Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; Liberty Borough Area Second 10-Year PM10 Limited Maintenance Plan, 44237-44244 [2023-14645]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd. & Co. KG:
Docket No. FAA–2023–1399; Project
Identifier MCAI–2022–01533–E.
or lacking a principal inspector, the manager
of the local flight standards district office/
certificate holding district office.
(a) Comments Due Date
The FAA must receive comments on this
airworthiness directive (AD) by August 28,
2023.
(j) Additional Information
For more information about this AD,
contact Sungmo Cho, Aviation Safety
Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th Street, Des
Moines, WA 98198; phone: (781) 238–7241;
email: Sungmo.D.Cho@faa.gov.
(b) Affected ADs
This AD replaces AD 2020–15–07,
Amendment 39–21170 (85 FR 43682, July 20,
2020).
(c) Applicability
This AD applies to Rolls-Royce
Deutschland Ltd & Co. KG (RRD) Model
RB211–524G2–19, RB211–524G2–T–19,
RB211–524G3–19, RB211–524G3–T–19,
RB211–524H2–19, RB211–524H2–T–19,
RB211–524H–36, and RB211–524H–T–36
engines.
(d) Subject
Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC)
Code 7250, Turbine Section.
(e) Unsafe Condition
This AD was prompted by an updated
analysis by the engine manufacturer, which
indicates certain part-numbered and serialnumbered low-pressure turbine (LPT) stage 1
disks that have undergone rework could fail
before the current published life limits. The
FAA is issuing this AD to prevent failure of
the LPT stage 1 disk. The unsafe condition,
if not addressed, could result in uncontained
release of high-energy debris from the engine,
in-flight shutdown of the engine, damage to
the engine, and damage to the airplane.
(f) Compliance
Comply with this AD within the
compliance times specified, unless already
done.
(g) Required Actions
Except as specified in paragraphs (h) of
this AD: Perform all required actions within
the compliance times specified in, and in
accordance with, European Union Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2022–0237, dated
December 2, 2022 (EASA AD 2022–0237).
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2022–0237
(1) Where EASA AD 2022–0237 refers to its
effective date, this AD requires using the
effective date of this AD.
(2) This AD does not adopt the Remarks
paragraph of EASA AD 2022–0237.
(i) Alternative Methods of Compliance
(AMOCs)
(1) The Manager, AIR–520, Continued
Operational Safety Branch, FAA, has the
authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if
requested using the procedures found in 14
CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19,
send your request to your principal inspector
or local Flight Standards District Office, as
appropriate. If sending information directly
to the manager of the certification office,
send it to the attention of the person
identified in paragraph (j) of this AD and
email to: ANE-AD-AMOC@faa.gov.
(2) Before using any approved AMOC,
notify your appropriate principal inspector,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
(k) Material Incorporated by Reference
(1) The Director of the Federal Register
approved the incorporation by reference
(IBR) of the service information listed in this
paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR
part 51.
(2) You must use this service information
as applicable to do the actions required by
this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise.
(i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency
AD 2022–0237, dated December 2, 2022.
(ii) [Reserved]
(3) For EASA AD 2022–0237 contact
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668
Cologne, Germany; phone: +49 221 8999 000;
email: ADs@easa.europa.eu; website:
easa.europa.eu. You may find this EASA AD
on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
(4) You may view this service information
at FAA, Airworthiness Products Section,
Operational Safety Branch, 1200 District
Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. For
information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call (817) 222–5110.
(5) You may view this service information
that is incorporated by reference at the
National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). For information on
the availability of this material at NARA,
email: fr.inspection@nara.gov, or go to:
www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html.
Issued on June 30, 2023.
Gaetano A. Sciortino,
Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives,
Compliance & Airworthiness Division,
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–14468 Filed 7–11–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R03–OAR–2023–0219; FRL–8813–01–
R3]
Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania;
Liberty Borough Area Second 10-Year
PM10 Limited Maintenance Plan
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
the Liberty Borough area second 10-year
maintenance plan submitted by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
44237
(PADEP or Commonwealth) on behalf of
the Allegheny County Health
Department (ACHD). This plan
addresses the second 10-year
maintenance period after redesignation
for particulate matter with an
aerodynamic diameter less than or equal
to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM10). A
limited maintenance plan (LMP) is used
to meet the Clean Air Act (CAA or the
Act) requirements for formerly
designated nonattainment areas that
meet certain qualification criteria. EPA
is proposing to determine that ACHD’s
second maintenance plan meets
applicable CAA requirements. The plan
relies upon control measures contained
in the attainment plan and the first 10year maintenance plan and the
determination that the Liberty Borough
area currently monitors PM10 levels well
below the PM10 national ambient air
quality standards (NAAQS or standard).
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before August 11, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03–
OAR–2023–0219 at
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
gordon.mike@epa.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. For either manner of
submission, EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
confidential business information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. EPA will generally not consider
comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e.,
on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission
methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the
full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ellen Schmitt, Planning &
Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air &
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, Four
Penn Center, 1600 John F. Kennedy
Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
12JYP1
44238
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
19103. The telephone number is (215)
814–5787. Ms. Schmitt can also be
reached via electronic mail at
schmitt.ellen@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July
21, 2021, EPA received from PADEP, on
behalf of ACHD, a revision to the
Commonwealth’s state implementation
plan (SIP) for the Liberty Borough area.1
The Liberty Borough area is comprised
of the Boroughs of Liberty, Lincoln, Port
Vue, and Glassport and the City of
Clairton in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania. This action is expected to
ensure that the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania meets CAA requirements.
There is no information on the record
indicating that this action is expected to
have disproportionately high or adverse
human health or environmental effects
on a particular group of people.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
I. Background
On July 1, 1987, EPA promulgated
two primary standards for PM10: A 24hour standard of 150 micrograms per
cubic meter (mg/m3) and an annual
standard of 50 mg/m3. EPA also
promulgated secondary PM10 standards
that were identical to the primary
standards.2 Effective December 18,
2006, EPA revoked the annual PM10
standards but retained the 24-hour
standards.3 In this document, references
to the PM10 NAAQS or PM10 standard
refer to the 24-hour average standard of
150 mg/m3, unless otherwise noted.
Because they are identical, we refer to
the primary and secondary 24-hour
standards using the single term,
NAAQS.
On November 15, 1990, amendments
to the CAA were enacted, and pursuant
to section 107(d)(4)(B) of the Act, the
Liberty Borough area was designated
nonattainment by operation of law.4 To
support an attainment demonstration,
ACHD and the Commonwealth
submitted to EPA several SIP revisions
that included permanent and
1 In its SIP submission, ACHD refers to the area
at issue as the Liberty-Clairton area. In this
proposed rulemaking, EPA refers to this area as the
Liberty Borough area to distinguish it from the
Liberty-Clairton fine particulate matter (PM2.5) area
and to be consistent with what the Agency called
the area in our approval of the first 10-year
maintenance plan and attainment plan. See 63 FR
47343 (September 8, 1998) and 68 FR 53515
(September 11, 2003).
2 52 FR 24634 (July 1, 1987).
3 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006).
4 On August 7, 1987 (56 FR 56694), EPA
designated portions of Allegheny County as a PM10
nonattainment area due to measured violations of
the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS (52 FR 29383). The
publication announcing the nonattainment
designation upon enactment of the 1990 CAA
Amendments was published on March 15, 1991 (56
FR 11101). On November 6, 1991, the area was
subsequently classified as moderate nonattainment
under sections 107(d)(4)(B) and 188(a) of the CAA.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
enforceable pollution controls in the
Liberty Borough area, resulting in
reduced ambient air quality
concentrations.5
On September 8, 1998 (63 FR 47493),
EPA finalized a determination that the
Liberty Borough area had attained the
PM10 NAAQS based on 1995–1997 air
quality data. In that same action, EPA
approved the attainment demonstration
and contingency measures for the area,
concluding that the Liberty Borough
area attainment plan was sufficient to
help the Liberty Borough area attain and
maintain the NAAQS.
On October 28, 2002, the
Commonwealth, on behalf of ACHD,
submitted to EPA a redesignation
request and maintenance plan for the
Liberty Borough area. EPA redesignated
the Liberty Borough area from
nonattainment to attainment for the
PM10 NAAQS and approved the
maintenance plan for this first 10-year
maintenance period on September 11,
2003 (68 FR 53515).6 The first 10-year
maintenance period ended in 2013 and
the second 10-year maintenance plan,
which is the subject of this proposed
rulemaking, extends through 2023.
Since the redesignation request in
2002, ACHD has been operating an
ambient PM10 monitoring network with
monitors at four sites within the Liberty
Borough area, in accordance with 40
Code of Federal Register (CFR) part 58.
The Liberty Borough area PM10 monitors
are the Lincoln monitor (air quality
system (AQS) site ID 42–003–7003), the
Liberty monitor (AQS site ID 42–003–
0064),7 the Glassport monitor (AQS site
ID 42–003–3006), and the Clairton
monitor (AQS site ID 42–003–3007).
The Lincoln, Liberty, and Glassport
monitors are Federal Equivalent Method
(FEM) continuous monitors for PM10.
Liberty is also considered a multipollutant site with monitors for other air
pollutants at the same site, including a
Federal Reference Method (FRM) filterbased monitor for PM10. The Clairton
site has an FRM filter-based monitor.
II. Limited Maintenance Plan Option
for PM10 Areas
A. Requirements for the Limited
Maintenance Plan Option
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth
the elements for maintenance plans.
Under section 175A, a state or locality
must submit a maintenance plan to
demonstrate continued attainment of
the applicable NAAQS for at least ten
5 61 FR 29664 (June 12, 1996). 63 FR 47434
(September 8, 1998). 63 FR 32126 (June 12, 1998).
6 Effective on October 14, 2003.
7 The Liberty monitor site has two monitors, one
is filter-based and the other is continuous.
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
years after an area is redesignated to
attainment. Eight years into the first
maintenance period, the applicable state
or local agency must submit a second
maintenance plan demonstrating that
the area will continue to attain for the
following 10-year period. On September
4, 1992, EPA issued guidance on the
content of a maintenance plan
(Memorandum from John Calcagni,
Director, Air Quality Management
Division, entitled ‘‘Procedures for
Processing Requests to Redesignate
Areas to Attainment,’’ (Calcagni
Memo)).8 The Calcagni Memo states that
a maintenance plan should include the
following provisions: (1) an attainment
emissions inventory; (2) a maintenance
demonstration showing maintenance for
10 years; (3) a commitment to maintain
the existing monitoring network; (4)
verification of continued attainment;
and (5) a contingency plan to prevent or
correct future violations of the NAAQS.
On August 9, 2001, EPA issued
guidance on streamlined maintenance
plan provisions for certain moderate
PM10 nonattainment areas (see
Memorandum from Lydia Wegman,
Director, Air Quality Standards and
Strategies Division, entitled ‘‘Limited
Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate
PM10 Nonattainment Areas’’ (LMP
Option Memo).9 The LMP Option Memo
contains a statistical demonstration air
agencies can use to show that areas are
meeting certain air quality criteria with
a high degree of probability, and
therefore will maintain the standard ten
years into the future. By providing this
statistical demonstration, EPA can
consider the maintenance
demonstration requirement of the CAA
to be satisfied for the moderate PM10
nonattainment area meeting these air
quality criteria. If the tests described in
section IV of the LMP Option Memo are
met, EPA will treat that as a
demonstration that the area will
maintain the NAAQS. Consequently, the
state or local agency is not required to
submit in its SIP certain future year
emission inventories for these areas nor
some of the standard transportation
conformity analyses.
8 The Memorandum from the EPA’s Air Quality
Management Division Director to EPA Regional Air
Directors entitled ‘‘Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,’’
dated September 4, 1992 (Calcagni Memo) can be
found at www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-03/
documents/calcagni_memo_-_procedures_for_
processing_requests_to_redesignate_areas_to_
attainment_090492.pdf.
9 The ‘‘Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas’’ can be found
at www3.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/aqmguide/collection/
cp2/20010809_wegman_lmp_moderate_pm10_
naa.pdf and in the docket for this proposed
rulemaking.
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
12JYP1
44239
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
To qualify for the LMP option, the
applicable state or local agency must
demonstrate that the area meets the
following criteria. First, the area should
have attained the PM10 NAAQS.
Second, the most recent five years of air
quality data at all monitors in the area,
referred to as the 24-hour average design
value, should be at or below 98 mg/m3.
Third, the applicable state or local
agency should expect only limited
growth in on-road motor vehicle PM10
emissions and should have passed a
motor vehicle regional emissions
analysis test. Lastly, the LMP Option
Memo identifies core provisions that
must be included in all limited
maintenance plans. These provisions
include an attainment year emissions
inventory, assurance of continued
operation of an EPA-approved air
quality monitoring network, and
contingency provisions.
B. Conformity Under the Limited
Maintenance Option
The transportation conformity rule
and the general conformity rule (set
forth in 40 CFR parts 51 and 93) apply
to nonattainment areas and maintenance
areas covered by an approved
maintenance plan. Under either
conformity rule, an acceptable method
of demonstrating that a Federal action
conforms to the applicable SIP is to
demonstrate that expected emissions
from the planned action are consistent
with the on-road mobile emissions
budget for the area.
While EPA’s LMP option does not
exempt an area from the need to affirm
conformity, it explains that the area may
demonstrate conformity without
conforming to an emissions budget.
Under the LMP option, emissions
budgets are treated as essentially not
constraining for the length of the
maintenance period because it is
unreasonable to expect that the
qualifying areas would experience so
much on-road mobile source emissions
growth in that period that a violation of
the PM10 NAAQS would result. For
transportation conformity purposes,
EPA would conclude that emissions in
these areas need not be capped for the
maintenance period and therefore a
regional emissions analysis would not
be required.
While areas with maintenance plans
approved under the LMP option are not
subject to the budget test (see 40 CFR
93.109(e)), those areas remain subject to
the other transportation conformity
requirements of 40 CFR part 93, subpart
A. Thus, the metropolitan planning
organization (MPO) in the area or the
state must document and ensure that:
a. Transportation plans and projects
provide for timely implementation of
SIP transportation control measures
(TCMs) in accordance with 40 CFR
93.113;
b. Transportation plans and projects
comply with the fiscal constraint
element as set forth in 40 CFR 93.108;
c. The MPO’s interagency
consultation procedures meet the
applicable requirements of 40 CFR
93.105;
d. Conformity of transportation plans
is determined no less frequently than
every four years, and conformity of plan
amendments and transportation projects
is demonstrated in accordance with the
timing requirements specified in 40 CFR
93.104;
e. The latest planning assumptions
and emissions model are used as set
forth in 40 CFR 93.110 and 40 CFR
93.111;
f. Projects do not cause or contribute
to any new localized carbon monoxide
or particulate matter violations, in
accordance with procedures specified in
40 CFR 93.123; and
g. Project sponsors and/or operators
provide written commitments as
specified in 40 CFR 93.125.
If EPA approves the second 10-year
LMP, the Liberty Borough area will
continue to be exempt from performing
a regional emissions analysis, but must
meet project-level conformity analyses
as well as the transportation conformity
criteria described previously.
III. Review of the SIP Submittal
A. Qualifying for the Limited
Maintenance Plan Option
As discussed in Section II.A. of this
preamble, the LMP Option Memo
outlines the requirements for an area to
qualify for an LMP. First, the area
should be attaining the PM10 NAAQS.
The PM10 NAAQS is attained when the
expected number of days per calendar
year with a 24-hour average
concentration above 150 mg/m3 is equal
to or less than one (40 CFR 50.6). EPA
has evaluated recent ambient air quality
data and the Liberty Borough area
continues to attain the 24-hour standard
for PM10, not exceeding the standard on
any day at any of the four monitoring
sites for over ten years (2011–2021).10
Table 1, in this document, shows the
highest and second highest 24-hour
PM10 concentrations measured at the
five Liberty Borough area monitors from
2011–2021, all of which are consistently
below the NAAQS of 150 mg/m3.
TABLE 1—HIGHEST/SECOND HIGHEST ANNUAL 24-HOUR PM10 CONCENTRATIONS (μg/m3) AT THE CLAIRTON,
GLASSPORT, LIBERTY, AND LINCOLN MONITORS, 2011–2021a
Clairton
(FRM)
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
a Data
Glassport
(FEM)
37/37
34/32
25/25
39/32
41/34
46/27
29/28
27/21
26/22
31/24
24/24
Liberty
(FEM)
83/74
91/72
60/57
64/52
91/56
68/49
68/68
57/48
105/86
46/45
58/54
70/70
71/66
49/48
63/50
78/61
65/63
87/58
54/53
74/68
49/48
57/54
provided by EPA’s Air Quality System (AQS).
10 There are four monitoring sites within the
Liberty Borough area, three sites with one monitor
each and one site with two monitors.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
12JYP1
Liberty
(FRM)
93/72
73/72
59/47
64/55
64/59
70/62
106/61
50/50
72/71
39/38
Shutdown
11/11/20
Lincoln
(FEM)
115/94
84/75
76/65
70/56
85/79
93/84
108/93
83/67
75/57
73/71
Shutdown
12/31/20
44240
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
The second criteria for the PM10 LMP
option is that the 24-hour average
design value for the most recent five
years of monitoring data must be at or
below 98 mg/m3.11 ACHD calculated the
design values for the Liberty Borough
area as the 3-year averages of the yearly
second-highest 24-hour PM10
concentration at each monitoring site,
which was provided through 2020 in
Table A–10 in its July 2021 LMP SIP
submittal.12 13 EPA looked at the most
recent five years of 3-year averages from
that table (2016–2020) 14 and
determined that the Lincoln monitor
showed the uppermost second-highest
design value with a value of 85 mg/m3,
well below the LMP Option Memo
threshold of 98 mg/m3.
EPA used the table look-up procedure
as one of the acceptable approaches for
determining appropriate 24-hour PM10
design concentrations.15 The Agency
calculated the 5-year average design
value for the Liberty Borough based on
PM10 monitoring data from 2017
through 2021, the most recently
available certified data from the Liberty
Borough area monitoring sites.
For the tabular approach for the 24hour PM10 standard, EPA first
determined the total number of 24-hour
PM10 concentrations at each monitoring
site and the number of available 24-hour
concentrations to determine which of
the highest concentrations is chosen as
the design concentration. Table 2, in
this document, which is the tabular
estimation taken from EPA’s PM10 SIP
Development Guideline, specifies which
rank value corresponds to the probable
annual maximum value.16
TABLE 2—TABULAR ESTIMATION OF
PM10 DESIGN CONCENTRATIONS
Number of daily
values
Data point used for design
concentration
≤347 ..................
348–695 ...........
696–1042 .........
1043–1390 .......
1391–1738 .......
1739–2086 .......
2087–2434 .......
>2345 ...............
Highest Value.
Second Highest Value.
Third Highest Value.
Fourth Highest Value.
Fifth Highest Value.
Sixth Highest Value.
Seventh Highest Value.
Eighth Highest Value.
With multiple monitoring sites, the
highest PM10 concentrations at each site
would have to be considered and a
design concentration established for
each location and the ‘‘controlling’’
design concentration for an area with
multiple sites would be the highest
values. For routine model applications
with five full years of 24-hour
concentration estimates, the PM10
design concentration of critical interest
becomes the highest of the sixth-highest
concentrations for the entire receptor
network.
Tables 3, 4, and 5, in this document,
provide the average design values based
on the tabular estimation method for the
three Liberty Borough area monitors that
remained in operation through 2021.
EPA averaged the design values two
ways for each of these monitors. First,
we conducted the 5-year design value
by looking at the five years as a whole
set. For example, we counted the
number of samples that occurred
between January 1, 2017 and December
31, 2021. Then, as guided by in Table
2, in this document, we found the
appropriate data point from amongst the
5-year data set.
Alternatively, EPA also conducted the
same process of reviewing the number
of samples and finding the appropriate
data point, but with each 3-year design
value period for the following five years:
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. We
then calculated the average of the five
3-year design values. The results can be
found in Tables 3 through 5, in this
document.
TABLE 3—PM10 AVERAGE DESIGN VALUE FOR THE CLAIRTON MONITOR (FRM), TABULAR ESTIMATION METHOD
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Design value years
Number of
daily samples
Data point used for design concentration
Limited maintenance plan
average design value (μg/m3)
31
2017–2021 ......................................................
290
Highest Value .................................................
2015–2017
2016–2018
2017–2019
2018–2020
2019–2021
167
170
173
175
177
Highest
Highest
Highest
Highest
Highest
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
11 While the 2001 PM
10 LMP Option Memo refers
to a June 1987 ‘‘PM10 SIP Development Guideline’’
document for methods in calculating design values
for PM10, neither document provides specific
information on how to calculate a design value
using five years of air quality data. In October 2022,
after ACHD submitted its PM10 LMP for the Liberty
Borough area, EPA gave further clarification of how
to compute a design value using five years of air
quality data in a document titled ‘‘Guidance on the
Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate
PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas and PM2.5 Maintenance
Areas.’’
12 ACHD took this method from EPA’s
NetAssess2020 tool for monitored network
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
Value
Value
Value
Value
Value
.................................................
.................................................
.................................................
.................................................
.................................................
assessments. https://sti-r-shiny.shinyapps.io/EPA_
Network_Assessment/.
13 See Table A–10 of ACHD’s July 21, 2021 LMP
SIP located in the docket for this proposed
rulemaking.
14 The 3-year design values for 2016–2020
include the following years: 2014–2016 (2016 3year design value); 2015–2017 (2017 3-year design
value); 2016–2018 (2018 3-year design value);
2017–2019 (2019 3-year design value); and 2018–
2020 (2020 3-year design value).
15 The methods for calculating design values for
PM10 are presented in a document entitled the
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
46
46
29
31
31
36.6
‘‘PM10 SIP Development Guideline,’’ EPA–450/2–
86–001, June 1987.
16 The look-up procedure is a tabular technique
for determining what point on the empirical
frequency distribution corresponds to a frequency
of 1/365. By construction, the table look-up
procedure tends to provide a design concentration
slightly lower than would be derived using a
continuous curve representing a theoretical
frequency distribution for PM10 values. Additional
explanation regarding the use of tabular estimation
can be found in EPA’s PM10 SIP Development
Guideline document.
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
12JYP1
44241
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
TABLE 4—PM10 AVERAGE DESIGN VALUE FOR THE GLASSPORT (FEM) MONITOR, TABULAR ESTIMATION METHOD
Design value years
Number of
daily samples
Data point used for design concentration
Limited maintenance plan
average design value (μg/m3)
59
2017–2021 ......................................................
1797
Sixth Highest Value ........................................
2015–2017
2016–2018
2017–2019
2018–2020
2019–2021
1084
1082
1080
1079
1080
Fourth
Fourth
Fourth
Fourth
Fourth
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
Highest
Highest
Highest
Highest
Highest
Value
Value
Value
Value
Value
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
68
59
68
59
59
62.6
TABLE 5—PM10 AVERAGE DESIGN VALUE FOR THE LIBERTY (FEM) MONITOR, TABULAR ESTIMATION METHOD
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Design value years
Number of
daily samples
Data point used for design concentration
Limited maintenance plan
average design value (μg/m3)
57
2017–2021 ......................................................
1799
Sixth Highest Value ........................................
2015–2017
2016–2018
2017–2019
2018–2020
2019–2021
1051
1055
1071
1083
1086
Fourth
Fourth
Fourth
Fourth
Fourth
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
As shown in Tables 3 through 5, in
this document, all of the average design
values determined using the table lookup method through 2021 are below the
LMP option design value criteria of 98
mg/m3. The highest average values
obtained using EPA’s method were at
the Glassport monitor (as seen in Table
4 in this document), but both methods
of calculating average design value
provided results well below 98 mg/m3.
Therefore, EPA finds that the Liberty
Borough area meets the design value
criteria outlined in the LMP Option
Memo.
Third, the area must meet the motor
vehicle regional emissions analysis test
described in the LMP Option Memo.
The Commonwealth and ACHD
submitted an analysis showing that
growth of on-road mobile PM10
emissions was minimal and would not
threaten the assumption of maintenance
that underlies the LMP policy. Using
EPA’s methodology, ACHD calculated
total projected growth in on-road motor
vehicle PM10 emissions through 2031 17
for the Liberty Borough area. This
calculation is derived using Attachment
B of the EPA’s LMP Option Memo,
where the projected percentage increase
in vehicle miles traveled over the next
ten years (VMTpi) is multiplied by the
on-road mobile portion of the
attainment year inventory (DVmv),
17 Although this LMP applies to maintenance
through 2023, ACHD still used ten years as the
vehicle miles traveled (VMT) projection to be
conservative. An interpolation of 2025 and 2035
VMT projections was calculated to project for the
year 2031. Projections for Allegheny County were
used to represent the area, since there are no
projections specific to the Liberty Borough area.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
Highest
Highest
Highest
Highest
Highest
Value
Value
Value
Value
Value
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
including re-entrained road dust. This
test is met when (VMTpi × DVmv) plus
the design value for the most recent five
years of quality assured data is below
the margin of safety (MOS) for the
relevant PM10 standard in mg/m3 for a
given area. This MOS value can be 98
mg/m3, as ACHD chose to use, or a sitespecific value computed from data
collected at the site of interest using
methods outlined in Attachment A of
the LMP Option Memo.
ACHD used the motor vehicle
regional analysis methodology with the
average design value of 85 mg/m3 for the
Liberty Borough area using the highest
3-year design value for 2015, 2016, and
2017. Additionally, for the motor
vehicle regional analysis calculation,
ACHD used a VMTpi of 3.6 percent and
a DVmv of 4.3 mg/m3. ACHD’s motor
vehicle regional emissions test analysis
indicated a resulting value of 85.2 mg/
m3, which is below the MOS of 98 mg/
m3.18 EPA reviewed the calculations in
the Liberty Borough area LMP SIP
submission and the Agency proposes to
find that the area meets the motor
vehicle regional emissions analysis test.
As described previously, the Liberty
Borough area PM10 maintenance area
meets the qualification criteria set forth
in the LMP Option Memo and
accordingly qualifies for the LMP
option. To ensure these requirements
continue to be met, ACHD commits to
recalculating the design value on an
annual basis through the end of 2023.
18 Additional information on the data and
calculations used for ACHD’s analysis can be found
in ACHD’s SIP submission which is located in the
docket for this proposed rulemaking.
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
63
62
60
56
57
59.6
The motor vehicle emissions test will
also be recalculated annually using the
updated maximum design value over
the past five years for the area. If the test
cannot be met (i.e., the equation shows
a value above the MOS), ACHD will
submit a full maintenance plan for the
area according to CAA 175A
requirements within one year after the
determination of the updated design
values.
B. Attainment Inventory
Pursuant to the LMP Option Memo,
an LMP SIP submission should include
an emissions inventory, which can be
used to demonstrate attainment of the
relevant NAAQS. The inventory should
represent emissions during the same 5year period associated with air quality
data used to determine whether the area
meets the applicability requirements of
the LMP option.
The redesignation request and first
10-year maintenance plan for the
Liberty Borough area included a 1994
emissions inventory.19 The inventory
focused on stationary sources in
Allegheny County and surrounding
counties, as well as wood burning,
public roads, and fugitive sources
without permitted limits. Since the
initial maintenance plan and
redesignation request, many of the
sources have lowered their permitted
emissions rates of PM10 due to the
installation of controls, equipment
upgrades, fuel switches, as well as other
factors, including shutting down. In the
LMP SIP submittal, ACHD noted several
of the emission reductions from over the
19 The
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
inventory was updated in 1999.
12JYP1
44242
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
years, including several modifications at
the United States Steel Corporation
(USS) Mon Valley Works (MVW)
Clairton Plant,20 representing an overall
reduction of 268 tons per year (tpy) of
PM10 from the previous allowable
inventory, as well as shutdowns at
several large sources outside of the area
that provided over 3,000 tpy of PM10
reductions from the previous allowable
inventory.21
According to ACHD, the total
reductions in permitted allowable rates
since the initial redesignation request
represent an almost 13,000 tpy overall
reduction of PM10 allowable emissions.
This is approximately 55 percent lower
than the allowable inventory from the
first 10-year maintenance period.
To illustrate the current emissions in
the Liberty Borough area, ACHD’s
current LMP SIP submission included
an inventory of actual emissions using
base year 2017. ACHD refers to this as
the ‘‘Liberty Borough area maintenance
emissions inventory.’’ ACHD used the
2017 national emissions inventory
(NEI), which was the most recent
comprehensive inventory that was
available to ACHD at the time it was
preparing the LMP for the Liberty
Borough area. The 2017 NEI is
representative of the typical emissions
during which continued attainment has
occurred since the end of the Liberty
Borough area’s first 10-year
maintenance plan period in 2013.22
Table 6 includes the following four
main categories from the 2017
inventory: Stationary point sources, area
(nonpoint) sources, nonroad mobile
sources, and on-road mobile sources.23
Stationary point sources contribute the
largest amount of primary PM10
emissions (82 percent) and its
precursors (87 percent),24 within the
Liberty Borough area. Among all the
stationary sources in the Liberty
Borough area, the USS MVW Clairton
Plant contributes the most PM10 primary
and precursor emissions.
TABLE 6—LIBERTY BOROUGH AREA 2017 EMISSIONS INVENTORY
[tpy] a
PM10c
Liberty borough area
SO2
NOX
VOCs
NH3
Stationary Point Sources b ...................................................
Area (Nonpoint) Sources d ...................................................
Nonroad Mobile Sources d ...................................................
Onroad Mobile Sources d .....................................................
877.93
175.07
4.33
10.48
1,129.86
4.01
0.10
0.83
2,626.26
95.80
37.83
94.11
184.45
275.23
33.19
57.41
118.87
9.85
0.09
3.60
Total ..............................................................................
1,067.81
1,134.80
2,854.00
550.28
132.41
a
Taken from ACHD’s PM10 LMP for the Liberty Borough area.
Inventoried stationary sources within the Liberty Borough area include USS MVW Clairton Plant, Tech Met, Inc., Koppers Inc., and AKJ Steel
Industries.
c Total primary PM .
10
d Since NEI emissions are located to the county-level, ACHD used the U.S. Census’s estimates for the 2017 population percentage of the Liberty Borough area to scale down emissions from the total Allegheny County population.
b
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
1. Expected Emissions
In the July 21, 2021, second
maintenance plan SIP submission,
ACHD noted that there is little growth
in emissions expected for the Liberty
Borough area through the end of the
maintenance period in 2023. ACHD
attributes the lack of potential for
emissions growth through 2023 to
several factors, including a 2019
settlement agreement and order with
USS MVW Clairton Plant that requires
the facility to conduct upgrades and
work practice enhancements through
2023.25 ACHD provides additional
information in their LMP submission
regarding other programs and actions
that will help to maintain or lower PM10
emissions in the Liberty Borough area.
2. PM10 SIP Controls
In accordance with the CAA, areas
seeking to use the LMP approach for
maintenance must have an attainment
plan that has been approved by EPA.
20 Mon Valley Works—Clairton Plant ‘‘is an
integrated steelmaking operation that includes four
separate facilities: Clairton Plant, Edgar Thomson
Plant, Irvin Plant and Fairless Plant.’’ Taken from
www.ussteel.com/about-us/locations.
21 See the PADEP/ACHD’s July 21, 2021 SIP
submission, located in the docket for this proposed
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
That LMP should clearly indicate that
all controls that were relied on to
demonstrate attainment will remain in
place. The July 21, 2021, LMP SIP
submission identifies the control
strategies approved into the Liberty
Borough area’s attainment plan to bring
the area into compliance. These controls
were approved into the Pennsylvania
SIP as permanent and enforceable
measures and assisted the Liberty
Borough area in attaining the PM10
NAAQS.26 These controls are to remain
in place for the duration of the second
maintenance period.
The July 21, 2021 SIP submission
meets EPA guidance for purposes of an
attainment emissions inventory, and the
emissions inventory data supports
ACHD’s conclusions that the existing
control measures will continue to
protect and maintain the PM10 NAAQS.
C. Maintenance Demonstration
ACHD provided a maintenance
demonstration for the Liberty Borough
area in the first 10-year maintenance
plan, which EPA approved on
September 11, 2003 (68 FR 53515).
According to EPA’s 2001 PM10 LMP
Option Memo, if an area qualifies for the
LMP option, EPA will treat that as a
demonstration that the area will
maintain the NAAQS and that,
consequently, there is no need to model
projected emissions over the
maintenance period. Therefore, the
Liberty Borough area is exempt from
projecting emissions levels through the
end date of the second 10-year
maintenance plan.
rulemaking, for additional changes to the initial
emissions allowable inventory.
22 Additional information on ACHD’s actual
inventory can be found in the SIP submission
located in the docket for this proposed action.
23 A more detailed version of the inventory can
be found in Appendix A of PADEP/ACHD’s July
2021 SIP submission.
24 Precursors for PM
10 include sulfur dioxide
(SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), and ammonia (NH3).
25 Allegheny County Health Department Air
Quality Program. Settlement Agreement and Order
#19060.
26 61 FR 29664 (June 12, 1996) and 63 FR 32126
(June 12, 1998).
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
D. Air Quality Monitoring Network
Once an area is redesignated, the
applicable state or local agency must
continue to operate an appropriate air
monitoring network in accordance with
40 CFR part 58 to verify the attainment
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
12JYP1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
status of the area. ACHD has operated
PM10 monitors according to 40 CFR part
58 requirements at four sites within the
Liberty Borough area since submittal of
the redesignation request in 2002. A
description, as well as a map, of the four
Liberty Borough area PM10 monitors can
be found in ACHD’s LMP plan.27 On
December 21, 2022, ACHD submitted its
2021 Annual Monitoring Network Plan,
which EPA approved on February 24,
2023.28 ACHD indicated in the Liberty
Borough area second 10-year
maintenance plan that it will continue
to operate the air monitoring network in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58 to
verify the attainment status of the area,
with no changes to the existing network
unless preapproved by EPA.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
E. Verification of Continued Attainment
The level of the PM10 NAAQS is 150
mg/m3, 24-hour average concentration.
The NAAQS is attained when the
expected number of days per calendar
year with a 24-hour average
concentration above 150 mg/m3 is equal
to or less than one.29 As stated in the
previous section of this preamble,
ACHD plans to continue to operate a
regulatory monitoring network and will
continue to track the attainment status
of the Liberty Borough area for the PM10
NAAQS by reviewing monitored air
quality concentrations during the
maintenance period through 2023.
ACHD will also continue to operate the
air monitoring network in accordance
with 40 CFR part 58 to verify the
attainment status of the area, with no
changes to the existing network unless
pre-approved by EPA. Included in its
second 10-year maintenance plan SIP
submission, ACHD evaluated the
complete, quality-assured, maximum
24-hour PM10 concentrations at each
Liberty Borough area monitor from
2001–2020 to verify continued
attainment of the standard.
F. Contingency Provisions
Section 175A of the CAA states that
a maintenance plan must include
contingency provisions, as necessary, to
ensure prompt correction of any
violation of the NAAQS which may
occur after redesignation of the area to
attainment. As explained in the LMP
Option Memo and the Calcagni Memo,
these contingency provisions are an
enforceable part of a federally approved
SIP. The maintenance plan should
27 Located in the docket for this proposed
rulemaking. Docket No. EPA–R03–OAR–2023–
0219, www.regulations.gov.
28 EPA’s approval letters for ACHD’s past several
Annual Monitoring Network Plans are included in
the docket for this proposed rulemaking.
29 See 40 CFR 50.6.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
clearly identify the events that would
‘‘trigger’’ the adoption and
implementation of a contingency
provision, the contingency provision(s)
that would be adopted and
implemented, and the schedule
indicating the time frame by which the
state and/or locality would adopt and
implement the provision(s). The LMP
Option Memo and the Calcagni Memo
state that EPA will determine the
adequacy of a contingency plan on a
case-by-case basis. At a minimum, it
must require that the applicable state or
local agency implement all measures
contained in the CAA part D
nonattainment plan for the area prior to
redesignation.
In the Liberty Borough area PM10
LMP, ACHD indicated that the
contingency provisions for the second
10-year maintenance plan are identical
the contingency measures included in
the area’s attainment plan that was
approved on September 8, 1998 (63 FR
47434). The contingency provisions
include a requirement that the USS
MVW Clairton Plant improve the
capture of pushing emissions from its
coke batteries. Within 60 days after
determination of a violation of the 24hour PM10 NAAQS at any Liberty
Borough area monitor, the contingency
measures will be implemented. No
contingency provisions or measures
have been triggered at any time since
the attainment plan SIP was approved
in 1998.
EPA proposes to determine that the
contingency provisions submitted in the
Liberty Borough area PM10 LMP are
adequate to meet CAA section 175A
requirements and the contingency
provisions as outlined in the LMP
Option Memo.
III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve the
second 10-year PM10 limited
maintenance plan for the Liberty
Borough area. EPA has reviewed the air
quality data for this area and
determined that it continues to show
attainment of the PM10 NAAQS and
meets all the LMP requirements as
described in this action. EPA is
soliciting public comments on the
issues discussed in this document.
These comments will be considered
before taking final action. If finalized,
EPA’s approval of this LMP will satisfy
the section 175A CAA requirements for
PM10 for the second 10-year
maintenance period for the Liberty
Borough area.
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
44243
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is
required to approve a SIP submission
that complies with the provisions of the
CAA and applicable Federal regulations.
42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions,
EPA’s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the CAA. Accordingly, this action
merely approves state law as meeting
Federal requirements and does not
impose additional requirements beyond
those imposed by state law. For that
reason, this proposed action:
• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
• Does not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the CAA; and
• Executive Order 12898 (Federal
Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs Federal
agencies to identify and address
‘‘disproportionately high and adverse
human health or environmental effects’’
of their actions on minority populations
and low-income populations to the
greatest extent practicable and
permitted by law. EPA defines
environmental justice (E.J.) as ‘‘the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement
of all people regardless of race, color,
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
12JYP1
44244
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 / Proposed Rules
national origin, or income with respect
to the development, implementation,
and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies.’’ EPA further
defines the term fair treatment to mean
that ‘‘no group of people should bear a
disproportionate burden of
environmental harms and risks,
including those resulting from the
negative environmental consequences of
industrial, governmental, and
commercial operations or programs and
policies.’’
The ACHD did not evaluate
environmental justice considerations as
part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and
applicable implementing regulations
neither prohibit nor require such an
evaluation. EPA did not perform an E.J.
analysis and did not consider E.J. in this
proposed rulemaking. Due to the nature
of the proposed action being taken here,
this proposed rulemaking is expected to
have a neutral to positive impact on the
air quality of the affected area.
In addition, this proposed
rulemaking, regarding the second 10year maintenance plan for the Liberty
Borough PM10 area, does not have tribal
implications as specified by Executive
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9,
2000), because the SIP is not approved
to apply in Indian country located in the
State, and EPA notes that it will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Adam Ortiz,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2023–14645 Filed 7–11–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 230629–0159]
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
RIN 0648–BL93
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic
Region; Amendment 49
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:10 Jul 11, 2023
Jkt 259001
Proposed rule; request for
comments.
ACTION:
NMFS proposes regulations to
implement Amendment 49 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South
Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared and
submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council). For
greater amberjack, this proposed rule
would revise the sector annual catch
limits (ACLs), the commercial minimum
size limit, the commercial seasonal trip
limits, and the April spawning season
closure. In addition, Amendment 49
would revise the overfishing limit
(OFL), acceptable biological catch
(ABC), annual optimum yield (OY), and
sector allocations of the total ACL, as
well as remove the recreational annual
catch targets (ACTs) for species in the
FMP. The purpose of this proposed rule
and Amendment 49 is to ensure catch
limits are based on the best scientific
information available and to ensure
overfishing does not occur for the South
Atlantic greater amberjack stock, while
increasing social and economic benefits.
DATES: Written comments must be
received by August 11, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the proposed rule, identified by
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2023–0061’’, by either
of the following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and enter ’’
NOAA–NMFS–2023–0061’’ in the
Search box. Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit all written comments
to Mary Vara, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: Comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period may not be
considered by NMFS. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments—enter
‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish
to remain anonymous.
An electronic copy of Amendment 49,
which includes a fishery impact
statement and a regulatory impact
review, may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office website at
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/node/
150641.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Vara, telephone: 727–824–5305, or
email: mary.vara@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South
Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery
includes greater amberjack and is
managed under the FMP. The FMP was
prepared by the Council and is
implemented by NMFS through
regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
Background
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
that NMFS and the regional fishery
management councils prevent
overfishing and achieve, on a
continuing basis, the OY from federally
managed fish stocks. These mandates
are intended to ensure that fishery
resources are managed for the greatest
overall benefit to the Nation,
particularly with respect to providing
food production and recreational
opportunities, and protecting marine
ecosystems. To further this goal, the
Magnuson-Stevens Act requires fishery
managers to minimize bycatch and
bycatch mortality to the extent
practicable.
In 2008, a stock assessment for greater
amberjack was completed through the
Southeast Data, Assessment, and
Review (SEDAR) process (SEDAR 15),
and it was determined that the stock
was not overfished or undergoing
overfishing. As a result of that stock
status, the Comprehensive ACL
Amendment to the FMP (77 FR 15915,
March 16, 2012) established the current
total ACL and annual OY.
The most recent SEDAR stock
assessment for South Atlantic greater
amberjack (SEDAR 59) was completed
in 2020. The assessment included data
through 2018. The assessment used
revised estimates for recreational catch
from the Marine Recreational
Information Program (MRIP) based on
the Fishing Effort Survey (FES). In 2018,
the MRIP fully transitioned its
estimation of recreational effort from the
Coastal Household Telephone Survey
(CHTS) to the mail-based FES. Estimates
of recreational catch for greater
amberjack included in the previous
assessment were made using the Marine
Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey
(MRFSS) methodology. As explained in
Amendment 49, total recreational
fishing effort estimates generated from
MRIP FES are different than those from
the MRIP CHTS and MRFSS. This
difference in estimates is because MRIP
E:\FR\FM\12JYP1.SGM
12JYP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44237-44244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14645]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0219; FRL-8813-01-R3]
Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; Liberty Borough Area Second 10-
Year PM10 Limited Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve the Liberty Borough area second 10-year maintenance plan
submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (PADEP or Commonwealth) on behalf of the
Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). This plan addresses the
second 10-year maintenance period after redesignation for particulate
matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10
micrometers (PM10). A limited maintenance plan (LMP) is used
to meet the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) requirements for formerly
designated nonattainment areas that meet certain qualification
criteria. EPA is proposing to determine that ACHD's second maintenance
plan meets applicable CAA requirements. The plan relies upon control
measures contained in the attainment plan and the first 10-year
maintenance plan and the determination that the Liberty Borough area
currently monitors PM10 levels well below the
PM10 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or
standard).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 11, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2023-0219 at www.regulations.gov, or via email to
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, follow
the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be confidential business information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Schmitt, Planning &
Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, Four Penn Center, 1600
John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
[[Page 44238]]
19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-5787. Ms. Schmitt can also be
reached via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 21, 2021, EPA received from PADEP,
on behalf of ACHD, a revision to the Commonwealth's state
implementation plan (SIP) for the Liberty Borough area.\1\ The Liberty
Borough area is comprised of the Boroughs of Liberty, Lincoln, Port
Vue, and Glassport and the City of Clairton in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania. This action is expected to ensure that the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania meets CAA requirements. There is no information on the
record indicating that this action is expected to have
disproportionately high or adverse human health or environmental
effects on a particular group of people.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In its SIP submission, ACHD refers to the area at issue as
the Liberty-Clairton area. In this proposed rulemaking, EPA refers
to this area as the Liberty Borough area to distinguish it from the
Liberty-Clairton fine particulate matter (PM2.5) area and
to be consistent with what the Agency called the area in our
approval of the first 10-year maintenance plan and attainment plan.
See 63 FR 47343 (September 8, 1998) and 68 FR 53515 (September 11,
2003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Background
On July 1, 1987, EPA promulgated two primary standards for
PM10: A 24-hour standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter
([micro]g/m\3\) and an annual standard of 50 [micro]g/m\3\. EPA also
promulgated secondary PM10 standards that were identical to
the primary standards.\2\ Effective December 18, 2006, EPA revoked the
annual PM10 standards but retained the 24-hour standards.\3\
In this document, references to the PM10 NAAQS or
PM10 standard refer to the 24-hour average standard of 150
[micro]g/m\3\, unless otherwise noted. Because they are identical, we
refer to the primary and secondary 24-hour standards using the single
term, NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 52 FR 24634 (July 1, 1987).
\3\ 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On November 15, 1990, amendments to the CAA were enacted, and
pursuant to section 107(d)(4)(B) of the Act, the Liberty Borough area
was designated nonattainment by operation of law.\4\ To support an
attainment demonstration, ACHD and the Commonwealth submitted to EPA
several SIP revisions that included permanent and enforceable pollution
controls in the Liberty Borough area, resulting in reduced ambient air
quality concentrations.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ On August 7, 1987 (56 FR 56694), EPA designated portions of
Allegheny County as a PM10 nonattainment area due to
measured violations of the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS (52 FR
29383). The publication announcing the nonattainment designation
upon enactment of the 1990 CAA Amendments was published on March 15,
1991 (56 FR 11101). On November 6, 1991, the area was subsequently
classified as moderate nonattainment under sections 107(d)(4)(B) and
188(a) of the CAA.
\5\ 61 FR 29664 (June 12, 1996). 63 FR 47434 (September 8,
1998). 63 FR 32126 (June 12, 1998).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On September 8, 1998 (63 FR 47493), EPA finalized a determination
that the Liberty Borough area had attained the PM10 NAAQS
based on 1995-1997 air quality data. In that same action, EPA approved
the attainment demonstration and contingency measures for the area,
concluding that the Liberty Borough area attainment plan was sufficient
to help the Liberty Borough area attain and maintain the NAAQS.
On October 28, 2002, the Commonwealth, on behalf of ACHD, submitted
to EPA a redesignation request and maintenance plan for the Liberty
Borough area. EPA redesignated the Liberty Borough area from
nonattainment to attainment for the PM10 NAAQS and approved
the maintenance plan for this first 10-year maintenance period on
September 11, 2003 (68 FR 53515).\6\ The first 10-year maintenance
period ended in 2013 and the second 10-year maintenance plan, which is
the subject of this proposed rulemaking, extends through 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Effective on October 14, 2003.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since the redesignation request in 2002, ACHD has been operating an
ambient PM10 monitoring network with monitors at four sites
within the Liberty Borough area, in accordance with 40 Code of Federal
Register (CFR) part 58. The Liberty Borough area PM10
monitors are the Lincoln monitor (air quality system (AQS) site ID 42-
003-7003), the Liberty monitor (AQS site ID 42-003-0064),\7\ the
Glassport monitor (AQS site ID 42-003-3006), and the Clairton monitor
(AQS site ID 42-003-3007). The Lincoln, Liberty, and Glassport monitors
are Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) continuous monitors for
PM10. Liberty is also considered a multi-pollutant site with
monitors for other air pollutants at the same site, including a Federal
Reference Method (FRM) filter-based monitor for PM10. The
Clairton site has an FRM filter-based monitor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ The Liberty monitor site has two monitors, one is filter-
based and the other is continuous.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Limited Maintenance Plan Option for PM10 Areas
A. Requirements for the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements for maintenance
plans. Under section 175A, a state or locality must submit a
maintenance plan to demonstrate continued attainment of the applicable
NAAQS for at least ten years after an area is redesignated to
attainment. Eight years into the first maintenance period, the
applicable state or local agency must submit a second maintenance plan
demonstrating that the area will continue to attain for the following
10-year period. On September 4, 1992, EPA issued guidance on the
content of a maintenance plan (Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director,
Air Quality Management Division, entitled ``Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' (Calcagni Memo)).\8\ The
Calcagni Memo states that a maintenance plan should include the
following provisions: (1) an attainment emissions inventory; (2) a
maintenance demonstration showing maintenance for 10 years; (3) a
commitment to maintain the existing monitoring network; (4)
verification of continued attainment; and (5) a contingency plan to
prevent or correct future violations of the NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ The Memorandum from the EPA's Air Quality Management
Division Director to EPA Regional Air Directors entitled
``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' dated September 4, 1992 (Calcagni Memo) can be found
at www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-03/documents/calcagni_memo_-_procedures_for_processing_requests_to_redesignate_areas_to_attainment_090492.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On August 9, 2001, EPA issued guidance on streamlined maintenance
plan provisions for certain moderate PM10 nonattainment
areas (see Memorandum from Lydia Wegman, Director, Air Quality
Standards and Strategies Division, entitled ``Limited Maintenance Plan
Option for Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas'' (LMP Option
Memo).\9\ The LMP Option Memo contains a statistical demonstration air
agencies can use to show that areas are meeting certain air quality
criteria with a high degree of probability, and therefore will maintain
the standard ten years into the future. By providing this statistical
demonstration, EPA can consider the maintenance demonstration
requirement of the CAA to be satisfied for the moderate PM10
nonattainment area meeting these air quality criteria. If the tests
described in section IV of the LMP Option Memo are met, EPA will treat
that as a demonstration that the area will maintain the NAAQS.
Consequently, the state or local agency is not required to submit in
its SIP certain future year emission inventories for these areas nor
some of the standard transportation conformity analyses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ The ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate
PM10 Nonattainment Areas'' can be found at www3.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/aqmguide/collection/cp2/20010809_wegman_lmp_moderate_pm10_naa.pdf and in the docket for this
proposed rulemaking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 44239]]
To qualify for the LMP option, the applicable state or local agency
must demonstrate that the area meets the following criteria. First, the
area should have attained the PM10 NAAQS. Second, the most
recent five years of air quality data at all monitors in the area,
referred to as the 24-hour average design value, should be at or below
98 [micro]g/m\3\. Third, the applicable state or local agency should
expect only limited growth in on-road motor vehicle PM10
emissions and should have passed a motor vehicle regional emissions
analysis test. Lastly, the LMP Option Memo identifies core provisions
that must be included in all limited maintenance plans. These
provisions include an attainment year emissions inventory, assurance of
continued operation of an EPA-approved air quality monitoring network,
and contingency provisions.
B. Conformity Under the Limited Maintenance Option
The transportation conformity rule and the general conformity rule
(set forth in 40 CFR parts 51 and 93) apply to nonattainment areas and
maintenance areas covered by an approved maintenance plan. Under either
conformity rule, an acceptable method of demonstrating that a Federal
action conforms to the applicable SIP is to demonstrate that expected
emissions from the planned action are consistent with the on-road
mobile emissions budget for the area.
While EPA's LMP option does not exempt an area from the need to
affirm conformity, it explains that the area may demonstrate conformity
without conforming to an emissions budget. Under the LMP option,
emissions budgets are treated as essentially not constraining for the
length of the maintenance period because it is unreasonable to expect
that the qualifying areas would experience so much on-road mobile
source emissions growth in that period that a violation of the
PM10 NAAQS would result. For transportation conformity
purposes, EPA would conclude that emissions in these areas need not be
capped for the maintenance period and therefore a regional emissions
analysis would not be required.
While areas with maintenance plans approved under the LMP option
are not subject to the budget test (see 40 CFR 93.109(e)), those areas
remain subject to the other transportation conformity requirements of
40 CFR part 93, subpart A. Thus, the metropolitan planning organization
(MPO) in the area or the state must document and ensure that:
a. Transportation plans and projects provide for timely
implementation of SIP transportation control measures (TCMs) in
accordance with 40 CFR 93.113;
b. Transportation plans and projects comply with the fiscal
constraint element as set forth in 40 CFR 93.108;
c. The MPO's interagency consultation procedures meet the
applicable requirements of 40 CFR 93.105;
d. Conformity of transportation plans is determined no less
frequently than every four years, and conformity of plan amendments and
transportation projects is demonstrated in accordance with the timing
requirements specified in 40 CFR 93.104;
e. The latest planning assumptions and emissions model are used as
set forth in 40 CFR 93.110 and 40 CFR 93.111;
f. Projects do not cause or contribute to any new localized carbon
monoxide or particulate matter violations, in accordance with
procedures specified in 40 CFR 93.123; and
g. Project sponsors and/or operators provide written commitments as
specified in 40 CFR 93.125.
If EPA approves the second 10-year LMP, the Liberty Borough area
will continue to be exempt from performing a regional emissions
analysis, but must meet project-level conformity analyses as well as
the transportation conformity criteria described previously.
III. Review of the SIP Submittal
A. Qualifying for the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
As discussed in Section II.A. of this preamble, the LMP Option Memo
outlines the requirements for an area to qualify for an LMP. First, the
area should be attaining the PM10 NAAQS. The PM10
NAAQS is attained when the expected number of days per calendar year
with a 24-hour average concentration above 150 [micro]g/m\3\ is equal
to or less than one (40 CFR 50.6). EPA has evaluated recent ambient air
quality data and the Liberty Borough area continues to attain the 24-
hour standard for PM10, not exceeding the standard on any
day at any of the four monitoring sites for over ten years (2011-
2021).\10\ Table 1, in this document, shows the highest and second
highest 24-hour PM10 concentrations measured at the five
Liberty Borough area monitors from 2011-2021, all of which are
consistently below the NAAQS of 150 [micro]g/m\3\.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ There are four monitoring sites within the Liberty Borough
area, three sites with one monitor each and one site with two
monitors.
Table 1--Highest/Second Highest Annual 24-Hour PM10 Concentrations ([micro]g/m\3\) at the Clairton, Glassport,
Liberty, and Lincoln Monitors, 2011-2021\a\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glassport
Year Clairton (FRM) (FEM) Liberty (FEM) Liberty (FRM) Lincoln (FEM)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011............................ 37/37 83/74 70/70 93/72 115/94
2012............................ 34/32 91/72 71/66 73/72 84/75
2013............................ 25/25 60/57 49/48 59/47 76/65
2014............................ 39/32 64/52 63/50 64/55 70/56
2015............................ 41/34 91/56 78/61 64/59 85/79
2016............................ 46/27 68/49 65/63 70/62 93/84
2017............................ 29/28 68/68 87/58 106/61 108/93
2018............................ 27/21 57/48 54/53 50/50 83/67
2019............................ 26/22 105/86 74/68 72/71 75/57
2020............................ 31/24 46/45 49/48 39/38 73/71
2021............................ 24/24 58/54 57/54 Shutdown Shutdown
11/11/20 12/31/20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Data provided by EPA's Air Quality System (AQS).
[[Page 44240]]
The second criteria for the PM10 LMP option is that the
24-hour average design value for the most recent five years of
monitoring data must be at or below 98 [micro]g/m\3\.\11\ ACHD
calculated the design values for the Liberty Borough area as the 3-year
averages of the yearly second-highest 24-hour PM10
concentration at each monitoring site, which was provided through 2020
in Table A-10 in its July 2021 LMP SIP submittal.12 13 EPA
looked at the most recent five years of 3-year averages from that table
(2016-2020) \14\ and determined that the Lincoln monitor showed the
uppermost second-highest design value with a value of 85 [micro]g/m\3\,
well below the LMP Option Memo threshold of 98 [micro]g/m\3\.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ While the 2001 PM10 LMP Option Memo refers to a
June 1987 ``PM10 SIP Development Guideline'' document for
methods in calculating design values for PM10, neither
document provides specific information on how to calculate a design
value using five years of air quality data. In October 2022, after
ACHD submitted its PM10 LMP for the Liberty Borough area,
EPA gave further clarification of how to compute a design value
using five years of air quality data in a document titled ``Guidance
on the Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate PM2.5
Nonattainment Areas and PM2.5 Maintenance Areas.''
\12\ ACHD took this method from EPA's NetAssess2020 tool for
monitored network assessments. https://sti-r-shiny.shinyapps.io/EPA_Network_Assessment/.
\13\ See Table A-10 of ACHD's July 21, 2021 LMP SIP located in
the docket for this proposed rulemaking.
\14\ The 3-year design values for 2016-2020 include the
following years: 2014-2016 (2016 3-year design value); 2015-2017
(2017 3-year design value); 2016-2018 (2018 3-year design value);
2017-2019 (2019 3-year design value); and 2018-2020 (2020 3-year
design value).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA used the table look-up procedure as one of the acceptable
approaches for determining appropriate 24-hour PM10 design
concentrations.\15\ The Agency calculated the 5-year average design
value for the Liberty Borough based on PM10 monitoring data
from 2017 through 2021, the most recently available certified data from
the Liberty Borough area monitoring sites.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ The methods for calculating design values for
PM10 are presented in a document entitled the
``PM10 SIP Development Guideline,'' EPA-450/2-86-001,
June 1987.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the tabular approach for the 24-hour PM10 standard,
EPA first determined the total number of 24-hour PM10
concentrations at each monitoring site and the number of available 24-
hour concentrations to determine which of the highest concentrations is
chosen as the design concentration. Table 2, in this document, which is
the tabular estimation taken from EPA's PM10 SIP Development
Guideline, specifies which rank value corresponds to the probable
annual maximum value.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ The look-up procedure is a tabular technique for
determining what point on the empirical frequency distribution
corresponds to a frequency of 1/365. By construction, the table
look-up procedure tends to provide a design concentration slightly
lower than would be derived using a continuous curve representing a
theoretical frequency distribution for PM10 values.
Additional explanation regarding the use of tabular estimation can
be found in EPA's PM10 SIP Development Guideline
document.
Table 2--Tabular Estimation of PM10 Design Concentrations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data point used for design
Number of daily values concentration
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<=347................................. Highest Value.
348-695............................... Second Highest Value.
696-1042.............................. Third Highest Value.
1043-1390............................. Fourth Highest Value.
1391-1738............................. Fifth Highest Value.
1739-2086............................. Sixth Highest Value.
2087-2434............................. Seventh Highest Value.
>2345................................. Eighth Highest Value.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
With multiple monitoring sites, the highest PM10
concentrations at each site would have to be considered and a design
concentration established for each location and the ``controlling''
design concentration for an area with multiple sites would be the
highest values. For routine model applications with five full years of
24-hour concentration estimates, the PM10 design
concentration of critical interest becomes the highest of the sixth-
highest concentrations for the entire receptor network.
Tables 3, 4, and 5, in this document, provide the average design
values based on the tabular estimation method for the three Liberty
Borough area monitors that remained in operation through 2021. EPA
averaged the design values two ways for each of these monitors. First,
we conducted the 5-year design value by looking at the five years as a
whole set. For example, we counted the number of samples that occurred
between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2021. Then, as guided by in
Table 2, in this document, we found the appropriate data point from
amongst the 5-year data set.
Alternatively, EPA also conducted the same process of reviewing the
number of samples and finding the appropriate data point, but with each
3-year design value period for the following five years: 2017, 2018,
2019, 2020, and 2021. We then calculated the average of the five 3-year
design values. The results can be found in Tables 3 through 5, in this
document.
Table 3--PM10 Average Design Value for the Clairton Monitor (FRM), Tabular Estimation Method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design value years Number of Data point used for Limited maintenance plan
daily samples design concentration. average design value ([micro]g/
m\3\)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017-2021............................. 290 Highest Value........... 31
-------------------------------
2015-2017............................. 167 Highest Value........... 46 36.6
2016-2018............................. 170 Highest Value........... 46
2017-2019............................. 173 Highest Value........... 29
2018-2020............................. 175 Highest Value........... 31
2019-2021............................. 177 Highest Value........... 31
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 44241]]
Table 4--PM10 Average Design Value for the Glassport (FEM) Monitor, Tabular Estimation Method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design value years Number of Data point used for Limited maintenance plan
daily samples design concentration. average design value ([micro]g/
m\3\)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017-2021............................. 1797 Sixth Highest Value..... 59
-------------------------------
2015-2017............................. 1084 Fourth Highest Value.... 68 62.6
2016-2018............................. 1082 Fourth Highest Value.... 59
2017-2019............................. 1080 Fourth Highest Value.... 68
2018-2020............................. 1079 Fourth Highest Value.... 59
2019-2021............................. 1080 Fourth Highest Value.... 59
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 5--PM10 Average Design Value for the Liberty (FEM) Monitor, Tabular Estimation Method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design value years Number of Data point used for Limited maintenance plan
daily samples design concentration. average design value ([micro]g/
m\3\)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017-2021............................. 1799 Sixth Highest Value..... 57
-------------------------------
2015-2017............................. 1051 Fourth Highest Value.... 63 59.6
2016-2018............................. 1055 Fourth Highest Value.... 62
2017-2019............................. 1071 Fourth Highest Value.... 60
2018-2020............................. 1083 Fourth Highest Value.... 56
2019-2021............................. 1086 Fourth Highest Value.... 57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As shown in Tables 3 through 5, in this document, all of the
average design values determined using the table look-up method through
2021 are below the LMP option design value criteria of 98 [micro]g/
m\3\. The highest average values obtained using EPA's method were at
the Glassport monitor (as seen in Table 4 in this document), but both
methods of calculating average design value provided results well below
98 [micro]g/m\3\. Therefore, EPA finds that the Liberty Borough area
meets the design value criteria outlined in the LMP Option Memo.
Third, the area must meet the motor vehicle regional emissions
analysis test described in the LMP Option Memo. The Commonwealth and
ACHD submitted an analysis showing that growth of on-road mobile
PM10 emissions was minimal and would not threaten the
assumption of maintenance that underlies the LMP policy. Using EPA's
methodology, ACHD calculated total projected growth in on-road motor
vehicle PM10 emissions through 2031 \17\ for the Liberty
Borough area. This calculation is derived using Attachment B of the
EPA's LMP Option Memo, where the projected percentage increase in
vehicle miles traveled over the next ten years (VMTpi) is
multiplied by the on-road mobile portion of the attainment year
inventory (DVmv), including re-entrained road dust. This
test is met when (VMTpi x DVmv) plus the design
value for the most recent five years of quality assured data is below
the margin of safety (MOS) for the relevant PM10 standard in
[micro]g/m\3\ for a given area. This MOS value can be 98 [micro]g/m\3\,
as ACHD chose to use, or a site-specific value computed from data
collected at the site of interest using methods outlined in Attachment
A of the LMP Option Memo.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ Although this LMP applies to maintenance through 2023, ACHD
still used ten years as the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) projection
to be conservative. An interpolation of 2025 and 2035 VMT
projections was calculated to project for the year 2031. Projections
for Allegheny County were used to represent the area, since there
are no projections specific to the Liberty Borough area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACHD used the motor vehicle regional analysis methodology with the
average design value of 85 [micro]g/m\3\ for the Liberty Borough area
using the highest 3-year design value for 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Additionally, for the motor vehicle regional analysis calculation, ACHD
used a VMTpi of 3.6 percent and a DVmv of 4.3
[micro]g/m\3\. ACHD's motor vehicle regional emissions test analysis
indicated a resulting value of 85.2 [micro]g/m\3\, which is below the
MOS of 98 [micro]g/m\3\.\18\ EPA reviewed the calculations in the
Liberty Borough area LMP SIP submission and the Agency proposes to find
that the area meets the motor vehicle regional emissions analysis test.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ Additional information on the data and calculations used
for ACHD's analysis can be found in ACHD's SIP submission which is
located in the docket for this proposed rulemaking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As described previously, the Liberty Borough area PM10
maintenance area meets the qualification criteria set forth in the LMP
Option Memo and accordingly qualifies for the LMP option. To ensure
these requirements continue to be met, ACHD commits to recalculating
the design value on an annual basis through the end of 2023. The motor
vehicle emissions test will also be recalculated annually using the
updated maximum design value over the past five years for the area. If
the test cannot be met (i.e., the equation shows a value above the
MOS), ACHD will submit a full maintenance plan for the area according
to CAA 175A requirements within one year after the determination of the
updated design values.
B. Attainment Inventory
Pursuant to the LMP Option Memo, an LMP SIP submission should
include an emissions inventory, which can be used to demonstrate
attainment of the relevant NAAQS. The inventory should represent
emissions during the same 5-year period associated with air quality
data used to determine whether the area meets the applicability
requirements of the LMP option.
The redesignation request and first 10-year maintenance plan for
the Liberty Borough area included a 1994 emissions inventory.\19\ The
inventory focused on stationary sources in Allegheny County and
surrounding counties, as well as wood burning, public roads, and
fugitive sources without permitted limits. Since the initial
maintenance plan and redesignation request, many of the sources have
lowered their permitted emissions rates of PM10 due to the
installation of controls, equipment upgrades, fuel switches, as well as
other factors, including shutting down. In the LMP SIP submittal, ACHD
noted several of the emission reductions from over the
[[Page 44242]]
years, including several modifications at the United States Steel
Corporation (USS) Mon Valley Works (MVW) Clairton Plant,\20\
representing an overall reduction of 268 tons per year (tpy) of
PM10 from the previous allowable inventory, as well as
shutdowns at several large sources outside of the area that provided
over 3,000 tpy of PM10 reductions from the previous
allowable inventory.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ The inventory was updated in 1999.
\20\ Mon Valley Works--Clairton Plant ``is an integrated
steelmaking operation that includes four separate facilities:
Clairton Plant, Edgar Thomson Plant, Irvin Plant and Fairless
Plant.'' Taken from www.ussteel.com/about-us/locations.
\21\ See the PADEP/ACHD's July 21, 2021 SIP submission, located
in the docket for this proposed rulemaking, for additional changes
to the initial emissions allowable inventory.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to ACHD, the total reductions in permitted allowable
rates since the initial redesignation request represent an almost
13,000 tpy overall reduction of PM10 allowable emissions.
This is approximately 55 percent lower than the allowable inventory
from the first 10-year maintenance period.
To illustrate the current emissions in the Liberty Borough area,
ACHD's current LMP SIP submission included an inventory of actual
emissions using base year 2017. ACHD refers to this as the ``Liberty
Borough area maintenance emissions inventory.'' ACHD used the 2017
national emissions inventory (NEI), which was the most recent
comprehensive inventory that was available to ACHD at the time it was
preparing the LMP for the Liberty Borough area. The 2017 NEI is
representative of the typical emissions during which continued
attainment has occurred since the end of the Liberty Borough area's
first 10-year maintenance plan period in 2013.\22\ Table 6 includes the
following four main categories from the 2017 inventory: Stationary
point sources, area (nonpoint) sources, nonroad mobile sources, and on-
road mobile sources.\23\ Stationary point sources contribute the
largest amount of primary PM10 emissions (82 percent) and
its precursors (87 percent),\24\ within the Liberty Borough area. Among
all the stationary sources in the Liberty Borough area, the USS MVW
Clairton Plant contributes the most PM10 primary and
precursor emissions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ Additional information on ACHD's actual inventory can be
found in the SIP submission located in the docket for this proposed
action.
\23\ A more detailed version of the inventory can be found in
Appendix A of PADEP/ACHD's July 2021 SIP submission.
\24\ Precursors for PM10 include sulfur dioxide
(SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), and ammonia (NH3).
Table 6--Liberty Borough Area 2017 Emissions Inventory
[tpy] \a\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liberty borough area PM10\c\ SO2 NOX VOCs NH3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary Point Sources \b\.... 877.93 1,129.86 2,626.26 184.45 118.87
Area (Nonpoint) Sources \d\..... 175.07 4.01 95.80 275.23 9.85
Nonroad Mobile Sources \d\...... 4.33 0.10 37.83 33.19 0.09
Onroad Mobile Sources \d\....... 10.48 0.83 94.11 57.41 3.60
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... 1,067.81 1,134.80 2,854.00 550.28 132.41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Taken from ACHD's PM10 LMP for the Liberty Borough area.
\b\ Inventoried stationary sources within the Liberty Borough area include USS MVW Clairton Plant, Tech Met,
Inc., Koppers Inc., and AKJ Steel Industries.
\c\ Total primary PM10.
\d\ Since NEI emissions are located to the county-level, ACHD used the U.S. Census's estimates for the 2017
population percentage of the Liberty Borough area to scale down emissions from the total Allegheny County
population.
1. Expected Emissions
In the July 21, 2021, second maintenance plan SIP submission, ACHD
noted that there is little growth in emissions expected for the Liberty
Borough area through the end of the maintenance period in 2023. ACHD
attributes the lack of potential for emissions growth through 2023 to
several factors, including a 2019 settlement agreement and order with
USS MVW Clairton Plant that requires the facility to conduct upgrades
and work practice enhancements through 2023.\25\ ACHD provides
additional information in their LMP submission regarding other programs
and actions that will help to maintain or lower PM10
emissions in the Liberty Borough area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ Allegheny County Health Department Air Quality Program.
Settlement Agreement and Order #19060.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. PM10 SIP Controls
In accordance with the CAA, areas seeking to use the LMP approach
for maintenance must have an attainment plan that has been approved by
EPA. That LMP should clearly indicate that all controls that were
relied on to demonstrate attainment will remain in place. The July 21,
2021, LMP SIP submission identifies the control strategies approved
into the Liberty Borough area's attainment plan to bring the area into
compliance. These controls were approved into the Pennsylvania SIP as
permanent and enforceable measures and assisted the Liberty Borough
area in attaining the PM10 NAAQS.\26\ These controls are to
remain in place for the duration of the second maintenance period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ 61 FR 29664 (June 12, 1996) and 63 FR 32126 (June 12,
1998).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The July 21, 2021 SIP submission meets EPA guidance for purposes of
an attainment emissions inventory, and the emissions inventory data
supports ACHD's conclusions that the existing control measures will
continue to protect and maintain the PM10 NAAQS.
C. Maintenance Demonstration
ACHD provided a maintenance demonstration for the Liberty Borough
area in the first 10-year maintenance plan, which EPA approved on
September 11, 2003 (68 FR 53515). According to EPA's 2001
PM10 LMP Option Memo, if an area qualifies for the LMP
option, EPA will treat that as a demonstration that the area will
maintain the NAAQS and that, consequently, there is no need to model
projected emissions over the maintenance period. Therefore, the Liberty
Borough area is exempt from projecting emissions levels through the end
date of the second 10-year maintenance plan.
D. Air Quality Monitoring Network
Once an area is redesignated, the applicable state or local agency
must continue to operate an appropriate air monitoring network in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58 to verify the attainment
[[Page 44243]]
status of the area. ACHD has operated PM10 monitors
according to 40 CFR part 58 requirements at four sites within the
Liberty Borough area since submittal of the redesignation request in
2002. A description, as well as a map, of the four Liberty Borough area
PM10 monitors can be found in ACHD's LMP plan.\27\ On
December 21, 2022, ACHD submitted its 2021 Annual Monitoring Network
Plan, which EPA approved on February 24, 2023.\28\ ACHD indicated in
the Liberty Borough area second 10-year maintenance plan that it will
continue to operate the air monitoring network in accordance with 40
CFR part 58 to verify the attainment status of the area, with no
changes to the existing network unless preapproved by EPA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ Located in the docket for this proposed rulemaking. Docket
No. EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0219, www.regulations.gov.
\28\ EPA's approval letters for ACHD's past several Annual
Monitoring Network Plans are included in the docket for this
proposed rulemaking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E. Verification of Continued Attainment
The level of the PM10 NAAQS is 150 [micro]g/m\3\, 24-
hour average concentration. The NAAQS is attained when the expected
number of days per calendar year with a 24-hour average concentration
above 150 [micro]g/m\3\ is equal to or less than one.\29\ As stated in
the previous section of this preamble, ACHD plans to continue to
operate a regulatory monitoring network and will continue to track the
attainment status of the Liberty Borough area for the PM10
NAAQS by reviewing monitored air quality concentrations during the
maintenance period through 2023. ACHD will also continue to operate the
air monitoring network in accordance with 40 CFR part 58 to verify the
attainment status of the area, with no changes to the existing network
unless pre-approved by EPA. Included in its second 10-year maintenance
plan SIP submission, ACHD evaluated the complete, quality-assured,
maximum 24-hour PM10 concentrations at each Liberty Borough
area monitor from 2001-2020 to verify continued attainment of the
standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\29\ See 40 CFR 50.6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
F. Contingency Provisions
Section 175A of the CAA states that a maintenance plan must include
contingency provisions, as necessary, to ensure prompt correction of
any violation of the NAAQS which may occur after redesignation of the
area to attainment. As explained in the LMP Option Memo and the
Calcagni Memo, these contingency provisions are an enforceable part of
a federally approved SIP. The maintenance plan should clearly identify
the events that would ``trigger'' the adoption and implementation of a
contingency provision, the contingency provision(s) that would be
adopted and implemented, and the schedule indicating the time frame by
which the state and/or locality would adopt and implement the
provision(s). The LMP Option Memo and the Calcagni Memo state that EPA
will determine the adequacy of a contingency plan on a case-by-case
basis. At a minimum, it must require that the applicable state or local
agency implement all measures contained in the CAA part D nonattainment
plan for the area prior to redesignation.
In the Liberty Borough area PM10 LMP, ACHD indicated
that the contingency provisions for the second 10-year maintenance plan
are identical the contingency measures included in the area's
attainment plan that was approved on September 8, 1998 (63 FR 47434).
The contingency provisions include a requirement that the USS MVW
Clairton Plant improve the capture of pushing emissions from its coke
batteries. Within 60 days after determination of a violation of the 24-
hour PM10 NAAQS at any Liberty Borough area monitor, the
contingency measures will be implemented. No contingency provisions or
measures have been triggered at any time since the attainment plan SIP
was approved in 1998.
EPA proposes to determine that the contingency provisions submitted
in the Liberty Borough area PM10 LMP are adequate to meet
CAA section 175A requirements and the contingency provisions as
outlined in the LMP Option Memo.
III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve the second 10-year PM10
limited maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough area. EPA has reviewed
the air quality data for this area and determined that it continues to
show attainment of the PM10 NAAQS and meets all the LMP
requirements as described in this action. EPA is soliciting public
comments on the issues discussed in this document. These comments will
be considered before taking final action. If finalized, EPA's approval
of this LMP will satisfy the section 175A CAA requirements for
PM10 for the second 10-year maintenance period for the
Liberty Borough area.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this proposed action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations, 59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to
identify and address ``disproportionately high and adverse human health
or environmental effects'' of their actions on minority populations and
low-income populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted
by law. EPA defines environmental justice (E.J.) as ``the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race,
color,
[[Page 44244]]
national origin, or income with respect to the development,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
The ACHD did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as
part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing
regulations neither prohibit nor require such an evaluation. EPA did
not perform an E.J. analysis and did not consider E.J. in this proposed
rulemaking. Due to the nature of the proposed action being taken here,
this proposed rulemaking is expected to have a neutral to positive
impact on the air quality of the affected area.
In addition, this proposed rulemaking, regarding the second 10-year
maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough PM10 area, does not
have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR
67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in
Indian country located in the State, and EPA notes that it will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal
law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Adam Ortiz,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2023-14645 Filed 7-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
