FR 34221, June 11, 2012).
In a separate action, the EPA assigned
classification thresholds and attainment
dates based on the severity of each
nonattainment area’s ozone problem,
determined by the area’s design values
(77 FR 30160, May 21, 2012).13 In that
rule, the EPA established the attainment
date for Moderate and Serious
nonattainment areas as 6 years and 9
years, respectively, from the effective
date of the final designation, July 20,
2012. Thus, the attainment date for
Moderate nonattainment areas for the
2008 ozone NAAQS was July 20, 2018,
and the attainment date for Serious
areas is July 20, 2021. In a separate
action effective on June 3, 2016, the EPA
reclassified 11 of the 36 Marginal areas
to Moderate for failing to attain the
NAAQS by the July 20, 2015, Marginal
attainment date (81 FR 26697, May 4,
2016). In that action, two Marginal areas
received 1-year attainment date
extensions. However, these two areas
were later reclassified to Moderate for
failing to attain the NAAQS by the July
20, 2016, extended Marginal area
attainment date (Houston-GalvestonBrazoria, Texas—81 FR 90207,
December 14, 2016; Sheboygan County,
13 Three areas were initially classified Moderate
for the 2008 ozone NAAQS: Baltimore, Maryland,
Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, and the Pechanga
Reservation, located in southern California.
Classifications for the remaining areas (of the 46
areas designated nonattainment for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS) were 36 Marginal, two Serious, three
Severe, and two Extreme areas.
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of the CAA gives the EPA the discretion
to grant a 1-year extension of the
attainment date upon application by any
state if: (1) The state has complied with
all requirements and commitments
pertaining to the area in the applicable
implementation plan; and (2) no more
than one measured exceedance of the
NAAQS for ozone has occurred in the
area preceding the extension year. The
EPA may grant a second 1-year
extension if these same criteria are met
by the end of the first extension year.
In 40 CFR 51.1107, the EPA
interpreted CAA section 181(a)(5)(B)’s
exceedance-based air quality
requirement of the extension criteria for
purposes of a concentration-based
standard like the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. For purposes of determining
an area’s eligibility for an attainment
date extension for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS, the EPA has interpreted the
criteria of CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) to
mean that an area is eligible for a 1-year
extension of the attainment date if it
fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
value for the attainment year does not
exceed the level of the standard.14
In the event an area fails to attain the
ozone NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date, CAA section
181(b)(2)(A) requires the EPA to make
the determination that an ozone
nonattainment area failed to attain the
ozone standard by the applicable
attainment date, and requires the area to
be reclassified by operation of law to the
higher of: (1) the next higher
classification for the area, or (2) the
classification applicable to the area’s
design value as of the determination of
failure to attain.15 Section 181(b)(2)(B)
of the CAA requires the EPA to publish
the determination of failure to attain
and accompanying reclassification in
the Federal Register no later than 6
months after the attainment date, which
in the case of the Moderate
nonattainment areas considered in this
proposal would be no later than January
20, 2019.
Once an area is reclassified as a result
of this action, each state is required to
submit certain SIP revisions. The SIP
14 See 40 CFR 51.1107 pertaining to determining
eligibility under CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) for the
first and the second 1-year attainment date
extensions for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. For the
second 1-year extension, the area’s fourth highest
daily maximum 8-hour average concentration of
ozone cannot not exceed 0.075 ppm when averaged
over both the original attainment year and the first
extension year.
15 All nonattainment areas named in this notice
that failed to attain by the attainment date would
be classified to the next highest classification of
Serious. None of the affected areas has a design
value that would otherwise place an area in a
higher classification (i.e., see CAA section
181(b)(2)(A) reference to Severe and Extreme areas).
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revisions are intended to, among other
things, demonstrate how the area will
attain the NAAQS as expeditiously as
practicable, but no later than July 20,
2021, the attainment date for Serious
nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS. According to CAA section
182(i), each state containing an ozone
nonattainment area reclassified as
Serious under CAA section 181(b)(2)
shall submit SIP revisions consistent
with the schedules contained in CAA
section 182(b) for Moderate areas and
182(c) for Serious areas. However, CAA
section 181(b)(2) provides that the EPA
‘‘may adjust applicable deadlines (other
than attainment dates) to the extent
such adjustment is necessary or
appropriate to assure consistency among
the required submissions.’’ In Section
III.D of this notice, the EPA explains its
proposal to adjust such deadlines.
D. How does the EPA determine whether
an area has attained the 2008 ozone
standards?
Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part
50, Appendix P, the 2008 ozone NAAQS
is attained at a site when the 3-year
average of the annual fourth highest
daily maximum 8-hour average ambient
air quality ozone concentration does not
exceed 0.075 ppm. This 3-year average
is referred to as the ‘‘design value.’’
When the design value does not exceed
0.075 ppm at each ambient air quality
monitoring site within the area, the area
is deemed to be attaining the ozone
NAAQS. The rounding convention in
Appendix P dictates that concentrations
shall be reported in ‘‘ppm’’ to the third
decimal place, with additional digits to
the right being truncated. Thus, a
computed 3-year average ozone
concentration of 0.076 ppm is greater
than 0.075 ppm and would exceed the
standard, but a design value of 0.0759
is truncated to 0.075 and attains the
2008 ozone NAAQS.
The EPA’s determination of
attainment is based upon data that have
been collected and quality-assured in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and
recorded in the EPA’s Air Quality
System (AQS) database.16 Ambient air
quality monitoring data for the 3-year
16 The EPA maintains the AQS, a database that
contains ambient air pollution data collected by the
EPA, state, local, and tribal air pollution control
agencies. The AQS also contains meteorological
data, descriptive information about each monitoring
station (including its geographic location and its
operator) and data quality assurance/quality control
information. The AQS data is used to (1) assess air
quality, (2) assist in attainment/non-attainment
designations, (3) evaluate SIPs for non-attainment
areas, (4) perform modeling for permit review
analysis, and (5) prepare reports for Congress as
mandated by the CAA. Access is through the
website at https://www.epa.gov/aqs.
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period preceding the attainment date
(which for the 2008 ozone NAAQS
Moderate areas is the period from 2015–
2017) must meet the data completeness
requirements in Appendix P.17 The
completeness requirements are met for
the 3-year period at a monitoring site if
daily maximum 8-hour average
concentrations of ozone are available for
at least 90 percent of the days within the
ozone monitoring season, on average,
for the 3-year period, and no single year
has less than 75 percent data
completeness.
III. What is the EPA proposing and
what is the rationale?
The EPA is proposing this action to
fulfill its statutory obligation under
CAA section 181(b)(2) to determine
whether 11 Moderate ozone
nonattainment areas attained the 2008
ozone NAAQS as of the attainment date
of July 20, 2018. The EPA evaluated air
quality monitoring data submitted by
the appropriate state and local air
agencies to determine the attainment
status of the 11 areas as of the
applicable attainment date of July 20,
2018. This section describes the
separate determinations and actions
being taken in this proposed rule.
A. Determinations of Attainment by the
Attainment Date
Two of the 11 nonattainment areas’
monitoring sites had a design value that
did not exceed 0.075 ppm based on the
2015–2017 data. Thus, the EPA
proposes to determine, in accordance
with CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) and the
provisions of the SIP Requirements Rule
(40 CFR 51.1103), that the two areas,
Baltimore, Maryland, and Mariposa
County, California, listed in Table 1,
attained the standard by the applicable
attainment date for Moderate
nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS.
The EPA’s Clean Data Policy,18 as
codified for the 2008 ozone NAAQS at
40 CFR 51.1118, suspends the
requirements for states to submit certain
attainment planning SIPs such as the
attainment demonstration, including
reasonably available control measures
(RACM), reasonable further progress
(RFP), and contingency measures for so
long as an area continues to attain the
standard. The EPA determined that
Mariposa County, California, had
attained the 2008 ozone standard and
therefore suspended the requirements
for the state to submit an attainment
17 See
40 CFR part 50, Appendix P, section 2.3(b).
information about the Clean Data Policy
and redesignation guidance is available at https://
www.epa.gov/ozone-pollution/redesignation-andclean-data-policy-cdp.
18 More
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demonstration and associated RACM,
RFP plans, contingency measures, and
other attainment planning elements, in
accordance with 40 CFR 51.1118.19 The
EPA proposes that, following a final
determination of attainment by the
attainment date for Mariposa County,
California, these requirements would
remain suspended. Similarly, the EPA
also proposes that a final determination
of attainment by the attainment date for
Baltimore, Maryland, would continue to
suspend the state’s attainment planning
requirements for that area in accordance
with 40 CFR 51.1118, as the EPA
previously determined the area attained
the 2008 ozone NAAQS and issued a
Clean Data Determination.20
These proposed determinations of
attainment by the attainment date do
not constitute formal redesignations to
attainment as provided for under CAA
section 107(d)(3). Redesignations to
attainment require the states responsible
for ensuring attainment and
maintenance of the NAAQS to meet the
requirements under CAA section 110
and part D, including submitting for
EPA approval a maintenance plan to
ensure continued attainment of the
standard for 10 years following
redesignation, as provided under CAA
section 175A.
The EPA is soliciting comments on
these proposed determinations of
attainment by the applicable attainment
date for the Baltimore, Maryland, and
Mariposa County, California, areas.
Further technical analysis supporting
this proposed determination is located
in the TSD for this rule, which is
available in the docket for this action.
B. Extensions of Moderate Area
Attainment Date
The EPA is proposing to grant a 1-year
extension of the attainment date for two
areas: Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft.
Collins-Loveland, Colorado, and
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
Approval of the 1-year attainment date
extensions is based on the states’
compliance under CAA section
181(a)(5) as interpreted by the EPA in 40
CFR 51.1107. These areas meet the
specific air quality criteria for the 1-year
extension under 51.1107(a)(1), meaning
the fourth highest daily maximum 8hour average ozone concentration
recorded during the attainment year
19 For Mariposa, California, the final 2008 ozone
NAAQS Clean Data Determination was initially
effective on February 21, 2017 (81 FR 93624,
December 21, 2016) and was delayed until March
21, 2017, due to a Presidential directive (82 FR
8499, January 26, 2017).
20 For Baltimore, Maryland, the final 2008 ozone
NAAQS Clean Data Determination was effective on
July 1, 2015 (80 FR 30941, June 1, 2015).
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(2017) did not exceed the 2008 ozone
NAAQS of 0.075 ppm. In addition, state
officials have certified that they have
complied with all requirements and
commitments pertaining to these areas
in their respective implementation plan.
By way of letter dated June 4, 2018,21
the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment (CDPHE)
requested an extension for the DenverBoulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland,
Colorado, Moderate area attainment
date. The state’s request for an extension
also includes a certification that the
state of Colorado has complied with all
requirements and commitments
pertaining to the Denver-BoulderGreeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado,
Moderate ozone area SIP, in accordance
with CAA section 181(a)(5)(A). The EPA
evaluated the information submitted by
the state and is proposing to determine
that the state has met the requirement of
CAA section 181(a)(5)(A) for this area.
The state also submitted an
exceptional events demonstration
claiming that the area’s fourth highest
daily maximum 8-hour average ozone
concentration at one monitor, which
exceeded the 0.075 ppm standard, was
caused by wildfires in Montana and
Pacific Northwest states in late summer
2017. On July 11, 2018, the EPA
concurred with the state’s
demonstration that prevailing winds
transported smoke from those wildfires
to the Denver area on September 2 and
4, 2017, causing exceedances of the
2008 ozone NAAQS. Pursuant to 40 CFR
50.14, the EPA is proposing to exclude
the air quality data submitted in the
state’s exceptional events demonstration
for purposes of this determination of
attainment by the attainment deadline.
With the exceptional events data
excluded, the fourth highest daily
maximum 8-hour average for the area in
2017 does not exceed 0.075 ppm. Thus,
the EPA is proposing to grant a 1-year
attainment date extension for the
Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. CollinsLoveland, Colorado, Moderate
nonattainment area in this proposed
action.
In a letter from the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
dated May 24, 2018,22 the state
21 Kaufman,
Garrison, Director, Air Pollution
Control Division, CDPHE. ‘‘Submittal of
Exceptional Events Demonstration and Request to
Extend 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standard Attainment Deadline for the Denver
Metropolitan/North Front Range Nonattainment
Area.’’ June 4, 2018. Attachments included the
‘‘CDPHE Exceptional Event Demonstration for
Ozone on September 2 and 4, 2017,’’ and the
‘‘Colorado 2017 Data Certification Request Letter.’’
22 Good, Gail, Director, Air Management Program,
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
‘‘Request for a one-year extension of the 2008 ozone
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requested a 1-year attainment date
extension for the Sheboygan County,
Wisconsin, Moderate nonattainment
area stating the requirements and
commitments given under CAA section
181(a)(5)(A) had been met. In their
request, the state officials also provided
their certification of the 2017 ambient
air monitoring data for the area. The
EPA has evaluated this information
from the state and is proposing to
determine that the state has met the
requirement of CAA section 181(a)(5)(A)
for this area.23
In the letter, the state also explains
that the fourth highest daily 8-hour
ozone concentration from monitors in
the area did not exceed 0.075 ppm
during the 2017 calendar year and
presented the state’s ‘‘2017 Wisconsin
Ambient Air Monitoring Data
Certification’’ to support the analysis.
Upon evaluation of the information
submitted by the Wisconsin DNR, the
EPA is proposing to grant a 1-year
attainment date extension for the
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin,
Moderate nonattainment area in this
proposed action.
If we finalize our action as proposed,
upon the effective date of the final
action, the attainment date for these
areas would be extended to July 20,
2019. The areas would remain classified
as Moderate for the 2008 ozone NAAQS
unless and until the EPA makes a
determination that either or both areas
failed to attain the NAAQS by the new
attainment date.
The EPA is soliciting comments on
the proposed 1-year attainment date
extensions for the Denver-BoulderGreeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado,
and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin,
Moderate nonattainment areas.
C. Determinations of Failure To Attain
and Reclassification
The EPA is proposing to determine
that seven Moderate nonattainment
areas failed to attain the 2008 ozone
NAAQS by the attainment date of July
20, 2018. These areas are not eligible for
a 1-year attainment date extension
because they do not meet the extension
criteria under CAA section 181(a)(5) as
standard attainment date for the Sheboygan County,
Wisconsin moderate nonattainment area,’’ letter
dated May 24, 2018, which includes as an
attachment the ‘‘2017 Wisconsin Ambient Air
Monitoring Data Certification—Criteria Network
Data,’’ dated April 30, 2018.
23 Letter dated July 11, 2018, to Garry Kaufman,
Director, Air Pollution Control Division, Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment,
from Martin Hestmark, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Office of Partnerships and
Regulatory Assistance, U.S. EPA Region 8, which
inclused as an enclosure a TSD. This document is
available in the rulemaking docket for this action.
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56787
interpreted by the EPA in 40 CFR
51.1107. The areas’ ozone design values
for 2015–2017 are shown in Table 1.
If we finalize our action as proposed,
each of these areas will be reclassified
to Serious, the next higher
classification, as provided under CAA
section 181(b)(2)(A)(i) and codified at 40
CFR 51.1103. These areas are required
to attain the standard ‘‘as expeditiously
as practicable’’ but no later than 9 years
after the initial designation as
nonattainment, which in this case
would be no later than July 20, 2021.
After reclassification to Serious, if any
of these areas attains the 2008 ozone
NAAQS prior to the Serious-area
attainment date, the relevant state may
seek a Clean Data Determination, under
which certain attainment planning SIPs
would be suspended under 40 CFR
51.1118 or a redesignation to
attainment.24
The EPA is soliciting comments on
this proposal for determining that these
areas did not attain the 2008 ozone
NAAQS by the Moderate area
attainment date.
D. Serious Area SIP Revision
Submission Deadlines and RACT
Implementation Deadlines
Moderate nonattainment areas that
failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS
by the attainment date will be
reclassified as Serious by operation of
law upon the effective date of the final
reclassification notice. Each responsible
state air agency must submit SIP
revisions that satisfy the air quality
planning requirements for a Serious area
under CAA section 182(c).
On July 20, 2012, when final
nonattainment designations became
effective for the 2008 ozone NAAQS,
states responsible for areas initially
classified as Serious were required to
prepare and submit SIP revisions by
deadlines relative to that effective date.
For those areas, the deadlines ranged
from 2 to 4 years after July 20, 2012,
depending on the SIP ‘‘element’’
required (e.g., 2 years for the RACT SIP
and 4 years for the attainment
demonstration). Since those deadlines
were passed, the EPA is proposing to
use its discretion under CAA section
182(i) to adjust the SIP deadlines that
would otherwise apply. Thus, the EPA
is proposing that each state within
which all or part of an area reclassified
to Serious is located shall submit SIP
revisions according to the following
adjusted schedules:
24 For a fuller description of the effects of a Clean
Data Determination, see Section III.A of this
preamble.
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1. Due date for non-RACT Serious
area SIP revisions, SIP revisions, and
implementation deadline for RACT tied
to attainment. The EPA proposes that
states submit all SIP revisions—with the
exception of any RACT revisions not
needed for attainment purposes—no
later than 12 months after the effective
date of the final reclassification notice.25
The state submittal requirements for
attainment plans, in general, are
provided under CAA section 172(c); the
SIP requirements that apply to Serious
areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS are
listed under CAA section 182(c) and
include: (1) Enhanced monitoring; (2)
attainment demonstration and
reasonable further progress (RFP) plan;
(3) an enhanced vehicle inspection and
maintenance program, if applicable; (4)
clean-fuel vehicle programs and
transportation control; (5)
nonattainment New Source Review
program revisions; and (6) contingency
measures. States must also provide an
analysis of—and adopt all—RACM,
including RACT needed for purposes of
meeting RFP or timely attaining the
NAAQS. Such an analysis should
include: (1) An evaluation of controls
for sources emitting 100 tons per year
(tpy) or more that may have become
reasonably available since the January 1,
2017, Moderate area deadline for
adopting and implementing RACT, and
(2) an evaluation of controls for sources
emitting 50 tpy or more that are
currently reasonably available,
25 The EPA has long taken the position that the
statutory requirement for states to assess and adopt
RACT for sources in ozone nonattainment areas
classified Moderate and higher generally exists
independently from the attainment planning
requirements for such areas. See Memo from John
Seitz, ‘‘Reasonable Further Progress, Attainment
Demonstration, and Related Requirements for
Ozone Nonattainment Areas Meeting the Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard’’ (1995), at
5 (explaining that Subpart 2 requirements linked to
the attainment demonstration are suspended by a
finding that a nonattainment area is attaining but
that requirements such as RACT must be met
whether or not an area has attained the standard);
see also 40 CFR 51.1118 (suspending attainment
demonstrations, RACM, RFP, contingency
measures, and other attainment planning SIPs with
a finding of attainment). In addition to the
independent RACT requirement, states have a
statutory obligation to apply RACM (including such
reductions in emissions from existing sources in the
area as may be obtained through implementation of
RACT) to meet RFP requirements and to
demonstrate attainment as expeditiously as
practicable. Therefore, to the extent that a state
adopts new or additional RACT controls to meet
RFP requirements or to demonstrate attainment as
expeditiously as practicable, those states must
include such RACT revisions with the other SIP
elements due as part of the attainment plan
required under CAA sections 172(c) and 182(c) and
must implement them by the same date as
explained further in Section III.D.3 of this notice.
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consistent with the Serious area
classification.
The ‘‘schedule prescribed in
connection with’’ the attainment
planning requirements for Serious areas
is 4 years from designation. See CAA
section 182(i). However, given the
Serious area attainment date of July 20,
2021, and the fact that these areas are
reclassified rather than newly
designated Serious areas, the EPA
proposes that a 12-month deadline for
the attainment planning requirements
for all areas newly reclassified as
Serious ‘‘is necessary and appropriate’’
to assure consistency among these
submissions. Although not directly
applicable, the EPA notes that the
analogous provision in the general
nonattainment area requirements in
Subpart 1 also provides 12 months for
submission of a new attainment
demonstration and associated controls
after the EPA determines that an area
has failed to attain by its attainment
date. See CAA section 179(d). We also
believe the proposed timeframe is
consistent with how the EPA handled
setting SIP submission deadlines for
other nonattainment areas that were
reclassified from Moderate to Serious
for past ozone NAAQS. Examples
include Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas,26 an
area reclassified in 2010 as Serious for
the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and the
Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas,27 and St.
Louis, Missouri,28 areas, reclassified in
2003 and 2004, respectively, from
Moderate to Serious for the 1979 1-hour
ozone NAAQS. Twelve months
generally provides the time necessary
for states and local air districts to finish
reviews of available control measures,
adopt revisions to necessary attainment
strategies, address other SIP
requirements and complete the public
notice process necessary to adopt and
submit timely SIP revisions.29
The EPA also proposes that any RACT
that states determine is needed for
meeting RFP or timely attainment of the
2008 ozone NAAQS must be
implemented by the date that the
attainment plan is due, i.e., no later than
12 months after the effective date of the
final reclassification notice. As a general
matter, the Act requires implementation
of those requirements needed for timely
attainment ‘‘as expeditiously as
26 See 75 FR 79302, December 20, 2010, DallasFt. Worth, Texas, reclassification to Serious for the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
27 See 69 FR 16483, March 30, 2004, BeaumontPort Arthur, Texas, reclassification to Serious for
the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS.
28 See 68 FR 4836, January 30, 2003, St. Louis,
Missouri, reclassification to Serious for the 1979 1hour ozone NAAQS.
29 Cf. CAA section 179(d)(1).
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practicable.’’ See CAA section 172(c)(1).
The EPA believes that an
implementation deadline of 12 months
from the effective date of the
reclassification is consistent with the
requirement to act expeditiously and
moreover is consistent with the start of
the attainment year ozone season for all
2008 ozone NAAQS Serious areas,
which is the start of the 2020 ozone
season. All emissions control strategies
designed to help areas attain the 2008
ozone NAAQS by the applicable Serious
area attainment date of July 20, 2021, or
to qualify for a 1-year extension of that
attainment date, necessarily must be in
place and in effect no later than the start
of the final full ozone season preceding
the attainment date, as that is the last
ozone season of air quality monitoring
data that could affect the area’s design
value as of the attainment date or would
decide whether the area met the 1-year
extension air quality eligibility criterion
(see 40 CFR 51.1108(d)). The EPA
discusses its proposed deadlines for
RACT SIP revisions and implementation
of RACT beyond what may be needed in
a Serious area for attainment purposes
in Sections III.D.2 and III.D.3 of this
notice.
The EPA seeks comment on its
proposed date of 12 months from the
effective date of the final reclassification
notice both for Serious area SIP
revisions to be due and the
implementation deadline for any RACT
measures states determine necessary for
meeting RFP or demonstrating timely
attainment in the area.
2. Due date for additional Serious
area RACT SIP revisions. For Serious
areas reclassified from Moderate, the
requirement for RACT expands to
include all sources that emit, or have
the potential to emit, 50 tons per year
(tpy) of VOC or NOX.30 State air
agencies responsible for Moderate areas
are already required to implement
RACT for major sources,31 defined as
sources that emit or have the potential
to emit 100 tpy.32 Thus, states must
revise their RACT SIPs to include those
other sources emitting or having the
potential to emit 50 to 100 tpy. The EPA
proposes that states submit their SIP
revisions for any RACT not otherwise
needed for attainment purposes by
August 3, 2020. This deadline is
anticipated to be approximately 18
months after the effective date of the
final reclassification notice.
This proposed deadline would align
the Serious area RACT SIP deadline for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS with some of
30 See
CAA sections 182(c) and 182(f).
CAA section 182(b)(2) and 182(f).
32 See CAA section 302(j).
31 See
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 220 / Wednesday, November 14, 2018 / Proposed Rules
the nonattainment area SIP revision
deadlines associated with the 2015
ozone NAAQS.33 CAA section 182(i)
provides that the Administrator may
adjust deadlines for reclassified areas
‘‘to the extent such adjustment is
necessary or appropriate to assure
consistency among the required
submissions.’’ The EPA interprets
‘‘consistency among the required
submissions’’ to allow for consideration
of ‘‘required submissions’’ for various
ozone NAAQS that are being
implemented simultaneously. Since all
the areas that would be reclassified to
Serious upon the effective date of the
final reclassification notice are also
designated nonattainment for the 2015
ozone NAAQS or are in the Ozone
Transport Region (OTR), the responsible
state air agencies are required under
CAA section 182 to submit SIP revisions
for certain SIP elements for the 2015
ozone NAAQS within 2 years of the
effective date of the nonattainment area
designations. The effective date of
nonattainment area designations for the
2015 ozone NAAQS was August 3,
2018, and, therefore, the deadline for
submitting nonattainment SIP revisions
associated with that standard would be
August 3, 2020. Consistent with CAA
section 182(i), the EPA believes
coordinating the SIP deadlines related
to the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS for
these nonattainment areas is appropriate
and could result in more effective
implementation of the NAAQS.
Under CAA section 182(i), reclassified
areas generally are required to submit
SIP revisions associated with their new
classification ‘‘according to the
schedules prescribed in connection with
such requirements.’’ CAA section
182(b)(2), which establishes the RACT
requirement for ozone nonattainment
areas classified as Moderate or above,
and CAA section 184(b), which
establishes RACT requirements for areas
in the ozone transport region, provide a
24-month schedule for compliance with
those requirements.34 Although the
proposed deadline of August 3, 2020,
provides less than 24 months, the EPA
believes the anticipated timeframe is
appropriate given coordination with the
2015 ozone NAAQS SIP deadlines and
the nature of the submission, i.e.,
because states with newly reclassified
Serious areas should already have
addressed RACT requirements
commensurate with the Moderate area
classification.
33 All the areas subject to reclassification in this
notice are among those designated nonattainment
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, effective August 3,
2018 (see 83 FR 25776, June 4, 2018).
34 See 40 CFR 51.1112(a)(2).
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The EPA is proposing (and soliciting
comments) on an August 3, 2020,
deadline for RACT SIP revisions. The
EPA is also taking comment on whether
allowing states a full 24 months from
the effective date of the final
reclassification notice to submit SIP
revisions for RACT not otherwise
needed for attainment purposes would
yield a more desirable end result in
terms of emissions reductions and air
quality benefits, state processing and
resource burden, and/or burden on
emissions sources.
3. Implementation deadline for
additional Serious area RACT. CAA
section 182(b)(2) establishes the RACT
area requirements for ozone areas
designated and classified Moderate and
higher.35 That provision, which was
written for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS,
established a deadline of five years from
November 15, 1990, i.e., the date of
designation, for the implementation of
RACT. In the 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP
Requirements Rule, the EPA interpreted
this statutory deadline for the 2008
standard by establishing a RACT
implementation deadline of January 1 of
the fifth year after the effective date of
nonattainment designation, and
explained that this was consistent with
the maximum timeframe provided
under the CAA for implementing RACT
in nonattainment areas classified
Moderate or higher.36 For
nonattainment areas initially classified
as Moderate or higher for the 2008
ozone NAAQS and for OTR states,
RACT measures were required to be
implemented by January 1, 2017.
Because that date has passed and cannot
be applied to the areas subject to
reclassification by this action, the EPA
is proposing to set a new deadline of
August 3, 2020, for implementation of
any new RACT requirements not
otherwise needed for RFP or timely
attainment purposes.
This proposed deadline,
approximately 18 months after the
anticipated effective date of the final
reclassification notice, is the same
deadline proposed for the submission of
the related RACT SIP revisions
discussed in Section III.D.2 of this
notice. Ideally, SIP submission
deadlines would precede the
implementation of control strategies
35 CAA Section 182(b)(2) sets the RACT
requirement for Moderate areas, and the Act
requires other higher-classified areas to fulfill the
CAA section 182(b) requirements. See CAA sections
182(c), (d), and (e) (requiring states with Serious,
Severe, and Extreme nonattainment areas,
respectively, to fullfil the obligations required of
lower-classified areas).
36 See 40 CFR 51.1112(a)(3); 80 FR 12264, 12280
(March 6, 2015).
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56789
contained in those SIP submissions.
However, given the compressed
timeframe available for states to meet
the July 20, 2021, attainment date for
Serious areas, the EPA believes that, at
the very least, it is appropriate to align
the deadline for RACT SIP submissions
with the deadline for implementation of
any new controls contained in that
RACT SIP.
The EPA acknowledges the fact that
the majority of ozone nonattainment
areas in the country were designated
and classified as Marginal for the 2015
ozone NAAQS, and so will likely not be
required to have any additional RACT
in place for the 2015 standard until
2023, and only if such areas are
eventually reclassified as Moderate.37
Providing a slightly longer timeframe
(i.e., 18 months rather than 12 months)
for implementation of any additional
RACT for newly reclassified Serious
areas for the 2008 standards could lead
states to determine that additional
controls are reasonable, thus helping
areas attain both the 2008 and 2015
standards more expeditiously.
The Moderate areas subject to
reclassification by this proposed action
should have already implemented
RACT for sources emitting 100 tpy or
more of VOC or NOX. Therefore, at this
stage, states should be primarily focused
on adopting and implementing new
RACT measures required to control
sources emitting 50 to 100 tpy of VOC
or NOX. The EPA believes 18 months
will provide adequate time to
implement any new controls
determined to be RACT for this group of
sources. However, as noted above, areas
originally classified as Moderate and
higher for the 2008 ozone NAAQS had
just under five years to implement
ozone RACT requirements (by January 1
of the fifth year after effective date of
designation, i.e., January 1, 2017). By
contrast, areas reclassified from
Marginal to Moderate for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS in 2016 became subject to the
RACT requirement less than seven
months (and in one case significantly
less than seven months) before the
RACT implementation deadline.38 39 In
some areas, states may have been able
to adopt additional RACT controls had
37 See CAA section 182(b) and (c), as applied only
to Moderate areas and above. All areas in the OTR,
regardless of classification for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS, would be required to have any additional
RACT in place for the 2015 ozone standard by
RACT implementation deadlines interpreted from
CAA section 182(b) in EPA’s final ‘‘2015 Ozone
NAAQS SIP Requirements Rule,’’ which is
forthcoming.
38 See 81 FR 26697; May 4, 2016.
39 See 81 FR 90207, December 14, 2016, HoustonGalveston-Brazoria, Texas, reclassification to
Moderate for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
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there been additional time to implement
them. The EPA, therefore, seeks
comment on whether an extended
RACT implementation deadline—
beyond August 3, 2020, but no later
than January 1 of the fifth year after
effective date of reclassification to
Serious (i.e., January 1, 2024)—would
yield additional and substantial
emission reductions in newlyreclassified Serious areas (beyond what
could be achieved by the due date of
August 3, 2020, proposed in this notice)
to justify an extended compliance due
date for RACT not otherwise needed in
an area for timely attainment by the July
20, 2021, attainment date for Serious
areas.
In summary, the EPA is propsing (and
soliciting comments) on an August 3,
2020, deadline for implementing RACT
in newly reclassified Serious
nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS. The EPA is also taking
comment on an extended deadline up to
January 1, 2024, for implementing
RACT in newly reclassified Serious
nontainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS.
IV. Environmental Justice
Considerations
The EPA believes that this proposed
action will not have disproportionately
high or adverse human health or
environmental effects on minority, lowincome, or indigenous populations.
The purpose of this rule is to make
the determination whether certain areas
attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the
attainment date, which is required by
the CAA for purposes of implementing
the 2008 ozone NAAQS. As such, this
action does not directly affect the level
of protection provided for human health
or the environment. Moreover, it is
intended that the actions and deadlines
resulting from this notice will lead to
greater protection for United States
citizens, including minority, lowincome, or indigenous populations, by
ensuring that states meet their statutory
obligation to develop and submit SIPs to
ensure that areas make progress toward
attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant
regulatory action and was therefore not
submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review.
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B. Executive Order 13771: Reducing
Regulations and Controlling Regulatory
Costs
This action is not expected to be an
Executive Order 13771 regulatory action
because this action is not significant
under Executive Order 12866.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This rule does not impose any new
information collection burden under the
PRA not already approved by the Office
of Management and Budget. This action
proposes to: (1) Find that certain
Moderate ozone nonattainment areas
listed in Table 1 failed to attain the 2008
NAAQS by the applicable attainment
date; (2) identify those areas subject to
reclassification as Serious ozone
nonattainment areas by operation of law
upon the effective date of the
reclassification notice; and (3) adjust
any applicable implementation
deadlines. Thus, the proposed action
does not establish any new information
collection burden that has not already
been identified and approved in the
EPA’s information collection request.40
D. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have
a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the RFA. This action will not
impose any requirements on small
entities. The proposed determinations of
attainment and failure to attain the 2008
ozone NAAQS (and resulting
reclassifications), and the proposed
determination to grant 1-year attainment
date extensions do not in and of
themselves create any new requirements
beyond what is mandated by the CAA.
Instead, this rulemaking only makes
factual determinations, and does not
directly regulate any entities.
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA)
This action does not contain any
unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, and does
not significantly or uniquely affect small
governments. This action imposes no
enforceable duty on any state, local or
tribal governments or the private sector.
F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism
implications. It will not have substantial
direct effects on the states, tribes, or the
relationship between the national
40 On April 30, 2018, the OMB approved EPA’s
request for renewal of the previously approved
information collection request (ICR). The renewed
request expires on April 30, 2021, 3 years after the
approval date (see OMB Control Number 2060–0695
and ICR Reference Number 201801–2060–003 for
EPA ICR No. 2347.03).
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government and the states and tribes, or
on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government.
G. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
This action has tribal implications.
However, it will neither impose
substantial direct compliance costs on
federally recognized tribal governments,
nor preempt tribal law. The EPA has
identified a few tribal areas implicated
in the 11 areas covered by the EPA’s
action proposing determinations of
attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
The EPA intends to communicate with
potentially affected tribes located within
the boundaries of the nonattainment
areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS as the
agency moves forward in developing a
final rule.
H. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order
13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that concern
environmental health or safety risks that
the EPA has reason to believe may
disproportionately affect children, per
the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory
action’’ in section 2–202 of the
Executive Order. This action is not
subject to Executive Order 13045
because it does not concern an
environmental health risk or safety risk.
I. Executive Order 13211: Actions That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive
Order 13211, because it is not a
significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866.
J. National Technology Transfer
Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This rulemaking does not involve
technical standards.
K. Executive Order 12898: Federal
Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations
The EPA believes the human health or
environmental risk addressed by this
action will not have potential
disproportionately high and adverse
human health or environmental effects
on minority, low-income, or indigenous
populations. The results of this
evaluation are contained in the section
of the preamble titled ‘‘Environmental
Justice Considerations.’’
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List of Subjects
ACTION:
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection,
Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Designations and
classifications, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements and
Volatile organic compounds.
SUMMARY:
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection,
Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Designations and
classifications, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, and Volatile organic
compounds.
Dated: November 7, 2018.
William L. Wehrum,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018–24816 Filed 11–13–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 355
[EPA–HQ–OLEM–2018–0318; FRL–9986–
40–OLEM]
RIN 2050–AH00
Emergency Release Notification
Regulations on Reporting Exemption
for Air Emissions From Animal Waste
at Farms; Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
AGENCY:
Proposed rule.
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA or the Agency) is
proposing to amend the release
notification regulations under the
Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) to add the
reporting exemption for air emissions
from animal waste at farms provided in
section 103(e) of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act (CERCLA). In addition,
EPA is proposing to add definitions of
‘‘animal waste’’ and ‘‘farm’’ to the
EPCRA regulations to delineate the
scope of this reporting exemption. This
proposed rulemaking maintains
consistency between the emergency
release notification requirements of
EPCRA and CERCLA in accordance with
the statutory text, framework and
legislative history of EPCRA, and is
consistent with the Agency’s prior
regulatory actions.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before December 14, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OLEM–2018–0318, 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
56791
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://www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
Sicy
Jacob, United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Land and
Emergency Management, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW (Mail Code
5104A), Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 564–8019;
email address: jacob.sicy@epa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
A list of entities that could be affected
by this final rule include, but are not
necessarily limited to:
Type of entity
Examples of affected entities
Industry .....................................................................................
NAICS code 111—Crop production.
NAICS code 112—Animal production.
NAICS code 999200—State Government, excluding schools and hospitals.
NAICS code 999300—Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals.
State Emergency Response Commissions, Tribal Emergency Response Commissions, Tribal Emergency Planning Committees and Local Emergency Planning
Committees.
States and/or Local Governments ...........................................
This table is not intended to be
exhaustive, but rather provide a guide
for readers regarding the types of
entities that EPA is aware could be
involved in the activities affected by
this action. However, other types of
entities not listed in this table could be
affected by this proposed rulemaking.
To determine whether your entity is
affected by this action, you should
carefully examine the applicability
criteria found in § 355.30 of title 40 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
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Jkt 247001
If you have questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a
particular entity, consult the person
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section.
proposing to add definitions of ‘‘animal
waste’’ and ‘‘farm’’ to the EPCRA
regulations to delineate the scope of this
reporting exemption.
B. What action is the Agency taking?
C. What is the Agency’s authority for
taking this action?
The EPA is proposing to amend the
EPCRA emergency release notification
regulations to include the reporting
exemption for air emissions from animal
waste at farms provided in CERCLA
section 103(e). In addition, EPA is
This proposed rulemaking is being
issued under EPCRA, which was
enacted as Title III of the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act
(SARA) of 1986 (Pub. L. 99–499). EPA
proposes this rulemaking under the
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 14, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56781-56791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24816]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0226; FRL-9986-44-OAR]
RIN 2060-AT97
Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date, Extensions
of the Attainment Date, and Reclassification of Several Areas
Classified as Moderate for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing three
actions related to the attainment date for 11 areas classified as
``Moderate'' for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS). First, the agency is proposing to determine that two areas--
the Baltimore, Maryland, and Mariposa County, California, nonattainment
areas--attained the standard by the July 20, 2018, attainment date.
Second, the agency is proposing to grant requests for a 1-year
attainment date extension to two other areas: Denver-Boulder-Greeley-
Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado, and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. Third,
[[Page 56782]]
the agency is proposing to determine that seven areas failed to attain
the standards by the attainment date: Chicago-Naperville, Illinois-
Indiana-Wisconsin; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Greater Connecticut,
Connecticut; Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas; Nevada County (Western
part), California; New York-North New Jersey-Long Island, Connecticut-
New York-New Jersey; and San Diego County, California. The effect of
failing to attain by the attainment date is that such areas will be
reclassified by operation of law to ``Serious'' upon the effective date
of the final reclassification notice. Consequently, the responsible
state air agencies must submit State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revisions required to satisfy the statutory and regulatory requirements
for Serious areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The EPA is proposing
deadlines for submittal of those SIP revisions and implementation of
the related control requirements. This proposed action is necessary to
fulfill the EPA's statutory obligation to determine whether ozone
nonattainment areas attained the NAAQS by the attainment date, and,
within 6 months of the attainment date, publish a notice in the Federal
Register identifying each area that is determined as having failed to
attain and identifying the reclassification.
DATES:
Comments. Written comments must be received on or before December
14, 2018.
Public Hearings. If anyone contacts us requesting a public hearing
on or before November 29, 2018, we will hold a public hearing.
Additional information about the hearing, if requested, will be
published in a subsequent Federal Register document. Please refer to
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on the comment
period and the public hearing.
ADDRESSES: Comments: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0226, 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/comments.html.
Public Hearing. If anyone contacts us requesting a public hearing
on or before November 29, 2018, we will hold a public hearing. Please
refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on the
comment period and the public hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further general information on
this proposed rule, contact Ms. Virginia Raps, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (OAQPS), Air Quality Policy Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: C539-01, Research Triangle
Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-4383; fax number: (919) 541-5315;
email address: [email protected]. To request a public hearing or
information pertaining to a public hearing on this notice, contact Ms.
Pamela Long at (919) 541-0641 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
Entities potentially directly affected by this proposed action
include state, local, and tribal air pollution control or management
agencies. Individuals and entities potentially indirectly affected by
this action include owners and operators of sources that emit volatile
organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions,
which contribute to ground-level ozone formation within the ozone
nonattainment areas that are the subject of this proposed notice.
B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA
through https://www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or
all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on
any digital storage media that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of
the digital storage media as CBI and then identify electronically
within the digital storage media the specific information that is
claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that
includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does
not contain the information claimed to be CBI must be submitted for
inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2 ``Public Information.''
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
a. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
b. Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to specific
questions or organize comments by referencing a CFR part or section
number.
c. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
d. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
e. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow reproduction of
your method and the results.
f. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
g. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
h. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline
identified under DATES in this notice.
C. Where can I get a copy of this document and other related
information?
In addition to being available in the docket, an electronic copy of
this notice will be posted at https://www.epa.gov/ozone-pollution.
D. What information should I know about a possible public hearing?
To request a public hearing or information pertaining to a public
hearing on this notice, contact Ms. Pamela Long at (919) 541-0641 or
[email protected] before 5 p.m. on or before November 29, 2018. If
requested, further details concerning a public hearing for this
proposed rule will be published in a separate Federal Register
document. For updates and additional information on a public hearing,
please check the EPA's website for this rulemaking at https://www.epa.gov/ozone-pollution.
E. How is this preamble organized?
The information and proposals presented in this notice are
organized as follows:
[[Page 56783]]
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?
C. Where can I get a copy of this document and other related
information?
D. What information should I know about a possible public
hearing?
E. How is this preamble organized?
II. Overview and Basis of Proposal
A. Overview of Proposal
B. What is the background for the proposed actions?
C. What is the statutory authority for the proposed actions?
D. How does the EPA determine whether an area has attained the
2008 ozone standards?
III. What is the EPA proposing and what is the rationale?
A. Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date
B. Extensions of Moderate Area Attainment Date
C. Determinations of Failure To Attain and Reclassification
D. Serious Area SIP Revision Submission Deadlines and RACT
Implementation Deadlines
IV. Environmental Justice Considerations
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and
Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
B. Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulations and Controlling
Regulatory Costs
C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
D. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
G. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With
Indian Tribal Governments
H. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From
Environmental Health and Safety Risks
I. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
J. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
K. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations
II. Overview and Basis of Proposal
A. Overview of Proposal
The EPA Administrator is required to determine whether areas
designated nonattainment for an ozone NAAQS attained the standard by
the applicable attainment date, and to take certain steps for areas
that failed to attain.\1\ For a concentration-based standard, such as
the 2008 ozone NAAQS,\2\ a determination of attainment \3\ is based on
a nonattainment area's design value.\4\
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\1\ See CAA section 181(b)(2).
\2\ Because the 2008 primary and secondary NAAQS for ozone are
identical, for convenience, the EPA refers to them together as ``the
2008 ozone NAAQS.''
\3\ The criteria for determining if an area is attaining the
2008 ozone NAAQS are set out in 40 CFR 50.15 and 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix P.
\4\ A design value is a statistic used to compare data collected
at an ambient air quality monitoring site to the applicable NAAQS to
determine compliance with the standard. The design value for the
2008 ozone NAAQS is the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest
daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration. The design value
is calculated for each air quality monitor in an area and the area's
design value is the highest design value among the individual
monitoring sites in the area.
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The 2008 ozone NAAQS are met at an ambient monitoring site when the
design value does not exceed 0.075 parts per million (ppm). For areas
classified as Moderate nonattainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the
attainment date is July 20, 2018. Because the design value is based on
the three most recent, complete calendar years of data, attainment must
occur no later than December 31 of the year prior to the attainment
date (i.e., December 31, 2017, in the case of Moderate nonattainment
areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS). As such, the EPA's proposed
determinations for each area are based upon the complete, quality-
assured and certified ozone monitoring data from calendar years 2015,
2016, and 2017.
All monitors in an area must be considered when determining if the
area attains the NAAQS. To make the determination that an area attains
the NAAQS, each monitor must have a valid \5\ design value meeting the
standard. If one or more monitors in an area have a design value that
exceeds the standard, the area does not attain the NAAQS.
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\5\ Design values attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS must also meet
minimum data completeness requirements specified in 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix P to be considered valid.
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This proposed action addresses 11 of the 14 nonattainment areas
that were classified as Moderate for the 2008 ozone NAAQS as of the
Moderate area attainment date of July 20, 2018, that have not already
been reclassified to Serious.\6\ The remaining three areas will be
addressed in separate actions:
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\6\ The Kern County (Eastern Kern), California, nonattainment
area was reclassified from Moderate to Serious effective August 6,
2018, in response to a voluntary reclassification request submitted
by the state of California (see 83 FR 31334, July 5, 2018). SIP
revisions addressing Serious area requirements for Eastern Kern
County will be due on August 6, 2019, and the area must attain the
2008 ozone standards by July 20, 2021.
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(1) On September 27, 2016, May 17, 2018, and July 17, 2018, the
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality submitted to the EPA for
review exceptional events demonstrations for the Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona,
Moderate nonattainment area.\7\ Actions taken by the EPA on the
demonstrations may affect a determination of attainment by the
attainment date for the area. The proposed action to determine
attainment for the Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona, area by the attainment date
for the Moderate 2008 ozone NAAQS will, therefore, be addressed in a
separate Federal Register notice.
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\7\ CAA section 319(b) defines an exceptional event as an event
that (i) affects air quality; (ii) is not reasonably controllable or
preventable; (iii) is an event caused by human activity that is
unlikely to recur at a particular location or a natural event; and
(iv) is determined by the Administrator through process established
in regulation to be an exceptional event. ADEQ submitted its
demonstration pursuant to 40 CFR 50.14, which establishes the
process by which states may request that the Administrator determine
that air quality monitoring data showing exceedances or violations
of the NAAQS that are directly due to an exceptional event may be
excluded from regulatory determinations, including whether a
nonattainment area has met the NAAQS by its deadline.
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(2) The Imperial County, California, Moderate nonattainment area is
not included in this proposed action. On July 9, 2018, the California
Air Resources Board submitted the ``Imperial County Clean Air Act
Section 179B(b) Retrospective Analysis for the 75 ppb 8-Hour Ozone
Standard,'' which may affect a determination of attainment by the
attainment date for this area.\8\ The proposed action to determine
attainment for the Imperial County, California, area by the attainment
date for the Moderate 2008 ozone NAAQS will be addressed in a separate
Federal Register notice.
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\8\ CAA section 179B(b) provides that where a state demonstrates
to the Administrator's satisfaction that an ozone nonattainment area
would have attained the NAAQS by the applicable attainment date but
for emissions emanating from outside the United States, that area
shall not be subject to the mandatory reclassification provision,
CAA section 181(b)(2). Note that the statute cites 42 U.S.C.
7511(a)(2), but that provision establishes ozone attainment
deadlines for severe areas under the 1-hour standard. The EPA has
long interpreted the citation in CAA section 179B(b) to be a
scrivener's error that was supposed to refer to 42 U.S.C.
7511(b)(2), which refers to consequences for failure to attain by
the attainment date.
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(3) The Moderate nonattainment area for the Pechanga Band of
Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pechanga Reservation based in California
is not included in this proposed action because the EPA has not yet
finalized a 2015-2017 design value for the nonattainment area.
Table 1 provides a summary of the design values and the EPA's
proposed air quality-based determinations for the 11 Moderate areas
addressed in this action.
[[Page 56784]]
Table 1--2008 Ozone NAAQS Moderate Nonattainment Area Evaluation Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area failed to
attain 2008 NAAQS
but eligible for 1-
2015-2017 2008 NAAQS 2017 4th Highest year attainment
2008 NAAQS nonattainment area Design value attained by the daily maximum 8-hr date extension
(ppm) Moderate average (ppm) based on 2017 4th
attainment date highest daily
maximum 8-hr
average <=0.075 ppm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baltimore, MD.................... 0.075 Attained........... Not applicable..... Not applicable.
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI..... 0.078 Failed to Attain... 0.079.............. No.
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX............ 0.079 Failed to Attain... 0.077.............. No.
Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. 0.079 Failed to Attain... 0.075.............. Yes.
Collins-Loveland, CO.
Greater Connecticut, CT.......... 0.076 Failed to Attain... 0.078.............. No.
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX... 0.081 Failed to Attain... 0.079.............. No.
Mariposa County, CA.............. 0.075 Attained........... Not applicable..... Not applicable.
Nevada County (Western part), CA. 0.087 Failed to Attain... 0.090.............. No.
New York-N. New Jersey-Long 0.083 Failed to Attain... 0.086.............. No.
Island, CT-NJ-NY.
San Diego County, CA............. 0.084 Failed to Attain... 0.090.............. No.
Sheboygan County, WI............. 0.080 Failed to Attain... 0.075.............. Yes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The data used to calculate both the 2015-2017 design values and the
2017 fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour averages are provided in the
technical support document (TSD) found in the docket for this proposed
action.\9\
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\9\ ``Technical Support Document Regarding Ozone Monitoring
Data--Determinations of Attainment, 1-Year Attainment Date
Extensions, and Reclassifications for Moderate Areas under the 2008
8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS),''
Docket ID No. EPA-OAR-2018-0226.
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The EPA proposes to find that the Baltimore, Maryland, and Mariposa
County, California, Moderate nonattainment areas attained by the
attainment date as evidenced by the 2015-2017 design values presented
in Table 1, which do not exceed 0.075 ppm. The EPA proposes to grant a
1-year attainment date extension for the Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft.
Collins-Loveland, Colorado, and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin,
nonattainment areas. Colorado and Wisconsin have complied with all
requirements and commitments pertaining to the area in the applicable
implementation plan,\10\ and demonstrated that the 2017 fourth highest
daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations do not exceed 0.075
ppm. Accordingly, the EPA proposes to establish a new attainment date
of July 20, 2019, for these areas.
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\10\ See CAA section 181(a)(5).
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The EPA proposes to determine that seven Moderate areas with a
2015-2017 design value greater than 0.075 ppm did not attain by the
attainment date and do not qualify for a 1-year attainment date
extension under CAA section 181(a)(5), as interpreted by the EPA in 40
CFR 51.1107. If the EPA determines that a nonattainment area classified
as Moderate failed to attain by the attainment date, the EPA shall
publish the identity of each such area in the Federal Register no later
than 6 months following the attainment date and identify the
reclassification as required under CAA section 181(b)(2)(B).
Furthermore, as required under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A), if the EPA
finalizes the determinations that these seven areas failed to attain by
the attainment date, they will be reclassified to Serious by operation
of law.\11\ The reclassified areas will then be subject to the Serious
area requirement to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as
practicable, but not later than July 20, 2021.
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\11\ None of the 2015-2017 design values shown in Table 1 for
any of the seven areas proposed to be reclassified as Serious equals
or exceeds 0.113 ppm, which is the threshold for reclassifying an
area to Severe under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) and 40 CFR 51.1103.
Therefore, none of these areas are required to be reclassified by
operation of law to Severe or Extreme.
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Once reclassified as Serious, the relevant states must submit to
the EPA the SIP revisions for these areas that satisfy the statutory
and regulatory requirements applicable to Serious areas established in
CAA section 182(c) and in the 2008 Ozone NAAQS SIP Requirements Rule
(see 80 FR 12264, March 6, 2015).\12\ However, the deadlines specified
in section 182(c) have passed for plan submissions applicable to areas
originally classified as Serious on July 20, 2012. For instance, 40 CFR
51.1108 established the deadline for Serious-area attainment
demonstrations to be 48 months after the effective date of
nonattainment designation, or July 20, 2016, a date that has passed and
cannot be met by areas reclassified in this notice. Under CAA section
182(i), reclassified areas are required to meet the requirements
associated with their newly reclassified status according to the
schedules prescribed in connection with such requirements, except that
the Administrator may adjust applicable deadlines (other than
attainment dates) to the extent such adjustment is ``necessary or
appropriate to assure consistency among the required submissions.''
Because these dates have already passed, the EPA is using its
discretion granted under CAA section 182(i) to propose adjusting the
deadlines for submitting SIP revisions that would otherwise apply under
CAA section 182(c).
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\12\ In South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. v. EPA, 882 F.3d
1138 (DC Cir. 2018), the D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in
part petitions for review challenging the 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP
Requirements Rule. Among other things, the D.C. Circuit vacated the
portion of the rule that allowed states to select an alternative
baseline year (i.e., a year other than 2011) for purposes of
calculating reasonable further progress. See id. at 882 F.3d at
1152-53. South Coast Air Quality Management District petitioned the
Court for rehearing on this issue and the Court denied that
petition. South Coast, No. 15-1123, Order No. 1750751 (DC Cir.
September 14, 2018).
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As discussed in Section III.D of this notice, the EPA proposes that
the SIP revisions, not including the Reasonably Available Control
Technology (RACT) SIP revision required under CAA sections 182(b)(2)
and 182(f), will be due 12 months after the effective date of the final
reclassification notice. The EPA also discusses its proposed deadlines,
and solicits comments on alternative due dates and deadlines, for RACT
SIP revisions and RACT
[[Page 56785]]
implementation for the newly reclassified Serious areas.
B. What is the background for the proposed actions?
On March 12, 2008, the EPA issued its final action to revise the
NAAQS for ozone to establish new 8-hour standards (73 FR 16436, March
27, 2008). In that action, the EPA promulgated identical revised
primary and secondary ozone standards designed to protect public health
and welfare that specified an 8-hour ozone level of 0.075 ppm.
Specifically, the standards require that the 3-year average of the
annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration
may not exceed 0.075 ppm. The 2008 ozone NAAQS retain the same general
form and averaging time as the 0.08 ppm ozone NAAQS set in 1997, so
that the only difference is the more protective level of 0.075 ppm.
Effective on July 20, 2012, the EPA designated 46 areas throughout
the country as nonattainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (77 FR 30088, May
21, 2012, and 77 FR 34221, June 11, 2012). In a separate action, the
EPA assigned classification thresholds and attainment dates based on
the severity of each nonattainment area's ozone problem, determined by
the area's design values (77 FR 30160, May 21, 2012).\13\ In that rule,
the EPA established the attainment date for Moderate and Serious
nonattainment areas as 6 years and 9 years, respectively, from the
effective date of the final designation, July 20, 2012. Thus, the
attainment date for Moderate nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS was July 20, 2018, and the attainment date for Serious areas is
July 20, 2021. In a separate action effective on June 3, 2016, the EPA
reclassified 11 of the 36 Marginal areas to Moderate for failing to
attain the NAAQS by the July 20, 2015, Marginal attainment date (81 FR
26697, May 4, 2016). In that action, two Marginal areas received 1-year
attainment date extensions. However, these two areas were later
reclassified to Moderate for failing to attain the NAAQS by the July
20, 2016, extended Marginal area attainment date (Houston-Galveston-
Brazoria, Texas--81 FR 90207, December 14, 2016; Sheboygan County,
Wisconsin--81 FR 91841 December 19, 2016).
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\13\ Three areas were initially classified Moderate for the 2008
ozone NAAQS: Baltimore, Maryland, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, and the
Pechanga Reservation, located in southern California.
Classifications for the remaining areas (of the 46 areas designated
nonattainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS) were 36 Marginal, two
Serious, three Severe, and two Extreme areas.
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C. What is the statutory authority for the proposed actions?
The statutory authority for the actions proposed in this notice is
provided by the CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). Relevant
portions of the CAA include, but are not necessarily limited to,
sections 181(a)(5) and 181(b)(2).
By way of background, CAA section 107(d) provides that when the EPA
establishes or revises a NAAQS, the agency must designate areas of the
country as nonattainment, attainment, or unclassifiable based on
whether they are not meeting (or contributing to air quality in a
nearby area that is not meeting) the NAAQS, meeting the NAAQS or cannot
be classified as meeting or not meeting the NAAQS, respectively.
Subpart 2 of part D of title I of the CAA governs the classification,
state planning and emissions control requirements for any areas
designated as nonattainment for a revised primary ozone NAAQS. In
particular, CAA section 181(a)(1) requires each area designated as
nonattainment for a revised ozone NAAQS to be ``classified'' at the
same time as the area is designated based on the extent of the ozone
problem in the area (as determined based on the area's ``design
value,'' which represents air quality in the area for the most recent 3
years). Classifications for ozone nonattainment areas range from
``Marginal'' to ``Extreme'' based on the severity of the area's air
quality problem. CAA section 182 provides the specific attainment
planning and additional requirements that apply to each ozone
nonattainment area based on its classification. CAA section 182, as
interpreted by the EPA's implementing regulations at 40 CFR 51.1108--
1117, also establishes the timeframes by which air agencies must submit
and implement SIP revisions to satisfy the applicable attainment
planning elements, and the timeframes by which nonattainment areas must
attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS. However, the EPA is proposing in Section
III.D of this notice to adjust the deadlines for SIP revisions for any
newly classified Serious nonattainment areas, as provided for in CAA
section 182(i), including deadlines for RACT SIP revisions and RACT
implementation.
Section 181(b)(2)(A) of the CAA requires that within 6 months
following the applicable attainment date, the EPA shall determine
whether an ozone nonattainment area attained the ozone standard based
on the area's design value as of that date. Section 181(a)(5) of the
CAA gives the EPA the discretion to grant a 1-year extension of the
attainment date upon application by any state if: (1) The state has
complied with all requirements and commitments pertaining to the area
in the applicable implementation plan; and (2) no more than one
measured exceedance of the NAAQS for ozone has occurred in the area
preceding the extension year. The EPA may grant a second 1-year
extension if these same criteria are met by the end of the first
extension year.
In 40 CFR 51.1107, the EPA interpreted CAA section 181(a)(5)(B)'s
exceedance-based air quality requirement of the extension criteria for
purposes of a concentration-based standard like the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. For purposes of determining an area's eligibility for an
attainment date extension for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the EPA has
interpreted the criteria of CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) to mean that an
area is eligible for a 1-year extension of the attainment date if it
fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour value for the attainment year does
not exceed the level of the standard.\14\
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\14\ See 40 CFR 51.1107 pertaining to determining eligibility
under CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) for the first and the second 1-year
attainment date extensions for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. For the second
1-year extension, the area's fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
average concentration of ozone cannot not exceed 0.075 ppm when
averaged over both the original attainment year and the first
extension year.
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In the event an area fails to attain the ozone NAAQS by the
applicable attainment date, CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) requires the EPA
to make the determination that an ozone nonattainment area failed to
attain the ozone standard by the applicable attainment date, and
requires the area to be reclassified by operation of law to the higher
of: (1) the next higher classification for the area, or (2) the
classification applicable to the area's design value as of the
determination of failure to attain.\15\ Section 181(b)(2)(B) of the CAA
requires the EPA to publish the determination of failure to attain and
accompanying reclassification in the Federal Register no later than 6
months after the attainment date, which in the case of the Moderate
nonattainment areas considered in this proposal would be no later than
January 20, 2019.
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\15\ All nonattainment areas named in this notice that failed to
attain by the attainment date would be classified to the next
highest classification of Serious. None of the affected areas has a
design value that would otherwise place an area in a higher
classification (i.e., see CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) reference to
Severe and Extreme areas).
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Once an area is reclassified as a result of this action, each state
is required to submit certain SIP revisions. The SIP
[[Page 56786]]
revisions are intended to, among other things, demonstrate how the area
will attain the NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later
than July 20, 2021, the attainment date for Serious nonattainment areas
for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. According to CAA section 182(i), each state
containing an ozone nonattainment area reclassified as Serious under
CAA section 181(b)(2) shall submit SIP revisions consistent with the
schedules contained in CAA section 182(b) for Moderate areas and 182(c)
for Serious areas. However, CAA section 181(b)(2) provides that the EPA
``may adjust applicable deadlines (other than attainment dates) to the
extent such adjustment is necessary or appropriate to assure
consistency among the required submissions.'' In Section III.D of this
notice, the EPA explains its proposal to adjust such deadlines.
D. How does the EPA determine whether an area has attained the 2008
ozone standards?
Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 50, Appendix P, the 2008 ozone
NAAQS is attained at a site when the 3-year average of the annual
fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ambient air quality ozone
concentration does not exceed 0.075 ppm. This 3-year average is
referred to as the ``design value.'' When the design value does not
exceed 0.075 ppm at each ambient air quality monitoring site within the
area, the area is deemed to be attaining the ozone NAAQS. The rounding
convention in Appendix P dictates that concentrations shall be reported
in ``ppm'' to the third decimal place, with additional digits to the
right being truncated. Thus, a computed 3-year average ozone
concentration of 0.076 ppm is greater than 0.075 ppm and would exceed
the standard, but a design value of 0.0759 is truncated to 0.075 and
attains the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
The EPA's determination of attainment is based upon data that have
been collected and quality-assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58
and recorded in the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database.\16\
Ambient air quality monitoring data for the 3-year period preceding the
attainment date (which for the 2008 ozone NAAQS Moderate areas is the
period from 2015-2017) must meet the data completeness requirements in
Appendix P.\17\ The completeness requirements are met for the 3-year
period at a monitoring site if daily maximum 8-hour average
concentrations of ozone are available for at least 90 percent of the
days within the ozone monitoring season, on average, for the 3-year
period, and no single year has less than 75 percent data completeness.
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\16\ The EPA maintains the AQS, a database that contains ambient
air pollution data collected by the EPA, state, local, and tribal
air pollution control agencies. The AQS also contains meteorological
data, descriptive information about each monitoring station
(including its geographic location and its operator) and data
quality assurance/quality control information. The AQS data is used
to (1) assess air quality, (2) assist in attainment/non-attainment
designations, (3) evaluate SIPs for non-attainment areas, (4)
perform modeling for permit review analysis, and (5) prepare reports
for Congress as mandated by the CAA. Access is through the website
at https://www.epa.gov/aqs.
\17\ See 40 CFR part 50, Appendix P, section 2.3(b).
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III. What is the EPA proposing and what is the rationale?
The EPA is proposing this action to fulfill its statutory
obligation under CAA section 181(b)(2) to determine whether 11 Moderate
ozone nonattainment areas attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS as of the
attainment date of July 20, 2018. The EPA evaluated air quality
monitoring data submitted by the appropriate state and local air
agencies to determine the attainment status of the 11 areas as of the
applicable attainment date of July 20, 2018. This section describes the
separate determinations and actions being taken in this proposed rule.
A. Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date
Two of the 11 nonattainment areas' monitoring sites had a design
value that did not exceed 0.075 ppm based on the 2015-2017 data. Thus,
the EPA proposes to determine, in accordance with CAA section
181(b)(2)(A) and the provisions of the SIP Requirements Rule (40 CFR
51.1103), that the two areas, Baltimore, Maryland, and Mariposa County,
California, listed in Table 1, attained the standard by the applicable
attainment date for Moderate nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS.
The EPA's Clean Data Policy,\18\ as codified for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS at 40 CFR 51.1118, suspends the requirements for states to submit
certain attainment planning SIPs such as the attainment demonstration,
including reasonably available control measures (RACM), reasonable
further progress (RFP), and contingency measures for so long as an area
continues to attain the standard. The EPA determined that Mariposa
County, California, had attained the 2008 ozone standard and therefore
suspended the requirements for the state to submit an attainment
demonstration and associated RACM, RFP plans, contingency measures, and
other attainment planning elements, in accordance with 40 CFR
51.1118.\19\ The EPA proposes that, following a final determination of
attainment by the attainment date for Mariposa County, California,
these requirements would remain suspended. Similarly, the EPA also
proposes that a final determination of attainment by the attainment
date for Baltimore, Maryland, would continue to suspend the state's
attainment planning requirements for that area in accordance with 40
CFR 51.1118, as the EPA previously determined the area attained the
2008 ozone NAAQS and issued a Clean Data Determination.\20\
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\18\ More information about the Clean Data Policy and
redesignation guidance is available at https://www.epa.gov/ozone-pollution/redesignation-and-clean-data-policy-cdp.
\19\ For Mariposa, California, the final 2008 ozone NAAQS Clean
Data Determination was initially effective on February 21, 2017 (81
FR 93624, December 21, 2016) and was delayed until March 21, 2017,
due to a Presidential directive (82 FR 8499, January 26, 2017).
\20\ For Baltimore, Maryland, the final 2008 ozone NAAQS Clean
Data Determination was effective on July 1, 2015 (80 FR 30941, June
1, 2015).
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These proposed determinations of attainment by the attainment date
do not constitute formal redesignations to attainment as provided for
under CAA section 107(d)(3). Redesignations to attainment require the
states responsible for ensuring attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS
to meet the requirements under CAA section 110 and part D, including
submitting for EPA approval a maintenance plan to ensure continued
attainment of the standard for 10 years following redesignation, as
provided under CAA section 175A.
The EPA is soliciting comments on these proposed determinations of
attainment by the applicable attainment date for the Baltimore,
Maryland, and Mariposa County, California, areas. Further technical
analysis supporting this proposed determination is located in the TSD
for this rule, which is available in the docket for this action.
B. Extensions of Moderate Area Attainment Date
The EPA is proposing to grant a 1-year extension of the attainment
date for two areas: Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland,
Colorado, and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. Approval of the 1-year
attainment date extensions is based on the states' compliance under CAA
section 181(a)(5) as interpreted by the EPA in 40 CFR 51.1107. These
areas meet the specific air quality criteria for the 1-year extension
under 51.1107(a)(1), meaning the fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
average ozone concentration recorded during the attainment year
[[Page 56787]]
(2017) did not exceed the 2008 ozone NAAQS of 0.075 ppm. In addition,
state officials have certified that they have complied with all
requirements and commitments pertaining to these areas in their
respective implementation plan.
By way of letter dated June 4, 2018,\21\ the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) requested an extension for the
Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado, Moderate area
attainment date. The state's request for an extension also includes a
certification that the state of Colorado has complied with all
requirements and commitments pertaining to the Denver-Boulder-Greeley-
Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado, Moderate ozone area SIP, in accordance
with CAA section 181(a)(5)(A). The EPA evaluated the information
submitted by the state and is proposing to determine that the state has
met the requirement of CAA section 181(a)(5)(A) for this area.
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\21\ Kaufman, Garrison, Director, Air Pollution Control
Division, CDPHE. ``Submittal of Exceptional Events Demonstration and
Request to Extend 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard
Attainment Deadline for the Denver Metropolitan/North Front Range
Nonattainment Area.'' June 4, 2018. Attachments included the ``CDPHE
Exceptional Event Demonstration for Ozone on September 2 and 4,
2017,'' and the ``Colorado 2017 Data Certification Request Letter.''
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The state also submitted an exceptional events demonstration
claiming that the area's fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentration at one monitor, which exceeded the 0.075 ppm
standard, was caused by wildfires in Montana and Pacific Northwest
states in late summer 2017. On July 11, 2018, the EPA concurred with
the state's demonstration that prevailing winds transported smoke from
those wildfires to the Denver area on September 2 and 4, 2017, causing
exceedances of the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Pursuant to 40 CFR 50.14, the EPA
is proposing to exclude the air quality data submitted in the state's
exceptional events demonstration for purposes of this determination of
attainment by the attainment deadline. With the exceptional events data
excluded, the fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average for the area
in 2017 does not exceed 0.075 ppm. Thus, the EPA is proposing to grant
a 1-year attainment date extension for the Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft.
Collins-Loveland, Colorado, Moderate nonattainment area in this
proposed action.
In a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
(DNR), dated May 24, 2018,\22\ the state requested a 1-year attainment
date extension for the Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, Moderate
nonattainment area stating the requirements and commitments given under
CAA section 181(a)(5)(A) had been met. In their request, the state
officials also provided their certification of the 2017 ambient air
monitoring data for the area. The EPA has evaluated this information
from the state and is proposing to determine that the state has met the
requirement of CAA section 181(a)(5)(A) for this area.\23\
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\22\ Good, Gail, Director, Air Management Program, Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources, ``Request for a one-year extension
of the 2008 ozone standard attainment date for the Sheboygan County,
Wisconsin moderate nonattainment area,'' letter dated May 24, 2018,
which includes as an attachment the ``2017 Wisconsin Ambient Air
Monitoring Data Certification--Criteria Network Data,'' dated April
30, 2018.
\23\ Letter dated July 11, 2018, to Garry Kaufman, Director, Air
Pollution Control Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment, from Martin Hestmark, Assistant Regional Administrator,
Office of Partnerships and Regulatory Assistance, U.S. EPA Region 8,
which inclused as an enclosure a TSD. This document is available in
the rulemaking docket for this action.
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In the letter, the state also explains that the fourth highest
daily 8-hour ozone concentration from monitors in the area did not
exceed 0.075 ppm during the 2017 calendar year and presented the
state's ``2017 Wisconsin Ambient Air Monitoring Data Certification'' to
support the analysis. Upon evaluation of the information submitted by
the Wisconsin DNR, the EPA is proposing to grant a 1-year attainment
date extension for the Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, Moderate
nonattainment area in this proposed action.
If we finalize our action as proposed, upon the effective date of
the final action, the attainment date for these areas would be extended
to July 20, 2019. The areas would remain classified as Moderate for the
2008 ozone NAAQS unless and until the EPA makes a determination that
either or both areas failed to attain the NAAQS by the new attainment
date.
The EPA is soliciting comments on the proposed 1-year attainment
date extensions for the Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland,
Colorado, and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, Moderate nonattainment
areas.
C. Determinations of Failure To Attain and Reclassification
The EPA is proposing to determine that seven Moderate nonattainment
areas failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the attainment date of
July 20, 2018. These areas are not eligible for a 1-year attainment
date extension because they do not meet the extension criteria under
CAA section 181(a)(5) as interpreted by the EPA in 40 CFR 51.1107. The
areas' ozone design values for 2015-2017 are shown in Table 1.
If we finalize our action as proposed, each of these areas will be
reclassified to Serious, the next higher classification, as provided
under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A)(i) and codified at 40 CFR 51.1103. These
areas are required to attain the standard ``as expeditiously as
practicable'' but no later than 9 years after the initial designation
as nonattainment, which in this case would be no later than July 20,
2021. After reclassification to Serious, if any of these areas attains
the 2008 ozone NAAQS prior to the Serious-area attainment date, the
relevant state may seek a Clean Data Determination, under which certain
attainment planning SIPs would be suspended under 40 CFR 51.1118 or a
redesignation to attainment.\24\
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\24\ For a fuller description of the effects of a Clean Data
Determination, see Section III.A of this preamble.
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The EPA is soliciting comments on this proposal for determining
that these areas did not attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the Moderate
area attainment date.
D. Serious Area SIP Revision Submission Deadlines and RACT
Implementation Deadlines
Moderate nonattainment areas that failed to attain the 2008 ozone
NAAQS by the attainment date will be reclassified as Serious by
operation of law upon the effective date of the final reclassification
notice. Each responsible state air agency must submit SIP revisions
that satisfy the air quality planning requirements for a Serious area
under CAA section 182(c).
On July 20, 2012, when final nonattainment designations became
effective for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, states responsible for areas
initially classified as Serious were required to prepare and submit SIP
revisions by deadlines relative to that effective date. For those
areas, the deadlines ranged from 2 to 4 years after July 20, 2012,
depending on the SIP ``element'' required (e.g., 2 years for the RACT
SIP and 4 years for the attainment demonstration). Since those
deadlines were passed, the EPA is proposing to use its discretion under
CAA section 182(i) to adjust the SIP deadlines that would otherwise
apply. Thus, the EPA is proposing that each state within which all or
part of an area reclassified to Serious is located shall submit SIP
revisions according to the following adjusted schedules:
[[Page 56788]]
1. Due date for non-RACT Serious area SIP revisions, SIP revisions,
and implementation deadline for RACT tied to attainment. The EPA
proposes that states submit all SIP revisions--with the exception of
any RACT revisions not needed for attainment purposes--no later than 12
months after the effective date of the final reclassification
notice.\25\ The state submittal requirements for attainment plans, in
general, are provided under CAA section 172(c); the SIP requirements
that apply to Serious areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS are listed under
CAA section 182(c) and include: (1) Enhanced monitoring; (2) attainment
demonstration and reasonable further progress (RFP) plan; (3) an
enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance program, if applicable; (4)
clean-fuel vehicle programs and transportation control; (5)
nonattainment New Source Review program revisions; and (6) contingency
measures. States must also provide an analysis of--and adopt all--RACM,
including RACT needed for purposes of meeting RFP or timely attaining
the NAAQS. Such an analysis should include: (1) An evaluation of
controls for sources emitting 100 tons per year (tpy) or more that may
have become reasonably available since the January 1, 2017, Moderate
area deadline for adopting and implementing RACT, and (2) an evaluation
of controls for sources emitting 50 tpy or more that are currently
reasonably available, consistent with the Serious area classification.
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\25\ The EPA has long taken the position that the statutory
requirement for states to assess and adopt RACT for sources in ozone
nonattainment areas classified Moderate and higher generally exists
independently from the attainment planning requirements for such
areas. See Memo from John Seitz, ``Reasonable Further Progress,
Attainment Demonstration, and Related Requirements for Ozone
Nonattainment Areas Meeting the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standard'' (1995), at 5 (explaining that Subpart 2 requirements
linked to the attainment demonstration are suspended by a finding
that a nonattainment area is attaining but that requirements such as
RACT must be met whether or not an area has attained the standard);
see also 40 CFR 51.1118 (suspending attainment demonstrations, RACM,
RFP, contingency measures, and other attainment planning SIPs with a
finding of attainment). In addition to the independent RACT
requirement, states have a statutory obligation to apply RACM
(including such reductions in emissions from existing sources in the
area as may be obtained through implementation of RACT) to meet RFP
requirements and to demonstrate attainment as expeditiously as
practicable. Therefore, to the extent that a state adopts new or
additional RACT controls to meet RFP requirements or to demonstrate
attainment as expeditiously as practicable, those states must
include such RACT revisions with the other SIP elements due as part
of the attainment plan required under CAA sections 172(c) and 182(c)
and must implement them by the same date as explained further in
Section III.D.3 of this notice.
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The ``schedule prescribed in connection with'' the attainment
planning requirements for Serious areas is 4 years from designation.
See CAA section 182(i). However, given the Serious area attainment date
of July 20, 2021, and the fact that these areas are reclassified rather
than newly designated Serious areas, the EPA proposes that a 12-month
deadline for the attainment planning requirements for all areas newly
reclassified as Serious ``is necessary and appropriate'' to assure
consistency among these submissions. Although not directly applicable,
the EPA notes that the analogous provision in the general nonattainment
area requirements in Subpart 1 also provides 12 months for submission
of a new attainment demonstration and associated controls after the EPA
determines that an area has failed to attain by its attainment date.
See CAA section 179(d). We also believe the proposed timeframe is
consistent with how the EPA handled setting SIP submission deadlines
for other nonattainment areas that were reclassified from Moderate to
Serious for past ozone NAAQS. Examples include Dallas-Ft. Worth,
Texas,\26\ an area reclassified in 2010 as Serious for the 1997 8-hour
ozone NAAQS, and the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas,\27\ and St. Louis,
Missouri,\28\ areas, reclassified in 2003 and 2004, respectively, from
Moderate to Serious for the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS. Twelve months
generally provides the time necessary for states and local air
districts to finish reviews of available control measures, adopt
revisions to necessary attainment strategies, address other SIP
requirements and complete the public notice process necessary to adopt
and submit timely SIP revisions.\29\
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\26\ See 75 FR 79302, December 20, 2010, Dallas-Ft. Worth,
Texas, reclassification to Serious for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
\27\ See 69 FR 16483, March 30, 2004, Beaumont-Port Arthur,
Texas, reclassification to Serious for the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS.
\28\ See 68 FR 4836, January 30, 2003, St. Louis, Missouri,
reclassification to Serious for the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS.
\29\ Cf. CAA section 179(d)(1).
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The EPA also proposes that any RACT that states determine is needed
for meeting RFP or timely attainment of the 2008 ozone NAAQS must be
implemented by the date that the attainment plan is due, i.e., no later
than 12 months after the effective date of the final reclassification
notice. As a general matter, the Act requires implementation of those
requirements needed for timely attainment ``as expeditiously as
practicable.'' See CAA section 172(c)(1). The EPA believes that an
implementation deadline of 12 months from the effective date of the
reclassification is consistent with the requirement to act
expeditiously and moreover is consistent with the start of the
attainment year ozone season for all 2008 ozone NAAQS Serious areas,
which is the start of the 2020 ozone season. All emissions control
strategies designed to help areas attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the
applicable Serious area attainment date of July 20, 2021, or to qualify
for a 1-year extension of that attainment date, necessarily must be in
place and in effect no later than the start of the final full ozone
season preceding the attainment date, as that is the last ozone season
of air quality monitoring data that could affect the area's design
value as of the attainment date or would decide whether the area met
the 1-year extension air quality eligibility criterion (see 40 CFR
51.1108(d)). The EPA discusses its proposed deadlines for RACT SIP
revisions and implementation of RACT beyond what may be needed in a
Serious area for attainment purposes in Sections III.D.2 and III.D.3 of
this notice.
The EPA seeks comment on its proposed date of 12 months from the
effective date of the final reclassification notice both for Serious
area SIP revisions to be due and the implementation deadline for any
RACT measures states determine necessary for meeting RFP or
demonstrating timely attainment in the area.
2. Due date for additional Serious area RACT SIP revisions. For
Serious areas reclassified from Moderate, the requirement for RACT
expands to include all sources that emit, or have the potential to
emit, 50 tons per year (tpy) of VOC or NOX.\30\ State air
agencies responsible for Moderate areas are already required to
implement RACT for major sources,\31\ defined as sources that emit or
have the potential to emit 100 tpy.\32\ Thus, states must revise their
RACT SIPs to include those other sources emitting or having the
potential to emit 50 to 100 tpy. The EPA proposes that states submit
their SIP revisions for any RACT not otherwise needed for attainment
purposes by August 3, 2020. This deadline is anticipated to be
approximately 18 months after the effective date of the final
reclassification notice.
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\30\ See CAA sections 182(c) and 182(f).
\31\ See CAA section 182(b)(2) and 182(f).
\32\ See CAA section 302(j).
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This proposed deadline would align the Serious area RACT SIP
deadline for the 2008 ozone NAAQS with some of
[[Page 56789]]
the nonattainment area SIP revision deadlines associated with the 2015
ozone NAAQS.\33\ CAA section 182(i) provides that the Administrator may
adjust deadlines for reclassified areas ``to the extent such adjustment
is necessary or appropriate to assure consistency among the required
submissions.'' The EPA interprets ``consistency among the required
submissions'' to allow for consideration of ``required submissions''
for various ozone NAAQS that are being implemented simultaneously.
Since all the areas that would be reclassified to Serious upon the
effective date of the final reclassification notice are also designated
nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS or are in the Ozone Transport
Region (OTR), the responsible state air agencies are required under CAA
section 182 to submit SIP revisions for certain SIP elements for the
2015 ozone NAAQS within 2 years of the effective date of the
nonattainment area designations. The effective date of nonattainment
area designations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS was August 3, 2018, and,
therefore, the deadline for submitting nonattainment SIP revisions
associated with that standard would be August 3, 2020. Consistent with
CAA section 182(i), the EPA believes coordinating the SIP deadlines
related to the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS for these nonattainment areas
is appropriate and could result in more effective implementation of the
NAAQS.
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\33\ All the areas subject to reclassification in this notice
are among those designated nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS,
effective August 3, 2018 (see 83 FR 25776, June 4, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under CAA section 182(i), reclassified areas generally are required
to submit SIP revisions associated with their new classification
``according to the schedules prescribed in connection with such
requirements.'' CAA section 182(b)(2), which establishes the RACT
requirement for ozone nonattainment areas classified as Moderate or
above, and CAA section 184(b), which establishes RACT requirements for
areas in the ozone transport region, provide a 24-month schedule for
compliance with those requirements.\34\ Although the proposed deadline
of August 3, 2020, provides less than 24 months, the EPA believes the
anticipated timeframe is appropriate given coordination with the 2015
ozone NAAQS SIP deadlines and the nature of the submission, i.e.,
because states with newly reclassified Serious areas should already
have addressed RACT requirements commensurate with the Moderate area
classification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\ See 40 CFR 51.1112(a)(2).
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The EPA is proposing (and soliciting comments) on an August 3,
2020, deadline for RACT SIP revisions. The EPA is also taking comment
on whether allowing states a full 24 months from the effective date of
the final reclassification notice to submit SIP revisions for RACT not
otherwise needed for attainment purposes would yield a more desirable
end result in terms of emissions reductions and air quality benefits,
state processing and resource burden, and/or burden on emissions
sources.
3. Implementation deadline for additional Serious area RACT. CAA
section 182(b)(2) establishes the RACT area requirements for ozone
areas designated and classified Moderate and higher.\35\ That
provision, which was written for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, established a
deadline of five years from November 15, 1990, i.e., the date of
designation, for the implementation of RACT. In the 2008 ozone NAAQS
SIP Requirements Rule, the EPA interpreted this statutory deadline for
the 2008 standard by establishing a RACT implementation deadline of
January 1 of the fifth year after the effective date of nonattainment
designation, and explained that this was consistent with the maximum
timeframe provided under the CAA for implementing RACT in nonattainment
areas classified Moderate or higher.\36\ For nonattainment areas
initially classified as Moderate or higher for the 2008 ozone NAAQS and
for OTR states, RACT measures were required to be implemented by
January 1, 2017. Because that date has passed and cannot be applied to
the areas subject to reclassification by this action, the EPA is
proposing to set a new deadline of August 3, 2020, for implementation
of any new RACT requirements not otherwise needed for RFP or timely
attainment purposes.
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\35\ CAA Section 182(b)(2) sets the RACT requirement for
Moderate areas, and the Act requires other higher-classified areas
to fulfill the CAA section 182(b) requirements. See CAA sections
182(c), (d), and (e) (requiring states with Serious, Severe, and
Extreme nonattainment areas, respectively, to fullfil the
obligations required of lower-classified areas).
\36\ See 40 CFR 51.1112(a)(3); 80 FR 12264, 12280 (March 6,
2015).
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This proposed deadline, approximately 18 months after the
anticipated effective date of the final reclassification notice, is the
same deadline proposed for the submission of the related RACT SIP
revisions discussed in Section III.D.2 of this notice. Ideally, SIP
submission deadlines would precede the implementation of control
strategies contained in those SIP submissions. However, given the
compressed timeframe available for states to meet the July 20, 2021,
attainment date for Serious areas, the EPA believes that, at the very
least, it is appropriate to align the deadline for RACT SIP submissions
with the deadline for implementation of any new controls contained in
that RACT SIP.
The EPA acknowledges the fact that the majority of ozone
nonattainment areas in the country were designated and classified as
Marginal for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, and so will likely not be required
to have any additional RACT in place for the 2015 standard until 2023,
and only if such areas are eventually reclassified as Moderate.\37\
Providing a slightly longer timeframe (i.e., 18 months rather than 12
months) for implementation of any additional RACT for newly
reclassified Serious areas for the 2008 standards could lead states to
determine that additional controls are reasonable, thus helping areas
attain both the 2008 and 2015 standards more expeditiously.
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\37\ See CAA section 182(b) and (c), as applied only to Moderate
areas and above. All areas in the OTR, regardless of classification
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, would be required to have any additional
RACT in place for the 2015 ozone standard by RACT implementation
deadlines interpreted from CAA section 182(b) in EPA's final ``2015
Ozone NAAQS SIP Requirements Rule,'' which is forthcoming.
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The Moderate areas subject to reclassification by this proposed
action should have already implemented RACT for sources emitting 100
tpy or more of VOC or NOX. Therefore, at this stage, states
should be primarily focused on adopting and implementing new RACT
measures required to control sources emitting 50 to 100 tpy of VOC or
NOX. The EPA believes 18 months will provide adequate time
to implement any new controls determined to be RACT for this group of
sources. However, as noted above, areas originally classified as
Moderate and higher for the 2008 ozone NAAQS had just under five years
to implement ozone RACT requirements (by January 1 of the fifth year
after effective date of designation, i.e., January 1, 2017). By
contrast, areas reclassified from Marginal to Moderate for the 2008
ozone NAAQS in 2016 became subject to the RACT requirement less than
seven months (and in one case significantly less than seven months)
before the RACT implementation deadline.\38\ \39\ In some areas, states
may have been able to adopt additional RACT controls had
[[Page 56790]]
there been additional time to implement them. The EPA, therefore, seeks
comment on whether an extended RACT implementation deadline--beyond
August 3, 2020, but no later than January 1 of the fifth year after
effective date of reclassification to Serious (i.e., January 1, 2024)--
would yield additional and substantial emission reductions in newly-
reclassified Serious areas (beyond what could be achieved by the due
date of August 3, 2020, proposed in this notice) to justify an extended
compliance due date for RACT not otherwise needed in an area for timely
attainment by the July 20, 2021, attainment date for Serious areas.
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\38\ See 81 FR 26697; May 4, 2016.
\39\ See 81 FR 90207, December 14, 2016, Houston-Galveston-
Brazoria, Texas, reclassification to Moderate for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS.
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In summary, the EPA is propsing (and soliciting comments) on an
August 3, 2020, deadline for implementing RACT in newly reclassified
Serious nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The EPA is also
taking comment on an extended deadline up to January 1, 2024, for
implementing RACT in newly reclassified Serious nontainment areas for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
IV. Environmental Justice Considerations
The EPA believes that this proposed action will not have
disproportionately high or adverse human health or environmental
effects on minority, low-income, or indigenous populations.
The purpose of this rule is to make the determination whether
certain areas attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the attainment date,
which is required by the CAA for purposes of implementing the 2008
ozone NAAQS. As such, this action does not directly affect the level of
protection provided for human health or the environment. Moreover, it
is intended that the actions and deadlines resulting from this notice
will lead to greater protection for United States citizens, including
minority, low-income, or indigenous populations, by ensuring that
states meet their statutory obligation to develop and submit SIPs to
ensure that areas make progress toward attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant regulatory action and was
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review.
B. Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulations and Controlling
Regulatory Costs
This action is not expected to be an Executive Order 13771
regulatory action because this action is not significant under
Executive Order 12866.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This rule does not impose any new information collection burden
under the PRA not already approved by the Office of Management and
Budget. This action proposes to: (1) Find that certain Moderate ozone
nonattainment areas listed in Table 1 failed to attain the 2008 NAAQS
by the applicable attainment date; (2) identify those areas subject to
reclassification as Serious ozone nonattainment areas by operation of
law upon the effective date of the reclassification notice; and (3)
adjust any applicable implementation deadlines. Thus, the proposed
action does not establish any new information collection burden that
has not already been identified and approved in the EPA's information
collection request.\40\
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\40\ On April 30, 2018, the OMB approved EPA's request for
renewal of the previously approved information collection request
(ICR). The renewed request expires on April 30, 2021, 3 years after
the approval date (see OMB Control Number 2060-0695 and ICR
Reference Number 201801-2060-003 for EPA ICR No. 2347.03).
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D. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This
action will not impose any requirements on small entities. The proposed
determinations of attainment and failure to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS
(and resulting reclassifications), and the proposed determination to
grant 1-year attainment date extensions do not in and of themselves
create any new requirements beyond what is mandated by the CAA.
Instead, this rulemaking only makes factual determinations, and does
not directly regulate any entities.
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain any unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or uniquely affect
small governments. This action imposes no enforceable duty on any
state, local or tribal governments or the private sector.
F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the states, tribes, or the relationship
between the national government and the states and tribes, or on the
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of
government.
G. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments
This action has tribal implications. However, it will neither
impose substantial direct compliance costs on federally recognized
tribal governments, nor preempt tribal law. The EPA has identified a
few tribal areas implicated in the 11 areas covered by the EPA's action
proposing determinations of attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The
EPA intends to communicate with potentially affected tribes located
within the boundaries of the nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS as the agency moves forward in developing a final rule.
H. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in
section 2-202 of the Executive Order. This action is not subject to
Executive Order 13045 because it does not concern an environmental
health risk or safety risk.
I. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it is
not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.
J. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This rulemaking does not involve technical standards.
K. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
The EPA believes the human health or environmental risk addressed
by this action will not have potential disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects on minority, low-income,
or indigenous populations. The results of this evaluation are contained
in the section of the preamble titled ``Environmental Justice
Considerations.''
[[Page 56791]]
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Designations and classifications, Incorporation
by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements and Volatile organic
compounds.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Designations and classifications,
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, and Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: November 7, 2018.
William L. Wehrum,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-24816 Filed 11-13-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
