[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3611-3617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1360]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0455-201131(a); FRL-9621-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; North
Carolina: Approval of Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for the
Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point 1-Hour Ozone Maintenance Area to
Maintain the 1997 8-Hour Ozone Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the
North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted to EPA on
April 13, 2011, with supplemental information submitted on May 18,
2011, by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), through the
Department of Air Quality. The revisions propose to modify North
Carolina's SIP to address the required maintenance plan for the 1997 8-
hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the
Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, North Carolina 1-hour ozone
maintenance area, hereafter referred to as ``the Triad Area.'' The
Triad Area is comprised of Davidson, Forsyth, and Guilford and a
portion of Davie County. This maintenance plan was submitted to ensure
the continued attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS through the
year 2018 in the Triad Area. EPA is approving these SIP revisions
pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). The
submitted maintenance plan meets all of the statutory and regulatory
requirements, and is consistent with EPA's guidance.
DATES: This rule is effective on March 26, 2012 without further notice,
unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by February 24, 2012. If
EPA receives such comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that this rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2011-0455 by one of the following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. Email: [email protected].
3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0455, Regulatory Development Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Lynorae Benjamin, Regulatory
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are
only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation.
The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through
Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2011-0455. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit through www.regulations.gov or
email, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email
comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your
email address will be automatically captured and included as part of
the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on
the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA
[[Page 3612]]
Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy at the Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning
Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you
contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zuri Farngalo or Jane Spann,
Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides
and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Zuri
Farngalo may be reached by phone at (404) 562-9152 or by electronic
mail address [email protected]. Jane Spann may be reached by phone
at (404) 562-9029 or by electronic mail address [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. EPA's Analysis of North Carolina's Submittals
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
In accordance with the CAA, the Triad Area was designated
nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS on November 6, 1991. See 56 FR
56694. The designation for the Triad Area was effective on January 6,
1992. See 60 FR 7124.
On November 13, 1992, the State of North Carolina, through NCDENR,
submitted a request to redesignate the Triad Area to attainment for the
1-hour ozone NAAQS. Included with the 1-hour ozone redesignation
request, North Carolina submitted the required 1-hour ozone monitoring
data and maintenance plan ensuring the Area would remain in attainment
for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS for at least a period of 10 years
(consistent with CAA 175A(a)). The maintenance plan submitted by North
Carolina followed EPA guidance for maintenance areas, subject to
section 175A of the CAA.
On September 9, 1993, EPA approved North Carolina's request to
redesignate the Triad Area (58 FR 4731) to attainment for the 1-hour
ozone NAAQS. The maintenance plan for the Triad Area became effective
on November 8, 1993. North Carolina provided an update to the Triad
Area maintenance plan on April 4, 2004, in accordance with section
175(A)(b), to extend the maintenance plan to cover additional years
such that the entire maintenance period was for at least 20 years after
the initial redesignation of this Area to attainment. EPA approved
North Carolina's update to the Triad Area's maintenance plan on
September 20, 2004. See 69 FR 56163.
On April 30, 2004, EPA designated and classified areas for the 1997
8-hour ozone NAAQS (69 FR 23858), and published the final Phase 1 Rule
for implementation of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (69 FR 23951) (Phase
1 Rule). In the April 30, 2004, rulemaking entitled ``Air Quality
Designations and Classifications for the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standards; Early Action Compact Areas with Deferred
Effective Dates'' (69 FR 23858), EPA designated every county in the
United States unclassifiable/attainment or nonattainment for the new 8-
hour ozone NAAQS. Counties in and around the Triad Area (also known as
the Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point Area) were designated as
nonattainment with a deferred effective date as part of the Early
Action Compact (EAC) program. (For more information on the EAC \1\
Program, see, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/eac/index.htm.) The
Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point nonattainment-deferred EAC Area \2\
for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (which includes the entire Triad Area)
is comprised of Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford,
Randolph, and Rockingham counties. One year after the effective date of
EPA's designations for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (i.e., June 15,
2005), the 1-hour ozone NAAQS was revoked for most areas. However, the
1-hour ozone NAAQS was not revoked for previous 1-hour ozone
nonattainment areas that were currently 8-hour nonattainment-deferred
EAC areas, such as the Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point EAC Area.
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\1\ An EAC is an agreement between a State, local governments
and EPA to implement measures not necessarily required by the Act in
order to achieve cleaner air as soon as possible. The program was
designed for areas that approached or monitored exceedances of the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, but were in attainment for the 1-hour ozone
NAAQS. See, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/eac/index.htm, for
further information.
\2\ A nonattainment-deferred EAC Area is an area that at the
time of EPA's designation had a design value that exceeded the 1997
8-hour ozone NAAQS.
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The Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point EAC Area attained the 1997
8-hour ozone NAAQS with a design value of 0.083 parts per million (ppm)
using three years of quality assured data for the years of 2005-2007.
On February 6, 2008, EPA proposed that 13 nonattainment areas with
deferred effective dates, including the Greensboro-Winston Salem-High
Point Area, be designated attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
See 73 FR 6863. These areas met all of the milestones of the EAC
program and demonstrated that they were in attainment of the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS as of December 31, 2007. In the same rulemaking, EPA
also proposed that one year after the effective date of these
designations, the 1-hour ozone NAAQS be revoked in these areas and the
transportation conformity requirements for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS no
longer remain in effect in these areas after the revocation. This
rulemaking was finalized on April 2, 2008. See 73 FR 17897. Effective
April 15, 2008, the Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point EAC Area was
designated as attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
In accordance with section 110(a)(1) of the CAA and the Phase 1
Rule,\3\ North Carolina was required to submit a 10-year maintenance
plan for the portion of the Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point EAC
Area that comprised the Triad Area (as a former 1-hour ozone
maintenance area) within three years of the effective date (i.e., April
15, 2011) of the Area being designated attainment for the 1997 8-hour
ozone NAAQS. On May 20, 2005, EPA issued guidance providing information
on how a state might fulfill the maintenance plan obligation
established by the CAA and the Phase 1 Rule (Memorandum from Lydia N.
Wegman to Air Division
[[Page 3613]]
Directors, Maintenance Plan Guidance Document for Certain 8-hour Ozone
Areas Under Section 110(a)(1) of Clean Air Act, May 20, 2005--hereafter
referred to as the ``Wegman Memorandum''). On April 13, 2011, with
supplemental information submitted on May 18, 2011, North Carolina
provided revisions to EPA to meet the requirements for the 110(a)(1)
maintenance plan for the Triad Area.
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\3\ On December 22, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion that vacated
EPA's Phase 1 Rule for the 1997 8-hour Ozone Standard. South Coast
Air Quality Management District. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882 (DC Cir.
2006). The Court vacated those portions of the Phase 1 Rule that
provided for regulation of the 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas
designated under Subpart 1 in lieu of Subpart 2 (of part D of the
CAA), among other portions. The Court's decision does not alter any
requirements under the Phase 1 Rule for section 110(a)(l)
maintenance plans.
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II. EPA's Analysis of North Carolina's Submittal
As mentioned above, on April 13, 2011, the State of North Carolina,
through NCDENR submitted a SIP revision, with supplemental information
submitted on May 18, 2011, containing the 1997 8-hour ozone maintenance
plan for the Triad Area as required by section 110(a)(1) of the CAA and
the provisions of EPA's Phase 1 Rule. See 40 CFR 51.905(a)(4). The
purpose of the April 13, 2011, submission is to ensure continued
attainment and maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS until 2018
for this attainment area. The May 18, 2011, supplemental information
contained Appendix C SESARM reference document, and Appendix D the
Public Notice Report, which were both inadvertently left out of the
original submittal.
As required, North Carolina's plan provides data showing continued
attainment and maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the Triad
Area for at least 10 years from the effective date of this Area's
designation as attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The plan
also includes components illustrating how the Area will continue
attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS and provides contingency
measures. The section 110(a)(1) maintenance plan components for the
Triad Area are discussed below.
(a) Attainment Inventory. In order to demonstrate maintenance in
the aforementioned area, North Carolina developed comprehensive
inventories of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides
(NOX) emissions from area, point, on-road mobile, non-road
mobile (including aircraft, locomotive and marine (ALM)),\4\ and
manmade emission sources using 2007 as the base year. According to the
May 20, 2005, Maintenance Plan Guidance Document for Certain 8-Hour
Ozone Areas Under Section 110(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act, a state may
use one of the three years for which the 1997 8-hour attainment
designation was based (2001, 2002 and 2003) as their attainment
inventory base year. However, due to the fact that the Triad Area was
an EAC area, the effective date of designation was deferred to April
15, 2008, and therefore consideration of a later base year of 2005,
2006, or 2007 was required for the purpose of an emissions inventory.
See 69 FR 23857. For the purpose of this maintenance plan, North
Carolina chose 2007 as the attainment level emissions base year for the
Triad Area. The State's submittal contains the detailed inventory data
and summaries by source category for the Triad Area.
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\4\ No commercial marine vessels operate in Davidson, Davie,
Forsyth or Guilford counties so there are no emissions reported for
this category.
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In accordance with USEPA's Air Emissions Reporting Rule
requirements, North Carolina compiles a statewide emissions inventory
for point sources on an annual basis. Area source emissions are
estimated by multiplying an emission factor by a known indicator like
number of employess or population. On-road mobile emissions of VOC and
NOX were estimated using the MOVES2010a mobile model. Non-
road mobile emissions data were derived using the U.S. EPA's NONROAD
2008 model with the exception of railroad locomotives and aircraft
engines that are estimated by using an emission factor.
In projecting data for the maintenance year 2018 emissions
inventories, North Carolina used several methods to project data from
the base year 2007 to the interim years 2011, and 2018. These projected
inventories were developed using EPA-approved technologies and
methodologies including the Southeastern Emissions Modeling, Analysis,
and Planning methodology. Projected point, area, and non-road mobile
source inventories were developed using the 2007 base year inventories
and economic growth factors from EPA's Economic Growth and Analysis
System.
The following tables provide VOC and NOX emissions data
for the 2007 base attainment year inventories, as well as projected VOC
and NOX emissions inventory data for 2010, 2014, and 2018.
The Phase 1 Rule provides that the 10-year maintenance period begin as
of the effective date of designation for the 1997 8-hour NAAQS for the
Area. The designations for the 13 EAC attainment areas (of which the
Greensboro-Winston Salem- High Point Area (inclusive of the Triad Area)
was one) were effective in April 2008 so the maintenance period must
end no earlier than 2018.
Table 1--2007 VOC and NOX Base Year Emissions Inventory for the Triad Area
[Tons/day]
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County Point Area Onroad Nonroad Manmade Total
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--VOC emissions--
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Davidson................................................ 3.83 6.83 6.60 1.97 19.23 38.46
Davie................................................... 0.19 4.68 1.85 1.32 8.04 16.08
Forsyth................................................. 4.03 16.53 12.05 3.79 36.4 54.54
Guilford................................................ 9.68 22.62 17.41 8.33 58.04 116.08
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Total *............................................. 17.73 50.66 37.91 15.41 121.71 225.16
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--NOX emissions--
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Davidson................................................ 2.73 0.62 15.08 3.56 21.99 43.98
Davie................................................... 0.06 0.21 5.03 0.78 6.08 12.16
Forsyth................................................. 2.22 0.99 27.73 4.94 35.88 56.14
Guilford................................................ 1.06 2.01 42.78 11.83 57.68 115.36
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Total *............................................. 6.07 3.83 90.62 21.11 121.63 227.64
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* Due to conventional rounding rules, emission totals listed in Tables 1 and 2 may not reflect the absolute mathematical totals.
[[Page 3614]]
Table 2--Projected VOC and NOX Emissions Inventory for the Triad Area
[Tons/day]
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Source type 2007 2011 2018
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--NOX emissions--
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Point........................................................... 6.07 6.19 6.47
Area............................................................ 3.83 3.87 3.88
Onroad.......................................................... 90.62 64.56 36.00
Nonroad......................................................... 21.11 16.96 10.78
Manmade 121.63 91.58 57.13
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Total *..................................................... 243.26 183.16 114.26
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VOC emissions--
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Point........................................................... 17.73 17.75 17.80
Area............................................................ 50.66 54.96 64.53
Onroad.......................................................... 37.91 26.16 15.37
Nonroad......................................................... 15.41 12.11 8.81
Manmade......................................................... 121.71 110.98 106.51
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Total *..................................................... 243.42 221.96 213.02
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* Due to conventional rounding rules, emission totals listed in Tables 1 and 2 may not reflect the absolute
mathematical totals.
As shown in Table 2 above, the Triad Area is projected to steadily
decrease its total VOC and NOX emissions from the base year
of 2007 to the maintenance year of 2018. This VOC and NOX
emission decrease demonstrates continued attainment/maintenance of the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for ten years from 2008 (the year the Area was
effectively designated attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS) as
required by the CAA and Phase 1 Rule. NOx and VOC emissions are
expected to decrease approximately 47 and 9 percent, respectively, from
the attainment base year to 2018. These projected reductions of ozone
precursors signal continued maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
The attainment inventories submitted by North Carolina for this
Area are consistent with the criteria as discussed in the Wegman
Memorandum (For more information on the Wegman Memorandom see http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/memoranda/policymem33d.pdf.) EPA finds that
the future emission levels for the projected years 2011, and 2018, are
expected to be less than the attainment level emissions in 2007. In the
event that future 1997 8-hour ozone monitoring values in the Triad Area
are found to violate the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, the contingency plan
section of the Triad Area's maintenance plan includes measures that
will be promptly implemented to ensure that the Triad Area returns to
attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS. Please see Section (d) Contingency
Plan, below, for additional information related to the contingency
measures in the maintenance plan.
(b) Maintenance Demonstration. The primary purpose of a maintenance
plan is to demonstrate how an area will continue to remain in
attainment with the 1997 8-hour ozone standards for the 10-year period
following the effective date of designation as unclassifiable/
attainment. The required end projection year for the Triad Area is
2018. As discussed in Section (a) Attainment Inventory above, North
Carolina identified the level of ozone-forming emissions that were
consistent with attainment of the NAAQS for ozone in 2007. North
Carolina projected VOC and NOX emissions for 2011 and 2018.
EPA finds that the future emissions levels in these years are expected
to be below the emissions levels in 2007 in the Triad Area.
North Carolina's SIP revisions for the maintenance plan for the
Triad Area also relies on a combination of several air quality measures
that will provide for additional 1997 8-hour ozone emissions reductions
in this Area. The Triad Area is also benefiting from the following
reductions that are occurring in other states in the Southeast: (1)
North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act, (2) Atlanta/Northern Kentucky/
Birmingham 1-hour SIPs, (3) NOX reasonably available control
technology in 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area SIP, and (4)
implementation of NOX SIP Call Phase 1 in southeastern
states. Moreover, despite the legal status of the Clean Air Interstate
Rule (CAIR) as remanded, many facilities have already installed or are
continuing with plans to install emission controls that may benefit the
Triad Area.
(c) Consideration of CAIR. The NOX SIP Call requires
states to make significant, specific emissions reductions. It also
provided a mechanism, the NOX Budget Trading Program, which
states could use to achieve those reductions. When EPA promulgated
CAIR, it discontinued (starting in 2009) the NOX Budget
Trading Program, 40 CFR 51.121(r), but created another mechanism--the
CAIR NOX ozone season trading program--which states could
use to meet their SIP Call obligations (70 FR 25289-90). EPA notes that
a number of states, when submitting SIP revisions to require sources to
participate in the CAIR NOX ozone season trading program,
removed the SIP provisions that required sources to participate in the
NOX Budget Trading Program.
In 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded CAIR
to the Agency, leaving existing CAIR programs in place while directing
EPA to replace them as rapidly as possible with a new rule consistent
with the CAA. Therefore, the provisions of CAIR, including the
NOX ozone season trading program, remain in place during the
remand (North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176 (D.C. Cir. 2008)), and
continue to satisfy the trading requirements of the NOX SIP
Call, as EPA is no longer administering the NOX Budget
Trading Program. Nonetheless, all states, regardless of the current
status of their regulations that previously required participation in
the NOX Budget Trading Program, will remain subject to all
of the requirements in the NOX SIP Call, even when the
existing CAIR NOX ozone season trading program is replaced
by the Cross State
[[Page 3615]]
Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) in 2012. That rule, promulgated on July 6,
2011, replaces and strengthens the 2005 CAIR trading programs, and
meets the CAA requirements and responds to the court's concerns. In
addition, the anti-backsliding provisions of 40 CFR 51.905(f)
specifically provide that the provisions of the NOX SIP
Call, including the statewide NOX emission budgets, continue
to apply after revocation of the 1-hour standards.
All NOX SIP Call states, including North Carolina, have
SIPs that currently satisfy their obligations under the SIP Call, and
the SIP Call reduction requirements are being met. EPA will continue to
enforce the requirements of the NOX SIP Call even after the
CSAPR takes effect. For these reasons, EPA believes that regardless of
the status of the CAIR and CSAPR programs, the NOX SIP call
requirements can be relied upon in demonstrating maintenance.
(d) Ambient Air Quality Monitoring. The table below shows design
values \5\ for the Triad Area. The ambient ozone monitoring data were
collected at sites that were selected with assistance from EPA and are
considered representative of the areas of highest concentration. The
State of North Carolina will continue to conduct ambient air quality
monitoring programs for ozone in the Triad Area. All monitoring
programs will continue in accordance with applicable EPA monitoring
requirements contained in 40 CFR Part 58. Any modification to the
ambient air monitoring network will be accomplished through close
consultation with EPA. The Triad Area has not had a monitored design
value that exceeded the 1997 8-hour NAAQS since the 2002-2004 design
value time-period as seen in Table 3.\6\
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\5\ The air quality design value at a monitoring site is defined
as the concentration that when reduced to the level of the standard
ensures that the site meets the standard. For a concentration-based
standard, the air quality design value is simply the standard-
related test statistic. Thus, for the primary and secondary 1997 8-
hour ozone standards, the 3-year average annual fourth-highest daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration is also the air quality
design value for the site. 40 CFR 50, Appendix I, Section 3.
\6\ Under EPA regulations found at 40 CFR part 50, the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS are attained when the 3-year average of the annual
fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour ambient air quality ozone
concentrations is less than 0.08 parts per million (i.e. 0.084 when
rounding is considered).
Table 3--Maximum 8-Hour Ozone Design Values for the Triad Area
[ppm]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design
Years value
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2001-2003...................................................... 0.093
2002-2004...................................................... 0.087
2003-2005...................................................... 0.082
2004-2006...................................................... 0.081
2005-2007...................................................... 0.083
2006-2008...................................................... 0.082
2007-2009...................................................... 0.079
2008-2010...................................................... 0.076
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The maximum design value for 2008 through 2010 identified in Table
3 demonstrates attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS at a level of
0.076 ppm. Further, these design values indicate that the Triad Area is
expected to continue attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS based on
a gradual decrease in the design values. The attainment level for the
1997 8-hour ozone standards is 0.08 ppm, effectively 0.084 ppm with the
rounding convention. In the event that a design value for the Triad
Area monitors exceed the 1997 8-hour ozone standards, one or more
contingency measures included in North Carolina's maintenance plan
would be promptly implemented in accordance with the contingency plan,
as discussed below.
(e) Contingency Plan. In accordance with 40 CFR 51.905(a)(4)(ii)
and the Wegman Memorandum, the section 110(a)(1) maintenance plan
includes contingency provisions to promptly correct a violation of the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS that may occur. The State of North Carolina has
established three triggers to activate contingency measures including:
(1) A violation of the 1997 ozone NAAQS at any of the Triad area
monitors, (2) monitored ozone levels indicating that an actual ozone
NAAQS violation is imminent, and (3) a monitored fourth high exceedance
of 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS at any monitor. In the maintenance plan, if
contingency measures are triggered, North Carolina has committed to
implement the measures as expeditiously as practicable, including
adopting one or more contingency measures as expeditiously as practical
and implementing the measures within 24 months of the triggering event.
The State's contingency measures include: (1) NOX Reasonably
Available Control Technology on stationary sources in the Triad
maintenance area; (2) diesel inspection and maintenance program; (3)
implementation of diesel retrofit programs, including incentives for
performing retrofits; and, (4) additional controls in upwind areas.
These contingency measures and schedules for implementation satisfy
EPA's long-standing guidance on the requirements of section 110(a)(1)
of continued attainment. Continued attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS in the Triad Area will depend, in part, on the air quality
measures discussed previously (see section II). In addition, North
Carolina commits to verify the 1997 8-hour ozone status in this
maintenance plan through periodic ozone precursor emission inventory
updates. Emission inventory updates will be completed by 18 months
following the end of the inventory year to verify continued attainment
of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
III. Final Action
Pursuant to section 110(a)(1) of the CAA, EPA is approving the
maintenance plan addressing the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the Triad
Area, submitted by the State of North Carolina, through NCDENR, on
April 13, 2011, with supplemental information submitted on May 18,
2011. The maintenance plan ensures continued attainment of the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS through the maintenance year 2018. EPA has evaluated
North Carolina's submittal and has determined that it meets the
applicable requirements of the CAA and EPA regulations, and is
consistent with EPA policy. On March 12, 2008, EPA issued revised ozone
NAAQS. The current action, however, is being taken to address
requirements under the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a non-controversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should
adverse comment be filed. This rule will be effective on March 26, 2012
without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comment by
February 24, 2012. If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish
a document withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the
rule will not take effect. All public comments received will then be
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA
will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties
interested in commenting must do so at this time. If no such comments
are received, the public is advised this rule will be effective on
March 26, 2012 and no
[[Page 3616]]
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.
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 Act and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
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 action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule 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.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by March 26, 2012. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Ozone,
Intergovernmental relations, Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen
dioxides, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and Volatile
organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: January 12, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart II--North Carolina
0
2. Section 52.1770(e) is amended by adding new entries for ``1997 8-
Hour Ozone 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for the Triad Area'' and
``Supplement to 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for the Triad Area'' to read
as follows at the end of the table:
Sec. 52.1770 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA-Approved North Carolina Non-Regulatory Provisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State effective
Provision date EPA approval date Federal Register citation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
1997 8-Hour Ozone 110(a)(1) 4/13/11 3/26/12 [Insert citation of publication.]
Maintenance Plan for the
Triad Area.
Supplement to 110(a)(1) 5/18/2011 3/26/12 [Insert citation of publication.]
Maintenance Plan for the
Triad Area.
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[FR Doc. 2012-1360 Filed 1-24-12; 8:45 am]
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