Air Plan Approval; Georgia; Atlanta Area Emissions Inventory Requirements for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard, 67409-67412 [2021-25526]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 225 / Friday, November 26, 2021 / Proposed Rules
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R04–OAR–2020–0400; FRL–9274–01–
R4]
Air Plan Approval; Georgia; Atlanta
Area Emissions Inventory
Requirements for the 2015 8-Hour
Ozone Standard
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a
State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by the State of
Georgia through the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division (GA
EPD) on July 2, 2020, to address the base
year emissions inventory requirements
for the 2015 8-hour ozone national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)
for the Atlanta, Georgia 2015 8-hour
ozone nonattainment area (hereinafter
referred to as the ‘‘Atlanta Area’’). These
requirements apply to all ozone
nonattainment areas. This action is
being proposed pursuant to the Clean
Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before December 27, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04–
OAR–2020–0400 at
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from Regulations.gov.
EPA may publish any comment received
to its public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video,
etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is
considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points
you wish to make. EPA will generally
not consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
www2.epa.gov/dockets/commentingepa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tiereny Bell, Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and
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SUMMARY:
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Implementation Branch, Air and
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960.
The telephone number is (404) 562–
9088. Ms. Bell can also be reached via
electronic mail at bell.tiereny@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 1, 2015, EPA promulgated
a revised 8-hour primary and secondary
ozone NAAQS, strengthening both from
0.075 parts per million (ppm) to 0.070
ppm (the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS).
See 80 FR 65292. The 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS is set at 0.070 ppm based
on an annual fourth-highest daily
maximum 8-hour average concentration
averaged over three years. Under EPA’s
regulations at 40 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) part 50, the 2015 8hour ozone NAAQS is attained when
the 3-year average of the annual fourthhighest daily maximum 8-hour average
ambient air quality ozone
concentrations is less than or equal to
0.070 ppm. See 40 CFR 50.19. Ambient
air quality monitoring data for the 3year period must meet a data
completeness requirement. See 40 CFR
part 50, Appendix U. The ambient air
quality monitoring data completeness
requirement is met when the average
percentage of days with valid ambient
monitoring data is greater than 90
percent and no single year has less than
75 percent data completeness as
determined using Appendix U.
Upon promulgation of a new or
revised ozone NAAQS, the CAA
requires EPA to designate as
nonattainment any area that is violating
the NAAQS based on the three most
recent years of ambient air quality data.
On April 30, 2018, EPA designated a
seven-county area in and around
metropolitan Atlanta as a marginal
ozone nonattainment area for the 2015
8-hour ozone NAAQS.1 The Atlanta
Area was designated nonattainment for
the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS on April
30, 2018 (effective August 3, 2018) using
2014–2016 ambient air quality data. See
83 FR 25776. On December 6, 2018, EPA
finalized a rule titled ‘‘Implementation
of the 2015 National Ambient Air
Quality Standards for Ozone:
Nonattainment Area State
Implementation Plan Requirements’’
(SIP Requirements Rule) that establishes
the requirements that state, tribal, and
local air quality management agencies
must meet as they develop
1 The nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour
ozone standard consists of the following counties:
Bartow, Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett,
and Henry.
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67409
implementation plans for areas where
air quality exceeds the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS.2 See 83 FR 62998; 40
CFR part 51, subpart CC. This rule
establishes nonattainment area
attainment deadlines based on Table 1
of section 181(a) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA), including an attainment
deadline of August 3, 2021, three years
after the August 3, 2018 effective date,
for areas classified as marginal for the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
Based on the nonattainment
designation, Georgia was required to
develop a SIP revision addressing
certain CAA requirements for the
Atlanta Area. Among other things,
Georgia was required to submit a SIP
revision addressing the emissions
inventory requirements in CAA section
182(a)(1).
Ground level ozone is not emitted
directly into the air but is created by
chemical reactions between oxides of
nitrogen (NOX) and volatile organic
compounds (VOC) in the presence of
sunlight. Emissions from industrial
facilities and electric utilities, motor
vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and
chemical solvents are some of the major
sources of NOX and VOC. Section
182(a)(1) of the CAA requires states with
areas designated nonattainment for the
ozone NAAQS to submit a SIP revision
providing a comprehensive, accurate,
and current inventory of actual
emissions from all sources of the
relevant pollutant or pollutants in such
area. NOX and VOCs are the relevant
pollutants because they are the
precursors—i.e., the pollutants that
contribute to the formation—of ozone.
II. State’s Submittal
On July 2, 2020, Georgia submitted a
SIP revision addressing the emissions
inventory requirements related to the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the
Atlanta Area.3 EPA is proposing to
approve this SIP revision as meeting the
inventory requirements of section
182(a)(1) of the CAA and meeting EPA’s
2 The SIP Requirements Rule addresses a range of
nonattainment area SIP requirements for the 2015
8-hour ozone NAAQS, including requirements
pertaining to attainment demonstrations, reasonable
further progress (RFP), reasonably available control
technology, reasonably available control measures,
major nonattainment new source review, emission
inventories, and the timing of SIP submissions and
compliance with emission control measures in the
SIP.
3 In the July 2, 2020, SIP revision, GA EPD
submitted a certification that existing SIP-approved
Georgia rules satisfy the permit program
requirements found in section 172(c)(5) and section
173 of the CAA. GA EPD also provided a written
commitment to take action to meet the emissions
statement requirement located in section
182(a)(3)(B) of the CAA. EPA will take action on
these SIP revisions in separate rulemakings.
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SIP Requirements Rule. More
information on EPA’s analysis of
Georgia’s SIP revision and how this SIP
revision addresses these requirements is
provided below.
III. Analysis of State’s Submittal
As discussed above, section 182(a)(1)
of the CAA requires areas to submit a
comprehensive, accurate, and current
inventory of actual emissions from all
sources of the relevant pollutant or
pollutants in each ozone nonattainment
area. The section 182(a)(1) base year
inventory is defined in the SIP
Requirements Rule as ‘‘a
comprehensive, accurate, current
inventory of actual emissions from
sources of VOC and NOX emitted within
the boundaries of the nonattainment
area as required by CAA section
182(a)(1).’’ See 40 CFR 51.1300(p). The
inventory year must be selected
consistent with the baseline year for the
RFP plan as required by 40 CFR
51.1310(b),4 and the inventory must
include actual ozone season day
emissions as defined in 40 CFR
51.1300(q) 5 and contain data elements
consistent with the detail required by 40
CFR part 51, subpart A. See 40 CFR
51.1315(a), (c), (e). In addition, the point
source emissions included in the
inventory must be reported according to
the point source emissions thresholds of
the Air Emissions Reporting
Requirements (AERR) in 40 CFR part 51,
subpart A.
Georgia selected 2014 as the base year
for the emissions inventory, which is
the year corresponding with the first
triennial inventory under 40 CFR part
51, subpart A. This base year is one of
the three years of ambient data used to
designate the Atlanta Area as a
nonattainment area and therefore
represents emissions associated with
nonattainment conditions. The
emissions inventory is based on data
developed and submitted by GA EPD to
EPA’s 2014 Emission Inventory (NEI),
and it contains data elements consistent
with the requirements of 40 CFR part
51, subpart A.6
Georgia’s emissions inventory for the
Atlanta Area provides 2014 typical
average summer day emissions for NOX
and VOCs for the following general
source categories: Point sources, MAR
(marine vessels, aircraft and rail)
sources, nonpoint sources, on-road
mobile sources, non-road mobile
sources, fire events, and biogenic
sources. The summer day emissions
were calculated as the average of
emissions during weekdays in July
2014. A detailed discussion of the
inventory development is located on
pages 1 through 6 of the documents in
the July 2, 2020 submission entitled
‘‘Atlanta Nonattainment Area Emissions
Inventory for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone
NAAQS’’ (Inventory Document) in the
State’s July 2, 2020 submittal. The table
below provides a summary of the
emissions inventory.
TABLE 1—2014 EMISSIONS FOR THE ATLANTA AREA 7
[Tons per summer day]
Point
Marine vessels,
aircraft, and rail
County
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NOX
VOC
NOX
VOC
Nonpoint
NOX
On-road
VOC
NOX
Non-road
VOC
NOX
VOC
Bartow ..........................................
Clayton .........................................
Cobb .............................................
Dekalb ..........................................
Fulton ...........................................
Gwinnett .......................................
Henry ............................................
17.01
0.28
2.05
0.33
1.17
0.00
4.37
1.07
0.59
1.35
3.43
0.69
0.21
1.18
0.84
13.27
2.73
0.75
2.49
0.64
0.82
0.06
1.85
0.73
0.08
0.16
0.05
0.04
0.14
0.15
0.59
0.53
1.23
0.58
0.13
3.61
6.69
18.14
18.41
25.76
21.77
4.66
11.03
8.39
26.23
25.84
42.83
24.18
4.35
3.51
3.63
11.87
10.46
19.54
11.54
2.40
1.30
2.45
7.24
6.27
10.74
10.58
2.38
1.29
1.26
9.30
8.06
9.04
11.04
1.46
Total ......................................
25.21
8.52
21.54
2.97
3.35
99.04
142.85
62.95
40.96
41.45
The emissions reported for the
Atlanta Area reflect the emissions
within the seven counties comprising
the nonattainment area. The inventory
contains point source emissions data for
the facilities located within the Area.
More detail on the emissions for
individual source categories is provided
below and in Appendix A of Georgia’s
July 2, 2020 submittal.
Point sources are large, stationary,
identifiable sources of emissions that
release pollutants into the atmosphere.
The Electric Generating Units (EGU)
point source emissions inventory was
developed from facility-specific
emissions data. NOX emissions were
calculated using continuous emissions
monitoring system data which included
hourly measurements. For VOC
emissions, GA EPD used facility-specific
emissions data reported to the 2014 NEI
from sources that are required to submit
inventory data according to the AERR.
The non-EGU point source emissions
inventory for the Atlanta Area was
4 40 CFR 51.1310(b) states that ‘‘at the time of
designation for the ozone NAAQS the baseline
emissions inventory shall be the emissions
inventory for the most recent calendar year for
which a complete triennial inventory is required to
be submitted to EPA under the provisions of
subpart A of this part. States may use an alternative
baseline emissions inventory provided that the year
selected corresponds with the year of the effective
date of designation as nonattainment for that
NAAQS. All states associated with a multi-state
nonattainment area must consult and agree on using
the alternative baseline year. The emissions values
included in the inventory required by this section
shall be actual ozone season day emissions.’’ For
additional information, please see the guidance
document titled ‘‘Emissions Inventory Guidance for
Implementation of Ozone and Particulate Matter
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
and Regional Haze Regulations,’’ EPA–454/B–17–
003, July 2017, available at: https://www.epa.gov/
air-emissions-inventories/air-emissions-inventoryguidance-implementation-ozone-and-particulate.
5 ‘‘Ozone season day emissions’’ is defined as ‘‘an
average day’s emissions for a typical ozone season
work weekday. The state shall select, subject to EPA
approval, the particular month(s) in the ozone
season and the day(s) in the work week to be
represented, considering the conditions assumed in
the development of RFP plans and/or emissions
budgets for transportation conformity.’’ See 40 CFR
51.1300(q).
6 Data downloaded from the EPA Emissions
Inventory System (EIS) from the 2014 NEI was
subjected to quality assurance procedures described
under quality assurance details under 2014 NEI
Version 1 located at https://www.epa.gov/airemissions-inventories/2014-national-emissionsinventory-nei-data. The quality assurance and
quality control procedures and measures associated
with this data are outlined in the State’s Emission
Inventory Quality Assurance Project Plan. The 2017
GA EI QAPP can be found at https://
epd.georgia.gov/document/document/appendix-egeorgia-quality-assurance-project-plan-document/
download.
7 For the purpose of Table 1—2014 Emissions for
the Atlanta Area, EPA rounded to the nearest
hundredth of a ton per summer day.
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developed from non-EGU facilityspecific data reported to the 2014 NEI
from sources that are required to submit
inventory data according to the AERR.
The point source emissions data meets
the point source emissions requirements
of 40 CFR part 51, subpart A. A detailed
account of the non-EGU point sources
can be found on pages 4 through 6 of the
emissions inventory document in
Georgia’s submittal.
MAR sources are marine, aircraft, and
rail sources of emissions separated from
the point and nonpoint source
categories. Emissions for these sources
were obtained from the 2014 NEI. A
detailed account of the MAR sources
can be found on pages 2 and 5–6 of the
emissions inventory document in
Georgia’s submittal.
Nonpoint sources are small stationary
sources of emissions which, due to their
large number, collectively have
significant emissions (e.g., dry cleaners,
service stations). Emissions for these
sources were obtained from the 2014
NEI. A detailed account of the nonpoint
sources can be found on page 2 of the
emissions inventory document in
Georgia’s submittal.
On-road mobile sources include
vehicles used on roads for
transportation of passengers or freight.
Georgia developed its on-road emissions
inadvertent fire situations where the
objective is to put the fire out.
Prescribed fires are any fires ignited by
management actions to meet specific
objectives related to the reduction of the
biomass potentially available for
wildfires. Fire event emissions were
developed by GA EPD using fire records
collected from the Georgia Forestry
Commission (GFC). When fire activities
were not included in the GFC database,
military bases and federal agencies
(USFS and FWS) records were used. In
addition, GA EPD collected detailed
burning records for the Okefenokee area
which showed burned area per day. A
detailed account of fire event sources
can be found in Appendix A and on
page 4 of the emissions inventory
document in the July 2, 2020, submittal.
Biogenic emission sources are
emissions that come from natural
sources. GA EPD obtained biogenic
emissions for 2014 from the 2014 NEI
and used the summary of countyspecific daily biogenic emissions.9 A
detailed account of biogenic sources can
be found in Appendix A and on page 4
of the emissions inventory document in
the Georgia submittal. The table below
provides a summary of the 2014 fire
event 10 and biogenic emissions for the
Atlanta Area.
inventory using EPA’s Motor Vehicle
Emission Simulator (MOVES) model for
each ozone nonattainment county.8
County level on-road modeling was
conducted using county-specific vehicle
population and other local data. A
detailed account of the on-road sources
can be found in Appendix A and page
2 through 3 of the emissions inventory
document in Georgia’s submittal.
Non-road mobile sources include
vehicles, engines, and equipment used
for construction, agriculture, recreation
and other purposes that do not use the
roadways (e.g., lawn mowers,
construction equipment, railroad
locomotives and aircraft). Georgia
obtained emissions for the non-road
mobile sources from the 2014 NEI.
Those emissions were estimated using
EPA’s National Mobile Inventory Model
(NMIM) with updated NMIM County
Database (NCD) files from GA EPD. A
detailed account of non-road mobile
sources can be found in Appendix D of
the July 2, 2020, submittal.
Georgia also included 2014 actual
emissions from fire events and biogenic
sources in its emission inventory.
Wildland fires are unplanned,
unwanted wild land fires including
unauthorized human-caused fires,
escaped prescribed fire projects, or other
TABLE 2—2014—FIRE EVENT AND BIOGENIC EMISSIONS FOR THE ATLANTA AREA
[Tons per summer day]
Fire events
Biogenic
County
VOC
NOX
VOC
Bartow ..............................................................................................................................
Clayton .............................................................................................................................
Cobb ................................................................................................................................
Dekalb ..............................................................................................................................
Fulton ...............................................................................................................................
Gwinnett ...........................................................................................................................
Henry ...............................................................................................................................
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.43
0.14
0.22
0.16
0.27
0.33
0.30
67.00
26.68
46.82
45.75
64.04
52.45
42.98
Total ..........................................................................................................................
0.00
0.00
1.85
345.72
EPA has preliminarily determined
that Georgia’s emissions inventory
meets the requirements under CAA
section 182(a)(1) and the SIP
Requirements Rule for the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS.
IV. Proposed Action
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NOX
2020, addressing the base year
emissions inventory requirements for
the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the
Atlanta Area. EPA proposes to find that
the State’s submission meets the
requirements of sections 110 and 182 of
the CAA.
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
were obtained from NEI2014. The data was
downloaded from the U.S. EPA’s Air Emissions
Inventories website: https://www.epa.gov/airemissions-inventories/2014-national-emissionsinventory-nei-data. More detailed information can
be found in the SMOKE manual (https://
www.cmascenter.org/smoke/).
10 There were minimal emissions from fire events
in 2014 such that, with rounding, there were 0.00
tons of NOX and VOC emitted per summer day. For
the purpose of Table 2, EPA rounded to the nearest
hundredth of a ton per summer day.
EPA is proposing to approve the SIP
revision submitted by Georgia on July 2,
8 Georgia used MOVES version 2014a because
this was the latest version available at the time that
the State submitted its SIP revision.
9 The biogenic emissions were calculated from
the Biogenic Emission Inventory System (BEIS)
version 3.61 model in the Sparse Matrix Operator
Kernel Emissions model (SMOKE). These emissions
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Under the CAA, the Administrator is
required to approve a SIP submission
that complies with the provisions of the
Act and applicable Federal regulations.
See 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 they meet the criteria of the
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CAA. This proposed action merely
proposes to approve 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,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
• Does not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the CAA; and
• Does not provide EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
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 as specified by Executive
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9,
2000), nor will it impose substantial
direct costs on tribal governments or
preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
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Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: November 17, 2021.
John Blevins,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2021–25526 Filed 11–24–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R04–OAR–2021–0033; FRL–9278–01–
R4]
Air Plan Approval; North Carolina;
Mecklenburg: Source Testing
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a
State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision to the Mecklenburg County
portion of the North Carolina SIP,
hereinafter referred to as the
Mecklenburg County Local
Implementation Plan (LIP). The revision
was submitted through the North
Carolina Division of Air Quality
(NCDAQ), on behalf of Mecklenburg
County Air Pollution Control (MCAQ),
via a letter dated April 24, 2020, which
was received by EPA on June 19, 2020.
This SIP revision includes changes to
Mecklenburg County Air Pollution
Control Ordinance (MCAPCO) rules
incorporated into the LIP regarding
performance testing for stationary
sources of air pollution. EPA is
proposing to approve these changes
pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or
Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before December 27, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04–
OAR–2021–0033 at
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from Regulations.gov.
EPA may publish any comment received
to its public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video,
etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is
considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points
you wish to make. EPA will generally
not consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
SUMMARY:
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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
www2.epa.gov/dockets/commentingepa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D.
Brad Akers, Air Regulatory Management
Section, Air Planning and
Implementation Branch, Air and
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960.
Mr. Akers can be reached via electronic
mail at akers.brad@epa.gov or via
telephone at (404) 562–9089.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background and Overview
The Mecklenburg LIP was submitted
to EPA on June 14, 1990, and EPA
approved the plan on May 2, 1991. See
56 FR 20140. Mecklenburg County is
now requesting that EPA approve
changes to the LIP for, among other
things, general consistency with the
North Carolina SIP.1 Mecklenburg
County prepared three submittals in
order to update the LIP and reflect
regulatory and administrative changes
that NCDAQ made to the North Carolina
SIP since EPA’s 1991 LIP approval.2 The
three submittals were submitted as
follows: NCDAQ transmitted the
October 25, 2017, submittal to EPA but
later withdrew it from review through a
letter dated February 15, 2019. On April
24, 2020, NCDAQ resubmitted the
October 25, 2017, update to EPA and
also submitted the January 21, 2016, and
January 14, 2019, updates. Due to an
inconsistency with public notices at the
local level, these submittals were
withdrawn from EPA through the letter
dated February 15, 2019. Mecklenburg
County corrected this error, and NCDAQ
submitted the updates to EPA in a
submittal dated April 24, 2020. This
proposed rule proposes to modify the
LIP by revising, adding, and removing
several rules related to the source
testing rules, located in MCAPCO
Article 2.0000, Air Pollution and
Control Regulations and Procedures.
The specific sections addressed in this
proposal are Section 2.2600, Source
1 Hereinafter, the terms ‘‘North Carolina SIP’’ and
‘‘SIP’’ refer to the North Carolina regulatory portion
of the North Carolina SIP (i.e., the portion that
contains SIP-approved North Carolina regulations).
2 The Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
revision that is dated April 24, 2020, and received
by EPA on June 19, 2020, is comprised of three
previous submittals—one dated January 21, 2016;
one dated October 25, 2017; and one dated January
14, 2019.
E:\FR\FM\26NOP1.SGM
26NOP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 225 (Friday, November 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67409-67412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25526]
[[Page 67409]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0400; FRL-9274-01-R4]
Air Plan Approval; Georgia; Atlanta Area Emissions Inventory
Requirements for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
State of Georgia through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division
(GA EPD) on July 2, 2020, to address the base year emissions inventory
requirements for the 2015 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) for the Atlanta, Georgia 2015 8-hour ozone
nonattainment area (hereinafter referred to as the ``Atlanta Area'').
These requirements apply to all ozone nonattainment areas. This action
is being proposed pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 27, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2020-0400 at www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or
removed from Regulations.gov. EPA may publish any comment received to
its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiereny Bell, Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is
(404) 562-9088. Ms. Bell can also be reached via electronic mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 1, 2015, EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour primary and
secondary ozone NAAQS, strengthening both from 0.075 parts per million
(ppm) to 0.070 ppm (the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS). See 80 FR 65292. The
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS is set at 0.070 ppm based on an annual fourth-
highest daily maximum 8-hour average concentration averaged over three
years. Under EPA's regulations at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
part 50, the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS is attained when the 3-year
average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ambient air quality ozone concentrations is less than or equal to 0.070
ppm. See 40 CFR 50.19. Ambient air quality monitoring data for the 3-
year period must meet a data completeness requirement. See 40 CFR part
50, Appendix U. The ambient air quality monitoring data completeness
requirement is met when the average percentage of days with valid
ambient monitoring data is greater than 90 percent and no single year
has less than 75 percent data completeness as determined using Appendix
U.
Upon promulgation of a new or revised ozone NAAQS, the CAA requires
EPA to designate as nonattainment any area that is violating the NAAQS
based on the three most recent years of ambient air quality data. On
April 30, 2018, EPA designated a seven-county area in and around
metropolitan Atlanta as a marginal ozone nonattainment area for the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\1\ The Atlanta Area was designated
nonattainment for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS on April 30, 2018
(effective August 3, 2018) using 2014-2016 ambient air quality data.
See 83 FR 25776. On December 6, 2018, EPA finalized a rule titled
``Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
Ozone: Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plan Requirements'' (SIP
Requirements Rule) that establishes the requirements that state,
tribal, and local air quality management agencies must meet as they
develop implementation plans for areas where air quality exceeds the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\2\ See 83 FR 62998; 40 CFR part 51, subpart
CC. This rule establishes nonattainment area attainment deadlines based
on Table 1 of section 181(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), including an
attainment deadline of August 3, 2021, three years after the August 3,
2018 effective date, for areas classified as marginal for the 2015 8-
hour ozone NAAQS.
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\1\ The nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour ozone standard
consists of the following counties: Bartow, Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb,
Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry.
\2\ The SIP Requirements Rule addresses a range of nonattainment
area SIP requirements for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS, including
requirements pertaining to attainment demonstrations, reasonable
further progress (RFP), reasonably available control technology,
reasonably available control measures, major nonattainment new
source review, emission inventories, and the timing of SIP
submissions and compliance with emission control measures in the
SIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on the nonattainment designation, Georgia was required to
develop a SIP revision addressing certain CAA requirements for the
Atlanta Area. Among other things, Georgia was required to submit a SIP
revision addressing the emissions inventory requirements in CAA section
182(a)(1).
Ground level ozone is not emitted directly into the air but is
created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen
(NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence
of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric
utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical
solvents are some of the major sources of NOX and VOC.
Section 182(a)(1) of the CAA requires states with areas designated
nonattainment for the ozone NAAQS to submit a SIP revision providing a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from
all sources of the relevant pollutant or pollutants in such area.
NOX and VOCs are the relevant pollutants because they are
the precursors--i.e., the pollutants that contribute to the formation--
of ozone.
II. State's Submittal
On July 2, 2020, Georgia submitted a SIP revision addressing the
emissions inventory requirements related to the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS
for the Atlanta Area.\3\ EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision
as meeting the inventory requirements of section 182(a)(1) of the CAA
and meeting EPA's
[[Page 67410]]
SIP Requirements Rule. More information on EPA's analysis of Georgia's
SIP revision and how this SIP revision addresses these requirements is
provided below.
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\3\ In the July 2, 2020, SIP revision, GA EPD submitted a
certification that existing SIP-approved Georgia rules satisfy the
permit program requirements found in section 172(c)(5) and section
173 of the CAA. GA EPD also provided a written commitment to take
action to meet the emissions statement requirement located in
section 182(a)(3)(B) of the CAA. EPA will take action on these SIP
revisions in separate rulemakings.
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III. Analysis of State's Submittal
As discussed above, section 182(a)(1) of the CAA requires areas to
submit a comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual
emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutant or pollutants in
each ozone nonattainment area. The section 182(a)(1) base year
inventory is defined in the SIP Requirements Rule as ``a comprehensive,
accurate, current inventory of actual emissions from sources of VOC and
NOX emitted within the boundaries of the nonattainment area
as required by CAA section 182(a)(1).'' See 40 CFR 51.1300(p). The
inventory year must be selected consistent with the baseline year for
the RFP plan as required by 40 CFR 51.1310(b),\4\ and the inventory
must include actual ozone season day emissions as defined in 40 CFR
51.1300(q) \5\ and contain data elements consistent with the detail
required by 40 CFR part 51, subpart A. See 40 CFR 51.1315(a), (c), (e).
In addition, the point source emissions included in the inventory must
be reported according to the point source emissions thresholds of the
Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR) in 40 CFR part 51, subpart
A.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 40 CFR 51.1310(b) states that ``at the time of designation
for the ozone NAAQS the baseline emissions inventory shall be the
emissions inventory for the most recent calendar year for which a
complete triennial inventory is required to be submitted to EPA
under the provisions of subpart A of this part. States may use an
alternative baseline emissions inventory provided that the year
selected corresponds with the year of the effective date of
designation as nonattainment for that NAAQS. All states associated
with a multi-state nonattainment area must consult and agree on
using the alternative baseline year. The emissions values included
in the inventory required by this section shall be actual ozone
season day emissions.'' For additional information, please see the
guidance document titled ``Emissions Inventory Guidance for
Implementation of Ozone and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) and Regional Haze Regulations,'' EPA-454/
B-17- 003, July 2017, available at: https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/air-emissions-inventory-guidance-implementation-ozone-and-particulate.
\5\ ``Ozone season day emissions'' is defined as ``an average
day's emissions for a typical ozone season work weekday. The state
shall select, subject to EPA approval, the particular month(s) in
the ozone season and the day(s) in the work week to be represented,
considering the conditions assumed in the development of RFP plans
and/or emissions budgets for transportation conformity.'' See 40 CFR
51.1300(q).
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Georgia selected 2014 as the base year for the emissions inventory,
which is the year corresponding with the first triennial inventory
under 40 CFR part 51, subpart A. This base year is one of the three
years of ambient data used to designate the Atlanta Area as a
nonattainment area and therefore represents emissions associated with
nonattainment conditions. The emissions inventory is based on data
developed and submitted by GA EPD to EPA's 2014 Emission Inventory
(NEI), and it contains data elements consistent with the requirements
of 40 CFR part 51, subpart A.\6\
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\6\ Data downloaded from the EPA Emissions Inventory System
(EIS) from the 2014 NEI was subjected to quality assurance
procedures described under quality assurance details under 2014 NEI
Version 1 located at https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/2014-national-emissions-inventory-nei-data. The quality assurance
and quality control procedures and measures associated with this
data are outlined in the State's Emission Inventory Quality
Assurance Project Plan. The 2017 GA EI QAPP can be found at https://epd.georgia.gov/document/document/appendix-e-georgia-quality-assurance-project-plan-document/download.
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Georgia's emissions inventory for the Atlanta Area provides 2014
typical average summer day emissions for NOX and VOCs for
the following general source categories: Point sources, MAR (marine
vessels, aircraft and rail) sources, nonpoint sources, on-road mobile
sources, non-road mobile sources, fire events, and biogenic sources.
The summer day emissions were calculated as the average of emissions
during weekdays in July 2014. A detailed discussion of the inventory
development is located on pages 1 through 6 of the documents in the
July 2, 2020 submission entitled ``Atlanta Nonattainment Area Emissions
Inventory for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS'' (Inventory Document) in the
State's July 2, 2020 submittal. The table below provides a summary of
the emissions inventory.
Table 1--2014 Emissions for the Atlanta Area \7\
[Tons per summer day]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Marine vessels, Nonpoint On-road Non-road
-------------------- aircraft, and rail -----------------------------------------------------------
County --------------------
NOX VOC NOX VOC NOX VOC NOX VOC NOX VOC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bartow.............................................. 17.01 1.07 0.84 0.06 0.14 3.61 11.03 3.51 1.30 1.29
Clayton............................................. 0.28 0.59 13.27 1.85 0.15 6.69 8.39 3.63 2.45 1.26
Cobb................................................ 2.05 1.35 2.73 0.73 0.59 18.14 26.23 11.87 7.24 9.30
Dekalb.............................................. 0.33 3.43 0.75 0.08 0.53 18.41 25.84 10.46 6.27 8.06
Fulton.............................................. 1.17 0.69 2.49 0.16 1.23 25.76 42.83 19.54 10.74 9.04
Gwinnett............................................ 0.00 0.21 0.64 0.05 0.58 21.77 24.18 11.54 10.58 11.04
Henry............................................... 4.37 1.18 0.82 0.04 0.13 4.66 4.35 2.40 2.38 1.46
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total........................................... 25.21 8.52 21.54 2.97 3.35 99.04 142.85 62.95 40.96 41.45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The emissions reported for the Atlanta Area reflect the emissions
within the seven counties comprising the nonattainment area. The
inventory contains point source emissions data for the facilities
located within the Area. More detail on the emissions for individual
source categories is provided below and in Appendix A of Georgia's July
2, 2020 submittal.
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\7\ For the purpose of Table 1--2014 Emissions for the Atlanta
Area, EPA rounded to the nearest hundredth of a ton per summer day.
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Point sources are large, stationary, identifiable sources of
emissions that release pollutants into the atmosphere. The Electric
Generating Units (EGU) point source emissions inventory was developed
from facility-specific emissions data. NOX emissions were
calculated using continuous emissions monitoring system data which
included hourly measurements. For VOC emissions, GA EPD used facility-
specific emissions data reported to the 2014 NEI from sources that are
required to submit inventory data according to the AERR. The non-EGU
point source emissions inventory for the Atlanta Area was
[[Page 67411]]
developed from non-EGU facility-specific data reported to the 2014 NEI
from sources that are required to submit inventory data according to
the AERR. The point source emissions data meets the point source
emissions requirements of 40 CFR part 51, subpart A. A detailed account
of the non-EGU point sources can be found on pages 4 through 6 of the
emissions inventory document in Georgia's submittal.
MAR sources are marine, aircraft, and rail sources of emissions
separated from the point and nonpoint source categories. Emissions for
these sources were obtained from the 2014 NEI. A detailed account of
the MAR sources can be found on pages 2 and 5-6 of the emissions
inventory document in Georgia's submittal.
Nonpoint sources are small stationary sources of emissions which,
due to their large number, collectively have significant emissions
(e.g., dry cleaners, service stations). Emissions for these sources
were obtained from the 2014 NEI. A detailed account of the nonpoint
sources can be found on page 2 of the emissions inventory document in
Georgia's submittal.
On-road mobile sources include vehicles used on roads for
transportation of passengers or freight. Georgia developed its on-road
emissions inventory using EPA's Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator
(MOVES) model for each ozone nonattainment county.\8\ County level on-
road modeling was conducted using county-specific vehicle population
and other local data. A detailed account of the on-road sources can be
found in Appendix A and page 2 through 3 of the emissions inventory
document in Georgia's submittal.
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\8\ Georgia used MOVES version 2014a because this was the latest
version available at the time that the State submitted its SIP
revision.
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Non-road mobile sources include vehicles, engines, and equipment
used for construction, agriculture, recreation and other purposes that
do not use the roadways (e.g., lawn mowers, construction equipment,
railroad locomotives and aircraft). Georgia obtained emissions for the
non-road mobile sources from the 2014 NEI. Those emissions were
estimated using EPA's National Mobile Inventory Model (NMIM) with
updated NMIM County Database (NCD) files from GA EPD. A detailed
account of non-road mobile sources can be found in Appendix D of the
July 2, 2020, submittal.
Georgia also included 2014 actual emissions from fire events and
biogenic sources in its emission inventory. Wildland fires are
unplanned, unwanted wild land fires including unauthorized human-caused
fires, escaped prescribed fire projects, or other inadvertent fire
situations where the objective is to put the fire out. Prescribed fires
are any fires ignited by management actions to meet specific objectives
related to the reduction of the biomass potentially available for
wildfires. Fire event emissions were developed by GA EPD using fire
records collected from the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC). When fire
activities were not included in the GFC database, military bases and
federal agencies (USFS and FWS) records were used. In addition, GA EPD
collected detailed burning records for the Okefenokee area which showed
burned area per day. A detailed account of fire event sources can be
found in Appendix A and on page 4 of the emissions inventory document
in the July 2, 2020, submittal.
Biogenic emission sources are emissions that come from natural
sources. GA EPD obtained biogenic emissions for 2014 from the 2014 NEI
and used the summary of county-specific daily biogenic emissions.\9\ A
detailed account of biogenic sources can be found in Appendix A and on
page 4 of the emissions inventory document in the Georgia submittal.
The table below provides a summary of the 2014 fire event \10\ and
biogenic emissions for the Atlanta Area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ The biogenic emissions were calculated from the Biogenic
Emission Inventory System (BEIS) version 3.61 model in the Sparse
Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions model (SMOKE). These emissions were
obtained from NEI2014. The data was downloaded from the U.S. EPA's
Air Emissions Inventories website: https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/2014-national-emissions-inventory-nei-data.
More detailed information can be found in the SMOKE manual (https://www.cmascenter.org/smoke/).
\10\ There were minimal emissions from fire events in 2014 such
that, with rounding, there were 0.00 tons of NOX and VOC
emitted per summer day. For the purpose of Table 2, EPA rounded to
the nearest hundredth of a ton per summer day.
Table 2--2014--Fire Event and Biogenic Emissions for the Atlanta Area
[Tons per summer day]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire events Biogenic
County ---------------------------------------------------
NOX VOC NOX VOC
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bartow...................................................... 0.00 0.00 0.43 67.00
Clayton..................................................... 0.00 0.00 0.14 26.68
Cobb........................................................ 0.00 0.00 0.22 46.82
Dekalb...................................................... 0.00 0.00 0.16 45.75
Fulton...................................................... 0.00 0.00 0.27 64.04
Gwinnett.................................................... 0.00 0.00 0.33 52.45
Henry....................................................... 0.00 0.00 0.30 42.98
---------------------------------------------------
Total................................................... 0.00 0.00 1.85 345.72
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA has preliminarily determined that Georgia's emissions inventory
meets the requirements under CAA section 182(a)(1) and the SIP
Requirements Rule for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
IV. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision submitted by Georgia
on July 2, 2020, addressing the base year emissions inventory
requirements for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Atlanta Area. EPA
proposes to find that the State's submission meets the requirements of
sections 110 and 182 of the CAA.
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 Act and applicable
Federal regulations. See 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 they meet the criteria of the
[[Page 67412]]
CAA. This proposed action merely proposes to approve 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, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: November 17, 2021.
John Blevins,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2021-25526 Filed 11-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
