Air Plan Approval; Iowa; Interstate Transport of Air Pollution for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 9477-9484 [2022-02935]
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IV. 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, the SIP is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where the EPA or
an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the proposed rule does
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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, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference,
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 15, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2022–03690 Filed 2–18–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
EPA–R07–OAR–2021–0870; EPA–HQ–OAR–
2021–0663; FRL–9468–01–R7]
Air Plan Approval; Iowa; Interstate
Transport of Air Pollution for the 2015
8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule and withdrawal
of proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Clean Air Act (CAA)
requires each State Implementation Plan
(SIP) to contain adequate provisions
prohibiting emissions that will
significantly contribute to
nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of air quality in other
states. The State of Iowa made a
submission to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) to
address these requirements for the 2015
ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS). EPA is proposing
to approve the submission for Iowa as
meeting the requirement that the SIP
contains adequate provisions to prohibit
emissions that will significantly
contribute to nonattainment or interfere
with maintenance of the 2015 ozone
NAAQS in any other state. The EPA is
also withdrawing its previous proposed
rule to approve Iowa’s SIP submission,
as published in the Federal Register on
March 2, 2020.
DATES:
Comments: Written comments on this
proposed rule must be received on or
before March 24, 2022.
SUMMARY:
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Withdrawal: As of February 22, 2022,
the proposed rule published March 2,
2020, at 85 FR 12232, is withdrawn.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments,
identified as Docket No. EPA–R07–
OAR–2021–0870, by any of the
following methods: Federal
eRulemaking Portal at https://
www.regulations.gov following the
online instructions for submitting
comments or via email to
stone.william@epa.gov. Include Docket
ID No. EPA–R07–OAR–2021–0870 in
the subject line of the message.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the Docket ID No. for this
rulemaking. Comments received may be
posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov/, including any
personal information provided. For
detailed instructions on sending
comments and additional information
on the rulemaking process, see the
‘‘Public Participation’’ heading of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document. Out of an abundance of
caution for members of the public and
our staff, the EPA Docket Center and
Reading Room are open to the public by
appointment only to reduce the risk of
transmitting COVID–19. Our Docket
Center staff also continues to provide
remote customer service via email,
phone, and webform. For further
information on EPA Docket Center
services and the current status, please
visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/
dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William Stone, Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air
Quality Planning Branch, 11201 Renner
Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219;
telephone number: (913) 551–7714;
email address: stone.william@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public
participation: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R07–
OAR–2021–0870, at https://
www.regulations.gov (our preferred
method), or the other methods
identified in the ADDRESSES section.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from the docket. The
EPA may publish any comment received
to its public docket. Do not submit to
EPA’s docket at https://
www.regulations.gov any information
you consider to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
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make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system).
There are two dockets supporting this
action, EPA–R07–OAR–2021–0870 and
EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0663. Docket No.
EPA–R07–OAR–2021–0870 contains
information specific to Iowa, including
the notice of proposed rulemaking.
Docket No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0663
contains additional modeling files,
emissions inventory files, technical
support documents, and other relevant
supporting documentation regarding
interstate transport of emissions for the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS which are
being used to support this action. All
comments regarding information in
either of these dockets are to be made
in Docket No. EPA–R07–OAR–2021–
0870. For additional submission
methods, please contact William Stone,
(913) 551–7714, stone.william@epa.gov.
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. Due to public
health concerns related to COVID–19,
the EPA Docket Center and Reading
Room are open to the public by
appointment only. Our Docket Center
staff also continues to provide remote
customer service via email, phone, and
webform. For further information and
updates on EPA Docket Center services,
please visit us online at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
The EPA continues to carefully and
continuously monitor information from
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), local area health
departments, and our Federal partners
so that we can respond rapidly as
conditions change regarding COVID–19.
The index to the docket for this action,
Docket No. EPA–R07–OAR–2021–0870,
is available electronically at
www.regulations.gov. While all
documents in the docket are listed in
the index, some information may not be
publicly available due to docket file size
restrictions or content (e.g., CBI).
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’
‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ means the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Iowa’s SIP Submission Addressing
Interstate Transport of Air Pollution for
the 2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
III. Withdrawal of Prior Proposed Approval
IV. EPA Evaluation of Iowa’s Submission
V. Proposed Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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I. Background
A. Description of Statutory Background
On October 1, 2015, the EPA
promulgated a revision to the ozone
NAAQS (2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS),
lowering the level of both the primary
and secondary standards to 0.070 parts
per million (ppm).1 Section 110(a)(1) of
the CAA requires states to submit,
within 3 years after promulgation of a
new or revised standard, SIP
submissions meeting the applicable
requirements of section 110(a)(2).2 One
of these applicable requirements is
found in CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I),
otherwise known as the ‘‘interstate
transport’’ or ‘‘good neighbor’’
provision, which generally requires SIPs
to contain adequate provisions to
prohibit in-state emissions activities
from having certain adverse air quality
effects on other states due to interstate
transport of pollution. There are two socalled ‘‘prongs’’ within CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I). A SIP for a new or
revised NAAQS must contain adequate
provisions prohibiting any source or
other type of emissions activity within
the state from emitting air pollutants in
amounts that will significantly
contribute to nonattainment of the
NAAQS in another state (prong 1) or
interfere with maintenance of the
NAAQS in another state (prong 2). The
EPA and states must give independent
significance to prong 1 and prong 2
when evaluating downwind air quality
problems under CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I).3
B. Description of the EPA’s Four Step
Interstate Transport Regulatory Process
The EPA is using the 4-step interstate
transport framework (or 4-step
framework) to evaluate the state’s SIP
submittals addressing the interstate
transport provision for the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS. The EPA has addressed
the interstate transport requirements of
CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) with
respect to prior ozone NAAQS in
several regional regulatory actions,
including the Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule (CSAPR), which addressed
interstate transport with respect to the
1 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
Ozone, Final Rule, 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015).
Although the level of the standard is specified in
the units of ppm, ozone concentrations are also
described in parts per billion (ppb). For example,
0.070 ppm is equivalent to 70 ppb.
2 SIP revisions that are intended to meet the
applicable requirements of section 110(a)(1) and (2)
of the CAA are often referred to as infrastructure
SIPs and the applicable elements under section
110(a)(2) are referred to as infrastructure
requirements.
3 See North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896, 909–
11 (D.C. Cir. 2008).
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1997 ozone NAAQS as well as the 1997
and 2006 fine particulate matter
standards,4 and the Cross-State Air
Pollution Rule Update (CSAPR
Update) 5 and the Revised CSAPR
Update, both of which addressed the
2008 ozone NAAQS.6
Through the development and
implementation of the CSAPR
rulemakings and prior regional
rulemakings pursuant to the interstate
transport provision,7 the EPA, working
in partnership with states, developed
the following 4-step interstate transport
framework to evaluate a State’s
obligations to eliminate interstate
transport emissions under the interstate
transport provision for the ozone
NAAQS: (1) Identify monitoring sites
that are projected to have problems
attaining and/or maintaining the
NAAQS (i.e., nonattainment and/or
maintenance receptors); (2) identify
states that impact those air quality
problems in other (i.e., downwind)
states sufficiently such that the states
are considered ‘‘linked’’ and therefore
warrant further review and analysis; (3)
identify the emissions reductions
necessary (if any), applying a
multifactor analysis, to eliminate each
linked upwind state’s significant
contribution to nonattainment or
interference with maintenance of the
NAAQS at the locations identified in
step 1; and (4) adopt permanent and
enforceable measures needed to achieve
those emissions reductions.
C. Background on the EPA’s Ozone
Transport Modeling Information
In general, the EPA has performed
nationwide air quality modeling to
project ozone design values which are
used in combination with measured
data to identify nonattainment and
maintenance receptors. To quantify the
4 See Federal Implementation Plans: Interstate
Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone and
Correction of SIP Approvals, 76 FR 48208 (Aug. 8,
2011).
5 Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update for the
2008 Ozone NAAQS, 81 FR 74504 (Oct. 26, 2016).
6 In 2019, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
remanded the CSAPR Update to the extent it failed
to require upwind states to eliminate their
significant contribution by the next applicable
attainment date by which downwind states must
come into compliance with the NAAQS, as
established under CAA section 181(a). Wisconsin v.
EPA, 938 F.3d 303, 313 (D.C. Cir. 2019). The
Revised CSAPR Update for the 2008 Ozone
NAAQS, 86 FR 23054 (April 30, 2021), responded
to the remand of the CSAPR Update in Wisconsin
and the vacatur of a separate rule, the ‘‘CSAPR
Close-Out,’’ 83 FR 65878 (December 21, 2018), in
New York v. EPA, 781 F. App’x. 4 (D.C. Cir. 2019).
7 In addition to the CSAPR rulemakings, other
regional rulemakings addressing ozone transport
include the ‘‘NOX SIP Call,’’ 63 FR 57356 (October
27, 1998), and the ‘‘Clean Air Interstate Rule’’
(CAIR), 70 FR 25162 (May 12, 2005).
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contribution of emissions from specific
upwind states on 2023 ozone design
values for the identified downwind
nonattainment and maintenance
receptors, the EPA performed
nationwide, state-level ozone source
apportionment modeling for 2023. The
source apportionment modeling
provided contributions to ozone at
receptors from precursor emissions of
anthropogenic nitrogen oxides (NOX)
and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
in individual upwind states.
The EPA has released several
documents containing projected ozone
design values, contributions, and
information relevant to evaluating
interstate transport with respect to the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. First, on
January 6, 2017, the EPA published a
notice of data availability (NODA) in
which we requested comment on
preliminary interstate ozone transport
data including projected ozone design
values and interstate contributions for
2023 using a 2011 base year platform.8
In the NODA, the EPA used the year
2023 as the analytic year for this
preliminary modeling because that year
aligns with the expected attainment year
for Moderate ozone nonattainment areas
for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.9 On
October 27, 2017, we released a
memorandum (October 2017
memorandum) containing updated
modeling data for 2023, which
incorporated changes made in response
to comments on the NODA, and noted
that the modeling may be useful for
states developing SIPs to address
interstate transport obligations for the
2008 ozone NAAQS.10 On March 27,
2018, we issued a memorandum (March
2018 memorandum) noting that the
same 2023 modeling data released in the
October 2017 memorandum could also
be useful for identifying potential
downwind air quality problems with
respect to the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS at Step 1 of the 4-step interstate
transport framework.11 The March 2018
8 See Notice of Availability of the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Preliminary Interstate Ozone
Transport Modeling Data for the 2015 8-hour Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS),
82 FR 1733 (January 6, 2017).
9 82 FR at 1735.
10 See Information on the Interstate Transport
State Implementation Plan Submissions for the
2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards under Clean Air Act Section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), October 27, 2017, available in
docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0663 or at
https://www.epa.gov/node/194139/.
11 See Information on the Interstate Transport
State Implementation Plan Submissions for the
2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards under Clean Air Act Section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), March 27, 2018 (‘‘March 2018
memorandum’’), available in docket ID No. EPA–
HQ–OAR–2021–0663 or at https://www.epa.gov/
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memorandum also included the then
newly available contribution modeling
data to assist states in evaluating their
impact on potential downwind air
quality problems for the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS under Step 2 of the 4step interstate transport framework.12
The EPA subsequently issued two more
memoranda in August and October
2018, providing additional information
to states developing interstate transport
SIP submissions for the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS concerning, respectively,
potential contribution thresholds that
may be appropriate to apply in Step 2
of the 4-step interstate transport
framework, and considerations for
identifying downwind areas that may
have problems maintaining the standard
at Step 1 of the 4-step interstate
transport framework.13
Since the release of the modeling data
shared in the March 2018
memorandum, the EPA performed
updated modeling using a 2016-based
emissions modeling platform (i.e.,
2016v1). This emissions platform was
developed under the EPA/MultiJurisdictional Organization (MJO)/state
collaborative project.14 This
collaborative project was a multi-year
joint effort by the EPA, MJOs, and states
to develop a new, more recent emissions
platform for use by the EPA and states
in regulatory modeling as an
improvement over the dated 2011-based
platform that the EPA had used to
project ozone design values and
contribution data provided in the 2017
and 2018 memoranda. The EPA used
the 2016v1 emissions to project ozone
design values and contributions for
2023. On October 30, 2020, in the
airmarkets/memo-and-supplemental-informationregarding-interstate-transport-sips-2015-ozonenaaqs.
12 The March 2018 memorandum, however,
provided, ‘‘While the information in this
memorandum and the associated air quality
analysis data could be used to inform the
development of these SIPs, the information is not
a final determination regarding states’ obligations
under the good neighbor provision. Any such
determination would be made through notice-andcomment rulemaking.’’
13 See Analysis of Contribution Thresholds for
Use in Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)
Interstate Transport State Implementation Plan
Submissions for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standards, August 31, 2018 (‘‘August
2018 memorandum’’), and Considerations for
Identifying Maintenance Receptors for Use in Clean
Air Act Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) Interstate
Transport State Implementation Plan Submissions
for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, October 19, 2018, available in docket ID
No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0663 or at https://
www.epa.gov/airmarkets/memo-and-supplementalinformation-regarding-interstate-transport-sips2015-ozone-naaqs.
14 The results of this modeling, as well as the
underlying modeling files, are included in docket
ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0663.
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Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the
Revised CSAPR Update, the EPA
released and accepted public comment
on 2023 modeling that used the 2016v1
emissions platform.15 Although the
Revised CSAPR Update addressed
transport for the 2008 ozone NAAQS,
the projected design values and
contributions from the 2016v1 platform
are also useful for identifying
downwind ozone problems and linkages
with respect to the 2015 ozone
NAAQS.16
Following the final Revised CSAPR
Update, the EPA made further updates
to the 2016 emissions platform to
include mobile emissions from the
EPA’s Motor Vehicle Emission
Simulator MOVES3 model 17 and
updated emissions projections for
electric generating units (EGUs) that
reflect the emissions reductions from
the Revised CSAPR Update, recent
information on plant closures, and other
sector trends. The construct of the
updated emissions platform, 2016v2, is
described in the emissions modeling
technical support document (TSD) for
this proposed rule.18 The EPA
performed air quality modeling of the
2016v2 emissions using the most recent
public release version of the
Comprehensive Air-quality Model with
extensions (CAMx) photochemical
modeling, version 7.10.19 The EPA now
proposes to primarily rely on modeling
based on the updated and newly
available 2016v2 emissions platform in
evaluating these submissions with
respect to Steps 1 and 2 of the 4-step
interstate transport framework and
generally referenced within this action
as 2016v2 modeling for 2023. By using
the updated modeling results, the EPA
is using the most current and
technically appropriate information for
this proposed rulemaking. Section III of
this document and the Air Quality
Modeling TSD for 2015 Ozone NAAQS
Transport SIP Proposed Actions,
included in Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OAR–2021–0663 for this proposal,
contain additional detail on the EPA’s
2016v2 modeling. In this document, the
15 See
85 FR 68964, 68981.
the Air Quality Modeling Technical
Support Document for the Final Revised Cross-State
Air Pollution Rule Update, included in the
Headquarters docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–
0663.
17 Additional details and documentation related
to the MOVES3 model can be found at https://
www.epa.gov/moves/latest-version-motor-vehicleemission-simulator-moves.
18 See Technical Support Document (TSD)
Preparation of Emissions Inventories for the 2016v2
North American Emissions Modeling Platform
included in the Headquarters docket ID No. EPA–
HQ–OAR–2021–0663.
19 Ramboll Environment and Health, January
2021, www.camx.com.
16 See
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EPA is accepting public comment on
this updated 2023 modeling, which uses
a 2016v2 emissions platform. Comments
on the EPA’s air quality modeling
should be submitted in the Regional
docket for this action, docket ID No.
EPA–R07–OAR–2021–0870. Comments
are not being accepted in docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0663.
D. The EPA’s Approach To Evaluating
Interstate Transport SIPs for the 2015 8Hour Ozone NAAQS
The EPA proposes to apply a
consistent set of policy judgments
across all states for purposes of
evaluating interstate transport
obligations and the approvability of
interstate transport SIP submittals for
the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. These
policy judgments reflect consistency
with relevant case law and past agency
practice as reflected in the CSAPR and
related rulemakings. Nationwide
consistency in approach is particularly
important in the context of interstate
ozone transport, which is a regionalscale pollution problem involving many
smaller contributors. Effective policy
solutions to the problem of interstate
ozone transport going back to the NOX
SIP Call have necessitated the
application of a uniform framework of
policy judgments in order to ensure an
‘‘efficient and equitable’’ approach. See
EME Homer City Generation, LP v. EPA,
572 U.S. 489, 519 (2014).
In the March, August, and October
2018 memoranda, the EPA recognized
that states may be able to establish
alternative approaches to addressing
their interstate transport obligations for
the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS that vary
from a nationally uniform framework.
The EPA emphasized in these
memoranda, however, that such
alternative approaches must be
technically justified and appropriate in
light of the facts and circumstances of
each particular state’s submittal. In
general, the EPA continues to believe
that deviation from a nationally
consistent approach to ozone transport
must be substantially justified and have
a well-documented technical basis that
is consistent with relevant case law.
Where states submitted SIPs that rely on
any such potential ‘‘flexibilities’’ as may
have been identified or suggested in the
past, the EPA will evaluate whether the
state adequately justified the technical
and legal basis for doing so.
The EPA notes that certain concepts
included in an attachment to the March
2018 memorandum require unique
consideration, and these ideas do not
constitute agency guidance with respect
to transport obligations for the 2015
ozone NAAQS. Attachment A to the
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March 2018 memorandum identified a
‘‘Preliminary List of Potential
Flexibilities’’ that could potentially
inform SIP development.20 However,
EPA made clear in that Attachment that
the list of ideas were not suggestions
endorsed by the Agency but rather
‘‘comments provided in various forums’’
on which EPA sought ‘‘feedback from
interested stakeholders.’’ 21 Further,
Attachment A stated, ‘‘EPA is not at this
time making any determination that the
ideas discussed below are consistent
with the requirements of the CAA, nor
are we specifically recommending that
states use these approaches.’’ 22
Attachment A to the March 2018
memorandum, therefore, does not
constitute agency guidance, but was
intended to generate further discussion
around potential approaches to
addressing ozone transport among
interested stakeholders. To the extent
states sought to develop or rely on these
ideas in support of their SIP submittals,
EPA will thoroughly review the
technical and legal justifications for
doing so.
The remainder of this section
describes the EPA’s proposed
framework with respect to analytic year,
definition of nonattainment and
maintenance receptors, selection of
contribution threshold, and multifactor
control strategy assessment.
1. Selection of Analytic Year
In general, the states and the EPA
must implement the interstate transport
provision in a manner ‘‘consistent with
the provisions of [title I of the CAA.]’’
CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). This
requires, among other things, that these
obligations are addressed consistently
with the timeframes for downwind areas
to meet their CAA obligations. With
respect to ozone NAAQS, under CAA
section 181(a), this means obligations
must be addressed ‘‘as expeditiously as
practicable’’ and no later than the
schedule of attainment dates provided
in CAA section 181(a)(1).23 Several D.C.
Circuit court decisions address the issue
of the relevant analytic year for the
purposes of evaluating ozone transport
air-quality problems. On September 13,
2019, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision
in Wisconsin v. EPA, remanding the
CSAPR Update to the extent that it
failed to require upwind states to
20 March
21 Id.
2018 memorandum, Attachment A.
at A–1.
22 Id.
23 For attainment dates for the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS, refer to CAA section 181(a), 40 CFR
51.1303, and Additional Air Quality Designations
for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018, effective
Aug. 3, 2018).
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eliminate their significant contribution
by the next applicable attainment date
by which downwind states must come
into compliance with the NAAQS, as
established under CAA section 181(a).
938 F.3d at 313.
On May 19, 2020, the D.C. Circuit
issued a decision in Maryland v. EPA
that cited the Wisconsin decision in
holding that the EPA must assess the
impact of interstate transport on air
quality at the next downwind
attainment date, including Marginal
area attainment dates, in evaluating the
basis for the EPA’s denial of a petition
under CAA section 126(b). Maryland v.
EPA, 958 F.3d 1185, 1203–04 (D.C. Cir.
2020). The court noted that ‘‘section
126(b) incorporates the Good Neighbor
Provision,’’ and, therefore, ‘‘EPA must
find a violation [of section 126] if an
upwind source will significantly
contribute to downwind nonattainment
at the next downwind attainment
deadline. Therefore, the agency must
evaluate downwind air quality at that
deadline, not at some later date.’’ Id. at
1204 (emphasis added). The EPA
interprets the court’s holding in
Maryland as requiring the states and the
Agency, under the good neighbor
provision, to assess downwind air
quality as expeditiously as practicable
and no later than the next applicable
attainment date,24 which is now the
Moderate area attainment date under
CAA section 181 for ozone
nonattainment. The Moderate area
attainment date for the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS is August 3, 2024.25 The
EPA believes that 2023 is now the
appropriate year for analysis of
interstate transport obligations for the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS, because the
2023 ozone season is the last relevant
ozone season during which achieved
emissions reductions in linked upwind
states could assist downwind states
with meeting the August 3, 2024,
Moderate area attainment date for the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
The EPA recognizes that the
attainment date for nonattainment areas
classified as Marginal for the 2015 824 We note that the court in Maryland did not
have occasion to evaluate circumstances in which
the EPA may determine that an upwind linkage to
a downwind air quality problem exists at steps 1
and 2 of the interstate transport framework by a
particular attainment date, but for reasons of
impossibility or profound uncertainty the Agency is
unable to mandate upwind pollution controls by
that date. See Wisconsin, 938 F.3d at 320. The D.C.
Circuit noted in Wisconsin that upon a sufficient
showing, these circumstances may warrant
flexibility in effectuating the purpose of the
interstate transport provision.
25 See CAA section 181(a); 40 CFR 51.1303;
Additional Air Quality Designations for the 2015
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 83
FR 25776 (June 4, 2018, effective Aug. 3, 2018).
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hour ozone NAAQS was August 3, 2021.
Under the Maryland holding, any
necessary emissions reductions to
satisfy interstate transport obligations
should have been implemented by no
later than this date. At the time of the
statutory deadline to submit interstate
transport SIPs (October 1, 2018), many
states relied upon the EPA modeling of
the year 2023, and no state provided an
alternative analysis using a 2021
analytic year (or the prior 2020 ozone
season). However, the EPA must act on
SIP submittals using the information
available at the time it takes such action.
In this circumstance, the EPA does not
believe it would be appropriate to
evaluate states’ obligations under CAA
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) as of an
attainment date that is wholly in the
past, because the Agency interprets the
interstate transport provision as forward
looking. See 86 FR at 23074; see also
Wisconsin, 938 F.3d at 322.
Consequently, in this proposal the EPA
will use the analytical year of 2023 to
evaluate each state’s CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) SIP submission with
respect to the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS.
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2. Step 1 of the 4-Step Interstate
Transport Framework
In Step 1, the EPA identifies
monitoring sites that are projected to
have problems attaining and/or
maintaining the NAAQS in the 2023
analytic year. Where the EPA’s analysis
shows that a site does not fall under the
definition of a nonattainment or
maintenance receptor, that site is
excluded from further analysis under
the EPA’s 4-step interstate transport
framework. For sites that are identified
as a nonattainment or maintenance
receptor in 2023, we proceed to the next
step of our 4-step interstate transport
framework by identifying the upwind
state’s contribution to those receptors.
The EPA’s approach to identifying
ozone nonattainment and maintenance
receptors in this action is consistent
with the approach used in previous
transport rulemakings. The EPA’s
approach gives independent
consideration to both the ‘‘contribute
significantly to nonattainment’’ and the
‘‘interfere with maintenance’’ prongs of
CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I),
consistent with the D.C. Circuit’s
direction in North Carolina v. EPA.26
For the purpose of this proposal, the
EPA identifies nonattainment receptors
as those monitoring sites that are
26 See North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d at 910–
11 (holding that the EPA must give ‘‘independent
significance’’ to each prong of CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)).
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projected to have average design values
that exceed the NAAQS and that are
also measuring nonattainment based on
the most recent monitored design
values. This approach is consistent with
prior transport rulemakings, such as the
CSAPR Update, where the EPA defined
nonattainment receptors as those areas
that both currently measure
nonattainment and that the EPA projects
will be in nonattainment in the future
analytic year (i.e., 2023).27
In addition, in this proposal, the EPA
identifies a receptor to be a
‘‘maintenance’’ receptor for purposes of
defining interference with maintenance,
consistent with the method used in the
CSAPR and upheld by the D.C. Circuit
in EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v.
EPA, 795 F.3d 118, 136 (D.C. Cir.
2015).28 Specifically, the EPA identified
maintenance receptors as those
receptors that would have difficulty
maintaining the relevant NAAQS in a
scenario that takes into account
historical variability in air quality at
that receptor. The variability in air
quality was determined by evaluating
the ‘‘maximum’’ future design value at
each receptor based on a projection of
the maximum measured design value
over the relevant period. EPA interprets
the projected maximum future design
value to be a potential future air quality
outcome consistent with the
meteorology that yielded maximum
measured concentrations in the ambient
data set analyzed for that receptor (i.e.,
ozone conducive meteorology). EPA
also recognizes that previously
experienced meteorological conditions
(e.g., dominant wind direction,
temperatures, air mass patterns)
promoting ozone formation that led to
maximum concentrations in the
measured data may reoccur in the
future. The maximum design value
gives a reasonable projection of future
air quality at the receptor under a
scenario in which such conditions do,
in fact, reoccur. The projected
maximum design value is used to
identify upwind emissions that, under
those circumstances, could interfere
with the downwind area’s ability to
maintain the NAAQS.
Recognizing that nonattainment
receptors are also, by definition,
maintenance receptors, the EPA often
27 See 81 FR 74504 (October 26, 2016). This same
concept, relying on both current monitoring data
and modeling to define nonattainment receptor,
was also applied in CAIR. See 70 FR at 25241,
25249 (January 14, 2005); see also North Carolina,
531 F.3d at 913–14 (affirming as reasonable EPA’s
approach to defining nonattainment in CAIR).
28 See 76 FR 48208 (August 8, 2011). CSAPR
Update and Revised CSAPR Update also used this
approach. See 81 FR 74504 (October 26, 2016) and
86 FR 23054 (April 30, 2021).
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9481
uses the term ‘‘maintenance-only’’ to
refer to those receptors that are not
nonattainment receptors. Consistent
with the concepts for maintenance
receptors, as described above, the EPA
identifies ‘‘maintenance-only’’ receptors
as those monitoring sites that have
projected average design values above
the level of the applicable NAAQS, but
that are not currently measuring
nonattainment based on the most recent
official design values. In addition, those
monitoring sites with projected average
design values below the NAAQS, but
with projected maximum design values
above the NAAQS are also identified as
‘‘maintenance only’’ receptors, even if
they are currently measuring
nonattainment based on the most recent
official design values.
3. Step 2 of the 4-Step Interstate
Transport Framework
In Step 2 the EPA quantifies the
contribution of each upwind state to
each receptor in the 2023 analytic year.
The contribution metric used in Step 2
is defined as the average impact from
each state to each receptor on the days
with the highest ozone concentrations at
the receptor based on the 2023
modeling. If a state’s contribution value
does not equal or exceed the threshold
of 1 percent of the NAAQS (i.e., 0.70
ppb for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS),
the upwind state is not ‘‘linked’’ to a
downwind air quality problem, and the
EPA, therefore, concludes that the state
does not significantly contribute to
nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the NAAQS in the
downwind states. However, if a state’s
contribution equals or exceeds the 1
percent threshold, the state’s emissions
are further evaluated in Step 3,
considering both air quality and cost as
part of a multi-factor analysis, to
determine what, if any, emissions might
be deemed ‘‘significant’’ and, thus, must
be eliminated under CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I). The EPA is proposing
to rely in the first instance on the 1
percent threshold for the purpose of
evaluating a state’s contribution to
nonattainment or maintenance of the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS (i.e., 0.70
ppb) at downwind receptors. This is
consistent with the Step 2 approach that
the EPA applied in CSAPR for the 1997
ozone NAAQS, which has subsequently
been applied in the CSAPR Update
when evaluating interstate transport
obligations for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
The EPA continues to find 1 percent to
be an appropriate threshold. For ozone,
as the EPA found in the Clean Air
Interstate Rule (CAIR), CSAPR, and
CSAPR Update, a portion of the
nonattainment problems from
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anthropogenic sources in the U.S.
results from the combined impact of
relatively small contributions from
many upwind states, along with
contributions from in-state sources and,
in some cases, substantially larger
contributions from a subset of particular
upwind states. The EPA’s analysis
shows that much of the ozone transport
problem being analyzed in this
proposed rule is still the result of the
collective impacts of contributions from
many upwind states. Therefore,
application of a consistent contribution
threshold is necessary to identify those
upwind states that should have
responsibility for addressing their
contribution to the downwind
nonattainment and maintenance
problems to which they collectively
contribute. Continuing to use 1 percent
of the NAAQS as the screening metric
to evaluate collective contribution from
many upwind states also allows the EPA
(and states) to apply a consistent
framework to evaluate interstate
emissions transport under the interstate
transport provision from one NAAQS to
the next. See 81 FR at 74518. See also
86 FR at 23085 (reviewing and
explaining rationale from CSAPR, 76 FR
at 48237–38, for selection of 1 percent
threshold).
The EPA’s August 2018 memorandum
recognized that in certain
circumstances, a state may be able to
establish that an alternative contribution
threshold of 1 ppb is justifiable. Where
a state relies on this alternative
threshold, and where that state
determined that it was not linked at
Step 2 using the alternative threshold,
the EPA will evaluate whether the state
provided a technically sound
assessment of the appropriateness of
using this alternative threshold based on
the facts and circumstances underlying
its application in the particular SIP
submission.
4. Step 3 of the 4-Step Interstate
Transport Framework
Consistent with the EPA’s
longstanding approach to eliminating
significant contribution or interference
with maintenance, at Step 3, states
linked at Steps 1 and 2 are generally
expected to prepare a multifactor
assessment of potential emissions
controls. The EPA’s analysis at Step 3 in
prior Federal actions addressing
interstate transport requirements has
primarily focused on an evaluation of
cost-effectiveness of potential emissions
controls (on a marginal cost-per-ton
basis), the total emissions reductions
that may be achieved by requiring such
controls (if applied across all linked
upwind states), and an evaluation of the
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air quality impacts such emissions
reductions would have on the
downwind receptors to which a state is
linked; other factors may potentially be
relevant if adequately supported. In
general, where the EPA’s or alternative
air quality and contribution modeling
establishes that a state is linked at Steps
1 and 2, it will be insufficient at Step
3 for a state merely to point to its
existing rules requiring control
measures as a basis for approval. In
general, the emissions-reducing effects
of all existing emissions control
requirements are already reflected in the
air quality results of the modeling for
steps 1 and 2. If the state is shown to
still be linked to one or more downwind
receptor(s), states must provide a welldocumented evaluation determining
whether their emissions constitute
significant contribution or interference
with maintenance by evaluating
additional available control
opportunities by preparing a multifactor
assessment. While the EPA has not
prescribed a particular method for this
assessment, the EPA expects states at a
minimum to present a sufficient
technical evaluation. This would
typically include information on
emissions sources, applicable control
technologies, emissions reductions,
costs, cost effectiveness, and downwind
air quality impacts of the estimated
reductions, before concluding that no
additional emissions controls should be
required.29
5. Step 4 of the 4-Step Interstate
Transport Framework
At Step 4, states (or the EPA) develop
permanent and federally enforceable
control strategies to achieve the
emissions reductions determined to be
necessary at Step 3 to eliminate
significant contribution to
nonattainment or interference with
maintenance of the NAAQS. For a state
linked at Steps 1 and 2 to rely on an
emissions control measure at Step 3 to
address its interstate transport
obligations, that measure must be
included in the state’s SIP so that it is
permanent and federally enforceable.
See CAA section 110(a)(2)(D) (‘‘Each
such [SIP] shall . . . contain adequate
provisions . . . .’’). See also CAA
29 As examples of general approaches for how
such an analysis could be conducted for their
sources, states could look to the CSAPR Update, 81
FR 74504, 74539–51; CSAPR, 76 FR 48208, 48246–
63; CAIR, 70 FR 25162, 25195–229; or the NOX SIP
Call, 63 FR 57356, 57399–405. See also Revised
CSAPR Update, 86 FR 23054, 23086–23116.
Consistently across these rulemakings, the EPA has
developed emissions inventories, analyzed different
levels of control stringency at different cost
thresholds, and assessed resulting downwind air
quality improvements.
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110(a)(2)(A); Committee for a Better
Arvin v. U.S. E.P.A., 786 F.3d 1169,
1175–76 (9th Cir. 2015) (holding that
measures relied on by state to meet CAA
requirements must be included in the
SIP).
II. Iowa’s SIP Submission Addressing
Interstate Transport of Air Pollution for
the 2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
On November 30, 2018, Iowa
submitted a SIP revision addressing the
CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) interstate
transport requirements for the 2015
ozone NAAQS. Iowa chose to rely on
the results of EPA’s 2023 modeling, as
presented in the March 2018
memorandum, to identify downwind
nonattainment and maintenance
receptors that may be impacted by
emissions from sources in Iowa. Based
on Iowa’s review of the EPA’s modeling
assumptions and model performance
evaluation, Iowa determined that EPA’s
future year projections were appropriate
for purposes of evaluating Iowa’s impact
on attainment and maintenance of the
2015 ozone NAAQS in other states.
Iowa relied on EPA’s 2023 modeling
to conclude that the state does not
contribute significantly to
nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS
in any other state. Iowa referred to the
analytic information in EPA’s August
2018 memorandum as a basis to use a
1 ppb contribution threshold when
evaluating the state’s contribution to
downwind receptors at Step 2 of EPA’s
four-step interstate transport framework.
Using EPA’s modeling, Iowa identified
that it is projected to contribute below
1 percent of the 2015 ozone NAAQS
(i.e., less than 0.70 ppb) to all but two
downwind receptors: The
nonattainment receptor in Milwaukee
County, Wisconsin (Milwaukee
receptor), and the maintenance-only
receptor in Allegan County, Michigan
(Allegan receptor). Iowa’s contribution
to these two receptors was projected to
be between 1 percent and 1 ppb. Iowa
concluded that 1 ppb is an appropriate
contribution threshold to apply with
respect to the 2015 ozone NAAQS and
that Iowa’s emissions therefore do not
contribute to nonattainment or
maintenance problems at either
receptor.
Iowa noted that its 2023 modeled
contribution to the Milwaukee receptor
is 0.79 ppb, and its 2023 modeled
contribution to the Allegan receptor is
0.77 ppb. Iowa further noted that
application of the 1 ppb threshold
captures 83 percent of the upwind
contribution captured at the 1 percent
threshold at the Milwaukee receptor and
94 percent of the upwind contribution
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captured at the 1 percent threshold at
the Allegan receptor. Based on these
data, Iowa concluded that the 1 ppb
threshold is therefore appropriate
because it captures a ‘‘substantial
portion’’ of the transported contribution
from upwind states when compared to
the 1 percent threshold at both
receptors. Because the state’s impact on
both receptors was projected to be
below the 1 ppb threshold, the state
concluded that its emissions will not
contribute significantly to
nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS
in downwind states.
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III. Withdrawal of Prior Proposed
Approval
On March 2, 2020, EPA proposed to
approve portions of the infrastructure
SIP submission received from the State
of Iowa on November 30, 2018, in
accordance with section 110(a)(1) of the
CAA. In the document, the EPA
proposed to approve the portion of the
SIP addressing section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)—significant
contribution to nonattainment (prong 1),
and interference with maintenance of
the NAAQS (prong 2). This proposal
relied on results of EPA’s 2023
modeling, as presented in the March
2018 memorandum explained above, as
well as the State’s argument for using
the 1 ppb threshold in Step 2 rather
than the 1 percent threshold. The action
received two adverse comments. In this
document, we are withdrawing our
March 2, 2020, proposed approval. We
are now reproposing approval based on
new modeling and a new rationale for
approval based on that new modeling,
as discussed in section IV.
IV. EPA Evaluation of Iowa’s
Submission
Iowa’s SIP submission relies on
analysis of the year 2023 (using a 2011
base year platform) to conclude that the
State does not significantly contribute to
nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS
in any other state. As explained in
section I of this proposal, the EPA has
conducted an updated analysis for the
2023 analytical year (using a 2016 base
year platform) and proposes to rely
primarily on this updated modeling to
evaluate Iowa’s transport SIP
submission.
As described in section I, the EPA
performed air quality modeling to
project design values and contributions
for 2023 using the 2016v2 emissions
platform. The design values and
contributions were examined to
determine if Iowa contributes at or
above the threshold of 1 percent of the
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2015 ozone NAAQS (0.70 ppb) to any
downwind nonattainment or
maintenance receptor. The data 30
indicate that the highest contribution in
2023 from Iowa to a downwind
nonattainment and maintenance
receptors is 0.64 ppb and 0.58 ppb,
respectively.31
Based on the EPA’s updated
modeling, it is no longer necessary to
evaluate Iowa’s use of 1 ppb as a
contribution threshold at Step 2. The
state is projected to contribute less than
a 1 percent threshold. While the EPA
does not, in this action, approve of the
state’s application of the 1 ppb
threshold, based on the state’s
contributions of less than 1 percent to
projected downwind nonattainment or
maintenance receptors, the state’s use of
this alternative threshold is
inconsequential to our action on this
SIP submittal. The EPA is proposing to
approve Iowa’s SIP submission on the
basis of the use of a 1 percent
contribution threshold at Step 2.
The EPA’s evaluation of measured
and monitored data and contribution
values in 2023, as discussed in this
section, is consistent with conclusions
made by Iowa that emissions from
sources in the State will not contribute
to nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS
in any other state.
V. Proposed Action
The EPA is proposing to approve a
portion of Iowa’s November 30, 2018,
SIP submittal as meeting the interstate
transport requirements of CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS. The EPA has addressed the
remaining infrastructure elements
included in Iowa’s submittal in a
separate action. Additionally, this
proposal withdraws and replaces EPA’s
March 2, 2020, proposed rule as
discussed in section III.
The Agency is soliciting public
comments on its proposed approval of
the CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)
element of Iowa’s infrastructure SIP
submittal for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
30 Design values and contributions at individual
monitoring sites nationwide are provide in the file:
2016v2_DVs_state_contributions.xlsx which is
included in docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–
0663.
31 The EPA’s analysis indicates that Iowa will
have a 0.64 ppb impact at the projected
nonattainment receptor in Kenosha County,
Wisconsin (Site ID 550590019), which has a 2023
projected average design value of 72.8 ppb and a
2023 projected maximum design value of 73.7 ppb.
The EPA’s analysis further indicates that Iowa will
have a 0.58 ppb impact at a projected maintenance
receptor in Cook County, Illinois (Site ID
170310032), which has which has a projected 2023
average design value of 69.8 ppb and a 2023
projected maximum design value of 72.4 ppb.
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9483
Significant comments will be
considered before taking final action.
Interested parties may participate in the
Federal rulemaking procedure by
submitting written comments to this
proposed rule by following the
instructions listed in the ADDRESSES
section of this Federal Register.
VI. 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, EPA’s role is to approve
state choices, provided that they meet
the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly,
this proposed action merely approves
state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose
additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason,
this proposed action:
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to review by the Office of
Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
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 EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
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methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where EPA or an
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the rule does not have
tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 1, 2022.
Meghan A. McCollister,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
PART 52—APPROVAL AND
PROMULGATION OF
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
1. The authority citation for part 52
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart Q—Iowa
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the
Code of Federal Regulations is proposed
to be amended as follows:
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
2. In § 52.820, the table in paragraph
(e) is amended by adding an entry for
‘‘(55)’’ in numerical order to read as
follows:
■
§ 52.820
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
*
Identification of plan.
*
*
(e) * * *
*
*
EPA-APPROVED IOWA NONREGULATORY PROVISIONS
Name of non regulatory SIP
provision
Applicable
geographic or
nonattainment
area
*
*
(55) Transport SIP for the 2015
Ozone Standard.
Statewide .......
*
[FR Doc. 2022–02935 Filed 2–18–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
EPA–R02–OAR–2021–0673; EPA–HQ–OAR–
2021–0663; FRL–9424–01–R2]
Air Plan Disapproval; New York and
New Jersey; Interstate Transport of Air
Pollution for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the Federal Clean
Air Act (CAA or the Act), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
is proposing to disapprove State
Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals
from New York and New Jersey
regarding interstate transport for the
2015 8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standards (NAAQS). This
provision requires that each state’s SIP
contain adequate provisions to prohibit
emissions from within the state from
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SUMMARY:
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State
submittal
date
Jkt 256001
11/30/2018
EPA approval date
Explanation
*
*
[Date of publication of the final
rule in the [Federal Register], [Federal Register citation of the final rule].
*
*
[EPA–R07–OAR–2021–0870; EPA–HQ–
OAR–2021–0663; FRL–9468–01–R7]. This
transport SIP shows that Iowa does not
significantly contribute to ozone nonattainment or maintenance in any other state.
This submittal is approved as meeting the
requirements of Clean Air Act section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I).
significantly contributing to
nonattainment or interfering with
maintenance of the NAAQS in other
states. The ‘‘good neighbor’’ or
‘‘interstate transport’’ requirement is
part of the broader set of
‘‘infrastructure’’ requirements, which
are designed to ensure that the
structural components of each state’s air
quality management program are
adequate to meet the state’s
responsibilities under the CAA. This
disapproval, if finalized, will establish a
2-year deadline for the EPA to
promulgate a Federal Implementation
Plan (FIP) to address the relevant
interstate transport requirements, unless
the EPA approves a subsequent SIP
submittal that meets these requirements.
Disapproval does not start a mandatory
sanctions clock.
Comments: Written comments
must be received on or before April 25,
2022.
DATES:
You may send comments,
identified as Docket No. EPA–R02–
OAR–2021–0673 to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at https://
www.regulations.gov following the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the Docket ID No. for this
rulemaking. Comments received may be
posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. For
detailed instructions on sending
comments and additional information
on the rulemaking process, see the
‘‘Public Participation’’ heading of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document. Out of an abundance of
caution for members of the public and
our staff, the EPA Docket Center and
Reading Room are open to the public by
appointment only to reduce the risk of
transmitting COVID–19. Our Docket
Center staff also continues to provide
remote customer service via email,
phone, and webform. For further
information on the EPA Docket Center
services and the current status, please
visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/
dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kenneth Fradkin, Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 2, 290
Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, NY
10007–1866, (212) 637–3702, or by
email at Fradkin.Kenneth@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public
Participation: Submit your comments,
E:\FR\FM\22FEP1.SGM
22FEP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9477-9484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02935]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0870; EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663; FRL-9468-01-R7]
Air Plan Approval; Iowa; Interstate Transport of Air Pollution
for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule and withdrawal of proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires each State Implementation
Plan (SIP) to contain adequate provisions prohibiting emissions that
will significantly contribute to nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of air quality in other states. The State of Iowa made a
submission to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) to
address these requirements for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is proposing to approve the submission
for Iowa as meeting the requirement that the SIP contains adequate
provisions to prohibit emissions that will significantly contribute to
nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS in
any other state. The EPA is also withdrawing its previous proposed rule
to approve Iowa's SIP submission, as published in the Federal Register
on March 2, 2020.
DATES:
Comments: Written comments on this proposed rule must be received
on or before March 24, 2022.
Withdrawal: As of February 22, 2022, the proposed rule published
March 2, 2020, at 85 FR 12232, is withdrawn.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified as Docket No. EPA-R07-OAR-
2021-0870, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal
at https://www.regulations.gov following the online instructions for
submitting comments or via email to [email protected]. Include
Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0870 in the subject line of the message.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change
to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public Participation''
heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. Out
of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our staff, the
EPA Docket Center and Reading Room are open to the public by
appointment only to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our
Docket Center staff also continues to provide remote customer service
via email, phone, and webform. For further information on EPA Docket
Center services and the current status, please visit us online at
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Stone, Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201
Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-
7714; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public participation: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0870, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the other methods
identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may publish any comment
received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's docket at https://www.regulations.gov 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
[[Page 9478]]
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).
There are two dockets supporting this action, EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0870
and EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663. Docket No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0870 contains
information specific to Iowa, including the notice of proposed
rulemaking. Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663 contains additional
modeling files, emissions inventory files, technical support documents,
and other relevant supporting documentation regarding interstate
transport of emissions for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS which are being
used to support this action. All comments regarding information in
either of these dockets are to be made in Docket No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-
0870. For additional submission methods, please contact William Stone,
(913) 551-7714, [email protected]. 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. Due to public health
concerns related to COVID-19, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room
are open to the public by appointment only. Our Docket Center staff
also continues to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and
webform. For further information and updates on EPA Docket Center
services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19. The index to the
docket for this action, Docket No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0870, is available
electronically at www.regulations.gov. While all documents in the
docket are listed in the index, some information may not be publicly
available due to docket file size restrictions or content (e.g., CBI).
Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' means the
EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Iowa's SIP Submission Addressing Interstate Transport of Air
Pollution for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
III. Withdrawal of Prior Proposed Approval
IV. EPA Evaluation of Iowa's Submission
V. Proposed Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
A. Description of Statutory Background
On October 1, 2015, the EPA promulgated a revision to the ozone
NAAQS (2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS), lowering the level of both the primary
and secondary standards to 0.070 parts per million (ppm).\1\ Section
110(a)(1) of the CAA requires states to submit, within 3 years after
promulgation of a new or revised standard, SIP submissions meeting the
applicable requirements of section 110(a)(2).\2\ One of these
applicable requirements is found in CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I),
otherwise known as the ``interstate transport'' or ``good neighbor''
provision, which generally requires SIPs to contain adequate provisions
to prohibit in-state emissions activities from having certain adverse
air quality effects on other states due to interstate transport of
pollution. There are two so-called ``prongs'' within CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I). A SIP for a new or revised NAAQS must contain
adequate provisions prohibiting any source or other type of emissions
activity within the state from emitting air pollutants in amounts that
will significantly contribute to nonattainment of the NAAQS in another
state (prong 1) or interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS in another
state (prong 2). The EPA and states must give independent significance
to prong 1 and prong 2 when evaluating downwind air quality problems
under CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I).\3\
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\1\ National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone, Final
Rule, 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015). Although the level of the
standard is specified in the units of ppm, ozone concentrations are
also described in parts per billion (ppb). For example, 0.070 ppm is
equivalent to 70 ppb.
\2\ SIP revisions that are intended to meet the applicable
requirements of section 110(a)(1) and (2) of the CAA are often
referred to as infrastructure SIPs and the applicable elements under
section 110(a)(2) are referred to as infrastructure requirements.
\3\ See North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896, 909-11 (D.C. Cir.
2008).
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B. Description of the EPA's Four Step Interstate Transport Regulatory
Process
The EPA is using the 4-step interstate transport framework (or 4-
step framework) to evaluate the state's SIP submittals addressing the
interstate transport provision for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The EPA
has addressed the interstate transport requirements of CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) with respect to prior ozone NAAQS in several
regional regulatory actions, including the Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule (CSAPR), which addressed interstate transport with respect to the
1997 ozone NAAQS as well as the 1997 and 2006 fine particulate matter
standards,\4\ and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update (CSAPR
Update) \5\ and the Revised CSAPR Update, both of which addressed the
2008 ozone NAAQS.\6\
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\4\ See Federal Implementation Plans: Interstate Transport of
Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone and Correction of SIP Approvals,
76 FR 48208 (Aug. 8, 2011).
\5\ Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update for the 2008 Ozone
NAAQS, 81 FR 74504 (Oct. 26, 2016).
\6\ In 2019, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the
CSAPR Update to the extent it failed to require upwind states to
eliminate their significant contribution by the next applicable
attainment date by which downwind states must come into compliance
with the NAAQS, as established under CAA section 181(a). Wisconsin
v. EPA, 938 F.3d 303, 313 (D.C. Cir. 2019). The Revised CSAPR Update
for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS, 86 FR 23054 (April 30, 2021), responded to
the remand of the CSAPR Update in Wisconsin and the vacatur of a
separate rule, the ``CSAPR Close-Out,'' 83 FR 65878 (December 21,
2018), in New York v. EPA, 781 F. App'x. 4 (D.C. Cir. 2019).
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Through the development and implementation of the CSAPR rulemakings
and prior regional rulemakings pursuant to the interstate transport
provision,\7\ the EPA, working in partnership with states, developed
the following 4-step interstate transport framework to evaluate a
State's obligations to eliminate interstate transport emissions under
the interstate transport provision for the ozone NAAQS: (1) Identify
monitoring sites that are projected to have problems attaining and/or
maintaining the NAAQS (i.e., nonattainment and/or maintenance
receptors); (2) identify states that impact those air quality problems
in other (i.e., downwind) states sufficiently such that the states are
considered ``linked'' and therefore warrant further review and
analysis; (3) identify the emissions reductions necessary (if any),
applying a multifactor analysis, to eliminate each linked upwind
state's significant contribution to nonattainment or interference with
maintenance of the NAAQS at the locations identified in step 1; and (4)
adopt permanent and enforceable measures needed to achieve those
emissions reductions.
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\7\ In addition to the CSAPR rulemakings, other regional
rulemakings addressing ozone transport include the ``NOX
SIP Call,'' 63 FR 57356 (October 27, 1998), and the ``Clean Air
Interstate Rule'' (CAIR), 70 FR 25162 (May 12, 2005).
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C. Background on the EPA's Ozone Transport Modeling Information
In general, the EPA has performed nationwide air quality modeling
to project ozone design values which are used in combination with
measured data to identify nonattainment and maintenance receptors. To
quantify the
[[Page 9479]]
contribution of emissions from specific upwind states on 2023 ozone
design values for the identified downwind nonattainment and maintenance
receptors, the EPA performed nationwide, state-level ozone source
apportionment modeling for 2023. The source apportionment modeling
provided contributions to ozone at receptors from precursor emissions
of anthropogenic nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) in individual upwind states.
The EPA has released several documents containing projected ozone
design values, contributions, and information relevant to evaluating
interstate transport with respect to the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
First, on January 6, 2017, the EPA published a notice of data
availability (NODA) in which we requested comment on preliminary
interstate ozone transport data including projected ozone design values
and interstate contributions for 2023 using a 2011 base year
platform.\8\ In the NODA, the EPA used the year 2023 as the analytic
year for this preliminary modeling because that year aligns with the
expected attainment year for Moderate ozone nonattainment areas for the
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\9\ On October 27, 2017, we released a
memorandum (October 2017 memorandum) containing updated modeling data
for 2023, which incorporated changes made in response to comments on
the NODA, and noted that the modeling may be useful for states
developing SIPs to address interstate transport obligations for the
2008 ozone NAAQS.\10\ On March 27, 2018, we issued a memorandum (March
2018 memorandum) noting that the same 2023 modeling data released in
the October 2017 memorandum could also be useful for identifying
potential downwind air quality problems with respect to the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS at Step 1 of the 4-step interstate transport framework.\11\
The March 2018 memorandum also included the then newly available
contribution modeling data to assist states in evaluating their impact
on potential downwind air quality problems for the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS under Step 2 of the 4-step interstate transport framework.\12\
The EPA subsequently issued two more memoranda in August and October
2018, providing additional information to states developing interstate
transport SIP submissions for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS concerning,
respectively, potential contribution thresholds that may be appropriate
to apply in Step 2 of the 4-step interstate transport framework, and
considerations for identifying downwind areas that may have problems
maintaining the standard at Step 1 of the 4-step interstate transport
framework.\13\
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\8\ See Notice of Availability of the Environmental Protection
Agency's Preliminary Interstate Ozone Transport Modeling Data for
the 2015 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS),
82 FR 1733 (January 6, 2017).
\9\ 82 FR at 1735.
\10\ See Information on the Interstate Transport State
Implementation Plan Submissions for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standards under Clean Air Act Section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), October 27, 2017, available in docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663 or at https://www.epa.gov/node/194139/.
\11\ See Information on the Interstate Transport State
Implementation Plan Submissions for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standards under Clean Air Act Section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), March 27, 2018 (``March 2018 memorandum''),
available in docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663 or at https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/memo-and-supplemental-information-regarding-interstate-transport-sips-2015-ozone-naaqs.
\12\ The March 2018 memorandum, however, provided, ``While the
information in this memorandum and the associated air quality
analysis data could be used to inform the development of these SIPs,
the information is not a final determination regarding states'
obligations under the good neighbor provision. Any such
determination would be made through notice-and-comment rulemaking.''
\13\ See Analysis of Contribution Thresholds for Use in Clean
Air Act Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) Interstate Transport State
Implementation Plan Submissions for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standards, August 31, 2018 (``August 2018 memorandum''),
and Considerations for Identifying Maintenance Receptors for Use in
Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) Interstate Transport State
Implementation Plan Submissions for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standards, October 19, 2018, available in docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663 or at https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/memo-and-supplemental-information-regarding-interstate-transport-sips-2015-ozone-naaqs.
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Since the release of the modeling data shared in the March 2018
memorandum, the EPA performed updated modeling using a 2016-based
emissions modeling platform (i.e., 2016v1). This emissions platform was
developed under the EPA/Multi-Jurisdictional Organization (MJO)/state
collaborative project.\14\ This collaborative project was a multi-year
joint effort by the EPA, MJOs, and states to develop a new, more recent
emissions platform for use by the EPA and states in regulatory modeling
as an improvement over the dated 2011-based platform that the EPA had
used to project ozone design values and contribution data provided in
the 2017 and 2018 memoranda. The EPA used the 2016v1 emissions to
project ozone design values and contributions for 2023. On October 30,
2020, in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Revised CSAPR
Update, the EPA released and accepted public comment on 2023 modeling
that used the 2016v1 emissions platform.\15\ Although the Revised CSAPR
Update addressed transport for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the projected
design values and contributions from the 2016v1 platform are also
useful for identifying downwind ozone problems and linkages with
respect to the 2015 ozone NAAQS.\16\
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\14\ The results of this modeling, as well as the underlying
modeling files, are included in docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663.
\15\ See 85 FR 68964, 68981.
\16\ See the Air Quality Modeling Technical Support Document for
the Final Revised Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update, included in
the Headquarters docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663.
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Following the final Revised CSAPR Update, the EPA made further
updates to the 2016 emissions platform to include mobile emissions from
the EPA's Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator MOVES3 model \17\ and
updated emissions projections for electric generating units (EGUs) that
reflect the emissions reductions from the Revised CSAPR Update, recent
information on plant closures, and other sector trends. The construct
of the updated emissions platform, 2016v2, is described in the
emissions modeling technical support document (TSD) for this proposed
rule.\18\ The EPA performed air quality modeling of the 2016v2
emissions using the most recent public release version of the
Comprehensive Air-quality Model with extensions (CAMx) photochemical
modeling, version 7.10.\19\ The EPA now proposes to primarily rely on
modeling based on the updated and newly available 2016v2 emissions
platform in evaluating these submissions with respect to Steps 1 and 2
of the 4-step interstate transport framework and generally referenced
within this action as 2016v2 modeling for 2023. By using the updated
modeling results, the EPA is using the most current and technically
appropriate information for this proposed rulemaking. Section III of
this document and the Air Quality Modeling TSD for 2015 Ozone NAAQS
Transport SIP Proposed Actions, included in Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2021-0663 for this proposal, contain additional detail on the EPA's
2016v2 modeling. In this document, the
[[Page 9480]]
EPA is accepting public comment on this updated 2023 modeling, which
uses a 2016v2 emissions platform. Comments on the EPA's air quality
modeling should be submitted in the Regional docket for this action,
docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0870. Comments are not being accepted in
docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663.
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\17\ Additional details and documentation related to the MOVES3
model can be found at https://www.epa.gov/moves/latest-version-motor-vehicle-emission-simulator-moves.
\18\ See Technical Support Document (TSD) Preparation of
Emissions Inventories for the 2016v2 North American Emissions
Modeling Platform included in the Headquarters docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2021-0663.
\19\ Ramboll Environment and Health, January 2021, www.camx.com.
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D. The EPA's Approach To Evaluating Interstate Transport SIPs for the
2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
The EPA proposes to apply a consistent set of policy judgments
across all states for purposes of evaluating interstate transport
obligations and the approvability of interstate transport SIP
submittals for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. These policy judgments
reflect consistency with relevant case law and past agency practice as
reflected in the CSAPR and related rulemakings. Nationwide consistency
in approach is particularly important in the context of interstate
ozone transport, which is a regional-scale pollution problem involving
many smaller contributors. Effective policy solutions to the problem of
interstate ozone transport going back to the NOX SIP Call
have necessitated the application of a uniform framework of policy
judgments in order to ensure an ``efficient and equitable'' approach.
See EME Homer City Generation, LP v. EPA, 572 U.S. 489, 519 (2014).
In the March, August, and October 2018 memoranda, the EPA
recognized that states may be able to establish alternative approaches
to addressing their interstate transport obligations for the 2015 8-
hour ozone NAAQS that vary from a nationally uniform framework. The EPA
emphasized in these memoranda, however, that such alternative
approaches must be technically justified and appropriate in light of
the facts and circumstances of each particular state's submittal. In
general, the EPA continues to believe that deviation from a nationally
consistent approach to ozone transport must be substantially justified
and have a well-documented technical basis that is consistent with
relevant case law. Where states submitted SIPs that rely on any such
potential ``flexibilities'' as may have been identified or suggested in
the past, the EPA will evaluate whether the state adequately justified
the technical and legal basis for doing so.
The EPA notes that certain concepts included in an attachment to
the March 2018 memorandum require unique consideration, and these ideas
do not constitute agency guidance with respect to transport obligations
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Attachment A to the March 2018 memorandum
identified a ``Preliminary List of Potential Flexibilities'' that could
potentially inform SIP development.\20\ However, EPA made clear in that
Attachment that the list of ideas were not suggestions endorsed by the
Agency but rather ``comments provided in various forums'' on which EPA
sought ``feedback from interested stakeholders.'' \21\ Further,
Attachment A stated, ``EPA is not at this time making any determination
that the ideas discussed below are consistent with the requirements of
the CAA, nor are we specifically recommending that states use these
approaches.'' \22\ Attachment A to the March 2018 memorandum,
therefore, does not constitute agency guidance, but was intended to
generate further discussion around potential approaches to addressing
ozone transport among interested stakeholders. To the extent states
sought to develop or rely on these ideas in support of their SIP
submittals, EPA will thoroughly review the technical and legal
justifications for doing so.
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\20\ March 2018 memorandum, Attachment A.
\21\ Id. at A-1.
\22\ Id.
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The remainder of this section describes the EPA's proposed
framework with respect to analytic year, definition of nonattainment
and maintenance receptors, selection of contribution threshold, and
multifactor control strategy assessment.
1. Selection of Analytic Year
In general, the states and the EPA must implement the interstate
transport provision in a manner ``consistent with the provisions of
[title I of the CAA.]'' CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). This requires,
among other things, that these obligations are addressed consistently
with the timeframes for downwind areas to meet their CAA obligations.
With respect to ozone NAAQS, under CAA section 181(a), this means
obligations must be addressed ``as expeditiously as practicable'' and
no later than the schedule of attainment dates provided in CAA section
181(a)(1).\23\ Several D.C. Circuit court decisions address the issue
of the relevant analytic year for the purposes of evaluating ozone
transport air-quality problems. On September 13, 2019, the D.C. Circuit
issued a decision in Wisconsin v. EPA, remanding the CSAPR Update to
the extent that it failed to require upwind states to eliminate their
significant contribution by the next applicable attainment date by
which downwind states must come into compliance with the NAAQS, as
established under CAA section 181(a). 938 F.3d at 313.
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\23\ For attainment dates for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS, refer
to CAA section 181(a), 40 CFR 51.1303, and Additional Air Quality
Designations for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018, effective Aug. 3, 2018).
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On May 19, 2020, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in Maryland v.
EPA that cited the Wisconsin decision in holding that the EPA must
assess the impact of interstate transport on air quality at the next
downwind attainment date, including Marginal area attainment dates, in
evaluating the basis for the EPA's denial of a petition under CAA
section 126(b). Maryland v. EPA, 958 F.3d 1185, 1203-04 (D.C. Cir.
2020). The court noted that ``section 126(b) incorporates the Good
Neighbor Provision,'' and, therefore, ``EPA must find a violation [of
section 126] if an upwind source will significantly contribute to
downwind nonattainment at the next downwind attainment deadline.
Therefore, the agency must evaluate downwind air quality at that
deadline, not at some later date.'' Id. at 1204 (emphasis added). The
EPA interprets the court's holding in Maryland as requiring the states
and the Agency, under the good neighbor provision, to assess downwind
air quality as expeditiously as practicable and no later than the next
applicable attainment date,\24\ which is now the Moderate area
attainment date under CAA section 181 for ozone nonattainment. The
Moderate area attainment date for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS is August
3, 2024.\25\ The EPA believes that 2023 is now the appropriate year for
analysis of interstate transport obligations for the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS, because the 2023 ozone season is the last relevant ozone season
during which achieved emissions reductions in linked upwind states
could assist downwind states with meeting the August 3, 2024, Moderate
area attainment date for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
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\24\ We note that the court in Maryland did not have occasion to
evaluate circumstances in which the EPA may determine that an upwind
linkage to a downwind air quality problem exists at steps 1 and 2 of
the interstate transport framework by a particular attainment date,
but for reasons of impossibility or profound uncertainty the Agency
is unable to mandate upwind pollution controls by that date. See
Wisconsin, 938 F.3d at 320. The D.C. Circuit noted in Wisconsin that
upon a sufficient showing, these circumstances may warrant
flexibility in effectuating the purpose of the interstate transport
provision.
\25\ See CAA section 181(a); 40 CFR 51.1303; Additional Air
Quality Designations for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018, effective Aug. 3, 2018).
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The EPA recognizes that the attainment date for nonattainment areas
classified as Marginal for the 2015 8-
[[Page 9481]]
hour ozone NAAQS was August 3, 2021. Under the Maryland holding, any
necessary emissions reductions to satisfy interstate transport
obligations should have been implemented by no later than this date. At
the time of the statutory deadline to submit interstate transport SIPs
(October 1, 2018), many states relied upon the EPA modeling of the year
2023, and no state provided an alternative analysis using a 2021
analytic year (or the prior 2020 ozone season). However, the EPA must
act on SIP submittals using the information available at the time it
takes such action. In this circumstance, the EPA does not believe it
would be appropriate to evaluate states' obligations under CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) as of an attainment date that is wholly in the past,
because the Agency interprets the interstate transport provision as
forward looking. See 86 FR at 23074; see also Wisconsin, 938 F.3d at
322. Consequently, in this proposal the EPA will use the analytical
year of 2023 to evaluate each state's CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)
SIP submission with respect to the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
2. Step 1 of the 4-Step Interstate Transport Framework
In Step 1, the EPA identifies monitoring sites that are projected
to have problems attaining and/or maintaining the NAAQS in the 2023
analytic year. Where the EPA's analysis shows that a site does not fall
under the definition of a nonattainment or maintenance receptor, that
site is excluded from further analysis under the EPA's 4-step
interstate transport framework. For sites that are identified as a
nonattainment or maintenance receptor in 2023, we proceed to the next
step of our 4-step interstate transport framework by identifying the
upwind state's contribution to those receptors.
The EPA's approach to identifying ozone nonattainment and
maintenance receptors in this action is consistent with the approach
used in previous transport rulemakings. The EPA's approach gives
independent consideration to both the ``contribute significantly to
nonattainment'' and the ``interfere with maintenance'' prongs of CAA
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), consistent with the D.C. Circuit's
direction in North Carolina v. EPA.\26\
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\26\ See North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d at 910-11 (holding that
the EPA must give ``independent significance'' to each prong of CAA
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the purpose of this proposal, the EPA identifies nonattainment
receptors as those monitoring sites that are projected to have average
design values that exceed the NAAQS and that are also measuring
nonattainment based on the most recent monitored design values. This
approach is consistent with prior transport rulemakings, such as the
CSAPR Update, where the EPA defined nonattainment receptors as those
areas that both currently measure nonattainment and that the EPA
projects will be in nonattainment in the future analytic year (i.e.,
2023).\27\
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\27\ See 81 FR 74504 (October 26, 2016). This same concept,
relying on both current monitoring data and modeling to define
nonattainment receptor, was also applied in CAIR. See 70 FR at
25241, 25249 (January 14, 2005); see also North Carolina, 531 F.3d
at 913-14 (affirming as reasonable EPA's approach to defining
nonattainment in CAIR).
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In addition, in this proposal, the EPA identifies a receptor to be
a ``maintenance'' receptor for purposes of defining interference with
maintenance, consistent with the method used in the CSAPR and upheld by
the D.C. Circuit in EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA, 795 F.3d
118, 136 (D.C. Cir. 2015).\28\ Specifically, the EPA identified
maintenance receptors as those receptors that would have difficulty
maintaining the relevant NAAQS in a scenario that takes into account
historical variability in air quality at that receptor. The variability
in air quality was determined by evaluating the ``maximum'' future
design value at each receptor based on a projection of the maximum
measured design value over the relevant period. EPA interprets the
projected maximum future design value to be a potential future air
quality outcome consistent with the meteorology that yielded maximum
measured concentrations in the ambient data set analyzed for that
receptor (i.e., ozone conducive meteorology). EPA also recognizes that
previously experienced meteorological conditions (e.g., dominant wind
direction, temperatures, air mass patterns) promoting ozone formation
that led to maximum concentrations in the measured data may reoccur in
the future. The maximum design value gives a reasonable projection of
future air quality at the receptor under a scenario in which such
conditions do, in fact, reoccur. The projected maximum design value is
used to identify upwind emissions that, under those circumstances,
could interfere with the downwind area's ability to maintain the NAAQS.
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\28\ See 76 FR 48208 (August 8, 2011). CSAPR Update and Revised
CSAPR Update also used this approach. See 81 FR 74504 (October 26,
2016) and 86 FR 23054 (April 30, 2021).
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Recognizing that nonattainment receptors are also, by definition,
maintenance receptors, the EPA often uses the term ``maintenance-only''
to refer to those receptors that are not nonattainment receptors.
Consistent with the concepts for maintenance receptors, as described
above, the EPA identifies ``maintenance-only'' receptors as those
monitoring sites that have projected average design values above the
level of the applicable NAAQS, but that are not currently measuring
nonattainment based on the most recent official design values. In
addition, those monitoring sites with projected average design values
below the NAAQS, but with projected maximum design values above the
NAAQS are also identified as ``maintenance only'' receptors, even if
they are currently measuring nonattainment based on the most recent
official design values.
3. Step 2 of the 4-Step Interstate Transport Framework
In Step 2 the EPA quantifies the contribution of each upwind state
to each receptor in the 2023 analytic year. The contribution metric
used in Step 2 is defined as the average impact from each state to each
receptor on the days with the highest ozone concentrations at the
receptor based on the 2023 modeling. If a state's contribution value
does not equal or exceed the threshold of 1 percent of the NAAQS (i.e.,
0.70 ppb for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS), the upwind state is not
``linked'' to a downwind air quality problem, and the EPA, therefore,
concludes that the state does not significantly contribute to
nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS in the
downwind states. However, if a state's contribution equals or exceeds
the 1 percent threshold, the state's emissions are further evaluated in
Step 3, considering both air quality and cost as part of a multi-factor
analysis, to determine what, if any, emissions might be deemed
``significant'' and, thus, must be eliminated under CAA section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I). The EPA is proposing to rely in the first instance
on the 1 percent threshold for the purpose of evaluating a state's
contribution to nonattainment or maintenance of the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS (i.e., 0.70 ppb) at downwind receptors. This is consistent with
the Step 2 approach that the EPA applied in CSAPR for the 1997 ozone
NAAQS, which has subsequently been applied in the CSAPR Update when
evaluating interstate transport obligations for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
The EPA continues to find 1 percent to be an appropriate threshold. For
ozone, as the EPA found in the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), CSAPR,
and CSAPR Update, a portion of the nonattainment problems from
[[Page 9482]]
anthropogenic sources in the U.S. results from the combined impact of
relatively small contributions from many upwind states, along with
contributions from in-state sources and, in some cases, substantially
larger contributions from a subset of particular upwind states. The
EPA's analysis shows that much of the ozone transport problem being
analyzed in this proposed rule is still the result of the collective
impacts of contributions from many upwind states. Therefore,
application of a consistent contribution threshold is necessary to
identify those upwind states that should have responsibility for
addressing their contribution to the downwind nonattainment and
maintenance problems to which they collectively contribute. Continuing
to use 1 percent of the NAAQS as the screening metric to evaluate
collective contribution from many upwind states also allows the EPA
(and states) to apply a consistent framework to evaluate interstate
emissions transport under the interstate transport provision from one
NAAQS to the next. See 81 FR at 74518. See also 86 FR at 23085
(reviewing and explaining rationale from CSAPR, 76 FR at 48237-38, for
selection of 1 percent threshold).
The EPA's August 2018 memorandum recognized that in certain
circumstances, a state may be able to establish that an alternative
contribution threshold of 1 ppb is justifiable. Where a state relies on
this alternative threshold, and where that state determined that it was
not linked at Step 2 using the alternative threshold, the EPA will
evaluate whether the state provided a technically sound assessment of
the appropriateness of using this alternative threshold based on the
facts and circumstances underlying its application in the particular
SIP submission.
4. Step 3 of the 4-Step Interstate Transport Framework
Consistent with the EPA's longstanding approach to eliminating
significant contribution or interference with maintenance, at Step 3,
states linked at Steps 1 and 2 are generally expected to prepare a
multifactor assessment of potential emissions controls. The EPA's
analysis at Step 3 in prior Federal actions addressing interstate
transport requirements has primarily focused on an evaluation of cost-
effectiveness of potential emissions controls (on a marginal cost-per-
ton basis), the total emissions reductions that may be achieved by
requiring such controls (if applied across all linked upwind states),
and an evaluation of the air quality impacts such emissions reductions
would have on the downwind receptors to which a state is linked; other
factors may potentially be relevant if adequately supported. In
general, where the EPA's or alternative air quality and contribution
modeling establishes that a state is linked at Steps 1 and 2, it will
be insufficient at Step 3 for a state merely to point to its existing
rules requiring control measures as a basis for approval. In general,
the emissions-reducing effects of all existing emissions control
requirements are already reflected in the air quality results of the
modeling for steps 1 and 2. If the state is shown to still be linked to
one or more downwind receptor(s), states must provide a well-documented
evaluation determining whether their emissions constitute significant
contribution or interference with maintenance by evaluating additional
available control opportunities by preparing a multifactor assessment.
While the EPA has not prescribed a particular method for this
assessment, the EPA expects states at a minimum to present a sufficient
technical evaluation. This would typically include information on
emissions sources, applicable control technologies, emissions
reductions, costs, cost effectiveness, and downwind air quality impacts
of the estimated reductions, before concluding that no additional
emissions controls should be required.\29\
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\29\ As examples of general approaches for how such an analysis
could be conducted for their sources, states could look to the CSAPR
Update, 81 FR 74504, 74539-51; CSAPR, 76 FR 48208, 48246-63; CAIR,
70 FR 25162, 25195-229; or the NOX SIP Call, 63 FR 57356,
57399-405. See also Revised CSAPR Update, 86 FR 23054, 23086-23116.
Consistently across these rulemakings, the EPA has developed
emissions inventories, analyzed different levels of control
stringency at different cost thresholds, and assessed resulting
downwind air quality improvements.
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5. Step 4 of the 4-Step Interstate Transport Framework
At Step 4, states (or the EPA) develop permanent and federally
enforceable control strategies to achieve the emissions reductions
determined to be necessary at Step 3 to eliminate significant
contribution to nonattainment or interference with maintenance of the
NAAQS. For a state linked at Steps 1 and 2 to rely on an emissions
control measure at Step 3 to address its interstate transport
obligations, that measure must be included in the state's SIP so that
it is permanent and federally enforceable. See CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)
(``Each such [SIP] shall . . . contain adequate provisions . . . .'').
See also CAA 110(a)(2)(A); Committee for a Better Arvin v. U.S. E.P.A.,
786 F.3d 1169, 1175-76 (9th Cir. 2015) (holding that measures relied on
by state to meet CAA requirements must be included in the SIP).
II. Iowa's SIP Submission Addressing Interstate Transport of Air
Pollution for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
On November 30, 2018, Iowa submitted a SIP revision addressing the
CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) interstate transport requirements for
the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Iowa chose to rely on the results of EPA's 2023
modeling, as presented in the March 2018 memorandum, to identify
downwind nonattainment and maintenance receptors that may be impacted
by emissions from sources in Iowa. Based on Iowa's review of the EPA's
modeling assumptions and model performance evaluation, Iowa determined
that EPA's future year projections were appropriate for purposes of
evaluating Iowa's impact on attainment and maintenance of the 2015
ozone NAAQS in other states.
Iowa relied on EPA's 2023 modeling to conclude that the state does
not contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS in any other state. Iowa referred
to the analytic information in EPA's August 2018 memorandum as a basis
to use a 1 ppb contribution threshold when evaluating the state's
contribution to downwind receptors at Step 2 of EPA's four-step
interstate transport framework. Using EPA's modeling, Iowa identified
that it is projected to contribute below 1 percent of the 2015 ozone
NAAQS (i.e., less than 0.70 ppb) to all but two downwind receptors: The
nonattainment receptor in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (Milwaukee
receptor), and the maintenance-only receptor in Allegan County,
Michigan (Allegan receptor). Iowa's contribution to these two receptors
was projected to be between 1 percent and 1 ppb. Iowa concluded that 1
ppb is an appropriate contribution threshold to apply with respect to
the 2015 ozone NAAQS and that Iowa's emissions therefore do not
contribute to nonattainment or maintenance problems at either receptor.
Iowa noted that its 2023 modeled contribution to the Milwaukee
receptor is 0.79 ppb, and its 2023 modeled contribution to the Allegan
receptor is 0.77 ppb. Iowa further noted that application of the 1 ppb
threshold captures 83 percent of the upwind contribution captured at
the 1 percent threshold at the Milwaukee receptor and 94 percent of the
upwind contribution
[[Page 9483]]
captured at the 1 percent threshold at the Allegan receptor. Based on
these data, Iowa concluded that the 1 ppb threshold is therefore
appropriate because it captures a ``substantial portion'' of the
transported contribution from upwind states when compared to the 1
percent threshold at both receptors. Because the state's impact on both
receptors was projected to be below the 1 ppb threshold, the state
concluded that its emissions will not contribute significantly to
nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS in
downwind states.
III. Withdrawal of Prior Proposed Approval
On March 2, 2020, EPA proposed to approve portions of the
infrastructure SIP submission received from the State of Iowa on
November 30, 2018, in accordance with section 110(a)(1) of the CAA. In
the document, the EPA proposed to approve the portion of the SIP
addressing section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)--significant contribution to
nonattainment (prong 1), and interference with maintenance of the NAAQS
(prong 2). This proposal relied on results of EPA's 2023 modeling, as
presented in the March 2018 memorandum explained above, as well as the
State's argument for using the 1 ppb threshold in Step 2 rather than
the 1 percent threshold. The action received two adverse comments. In
this document, we are withdrawing our March 2, 2020, proposed approval.
We are now reproposing approval based on new modeling and a new
rationale for approval based on that new modeling, as discussed in
section IV.
IV. EPA Evaluation of Iowa's Submission
Iowa's SIP submission relies on analysis of the year 2023 (using a
2011 base year platform) to conclude that the State does not
significantly contribute to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance
of the 2015 ozone NAAQS in any other state. As explained in section I
of this proposal, the EPA has conducted an updated analysis for the
2023 analytical year (using a 2016 base year platform) and proposes to
rely primarily on this updated modeling to evaluate Iowa's transport
SIP submission.
As described in section I, the EPA performed air quality modeling
to project design values and contributions for 2023 using the 2016v2
emissions platform. The design values and contributions were examined
to determine if Iowa contributes at or above the threshold of 1 percent
of the 2015 ozone NAAQS (0.70 ppb) to any downwind nonattainment or
maintenance receptor. The data \30\ indicate that the highest
contribution in 2023 from Iowa to a downwind nonattainment and
maintenance receptors is 0.64 ppb and 0.58 ppb, respectively.\31\
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\30\ Design values and contributions at individual monitoring
sites nationwide are provide in the file:
2016v2_DVs_state_contributions.xlsx which is included in docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0663.
\31\ The EPA's analysis indicates that Iowa will have a 0.64 ppb
impact at the projected nonattainment receptor in Kenosha County,
Wisconsin (Site ID 550590019), which has a 2023 projected average
design value of 72.8 ppb and a 2023 projected maximum design value
of 73.7 ppb. The EPA's analysis further indicates that Iowa will
have a 0.58 ppb impact at a projected maintenance receptor in Cook
County, Illinois (Site ID 170310032), which has which has a
projected 2023 average design value of 69.8 ppb and a 2023 projected
maximum design value of 72.4 ppb.
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Based on the EPA's updated modeling, it is no longer necessary to
evaluate Iowa's use of 1 ppb as a contribution threshold at Step 2. The
state is projected to contribute less than a 1 percent threshold. While
the EPA does not, in this action, approve of the state's application of
the 1 ppb threshold, based on the state's contributions of less than 1
percent to projected downwind nonattainment or maintenance receptors,
the state's use of this alternative threshold is inconsequential to our
action on this SIP submittal. The EPA is proposing to approve Iowa's
SIP submission on the basis of the use of a 1 percent contribution
threshold at Step 2.
The EPA's evaluation of measured and monitored data and
contribution values in 2023, as discussed in this section, is
consistent with conclusions made by Iowa that emissions from sources in
the State will not contribute to nonattainment or interfere with
maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS in any other state.
V. Proposed Action
The EPA is proposing to approve a portion of Iowa's November 30,
2018, SIP submittal as meeting the interstate transport requirements of
CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The EPA has
addressed the remaining infrastructure elements included in Iowa's
submittal in a separate action. Additionally, this proposal withdraws
and replaces EPA's March 2, 2020, proposed rule as discussed in section
III.
The Agency is soliciting public comments on its proposed approval
of the CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) element of Iowa's infrastructure
SIP submittal for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Significant comments will be
considered before taking final action. Interested parties may
participate in the Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written
comments to this proposed rule by following the instructions listed in
the ADDRESSES section of this Federal Register.
VI. 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, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly,
this proposed action merely approves state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed action:
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, 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 EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible
[[Page 9484]]
methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 1, 2022.
Meghan A. McCollister,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
is proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart Q--Iowa
0
2. In Sec. 52.820, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding an
entry for ``(55)'' in numerical order to read as follows:
Sec. 52.820 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA-Approved Iowa Nonregulatory Provisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State
Name of non regulatory SIP Applicable geographic submittal EPA approval date Explanation
provision or nonattainment area date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
(55) Transport SIP for the 2015 Statewide............. 11/30/2018 [Date of [EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0
Ozone Standard. publication of the 870; EPA-HQ-OAR-
final rule in the 2021-0663; FRL-
[Federal 9468-01-R7]. This
Register], transport SIP
[Federal Register shows that Iowa
citation of the does not
final rule]. significantly
contribute to
ozone
nonattainment or
maintenance in any
other state. This
submittal is
approved as
meeting the
requirements of
Clean Air Act
section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)
.
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[FR Doc. 2022-02935 Filed 2-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P