Air Plan Approval; AK; Eagle River Second 10-Year PM10, 49278-49283 [2021-18844]
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[FR Doc. 2021–18567 Filed 9–1–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410–30–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R10–OAR–2020–0648; FRL–8787–01–
R10]
Air Plan Approval; AK; Eagle River
Second 10-Year PM10 Limited
Maintenance Plan
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
the Eagle River, Alaska (AK) limited
maintenance plan (LMP) submitted on
November 10, 2020, by the Alaska
Department of Environmental
Conservation (ADEC or ‘‘the State’’).
This plan addresses the second 10-year
maintenance period after redesignation
for particulate matter with an
aerodynamic diameter less than or equal
to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM10). An
LMP is used to meet Clean Air Act
(CAA) requirements for formerly
designated nonattainment areas that
meet certain qualification criteria. The
EPA is proposing to determine that
Alaska’s submittal meets the CAA
requirements. The plan relies upon
control measures contained in the first
10-year maintenance plan and the
determination that the Eagle River area
currently monitors PM10 levels well
below the PM10 National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS or ‘‘the
standard’’).
SUMMARY:
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Comments must be received on
or before October 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10–
OAR–2020–0648, 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christi Duboiski, EPA Region 10, 1200
Sixth Avenue—Suite 155, Seattle, WA
98101, at (360) 753–9081, or
duboiski.christi@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, wherever
‘‘we’’, ‘‘us’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, it means
the EPA.
DATES:
Table of Contents
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I. Background
II. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
PM10 Areas
A. Requirements for the Limited
Maintenance Plan Option
B. Conformity Under the Limited
Maintenance Plan Option
III. Review of the State’s Submittal
A. Qualifying for the Limited Maintenance
Plan Option
B. Attainment Inventory
C. Air Quality Monitoring Network
D. Verification of Continued Attainment
E. Contingency Provisions
IV. Proposed Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On August 7, 1987, the EPA
designated the Community of Eagle
River (Eagle River) as a PM10
nonattainment area (NAA) due to
measured violations of the 24-hour PM10
NAAQS (52 FR 29383). The notice
announcing the designation upon
enactment of the 1990 CAA
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Amendments was published on March
15, 1991 (56 FR 11101). On November
6, 1991, the Eagle River NAA was
subsequently classified as moderate
under sections 107(d)(4)(B) and 188(a)
of the CAA (56 FR 56694). After Eagle
River was designated nonattainment for
PM10, ADEC and the Municipality of
Anchorage (MOA) worked with Eagle
River to develop a plan to bring the area
into attainment no later than December
31, 1994. The State submitted the plan
to the EPA on October 15, 1991, as a
moderate PM10 State Implementation
Plan (SIP) under section 189(a) of the
CAA. The primary control measure that
the plan relied on was a comprehensive
road paving program throughout the
Eagle River NAA. The EPA took final
action to approve the State’s moderate
PM10 SIP on August 13, 1993 (58 FR
43084).
On September 29, 2010, the State
requested that the EPA redesignate the
Eagle River NAA to attainment for PM10
and submitted the Eagle River first 10year PM10 LMP to the EPA for approval.
On October 19, 2010, the EPA
determined that the Eagle River NAA
had attained the PM10 NAAQS by the
applicable attainment date of December
31, 1994 (75 FR 64162). On January 7,
2013, the EPA took direct final action to
approve the first 10-year LMP submitted
by the State for the Eagle River NAA
and concurrently redesignated the area
to attainment for the PM10 NAAQS (78
FR 900).
II. Limited Maintenance Plan Option
for PM10 Areas
A. Requirements for the Limited
Maintenance Plan Option
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth
the elements of a maintenance plan.
Under section 175A, a state must submit
a plan to demonstrate continued
attainment of the applicable NAAQS for
at least 10 years after an area is
redesignated to attainment. Eight years
into the first maintenance period, the
state must submit a second maintenance
plan demonstrating that the area will
continue to attain for the following 10year period. On September 4, 1992, the
EPA issued guidance on the content of
a maintenance plan (Memorandum from
John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, entitled
‘‘Procedures for Processing Requests to
Redesignate Areas to Attainment,’’
(Calcagni Memo)).1 The Calcagni Memo
1 The Memorandum from the EPA’s Air Quality
Management Division Director to EPA Regional Air
Directors entitled ‘‘Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,’’
dated September 4, 1992 (Calcagni Memo) can be
found at https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/
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49279
states that a maintenance plan should
include the following provisions: (1) An
attainment emissions inventory; (2) a
maintenance demonstration showing
maintenance for 10 years; (3) a
commitment to maintain the existing
monitoring network; (4) verification of
continued attainment; and (5) a
contingency plan to prevent or correct
future violations of the NAAQS.
On August 9, 2001, the EPA issued
guidance on streamlined maintenance
plan provisions for certain moderate
PM10 nonattainment areas (see Memo
from Lydia Wegman, Director, Air
Quality Standards and Strategies
Division, entitled ‘‘Limited Maintenance
Plan Option for Moderate PM10
Nonattainment Areas’’ (LMP Option
Memo).2 The LMP Option memo
contains a statistical demonstration
states can use to show that areas are
meeting certain air quality criteria with
a high degree of probability, and
therefore will maintain the standard 10
years into the future. By providing this
statistical demonstration, the EPA can
consider the maintenance
demonstration requirement of the CAA
to be satisfied for the moderate PM10
nonattainment area meeting this air
quality criteria. If the tests described in
section IV of the LMP Option memo are
met, the EPA will treat that as a
demonstration that the area will
maintain the NAAQS. Consequently, it
follows that future year emission
inventories for these areas, and some of
the standard analyses to determine
transportation conformity with the SIP,
are no longer necessary.
To qualify for the LMP option, a State
must demonstrate that the area meets
the following criteria. First, the area
should have attained the PM10 NAAQS.
Second, the most recent five years of air
quality data at all monitors in the area,
called the 24-hour average design value,
should be at or below 98 micrograms
per cubic meter (mg/m3). Third, the State
should expect only limited growth in
on-road motor vehicle PM10 emissions
and should have passed a motor vehicle
regional emissions analysis test. Lastly,
the LMP Option Memo identifies core
provisions that must be included in all
limited maintenance plans. These
provisions include an attainment year
emissions inventory, assurance of
continued operation of an EPAaqmguide/collection/cp2/19920904_calcagni_
process_redesignation_guidance.pdf.
2 The ‘‘Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas’’ Memo
outlines the criteria for development of a PM10
limited maintenance plan and can be found at
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/201606/documents/2001lmp-pm10.pdf.
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approved air quality monitoring
network, and contingency provisions.
B. Conformity Under the Limited
Maintenance Plan Option
The transportation conformity rule
and the general conformity rule (set
forth in the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) at 40 CFR parts 51 and 93) apply
to nonattainment areas and maintenance
areas covered by an approved
maintenance plan. Under either
conformity rule, an acceptable method
of demonstrating that a Federal action
conforms to the applicable SIP is to
demonstrate that expected emissions
from the planned action are consistent
with the emissions budget for the area.
While the EPA’s LMP option does not
exempt an area from the need to affirm
conformity, it explains that the area may
demonstrate conformity without
conforming to an emissions budget.
Under the LMP option, emissions
budgets are treated as essentially not
constraining for the length of the
maintenance period because it is
unreasonable to expect that the
qualifying areas would experience so
much growth in that period that a
violation of the PM10 NAAQS would
result. For transportation conformity
purposes, the EPA would conclude that
emissions in these areas need not be
capped for the maintenance period and
therefore a regional emissions analysis
would not be required. Similarly,
Federal actions subject to the general
conformity rule could be considered to
satisfy the ‘‘budget test’’ specified in 40
CFR 93.158(a)(5)(i)(A) for the same
reasons that the budgets are essentially
considered to be unlimited.
While areas with maintenance plans
approved under the LMP option are not
subject to the budget test (see 40 CFR
93.109(e)), the areas remain subject to
the other transportation conformity
requirements of 40 CFR part 93, subpart
A. Thus, the metropolitan planning
organization (MPO) in the area or the
state must document and ensure that:
a. Transportation plans and projects
provide for timely implementation of
SIP transportation control measures
(TCMs) in accordance with 40 CFR
93.113;
b. transportation plans and projects
comply with the fiscal constraint
element as set forth in 40 CFR 93.108;
c. the MPO’s interagency consultation
procedures meet the applicable
requirements of 40 CFR 93.105;
d. conformity of transportation plans
is determined no less frequently than
every four years, and conformity of plan
amendments and transportation projects
is demonstrated in accordance with the
timing requirements specified in 40 CFR
93.104;
e. the latest planning assumptions and
emissions model are used as set forth in
40 CFR 93.110 and 40 CFR 93.111;
f. projects do not cause or contribute
to any new localized carbon monoxide
or particulate matter violations, in
accordance with procedures specified in
40 CFR 93.123; and
g. project sponsors and/or operators
provide written commitments as
specified in 40 CFR 93.125.
If the EPA approves the second 10year LMP, the Eagle River maintenance
area will continue to be exempt from
performing a regional emissions
analysis but must meet project-level
conformity analyses as well as the
transportation conformity criteria
described above.
III. Review of the State’s Submittal
A. Qualifying for the Limited
Maintenance Plan Option
As discussed in Section II.A. of this
preamble, the LMP Option Memo
outlines the requirements for an area to
qualify for an LMP. First, the area
should be attaining the PM10 NAAQS.
The PM10 NAAQS is attained when the
expected number of days per calendar
year with a 24-hour average
concentration above 150 mg/m3 is equal
to or less than one (40 CFR 50.6). The
Eagle River area continues to attain the
standard for PM10 despite exceedances
of the standard for the 24-hour average
concentration in 2010, 2013 and 2019.
We have evaluated the most recent
ambient air quality data for the 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS and determined that the
Eagle River area continues to attain the
standard with the number of annual
exceedances equal to 0.4 for the period
2018 through 2020. Table 1 of this
preamble shows the 24-hour maximum
PM10 concentrations measured at the
Parkgate monitoring site from 2010–
2020, which are consistently below the
NAAQS.
TABLE 1—PARKGATE 24-HOUR MAXIMUM PM10 CONCENTRATIONS 2010–2020
24-hour
max μg/m3
Year
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2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
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...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Second, the 24-hour average design
value for the most recent five years of
monitoring data must be at or below the
critical design value of 98 mg/m3 for the
PM10 NAAQS. The critical design value
is a margin of safety in which an area
has a one in ten probability of exceeding
the NAAQS. The 5-year average design
value for Eagle River, based on PM10
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monitoring data from 2014 through
2018, is 96 mg/m3. In addition, the EPA
also calculated the 5-year average design
value for Eagle River based on PM10
monitoring data from 2016 through 2020
and found the most conservative design
value estimate to be 93.4 mg/m3, which
is below the critical design value of 98
mg/m3. The EPA’s attainment and
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207
108
81
174
111
90
110
63
62
168
56
2nd highest
24-hour
μg/m3
92
70
77
78
109
70
105
59
61
79
45
Number of
days exceeding
NAAQS
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
average design value evaluation used to
determine if the area qualifies for the
LMP option is included in the docket
for this action. The EPA reviewed the
data and methodology provided by the
State and the most recent 5-year average
design value and finds that the Eagle
River area’s 5-year average design value
is below the critical design value of 98
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mg/m3 outlined in the LMP Option
Memo. Therefore, the EPA finds that the
Eagle River area meets the design value
criteria outlined in the LMP options
memo.
Third, the area must meet the motor
vehicle regional emissions analysis test
described in the LMP Option Memo.
The State submitted an analysis
showing that growth in on-road mobile
PM10 emissions sources was minimal
and would not threaten the assumption
of maintenance that underlies the LMP
policy. Using the EPA’s methodology,
the State calculated total projected
growth in on-road motor vehicle PM10
emissions through 2033 (the end of the
20-year maintenance period) for the
Eagle River area. This calculation is
derived using Attachment B of the
EPA’s LMP Option Memo, where the
projected percentage increase in vehicle
miles traveled over the next ten years
(VMTpi) is multiplied by the on-road
mobile portion of the attainment year
inventory (DVmv), including reentrained road dust. This test is met
when (VMTpi × DVmv) plus the design
value for the most recent five years of
quality assured data is below the margin
of safety (MOS) for the relevant PM10
standard in mg/m3 for a given area. This
MOS value can be 98 mg/m3 or a sitespecific value computed from data
collected at the site of interest using
methods outlined in Attachment A of
the LMP Option Memo. The computed
site-specific MOS selected for the
Parkgate monitoring site in Eagle River
is 125.7 mg/m3 (the critical design value
for all the empirical data). See the Eagle
River LMP, Section III.D.2.5 and
associated appendix, placed in the
docket for this action, for details of this
computation. The motor vehicle
regional emissions analysis test results
of 109.6 mg/m3, when adjusted for
growth, are below the calculated sitespecific critical design value, or MOS, of
125.7 mg/m3. The EPA has reviewed the
calculations in the State’s Eagle River
LMP submittal and proposes to find that
the area meets the motor vehicle
regional emissions analysis test.
As described above, the Eagle River
PM10 maintenance area meets the
qualification criteria set forth in the
LMP Option Memo and accordingly
qualifies for the LMP option. To ensure
these requirements continue to be met,
the State commits to evaluate
monitoring data annually to ensure the
area continues to qualify for the LMP
option. However, if after performing the
annual recalculation of the area’s
average design value in a given year, the
State determines that the area no longer
qualifies for the LMP, the State will take
action to attempt to reduce PM10
concentrations enough for the area to
requalify for the LMP. One possible
approach the State may take is to
implement a contingency measure
found in its SIP. See Section III.D.2.10
of the State’s submittal, placed in the
docket for this action, for a description
of the contingency measures. If the
attempt to reduce PM10 concentrations
fails, or if it succeeds but in future years
it becomes necessary again to address
increasing PM10 concentrations in the
area, the area will no longer qualify for
the LMP option.
B. Attainment Inventory
Pursuant to the LMP Option Memo,
the State’s submission should include
an emissions inventory, which can be
used to demonstrate attainment of the
relevant NAAQS. The inventory should
represent emissions during the same
five-year period associated with air
quality data used to determine whether
the area meets the applicability
requirements of the LMP option. The
State should review its inventory every
three years to ensure emissions growth
is incorporated in the inventory if
necessary.
Alaska’s Eagle River PM10 LMP
includes an emissions inventory, with a
base year of 2017. In the past, the
49281
highest PM10 concentrations have
typically occurred during spring breakup and fall freeze-up. For this reason,
the emissions inventories reflect
conditions and activity levels (e.g.,
amount of silt loading on roads and
residential wood heating rates) that
commonly occur during these two times
of the year. The same assumptions and
methods used to develop the first 10year LMP were used to develop the 2017
base year PM10 emissions inventory for
the second 10-year LMP and are
described in detail in the Appendix to
III.D.2.6 of the Eagle River LMP
submittal in the docket for this action.
The 2017 base year represents the most
recent emissions inventory data
available, is representative of the level
of emissions during a period of time
used to calculate the area is attaining
the NAAQS, and is consistent with the
data used to determine applicability of
the LMP option (i.e., having no
violations of the NAAQS during the
five-year period used to calculate the
design value).
Unlike the first 10-year LMP, where
five sources of PM10 emissions were
identified and inventoried, the second
10-year LMP inventoried six sources as
shown in Table 2 of this preamble. The
first 10-year LMP assumed emissions
from non-road equipment were zero,
however, the second 10-year LMP
calculated these emissions to be less
than 1% of the 2017 emissions
inventory. The most significant of the
PM10 emission sources for the Eagle
River area are still paved road dust,
windblown dust, and residential wood
combustion. Like the emission
inventory prepared for the first 10-year
LMP, unpaved roads emissions are not
included in the inventory for the second
10-year LMP. This is because since
2007, all the unpaved roads in Eagle
River have been paved with either hot
asphalt paving or surfaced with recycled
asphalt product.
TABLE 2—2017 EMISSIONS INVENTORY IN TONS/DAY AND % OF TOTAL EMISSIONS
Spring break-up
(March, April)
(tons/day)
(percent)
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Source category
Paved Roads ...........................................................................................................................
Wind-blown Dust from Paved Roads, Parking Lots and Un-Vegetated Areas .......................
Fireplaces and Wood Stoves ..................................................................................................
Natural Gas Combustion .........................................................................................................
Exhaust, Tire and Brake Wear Emissions ..............................................................................
from Motor Vehicles .................................................................................................................
Non-Road Equipment Emissions .............................................................................................
0.026 (0.39)
0.0135 (0.20)
0.027 (1.23)
0.0132 (0.60)
Total ..................................................................................................................................
6.58 (100)
2.18 (100)
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3.71
2.48
0.35
0.009
(56.3)
(37.6)
(5.31)
(0.13)
Fall freeze-up
(October, November)
(tons/day)
(percent)
02SEP1
1.06
0.73
0.35
0.009
(48.6)
(33.4)
(16.0)
(0.41)
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In accordance with the LMP Option
Memo, all controls relied on to
demonstrate attainment and continued
maintenance will remain in place (e.g.,
the required paved road improvements
for non-rural, residential properties in
the Municipality of Anchorage).3 Efforts
by the Municipality of Anchorage
(MOA) to pave all streets except those
in low density residential areas was the
primary PM10 mitigation program in
Eagle River that lead to significant
reduction in PM10 emissions. By 2007
all 22 miles of local gravel roads were
paved with either traditional hot asphalt
paving or surfaced with recycled asphalt
product (RAP). The MOA is committed
to continued maintenance of these
roads, and the MOA and the Alaska
Department of Transportation and
Public Facilities are committed to
maintaining sand specifications that
allow no more than 2% fines or silt
allowed in winter traction sand. ADEC
asserts that no additional control
measures are necessary to maintain the
NAAQS.
The submittal meets the EPA
guidance for purposes of an attainment
emissions inventory, and the emissions
inventory data supports the State’s
conclusions that the existing control
measures will continue to protect and
maintain the PM10 NAAQS.
C. Air Quality Monitoring Network
Once an area is redesignated, the state
must continue to operate an appropriate
air monitoring network in accordance
with 40 CFR part 58 to verify the
attainment status of the area. From 1985
until present, Alaska has operated a
PM10 monitor at the Parkgate Business
Center (Parkgate monitor) in the Eagle
River NAA. The Parkgate monitor was
sited and maintained in accordance
with Federal siting and design criteria
in 40 CFR part 58, and in consultation
with the EPA Region 10. On June 26,
2020, ADEC submitted the 2020 Annual
Monitoring Network Plan that the EPA
approved on January 25, 2021. ADEC’s
network plan and the EPA’s approval
letter are included in the docket for this
action.
The State commits to continued
operation of at least one EPA-approved
PM10 monitoring site in the Eagle River
maintenance area through the end of the
maintenance planning period, 2033, and
will continue to operate the monitor
3 The control measures are fully implemented and
continue to apply after the SIP commitment was
fulfilled. The Anchorage Municipal Code (AMC)
Title 21 was reorganized and recodified, State
effective January 1, 2014. The AMC Title 21section
that requires paved road improvements for nonrural, residential properties in the MOA can be
found in Section 21.08.050.
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16:43 Sep 01, 2021
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consistent with the EPA-approved
ADEC annual network plan in order to
meet the EPA requirements at 40 CFR
part 58.
D. Verification of Continued Attainment
The level of the PM10 NAAQS is 150
mg/m3, 24-hour average concentration.
The NAAQS is attained when the
expected number of days per calendar
year with a 24-hour average
concentration above 150 mg/m3 is equal
to or less than one (40 CFR 50.6). As
stated in Section III.D. of this preamble,
ADEC commits to continue to operate a
regulatory monitoring network in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58. In
addition, ADEC commits to verifying
continued attainment of the PM10
standard through the maintenance plan
period with the operation of an
appropriate PM10 monitoring network.
In developing the second 10-year
maintenance plan, ADEC evaluated the
most recent three years of complete,
quality-assured data for the Eagle River
NAA (2017 through 2019) to verify
continued attainment of the standard.
E. Contingency Provisions
The CAA section 175A states that a
maintenance plan must include
contingency provisions, as necessary, to
ensure prompt correction of any
violation of the NAAQS, which may
occur after redesignation of the area to
attainment. As explained in the LMP
Option Memo and the Calcagni Memo,
these contingency provisions are an
enforceable part of the federally
approved SIP. The maintenance plan
should clearly identify the events that
would ‘‘trigger’’ the adoption and
implementation of a contingency
provision, the contingency provision(s)
that would be adopted and
implemented, and the schedule
indicating the time frame by which the
State would adopt and implement the
provision(s). The LMP Option Memo
and the Calcagni Memo state that the
EPA will determine the adequacy of a
contingency plan on a case-by-case
basis. At a minimum, it must require
that the state implement all measures
contained in the CAA part D
nonattainment plan for the area prior to
redesignation.
In the Eagle River PM10 LMP, ADEC
included maintenance plan contingency
provisions to ensure the area continues
to meet the PM10 NAAQS. The Eagle
River LMP describes a process and a
timeline to identify, evaluate and select
the appropriate contingency measure(s)
from a list of measures in the event of
a quality assured violation of the PM10
NAAQS. The contingency measures that
may be implemented to reduce
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
emissions are listed in Section III.D.2.10
of the Eagle River LMP in the docket for
this action. Within 30 days following a
violation of the PM10 NAAQS, the MOA
will convene an assessment team to
evaluate the events contributing to the
violation and identify control
measure(s) that appropriately address
the source(s) and circumstances causing
the violation. Within 120 days of the
violation, the assessment team will
prepare a report that identifies the cause
or causes of the violation and
recommend appropriate measures for
mitigating future violations. The report
will be presented to the Anchorage
Metropolitan Area Transportation
Solutions Policy Committee for review
and adoption and will then be
forwarded to ADEC for approval.
The EPA proposes to determine that
the contingency provisions submitted in
the Eagle River PM10 LMP are adequate
to meet CAA section 175A requirements
and the contingency provisions as
outlined in the LMP Option Memo.
IV. Proposed Action
The EPA is proposing to approve the
second 10-year PM10 limited
maintenance plan for Eagle River
submitted by the State of Alaska.4 The
EPA’s review of the air quality data for
the Eagle River area indicates that the
area continues to show attainment of the
PM10 NAAQS and meets all the LMP
requirements as described in this action.
If finalized, the EPA’s approval of this
LMP will satisfy the section 175A CAA
requirements for the second 10-year
period for the Eagle River PM10 area.
VI. 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, the
EPA’s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the CAA. Accordingly, this proposed
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 proposed action:
• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
4 We intend to address the remainder of the
November 10, 2020 State of Alaska SIP submission
(the Juneau, Mendenhall Valley Second 10-year
PM10 LMP, the 2019 Emission Limit Control
Measures, and the 2019 Adoption by Reference
Updates and Standard Permit Conditions) in
separate EPA actions.
E:\FR\FM\02SEP1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 168 / Thursday, September 2, 2021 / Proposed Rules
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
• Does not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
it does not involve technical standards;
and
• Does not provide the EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
The SIP is not approved to apply on
any Indian reservation land or in any
other area where the EPA or an Indian
tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has
jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the proposed 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).
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: August 25, 2021.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2021–18844 Filed 9–1–21; 8:45 am]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 282
[EPA–R07–UST–2021–0345; FRL–8775–01–
R7]
Kansas: Final Approval of State
Underground Storage Tank Program
Revisions, Codification, and
Incorporation by Reference
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA
or Act), the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
revisions to the State of Kansas’s
Underground Storage Tank (UST)
program submitted by the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment
(KDHE). This action is based on the
EPA’s determination that these revisions
satisfy all requirements needed for
program approval. This action also
proposes to codify EPA’s approval of
Kansas’s State program and incorporate
by reference those provisions of the
State regulations that we have
determined meet the requirements for
approval. The provisions will be subject
to EPA’s inspection and enforcement
authorities under sections 9005 and
9006 of RCRA Subtitle I and other
applicable statutory and regulatory
provisions.
SUMMARY:
Comments on this proposed rule
must be received on or before October
4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments,
identified by EPA–R07–UST–2021–
0345, by one of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
2. Email: mance.cassandra@epa.gov.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R07–UST–2021–
0345. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
available online at https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through https://
www.regulations.gov, or email. The
Federal https://www.regulations.gov
website is an ‘‘anonymous access’’
DATES:
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49283
system, which means the EPA will not
know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the
body of your comment. If you send an
email comment directly to the EPA
without going through https://
www.regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA
recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in
the body of your comment and also with
any disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties, and cannot
contact you for clarification, EPA may
not be able to consider your comment.
Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. EPA encourages electronic
submittals, but if you are unable to
submit electronically, please reach out
to the EPA contact person listed in the
document for assistance. You can view
and copy the documents that form the
basis for this codification and associated
publicly available materials either
through www.regulations.gov or by
contacting Cassandra Mance at (913)
551–7355 or mance.cassandra@epa.gov.
Out of an abundance of caution for
members of the public and our staff, the
EPA Region 7 office will be closed to the
public to reduce the risk of transmitting
COVID–19. Please call or email the
contact listed above if you need access
to material indexed but not provided in
the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cassandra Mance, Tanks, Toxics, and
Pesticides Branch, Land, Chemical, and
Redevelopment Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 7, 11201 Renner Boulevard,
Lenexa, Kansas 66219; (913) 551–7355;
mance.cassandra@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has
explained the reasons for this action in
the preamble to the direct final rule. For
additional information, see the direct
final rule published in the ‘‘Rules and
Regulations’’ section of this Federal
Register.
Authority: This proposed rule is issued
under the authority of sections 2002(a),
7004(b), and 9004 of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6912,
6991c, 6991d, and 6991e.
Dated: August 24, 2021.
Edward H. Chu,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
7.
[FR Doc. 2021–18913 Filed 9–1–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 168 (Thursday, September 2, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49278-49283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18844]
=======================================================================
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R10-OAR-2020-0648; FRL-8787-01-R10]
Air Plan Approval; AK; Eagle River Second 10-Year PM10 Limited
Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve the Eagle River, Alaska (AK) limited maintenance plan (LMP)
submitted on November 10, 2020, by the Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation (ADEC or ``the State''). This plan addresses
the second 10-year maintenance period after redesignation for
particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a
nominal 10 micrometers (PM10). An LMP is used to meet Clean
Air Act (CAA) requirements for formerly designated nonattainment areas
that meet certain qualification criteria. The EPA is proposing to
determine that Alaska's submittal meets the CAA requirements. The plan
relies upon control measures contained in the first 10-year maintenance
plan and the determination that the Eagle River area currently monitors
PM10 levels well below the PM10 National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or ``the standard'').
[[Page 49279]]
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2020-0648, 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christi Duboiski, EPA Region 10, 1200
Sixth Avenue--Suite 155, Seattle, WA 98101, at (360) 753-9081, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'',
``us'' or ``our'' is used, it means the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for PM10 Areas
A. Requirements for the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
B. Conformity Under the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
III. Review of the State's Submittal
A. Qualifying for the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
B. Attainment Inventory
C. Air Quality Monitoring Network
D. Verification of Continued Attainment
E. Contingency Provisions
IV. Proposed Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On August 7, 1987, the EPA designated the Community of Eagle River
(Eagle River) as a PM10 nonattainment area (NAA) due to
measured violations of the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS (52 FR 29383).
The notice announcing the designation upon enactment of the 1990 CAA
Amendments was published on March 15, 1991 (56 FR 11101). On November
6, 1991, the Eagle River NAA was subsequently classified as moderate
under sections 107(d)(4)(B) and 188(a) of the CAA (56 FR 56694). After
Eagle River was designated nonattainment for PM10, ADEC and
the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) worked with Eagle River to develop
a plan to bring the area into attainment no later than December 31,
1994. The State submitted the plan to the EPA on October 15, 1991, as a
moderate PM10 State Implementation Plan (SIP) under section
189(a) of the CAA. The primary control measure that the plan relied on
was a comprehensive road paving program throughout the Eagle River NAA.
The EPA took final action to approve the State's moderate
PM10 SIP on August 13, 1993 (58 FR 43084).
On September 29, 2010, the State requested that the EPA redesignate
the Eagle River NAA to attainment for PM10 and submitted the
Eagle River first 10-year PM10 LMP to the EPA for approval.
On October 19, 2010, the EPA determined that the Eagle River NAA had
attained the PM10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of
December 31, 1994 (75 FR 64162). On January 7, 2013, the EPA took
direct final action to approve the first 10-year LMP submitted by the
State for the Eagle River NAA and concurrently redesignated the area to
attainment for the PM10 NAAQS (78 FR 900).
II. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for PM10 Areas
A. Requirements for the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance
plan. Under section 175A, a state must submit a plan to demonstrate
continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS for at least 10 years
after an area is redesignated to attainment. Eight years into the first
maintenance period, the state must submit a second maintenance plan
demonstrating that the area will continue to attain for the following
10-year period. On September 4, 1992, the EPA issued guidance on the
content of a maintenance plan (Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director,
Air Quality Management Division, entitled ``Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' (Calcagni Memo)).\1\ The
Calcagni Memo states that a maintenance plan should include the
following provisions: (1) An attainment emissions inventory; (2) a
maintenance demonstration showing maintenance for 10 years; (3) a
commitment to maintain the existing monitoring network; (4)
verification of continued attainment; and (5) a contingency plan to
prevent or correct future violations of the NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Memorandum from the EPA's Air Quality Management
Division Director to EPA Regional Air Directors entitled
``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' dated September 4, 1992 (Calcagni Memo) can be found
at https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/aqmguide/collection/cp2/19920904_calcagni_process_redesignation_guidance.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On August 9, 2001, the EPA issued guidance on streamlined
maintenance plan provisions for certain moderate PM10
nonattainment areas (see Memo from Lydia Wegman, Director, Air Quality
Standards and Strategies Division, entitled ``Limited Maintenance Plan
Option for Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas'' (LMP Option
Memo).\2\ The LMP Option memo contains a statistical demonstration
states can use to show that areas are meeting certain air quality
criteria with a high degree of probability, and therefore will maintain
the standard 10 years into the future. By providing this statistical
demonstration, the EPA can consider the maintenance demonstration
requirement of the CAA to be satisfied for the moderate PM10
nonattainment area meeting this air quality criteria. If the tests
described in section IV of the LMP Option memo are met, the EPA will
treat that as a demonstration that the area will maintain the NAAQS.
Consequently, it follows that future year emission inventories for
these areas, and some of the standard analyses to determine
transportation conformity with the SIP, are no longer necessary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate
PM10 Nonattainment Areas'' Memo outlines the criteria for
development of a PM10 limited maintenance plan and can be
found at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/2001lmp-pm10.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To qualify for the LMP option, a State must demonstrate that the
area meets the following criteria. First, the area should have attained
the PM10 NAAQS. Second, the most recent five years of air
quality data at all monitors in the area, called the 24-hour average
design value, should be at or below 98 micrograms per cubic meter
([micro]g/m\3\). Third, the State should expect only limited growth in
on-road motor vehicle PM10 emissions and should have passed
a motor vehicle regional emissions analysis test. Lastly, the LMP
Option Memo identifies core provisions that must be included in all
limited maintenance plans. These provisions include an attainment year
emissions inventory, assurance of continued operation of an EPA-
[[Page 49280]]
approved air quality monitoring network, and contingency provisions.
B. Conformity Under the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
The transportation conformity rule and the general conformity rule
(set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR parts 51
and 93) apply to nonattainment areas and maintenance areas covered by
an approved maintenance plan. Under either conformity rule, an
acceptable method of demonstrating that a Federal action conforms to
the applicable SIP is to demonstrate that expected emissions from the
planned action are consistent with the emissions budget for the area.
While the EPA's LMP option does not exempt an area from the need to
affirm conformity, it explains that the area may demonstrate conformity
without conforming to an emissions budget. Under the LMP option,
emissions budgets are treated as essentially not constraining for the
length of the maintenance period because it is unreasonable to expect
that the qualifying areas would experience so much growth in that
period that a violation of the PM10 NAAQS would result. For
transportation conformity purposes, the EPA would conclude that
emissions in these areas need not be capped for the maintenance period
and therefore a regional emissions analysis would not be required.
Similarly, Federal actions subject to the general conformity rule could
be considered to satisfy the ``budget test'' specified in 40 CFR
93.158(a)(5)(i)(A) for the same reasons that the budgets are
essentially considered to be unlimited.
While areas with maintenance plans approved under the LMP option
are not subject to the budget test (see 40 CFR 93.109(e)), the areas
remain subject to the other transportation conformity requirements of
40 CFR part 93, subpart A. Thus, the metropolitan planning organization
(MPO) in the area or the state must document and ensure that:
a. Transportation plans and projects provide for timely
implementation of SIP transportation control measures (TCMs) in
accordance with 40 CFR 93.113;
b. transportation plans and projects comply with the fiscal
constraint element as set forth in 40 CFR 93.108;
c. the MPO's interagency consultation procedures meet the
applicable requirements of 40 CFR 93.105;
d. conformity of transportation plans is determined no less
frequently than every four years, and conformity of plan amendments and
transportation projects is demonstrated in accordance with the timing
requirements specified in 40 CFR 93.104;
e. the latest planning assumptions and emissions model are used as
set forth in 40 CFR 93.110 and 40 CFR 93.111;
f. projects do not cause or contribute to any new localized carbon
monoxide or particulate matter violations, in accordance with
procedures specified in 40 CFR 93.123; and
g. project sponsors and/or operators provide written commitments as
specified in 40 CFR 93.125.
If the EPA approves the second 10-year LMP, the Eagle River
maintenance area will continue to be exempt from performing a regional
emissions analysis but must meet project-level conformity analyses as
well as the transportation conformity criteria described above.
III. Review of the State's Submittal
A. Qualifying for the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
As discussed in Section II.A. of this preamble, the LMP Option Memo
outlines the requirements for an area to qualify for an LMP. First, the
area should be attaining the PM10 NAAQS. The PM10
NAAQS is attained when the expected number of days per calendar year
with a 24-hour average concentration above 150 [micro]g/m\3\ is equal
to or less than one (40 CFR 50.6). The Eagle River area continues to
attain the standard for PM10 despite exceedances of the
standard for the 24-hour average concentration in 2010, 2013 and 2019.
We have evaluated the most recent ambient air quality data for the 24-
hour PM10 NAAQS and determined that the Eagle River area
continues to attain the standard with the number of annual exceedances
equal to 0.4 for the period 2018 through 2020. Table 1 of this preamble
shows the 24-hour maximum PM10 concentrations measured at
the Parkgate monitoring site from 2010-2020, which are consistently
below the NAAQS.
Table 1--Parkgate 24-Hour Maximum PM Concentrations 2010-2020
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd highest 24-
Year 24-hour max hour [micro]g/ Number of days
[micro]g/m\3\ m\3\ exceeding NAAQS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010........................................................... 207 92 1
2011........................................................... 108 70 0
2012........................................................... 81 77 0
2013........................................................... 174 78 1
2014........................................................... 111 109 0
2015........................................................... 90 70 0
2016........................................................... 110 105 0
2017........................................................... 63 59 0
2018........................................................... 62 61 0
2019........................................................... 168 79 1
2020........................................................... 56 45 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second, the 24-hour average design value for the most recent five
years of monitoring data must be at or below the critical design value
of 98 [micro]g/m\3\ for the PM10 NAAQS. The critical design
value is a margin of safety in which an area has a one in ten
probability of exceeding the NAAQS. The 5-year average design value for
Eagle River, based on PM10 monitoring data from 2014 through
2018, is 96 [micro]g/m\3\. In addition, the EPA also calculated the 5-
year average design value for Eagle River based on PM10
monitoring data from 2016 through 2020 and found the most conservative
design value estimate to be 93.4 [mu]g/m\3\, which is below the
critical design value of 98 [micro]g/m\3\. The EPA's attainment and
average design value evaluation used to determine if the area qualifies
for the LMP option is included in the docket for this action. The EPA
reviewed the data and methodology provided by the State and the most
recent 5-year average design value and finds that the Eagle River
area's 5-year average design value is below the critical design value
of 98
[[Page 49281]]
[micro]g/m\3\ outlined in the LMP Option Memo. Therefore, the EPA finds
that the Eagle River area meets the design value criteria outlined in
the LMP options memo.
Third, the area must meet the motor vehicle regional emissions
analysis test described in the LMP Option Memo. The State submitted an
analysis showing that growth in on-road mobile PM10
emissions sources was minimal and would not threaten the assumption of
maintenance that underlies the LMP policy. Using the EPA's methodology,
the State calculated total projected growth in on-road motor vehicle
PM10 emissions through 2033 (the end of the 20-year
maintenance period) for the Eagle River area. This calculation is
derived using Attachment B of the EPA's LMP Option Memo, where the
projected percentage increase in vehicle miles traveled over the next
ten years (VMTpi) is multiplied by the on-road mobile
portion of the attainment year inventory (DVmv), including
re-entrained road dust. This test is met when (VMTpi x
DVmv) plus the design value for the most recent five years
of quality assured data is below the margin of safety (MOS) for the
relevant PM10 standard in [micro]g/m\3\ for a given area.
This MOS value can be 98 [micro]g/m\3\ or a site-specific value
computed from data collected at the site of interest using methods
outlined in Attachment A of the LMP Option Memo. The computed site-
specific MOS selected for the Parkgate monitoring site in Eagle River
is 125.7 [micro]g/m\3\ (the critical design value for all the empirical
data). See the Eagle River LMP, Section III.D.2.5 and associated
appendix, placed in the docket for this action, for details of this
computation. The motor vehicle regional emissions analysis test results
of 109.6 [micro]g/m\3\, when adjusted for growth, are below the
calculated site-specific critical design value, or MOS, of 125.7
[micro]g/m\3\. The EPA has reviewed the calculations in the State's
Eagle River LMP submittal and proposes to find that the area meets the
motor vehicle regional emissions analysis test.
As described above, the Eagle River PM10 maintenance
area meets the qualification criteria set forth in the LMP Option Memo
and accordingly qualifies for the LMP option. To ensure these
requirements continue to be met, the State commits to evaluate
monitoring data annually to ensure the area continues to qualify for
the LMP option. However, if after performing the annual recalculation
of the area's average design value in a given year, the State
determines that the area no longer qualifies for the LMP, the State
will take action to attempt to reduce PM10 concentrations
enough for the area to requalify for the LMP. One possible approach the
State may take is to implement a contingency measure found in its SIP.
See Section III.D.2.10 of the State's submittal, placed in the docket
for this action, for a description of the contingency measures. If the
attempt to reduce PM10 concentrations fails, or if it
succeeds but in future years it becomes necessary again to address
increasing PM10 concentrations in the area, the area will no
longer qualify for the LMP option.
B. Attainment Inventory
Pursuant to the LMP Option Memo, the State's submission should
include an emissions inventory, which can be used to demonstrate
attainment of the relevant NAAQS. The inventory should represent
emissions during the same five-year period associated with air quality
data used to determine whether the area meets the applicability
requirements of the LMP option. The State should review its inventory
every three years to ensure emissions growth is incorporated in the
inventory if necessary.
Alaska's Eagle River PM10 LMP includes an emissions
inventory, with a base year of 2017. In the past, the highest
PM10 concentrations have typically occurred during spring
break-up and fall freeze-up. For this reason, the emissions inventories
reflect conditions and activity levels (e.g., amount of silt loading on
roads and residential wood heating rates) that commonly occur during
these two times of the year. The same assumptions and methods used to
develop the first 10-year LMP were used to develop the 2017 base year
PM10 emissions inventory for the second 10-year LMP and are
described in detail in the Appendix to III.D.2.6 of the Eagle River LMP
submittal in the docket for this action. The 2017 base year represents
the most recent emissions inventory data available, is representative
of the level of emissions during a period of time used to calculate the
area is attaining the NAAQS, and is consistent with the data used to
determine applicability of the LMP option (i.e., having no violations
of the NAAQS during the five-year period used to calculate the design
value).
Unlike the first 10-year LMP, where five sources of PM10
emissions were identified and inventoried, the second 10-year LMP
inventoried six sources as shown in Table 2 of this preamble. The first
10-year LMP assumed emissions from non-road equipment were zero,
however, the second 10-year LMP calculated these emissions to be less
than 1% of the 2017 emissions inventory. The most significant of the
PM10 emission sources for the Eagle River area are still
paved road dust, windblown dust, and residential wood combustion. Like
the emission inventory prepared for the first 10-year LMP, unpaved
roads emissions are not included in the inventory for the second 10-
year LMP. This is because since 2007, all the unpaved roads in Eagle
River have been paved with either hot asphalt paving or surfaced with
recycled asphalt product.
Table 2--2017 Emissions Inventory in Tons/Day and % of Total Emissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spring break-up (March, Fall freeze-up
Source category April) (tons/day) (October, November)
(percent) (tons/day) (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paved Roads................................................... 3.71 (56.3) 1.06 (48.6)
Wind-blown Dust from Paved Roads, Parking Lots and Un- 2.48 (37.6) 0.73 (33.4)
Vegetated Areas..............................................
Fireplaces and Wood Stoves.................................... 0.35 (5.31) 0.35 (16.0)
Natural Gas Combustion........................................ 0.009 (0.13) 0.009 (0.41)
Exhaust, Tire and Brake Wear Emissions........................ 0.026 (0.39) 0.027 (1.23)
from Motor Vehicles...........................................
Non-Road Equipment Emissions.................................. 0.0135 (0.20) 0.0132 (0.60)
-------------------------------------------------
Total..................................................... 6.58 (100) 2.18 (100)
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[[Page 49282]]
In accordance with the LMP Option Memo, all controls relied on to
demonstrate attainment and continued maintenance will remain in place
(e.g., the required paved road improvements for non-rural, residential
properties in the Municipality of Anchorage).\3\ Efforts by the
Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) to pave all streets except those in low
density residential areas was the primary PM10 mitigation
program in Eagle River that lead to significant reduction in
PM10 emissions. By 2007 all 22 miles of local gravel roads
were paved with either traditional hot asphalt paving or surfaced with
recycled asphalt product (RAP). The MOA is committed to continued
maintenance of these roads, and the MOA and the Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities are committed to maintaining sand
specifications that allow no more than 2% fines or silt allowed in
winter traction sand. ADEC asserts that no additional control measures
are necessary to maintain the NAAQS.
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\3\ The control measures are fully implemented and continue to
apply after the SIP commitment was fulfilled. The Anchorage
Municipal Code (AMC) Title 21 was reorganized and recodified, State
effective January 1, 2014. The AMC Title 21section that requires
paved road improvements for non-rural, residential properties in the
MOA can be found in Section 21.08.050.
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The submittal meets the EPA guidance for purposes of an attainment
emissions inventory, and the emissions inventory data supports the
State's conclusions that the existing control measures will continue to
protect and maintain the PM10 NAAQS.
C. Air Quality Monitoring Network
Once an area is redesignated, the state must continue to operate an
appropriate air monitoring network in accordance with 40 CFR part 58 to
verify the attainment status of the area. From 1985 until present,
Alaska has operated a PM10 monitor at the Parkgate Business
Center (Parkgate monitor) in the Eagle River NAA. The Parkgate monitor
was sited and maintained in accordance with Federal siting and design
criteria in 40 CFR part 58, and in consultation with the EPA Region 10.
On June 26, 2020, ADEC submitted the 2020 Annual Monitoring Network
Plan that the EPA approved on January 25, 2021. ADEC's network plan and
the EPA's approval letter are included in the docket for this action.
The State commits to continued operation of at least one EPA-
approved PM10 monitoring site in the Eagle River maintenance
area through the end of the maintenance planning period, 2033, and will
continue to operate the monitor consistent with the EPA-approved ADEC
annual network plan in order to meet the EPA requirements at 40 CFR
part 58.
D. Verification of Continued Attainment
The level of the PM10 NAAQS is 150 [micro]g/m\3\, 24-
hour average concentration. The NAAQS is attained when the expected
number of days per calendar year with a 24-hour average concentration
above 150 [micro]g/m\3\ is equal to or less than one (40 CFR 50.6). As
stated in Section III.D. of this preamble, ADEC commits to continue to
operate a regulatory monitoring network in accordance with 40 CFR part
58. In addition, ADEC commits to verifying continued attainment of the
PM10 standard through the maintenance plan period with the
operation of an appropriate PM10 monitoring network. In
developing the second 10-year maintenance plan, ADEC evaluated the most
recent three years of complete, quality-assured data for the Eagle
River NAA (2017 through 2019) to verify continued attainment of the
standard.
E. Contingency Provisions
The CAA section 175A states that a maintenance plan must include
contingency provisions, as necessary, to ensure prompt correction of
any violation of the NAAQS, which may occur after redesignation of the
area to attainment. As explained in the LMP Option Memo and the
Calcagni Memo, these contingency provisions are an enforceable part of
the federally approved SIP. The maintenance plan should clearly
identify the events that would ``trigger'' the adoption and
implementation of a contingency provision, the contingency provision(s)
that would be adopted and implemented, and the schedule indicating the
time frame by which the State would adopt and implement the
provision(s). The LMP Option Memo and the Calcagni Memo state that the
EPA will determine the adequacy of a contingency plan on a case-by-case
basis. At a minimum, it must require that the state implement all
measures contained in the CAA part D nonattainment plan for the area
prior to redesignation.
In the Eagle River PM10 LMP, ADEC included maintenance
plan contingency provisions to ensure the area continues to meet the
PM10 NAAQS. The Eagle River LMP describes a process and a
timeline to identify, evaluate and select the appropriate contingency
measure(s) from a list of measures in the event of a quality assured
violation of the PM10 NAAQS. The contingency measures that
may be implemented to reduce emissions are listed in Section III.D.2.10
of the Eagle River LMP in the docket for this action. Within 30 days
following a violation of the PM10 NAAQS, the MOA will
convene an assessment team to evaluate the events contributing to the
violation and identify control measure(s) that appropriately address
the source(s) and circumstances causing the violation. Within 120 days
of the violation, the assessment team will prepare a report that
identifies the cause or causes of the violation and recommend
appropriate measures for mitigating future violations. The report will
be presented to the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation
Solutions Policy Committee for review and adoption and will then be
forwarded to ADEC for approval.
The EPA proposes to determine that the contingency provisions
submitted in the Eagle River PM10 LMP are adequate to meet
CAA section 175A requirements and the contingency provisions as
outlined in the LMP Option Memo.
IV. Proposed Action
The EPA is proposing to approve the second 10-year PM10
limited maintenance plan for Eagle River submitted by the State of
Alaska.\4\ The EPA's review of the air quality data for the Eagle River
area indicates that the area continues to show attainment of the
PM10 NAAQS and meets all the LMP requirements as described
in this action. If finalized, the EPA's approval of this LMP will
satisfy the section 175A CAA requirements for the second 10-year period
for the Eagle River PM10 area.
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\4\ We intend to address the remainder of the November 10, 2020
State of Alaska SIP submission (the Juneau, Mendenhall Valley Second
10-year PM10 LMP, the 2019 Emission Limit Control
Measures, and the 2019 Adoption by Reference Updates and Standard
Permit Conditions) in separate EPA actions.
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VI. 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, the EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
proposed 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 proposed action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735,
[[Page 49283]]
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because it does not involve technical standards; and
Does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority
to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or
environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or
in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated
that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the
proposed 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.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: August 25, 2021.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2021-18844 Filed 9-1-21; 8:45 am]
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