Air Plan Approval; Arizona; Bullhead City; Second 10-Year PM10, 70070-70078 [2021-26619]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 234 / Thursday, December 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules
within the scope of the audit conducted
under paragraph (b)(3) of this section;
(5) A tribe shall perform background
investigations and issue licenses for key
employees and primary management
officials according to requirements that
are at least as stringent as those in parts
556 and 558 of this chapter;
(6) A tribe shall issue a separate
license to each place, facility, or
location on Indian lands where a tribe
elects to allow class II gaming; and
(7) A tribe shall construct, maintain
and operate a gaming facility in a
manner that adequately protects the
environment and the public health and
safety.
(8) A tribe that subsequently amends
a gaming ordinance pending before the
Chair shall also provide an authentic
resolution withdrawing the pending
submission and resubmitting the revised
submission.
§ 522.6
Disapproval of a class II ordinance.
No later than 90 days after a tribe
submits an ordinance for approval
under § 522.2 of this part, the Chair may
disapprove an ordinance if it determines
that a tribe failed to comply with the
requirements of § 522.2 or § 522.5(b) of
this part. The Chair shall notify a tribe
of its right to appeal under part 582 of
this chapter. A disapproval shall be
effective immediately unless appealed
under part 582 of this chapter.
§ 522.7 Approval requirements for class III
ordinances.
No later than 90 days after the
submission to the Chair under § 522.2 of
this part, the Chair shall approve the
class III ordinance or resolution if:
(a) A tribe meets the submission
requirements contained in § 522.2 of
this part;
(b) The ordinance or resolution meets
the requirements contained in § 522.5(b)
(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) of this part;
and
(c) The tribe shall have the sole
proprietary interest in and
responsibility for the conduct of any
gaming operation unless it elects to
allow individually owned gaming under
§ 522.11 of this part.
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§ 522.8 Disapproval of a class III
ordinance.
(a) Notwithstanding compliance with
the requirements of § 522.7 of this part
and no later than 90 days after a
submission under § 522.2 of this part,
the Chair shall disapprove an ordinance
or resolution and notify a tribe of its
right of appeal under part 582 of this
chapter if the Chair determines that:
(1) A tribal governing body did not
adopt the ordinance or resolution in
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compliance with the governing
documents of the tribe; or
(2) A tribal governing body was
significantly and unduly influenced in
the adoption of the ordinance or
resolution by a person having a direct or
indirect financial interest in a
management contract, a person having
management responsibility for a
management contract, or their agents.
(b) A disapproval shall be effective
immediately unless appealed under part
582 of this chapter.
§ 522.9 Publication of class III ordinance
and approval.
The Chair shall publish notice of
approval of class III tribal gaming
ordinances or resolutions in the Federal
Register, along with the Chair’s
approval thereof.
§ 522.10
Approval by operation of law.
If the Chair fails to approve or
disapprove an ordinance or resolution
or amendment thereto submitted under
§ 522.2 or § 522.3 of this part within 90
days after the date of submission to the
Chair, a tribal ordinance or resolution or
amendment thereto shall be considered
to have been approved by the Chair but
only to the extent that such ordinance
or resolution or amendment thereto is
consistent with the provisions of the Act
and this chapter.
§ 522.11 Individually owned class II and
class III gaming operations other than those
operating on September 1, 1986.
For licensing of individually owned
gaming operations other than those
operating on September 1, 1986
(addressed under § 522.12 of this part),
a tribal ordinance shall require:
(a) That the gaming operation be
licensed and regulated under an
ordinance or resolution approved by the
Chair;
(b) That income to the tribe from an
individually owned gaming operation
be used only for the purposes listed in
§ 522.4(b)(2) of this part;
(c) That not less than 60 percent of the
net revenues be income to the tribe;
(d) That the owner pay an assessment
to the Commission under § 514.1 of this
chapter;
(e) Licensing standards that are at
least as restrictive as those established
by State law governing similar gaming
within the jurisdiction of the
surrounding State; and
(f) Denial of a license for any person
or entity that would not be eligible to
receive a State license to conduct the
same activity within the jurisdiction of
the surrounding State. State law
standards shall apply with respect to
purpose, entity, pot limits, and hours of
operation.
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§ 522.12 Individually owned class II
gaming operations operating on September
1, 1986.
For licensing of individually owned
gaming operations operating on
September 1, 1986, under § 502.3(e) of
this chapter, a tribal ordinance shall
contain the same requirements as those
in § 522.11(a)–(d) of this part.
§ 522.13
Revocation of class III gaming.
A governing body of a tribe, in its sole
discretion and without the approval of
the Chair, may adopt an ordinance or
resolution revoking any prior ordinance
or resolution that authorizes class III
gaming.
(a) A tribe shall submit to the Chair
one copy of any revocation ordinance or
resolution certified as authentic by an
authorized tribal official.
(b) The Chairman shall publish such
ordinance or resolution in the Federal
Register and the revocation provided by
such ordinance or resolution shall take
effect on the date of such publication.
(c) Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, any person or
entity operating a class III gaming
operation on the date of publication in
the Federal Register under paragraph
(b) of this section may, during a oneyear period beginning on the date of
publication, continue to operate such
operation in conformance with a tribalstate compact.
(d) A revocation shall not affect:
(1) Any civil action that arises during
the one-year period following
publication of the revocation; or
(2) Any crime that is committed
during the one-year period following
publication of the revocation.
Dated: November 18, 2021.
E. Sequoyah Simermeyer,
Chairman.
[FR Doc. 2021–25843 Filed 12–8–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7565–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R09–OAR–2021–0819; FRL–9266–01–
R9]
Air Plan Approval; Arizona; Bullhead
City; Second 10-Year PM10 Limited
Maintenance Plan
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a
revision to the Bullhead City portion of
SUMMARY:
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the Arizona State Implementation Plan
(SIP). These revisions concern the
second 10-year maintenance plan for
Bullhead City for the 1987 National
Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS or ‘‘standards’’) for particulate
matter less than 10 micrometers in
diameter (PM10).
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before January 10, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R09–
OAR–2021–0819 at https://
www.regulations.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. 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, please
contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets. If you need
assistance in a language other than
English or if you are a person with
disabilities who needs a reasonable
accommodation at no cost to you, please
contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Panah Stauffer, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA
94105. By phone: (415) 972–3247 or by
email at stauffer.panah@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’
or ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
A. Clean Air Act Requirements and Air
Quality Designations
B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
the Bullhead City Area
II. Arizona’s SIP Submittal
III. The EPA’s Evaluation of Arizona’s SIP
Submittal
A. Procedural Requirements
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B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option
C. Additional Maintenance Plan
Requirements
D. Transportation and General Conformity
Requirements
IV. The EPA’s Proposed Action
I. Background
A. Clean Air Act Requirements and Air
Quality Designations
The EPA has established health-based
standards for PM10. On July 1, 1987, the
EPA promulgated two standards for
PM10: A 24-hour standard of 150
micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m3) and
an annual PM10 standard of 50 mg/m3.1
Effective December 18, 2006, the EPA
revoked the annual PM10 standard but
retained the 24-hour PM10 standard.2 In
this document, references to the PM10
NAAQS or PM10 standard refer to the
24-hour average standard of 150 mg/m3,
unless otherwise noted.
Under section 107(d) of the CAA, the
EPA is required to designate areas of the
country, based on ambient air quality
data, as attainment, unclassifiable, or
nonattainment for each NAAQS. Under
the CAA Amendments of 1990, the
Bullhead City area was designated as
part of a large ‘‘unclassifiable’’ area in
Arizona for the PM10 NAAQS.3 In 1993,
in light of PM10 NAAQS violations
monitored in 1989 and 1990, the EPA
redesignated the Bullhead City air
quality planning area as a ‘‘Moderate’’
nonattainment area for the PM10
standard.4 To meet the SIP planning
requirements for such areas, state and
local agencies adopted and
implemented a number of control
measures to reduce PM10 emissions and
lower ambient PM10 concentrations in
the Bullhead City area, including paving
of certain unpaved roads. In 2002, the
EPA determined that the Bullhead City
area had attained the PM10 NAAQS by
the applicable attainment date of
December 31, 2000.5 The 24-hour
1 52
FR 24634 (July 1, 1987).
FR 61144 (October 17, 2006).
3 For the definition of the Bullhead City
maintenance area, see 40 CFR 81.303. The Bullhead
City maintenance area is located in western
Arizona. The original nonattainment area was
defined by the equivalent of approximately six
townships covering more than 200 square miles:
T21N, R20–21W, excluding Lake Mead National
Recreation area; T20N, R20–22W; and T19N, R21–
22W, excluding the Fort Mohave Indian
Reservation. On June 26, 2002, the EPA approved
the State’s request that some areas of undisturbed
desert terrain containing no industrial or
commercial activity be excluded from the Bullhead
City PM10 planning area (67 FR 43020, 43022). As
a result of the boundary change, the townships
comprising the maintenance area include: T21N,
R21W, excluding Lake Mead National Recreation
Area; T20N, R21–22W; and T19N, R22W, excluding
the Fort Mohave Indian Reservation.
4 58 FR 67334 (December 21, 1993).
5 67 FR 7082 (February 15, 2002).
2 71
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standard is attained when the expected
number of days with levels above 150
mg/m3 (averaged over a 3-year period) is
less than or equal to one.
B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
the Bullhead City Area
Under CAA section 175A, one of the
criteria for an area to be redesignated
from nonattainment to attainment is the
approval of a maintenance plan. The
maintenance plan must, among other
requirements, ensure control measures
are in place such that the area will
continue to maintain the standard for
the period extending 10 years after
redesignation and include contingency
provisions to assure that violations of
the NAAQS will be promptly remedied.
In 2002, the Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality (ADEQ)
submitted a maintenance plan, titled
‘‘Bullhead City Moderate Area PM10
Maintenance Plan and Request for
Redesignation to Attainment’’ (February
2002) (‘‘First 10-Year Limited
Maintenance Plan’’ or ‘‘First 10-Year
LMP’’) to the EPA as a revision to the
Arizona SIP, and requested that the EPA
redesignate the Bullhead City area to
attainment.6 The First 10-Year LMP
provided for maintenance of the PM10
NAAQS in the Bullhead City area for 10
years after redesignation. On June 26,
2002, the EPA approved the First 10Year LMP for the Bullhead City area as
providing for maintenance through
2012.7
The EPA’s primary guidance on
maintenance plans is a 1992
memorandum entitled ‘‘Procedures for
Processing Requests to Redesignate
Areas to Attainment’’ (‘‘Calcagni
memo’’).8 In August 2001, the EPA
issued guidance on streamlined
maintenance plan provisions for certain
Moderate PM10 nonattainment areas
seeking redesignation to attainment
(‘‘LMP policy’’).9 Herein, the option set
forth in the LMP policy is referred to as
the ‘‘LMP option.’’
The LMP policy does not require
areas to project a demonstration of
maintenance into the future. Instead, the
LMP policy allows areas meeting certain
air quality criteria to use a statistical
6 ADEQ, Bullhead City Moderate Area PM
10
Maintenance Plan and Request for Redesignation to
Attainment, February 2002.
7 67 FR 43020.
8 Memorandum dated September 4, 1992 from
John Calcagni, Director, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, to Directors of EPA
Regional Air Programs.
9 Memorandum dated August 9, 2001, from Lydia
Wegman, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards, to Directors of EPA Regional Air
Programs entitled ‘‘Limited Maintenance Plan
Option for Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas’’ or
‘‘LMP policy.’’
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method to demonstrate, with a high
degree of probability, that the area will
maintain the standard 10 years into the
future. The maintenance demonstration
requirement of the Act is considered to
be satisfied when a moderate
nonattainment area meets the air quality
criteria outlined in the LMP policy, and
there is no need for qualifying areas to
project emissions over the maintenance
period.
To qualify for the LMP option for
redesignation to attainment, the area
should be attaining the 1987 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS and the average PM10 24hour design value concentration, based
upon the most recent five years of air
quality data at all monitors in the area,
should be at or below 98 mg/m3 or the
respective site-specific critical design
value (CDV). The CDV is a calculated
design value concentration that
indicates the area has a low probability
(1 in 10) of exceeding the NAAQS in the
future. In addition, the area should
expect only limited growth in on-road
motor vehicle PM10 emissions
(including fugitive dust) and should
have passed a motor vehicle regional
emissions analysis test. The LMP option
also identifies core provisions that must
be included in all LMPs. These
provisions include an attainment year
emissions inventory, assurance of
continued operation of an EPAapproved air quality monitoring
network, and contingency provisions. If
the State determines that the area in
question meets the above criteria, it may
select the LMP option for the first 10year maintenance period.10
The LMP policy also states that once
the LMP option is in effect, the state
must verify in each subsequent year that
the area still qualifies for the LMP
option by recalculating the area’s
average design value concentration
annually and determining that the LMP
criteria are met for that year.
As noted above, in June 2002, the EPA
approved the First 10-Year LMP for the
Bullhead City area. This action affirmed
that Bullhead City’s plan met the
limited maintenance plan requirements
through 2012 and redesignated the area
to attainment for the PM10 NAAQS.
II. Arizona’s SIP Submittal
CAA section 175A(b) requires states
to submit an additional SIP revision to
maintain the NAAQS for 10 years after
the expiration of the 10-year period
covered by the initial maintenance plan
approved in connection with the
redesignation of the area from
nonattainment to attainment. On May
24, 2012, ADEQ submitted a second 1010 Id.
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year maintenance plan, titled ‘‘Limited
Maintenance Plan Update for the
Bullhead City PM10 Maintenance Area’’
(May 2012) (‘‘2012 Bullhead City
Second 10-Year LMP’’ or ‘‘Second 10Year LMP’’), to meet the requirement for
the subsequent maintenance plan under
CAA section 175A(b). The 2012
Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP is
intended to provide for continued
maintenance of the PM10 NAAQS for the
10-year period following the end of the
first 10-year period, i.e., through June
2022.
Consistent with the requirements at
the time, the First 10-year LMP
provided for maintenance of both the
24-hour average and annual average
PM10 NAAQS. However, since then (as
noted above), the EPA has revoked the
annual average PM10 NAAQS, and thus,
the Second 10-Year LMP addresses only
maintenance of the 24-hour PM10
NAAQS.
satisfies the procedural requirements of
section 110(l) of the Act.
III. The EPA’s Evaluation of Arizona’s
SIP Submittal
The first criterion for the LMP option
is attainment of the NAAQS. Generally,
the EPA determines whether an area’s
air quality is meeting the PM10 NAAQS
based upon complete,11 quality-assured,
and certified data gathered at
established state and local air
monitoring stations (SLAMS) in the
nonattainment area and entered into the
EPA Air Quality System (AQS)
database. Data from air monitors
operated by state, local, or tribal
agencies in compliance with EPA
monitoring requirements must be
submitted to AQS. These monitoring
agencies certify annually that these data
are accurate to the best of their
knowledge. Accordingly, the EPA relies
primarily on data in AQS when
determining the attainment status of an
area.12 All valid data are reviewed to
determine the area’s air quality status in
accordance with 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix K.
The PM10 standard is attained when
the expected number of exceedances
averaged over a three-year period is less
than or equal to one. The expected
number of exceedances averaged over a
three-year period at any given monitor
is known as the PM10 design value. The
PM10 design value for the area is the
highest design value within the
nonattainment area. Three consecutive
years of air quality data are required to
show attainment of the PM10 standard.13
A. Procedural Requirements
Section 110(l) of the act requires
states to provide reasonable notice and
public hearing prior to adoption of SIP
revisions. Documents in ADEQ’s
submittal describe the public review
process followed by ADEQ for the
Second 10-year LMP for the Bullhead
City area prior to adoption and
submittal to the EPA as a revision to the
Arizona SIP. The documentation
provides evidence that reasonable
notice of a public hearing was provided,
and a public hearing was conducted
prior to adoption.
The documentation is found in
Enclosure 4 of the May 24, 2012
submittal. Enclosure 4 includes
evidence that reasonable notice of a
public hearing was provided to the
public and that a public hearing was
conducted prior to adoption.
Specifically, the affidavit of publication
included in Enclosure 4 shows that
notices of a public hearing and the
opening of a comment period of at least
30 days for the 2012 Bullhead City
Second 10-Year LMP were published on
March 23, 2012 and March 30, 2012, in
a newspaper of general circulation
within the Bullhead City area. The
public hearing was held on May 3, 2012.
No comments were received during the
public comment period or at the public
hearing. ADEQ adopted the plan and
submitted it to the EPA for approval on
May 24, 2012.
Based on the documentation provided
in Enclosure 4 of the 2012 Bullhead City
Second 10-Year LMP, we find that the
submittal of the plan as a SIP revision
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B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option
Bullhead City qualified for the LMP
option in 2002 for the first 10-year
maintenance period. ADEQ’s second 10year maintenance plan provides the
same categories of information as the
first plan, based on the LMP option. In
addition, the majority of the second
maintenance period, which ends in
2022, has already passed and the area
has not violated the standard during this
period. For the reasons given below, we
conclude that the Bullhead City area
continues to qualify for the LMP option
and that the 2012 Bullhead City Second
10-Year LMP meets all applicable
requirements for subsequent
maintenance plans under CAA section
175A(b).
1. Continued Attainment of the NAAQS
11 For PM , a ‘‘complete’’ set of data includes a
10
minimum of 75 percent of the scheduled PM10
samples per quarter. See 40 CFR part 50, appendix
K, section 2.3(a).
12 40 CFR 50.6; 40 CFR part 50, appendix J; 40
CFR part 53; and 40 CFR part 58, appendices A, C,
D, and E.
13 40 CFR part 50, appendix K.
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ADEQ is responsible for monitoring
ambient air quality in the Bullhead City
area and submits annual monitoring
network plans to the EPA. The annual
monitoring network plans submitted to
the EPA discuss the status of, and
describe the air monitoring network
operated by ADEQ, as required under 40
CFR 58.10. The EPA reviews these
annual monitoring network plans for
compliance with the applicable
reporting requirements in 40 CFR part
58. With respect to PM10, the EPA has
found that ADEQ’s annual monitoring
network plans meet the applicable
reporting requirements for the area
under 40 CFR part 58. The EPA has also
found that ADEQ currently meets or
exceeds the requirements for the
minimum number of SLAMS for PM10
in the Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA),
which includes the Bullhead City PM10
maintenance area.14
The EPA also concluded from its 2018
Technical System Audit (TSA) that
ADEQ’s air monitoring program meets
EPA requirements.15 ADEQ annually
certifies that the data it submits to the
AQS database are quality-assured.16
Since November 1997, ADEQ has
operated a SLAMS PM10 monitor in
Bullhead City (AQS ID: 04–015–1003),
located at the U.S. Post Office Building
northeast of SR 95 and 7th Street. The
surrounding area is commercial and
residential to the west and south. The
Colorado River lies to the west less than
300 meters. To the northeast/east, about
675 meters, is the Bullhead City Airport.
The Second 10-Year LMP was submitted
to EPA in 2012 and analyzes monitoring
data from 2006–2010 for LMP
qualification. During those years, ADEQ
was operating the Bullhead City monitor
on a once-every-sixth-day sampling
schedule. ADEQ later switched to daily
sampling in July 2012.
Table 1 shows the maximum
monitored 24-hour PM10 concentrations
at the Bullhead City monitoring site for
2001–2020. The table reflects that
values for the Bullhead City area are
typically well below the PM10 NAAQS
of 150 mg/m3, with some exceedances
measured in 2012, 2013, and 2020.
TABLE 1—BULLHEAD CITY PM10
MAXIMUM 24-HOUR CONCENTRATIONS
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification
Number 04–015–1003]
Maximum
concentration
(μg/m3)
Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
....................................
Source: EPA Air Quality System Quicklook
Report 2001–2021, accessed November 5,
2021.
Table 2 shows the estimated number
of exceedances for the Bullhead City
PM10 area for the three-year design
value periods starting in 2001 and
ending in 2020. The design values from
2001 through 2007 were invalid due to
incomplete quarters in 2001, 2002, and
2005. However, there were no
exceedances at the Bullhead City
monitor from 2001 to 2007. Between the
2008 through 2020 design value periods,
there were three exceedances of the
NAAQS. However, no violations of the
NAAQS (design values greater than 1.0)
were recorded at the Bullhead City
monitor from 2008 through 2020.
TABLE 2—BULLHEAD CITY PM10
DESIGN VALUES
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification
Number 04–015–1003]
Design value
(μg/m3)
Design value period
14 Letter
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dated October 29, 2021, from Gwen
Yoshimura, Manager, Air Quality Analysis Office,
EPA Region IX, to Daniel Czecholinski, Director,
Air Quality Division, Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality.
15 Letter dated April 25, 2019, from Elizabeth J.
Adams, Director, Air Quality Analysis Office, EPA
Region IX, to Timothy J. Franquist, Director, Air
Quality Division, Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality.
16 Letter dated April 26, 2021, from Daniel
Czecholinski, Director, Air Quality Division,
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to
Gwen Yoshimura, Manager, Air Quality Analysis
Office, EPA Region 9.
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39
55
44
48
48
72
52
46
98
33
132
185
208
108
69
119
125
118
92
185
1999–2001
2000–2002
2001–2003
2002–2004
2003–2005
2004–2006
2005–2007
2006–2008
2007–2009
2008–2010
2009–2011
2010–2012
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a 0.0
a 0.0
a 0.0
a 0.0
a 0.0
a 0.0
TABLE 2—BULLHEAD CITY PM10
DESIGN VALUES—Continued
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification
Number 04–015–1003]
Design value period
2011–2013
2012–2014
2013–2015
2014–2016
2015–2017
2016–2018
2017–2019
2018–2020
Design value
(μg/m3)
b 0.7
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
b 0.7
0.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.3
Sources: EPA Air Quality System Design
Value Report 2001–2020, accessed November
5, 2021, and EPA PM10 Design Value Spreadsheet, August 6th, 2015.
a Invalid design value due to incomplete
data in data years 2001, 2002, and 2005.
b Due to a method change-out, AQS does
not reflect the combination of the methods;
however, the 2014 EPA PM10 design value
spreadsheets manually calculated these design values.
As such, based on complete, qualityassured and certified data for the 2010
design value, we conclude that the
Second 10-Year LMP submittal
accurately reflected that the Bullhead
City area was attaining the standard.
Similarly, the most recent design value
for 2020 continues to reflect attainment
of the standard.
2. Five-Year Average Design Value
Concentrations
The LMP guidance provides two
methods for review of monitoring data
for the purpose of meeting the second
criterion for the LMP option. The first
method is a comparison of a site’s
average design value concentration,
based on the most recent 5 years of data,
to 98 mg/m3 for the 24-hour PM10
NAAQS. If the area cannot meet this
test, then a second test can be calculated
for determination of qualification. This
second method is a comparison of the
site-specific CDV with the site’s average
design value concentration. The CDV is
a margin of safety value and is the value
at which an area has been determined
to have a 1 in 10 probability of
exceeding the NAAQS.
TABLE 3—BULLHEAD CITY PM10 DESIGN CONCENTRATIONS AND 3-YEAR
AVERAGE DESIGN VALUE CONCENTRATIONS
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification
Number 04–015–1003]
a 0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
b 0.3
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Design value years
2006–2008 ..........................
2007–2009 ..........................
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Design
concentration
(μg/m3)
72
98
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TABLE 3—BULLHEAD CITY PM10 DESIGN CONCENTRATIONS AND 3-YEAR
AVERAGE DESIGN VALUE CONCENTRATIONS—Continued
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification
Number 04–015–1003]
Design value years
Design
concentration
(μg/m3)
2008–2010 ..........................
98
Average Design Value
Concentration
(2006–2010) .............
89
TABLE 4—BULLHEAD CITY PM10 DESIGN CONCENTRATIONS AND 3-YEAR
AVERAGE DESIGN VALUE CONCENTRATIONS
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification
Number 04–015–1003]
Design value years
Design
concentration
(μg/m3)
2016–2018 ..........................
2017–2019 ..........................
2018–2020 ..........................
110
92
102
Average Design Value
Concentration
(2016–2020) .............
101
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ADEQ’s Second 10-Year LMP
submittal included data from 2006–
2010. As noted in Table 3 above, the
average design value concentration for
that five-year period was 89 mg/m3.
Because the average design value
concentration was below 98 mg/m3, the
area qualified for the LMP average PM10
design value concentration criterion
based on the first method in the LMP
guidance.17 We also evaluated the most
recent five-year period of 2016–2020;
the average design value concentration
was 101 mg/m3, as noted in Table 4
above. Because the average design value
concentration was above 98 mg/m3 from
2016–2020, we conducted the
additional comparison of the sitespecific CDV with the site’s average
design value concentration and
calculated a site-specific CDV for 2016–
2020 of 128 mg/m3.18 Because the
17 In its Second 10-Year LMP submittal, ADEQ
calculated the design value concentration for the
years 2006–2010 as 98 mg/m3. That value was the
maximum design concentration across all five
years, rather than the average design value
concentration (of the three most recent design value
concentrations). We use the average design value
concentration here of 89 mg/m3 because that is the
value the LMP option intended to be compared
with the CDV threshold.
18 Technical Support Document (TSD) for the
EPA’s Rulemaking for the Arizona State
Implementation Plan; Bullhead City Area 2nd
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average design value concentration was
below the site-specific CDV, the area
also qualified for the LMP average PM10
design value concentration criterion for
2016–2020 based on the second method
in the LMP guidance. Based on both the
time period in the Second 10-Year LMP
submittal and the most recent five-year
average design value concentration, the
Bullhead City area meets the second
criterion for the LMP option.19
3. Motor Vehicle Regional Emissions
Analysis Test
The third criterion for the LMP option
is referred to as the motor vehicle
regional emissions analysis test. The
methodology for this test is found in
Attachment B to the LMP policy and is
used to determine whether increased
emissions from on-road mobile sources
could, in the next 10 years, increase
design value concentrations in the area.
As a general matter, the methodology
increases the monitor-based design
value concentration based on the
expected growth in motor vehicle traffic
over the maintenance period.
Specifically, the motor vehicle fraction
of the design concentration is assumed
to equal the motor vehicle fraction of
the overall emissions inventory. The
motor vehicle fraction of the design
concentration is then multiplied by the
projected percentage increase in vehicle
miles traveled (VMT) in the area over
the next 10 years. The product of this
calculation is then added to the
monitor-based design value
concentration and compared with the 98
mg/m3 or site-specific CDV.
ADEQ calculated a site-specific CDV
in its submittal for use in the motor
vehicle regional emissions analysis test.
ADEQ calculated its CDV with a 1 in 5
probability instead of the 1 in 10
probability provided in the LMP option.
This made the site-specific CDV more
stringent, or lower, and yielded a CDV
of 101 mg/m3.
For comparison, EPA calculated a
site-specific CDV for the same years
using a 1 in 10 probability and using the
average design value concentration, as
described in the LMP option.20 This
calculation yields 114 mg/m3, which is
higher than ADEQ’s site-specific CDV
calculation.
ADEQ’s motor vehicle growth
analysis demonstration yielded 99.6 mg/
Period Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP); November
2021.
19 Our TSD includes additional CDV information
for 2013–2020 (all complete data years with daily
sampling).
20 Technical Support Document (TSD) for EPA’s
Rulemaking for the Arizona State Implementation
Plan; Bullhead City Area 2nd Period Limited
Maintenance Plan (LMP); November 2021.
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m3, which is lower than both sitespecific CDV thresholds that ADEQ and
the EPA calculated. However, ADEQ
calculated the motor vehicle design
value concentration based on the onroad mobile portion of the 2008
inventory instead of the entire mobile
source emissions inventory. ADEQ also
used the maximum design value
concentration instead of the average
design value concentration as the basis
for calculating the motor vehicle
fraction of the design concentration.
Using the EPA’s calculated average
design value concentration of 89 mg/m3
and the full mobile source portion of the
2008 emissions inventory yields a motor
vehicle design value concentration of
7.5 mg/m3 and a motor vehicle regional
analysis value of 91.4 mg/m3.21
Both ADEQ’s and the EPA’s
calculated motor vehicle regional
analysis values are lower than ADEQ’s
calculated site-specific CDV threshold
of 101 mg/m3 and the EPA’s calculated
site-specific CDV threshold of 114 mg/
m3. Consequently, we confirm that the
motor vehicle growth analysis the
Second 10-Year LMP was within the
margin of safety required by the LMP
option. Therefore, the third criterion for
eligibility for the LMP option for the
second 10-year maintenance period is
met. Both site-specific values of 101 mg/
m3 and 114 mg/m3 are significantly
above the Bullhead City average design
value concentration, thereby reaffirming
the second criterion as well.
In addition, the Second 10-Year LMP
notes that Bullhead City is located in
rural Mohave County. Like other rural
counties, Bullhead City experienced
population growth during the 1970s;
this growth continued into the 1980s.
Growth slowed in the 1990s and 2000s.
The Second 10-Year LMP included
Bullhead City’s population of 39,540 as
of the 2010 U.S. Census. The submittal
noted that the population was projected
to continue growing, but at a lower rate
than had historically been observed. As
of the 2020 Census, Bullhead City has
a population of 41,348.22 Although not
directly related to the LMP option
criteria, the low population growth in
Bullhead City appears consistent with
the Second 10-Year LMP’s projection of
low vehicle growth.
Under the LMP policy, the
maintenance demonstration
requirement under CAA section 175A is
considered satisfied for areas meeting
the three LMP criteria discussed above.
21 See the EPA’s TSD for additional details on our
calculation.
22 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/
bullheadcitycityarizona,mohavecounty
arizona,AZ,US/POP010220 (last visited on October
25, 2021).
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Because the Bullhead City area
continues to meet the LMP criteria, we
conclude that no further demonstration
of maintenance through the second 10year period is necessary.
C. Additional Maintenance Plan
Requirements
1. Emissions Inventory
The State’s approved attainment plan
should include an emissions inventory
(attainment inventory), which can be
used to demonstrate attainment of the
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 LMP applicability
requirements.
As part of the 2012 Bullhead City
Second 10-Year LMP, ADEQ prepared a
PM10 emissions inventory for 2008 for
the Bullhead City area. 2008 is one of
the years within the five-year period
included in the Second 10-Year LMP
PM10 design value concentration and
thus is an acceptable inventory year.
Based on ADEQ’s estimates, shown in
Table 5 below, on-road motor vehicles
(including fugitive dust from
entrainment of PM10 from travel on
paved and unpaved roads, as well as
exhaust, brake and tire wear)
contributed approximately 8.4 percent
to the total PM10 inventory, while
construction and windblown dust
contributed 9.2 and 82.4 percent,
respectively. Industrial sources
contributed less than 0.1 percent.
TABLE 5—2008 EMISSIONS INVENTORY FOR THE BULLHEAD CITY PM10 MAINTENANCE AREA
Bullhead City
maintenance area
PM10 emissions
(tons per year)
Source category
Percent of total
PM10 emissions
in Bullhead City
maintenance
area
Unpaved Roads—Fugitive Dust .....................................................................................................................
Paved Roads—Fugitive Dust .........................................................................................................................
Paved and Unpaved Roads—Exhaust, Tire, and Brake Wear ......................................................................
373.42
223.88
18.93
5.1
3.0
0.3
Subtotal—Motor Vehicles ........................................................................................................................
Construction ....................................................................................................................................................
Windblown Dust ..............................................................................................................................................
Industrial Sources ...........................................................................................................................................
616.23
679
6075.1
5.26
8.4
9.2
82.4
Less than 0.1
Total ..................................................................................................................................................
7,375.59
100
Source: Table 3.6 (p. 18) of the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP.
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Section 3.2 of the 2012 Bullhead City
Second 10-Year LMP describes the
methodology used to develop the
emissions inventory. The emissions
inventory categories are the same as
those identified in the first 10-year LMP,
and the methodology used to determine
the contribution of sources is largely the
same as was used in the first 10-year
LMP. ADEQ used updated emissions
factors for each source category based
on current emissions models, vehicle
activity, population, and employment
figures.
For instance, ADEQ updated motor
vehicle emissions estimates using the
EPA’s National Mobile Inventory Model
(NMIM) to develop emissions factors for
motor vehicle exhaust, tire, and brake
wear for motor vehicles. NMIM used the
EPA’s MOBILE6.2 emissions factors,
which were the most current factors at
the time the 2012 Bullhead City Second
10-Year LMP was being developed.
ADEQ used updated emissions factors
in the EPA’s Compilation of Air
Pollutant Emissions Factors (AP–42) to
estimate PM10 entrained by vehicle
movement over paved roads. ADEQ also
updated the non-mobile source
inventory with 2008 National Emissions
Inventory (NEI) data, primarily by
adjusting county-specific estimates by
the ratio of population in the Bullhead
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City area to the population of Mohave
County. For point sources in Bullhead
City, ADEQ used industrial source data
collected in an annual survey of
permitted facilities.
During the period in which the draft
2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year
LMP was being developed, the EPA
replaced MOBILE6.2 with a new motor
vehicle emission factor model, known
as Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (or
‘‘MOVES’’). In response to an EPA
request to consider the impact on the
inventory due to the release of MOVES,
ADEQ re-calculated the motor vehicle
emissions estimates using MOVES and
projected a 17.9 tons per year increase
in emissions from motor vehicle
exhaust, brake wear, and tire wear
relative to the estimate made using
MOBILE6.2.23 This incremental increase
corresponded to a 0.24 mg/m3 increase
in ADEQ’s motor vehicle regional
analysis calculation. As such, use of
MOVES, rather than MOBILE6.2, did
not affect the continued eligibility of the
Bullhead City area to use the LMP
option.24
Based on our review of the methods,
models, and assumptions used by ADEQ
to develop the PM10 emissions
23 ADEQ, ‘‘Bullhead City Update using MOVES,’’
November 8, 2013.
24 See the EPA’s TSD for additional details.
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Sfmt 4702
inventory, we find that the 2012
Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP
includes a comprehensive inventory of
PM10 emissions and conclude that the
plan’s inventory is acceptable for the
purposes of a subsequent maintenance
plan, in this case, a subsequent LMP,
under CAA section 175A(b).
Since submitting the Second 10-Year
LMP, ADEQ has reported its emissions
annually to the EPA under the Air
Emissions Reporting Rule and has
completed its reporting requirements for
the 2011, 2014 and 2017 National
Emissions Inventories.25 For
comparison with the 2008 emissions
inventory in the Second 10-Year LMP,
ADEQ provided 2011, 2014 and 2017
NEI data and windblown dust estimates
for Bullhead City, as well as MOVES
calculations for 2017.26 The 2017 data
are shown in Table 6 below along with
the percentage of total emissions for
each category.
25 The docket for this rulemaking includes a
spreadsheet of ADEQ’s statewide emissions data for
the 2011, 2014 and 2017 National Emissions
Inventories.
26 Email dated October 26, 2021, from Jessica
Wood, ADEQ, to Panah Stauffer, EPA Region IX,
Subject: ‘‘Bullhead City EI Analysis,’’ and attached
‘‘Bullhead EI workbook’’ spreadsheet.
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TABLE 6—2017 EMISSIONS FOR THE BULLHEAD CITY PM10 MAINTENANCE AREA
2017 PM10
emissions
(tpy)
Source sector
Unpaved Road Dust ....................................................................................................................................
Paved Road Dust ........................................................................................................................................
MOVES Tire, Exhaust, and Brake wear ......................................................................................................
1,526.05
202.56
44.47
7.0
0.9
0.2
Subtotal—Motor Vehicles .....................................................................................................................
1,773.09
8.1
Construction .................................................................................................................................................
Windblown Dust ...........................................................................................................................................
Industrial Sources ........................................................................................................................................
119.71
19,891.89
0
0.5
91.3
0
Total ......................................................................................................................................................
21,784.69
100
The motor vehicle fraction of the
emissions inventory is approximately 8
percent for 2017, which is similar to the
motor vehicle percentage of the 2008
inventory. The emissions calculated in
MOVES have also not changed
significantly, from 36.88 tpy in 2008 to
44.47 tpy in 2017. Construction dust in
2017 was approximately one-sixth of the
2008 emissions. All permitted industrial
sources from the 2008 inventory had
terminated their permits, were no longer
required to hold a permit, or had ceased
operation as of 2017.27
The calculated windblown dust
emissions were significantly higher in
2017 than in 2008. This is likely
because of a change in the frequency of
wind measurements at the Bullhead
City airport. The Bullhead City Airport’s
meteorological station began taking
wind measurements every 20 minutes
on February 20, 2009. Prior to this, the
monitor was taking hourly
measurements for only 8–12 hours out
of the day.28 Because the windblown
dust figure is calculated using the
number of hours when wind speed
exceeded 24 mph, the lower frequency
of readings and lower windblown dust
figure in the 2008 inventory indicate
that number in the Second 10-Year LMP
was likely underestimated.29
In general, the inventory that was
provided in the Second 10-Year LMP
was comprehensive, and recent
emissions confirm our conclusions
about the submitted inventory and the
area’s LMP eligibility. Further, as noted
27 Id.
28 Id.
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Percent of
total PM10
emissions
29 The underestimated windblown dust figure in
the 2008 emissions inventory does not affect the
area’s eligibility for the LMP Option The criteria for
attainment and a design value concentration that
falls below the 98 mg/m3 or site-specific CDV are
unaffected by emissions inventory numbers. The
motor vehicle criterion for LMP eligibility would
only have been strengthened by a higher
windblown dust figure for 2008 because the motor
vehicle fraction of the inventory would have
decreased.
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above, the area has stayed in attainment
and its second maintenance period will
end in June 2022.
2. Control Measures
As discussed in our 2002 approval of
the first 10-year LMP for the Bullhead
City area, the measures that brought the
area into attainment are permanent and
enforceable.30 The 2012 Bullhead City
Second 10-Year LMP relies on the same
control measures to continue to
maintain the NAAQS for PM10 through
2022. These measures have not been
revised and continue to be permanent
and enforceable.
3. PM10 Air Quality Monitoring Network
As described earlier, ADEQ has
operated a single PM10 monitoring site
in the Bullhead City area since
November 1997. Operating a single
monitor in this area is consistent with
the EPA’s monitoring requirements. In
Section 6 of the Second 10-Year LMP,
ADEQ committed ‘‘to continue to
operate an appropriate PM10 air quality
monitoring network to verify the
attainment status’’ of the Bullhead City
area in accordance with 40 CFR part 58.
In 2012, ADEQ replaced the PM10
sampler that operated on a once every
sixth-day sampling period with a
continuous (hourly) monitor. ADEQ’s
monitoring network continues to meet
EPA’s requirements for Bullhead City.
4. Contingency Provisions
Section 175A(d) 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. These contingency
provisions do not have to be fully
adopted measures at the time of
redesignation. However, the
contingency provisions are considered
30 67
PO 00000
FR 43020 at 43025 (June 26, 2002).
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Sfmt 4702
to be an enforceable part of the SIP and
the State should ensure that
contingency measures are adopted as
soon as possible once they are triggered
by a specific event. The contingency
provisions should identify the measure
to be adopted and provide a schedule
and procedure for adoption and
implementation of the measure if
required.
In the Second 10-Year LMP, ADEQ
has, in most respects, carried forward
the contingency provisions adopted in
the first 10-year LMP, which EPA
approved in 2002. First, ADEQ
committed to continue to submit annual
reports to the EPA that will include
calculation of the Bullhead City area
PM10 design value concentration to
verify continued attainment and
continued eligibility to use the LMP
option.31 ADEQ made a similar
commitment in the first 10-year LMP
and submitted reports of annual PM10
design value concentrations to the EPA
for the first 10-year maintenance period.
Since submitting the Second 10-Year
LMP in 2012, ADEQ has continued to
send reports of annual PM10 design
value concentrations to the EPA. These
annual reports are included in the
docket for this proposed action.
Second, as part of the contingency
provisions, ADEQ committed to
determine whether PM10 NAAQS
violations have been recorded within
six months of the close of each calendar
year, and to review and determine the
appropriate contingency measure(s) by
the end of the same calendar year.32
Table 7 below lists the measures that
ADEQ committed to consider for
implementation in the event of a
violation of the PM10 NAAQS or in the
event the annual recalculation of the
area’s design value concentration
exceeded the applicable LMP option
31 Section 6.0 of the 2012 Bullhead City Second
10-Year LMP.
32 See section 5.3 of the 2012 Bullhead City
Second 10-Year LMP.
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criteria. ADEQ noted, ‘‘the cause of the
violation or exceedance of the LMP
option criteria will help to determine
70077
the appropriate contingency measure(s)
to be implemented.’’
TABLE 7—BULLHEAD CITY AREA CONTINGENCY MEASURES
Contingency measures
Implementing entity
Review of Bullhead City grading ordinance to determine if additional action is needed ..........................
Increased enforcement efforts, or develop a compliance survey, for standards for the installation and
maintenance of landscaping and screening (Bullhead City Zoning Regulation, Chapter 17.48, Landscaping and Screening Regulations).
Pave or stabilize unpaved roads located in the PM10 maintenance area ................................................
Pave additional unpaved parking areas in the Davis Camp Park (south beach parking areas) ..............
Cleanup of roadways after rainstorms .......................................................................................................
Increase enforcement efforts, or develop a compliance survey, for the requirement for all commercial
establishments to pave parking lots (Mohave County Zoning Regulations, Section 26 Off-Street
Parking standards).
Exercise authority under the Enhanced Smoke Management Plan—state and federal land managers
conducting prescribed burning must register with ADEQ for proposed burning activities (Arizona Administrative Code R18–2-Article 15—Forest & Range Management Burns). ADEQ maintains the
ability to deny permission for burning on certain high risk days (dependent on meteorological conditions) and may increase outreach and enforcement resources.
Review of the requirement for dust control measures for material storage piles to determine if revision
is needed (A.A.C. R18–2–607.
Bullhead City.
Bullhead City.
Bullhead City and/or Mohave County.
Mohave County.
Mohave County.
Mohave County.
U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of
Land Management, Arizona State
Land Department, ADEQ.
ADEQ.
Source: 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP, Section 5.3, p. 25.
Finally, the State committed to
implement the selected contingency
measure(s) within one year of
determining that a PM10 NAAQS
violation has occurred. We conclude
that these measures and commitments
meet the requirements of CAA section
175A(d). The Bullhead City area did not
violate the PM10 standard and has
stayed in attainment with the PM10
NAAQS to date.
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D. Transportation and General
Conformity Requirements
Section 176(c) of the CAA requires
that all federal actions conform to an
applicable SIP. Conformity is defined in
section 176(c) of the Act as conformity
to a SIP’s purpose of eliminating or
reducing the severity and number of
violations of the NAAQS and achieving
expeditious attainment of such
standards, and that such activities will
not: (1) Cause or contribute to any new
violation of any standard in any area; (2)
increase the frequency or severity of any
existing violation of any standard in any
area; or (3) delay timely attainment of
any standard or any required interim
emission reductions or other milestones
in any area.
The EPA has established criteria and
procedures for federal agencies to follow
in determining conformity of their
actions. The EPA’s rule governing
transportation plans, programs, and
projects approved or funded by the
Federal Highway Administration or
Federal Transit Administration is
referred to as the ‘‘transportation
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conformity’’ rule,33 and the EPA’s rule
governing all other types of federal
agency actions is referred to as the
‘‘general conformity’’ rule.34
The transportation conformity rule
and the general conformity rule apply to
nonattainment and maintenance areas.
Both rules provide that conformity can
be demonstrated by showing that the
expected emissions from planned
actions 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,
the LMP policy explains that the area
may demonstrate conformity without
submitting an emissions budget.
1. Transportation Conformity
Under the conformity rule, areas
submitting an LMP for the second 10year maintenance plan may demonstrate
conformity without a regional emissions
analysis as outlined in 40 CFR
93.109(e). Under the LMP option,
emissions budgets are not treated as
constraining for the length of the
maintenance period because it is
unreasonable to expect that qualifying
areas would experience so much growth
in that period that a violation of the
NAAQS would result. Therefore, in
areas with approved LMPs, federal
actions requiring conformity
determinations under the transportation
conformity rule are considered to satisfy
the ‘‘budget test’’ required in 40 CFR
93.118.
While areas with maintenance plans
approved under the LMP option are not
33 40
34 40
PO 00000
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CFR part 93, subpart B.
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Sfmt 4702
subject to the budget test, the areas
remain subject to other transportation
conformity requirements of 40 CFR part
93, subpart A. Because no metropolitan
planning organization exists for
Bullhead City, the Arizona Department
of Transportation will still need to
document and ensure that applicable
conformity requirements are met.
Specifically, for conformity
determinations, projects will have to
demonstrate that they are fiscally
constrained (40 CFR 93.108) and meet
the criteria for consultation (40 CFR
93.105 and 40 CFR 93.112) and timely
implementation (as applicable) of
Transportation Control Measures (40
CFR 93.113). Projects in the Bullhead
City area will also be required to be
evaluated for potential PM10 hot-spot
issues to satisfy the ‘‘project level’’
conformity determination requirements.
As appropriate, a project may then need
to address the applicable criteria for a
PM10 hot-spot analysis as provided in 40
CFR 93.116 and 40 CFR 93.123.
Upon approval of the 2012 Bullhead
City Second 10-Year LMP, the State (in
this case, the Arizona Department of
Transportation) will continue to be
exempt from performing a regional
emissions analysis but must continue to
meet project-level analyses as well as
the transportation conformity criteria
mentioned above.
2. General Conformity
Federal actions, other than
transportation conformity, that meet
specific criteria need to be evaluated
with respect to the requirements of 40
CFR part 93, subpart B. The EPA’s
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general conformity rule requirements
are designed to ensure that emissions
from a federal action will not cause or
contribute to new violations of the
NAAQS, exacerbate current violations,
or delay timely attainment. However, as
noted in the LMP policy and similar to
the above discussed transportation
conformity provisions, federal actions
subject to general conformity
requirements would be considered to
satisfy the ‘‘budget test,’’ as specified in
40 CFR 93.158(a)(5)(i)(A). As discussed
above, the basis for this provision in the
LMP policy memorandum is that it is
unreasonable to expect that an LMP area
will experience so much growth during
the maintenance period that a violation
of the PM10 NAAQS would result.
Therefore, for purposes of general
conformity, a general conformity PM10
emissions budget does not need to be
identified in the maintenance plan, nor
submitted, and the emissions from
federal agency actions are essentially
considered to not be limited.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
IV. The EPA’s Proposed Action
Under CAA section 110(k), the EPA is
proposing to approve the Second 10Year LMP for the Bullhead City air
quality planning area for the PM10
NAAQS that was submitted by ADEQ
on May 24, 2012, as a revision to the
Arizona SIP. The EPA is approving this
plan based on the conclusion that it
adequately provides for continued
maintenance of the PM10 NAAQS in the
Bullhead City area through 2022 and
thereby meets the requirements for
subsequent maintenance plans under
section 175A of the Act. The effect of
this action is to make the State’s
continuing commitments with respect to
maintenance of the PM10 NAAQS in the
Bullhead City area federally enforceable
for the second 10-year maintenance
period. These commitments include
continued monitoring; continued
implementation of control measures that
were responsible for bringing the area
into attainment; preparation and
submittal of annual reports;
consideration and implementation of
contingency measures, as necessary; and
submittal of a full maintenance plan if
contingency measures fail to provide the
required remedy.
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the
Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the
provisions of the Act 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:45 Dec 08, 2021
Jkt 256001
they meet the criteria of the Clean Air
Act. Accordingly, 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 Clean Air Act;
and
• Does not provide the EPA with the
discretionary authority to address
disproportionate human health or
environmental effects with practical,
appropriate, and legally permissible
methods under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, there are no areas of
Indian country within the Bullhead City
planning area, and the State plan for
which the EPA is proposing approval
does not 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, this proposed action 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).
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
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: December 2, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
IX.
[FR Doc. 2021–26619 Filed 12–8–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
RIN 0648–BK77
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish
Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico;
Amendment 53
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf)
Fishery Management Council (Council)
has submitted Amendment 53 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the Reef
Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico
(FMP) for review, approval, and
implementation by NMFS. If approved
by the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary), Amendment 53 would
modify the allocation of Gulf red
grouper catch between the commercial
and recreational sectors, specify a new
overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable
biological catch (ABC), and revise sector
annual catch limits (ACLs) and annual
catch targets (ACTs). The purposes of
Amendment 53 are to revise the red
grouper sector allocations using the best
scientific information available and to
modify the allowable harvest of red
grouper based on results of the recent
stock assessment.
DATES: Written comments must be
received by February 7, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on Amendment 53 identified by
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2021–0098’’ by either
of the following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov and enter ‘‘NOAA–
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\09DEP1.SGM
09DEP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 234 (Thursday, December 9, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70070-70078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26619]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0819; FRL-9266-01-R9]
Air Plan Approval; Arizona; Bullhead City; 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 a revision to the Bullhead City portion of
[[Page 70071]]
the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern
the second 10-year maintenance plan for Bullhead City for the 1987
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') for
particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter
(PM10).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 10, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2021-0819 at https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted at
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. 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, please contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public
comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and
general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. If you need assistance in a
language other than English or if you are a person with disabilities
who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Panah Stauffer, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3247 or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
A. Clean Air Act Requirements and Air Quality Designations
B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for the Bullhead City Area
II. Arizona's SIP Submittal
III. The EPA's Evaluation of Arizona's SIP Submittal
A. Procedural Requirements
B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option
C. Additional Maintenance Plan Requirements
D. Transportation and General Conformity Requirements
IV. The EPA's Proposed Action
I. Background
A. Clean Air Act Requirements and Air Quality Designations
The EPA has established health-based standards for PM10.
On July 1, 1987, the EPA promulgated two standards for PM10:
A 24-hour standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter ([micro]g/m\3\)
and an annual PM10 standard of 50 [micro]g/m\3\.\1\
Effective December 18, 2006, the EPA revoked the annual PM10
standard but retained the 24-hour PM10 standard.\2\ In this
document, references to the PM10 NAAQS or PM10
standard refer to the 24-hour average standard of 150 [micro]g/m\3\,
unless otherwise noted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 52 FR 24634 (July 1, 1987).
\2\ 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under section 107(d) of the CAA, the EPA is required to designate
areas of the country, based on ambient air quality data, as attainment,
unclassifiable, or nonattainment for each NAAQS. Under the CAA
Amendments of 1990, the Bullhead City area was designated as part of a
large ``unclassifiable'' area in Arizona for the PM10
NAAQS.\3\ In 1993, in light of PM10 NAAQS violations
monitored in 1989 and 1990, the EPA redesignated the Bullhead City air
quality planning area as a ``Moderate'' nonattainment area for the
PM10 standard.\4\ To meet the SIP planning requirements for
such areas, state and local agencies adopted and implemented a number
of control measures to reduce PM10 emissions and lower
ambient PM10 concentrations in the Bullhead City area,
including paving of certain unpaved roads. In 2002, the EPA determined
that the Bullhead City area had attained the PM10 NAAQS by
the applicable attainment date of December 31, 2000.\5\ The 24-hour
standard is attained when the expected number of days with levels above
150 [micro]g/m\3\ (averaged over a 3-year period) is less than or equal
to one.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ For the definition of the Bullhead City maintenance area,
see 40 CFR 81.303. The Bullhead City maintenance area is located in
western Arizona. The original nonattainment area was defined by the
equivalent of approximately six townships covering more than 200
square miles: T21N, R20-21W, excluding Lake Mead National Recreation
area; T20N, R20-22W; and T19N, R21-22W, excluding the Fort Mohave
Indian Reservation. On June 26, 2002, the EPA approved the State's
request that some areas of undisturbed desert terrain containing no
industrial or commercial activity be excluded from the Bullhead City
PM10 planning area (67 FR 43020, 43022). As a result of
the boundary change, the townships comprising the maintenance area
include: T21N, R21W, excluding Lake Mead National Recreation Area;
T20N, R21-22W; and T19N, R22W, excluding the Fort Mohave Indian
Reservation.
\4\ 58 FR 67334 (December 21, 1993).
\5\ 67 FR 7082 (February 15, 2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for the Bullhead City Area
Under CAA section 175A, one of the criteria for an area to be
redesignated from nonattainment to attainment is the approval of a
maintenance plan. The maintenance plan must, among other requirements,
ensure control measures are in place such that the area will continue
to maintain the standard for the period extending 10 years after
redesignation and include contingency provisions to assure that
violations of the NAAQS will be promptly remedied.
In 2002, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ)
submitted a maintenance plan, titled ``Bullhead City Moderate Area
PM10 Maintenance Plan and Request for Redesignation to
Attainment'' (February 2002) (``First 10-Year Limited Maintenance
Plan'' or ``First 10-Year LMP'') to the EPA as a revision to the
Arizona SIP, and requested that the EPA redesignate the Bullhead City
area to attainment.\6\ The First 10-Year LMP provided for maintenance
of the PM10 NAAQS in the Bullhead City area for 10 years
after redesignation. On June 26, 2002, the EPA approved the First 10-
Year LMP for the Bullhead City area as providing for maintenance
through 2012.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ ADEQ, Bullhead City Moderate Area PM10
Maintenance Plan and Request for Redesignation to Attainment,
February 2002.
\7\ 67 FR 43020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The EPA's primary guidance on maintenance plans is a 1992
memorandum entitled ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate
Areas to Attainment'' (``Calcagni memo'').\8\ In August 2001, the EPA
issued guidance on streamlined maintenance plan provisions for certain
Moderate PM10 nonattainment areas seeking redesignation to
attainment (``LMP policy'').\9\ Herein, the option set forth in the LMP
policy is referred to as the ``LMP option.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Memorandum dated September 4, 1992 from John Calcagni,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, to Directors
of EPA Regional Air Programs.
\9\ Memorandum dated August 9, 2001, from Lydia Wegman,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, to Directors
of EPA Regional Air Programs entitled ``Limited Maintenance Plan
Option for Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas'' or ``LMP
policy.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The LMP policy does not require areas to project a demonstration of
maintenance into the future. Instead, the LMP policy allows areas
meeting certain air quality criteria to use a statistical
[[Page 70072]]
method to demonstrate, with a high degree of probability, that the area
will maintain the standard 10 years into the future. The maintenance
demonstration requirement of the Act is considered to be satisfied when
a moderate nonattainment area meets the air quality criteria outlined
in the LMP policy, and there is no need for qualifying areas to project
emissions over the maintenance period.
To qualify for the LMP option for redesignation to attainment, the
area should be attaining the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS and the
average PM10 24-hour design value concentration, based upon
the most recent five years of air quality data at all monitors in the
area, should be at or below 98 [mu]g/m\3\ or the respective site-
specific critical design value (CDV). The CDV is a calculated design
value concentration that indicates the area has a low probability (1 in
10) of exceeding the NAAQS in the future. In addition, the area should
expect only limited growth in on-road motor vehicle PM10
emissions (including fugitive dust) and should have passed a motor
vehicle regional emissions analysis test. The LMP option also
identifies core provisions that must be included in all LMPs. These
provisions include an attainment year emissions inventory, assurance of
continued operation of an EPA-approved air quality monitoring network,
and contingency provisions. If the State determines that the area in
question meets the above criteria, it may select the LMP option for the
first 10-year maintenance period.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The LMP policy also states that once the LMP option is in effect,
the state must verify in each subsequent year that the area still
qualifies for the LMP option by recalculating the area's average design
value concentration annually and determining that the LMP criteria are
met for that year.
As noted above, in June 2002, the EPA approved the First 10-Year
LMP for the Bullhead City area. This action affirmed that Bullhead
City's plan met the limited maintenance plan requirements through 2012
and redesignated the area to attainment for the PM10 NAAQS.
II. Arizona's SIP Submittal
CAA section 175A(b) requires states to submit an additional SIP
revision to maintain the NAAQS for 10 years after the expiration of the
10-year period covered by the initial maintenance plan approved in
connection with the redesignation of the area from nonattainment to
attainment. On May 24, 2012, ADEQ submitted a second 10-year
maintenance plan, titled ``Limited Maintenance Plan Update for the
Bullhead City PM10 Maintenance Area'' (May 2012) (``2012
Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP'' or ``Second 10-Year LMP''), to meet
the requirement for the subsequent maintenance plan under CAA section
175A(b). The 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP is intended to
provide for continued maintenance of the PM10 NAAQS for the
10-year period following the end of the first 10-year period, i.e.,
through June 2022.
Consistent with the requirements at the time, the First 10-year LMP
provided for maintenance of both the 24-hour average and annual average
PM10 NAAQS. However, since then (as noted above), the EPA
has revoked the annual average PM10 NAAQS, and thus, the
Second 10-Year LMP addresses only maintenance of the 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS.
III. The EPA's Evaluation of Arizona's SIP Submittal
A. Procedural Requirements
Section 110(l) of the act requires states to provide reasonable
notice and public hearing prior to adoption of SIP revisions. Documents
in ADEQ's submittal describe the public review process followed by ADEQ
for the Second 10-year LMP for the Bullhead City area prior to adoption
and submittal to the EPA as a revision to the Arizona SIP. The
documentation provides evidence that reasonable notice of a public
hearing was provided, and a public hearing was conducted prior to
adoption.
The documentation is found in Enclosure 4 of the May 24, 2012
submittal. Enclosure 4 includes evidence that reasonable notice of a
public hearing was provided to the public and that a public hearing was
conducted prior to adoption. Specifically, the affidavit of publication
included in Enclosure 4 shows that notices of a public hearing and the
opening of a comment period of at least 30 days for the 2012 Bullhead
City Second 10-Year LMP were published on March 23, 2012 and March 30,
2012, in a newspaper of general circulation within the Bullhead City
area. The public hearing was held on May 3, 2012. No comments were
received during the public comment period or at the public hearing.
ADEQ adopted the plan and submitted it to the EPA for approval on May
24, 2012.
Based on the documentation provided in Enclosure 4 of the 2012
Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP, we find that the submittal of the
plan as a SIP revision satisfies the procedural requirements of section
110(l) of the Act.
B. Limited Maintenance Plan Option
Bullhead City qualified for the LMP option in 2002 for the first
10-year maintenance period. ADEQ's second 10-year maintenance plan
provides the same categories of information as the first plan, based on
the LMP option. In addition, the majority of the second maintenance
period, which ends in 2022, has already passed and the area has not
violated the standard during this period. For the reasons given below,
we conclude that the Bullhead City area continues to qualify for the
LMP option and that the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP meets all
applicable requirements for subsequent maintenance plans under CAA
section 175A(b).
1. Continued Attainment of the NAAQS
The first criterion for the LMP option is attainment of the NAAQS.
Generally, the EPA determines whether an area's air quality is meeting
the PM10 NAAQS based upon complete,\11\ quality-assured, and
certified data gathered at established state and local air monitoring
stations (SLAMS) in the nonattainment area and entered into the EPA Air
Quality System (AQS) database. Data from air monitors operated by
state, local, or tribal agencies in compliance with EPA monitoring
requirements must be submitted to AQS. These monitoring agencies
certify annually that these data are accurate to the best of their
knowledge. Accordingly, the EPA relies primarily on data in AQS when
determining the attainment status of an area.\12\ All valid data are
reviewed to determine the area's air quality status in accordance with
40 CFR part 50, Appendix K.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ For PM10, a ``complete'' set of data includes a
minimum of 75 percent of the scheduled PM10 samples per
quarter. See 40 CFR part 50, appendix K, section 2.3(a).
\12\ 40 CFR 50.6; 40 CFR part 50, appendix J; 40 CFR part 53;
and 40 CFR part 58, appendices A, C, D, and E.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The PM10 standard is attained when the expected number
of exceedances averaged over a three-year period is less than or equal
to one. The expected number of exceedances averaged over a three-year
period at any given monitor is known as the PM10 design
value. The PM10 design value for the area is the highest
design value within the nonattainment area. Three consecutive years of
air quality data are required to show attainment of the PM10
standard.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ 40 CFR part 50, appendix K.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 70073]]
ADEQ is responsible for monitoring ambient air quality in the
Bullhead City area and submits annual monitoring network plans to the
EPA. The annual monitoring network plans submitted to the EPA discuss
the status of, and describe the air monitoring network operated by
ADEQ, as required under 40 CFR 58.10. The EPA reviews these annual
monitoring network plans for compliance with the applicable reporting
requirements in 40 CFR part 58. With respect to PM10, the
EPA has found that ADEQ's annual monitoring network plans meet the
applicable reporting requirements for the area under 40 CFR part 58.
The EPA has also found that ADEQ currently meets or exceeds the
requirements for the minimum number of SLAMS for PM10 in the
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which
includes the Bullhead City PM10 maintenance area.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Letter dated October 29, 2021, from Gwen Yoshimura,
Manager, Air Quality Analysis Office, EPA Region IX, to Daniel
Czecholinski, Director, Air Quality Division, Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The EPA also concluded from its 2018 Technical System Audit (TSA)
that ADEQ's air monitoring program meets EPA requirements.\15\ ADEQ
annually certifies that the data it submits to the AQS database are
quality-assured.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ Letter dated April 25, 2019, from Elizabeth J. Adams,
Director, Air Quality Analysis Office, EPA Region IX, to Timothy J.
Franquist, Director, Air Quality Division, Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality.
\16\ Letter dated April 26, 2021, from Daniel Czecholinski,
Director, Air Quality Division, Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality to Gwen Yoshimura, Manager, Air Quality Analysis Office, EPA
Region 9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since November 1997, ADEQ has operated a SLAMS PM10
monitor in Bullhead City (AQS ID: 04-015-1003), located at the U.S.
Post Office Building northeast of SR 95 and 7th Street. The surrounding
area is commercial and residential to the west and south. The Colorado
River lies to the west less than 300 meters. To the northeast/east,
about 675 meters, is the Bullhead City Airport. The Second 10-Year LMP
was submitted to EPA in 2012 and analyzes monitoring data from 2006-
2010 for LMP qualification. During those years, ADEQ was operating the
Bullhead City monitor on a once-every-sixth-day sampling schedule. ADEQ
later switched to daily sampling in July 2012.
Table 1 shows the maximum monitored 24-hour PM10
concentrations at the Bullhead City monitoring site for 2001-2020. The
table reflects that values for the Bullhead City area are typically
well below the PM10 NAAQS of 150 [micro]g/m\3\, with some
exceedances measured in 2012, 2013, and 2020.
Table 1--Bullhead City PM10 Maximum 24-Hour Concentrations
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification Number 04-015-1003]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum
Year concentration
([micro]g/m\3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2001................................................... 39
2002................................................... 55
2003................................................... 44
2004................................................... 48
2005................................................... 48
2006................................................... 72
2007................................................... 52
2008................................................... 46
2009................................................... 98
2010................................................... 33
2011................................................... 132
2012................................................... 185
2013................................................... 208
2014................................................... 108
2015................................................... 69
2016................................................... 119
2017................................................... 125
2018................................................... 118
2019................................................... 92
2020................................................... 185
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: EPA Air Quality System Quicklook Report 2001-2021, accessed
November 5, 2021.
Table 2 shows the estimated number of exceedances for the Bullhead
City PM10 area for the three-year design value periods
starting in 2001 and ending in 2020. The design values from 2001
through 2007 were invalid due to incomplete quarters in 2001, 2002, and
2005. However, there were no exceedances at the Bullhead City monitor
from 2001 to 2007. Between the 2008 through 2020 design value periods,
there were three exceedances of the NAAQS. However, no violations of
the NAAQS (design values greater than 1.0) were recorded at the
Bullhead City monitor from 2008 through 2020.
Table 2--Bullhead City PM10 Design Values
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification Number 04-015-1003]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design value
Design value period ([micro]g/
m\3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1999-2001............................................... \a\ 0.0
2000-2002............................................... \a\ 0.0
2001-2003............................................... \a\ 0.0
2002-2004............................................... \a\ 0.0
2003-2005............................................... \a\ 0.0
2004-2006............................................... \a\ 0.0
2005-2007............................................... \a\ 0.0
2006-2008............................................... 0.0
2007-2009............................................... 0.0
2008-2010............................................... 0.0
2009-2011............................................... 0.0
2010-2012............................................... \b\ 0.3
2011-2013............................................... \b\ 0.7
2012-2014............................................... \b\ 0.7
2013-2015............................................... 0.3
2014-2016............................................... 0.0
2015-2017............................................... 0.0
2016-2018............................................... 0.0
2017-2019............................................... 0.0
2018-2020............................................... 0.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources: EPA Air Quality System Design Value Report 2001-2020, accessed
November 5, 2021, and EPA PM10 Design Value Spreadsheet, August 6th,
2015.
\a\ Invalid design value due to incomplete data in data years 2001,
2002, and 2005.
\b\ Due to a method change-out, AQS does not reflect the combination of
the methods; however, the 2014 EPA PM10 design value spreadsheets
manually calculated these design values.
As such, based on complete, quality-assured and certified data for
the 2010 design value, we conclude that the Second 10-Year LMP
submittal accurately reflected that the Bullhead City area was
attaining the standard. Similarly, the most recent design value for
2020 continues to reflect attainment of the standard.
2. Five-Year Average Design Value Concentrations
The LMP guidance provides two methods for review of monitoring data
for the purpose of meeting the second criterion for the LMP option. The
first method is a comparison of a site's average design value
concentration, based on the most recent 5 years of data, to 98
[micro]g/m\3\ for the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS. If the area cannot
meet this test, then a second test can be calculated for determination
of qualification. This second method is a comparison of the site-
specific CDV with the site's average design value concentration. The
CDV is a margin of safety value and is the value at which an area has
been determined to have a 1 in 10 probability of exceeding the NAAQS.
Table 3--Bullhead City PM10 Design Concentrations and 3-Year Average
Design Value Concentrations
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification Number 04-015-1003]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design
Design value years concentration
([mu]g/m\3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006-2008.............................................. 72
2007-2009.............................................. 98
[[Page 70074]]
2008-2010.............................................. 98
----------------
Average Design Value Concentration (2006-2010)..... 89
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 4--Bullhead City PM10 Design Concentrations and 3-Year Average
Design Value Concentrations
[Bullhead City Monitor, AQS Identification Number 04-015-1003]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design
Design value years concentration
([mu]g/m\3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016-2018.............................................. 110
2017-2019.............................................. 92
2018-2020.............................................. 102
----------------
Average Design Value Concentration (2016-2020)..... 101
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADEQ's Second 10-Year LMP submittal included data from 2006-2010.
As noted in Table 3 above, the average design value concentration for
that five-year period was 89 [micro]g/m\3\. Because the average design
value concentration was below 98 [micro]g/m\3\, the area qualified for
the LMP average PM10 design value concentration criterion
based on the first method in the LMP guidance.\17\ We also evaluated
the most recent five-year period of 2016-2020; the average design value
concentration was 101 [micro]g/m\3\, as noted in Table 4 above. Because
the average design value concentration was above 98 [mu]g/m\3\ from
2016-2020, we conducted the additional comparison of the site-specific
CDV with the site's average design value concentration and calculated a
site-specific CDV for 2016-2020 of 128 [mu]g/m\3\.\18\ Because the
average design value concentration was below the site-specific CDV, the
area also qualified for the LMP average PM10 design value
concentration criterion for 2016-2020 based on the second method in the
LMP guidance. Based on both the time period in the Second 10-Year LMP
submittal and the most recent five-year average design value
concentration, the Bullhead City area meets the second criterion for
the LMP option.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ In its Second 10-Year LMP submittal, ADEQ calculated the
design value concentration for the years 2006-2010 as 98 [micro]g/
m\3\. That value was the maximum design concentration across all
five years, rather than the average design value concentration (of
the three most recent design value concentrations). We use the
average design value concentration here of 89 [micro]g/m\3\ because
that is the value the LMP option intended to be compared with the
CDV threshold.
\18\ Technical Support Document (TSD) for the EPA's Rulemaking
for the Arizona State Implementation Plan; Bullhead City Area 2nd
Period Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP); November 2021.
\19\ Our TSD includes additional CDV information for 2013-2020
(all complete data years with daily sampling).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Motor Vehicle Regional Emissions Analysis Test
The third criterion for the LMP option is referred to as the motor
vehicle regional emissions analysis test. The methodology for this test
is found in Attachment B to the LMP policy and is used to determine
whether increased emissions from on-road mobile sources could, in the
next 10 years, increase design value concentrations in the area. As a
general matter, the methodology increases the monitor-based design
value concentration based on the expected growth in motor vehicle
traffic over the maintenance period. Specifically, the motor vehicle
fraction of the design concentration is assumed to equal the motor
vehicle fraction of the overall emissions inventory. The motor vehicle
fraction of the design concentration is then multiplied by the
projected percentage increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the
area over the next 10 years. The product of this calculation is then
added to the monitor-based design value concentration and compared with
the 98 [mu]g/m\3\ or site-specific CDV.
ADEQ calculated a site-specific CDV in its submittal for use in the
motor vehicle regional emissions analysis test. ADEQ calculated its CDV
with a 1 in 5 probability instead of the 1 in 10 probability provided
in the LMP option. This made the site-specific CDV more stringent, or
lower, and yielded a CDV of 101 [micro]g/m\3\.
For comparison, EPA calculated a site-specific CDV for the same
years using a 1 in 10 probability and using the average design value
concentration, as described in the LMP option.\20\ This calculation
yields 114 [micro]g/m\3\, which is higher than ADEQ's site-specific CDV
calculation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ Technical Support Document (TSD) for EPA's Rulemaking for
the Arizona State Implementation Plan; Bullhead City Area 2nd Period
Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP); November 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADEQ's motor vehicle growth analysis demonstration yielded 99.6
[micro]g/m\3\, which is lower than both site-specific CDV thresholds
that ADEQ and the EPA calculated. However, ADEQ calculated the motor
vehicle design value concentration based on the on-road mobile portion
of the 2008 inventory instead of the entire mobile source emissions
inventory. ADEQ also used the maximum design value concentration
instead of the average design value concentration as the basis for
calculating the motor vehicle fraction of the design concentration.
Using the EPA's calculated average design value concentration of 89
[micro]g/m\3\ and the full mobile source portion of the 2008 emissions
inventory yields a motor vehicle design value concentration of 7.5
[micro]g/m\3\ and a motor vehicle regional analysis value of 91.4
[micro]g/m\3\.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\ See the EPA's TSD for additional details on our
calculation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both ADEQ's and the EPA's calculated motor vehicle regional
analysis values are lower than ADEQ's calculated site-specific CDV
threshold of 101 [micro]g/m\3\ and the EPA's calculated site-specific
CDV threshold of 114 [micro]g/m\3\. Consequently, we confirm that the
motor vehicle growth analysis the Second 10-Year LMP was within the
margin of safety required by the LMP option. Therefore, the third
criterion for eligibility for the LMP option for the second 10-year
maintenance period is met. Both site-specific values of 101 [micro]g/
m\3\ and 114 [micro]g/m\3\ are significantly above the Bullhead City
average design value concentration, thereby reaffirming the second
criterion as well.
In addition, the Second 10-Year LMP notes that Bullhead City is
located in rural Mohave County. Like other rural counties, Bullhead
City experienced population growth during the 1970s; this growth
continued into the 1980s. Growth slowed in the 1990s and 2000s. The
Second 10-Year LMP included Bullhead City's population of 39,540 as of
the 2010 U.S. Census. The submittal noted that the population was
projected to continue growing, but at a lower rate than had
historically been observed. As of the 2020 Census, Bullhead City has a
population of 41,348.\22\ Although not directly related to the LMP
option criteria, the low population growth in Bullhead City appears
consistent with the Second 10-Year LMP's projection of low vehicle
growth.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bullheadcitycityarizona,mohavecountyarizona,AZ,US/POP010220 (last
visited on October 25, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the LMP policy, the maintenance demonstration requirement
under CAA section 175A is considered satisfied for areas meeting the
three LMP criteria discussed above.
[[Page 70075]]
Because the Bullhead City area continues to meet the LMP criteria, we
conclude that no further demonstration of maintenance through the
second 10-year period is necessary.
C. Additional Maintenance Plan Requirements
1. Emissions Inventory
The State's approved attainment plan should include an emissions
inventory (attainment inventory), which can be used to demonstrate
attainment of the 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 LMP applicability requirements.
As part of the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP, ADEQ prepared
a PM10 emissions inventory for 2008 for the Bullhead City
area. 2008 is one of the years within the five-year period included in
the Second 10-Year LMP PM10 design value concentration and
thus is an acceptable inventory year. Based on ADEQ's estimates, shown
in Table 5 below, on-road motor vehicles (including fugitive dust from
entrainment of PM10 from travel on paved and unpaved roads,
as well as exhaust, brake and tire wear) contributed approximately 8.4
percent to the total PM10 inventory, while construction and
windblown dust contributed 9.2 and 82.4 percent, respectively.
Industrial sources contributed less than 0.1 percent.
Table 5--2008 Emissions Inventory for the Bullhead City PM10 Maintenance
Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bullhead City
maintenance area Percent of total PM10
Source category PM10 emissions emissions in Bullhead
(tons per year) City maintenance area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unpaved Roads--Fugitive Dust.. 373.42 5.1
Paved Roads--Fugitive Dust.... 223.88 3.0
Paved and Unpaved Roads-- 18.93 0.3
Exhaust, Tire, and Brake Wear.
-----------------------------------------
Subtotal--Motor Vehicles.. 616.23 8.4
Construction.................. 679 9.2
Windblown Dust................ 6075.1 82.4
Industrial Sources............ 5.26 Less than 0.1
-----------------------------------------
Total................. 7,375.59 100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table 3.6 (p. 18) of the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP.
Section 3.2 of the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP describes
the methodology used to develop the emissions inventory. The emissions
inventory categories are the same as those identified in the first 10-
year LMP, and the methodology used to determine the contribution of
sources is largely the same as was used in the first 10-year LMP. ADEQ
used updated emissions factors for each source category based on
current emissions models, vehicle activity, population, and employment
figures.
For instance, ADEQ updated motor vehicle emissions estimates using
the EPA's National Mobile Inventory Model (NMIM) to develop emissions
factors for motor vehicle exhaust, tire, and brake wear for motor
vehicles. NMIM used the EPA's MOBILE6.2 emissions factors, which were
the most current factors at the time the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-
Year LMP was being developed. ADEQ used updated emissions factors in
the EPA's Compilation of Air Pollutant Emissions Factors (AP-42) to
estimate PM10 entrained by vehicle movement over paved
roads. ADEQ also updated the non-mobile source inventory with 2008
National Emissions Inventory (NEI) data, primarily by adjusting county-
specific estimates by the ratio of population in the Bullhead City area
to the population of Mohave County. For point sources in Bullhead City,
ADEQ used industrial source data collected in an annual survey of
permitted facilities.
During the period in which the draft 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-
Year LMP was being developed, the EPA replaced MOBILE6.2 with a new
motor vehicle emission factor model, known as Motor Vehicle Emission
Simulator (or ``MOVES''). In response to an EPA request to consider the
impact on the inventory due to the release of MOVES, ADEQ re-calculated
the motor vehicle emissions estimates using MOVES and projected a 17.9
tons per year increase in emissions from motor vehicle exhaust, brake
wear, and tire wear relative to the estimate made using MOBILE6.2.\23\
This incremental increase corresponded to a 0.24 [micro]g/m\3\ increase
in ADEQ's motor vehicle regional analysis calculation. As such, use of
MOVES, rather than MOBILE6.2, did not affect the continued eligibility
of the Bullhead City area to use the LMP option.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ ADEQ, ``Bullhead City Update using MOVES,'' November 8,
2013.
\24\ See the EPA's TSD for additional details.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on our review of the methods, models, and assumptions used by
ADEQ to develop the PM10 emissions inventory, we find that
the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP includes a comprehensive
inventory of PM10 emissions and conclude that the plan's
inventory is acceptable for the purposes of a subsequent maintenance
plan, in this case, a subsequent LMP, under CAA section 175A(b).
Since submitting the Second 10-Year LMP, ADEQ has reported its
emissions annually to the EPA under the Air Emissions Reporting Rule
and has completed its reporting requirements for the 2011, 2014 and
2017 National Emissions Inventories.\25\ For comparison with the 2008
emissions inventory in the Second 10-Year LMP, ADEQ provided 2011, 2014
and 2017 NEI data and windblown dust estimates for Bullhead City, as
well as MOVES calculations for 2017.\26\ The 2017 data are shown in
Table 6 below along with the percentage of total emissions for each
category.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ The docket for this rulemaking includes a spreadsheet of
ADEQ's statewide emissions data for the 2011, 2014 and 2017 National
Emissions Inventories.
\26\ Email dated October 26, 2021, from Jessica Wood, ADEQ, to
Panah Stauffer, EPA Region IX, Subject: ``Bullhead City EI
Analysis,'' and attached ``Bullhead EI workbook'' spreadsheet.
[[Page 70076]]
Table 6--2017 Emissions for the Bullhead City PM10 Maintenance Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent of total
Source sector 2017 PM10 PM10 emissions
emissions (tpy)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unpaved Road Dust................. 1,526.05 7.0
Paved Road Dust................... 202.56 0.9
MOVES Tire, Exhaust, and Brake 44.47 0.2
wear.............................
-------------------------------------
Subtotal--Motor Vehicles...... 1,773.09 8.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Construction...................... 119.71 0.5
Windblown Dust.................... 19,891.89 91.3
Industrial Sources................ 0 0
-------------------------------------
Total......................... 21,784.69 100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The motor vehicle fraction of the emissions inventory is
approximately 8 percent for 2017, which is similar to the motor vehicle
percentage of the 2008 inventory. The emissions calculated in MOVES
have also not changed significantly, from 36.88 tpy in 2008 to 44.47
tpy in 2017. Construction dust in 2017 was approximately one-sixth of
the 2008 emissions. All permitted industrial sources from the 2008
inventory had terminated their permits, were no longer required to hold
a permit, or had ceased operation as of 2017.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The calculated windblown dust emissions were significantly higher
in 2017 than in 2008. This is likely because of a change in the
frequency of wind measurements at the Bullhead City airport. The
Bullhead City Airport's meteorological station began taking wind
measurements every 20 minutes on February 20, 2009. Prior to this, the
monitor was taking hourly measurements for only 8-12 hours out of the
day.\28\ Because the windblown dust figure is calculated using the
number of hours when wind speed exceeded 24 mph, the lower frequency of
readings and lower windblown dust figure in the 2008 inventory indicate
that number in the Second 10-Year LMP was likely underestimated.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\ Id.
\29\ The underestimated windblown dust figure in the 2008
emissions inventory does not affect the area's eligibility for the
LMP Option The criteria for attainment and a design value
concentration that falls below the 98 [mu]g/m\3\ or site-specific
CDV are unaffected by emissions inventory numbers. The motor vehicle
criterion for LMP eligibility would only have been strengthened by a
higher windblown dust figure for 2008 because the motor vehicle
fraction of the inventory would have decreased.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In general, the inventory that was provided in the Second 10-Year
LMP was comprehensive, and recent emissions confirm our conclusions
about the submitted inventory and the area's LMP eligibility. Further,
as noted above, the area has stayed in attainment and its second
maintenance period will end in June 2022.
2. Control Measures
As discussed in our 2002 approval of the first 10-year LMP for the
Bullhead City area, the measures that brought the area into attainment
are permanent and enforceable.\30\ The 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-
Year LMP relies on the same control measures to continue to maintain
the NAAQS for PM10 through 2022. These measures have not
been revised and continue to be permanent and enforceable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ 67 FR 43020 at 43025 (June 26, 2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. PM10 Air Quality Monitoring Network
As described earlier, ADEQ has operated a single PM10
monitoring site in the Bullhead City area since November 1997.
Operating a single monitor in this area is consistent with the EPA's
monitoring requirements. In Section 6 of the Second 10-Year LMP, ADEQ
committed ``to continue to operate an appropriate PM10 air
quality monitoring network to verify the attainment status'' of the
Bullhead City area in accordance with 40 CFR part 58. In 2012, ADEQ
replaced the PM10 sampler that operated on a once every
sixth-day sampling period with a continuous (hourly) monitor. ADEQ's
monitoring network continues to meet EPA's requirements for Bullhead
City.
4. Contingency Provisions
Section 175A(d) 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. These contingency provisions do not have to be
fully adopted measures at the time of redesignation. However, the
contingency provisions are considered to be an enforceable part of the
SIP and the State should ensure that contingency measures are adopted
as soon as possible once they are triggered by a specific event. The
contingency provisions should identify the measure to be adopted and
provide a schedule and procedure for adoption and implementation of the
measure if required.
In the Second 10-Year LMP, ADEQ has, in most respects, carried
forward the contingency provisions adopted in the first 10-year LMP,
which EPA approved in 2002. First, ADEQ committed to continue to submit
annual reports to the EPA that will include calculation of the Bullhead
City area PM10 design value concentration to verify
continued attainment and continued eligibility to use the LMP
option.\31\ ADEQ made a similar commitment in the first 10-year LMP and
submitted reports of annual PM10 design value concentrations
to the EPA for the first 10-year maintenance period. Since submitting
the Second 10-Year LMP in 2012, ADEQ has continued to send reports of
annual PM10 design value concentrations to the EPA. These
annual reports are included in the docket for this proposed action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\ Section 6.0 of the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second, as part of the contingency provisions, ADEQ committed to
determine whether PM10 NAAQS violations have been recorded
within six months of the close of each calendar year, and to review and
determine the appropriate contingency measure(s) by the end of the same
calendar year.\32\ Table 7 below lists the measures that ADEQ committed
to consider for implementation in the event of a violation of the
PM10 NAAQS or in the event the annual recalculation of the
area's design value concentration exceeded the applicable LMP option
[[Page 70077]]
criteria. ADEQ noted, ``the cause of the violation or exceedance of the
LMP option criteria will help to determine the appropriate contingency
measure(s) to be implemented.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\32\ See section 5.3 of the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year
LMP.
Table 7--Bullhead City Area Contingency Measures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contingency measures Implementing entity
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Review of Bullhead City grading ordinance Bullhead City.
to determine if additional action is
needed.
Increased enforcement efforts, or develop a Bullhead City.
compliance survey, for standards for the
installation and maintenance of
landscaping and screening (Bullhead City
Zoning Regulation, Chapter 17.48,
Landscaping and Screening Regulations).
Pave or stabilize unpaved roads located in Bullhead City and/or Mohave
the PM10 maintenance area. County.
Pave additional unpaved parking areas in Mohave County.
the Davis Camp Park (south beach parking
areas).
Cleanup of roadways after rainstorms....... Mohave County.
Increase enforcement efforts, or develop a Mohave County.
compliance survey, for the requirement for
all commercial establishments to pave
parking lots (Mohave County Zoning
Regulations, Section 26 Off-Street Parking
standards).
Exercise authority under the Enhanced Smoke U.S. Forest Service, U.S.
Management Plan--state and federal land Bureau of Land Management,
managers conducting prescribed burning Arizona State Land
must register with ADEQ for proposed Department, ADEQ.
burning activities (Arizona Administrative
Code R18-2-Article 15--Forest & Range
Management Burns). ADEQ maintains the
ability to deny permission for burning on
certain high risk days (dependent on
meteorological conditions) and may
increase outreach and enforcement
resources.
Review of the requirement for dust control ADEQ.
measures for material storage piles to
determine if revision is needed (A.A.C.
R18-2-607.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP, Section 5.3, p. 25.
Finally, the State committed to implement the selected contingency
measure(s) within one year of determining that a PM10 NAAQS
violation has occurred. We conclude that these measures and commitments
meet the requirements of CAA section 175A(d). The Bullhead City area
did not violate the PM10 standard and has stayed in
attainment with the PM10 NAAQS to date.
D. Transportation and General Conformity Requirements
Section 176(c) of the CAA requires that all federal actions conform
to an applicable SIP. Conformity is defined in section 176(c) of the
Act as conformity to a SIP's purpose of eliminating or reducing the
severity and number of violations of the NAAQS and achieving
expeditious attainment of such standards, and that such activities will
not: (1) Cause or contribute to any new violation of any standard in
any area; (2) increase the frequency or severity of any existing
violation of any standard in any area; or (3) delay timely attainment
of any standard or any required interim emission reductions or other
milestones in any area.
The EPA has established criteria and procedures for federal
agencies to follow in determining conformity of their actions. The
EPA's rule governing transportation plans, programs, and projects
approved or funded by the Federal Highway Administration or Federal
Transit Administration is referred to as the ``transportation
conformity'' rule,\33\ and the EPA's rule governing all other types of
federal agency actions is referred to as the ``general conformity''
rule.\34\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\33\ 40 CFR part 93, subpart A.
\34\ 40 CFR part 93, subpart B.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The transportation conformity rule and the general conformity rule
apply to nonattainment and maintenance areas. Both rules provide that
conformity can be demonstrated by showing that the expected emissions
from planned actions 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, the LMP policy explains that the area may
demonstrate conformity without submitting an emissions budget.
1. Transportation Conformity
Under the conformity rule, areas submitting an LMP for the second
10-year maintenance plan may demonstrate conformity without a regional
emissions analysis as outlined in 40 CFR 93.109(e). Under the LMP
option, emissions budgets are not treated as constraining for the
length of the maintenance period because it is unreasonable to expect
that qualifying areas would experience so much growth in that period
that a violation of the NAAQS would result. Therefore, in areas with
approved LMPs, federal actions requiring conformity determinations
under the transportation conformity rule are considered to satisfy the
``budget test'' required in 40 CFR 93.118.
While areas with maintenance plans approved under the LMP option
are not subject to the budget test, the areas remain subject to other
transportation conformity requirements of 40 CFR part 93, subpart A.
Because no metropolitan planning organization exists for Bullhead City,
the Arizona Department of Transportation will still need to document
and ensure that applicable conformity requirements are met.
Specifically, for conformity determinations, projects will have to
demonstrate that they are fiscally constrained (40 CFR 93.108) and meet
the criteria for consultation (40 CFR 93.105 and 40 CFR 93.112) and
timely implementation (as applicable) of Transportation Control
Measures (40 CFR 93.113). Projects in the Bullhead City area will also
be required to be evaluated for potential PM10 hot-spot
issues to satisfy the ``project level'' conformity determination
requirements. As appropriate, a project may then need to address the
applicable criteria for a PM10 hot-spot analysis as provided
in 40 CFR 93.116 and 40 CFR 93.123.
Upon approval of the 2012 Bullhead City Second 10-Year LMP, the
State (in this case, the Arizona Department of Transportation) will
continue to be exempt from performing a regional emissions analysis but
must continue to meet project-level analyses as well as the
transportation conformity criteria mentioned above.
2. General Conformity
Federal actions, other than transportation conformity, that meet
specific criteria need to be evaluated with respect to the requirements
of 40 CFR part 93, subpart B. The EPA's
[[Page 70078]]
general conformity rule requirements are designed to ensure that
emissions from a federal action will not cause or contribute to new
violations of the NAAQS, exacerbate current violations, or delay timely
attainment. However, as noted in the LMP policy and similar to the
above discussed transportation conformity provisions, federal actions
subject to general conformity requirements would be considered to
satisfy the ``budget test,'' as specified in 40 CFR 93.158(a)(5)(i)(A).
As discussed above, the basis for this provision in the LMP policy
memorandum is that it is unreasonable to expect that an LMP area will
experience so much growth during the maintenance period that a
violation of the PM10 NAAQS would result. Therefore, for
purposes of general conformity, a general conformity PM10
emissions budget does not need to be identified in the maintenance
plan, nor submitted, and the emissions from federal agency actions are
essentially considered to not be limited.
IV. The EPA's Proposed Action
Under CAA section 110(k), the EPA is proposing to approve the
Second 10-Year LMP for the Bullhead City air quality planning area for
the PM10 NAAQS that was submitted by ADEQ on May 24, 2012,
as a revision to the Arizona SIP. The EPA is approving this plan based
on the conclusion that it adequately provides for continued maintenance
of the PM10 NAAQS in the Bullhead City area through 2022 and
thereby meets the requirements for subsequent maintenance plans under
section 175A of the Act. The effect of this action is to make the
State's continuing commitments with respect to maintenance of the
PM10 NAAQS in the Bullhead City area federally enforceable
for the second 10-year maintenance period. These commitments include
continued monitoring; continued implementation of control measures that
were responsible for bringing the area into attainment; preparation and
submittal of annual reports; consideration and implementation of
contingency measures, as necessary; and submittal of a full maintenance
plan if contingency measures fail to provide the required remedy.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act 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 Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, 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 Clean Air Act; and
Does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority
to address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, there are no areas of Indian country within the
Bullhead City planning area, and the State plan for which the EPA is
proposing approval does not 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, this proposed
action 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: December 2, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2021-26619 Filed 12-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P