[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 85 (Friday, May 2, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25010-25014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09878]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R10-OAR-2008-0122; FRL 9910-02-Region 10]
Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans;
Washington: Puget Sound Ozone Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a direct
final action to approve a maintenance plan for the Central Puget Sound
area to maintain the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) through 2015. This plan was submitted by the Washington
Department of Ecology (Ecology or ``the State'') as a revision to its
State Implementation Plan (SIP) on January 10, 2008. This action finds
that the maintenance plan for this area meets all relevant Clean Air
Act (CAA) requirements for approval, and demonstrates that the Central
Puget Sound area will remain in attainment with the 1997 and 2008 ozone
NAAQS through 2015.
DATES: This rule is effective on July 1, 2014, without further notice,
unless the EPA receives adverse comment by June 2, 2014. If the EPA
receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2008-0122, by any of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: [email protected].
Mail: Keith Rose, U.S. EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste
and Toxics (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.
Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth
Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101. Attention: Keith Rose, Office of
Air, Waste and Toxics, AWT-107. Such deliveries are
[[Page 25011]]
only accepted during normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-
2008-0122. The 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 information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov
or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access''
system, which means the 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 the 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, the 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 the EPA cannot read your comment due to technical
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 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.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., 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. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Office of Air, Waste
and Toxics, U.S. EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Rose at telephone number: (206)
553-1949, email address: [email protected], or the above EPA, Region
10 address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA. Information is organized
as follows:
Table of Contents
I. Background
A. Regulatory Context
B. Requirements of CAA Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plans
C. How have the Tribal Governments been involved in this
process?
II. Summary of SIP Revision and the EPA's Evaluation
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
A. Regulatory Context
On November 15, 1990, the CAA Amendments of 1990 were enacted.
Under section 107(d)(1) of the CAA, the EPA designated the Central
Puget Sound area, also called the Seattle-Tacoma area (which includes
all of Pierce County, almost all of King County except the northeast
corner, and part of Snohomish County), as nonattainment because the
area violated the 1-hour ozone standard during the years 1989-1991. As
a result, the EPA classified the Central Puget Sound area as
``marginal'' under section 181(a)(1) of the CAA (56 FR 56847, November
6, 1991). On January 28, 1993, the State of Washington submitted a SIP
demonstrating compliance with the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. On August 21,
1995, the State submitted a revision to the Washington Vehicle
Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program to satisfy the requirements of
sections 182(b)(4) and 182(c)(3) of the CAA and 40 CFR part 51, subpart
S. This SIP revision requires vehicle owners in the Central Puget Sound
area to comply with the Washington I/M program. The EPA approved this
I/M program revision on September 25, 1996 (61 FR 50235). On March 4,
1996, the State submitted to the EPA a request to redesignate the
Central Puget Sound area to attainment for the 1-hour ozone standard,
and a maintenance plan demonstrating maintenance of the ozone standard
through 2010. On September 26, 1996, the EPA determined that the Puget
Sound area had attained the ozone NAAQS, redesignated the Central Puget
Sound area to attainment for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, and approved the
associated maintenance plan (61 FR 50438). On December 17, 2003,
Ecology submitted a second 10-year maintenance plan demonstrating that
the Central Puget Sound area would maintain air quality standards for
ozone through the year 2016. The EPA approved the second 10-year
maintenance plan on August 5, 2004 (69 FR 47365).
In 2008, the EPA revised the level of the 8-hour ozone standard to
0.075 ppm (73 FR 16436, March 27, 2008). The Central Puget Sound area
was subsequently designated attainment/unclassifiable for the new 8-
hour standard (77 FR 30088, May 21, 2012).
B. Requirements of CAA Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plans
Section 110(a)(1) of the CAA requires, in part, that states submit
to the EPA plans to maintain any NAAQS promulgated by the EPA. Areas
like the Central Puget Sound area that were maintenance areas for the
1-hour ozone NAAQS, but unclassifiable/attainment for the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS, are required to submit a plan to demonstrate the continued
maintenance of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The EPA established a deadline
of three years after the effective date of the 1997 8-hour ozone
designations as the deadline for submission of these plans.
On May 20, 2005, the EPA issued guidance for States in preparing
maintenance plans under section 110(a)(1) of the CAA for areas that are
required to do so under 40 CFR 51.905.\1\ At a minimum, the maintenance
plan should include the following five components:
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\1\ Memorandum titled ``Maintenance Plan Guidance Document for
Certain 8-hour Ozone Areas Under Section 110(a)(l) of Clean Air
Act'' by Lydia Wegman, Director, EPA Air Quality Strategies and
Standards Division, May 20, 2005.
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1. An attainment inventory, which is based on actual typical summer
day emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of
nitrogen (NOX) from a base year chosen by the State;
2. A maintenance demonstration which shows how the area will remain
in compliance with the 8-hour ozone standard for 10 years after the
effective date of the designation;
3. A commitment to continue to operate ambient air quality monitors
to verify maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard;
4. A contingency plan that will ensure that any violation of the 8-
hour ozone NAAQS will be promptly corrected; and
5. An explanation of how the State will verify continued attainment
of the standard under the maintenance plan.
On January 10, 2008, the EPA received a SIP submittal from Ecology
to approve a maintenance plan submitted under section 110(a)(1) of the
CAA to maintain the 8-hour NAAQS for ozone for the Central Puget Sound
area. The EPA prepared a Technical Support Document (TSD) with more
detailed information about this SIP submittal,
[[Page 25012]]
which is available for review as part of the docket for this action.
C. How have the Tribal Governments been involved in this process?
Consistent with the EPA's tribal policy, the EPA offered
government-to-government consultations to the Tulalip Tribes, the
Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the
Stillaguamish Tribe, and the Nisqually Indian Tribe, regarding the
action in this notice, because these tribes are located in the Central
Puget Sound ozone area and may be affected by this action.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and the EPA's Evaluation
Ecology's 8-hour 110(a)(1) ozone maintenance plan for the Central
Puget Sound area addresses all five maintenance plan components
outlined in the EPA's guidance of May 20, 2005. All of the 1-hour ozone
control measures previously approved into the SIP for the Central Puget
Sound area remain in place in this 8-hour 110(a)(1) maintenance plan
and are used in the maintenance demonstration. The five components of
the maintenance plan and how they meet the EPA's criteria, are
described below.
1. Attainment Inventory
An emissions inventory is an itemized list of emission estimates
for sources of air pollution in a given area for a specified time
period. An attainment inventory is a projection of an emission
inventory in a base year, when an area was in attainment with the 8-
hour ozone NAAQS, to an appropriate attainment year. Ecology provided a
comprehensive base year emissions inventory for NOX and VOCs
for the Central Puget Sound area with the SIP submittal. Ecology chose
to use 2002 as the base year from which it projected emissions. The SIP
submittal also includes an explanation of the methodology used for
determining the anthropogenic (point, area and mobile sources)
emissions of NOX and VOCs. On-road vehicle emission controls
required by the State I/M program were included in the attainment
inventory. The inventory is based on emissions on a ``typical summer
day.'' The term ``typical summer day'' refers to a typical weekday
during the months when ozone concentrations are typically the highest.
Based on our review of the documentation submitted, the EPA concludes
that the attainment inventory has been developed for the appropriate
season of an acceptable attainment year, is based on appropriate
factors and methods, and is thus acceptable for the purposes of a
Section 110(a)(1) ozone maintenance plan.
2. Maintenance Demonstration
The key element of a Section 110(a)(1) ozone maintenance plan is a
demonstration of how an area will remain in compliance with the 8-hour
ozone standard for the 10-year period following the effective date of
designation as unclassifiable/attainment. The end projection year is 10
years from the effective date of the 8-hour attainment designation,
which for the Central Puget Sound area was June 15, 2004 (69 FR 23858).
Therefore, this plan must demonstrate attainment through year 2014.
Ecology has projected emissions for the year 2015, which is more than
10 years from the effective date of initial designations. With regard
to demonstrating continued maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard,
Ecology projected that the total emissions of ozone precursors in the
Central Puget Sound area will significantly decrease from 2002 (the
base year) through 2015. In 2002, the total anthropogenic emissions of
VOCs in the Central Puget Sound area were 474 tons/day, and 446 tons/
day for NOX. The 2015 anthropogenic emissions from the
Central Puget Sound area are projected to be 346 tons/day for VOCs, and
411 tons/day for NOX. Thus, the total emissions of VOCs in
2015 are projected to be about 27% lower than the 2002 level, and total
NOX emissions in 2015 are projected to be about 8% lower
than the 2002 level.
The formation of ozone is dependent on a number of variables which
cannot be estimated only through emissions growth and reduction
calculations. These variables include weather and the transport of
ozone precursors from outside the maintenance area. In order to
demonstrate continued maintenance of the standards, a state may utilize
more sophisticated tools such as air quality dispersion modeling to
support their analysis. In the SIP submittal, Ecology used air quality
dispersion modeling to assess the comprehensive impacts of growth
through 2015 on ozone levels in the area. The results of this modeling
demonstrate that the highest predicted design value (the 3-year average
of the fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone value) for the
Central Puget Sound area in 2015 would be 0.068 ppm, which is below
both the 1997 and the 2008 ozone NAAQS, and would therefore be in
compliance with both ozone NAAQS.
Based on the estimated emissions of VOCs and NOX
submitted with this maintenance plan, the EPA concludes that this
maintenance plan would not cause an increase of direct emissions or
precursor emissions that would interfere with the maintenance of any
criteria pollutant NAAQS in the Central Puget Sound area. Therefore,
the EPA concludes that the maintenance demonstration submitted by the
State meets the requirement of a section 110(a)(1) ozone maintenance
plan.
3. Ambient Air Quality Monitoring
With regard to the ambient air monitoring component of the
maintenance plan, Ecology commits to continue operating the current
Puget Sound ozone monitoring network in accordance with all of the
applicable requirements of 40 CFR part 58 throughout the maintenance
period to verify maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard. Ecology will
also submit quality-assured ozone data to the EPA's Air Quality System
within 90 days of the end of each quarter. The State of Washington's
ambient air monitoring network meets all applicable EPA air monitoring
regulations, and was most recently approved by the EPA on March 10,
2014. The EPA therefore finds that the State's ambient air monitoring
network satisfies the requirements of CAA section 110(a).
4. Contingency Plan
Section 110(a)(1) of the CAA requires the State to develop a
contingency plan that will ensure that any violation of a NAAQS is
promptly corrected. The purpose of the contingency plan is to provide a
range of response actions that may be selected for implementation in
the event of any violation of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
There are two regulations adopted by the Puget Sound Clean Air
Agency, the local air agency with jurisdiction in the Central Puget
Sound area, on December 19, 2002, that are identified as contingency
measures in this maintenance plan. These regulations were included as
contingency measures in the ozone second 10-year maintenance plan for
the Central Puget Sound area that was approved by the EPA on August 5,
2004 (69 FR 47364 and 69 FR 47365). These contingency measures are: (1)
Regulation I, Section 8.06, Outdoor Burning Ozone Contingency Measure,
and (2) Regulation II, Section 2.10, Gasoline Station Ozone Contingency
Measure. Both the outdoor burning and the gasoline station contingency
regulations would be triggered by a written finding from the EPA of a
quality-assured violation of the ozone NAAQS and a determination that
future violations can reasonably be addressed through implementing
these regulations. The
[[Page 25013]]
EPA finds that these contingency measures satisfy the requirements of
CAA section 110(a).
5. Verification of Continued Attainment
Since 1991, there have been no violations of either the 1997 or
2008 8-hour ozone standards at any ozone monitoring site in the Central
Puget Sound ozone area. Ecology will continue to monitor ambient air
quality ozone levels in the Central Puget Sound area and verify
attainment of the ozone NAAQS as described in the maintenance plan. The
State commits to preparing summer day emission inventories for the
interim years of 2008, 2011 and 2014, and will compare these emission
inventory results with the modeling emission inventories to ensure
continued compliance with the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The EPA finds that
these methods to verify continued attainment of the ozone NAAQS satisfy
the requirements of CAA section 110(a).
The EPA finds that the maintenance plan for the Central Puget Sound
ozone area adequately addresses all five components outlined in the
EPA's guidance of May 20, 2005, for developing maintenance plans under
110(a)(1) of the CAA.
III. Final Action
The EPA is approving a maintenance plan to maintain the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS in the Central Puget Sound ozone area that was submitted by
the State of Washington as a revision to its SIP on January 10, 2008.
The maintenance plan for this area meets all CAA 110(a)(1) requirements
and demonstrates that the Central Puget Sound ozone area will remain in
attainment with the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS through 2015. This
decision was reached after offering consultation to the Tulalip Tribes,
the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the
Stillaguamish Tribe, and the Nisqually Indian Tribe. The EPA did not
receive any requests for consultation from these tribes.
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, the 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 the 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 it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law. The SIP is not approved to apply in
Indian country located in the State, except for non-trust land within
the exterior boundaries of the Puyallup Indian Reservation, also known
as the 1873 Survey Area. Under the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement
Act of 1989, 25 U.S.C. 1773, Congress explicitly provided state and
local agencies in Washington authority over activities on non-trust
lands within the 1873 Survey Area and the EPA is therefore approving
this SIP on such lands. Consistent with EPA policy, the EPA provided a
consultation opportunity to the Tulalip Tribes, the Puyallup Tribe of
Indians, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the Stillaguamish Tribe, and the
Nisqually Indian Tribe in letters dated December 24, 2013. The EPA did
not receive a request for consultation from these tribes.
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. The 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 July 1, 2014. 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 the 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 CAA section 307(b)(2).).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: April 10, 2014.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
[[Page 25014]]
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
Subpart WW--Washington
0
2. Section 52.2470 is amended in table 2 of paragraph (e) by adding an
entry ``8-Hour Ozone 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan'' at the end of the
section with the heading ``Attainment and Maintenance Planning--
Ozone.'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2470 Identification of plan.
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(e) * * *
Table 2--Attainment, Maintenance, and Other Plans
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Applicable State
Name of SIP provision geographic or submittal EPA approval date Comments
nonattainment area date
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Attainment and Maintenance Planning--Ozone
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8-Hour Ozone 110(a)(1) Seattle-Tacoma..... 2/5/08 5/2/14 [Insert page
Maintenance Plan. number where the
document begins].
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[FR Doc. 2014-09878 Filed 5-1-14; 8:45 am]
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