[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 15, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61822-61843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24489]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0781; FRL-9917-86-Region 9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Designation of
Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of California;
PM2.5; Redesignation of Yuba City-Marysville to Attainment;
Approval of PM2.5 Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan
for Yuba City-Marysville
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve, as a revision of the California state implementation plan
(SIP), the State's request to redesignate the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area to attainment for the 2006 24-hour fine particulate
matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard. EPA is
also proposing to approve the PM2.5 maintenance plan and the
associated motor vehicle emissions budgets for use in transportation
conformity determinations necessary for the Yuba City-Marysville area.
Finally, EPA is proposing to approve the attainment year emissions
inventory. EPA is proposing this action because the SIP revision meets
the requirements of the Clean Air Act and EPA guidance for such plans
and motor vehicle emissions budgets.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 14, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R09-OAR-2012-0781, by one of the following methods:
1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. Email: [email protected].
3. Mail or deliver: John Ungvarsky (AIR-2), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA
94105-3901. Deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's
normal hours of operation.
Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Information that you consider CBI or otherwise protected should be
clearly identified as such and should not be submitted through http://www.regulations.gov or email. http://www.regulations.gov is an
anonymous access system, and EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send email directly to EPA, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the public comment. 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.
Docket: The index to the docket and documents in the docket for
this action are generally available electronically at
www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, California. While all documents in the docket
are listed at www.regulations.gov, some information may be publicly
available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material,
large maps), and some may not be publicly available in either location
(e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Ungvarsky, Air Planning Office
(AIR-2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, (415) 972-
3963, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' refer to EPA. This supplementary information section is
arranged as follows:
Table of Contents
I. Summary of Today's Proposed Action
II. What is the background for this action?
A. The PM2.5 NAAQS
B. Designation of PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas
C. PM2.5 Planning Requirements
III. Effect of the January 4, 2013, D.C. Circuit Decision Regarding
PM2.5 Implementation Under Subpart 4 of Part D of Title I
of the Clean Air Act
A. Background
B. Proposal on This Issue
IV. Procedural Requirements for Adoption and Submittal of SIP
Revisions
V. Substantive Requirements for Redesignation
VI. Evaluation of the State's Redesignation Request for the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 Nonattainment Area
A. Determination That the Area Has Attained the PM2.5
NAAQS
B. The Area Must Have a Fully-Approved SIP Meeting Requirements
Applicable for Purposes of Redesignation Under Clean Air Act Section
110 and Part D
C. EPA Has Determined That the Improvement in Air Quality Is Due
to Permanent and Enforceable Reductions in Emissions
D. The Area Must Have a Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under
Clean Air Act Section 175A
VII. Proposed Action and Request for Public Comment
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Summary of Today's Proposed Action
Under Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'') section 107(d)(3)(D), EPA
is proposing to approve the State's request to redesignate the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area to attainment for
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS or ``standard''). We are doing so based on our conclusion that
the area has met the five criteria for redesignation under CAA section
107(d)(3)(E): (1) That the area has attained the 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS in the 2009-2011 time period and that the area
continues to attain the PM2.5 standard since that time; (2)
that relevant portions of the California SIP are fully approved; (3)
that the improvement in air quality is due to permanent and enforceable
reductions in emissions; (4) that California has met all requirements
applicable to the Yuba
[[Page 61823]]
City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area with respect to
section 110 and part D of the CAA; and (5) that the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan
(``Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan'' or ``Plan'') \1\ meets
the requirements of section 175A of the CAA.
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\1\ See letter from Richard W. Corey, Executive Officer,
California Air Resources Board, to Jared Blumenfeld, Regional
Administrator, EPA Region 9, dated May 23, 2013, with attachments.
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In addition, under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA, EPA is proposing
to approve the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan including the
motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) as a revision to the California
SIP because we find the MVEBs meet the applicable transportation
conformity requirements under 40 CFR 93.118(e). EPA finds that the
maintenance demonstration shows how the area will continue to attain
the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS for at least 10 years beyond
redesignation (i.e., through 2023) and that the contingency provisions
describing the actions that the Feather River Air Quality Management
District (FRAQMD) will take in the event of a future monitored
violation meet all applicable requirements for maintenance plans and
related contingency provisions in section 175A of the CAA. Finally, EPA
is proposing to approve the attainment year emissions inventory under
section 172(c)(3) of the CAA.
EPA is proposing these actions because the SIP revision meets the
requirements of the CAA and EPA guidance for such plans and budgets.
II. What is the background for this action?
A. The PM2.5 NAAQS
Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA has established national ambient
air quality standards for certain pervasive air pollutants (referred to
as ``criteria pollutants'') and conducts periodic reviews of the NAAQS
to determine whether they should be revised or whether new NAAQS should
be established. EPA sets the NAAQS for certain ambient air pollutants
at levels required to protect public health and welfare.
PM2.5 is one of these ambient air pollutants for which EPA
has established health-based standards.
On July 18, 1997, EPA revised the NAAQS for particulate matter to
add new standards for PM2.5, using PM2.5 as the
indicator for the pollutant. EPA established primary and secondary \2\
annual and 24-hour standards for PM2.5 (62 FR 38652). The
annual standard was set at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/
m\3\), based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5
concentrations, and the 24-hour standard was set at 65 [mu]g/m\3\,
based on the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour
PM2.5 concentrations at each population-oriented monitor
within an area.
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\2\ For a given air pollutant, ``primary'' national ambient air
quality standards are those determined by EPA as requisite to
protect the public health, and ``secondary'' standards are those
determined by EPA as requisite to protect the public welfare from
any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the
presence of such air pollutant in the ambient air. See CAA section
109(b).
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On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA revised the level of the 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS to 35 [mu]g/m\3\, based on a 3-year average
of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations. EPA also retained the
1997 annual PM2.5 standard at 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-
year average of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations, but with
tighter constraints on the spatial averaging criteria.
B. Designation of PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas
Effective December 14, 2009, EPA established the initial air
quality designations for most areas in the United States for the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. See 74 FR 58688, (November 13, 2009).
Among the various areas designated in 2009, EPA designated the Yuba
City-Marysville area in California as nonattainment for the 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS.\3\ The boundaries for this area are
described in 40 CFR 81.305.\4\
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\3\ With respect to the annual PM2.5 NAAQS, this area
is designated as ``unclassifiable/attainment.''
\4\ The Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area
includes Sutter County and the southwestern two-thirds of Yuba
County. This nonattainment area lies within the Sacramento Valley
Air Basin and lies between the Chico PM2.5 nonattainment
area to the north and the Sacramento PM2.5 nonattainment
area to the south.
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On January 10, 2013, at 78 FR 2211, EPA issued a determination that
the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area attained the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard based on complete, quality-assured, and
certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2009-2011 monitoring
period.
C. PM2.5 Planning Requirements
Beginning in the 1970's and continuing to the present, the Feather
River Air Quality Management District \5\ and the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) have adopted a number of rules to address
planning requirements under the CAA, as amended in 1977. CARB submitted
these rules and plans to EPA at various times, and EPA approved a
number of them into the California SIP. An example of a rule adopted by
FRAQMD and approved by EPA as a revision to the California SIP as part
of the PM2.5 control strategy in the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area is Rule 3.22--Internal Combustion
Engines. Examples of rules adopted by CARB and approved by EPA as
revisions to the California SIP that have reduced PM2.5 in
the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area include:
California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 13, Section 1956.8--Heavy
Duty Vehicle Exhaust Emission Standards; CCR, Section 2262--California
Reformulated Gasoline Phase 2 and Phase 3 Standards; and CCR, Sections
2420-2427--Heavy Duty Diesel Cycle Engines.
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\5\ In 1991, the Sutter County Air Pollution Control District
(APCD) and the Yuba County APCD combined to form the FRAQMD.
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Within three years of the effective date of designations, states
with areas designated as nonattainment for the 2006 PM2.5
NAAQS are required to submit SIP revisions that, among other elements,
provide for implementation of reasonably available control measures
(RACM), reasonable further progress (RFP), attainment of the standard
as expeditiously as practicable but no later than five years from the
nonattainment designation (in this instance, no later than December 14,
2014), as well as contingency measures. See CAA section 172(a)(2),
172(c)(1), 172(c)(2), and 172(c)(9). Prior to the due date for
submittal of these SIP revisions, the State of California requested
that EPA make determinations that the Yuba City-Marysville \6\
nonattainment area has attained the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS and
that attainment-related SIP submittal requirements are not applicable
for as long as the area continues to attain the standard. As described
above, on January 10, 2013, at 78 FR 2211, EPA issued a final
determination that the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area had
attained the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard. Pursuant to 40 CFR
51.1004(c) and based on this determination, the requirements for the
Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area to submit an attainment
demonstration and associated RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures,
and other planning SIPs related to the attainment of either the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS are suspended until such time as: The
area is redesignated to attainment for each standard, at which time the
requirements no longer apply; or EPA determines that the area has again
violated any of the standards, at which time such plans are required to
[[Page 61824]]
be submitted. However, a determination of attainment does not preclude
states from submitting and EPA from approving a SIP revision for the
2006 PM2.5 standard.
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\6\ On June 8, 2010, James Goldstene, Executive Officer of the
California Air Resources Board, submitted a request to Jared
Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region IX, to find the
Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area had
attained the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
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On May 23, 2013, CARB submitted the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan and requested that EPA redesignate the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area to attainment for the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. On February 20, 2014, CARB
submitted to EPA a technical supplement to the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan (``technical supplement'').\7\ We are proposing
action today on CARB's May 23, 2013 submittal, including the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Plan, as supplemented by CARB on February
20, 2014.
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\7\ On February 20, 2014, CARB submitted to EPA a technical
supplement to the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan
(``technical supplement''). The technical supplement included: a
Staff Report titled ``Minor Updates to Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request''
(``CARB 2014 Staff Report''); a letter from Christopher D. Brown,
Air Pollution Control Officer, FRAQMD to Deborah Jordan, Director,
Air Division, USEPA Region 9, and Richard Corey, Executive Officer,
CARB, clarify the contingency plan; a notice of February 20, 2014
public meeting to consider approval of minor updates to the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 Maintenance Plan and Redesignation
Request; transcripts from February 20, 2014 CARB Board meeting ; and
Board Resolution 14-6.
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In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA takes into account a 2013
decision by the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
Circuit (D.C. Circuit). On January 4, 2013, in Natural Resources
Defense Council (``NRDC'') v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit remanded to EPA the
``Clean Air Fine Particle Implementation Rule'' (72 FR 20586, April 25,
2007) and the ``Implementation of the New Source Review (NSR) Program
for Particulate Matter Less than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5)''
final rule (73 FR 28321, May 16, 2008) (collectively, the
``PM2.5 Implementation Rule''). 706 F.3d 428 (D.C. Cir.
2013).
III. Effect of the January 4, 2013, D.C. Circuit Decision Regarding
PM2.5 Implementation Under Subpart 4 of Part D of Title I of
the Clean Air Act
A. Background
As discussed above, on January 4, 2013, in NRDC v. EPA, the D.C.
Circuit remanded to EPA the PM2.5 Implementation Rule. The
Court found that EPA erred in implementing the 1997 PM2.5
NAAQS pursuant to the general implementation provisions of subpart 1 of
part D of title I of the CAA (subpart 1), rather than the particulate-
matter-specific provisions of subpart 4 of Part D of Title I (subpart
4).
Prior to the January 4, 2013 decision, the states had worked
towards meeting the air quality goals of the 1997 and 2006
PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with the EPA regulations and
guidance derived from subpart 1 of Part D of Title I of the CAA. In
rulemaking that responds to the Court's remand, EPA takes this history
into account by setting a new deadline for any remaining submissions
that may be required of moderate nonattainment areas as a result of the
Court's decision regarding subpart 4. See 78 FR 69806 (November 21,
2013). On June 2, 2014, EPA finalized the PM2.5 Subpart 4
Nonattainment Classification and Deadline Rule, which identifies the
classification under subpart 4 for areas currently designated
nonattainment for the 1997 and/or 2006 PM2.5 standards. See
79 FR 31566. EPA's final rulemaking also sets deadlines for states to
submit attainment-related and NSR SIP elements required for these areas
pursuant to subpart 4, and identifies the EPA guidance that is
currently available regarding subpart 4 requirements. See 78 FR 69806
(November 21, 2013). This final rule sets a deadline for States to
submit attainment plans and meet other subpart 4 requirements. The
final rule specifies December 31, 2014 as the deadline for the states
to submit any additional attainment-related SIP elements that may be
needed to meet the applicable requirements of subpart 4 for areas
currently designated nonattainment for the 1997 and/or 2006
PM2.5 NAAQS and to submit SIPs addressing the nonattainment
NSR requirements in subpart 4. Therefore, for California, any
additional attainment-related SIP elements that may be needed for the
Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area to meet the requirements of
subpart 4 were not due at the time that California submitted the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan.
B. Proposal on This Issue
In this portion of the proposed redesignation, EPA addresses the
effect of the Court's January 4, 2013 ruling and the PM2.5
Subpart 4 Nonattainment Classification and Deadline Rule (79 FR 31566,
June 2, 2014) on the proposed redesignation. As explained below, EPA is
proposing to determine that the Court's January 4, 2013, decision does
not prevent EPA from redesignating the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area to attainment for the 2006 24-hour PM 2.5
NAAQS. Even in light of the Court's decision, redesignation for this
area is appropriate under the CAA and EPA's longstanding
interpretations of the CAA's provisions regarding redesignation. EPA
first explains its longstanding interpretation that requirements that
are imposed, or that become due, after a complete redesignation request
is submitted for an area that is attaining the standard, are not
applicable for purposes of evaluating a redesignation request. Second,
EPA then shows that, even if EPA applies the subpart 4 requirements to
the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan and disregards the
provisions of its PM2.5 Implementation Rule recently
remanded by the Court, the state's request for redesignation of this
area still qualifies for approval. EPA's discussion takes into account
the effect of the Court's ruling and the PM2.5 Subpart 4
Nonattainment Classification and Deadline Rule (79 FR 31566, June 2,
2014) on the area's maintenance plan, which EPA views as approvable
when subpart 4 requirements are considered.
1. Applicable Requirements for Purposes of Evaluating the Redesignation
Request
With respect to the PM2.5 Implementation Rule, the
Court's January 4, 2013 ruling rejected EPA's reasons for implementing
the PM2.5 NAAQS solely in accordance with the provisions of
subpart 1, and remanded that matter to EPA, so that it could address
implementation of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS under subpart 4 of
Part D of the CAA, in addition to subpart 1. For the purposes of
evaluating California's redesignation request for the Yuba City-
Marysville nonattainment area, to the extent that implementation under
subpart 4 would impose additional requirements for areas designated
nonattainment, EPA believes that those requirements are not
``applicable'' for the purposes of CAA section 107(d)(3)(E), and thus
EPA is not required to consider subpart 4 requirements with respect to
the Yuba City-Marysville redesignation. Under its longstanding
interpretation of the CAA, EPA has interpreted section 107(d)(3)(E) to
mean, as a threshold matter, that the part D provisions which are
``applicable'' and which must be approved in order for EPA to
redesignate an area include only those which came due prior to a
state's submittal of a complete redesignation request. See ``Procedures
for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,''
Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management
Division, September 4, 1992 (Calcagni memorandum). See also ``State
Implementation Plan (SIP) Requirements for Areas Submitting Requests
for Redesignation to Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO)
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or after November 15,
1992,'' Memorandum
[[Page 61825]]
from Michael Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator, Air and
Radiation, September 17, 1993 (Shapiro memorandum); Final Redesignation
of Detroit-Ann Arbor, (60 FR 12459, 12465-66, March 7, 1995); Final
Redesignation of St. Louis, Missouri, (68 FR 25418, 25424-27, May 12,
2003); Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537, 541 (7th Cir. 2004) (upholding
EPA's redesignation rulemaking applying this interpretation and
expressly rejecting Sierra Club's view that the meaning of
``applicable'' under the statute is ``whatever should have been in the
plan at the time of attainment rather than whatever actually was in the
plan and already implemented or due at the time of attainment'').\8\ In
this case, at the time that California submitted its redesignation
request, requirements under subpart 4 were not due.
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\8\ Applicable requirements of the CAA that come due subsequent
to the area's submittal of a complete redesignation request remain
applicable until a redesignation is approved, but are not required
as a prerequisite to redesignation. CAA section 175A(c).
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EPA's view that, for purposes of evaluating the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Plan, the subpart 4 requirements were not
due at the time the State submitted the redesignation request is in
keeping with the EPA's interpretation of subpart 2 requirements for
subpart 1 ozone areas redesignated subsequent to the D.C. Circuit's
decision in South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882
(D.C. Cir. 2006). In South Coast, the Court found that EPA was not
permitted to implement the 1997 8-hour ozone standard solely under
subpart 1, and held that EPA was required under the statute to
implement the standard under the ozone-specific requirements of subpart
2 as well. Subsequent to the South Coast decision, in evaluating and
acting upon redesignation requests for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard
that were submitted to EPA for areas under subpart 1, EPA applied its
longstanding interpretation of the CAA that ``applicable
requirements'', for purposes of evaluating a redesignation, are those
that had been due at the time the redesignation request was submitted.
See, e.g., Proposed Redesignation of Manitowoc County and Door County
Nonattainment Areas (75 FR 22047, 22050, April 27, 2010). In those
actions, EPA therefore did not consider subpart 2 requirements to be
``applicable'' for the purposes of evaluating whether the area should
be redesignated under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA.
EPA's interpretation derives from the provisions of section
107(d)(3) of the CAA. Section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) states that, for an area
to be redesignated, a state must meet ``all requirements `applicable'
to the area under section 110 and part D.'' Section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii)
provides that the EPA must have fully approved the ``applicable'' SIP
for the area seeking redesignation. These two sections read together
support EPA's interpretation of ``applicable'' as only those
requirements that came due prior to submission of a complete
redesignation request. First, holding states to an ongoing obligation
to adopt new CAA requirements that arose after the state submitted its
redesignation request, in order to be redesignated, would make it
problematic or impossible for EPA to act on redesignation requests in
accordance with the 18-month deadline Congress set for EPA action in
section 107(d)(3)(D). If ``applicable requirements'' were interpreted
to be a continuing flow of requirements with no reasonable limitation,
states, after submitting a redesignation request, would be forced
continuously to make additional SIP submissions that in turn would
require EPA to undertake further notice-and-comment rulemaking actions
to act on those submissions. This would create a regime of unceasing
rulemaking that would delay action on the redesignation request beyond
the 18-month timeframe provided by the Act for this purpose.
Second, a fundamental premise for redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment is that the area has attained the relevant NAAQS due
to emission reductions from existing controls. Thus, an area for which
a redesignation request has been submitted would have already attained
the NAAQS as a result of satisfying statutory requirements that came
due prior to the submission of the request. Absent a showing that
unadopted and unimplemented requirements are necessary for future
maintenance, it is reasonable to view the requirements applicable for
purposes of evaluating the redesignation request as including only
those SIP requirements that have already come due. These are the
requirements that led to attainment of the NAAQS. To require, for
redesignation approval, that a state also satisfy additional SIP
requirements coming due after the state submits its complete
redesignation request, and while EPA is reviewing it, would compel the
state to do more than is necessary to attain the NAAQS, without a
showing that the additional requirements are necessary for maintenance.
In the context of this redesignation, the timing and nature of the
Court's January 4, 2013 decision in NRDC v. EPA and EPA's
PM2.5 Subpart 4 Nonattainment Classification and Deadline
Rule (79 FR 31566, June 2, 2014) compound the consequences of imposing
requirements that come due after the redesignation request is
submitted. The State submitted its redesignation request on May 23,
2013, which is prior to the deadline by which the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area is required to meet the attainment plan and other
requirements pursuant to subpart 4.
To evaluate the State's fully-completed and pending redesignation
request to comply now with requirements of subpart 4 that the Court
announced only in January 2013, would be to give retroactive effect to
such requirements and contravene EPA's longstanding interpretation of
applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation. The D.C. Circuit
recognized the inequity of this type of retroactive impact in Sierra
Club v. Whitman, 285 F.3d 63 (D.C. Cir. 2002),\9\ where it upheld the
District Court's ruling refusing to make retroactive EPA's
determination that the St. Louis area did not meet its attainment
deadline. In that case, petitioners urged the Court to make EPA's
nonattainment determination effective as of the date that the statute
required, rather than the later date on which EPA actually made the
determination. The Court rejected this view, stating that applying it
``would likely impose large costs on States, which would face fines and
suits for not implementing air pollution prevention plans . . . even
though they were not on notice at the time.'' Id. at 68. Similarly, it
would be unreasonable to penalize the State of California by rejecting
its redesignation request for an area that is already attaining the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard and that met all applicable
requirements known to be in effect at the time of the request. For EPA
now to reject the redesignation request solely because the State did
not expressly address subpart 4 requirements which have not yet come
due and for which it had little to no notice, would inflict the same
unfairness condemned by the Court in Sierra Club v. Whitman.
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\9\ Sierra Club v. Whitman was discussed and distinguished in a
recent D.C. Circuit decision that addressed retroactivity in a quite
different context, where, unlike the situation here, EPA sought to
give its regulations retroactive effect. National Petrochemical and
Refiners Ass'n v. EPA. 630 F.3d 145, 163 (D.C. Cir. 2010), rehearing
denied 643 F.3d 958 (D.C. Cir. 2011), cert denied 132 S. Ct. 571
(2011).
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[[Page 61826]]
2. Subpart 4 Requirements and California's Redesignation Request
Even if EPA were to take the view that the Court's January 4, 2013,
decision requires that, in the context of a pending redesignation for
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard, subpart 4 requirements were
due and in effect at the time the State submitted its redesignation
request, EPA proposes to determine that the Yuba City-Marysville area
still qualifies for redesignation to attainment of the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard. As explained below, EPA believes that the
redesignation request for the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area,
though not expressed in terms of subpart 4 requirements, substantively
meets the requirements of that subpart for purposes of redesignating
the area to attainment for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
With respect to evaluating the relevant substantive requirements of
subpart 4 for purposes of redesignating the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area, EPA notes that subpart 4 incorporates components of
subpart 1 of part D, which contains general air quality planning
requirements for areas designated as nonattainment. See section 172(c).
Subpart 4 itself contains specific planning and scheduling requirements
for PM10 \10\ nonattainment areas, and under the Court's
January 4, 2013, decision in NRDC v. EPA, these same statutory
requirements also apply for PM2.5 nonattainment areas. EPA
has longstanding general guidance that interprets the 1990 amendments
to the CAA, making recommendations to states for meeting the statutory
requirements for SIPs for nonattainment areas. See, ``State
Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the Implementation of Title
I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 57 FR 13498 (April 16,
1992) (the ``General Preamble''). In the General Preamble, EPA
discussed the relationship of subpart 1 and subpart 4 SIP requirements,
and pointed out that subpart 1 requirements were to an extent
``subsumed by, or integrally related to, the more specific
PM10 requirements.'' 57 FR 13538 (April 16, 1992). The
subpart 1 requirements include, among other things, provisions for
attainment demonstrations, RACM, RFP, emissions inventories, and
contingency measures.
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\10\ PM10 refers to particulates nominally 10
micrometers in diameter or smaller.
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For the purposes of this redesignation, in order to identify any
additional requirements which would apply under subpart 4, consistent
with EPA's PM2.5 Subpart 4 Nonattainment Classification and
Deadline Rule (79 FR 31566, June 2, 2014), we are considering the Yuba
City-Marysville nonattainment area to be a ``moderate''
PM2.5 nonattainment area. As EPA explained in its June 2,
2014 rule, section 188 of the CAA provides that all designated
nonattainment areas under subpart 4 are initially be classified by
operation of law as ``moderate'' nonattainment areas, and remain
moderate nonattainment areas unless and until EPA reclassifies the area
as a ``serious'' nonattainment area. Accordingly, EPA believes that it
is appropriate to limit the evaluation of the potential impact of
subpart 4 requirements to those that would be applicable to moderate
nonattainment areas. Sections 189(a) and (c) of subpart 4 apply to
moderate nonattainment areas and include the following: (1) An approved
permit program for construction of new and modified major stationary
sources (section 189(a)(1)(A)); (2) an attainment demonstration
(section 189(a)(1)(B)); (3) provisions for RACM (section 189(a)(1)(C));
and (4) quantitative milestones demonstrating RFP toward attainment by
the applicable attainment date (section 189(c)).
The permit requirements of subpart 4, as contained in section
189(a)(1)(A), refer to and apply the subpart 1 permit provisions
requirements of sections 172 and 173 to PM10, without adding
to them. Consequently, EPA believes that section 189(a)(1)(A) does not
itself impose for redesignation purposes any additional requirements
for moderate areas beyond those contained in subpart 1.\11\ In any
event, in the context of redesignation, EPA has long relied on the
interpretation that a fully approved nonattainment NSR program is not
considered an applicable requirement for redesignation, provided the
area can maintain the standard with a prevention of significant
deterioration (PSD) program after redesignation. A detailed rationale
for this view is described in a memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994, entitled,
``Part D New Source Review Requirements for Areas Requesting
Redesignation to Attainment'' (``Nichols memorandum''). See also
rulemakings for Detroit, Michigan (60 FR 12467-12468, March 7, 1995);
Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio (61 FR 20458, 20469-20470, May 7, 1996);
Louisville, Kentucky (66 FR 53665, October 23, 2001); and Grand Rapids,
Michigan (61 FR 31834-31837, June 21, 1996).
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\11\ The potential effect of section 189(e) on section
189(a)(1)(A) for purposes of evaluating this redesignation is
discussed below.
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With respect to the specific attainment planning requirements under
subpart 4,\12\ when EPA evaluates a redesignation request under either
subpart 1 and/or 4, any area that is attaining the PM2.5
standard is viewed as having satisfied the attainment planning
requirements for these subparts. For redesignations, EPA has for many
years interpreted attainment-linked requirements as not applicable for
areas attaining the standard. In the General Preamble, EPA stated that:
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\12\ I.e., attainment demonstration, RFP, RACM, milestone
requirements, contingency measures.
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``The requirements for RFP will not apply in evaluating a request
for redesignation to attainment since, at a minimum, the air quality
data for the area must show that the area has already attained. Showing
that the State will make RFP towards attainment will, therefore, have
no meaning at that point.'' 57 FR 13564.
The General Preamble also explained that ``[t]he section 172(c)(9)
requirements are directed at ensuring RFP and attainment by the
applicable date. These requirements no longer apply when an area has
attained the standard and is eligible for redesignation. Furthermore,
section 175A for maintenance plans . . . provides specific requirements
for contingency measures that effectively supersede the requirements of
section 172(c)(9) for these areas.'' Id.
EPA similarly stated in its 1992 Calcagni memorandum that, ``The
requirements for reasonable further progress and other measures needed
for attainment will not apply for redesignations because they only have
meaning for areas not attaining the standard.''
It is evident that even if we were to consider the Court's January
4, 2013, decision in NRDC v. EPA to mean that attainment-related
requirements specific to subpart 4 should be imposed retroactively \13\
and, or prior to December 31, 2014 and, thus, were due prior to the
State's redesignation request, those requirements do not apply to an
area that is attaining the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 standards,
for the purpose of evaluating a pending request to redesignate the area
to attainment. EPA has consistently enunciated this interpretation of
applicable requirements under section 107(d)(3)(E) since the General
Preamble was published more than twenty years ago. Courts have
recognized the scope of
[[Page 61827]]
EPA's authority to interpret ``applicable requirements'' in the
redesignation context. See Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir.
2004).
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\13\ As EPA has explained previously, we do not believe that the
Court's January 4, 2013 decision should be interpreted so as to
impose these requirements on the states retroactively. Sierra Club
v. Whitman, supra.
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Moreover, even outside the context of redesignations, EPA has
viewed the obligations to submit attainment-related SIP planning
requirements of subpart 4 as inapplicable for areas that EPA determines
are attaining the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard. EPA's prior
``Clean Data Policy'' rulemakings for the PM10 NAAQS, also
governed by the requirements of subpart 4, explain EPA's reasoning.
They describe the effects of a determination of attainment on the
attainment-related SIP planning requirements of subpart 4. See
``Determination of Attainment for Coso Junction Nonattainment Area,''
(75 FR 27944, May 19, 2010). See also Coso Junction proposed
PM10 redesignation, (75 FR 36023, 36027, June 24, 2010);
Proposed and Final Determinations of Attainment for San Joaquin
Nonattainment Area (71 FR 40952, 40954-55, July 19, 2006; and 71 FR
63641, 63643-47 October 30, 2006). In short, EPA in this context has
also long concluded that to require states to meet superfluous SIP
planning requirements is not necessary and not required by the CAA, so
long as those areas continue to attain the relevant NAAQS.
On January 10, 2013, at 78 FR 2211, EPA issued a final
determination that the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area attained
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard based on complete, quality-
assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2009-2011
monitoring period. Elsewhere in this notice, EPA proposes to determine
that the area continues to attain the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
standard. Under its longstanding interpretation, EPA is proposing to
determine here that the area meets the attainment-related plan
requirements of subparts 1 and 4. Thus, EPA is proposing to conclude
that the requirements to submit an attainment demonstration under
189(a)(1)(B), a RACM determination under section 172(c)(1) and section
189(a)(1)(c), a RFP demonstration under 189(c)(1), and contingency
measure requirements under section 172(c)(9) are satisfied for purposes
of evaluating the redesignation requests.
3. Subpart 4 and Control of PM2.5 Precursors
The D.C. Circuit in NRDC v. EPA remanded to EPA the two rules at
issue in the case with instructions to EPA to re-promulgate them
consistent with the requirements of subpart 4. EPA in this section
addresses the Court's opinion with respect to PM2.5
precursors. While past implementation of subpart 4 for PM10
has allowed for control of PM10 precursors such as oxides of
nitrogen (NOX) from major stationary, mobile, and area
sources in order to attain the standard as expeditiously as
practicable, CAA section 189(e) specifically provides that control
requirements for major stationary sources of direct PM10
shall also apply to PM10 precursors from those sources,
except where EPA determines that major stationary sources of such
precursors ``do not contribute significantly to PM10 levels
which exceed the standard in the area.''
EPA's 1997 PM2.5 Implementation Rule, remanded by the
D.C. Circuit, contained rebuttable presumptions concerning certain
PM2.5 precursors (e.g., volatile organic compounds (VOCs))
applicable to attainment plans and control measures related to those
plans. Specifically, in 40 CFR 51.1002, EPA provided, among other
things, that a state was ``not required to address VOC [and ammonia] as
. . . PM2.5 attainment plan precursor[s] and to evaluate
sources of VOC [and ammonia] emissions in the State for control
measures.'' EPA intended these to be rebuttable presumptions. EPA
established these presumptions at the time because of uncertainties
regarding the emission inventories for these pollutants and the
effectiveness of specific control measures in various regions of the
country in reducing PM2.5 concentrations. EPA also left open
the possibility for such regulation of VOC and ammonia in specific
areas where that was necessary.
The Court in its January 4, 2013, decision made reference to both
section 189(e) and 40 CFR 51.1002, and stated that, ``In light of our
disposition, we need not address the petitioners' challenge to the
presumptions in [40 CFR 51.1002] that volatile organic compounds and
ammonia are not PM2.5 precursors, as subpart 4 expressly
governs precursor presumptions.'' NRDC v. EPA, at 27, n.10.
Elsewhere in the Court's opinion, however, the Court observed,
``Ammonia is a precursor to fine particulate matter, making it a
precursor to both PM2.5 and PM10. For a
PM10 nonattainment area governed by subpart 4, a precursor
is presumptively regulated. See 42 U.S.C. 7513a(e) [section 189(e)].''
Id. at 21, n.7.
For a number of reasons, EPA believes that its proposed
redesignation of the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area is
consistent with the Court's decision on this aspect of subpart 4.
First, while the Court, citing section 189(e), stated that ``for a
PM10 area governed by subpart 4, a precursor is
`presumptively regulated,''' the Court expressly declined to decide the
specific challenge to EPA's PM2.5 Implementation Rule
provisions regarding ammonia and VOC as precursors. The Court had no
occasion to reach whether and how it was substantively necessary to
regulate any specific precursor in a particular PM2.5
nonattainment area, and did not address what might be necessary for
purposes of acting upon a redesignation request.
However, even if EPA takes the view that the requirements of
subpart 4 were deemed applicable at the time the state submitted the
redesignation request, and disregards the implementation rule's
rebuttable presumptions regarding ammonia and VOC as PM2.5
precursors (and any similar provisions reflected in the guidance for
the 2006 PM2.5 standard), the regulatory consequence would
be to consider the need for regulation of all precursors from any
sources in the area to demonstrate attainment and to apply the section
189(e) provisions to major stationary sources of precursors. In the
case of the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area, EPA believes that
doing so is consistent with proposing redesignation of the area for the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard. The Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area has attained the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
standard without any specific additional controls of VOC and ammonia
emissions from any major sources in the area.\14\
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\14\ The southern portion of Sutter County is also within the
Sacramento Metro ozone nonattainment area (SMA), which is classified
as Severe-15 for the 1997 and 2008 8-hour ozone standards. In 40 CFR
81.305, the portion of Sutter County within the SMA boundaries
includes the portion south of a line connecting the northern border
of Yolo County to the SW tip of Yuba County and continuing along the
southern Yuba County border to Placer County. Sources within the SMA
are subject to CAA requirements for NOX and VOC that may
be in addition to any requirements relating to the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard.
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Precursors in subpart 4 are specifically regulated under the
provisions of section 189(e), which requires, with important
exceptions, control requirements for major stationary sources of
PM10 precursors.\15\ Under subpart 1 and EPA's prior
implementation rule, all major stationary sources of PM2.5
precursors were subject to regulation, with the exception of ammonia
and VOC. Thus we must address here whether additional controls of
ammonia and VOC from major stationary sources are
[[Page 61828]]
required under section 189(e) of subpart 4 in order to redesignate the
area for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard. As explained
below, we do not believe that any additional controls of ammonia and
VOC are required in the context of this redesignation.
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\15\ Under either subpart 1 or subpart 4, for purposes of
demonstrating attainment as expeditiously as practicable, a state is
required to evaluate all economically and technologically feasible
control measures for direct PM emissions that are deemed reasonably
available.
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In the General Preamble, EPA discusses its approach to implementing
section 189(e). See 57 FR 13538-13542. With regard to precursor
regulation under section 189(e), the General Preamble explicitly stated
that control of VOC under other CAA requirements may suffice to relieve
a state from the need to adopt precursor controls under section 189(e).
See 57 FR 13542. In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA proposes to
determine that the SIP has met the provisions of section 189(e) with
respect to ammonia and VOC as precursors. This proposed determination
is based on our findings that (1) the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area contains no major stationary sources of ammonia, and
(2) existing major stationary sources of VOC are adequately controlled
under other provisions of the CAA regulating the ozone NAAQS.\16\ In
the alternative, EPA proposes to determine that, under the express
exception provisions of section 189(e), and in the context of the
redesignation of the area, which is attaining the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard, at present ammonia and VOC precursors from
major stationary sources do not contribute significantly to levels
exceeding the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard in the Yuba City-
Marysville nonattainment area.\17\ See 57 FR 13539-42.
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\16\ The Yuba City-Marysville area has reduced VOC emissions
through the implementation of various control programs including VOC
Reasonably Available Control Technology regulations and various on-
road and non-road motor vehicle control programs.
\17\ In the Plan, FRAQMD and CARB indicate that based on
analyses of inventories and the area attaining without the need for
additional measures to control of ammonia and VOCs, emissions of
ammonia and VOCs from sources in the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area are an insignificant contributor to secondary
particulate formation in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
nonattainment area. See pages VI-1 in the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan.
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EPA notes that its PM2.5 Implementation Rule provisions
in 40 CFR 51.1002 were not directed at evaluation of PM2.5
precursors in the context of redesignation, but at SIP plans and
control measures required to bring a nonattainment area into attainment
of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. By contrast, redesignation to
attainment primarily requires the area to have already attained due to
permanent and enforceable emission reductions, and to demonstrate that
controls in place can continue to maintain the standard. Thus, even if
we regard the Court's January 4, 2013, decision as calling for
``presumptive regulation'' of ammonia and VOC for PM2.5
under the attainment planning provisions of subpart 4, those provisions
in and of themselves do not require additional controls of these
precursors for an area that already qualifies for redesignation. Nor
does EPA believe that requiring California to address precursors
differently than they have already would result in a substantively
different outcome.
Although, as EPA has emphasized, its consideration here of
precursor requirements under subpart 4 is in the context of a
redesignation to attainment, EPA's existing interpretation of subpart 4
requirements with respect to precursors in attainment plans for
PM10 contemplates that states may develop attainment plans
that regulate only those precursors that are necessary for purposes of
attainment in the area in question, i.e., states may determine that
only certain precursors need be regulated for attainment and control
purposes.\18\ Courts have upheld this approach to the requirements of
subpart 4 for PM10.\19\ EPA believes that application of
this approach to PM2.5 precursors under subpart 4 is
reasonable. Because the Yuba City-Marysville area has already attained
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS with its current approach to
regulation of PM2.5 precursors, EPA believes that it is
reasonable to conclude in the context of this redesignation that there
is no need to revisit the attainment control strategy with respect to
the treatment of precursors. Even if the Court's decision is construed
to impose an obligation, in evaluating these redesignation requests, to
consider additional precursors under subpart 4, it would not affect
EPA's approval here of California's requests for redesignation of the
Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area. In the context of a
redesignation, the area has shown that it has attained the standard.
Moreover, the state has shown and EPA has proposed to determine that
attainment in this area is due to permanent and enforceable emissions
reductions on all precursors necessary to provide for continued
attainment. It follows logically that no further control of additional
precursors is necessary. Accordingly, EPA does not view the January 4,
2013, decision of the Court as precluding redesignation of the Yuba
City-Marysville nonattainment area to attainment for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS at this time.
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\18\ See, e.g., ``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation
Plans for California--San Joaquin Valley PM-10 Nonattainment Area;
Serious Area Plan for Nonattainment of the 24-Hour and Annual PM-10
Standards,'' 69 FR 30006 (May 26, 2004) (approving a PM10
attainment plan that impose controls on direct PM10 and
NOX emissions and did not impose controls on
SOX, VOC, or ammonia emissions).
\19\ See, e.g., Assoc. of Irritated Residents v. EPA et al., 423
F.3d 989 (9th Cir. 2005).
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In sum, even if California were required to address precursors for
the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area under subpart 4 rather than
under subpart 1, as interpreted in EPA's remanded PM2.5
Implementation Rule, EPA would still conclude that the area had met all
applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation in accordance
with section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) and (v).
IV. Procedural Requirements for Adoption and Submittal of SIP Revisions
Sections 110(a)(1) and 110(l) of the Act require states to provide
reasonable notice and public hearing prior to adoption of SIP
revisions. In this action, we are proposing action on CARB's May 23,
2013 submittal of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan, dated
April 1, 2013, as a revision to the California SIP. The submittal
documents the public review process followed by FRAQMD and CARB in
adopting the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan prior to
submittal to EPA as a revision to the California SIP. The documentation
provides evidence that reasonable notice of a public hearing was
provided to the public and that a public hearing was conducted prior to
adoption.
CARB's submittal includes a letter dated April 2, 2013 from David
Valler, Air Pollution Control Officer to the Board of Directors for the
FRAQMD. In addition, Enclosure 1, Attachment 3 of CARB's submittal
includes a copy of the notice to the public published on March 2, 2013,
announcing a public hearing to be held on April 1, 2013. These
materials document the public review process followed by FRAQMD in
adopting the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan prior to
transmittal to CARB and provide evidence that reasonable notice of a
public hearing was provided to the public and that a public hearing was
conducted prior to adoption. Specifically, the notice for the Board
hearing was published in the Appeal-Democrat, a newspaper of general
circulation, on March 2, 2013. The Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan was also made available for viewing on the
District's Web site and at the District office on March 2, 2013.
Resolution 2013-01 in CARB's submittal documents the adoption of
the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan by the FRAQMD Board of
Directors. On April 1, 2013, the FRAQMD Board of
[[Page 61829]]
Directors approved the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan and
directed FRAQMD staff to forward the Plan to CARB, the Governor of
California's designee for SIP matters.
CARB's submittal includes CARB Board Resolution 14-13, which was
adopted on April 25, 2013 and directed the Executive Officer to forward
the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan to EPA for inclusion in
the SIP. On May 23, 2013, CARB submitted the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan to EPA. On February 20, 2014, CARB submitted to
EPA a technical supplement to the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Plan.\20\
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\20\ Ibid.
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Based on the documentation included in CARB's submittal, we find
that the submittal of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan as
a SIP revision satisfies the procedural requirements of sections 110(l)
of the Act for revising SIPs.
CAA section 110(k)(1)(B) requires EPA to determine whether a SIP
submittal is complete within 60 days of receipt. This section also
provides that any plan that we have not affirmatively determined to be
complete or incomplete will become complete six months after the day of
submittal by operation of law. A completeness review allows us to
determine if the submittal includes all the necessary items and
information we need to act on it.
We make completeness determinations using criteria we have
established in 40 CFR part 51, Appendix V. These criteria fall into two
categories: administrative information and technical support
information. The administrative information provides documentation that
the State has followed basic administrative procedures during the SIP-
adoption process and thus we have a legally-adopted SIP revision in
front of us. The technical support information provides us the
information we need to determine the impact of the proposed revision on
attainment and maintenance of the air quality standards.
We notify a state of our completeness determination by letter
unless the submittal becomes complete by operation of law. A finding of
completeness does not approve the submittal as part of the SIP nor does
it indicate that the submittal is approvable. It does start a 12-month
clock for EPA to act on the SIP submittal. See CAA section 110(k)(2).
The Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan became complete by
operation of law on November 7, 2013.
V. Substantive Requirements for Redesignation
The CAA establishes the requirements for redesignation of a
nonattainment area to attainment. Specifically, section 107(d)(3)(E)
allows for redesignation provided that the following criteria are met:
(1) EPA determines that the area has attained the applicable NAAQS; (2)
EPA has fully approved the applicable implementation plan for the area
under section 110(k); (3) EPA determines that the improvement in air
quality is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions
resulting from implementation of the applicable SIP, applicable federal
air pollution control regulations, and other permanent and enforceable
reductions; (4) EPA has fully approved a maintenance plan for the area
as meeting the requirements of CAA section 175A; and (5) the State
containing such area has met all requirements applicable to the area
under section 110 and part D of the CAA.
EPA provided guidance on redesignations in the General Preamble,
the Calcagni memorandum, the Nichols memorandum, and a document
entitled ``State Implementation Plans for Serious PM10
Nonattainment Areas, and Attainment Date Waivers for PM10
Nonattainment Areas Generally; Addendum to the General Preamble for the
Implementation of title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 59
FR 41998 (August 16, 1994) (PM10 Addendum).
In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA applies these policies to
the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan, taking into
consideration the specific factual issues presented. For the reasons
set forth below in section VI of this document, we propose to approve
CARB's request for redesignation of the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area to attainment for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS based on our conclusion that all of the criteria
under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) have been satisfied.
VI. Evaluation of the State's Redesignation Request for the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Nonattainment Area
A. Determination That the Area Has Attained the PM2.5 NAAQS
CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(i) states that for an area to be
redesignated to attainment, EPA must determine that the area has
attained the relevant NAAQS. In this case, the relevant NAAQS is the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
Generally, EPA determines whether an area's air quality is meeting
the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS based upon complete,\21\ quality-
assured, and certified data gathered at established state and local air
monitoring stations (SLAMS) in the nonattainment area and entered into
the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) database. Data from air monitors
operated by state, local, or tribal agencies in compliance with EPA
monitoring requirements must be submitted to AQS. These monitoring
agencies certify annually that these data are accurate to the best of
their knowledge. Accordingly, EPA relies primarily on data in AQS when
determining the attainment status of areas. See 40 CFR 50.13; 40 CFR
part 50, appendix L; 40 CFR part 53; 40 CFR part 58, and 40 CFR part
58, appendices A, C, D, and E. EPA will also consider air quality data
from other air monitoring stations in the nonattainment area provided
those stations meet the federal monitoring requirements for SLAMS,
including the quality assurance and quality control criteria in 40 CFR
part 58, appendix A. See 40 CFR 58.14 (2006) and 58.20 (2007); \22\ 71
FR 61236, 61242; (October 17, 2006). All valid data are reviewed to
determine the area's air quality status in accordance with 40 CFR part
50, appendix N.
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\21\ For PM2.5, a year meets data completeness
requirements when quarterly data capture rates for all four quarters
are at least 75 percent. Three years of valid annual
PM2.5 98th percentile mass concentrations are required to
produce a valid 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS design value. See 40
CFR part 50, Appendix N, section 4.2.
\22\ EPA promulgated amendments to the ambient air monitoring
regulations in 40 CFR parts 53 and 58 on October 17, 2006. (See 71
FR 61236.) The requirements for Special Purpose Monitors were
revised and moved from 40 CFR 58.14 to 40 CFR 58.20.
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Under EPA regulations in 40 CFR part 50, section 50.13 and in
accordance with appendix N, the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard
is met when the design value is less than or equal to 35 [micro]g/m\3\
(based on the rounding convention in 40 CFR part 50, appendix N) at
each monitoring site within the area.\23\ The PM2.5 24-hour
average is considered valid if at least 75 percent of the hourly
averages (i.e. 18 hourly values) for the 24-hour period are available.
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\23\ The PM2.5 24-hour standard design value is the
3-year average of annual 98th percentile 24-hour average
PM2.5 mass concentration values recorded at each eligible
monitoring site [see 40 CFR part 50, appendix N, section 1.0(c)(2)].
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Generally, three consecutive years of complete air quality data are
required to show attainment of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
standard. See 40 CFR part 50, appendix N, section 4.2.
As described earlier, on January 10, 2013, at 78 FR 2211, EPA
issued a final determination that the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area attained
[[Page 61830]]
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard, based on complete, quality-
assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2009-2011
monitoring period.
1. What is EPA's analysis of the relevant air quality data?
a. Monitoring Network and Data Considerations
The CARB and local Air Pollution Control Districts and Air Quality
Management Districts (``Districts'') operate ambient monitoring
stations throughout the State. CARB is the lead monitoring agency in
the Primary Quality Assurance Organization (PQAO) that includes all the
monitoring agencies in the State with a few exceptions.\24\ \25\ CARB
is responsible for monitoring ambient air quality within the Yuba City-
Marysville nonattainment area. In addition, CARB oversees the quality
assurance of all data collected within the CARB PQAO. CARB submits
annual monitoring network plans to EPA that describe the monitoring
sites CARB operates. These plans discuss the status of the air
monitoring network, as required under 40 CFR part 58.10.
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\24\ A primary quality assurance organization is defined as a
monitoring organization or a coordinated aggregation of such
organizations that is responsible for a set of stations that
monitors the same pollutant and for which data quality assessments
can logically be pooled (40 CFR 58, Appendix A, section 3.1).
\25\ The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the South
Coast Air Quality Management District, and the San Diego Air
Pollution Control District are each designated as the PQAO for their
respective ambient air monitoring programs.
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Since 2007, EPA has regularly reviewed these annual plans for
compliance with the applicable reporting requirements in 40 CFR part
58. With respect to PM2.5, EPA has found that CARB's network
plans meet the applicable requirements under 40 CFR part 58. See EPA
letters to CARB approving its annual network plans for years 2011
through 2013.\26\ EPA also concluded from its Technical System Audit of
the CARB PQAO (conducted during the summer of 2011) that the ambient
air monitoring network operated by CARB currently meets or exceeds the
requirements for the minimum number of SLAMS for PM2.5 in
the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area.\27\ Also, CARB annually
certifies that the data it submits to AQS are complete and quality-
assured.\28\
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\26\ Letter from Matthew Lakin, Manager, Air Quality Analysis
Office, U.S. EPA Region IX, to Karen Magliano, Chief, Air Quality
Data Branch, Planning and Technical Support Division, CARB (November
1, 2011) (approving CARB's ``2011 Annual Monitoring Network Plan for
the Small Districts in California''). Letter from Meredith Kurpius,
Manager, Air Quality Analysis Office, U.S. EPA Region IX, to Karen
Magliano, Chief, Air Quality Data Branch, Planning and Technical
Support Division, CARB (September 13, 2013) (approving CARB's ``2012
Annual Monitoring Network Plan for the Small Districts in
California''). Letter from Meredith Kurpius, Manager, Air Quality
Analysis Office, U.S. EPA Region IX, to Karen Magliano, Chief, Air
Quality Data Branch, Planning and Technical Support Division, CARB
(March 7, 2014) (approving CARB's ``Annual Monitoring Network Report
for Twenty-Three Districts in California'').
\27\ See letter from Deborah Jordan, Director, Air Division,
U.S. EPA Region IX, to James Goldstene, Executive Officer, CARB,
transmitting ''System Audit of the Ambient Monitoring Program:
California Resources Board, June-September: 2011,'' with enclosure,
October 22, 2012.
\28\ See, e.g., letter from Ravi Ramalingham, Chief, Consumer
Products and Air Quality Assessment Branch, Planning and Technical
Support Division, CARB, to Meredith Kurpius, Manager, Air Quality
Analysis Office, Air Division, U.S. EPA Region IX, certifying
calendar year 2013 ambient air quality data and quality assurance
data, July 2, 2014.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The existing PM2.5 monitoring network in the Yuba City-
Marysville nonattainment area includes a PM2.5 Federal
Reference Method (FRM) monitor operating on a daily schedule and a non-
Federal Equivalent Method Beta Attenuation Monitor (BAM) running in
parallel to the FRM. The two instruments complement each other in the
monitoring network as the FRM monitor provides accurate and precise
data for purposes of area designation, while the BAM provides real-time
data used by the District and CARB for Air Quality Index reporting,
forecasting, and the allocation of agricultural burning. For purposes
of today's action, EPA is relying on data from the FRM monitor. There
was one PM2.5 FRM SLAMS monitor operating during the 2009-
2013 period in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment
area. The site is operated by CARB and has been monitoring
PM2.5 concentrations since 1998. EPA defines specific
monitoring site types and spatial scales of representativeness to
characterize the nature and location of required monitors. With respect
to the Yuba City-Marysville site, the spatial scale is neighborhood
scale,\29\ \30\ and the monitoring objective (site type) is population
exposure.\31\
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\29\ In this context, ``neighborhood'' spatial scale defines
concentrations within some extended area of the city that has
relatively uniform land use with dimensions in the 0.5 to 4.0
kilometers range. See 40 CFR part 58, appendix D, section 1.2.
\30\ See CARB's 2013 Annual Monitoring Network Report for
Twenty-three Districts in California (July, 2013); EPA Air Quality
System, Monitor Description Report, September 14, 2012.
\31\ EPA Air Quality System, Monitor Description Report,
September 14, 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consistent with the requirements contained in 40 CFR part 50, we
have reviewed the quality-assured, and certified PM2.5
ambient air monitoring data as recorded in AQS for the applicable
monitoring period collected at the monitoring site in the Yuba City-
Marysville nonattainment area and have found the data to be complete.
b. Evaluation of Continued Attainment
EPA's evaluation of whether the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area has continued to attain the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS is based on our review of the monitoring
data and takes into account the adequacy \32\ of the PM2.5
monitoring network in the nonattainment area and the reliability of the
data collected by the network as discussed in the previous section of
this document.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\32\ Meets the requirements of 40 CFR part 58.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 1 shows the PM2.5 design values for the Yuba City-
Marysville nonattainment area monitor based on ambient air quality
monitoring data for the most recent complete five-year period (2009-
2013).\33\ The data show that the design values for the 2009-2011,
2010-2012, and 2011-2013 periods were equal to or less than 35
[micro]g/m\3\ at the monitor. Therefore, we are proposing to determine,
based on the complete, quality-assured data for 2011-2013, that the
Yuba City-Marysville area continues to attain the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard. Preliminary data available in AQS for 2014
indicate that the area continues to attain the standard.\34\
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\33\ Quicklook Report and Design Value Report, EPA, July 25,
2014.
\34\ Ibid.
[[Page 61831]]
Table 1--2009-2013 24-Hour PM2.5 Monitoring Site and Design Value for the Yuba City-Marysville Nonattainment Area.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AQS site 98th Percentile ([mu]g/m \3\) Design value ([mu]g/m \3\)
Monitoring site identification -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
number 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009-2011 2010-2012 2011-2013
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yuba City-Marysville.................... 06-101-0003 28 17 37 24 25 27 26 29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. The Area Must Have a Fully Approved SIP Meeting Requirements
Applicable for Purposes of Redesignation Under Clean Air Act Section
110 and Part D
Section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) and (v) require EPA to determine that the
area has a fully approved applicable SIP under section 110(k) that
meets all applicable requirements under section 110 and part D for the
purposes of redesignation.
1. Basic SIP Requirements Under Section 110
The general SIP elements and requirements set forth in section
110(a)(2) include, but are not limited to, the following: Submittal of
a SIP that has been adopted by the State after reasonable public notice
and hearing; provisions for establishment and operation of appropriate
procedures needed to monitor ambient air quality; implementation of a
source permit program; provision for the implementation of part C
requirements for PSD provisions; provisions for the implementation of
part D requirements for nonattainment new source review (nonattainment
NSR) permit programs; provisions for air pollution modeling; and
provisions for public and local agency participation in planning and
emission control rule development.
We note that SIPs must be fully approved only with respect to
applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation in accordance
with section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii). The section 110(a)(2) (and part D)
requirements that are linked to a particular nonattainment area's
designation and classification are the relevant measures to evaluate in
reviewing a redesignation request. Requirements that apply regardless
of the designation of any particular area on the State are not
applicable requirements for the purposes of redesignation, and the
State will remain subject to these requirements after the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area is redesignated to
attainment.
For example, CAA section 110(a)(2)(D) requires that SIPs contain
certain measures to prevent sources in a state from significantly
contributing to air quality problems in another state, known as
``transport SIPs.'' Because the section 110(a)(2)(D) requirements for
transport SIPs are not linked to a particular nonattainment area's
designation and classification but rather apply regardless of the
area's attainment status, these are not applicable requirements for the
purposes of redesignation under section 107(d)(3)(E).
Similarly, EPA believes that other section 110(a)(2) (and part D)
requirements that are not linked to nonattainment plan submissions or
to an area's attainment status are not applicable requirements for
purposes of redesignation. EPA believes that the section 110 (and part
D) requirements that relate to a particular nonattainment area's
designation and classification are the relevant measures to evaluate in
reviewing a redesignation request. This view is consistent with EPA's
existing policy on applicability of the conformity SIP requirement for
redesignations. See discussion in 75 FR 36023, 36026 (June 24, 2010).
On numerous occasions, CARB and FRAQMD have submitted and we have
approved provisions addressing the basic CAA section 110 provisions.
The Yuba City-Marysville portion of the California SIP \35\ contains
enforceable emission limitations; requires monitoring, compiling and
analyzing of ambient air quality data; requires preconstruction review
of new or modified stationary sources; provides for adequate funding,
staff, and associated resources necessary to implement its
requirements; and provides the necessary assurances that the State
maintains responsibility for ensuring that the CAA requirements are
satisfied in the event that Yuba City-Marysville is unable to meet its
CAA obligations. There are no outstanding or disapproved applicable SIP
submittals with respect to the Yuba City-Marysville portion of the SIP
that prevent redesignation of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
nonattainment area for the 24-hour PM2.5 standard.
Therefore, we propose to conclude that CARB and FRAQMD have met all SIP
requirements for Yuba City-Marysville applicable for purposes of
redesignation under section 110 of the CAA (General SIP Requirements).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\35\ See http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/r9sips.nsf/Casips?readform&count=100&state=California.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. SIP Requirements Under Part D
Subparts 1 and 4 of part D, title 1 of the CAA contain air quality
planning requirements for PM2.5 nonattainment areas. Subpart
1 contains general requirements for all nonattainment areas of any
pollutant, including PM2.5, governed by a NAAQS. The subpart
1 requirements include, among other things, provisions for the RACM,
RFP, emissions inventories, contingency measures, and conformity.
Although we describe in detail in section III of this action the effect
of the January 4, 2013, D.C. Circuit decision on subpart 4 of part D
requirements, the subpart 4 requirements are briefly discussed below.
Subpart 4 contains specific planning and scheduling requirements for
PM2.5 nonattainment areas. Section 189(a), (c), and (e)
requirements apply specifically to moderate PM2.5
nonattainment areas and include: (1) An approved permit program for
construction of new and modified major stationary sources; (2)
provisions for RACM; (3) an attainment demonstration; (4) quantitative
milestones demonstrating RFP toward attainment by the applicable
attainment date; and (5) provisions to ensure that the control
requirements applicable to major stationary sources of PM2.5
also apply to major stationary sources of PM2.5 precursors
except where the Administrator has determined that such sources do not
contribute significantly to PM2.5 levels that exceed the
NAAQS in the area.
As noted previously, in 2013, EPA determined that the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area attained the 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS based on 2009-2011 data. See 78 FR 2211 (January
10, 2013). In accordance with EPA's Clean Data Policy, we determined
that the following requirements do not apply to the State for so long
as Yuba City-Marysville continues to attain the PM2.5
standard or until the area is redesignated to attainment: an attainment
demonstration under section
[[Page 61832]]
189(a)(1)(B); RACM provisions under sections 172(c) and 189(a)(1)(C);
reasonable further progress provisions under section 189(c)(1); and
contingency measures under section 172(c)(9). For other rulemaking
actions applying the Clean Data Policy in the context of
PM2.5, see 77 FR 31271-72 (proposed Determination of
Attainment for Paul Spur/Douglas, Arizona); 76 FR 10821-22 (proposed
Determination of Attainment for Truckee Meadows, Nevada); 75 FR 13712-
14 (proposed Determination of Attainment for Coso Junction,
California); 75 FR 36027 (proposed Redesignation for Coso Junction,
California); 73 FR 22313 (proposed Redesignation for San Joaquin
Valley). See also, 40 CFR 51.918.
Moreover, in the context of evaluating the area's eligibility for
redesignation, there is a separate and additional justification for
finding that requirements associated with attainment are not applicable
for purposes of redesignation. Prior to and independently of the Clean
Data Policy, and specifically in the context of redesignations, EPA
interpreted attainment-linked requirements as not applicable for
purposes of redesignation. In the General Preamble, ``General Preamble
for the Interpretation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990,'' (General Preamble) 57 FR 13498, 13564 (April 16, 1992), EPA
stated: [t]he section 172(c)(9) requirements are directed at ensuring
RFP and attainment by the applicable date. These requirements no longer
apply when an area has attained the standard and is eligible for
redesignation. Furthermore, section 175A for maintenance plans provides
specific requirements for contingency measures that effectively
supersede the requirements of section 172(c)(9) for these areas. See
also Calcagni memorandum at 6 (``The requirements for reasonable
further progress and other measures needed for attainment will not
apply for redesignations because they only have meaning for areas not
attaining the standard.'').
Thus, even if the requirements associated with attainment had not
previously been suspended, they would not apply for purposes of
evaluating whether an area that has attained the standard qualifies for
redesignation. EPA has enunciated this position since the General
Preamble was published more than twenty years ago, and it represents
the Agency's interpretation of what constitutes applicable requirements
under section 107(d)(3)(E). The Courts have recognized the scope of
EPA's authority to interpret ``applicable requirements'' in the
redesignation context. See Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir.
2004).
The remaining applicable Part D requirements for moderate
PM2.5 areas are: (1) An emission inventory under section
172(c)(3); (2) a permit program for the construction and operation of
new and modified major stationary sources of PM2.5 under
sections 172(c)(5) and 189(a)(1)(A); (3) control requirements for major
stationary sources of PM2.5 precursors under section 189(e),
except where the Administrator determines that such sources do not
contribute significantly to PM2.5 levels that exceed the
standard in the area; (4) requirements under section 172(c)(7) that
meet the applicable provisions of section 110(a)(2); and (5) provisions
to ensure that federally supported or funded projects conform to the
air quality planning goals in the applicable SIP under section 176(c).
The Yuba City-Marysville redesignation request, although not expressed
in terms of subpart 4 (section 189) requirements, substantively meets
the requirement for that subpart for redesignation purposes. We discuss
each of these requirements below.
Emissions Inventory
CAA section 172(c)(3) requires states to submit a comprehensive,
accurate, current inventory of relevant PM2.5 pollutants for
the baseline year from all sources within the nonattainment area. The
inventory is to address direct and secondary PM2.5
emissions, and all stationary (generally referring to larger stationary
source or ``point'' sources), area (generally referring to smaller
stationary and fugitive sources), and mobile (on-road, non-road,
locomotive and aircraft) sources are to be included in the inventory.
We interpret the Act such that the emission inventory requirements of
section 172(c)(3) are satisfied by the inventory requirements of the
maintenance plan. See 57 FR 13498, at 13564 (April 16, 1992). Thus, EPA
is proposing to approve the 2011 attainment year inventories submitted
as part of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan as satisfying
the requirements of sections 172(c)(3) for the purposes of
redesignation of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
nonattainment area to attainment for the 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS. The 2011 attainment year inventories are described in VI.D.1 of
this notice.
Permits for New and Modified Major Stationary Sources
CAA sections 172(c)(5) and 189(a)(1)(A) require the State to submit
SIP revisions that establish certain requirements for new or modified
stationary sources in nonattainment areas, including provisions to
ensure that new major sources or major modifications of existing
sources of nonattainment pollutants incorporate the highest level of
control, referred to as the Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER), and
that increases in emissions from such stationary sources are offset so
as to provide for reasonable further progress towards attainment in the
nonattainment area.
The process for reviewing permit applications and issuing permits
for new or modified major stationary sources of air pollution is
referred to as NSR. With respect to nonattainment pollutants in
nonattainment areas, this process is often referred to as
``nonattainment NSR.'' With respect to pollutants for which an area is
designated as attainment or unclassifiable, states are required to
submit SIP revisions that ensure that major new stationary sources or
major modifications of existing stationary sources meet the federal
requirements for PSD, including application of ``Best Available Control
Technology'' (BACT), for each applicable pollutant emitted in
significant amounts, among other requirements.
FRAQMD is responsible for stationary source emissions units, and
FRAQMD regulations govern air permits issued for such units. EPA has
partially approved and partially disapproved FRAQMD's New Source Review
rule (i.e., Rule 10.1). 78 FR 58461 (September 24, 2013). Because of
the partial disapproval, FRAQMD does not currently have a fully-
approved nonattainment NSR program. The NSR deficiencies identified in
EPA's partial approval and partial disapproval of Rule 10.1 are limited
to the following issues: (1) Missing a component of the definition for
the term ``Regulated NSR Pollutant,'' as it relates to PM2.5
condensable emissions; and (2) Rule 10.1 contains certain language in
new sections B.4 and B.5 that entirely exempts from regulation certain
pollutants when EPA redesignates the area from nonattainment to
attainment. As worded, the provision is too broad, in that it exempts
such pollutants from all the requirements of section E of the rule,
rather than just those provisions applicable to major sources of
nonattainment pollutants. FRAQMD is currently working on a revision to
Rule 10.1 to correct the deficiencies. If EPA approves a revised Rule
10.1, and the approval becomes effective prior to EPA finalizing the
area's redesignation to attainment for PM2.5, the 172(c)(5)
and
[[Page 61833]]
189(a(1)(A) requirements would be fulfilled prior to redesignation.
If EPA does not approve a revised Rule 10.1 prior to EPA finalizing
the area's redesignation to attainment for PM2.5, it would
still not affect EPA approval of the redesignation request because upon
redesignation the nonattainment permitting program requirements would
shift to the PSD permitting program requirements. Even if EPA later
finalizes the actions in today's proposed rulemaking, the federal PSD
requirements under 40 CFR 52.21 will not apply to new major sources or
major modifications to existing major sources of NOX and VOC
located in the southern portion of Sutter County under FRAQMD's
jurisdiction within the Sacramento Metro ozone nonattainment area until
that area is redesignated to attainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone
standard. Because FRAQMD does not currently have an EPA-approved PSD
program, after redesignation the federal PSD requirements under 40 CFR
52.21 would apply to PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursor
emissions from new major sources or major modifications. Thus, new
major sources with significant PM2.5 emissions and major
modifications of PM2.5 at major sources as defined under 40
CFR 51.21 will be required to obtain a PSD permit or include
PM2.5 emissions in their existing PSD permit. Since PSD
requirements \36\ will apply after redesignation, an area being
redesignated to attainment need not comply with the requirement that a
nonattainment NSR program be approved prior to redesignation as long as
the state demonstrates maintenance of the NAAQS in the area without
implementation of nonattainment NSR. A more detailed rationale for this
view is described in a memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994, titled
``Part D New Source Review Requirements for Areas Requesting
Redesignation to Attainment.'' See also, redesignation rulemakings for
Detroit, Michigan (60 FR 12467-12468, March 7, 1995); Cleveland-Akron-
Lorain, Ohio (61 FR 20458, 20469-20470, May 7, 1996); Louisville,
Kentucky (66 FR 53665, October 23, 2001); and, Grand Rapids, Michigan
(61 FR 31834-31837, June 21, 1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\ PSD requirements control the growth of new source emissions
in areas designated as attainment for a NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on our review of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Plan, we conclude that the maintenance demonstration does not rely on
implementation of nonattainment NSR because the Plan applies standard
growth factors to stationary source emissions and does not rely on NSR
offsets to reduce the rate of increase in emissions over time from
point sources.\37\ In addition, the PM2.5 Plan adds emission
reduction credits (ERCs) for PM10,\38\ NOX, and
oxides of sulfur (SOX) to future projected emissions to
ensure that the use of ERCs will not be inconsistent with the future
PM2.5 maintenance goals. Therefore, EPA concludes that a
fully-approved nonattainment NSR program is not necessary for approval
of the State's redesignation request for the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\ Email from Sondra Spaethe, FRAQMD, to John Ungvarsky, US
EPA, Region 9, July 18, 2014.
\38\ The FRAQMD issues ERCs for PM10 and has not
identified the PM2.5 portion of the ERC. When creating
the future year inventories for the maintenance demonstration, the
FRAQMD applied the amount of PM10 ERCs to the future year
inventories of PM2.5. As PM2.5 is a portion of
PM10, this approach conservatively estimates the maximum
pollutant increase if all ERCs were redeemed within the FRAQMD
during the maintenance period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We conclude that Yuba City-Marysville's portion of the California
SIP adequately meets the requirements of section 172(c)(5) and
189(a)(1)(A) for purposes of this redesignation.
Control Requirements for PM2.5 Precursors
In light of the January 4, 2013, D.C. Circuit decision regarding
PM2.5 implementation under subpart 4 of Part D of Title I of
the CAA, EPA's evaluation of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Plan in the context of the CAA section 189(e) requirements for control
of PM2.5 precursors is described in depth in sections III
and VI.D.3 of this action.
Compliance with Section 110(a)(2)
Section 172(c)(7) requires the SIP to meet the applicable
provisions of section 110(a)(2). As noted above, we conclude the
California SIP meets the requirements of section 110(a)(2) applicable
for purposes of this redesignation.
General and Transportation Conformity Requirements
Under section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,
states are required to establish criteria and procedures to ensure that
federally supported or funded projects conform to the air quality
planning goals in the applicable SIP. Section 176(c) further provides
that state conformity provisions must be consistent with federal
conformity regulations that the CAA requires EPA to promulgate. EPA's
conformity regulations are codified at 40 CFR part 93, subparts A
(referred to herein as ``transportation conformity'') and B (referred
to herein as ``general conformity''). Transportation conformity applies
to transportation plans, programs, and projects developed, funded, and
approved under title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act, and general
conformity applies to all other federally-supported or funded projects.
SIP revisions intended to address the conformity requirements are
referred to herein as ``conformity SIPs.''
EPA believes it is reasonable to interpret the conformity SIP
requirements as not applying for purposes of a redesignation request
under section 107(d) because state conformity rules are still required
after redesignation and federal conformity rules apply where state
rules have not been approved. See Wall v. EPA, 265 F. 3d 426 (6th Cir.
2001), upholding this interpretation. See also, 60 FR 62748 (December
7, 1995).
The Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan includes
PM2.5 motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the Yuba
City-Marysville nonattainment area. As described in VI.D.6 of today's
action, EPA is proposing to approve the emissions inventory and motor
vehicle emissions budgets for Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
nonattainment area. Thus, if EPA later finalizes its approval of the
Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan described in today's
proposal and also finalizes its approval of the emissions inventory and
motor vehicle emissions budgets for the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area, the State has a fully-approved SIP
meeting all requirements applicable under section 110 and part D for
purposes of redesignation. CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(v).
C. EPA Has Determined That the Improvement in Air Quality Is Due to
Permanent and Enforceable Reductions in Emissions
Section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) requires EPA to determine that the
improvement in air quality is due to emission reductions that are
permanent and enforceable resulting from the implementation of the
applicable SIP and applicable federal air pollution control regulations
and other permanent and enforceable regulations in order to approve a
redesignation to attainment. Under this criterion, a state must be able
to reasonably attribute the improvement in air quality to emissions
reductions which are permanent and enforceable. Attainment resulting
from temporary reductions in emission rates (e.g., reduced production
or shutdown due to temporary adverse economic
[[Page 61834]]
conditions) or unusually favorable meteorology would not qualify as an
air quality improvement due to permanent and enforceable emission
reductions. Calcagni memorandum, p. 4.
Historically, exceedances of the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in
the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area occur in November through
February. Chemical composition data can be used to understand the types
of emission sources that contribute to ambient PM2.5 in
these winter months, however, these measurements are not routinely
collected in the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area. A limited
chemical composition analysis was done on samples collected at the Yuba
City-Almond Street monitor (AQS ID: 061010003) in 2004-2006.\39\
Archived Teflon filters were analyzed by a combination of X-ray
Fluorescence (XRF) to provide elemental concentrations and Ion
Chromatography (IC) to estimate ions (sulfate, nitrate, potassium,
ammonium, etc.). These data show that PM2.5 on days with
high concentrations during the cool season \40\ was made up
predominantly of total carbonaceous mass (TCM) (54%) and ammonium
nitrate (38%). The high TCM is linked to smoke from residential wood
burning stoves and fireplaces, Sulfate (6%) and crustal materials (2%)
account for a smaller portion of the PM2.5. See Plan, pp.
IV-5--IV-7.
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\39\ Availability of New Speciation Data for Some Areas that EPA
Intends to Designate as Nonattainment, Neil Frank, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, September 18, 2008, available at
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/pm/docs/available_new_speciation_data_pm2.5_naa.pdf.
\40\ Days > 95th percentile of measured PM2.5 during
October-April.
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The Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan credits control
measures adopted and implemented by FRAQMD and CARB and approved into
the SIP by EPA as reducing emissions to attain the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. The FRAQMD has jurisdiction over air quality
planning requirements for the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area
and is largely responsible for the regulation of stationary sources and
most area sources. Table 2 lists FRAQMD rules adopted since the area's
PM2.5 nonattainment designation that contribute towards
attainment and maintenance of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
Table 2--FRAQMD Control Measures and Programs Contributing Towards Attainment and Maintenance of the 2006 24-
Hour PM2.5 NAAQS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rule Title Adoption date Status
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.0.................................. Open Burning........... October 6, 2008........ EPA is currently
preparing proposed
rulemaking and direct
final notices acting
on this rule
submittal.
3.17................................. Wood Heating Devices... October 5, 2009, EPA is currently
amended on February 3, preparing proposed
2014. rulemaking and direct
final notices acting
on this rule
submittal.
3.21................................. Industrial, June 5, 2006........... Submitted to EPA on
Institutional, and February 10, 2014.
Commercial Boilers,
Steam Generators, and
Process Heaters.
3.22................................. Internal Combustion June 1, 2009........... Approved, 77 FR 12493
Engines. (March 1, 2012).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other FRAQMD measures or programs not in the SIP \41\ \42\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- 2011/2012 Wood Stove Change Out Program.
-- Stoplight: Check Before You Burn Program.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source categories for which CARB has primary responsibility for
reducing emissions in California include most new and existing on- and
off-road engines and vehicles, motor vehicle fuels, and consumer
products. In addition, California has unique authority under CAA
section 209 (subject to a waiver by EPA) to adopt and implement new
emission standards for many categories of on-road vehicles and engines,
and new and in-use off-road vehicles and engines.
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\41\ FRAQMD estimated the Wood Stove Change Out Program offered
in 2009, 2010, and 2011 reduced PM2.5 emissions by 2.8
tons per year. Memorandum from David Valler, Air Pollution Control
Officer, FRAQMD to the FRAQMD Board of Directors, April 1, 2013.
\42\ The Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area is included in
the State's Sacramento Valley Air Basin Smoke Management Program.
The program describes the policies and procedures used with hourly
and daily measurements of air quality and meteorology to determine
how much open biomass burning can be allowed in the Sacramento
Valley Air Basin. The program ensures that agricultural burning is
prohibited on days meteorologically conducive to potentially
elevated PM10 concentrations. The area covered by the
program is referred to as the Sacramento Valley Air Basin, and
includes all or parts of the following counties: Butte, Colusa,
Glenn, Placer (portion), Sacramento, Shasta, Solano (portion),
Sutter, Tehama, Yolo and Yuba. See Title 17 California Code of
Regulations, Subchapter 2, Section 80100 et. seq. The regulations
can be viewed at http://www.arb.ca.gov/smp/regs/RevFinRegwTOC.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given the need for significant emissions reductions from mobile and
area sources to meet the ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS in California
nonattainment areas, California has been a leader in the development of
some of the most stringent control measures nationwide for on-road and
off-road mobile sources and the fuels that power them. These standards
have reduced new car emissions by 99 percent and new truck emissions by
90 percent from uncontrolled levels. 2007 State Strategy, p. 37.\43\ In
addition, the State has standards for lawn and garden equipment,
recreational vehicles and boats, and other off-road sources that
require newly manufactured equipment to be 80-98 percent cleaner than
their uncontrolled counterparts. Id. Finally, the State has adopted
many measures that focus on achieving reductions from in-use mobile
sources that include more stringent inspection and maintenance (I/M) or
``Smog Check'' requirements, truck and bus idling restrictions, and
various incentive programs. Since 1994 alone, the State has taken more
than 45 rulemaking actions and achieved most of the emissions
reductions needed for attainment in the State's nonattainment areas.
See 2007 State Strategy, pp. 36-
[[Page 61835]]
40. These measures that have resulted in significant reductions in
emissions of PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursors (e.g.,
NOX) in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
nonattainment area and throughout the State.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\43\ The 2007 State Strategy was adopted by CARB on September
27, 2007 and submitted to EPA on November 16, 2007. See CARB
Resolution No. 07-28, September 27, 2007 with attachments and
letter, James N. Goldstene, Executive Officer, CARB, to Wayne
Nastri, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9, November 16, 2007 with
enclosures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARB developed its 2007 State Strategy after an extensive public
consultation process to identify potential SIP measures.\44\ From this
process, CARB identified and committed to propose 15 new defined
measures. These measures focus on cleaning up the in-use fleet as well
as increasing the stringency of emissions standards for a number of
engine categories, fuels, and consumer products. Many, if not most, of
these measures have been adopted or are being proposed for adoption for
the first time anywhere in the nation. They build on CARB's already
comprehensive program described above that addresses emissions from all
types of mobile sources and consumer products, through both regulations
and incentive programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\44\ More information on this public process, including
presentations from the workshops and symposium that preceded the
adoption of the 2007 State Strategy, can be found at www.arb.ca.gov/planning/sip/2007sip/2007sip.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In April 2009, CARB adopted the Revised 2007 State Strategy. This
submittal updated the 2007 State Strategy to reflect its implementation
during 2007 and 2008. These measures fall into two categories: Measures
that are subject to a waiver of federal preemption or authorization to
adopt under CAA section 209 (``waiver or authorization measures'') and
those for which the State is not required to obtain a waiver or
authorization (``non-waiver or non-authorization measures''). Emissions
reductions from waiver or authorization measures are fully creditable
in attainment and RFP demonstrations and may be used to meet other CAA
requirements, such as contingency measures. The State's baseline non-
waiver or non-authorization measures have generally all been approved
by EPA into the SIP and as such are fully creditable for meeting CAA
requirements. The Technical Support Document (TSD) includes tables of
local and State measures adopted since 1990 and their current status.
Finally, in addition to the local district and State rules
discussed above, the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
nonattainment area has also benefitted from emission reductions from
federal measures. These federal measures include EPA's national
emissions standards for heavy-duty diesel trucks, certain emissions
standards for new construction and farm equipment (i.e., Tier 2 and 3
non-road engines standards, and Tier 4 diesel non-road engine
standards), and locomotive engine standards. See 66 FR 5001 (January
18, 2001), 63 FR 56968 (October 23, 1998), 69 FR 38958 (June 29, 2004),
63 FR 18978 (April 16, 1998) and 73 FR 37096 (June 30, 2008).
The on-road and off-road vehicle and engine standards cited above
have contributed to improved air quality through the gradual, continued
turnover and replacement of older vehicle models with newer models
manufactured to meet increasingly stringent emissions standards.
Table 3 includes CARB State Strategy measures adopted since 2007
and included in the Yuba City-Marysville Plan as measures contributing
towards attainment and maintenance of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
standard in the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area.
Table 3--Control Measures in CARB's 2007 State Strategy Contributing
Towards Attainment and/or Continued Attainment of the 2006 24-Hour PM2.5
NAAQS in the Yuba City-Marysville area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defined state measure Adoption date Current status
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smog Check Improvements....... August 31, 2009.. Elements approved, 75
FR 38023 (July 1,
2010).
Expanded Vehicle Retirement... June 26, 2009.... Not submitted to EPA.
Modifications to Reformulated June 14, 2007.... Approved, 75 FR 26653
Gasoline Program. (May 12, 2010).
Cleaner In-use Heavy Duty December 16, 2010 Approved, 77 FR
Trucks. 20308, April 4,
2012.
Clean Up Existing Harbor November 15, 2007 Authorization
Crafts. granted, 76 FR
77521, December 13,
2011.
Cleaner In-Use Off-Road December 17, 2010 Authorization
Equipment (over 25 hp). granted, 78 FR
58090, September 20,
2013.
New Emissions Standards for February 2015.... Not yet adopted.
Recreational Boats.
Expanded Off-Road Recreational July 25, 2013.... Not yet approved by
Vehicle Emissions Standards. California's Office
of Administrative
Law.
Additional Evaporative September 25, Similar to federal
Emission Standards (for Off- 2008. requirement at 40
Road Sources) (e.g., Portable CFR 1060.105.
Outboard Marine Tanks and
Components).
Consumer Products Program..... November 17, 2007 Approved, 74 FR
57074, November 4,
2009.
June 26, 2008.... Approved, 76 FR
27613, May 12, 2011.
September 24, Approved, 77 FR 7535,
2009. February 13, 2012.
November 18, 2010 Proposed rulemaking
and direct final
notices signed on
August 5, 2014 and
pending publication.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We note that many of the control measures cited above and in the
Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan have provided emissions
reductions after 2007, and thus, the improvement in air quality may
reasonably be attributed to them. In addition, as documented in the
TSD, CARB adopted and implemented numerous measures during and prior to
2007 that, through fleet turnover, provided reductions in direct
PM2.5 and in PM2.5 precursors that also
contributed towards attainment.
Table 4 provides a comparison of 2005 nonattainment year and 2011
attainment year inventories to show the impact of the permanent and
enforceable reductions. In 2005, area-wide NOX and
PM2.5 emissions in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
nonattainment area were estimated to be approximately 26 and 6 tons per
day (tpd) (winter day), respectively. In 2011, area-wide emissions had
declined to 19 tpd for NOX and 5 tpd for PM2.5,
resulting in emissions reductions of 27% in NOX and 9% in
PM2.5. In addition, emissions of SOX, ammonia
(NH3), and VOC all declined during the 2005 to 2011
timeframe.
[[Page 61836]]
Table 4--Yuba City-Marysville Emissions Inventories for 2005 and 2011 and Net Changes (tpd) a
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Net change
Pollutant category ---------------------------------------------------
2005 2011 2005-2011 %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOx
Stationary Sources...................................... 4.5 4.4 -0.1 -2
Areawide Sources........................................ 1.1 1.1 0.0 -2
On-Road Mobile Sources.................................. 12.9 8.4 -4.5 -35
Other Mobile Sources.................................... 8.0 5.4 -2.6 -32
---------------------------------------
Total............................................... 26.5 19.3 -7.3 -27
PM2.5
Stationary Sources...................................... 1.0 0.9 -0.1 -11
Areawide Sources........................................ 4.0 3.8 -0.2 -5
On-Road Mobile Sources.................................. 0.4 0.3 -0.1 -24
Other Mobile Sources.................................... 0.4 0.3 -0.1 -30
---------------------------------------
Total............................................... 5.8 5.3 -0.5 -9
SOX
Stationary Sources...................................... 0.1 0.1 0.0 -3
Areawide Sources........................................ 0.2 0.1 0.0 -5
On-Road Mobile Sources.................................. 0.1 0.0 -0.1 -72
Other Mobile Sources.................................... 0.2 0.1 -0.1 -72
---------------------------------------
Total............................................... 0.6 0.4 -0.2 -38
NH3
Stationary Sources...................................... 0.3 0.4 0.1 17
Areawide Sources........................................ 4.6 4.5 -0.1 -1
On-Road Mobile Sources.................................. 0.2 0.2 0.0 -13
Other Mobile Sources.................................... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0
---------------------------------------
Total............................................... 5.1 5.0 0.0 -1
VOC
Stationary Sources...................................... 3.8 4.0 0.2 5
Areawide Sources........................................ 5.8 5.5 -0.3 -5
On-Road Mobile Sources.................................. 3.7 2.8 -0.9 -25
Other Mobile Sources.................................... 3.0 2.3 -0.6 -21
---------------------------------------
Total............................................... 16.3 14.6 -1.6 -10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Source: Table 1 in CARB's 2014 Staff Report. Net percent change is computed using the original figures
having four decimal places, but values in Table 5 for 2005, 2011, and net tpd change are rounded to the
nearest tenth of a tpd, and, as a result, adding rounded values may not equal totals in table.
With respect to the connection between the emissions reductions and
the improvement in air quality, we also conclude that the air quality
improvement in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment
area between 2005 and 2011 was not the result of a local economic
downturn or unusual or extreme weather patterns. Despite a significant
economic slowdown nationally starting in 2008, gross domestic product
in the Yuba City-Marysville Metropolitan Statistical Area grew by
approximately 17 percent between 2005 and 2012. We also note the
downward trend in PM2.5 beginning in 2000 and continuing
through 2012.\45\ Meteorological conditions (e.g., average
temperatures) for the 2005-2007 nonattainment period were similar to
the 2009-2011 attainment period,\46\ yet the PM2.5 design
value for the 2009-2011 period was 27 [micro]g/m\3\, approximately 23%
below the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\45\ See Table IV-1 on page IV-3 of the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan and Figure 2 in CARB's 2014 Staff Report.
\46\ Temperature data are collected by CARB at the Yuba City-
Almond Street monitoring site, and the precipitation data are
collected at the Yuba City Airport.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thus, we find that the improvement in air quality in the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area is the result of
permanent and enforceable emissions reductions from a combination of
EPA-approved local and State control measures and federal control
measures. As such, we propose to find that the criterion for
redesignation set forth at CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) is satisfied.
D. The Area Must Have a Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under Clean Air
Act Section 175A
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment.
We interpret this section of the Act to require, in general, the
following core elements: Attainment inventory, maintenance
demonstration plus a commitment to submit a second maintenance plan
eight years after redesignation, monitoring network, verification of
continued attainment, and contingency plan. See Calcagni memorandum,
pages 8 through 13.
Under CAA section 175A, a maintenance plan must demonstrate
continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS for at least ten years
after EPA approves a redesignation to attainment. Eight years after
redesignation, the State must submit a revised maintenance plan that
demonstrates continued attainment for the subsequent ten-year period
following the initial ten-year maintenance period. To address the
possibility of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must
contain such contingency provisions that EPA deems necessary to
promptly correct any violation of the NAAQS that occurs after
redesignation of the area. Based on our review and evaluation of the
plan, as
[[Page 61837]]
detailed below, we are proposing to approve the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan because we believe that it meets the requirements
of CAA section 175A.
1. Attainment Inventory
Section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires plan submittals to include a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from
all sources in the nonattainment area. In demonstrating maintenance in
accordance with CAA section 175A and the Calcagni memorandum, the State
should provide an attainment emissions inventory to identify the level
of emissions in the area sufficient to attain the NAAQS. Where the
State has made an adequate demonstration that air quality has improved
as a result of the SIP, the attainment inventory will generally be an
inventory of actual emissions at the time the area attained the
standard. EPA's primary guidance in evaluating these inventories is the
document entitled, ``Emissions Inventory Guidance for Implementation of
Ozone and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) and Regional Haze Regulations,'' EPA, OAQPS, EPA-454/R-05-011
(August 2005).\47\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\47\ This document can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/eidocs/eiguid/eiguidfinal_nov2005.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A maintenance plan for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard
must include an inventory of emissions of PM2.5 and its
precursors (i.e., NOX, SOX, and VOC) in the area
to identify a level of emissions sufficient to attain the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard. This inventory must be consistent with EPA's
most recent guidance on emissions inventories for nonattainment areas
available at the time and should represent emissions during the time
period associated with the monitoring data showing attainment. The
inventory must also be comprehensive, including emissions from
stationary point sources, area sources, and mobile sources.
FRAQMD selected year 2011 as the year for the attainment inventory
in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan. Year 2011 is a
current, accurate, and comprehensive inventory during a period which
the area continued to attain the 24-hour PM2.5 standard
prior to adoption and submittal of the redesignation request and
maintenance plan. The attainment inventory will generally be the actual
inventory during the time period the area attained the standard. EPA
previously made an attainment determination for the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area. See 67 FR 7082,
February 15, 2002. Thus, FRAQMD's selection of 2011 for the attainment
inventory is acceptable.
Based on our review of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Plan, we find that the emissions inventories in the Plan are
comprehensive in that they include estimates of PM2.5 and
its precursors from all of the relevant source categories, which the
Plan divides among stationary, area wide, on-road motor vehicles, and
other mobile. The Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan includes
2011 (along with 2017 and 2024) inventories of direct PM2.5,
NOX, SOx, VOC, and ammonia for the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\48\ See Tables V-1 and VI-1 in the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan. For additional details on the 2011, 2017, and
2024 inventories, see Appendix A to the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan and 2017 and 2024 on-road mobile source
inventories in attachment to email from Binu Abraham, SACOG, to John
Ungvarsky, EPA Region 9, December 11, 2013.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The stationary source category of the emissions inventory includes
non-mobile, fixed sources of air pollution comprised of individual
industrial, manufacturing, and commercial facilities. Examples of
stationary sources (aka, point sources) include fuel combustion (e.g.,
electric utilities), waste disposal (e.g., landfills), cleaning and
surface coatings (e.g., printing), petroleum production and marketing,
and industrial processes (e.g., chemical). Stationary source operators
report to the Districts the process and emissions data used to
calculate emissions from point sources. FRAQMD's 2011 (and subsequent
year inventories) for stationary sources were developed using
information reported to FRAQMD by emission sources and entered into the
California Emission Inventory Development and Reporting System
(CEIDARS) database.\49\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\49\ The CEIDARS database consists of two categories of
information: source information and utility information. Source
information includes the basic inventory information generated and
collected on all point and area sources. Utility information
generally includes auxiliary data, which helps categorize and
further define the source information. Used together, CEIDARS is
capable of generating complex reports based on a multitude of
category and source selection criteria.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The area sources category includes aggregated emissions data from
processes that are individually small and widespread or not well-
defined point sources. The area source subcategories include solvent
evaporation (e.g., consumer products and architectural coatings) and
miscellaneous processes (e.g., residential fuel combustion and farming
operations). Emissions from these sources are calculated through area
source methodologies that rely on emission factors and activity data
such as product sales, population, employment data, and other
parameters for a wide range of activities that generate air pollution
across the Sacramento nonattainment region.\50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\50\ Detailed information on the area-wide source category
emissions is found on the CARB Web site: http://www.arb.ca.gov/ei/areasrc/areameth.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The on-road motor vehicles inventory category consists of trucks,
automobiles, buses, and motorcycles. California's model for estimating
emissions from on-road motor vehicles operating in California is
referred to as ``EMFAC'' (short for EMission FACtor). EMFAC has
undergone many revisions over the years, and the current on-road motor
vehicles emission model is EMFAC2011, the CARB model approved by EPA
for estimating on-road motor source emissions.\51\ The on-road
emissions inventory estimates in the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan were prepared by CARB using EMFAC2011. The
vehicle miles traveled were developed from Sacramento Area Council of
Governments (SACOG) activity data using transportation modeling in
Metropolitan Transportation/Sustainable Communities Strategy Plan for
2035.\52\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\ See 78 FR 14533 (March 6, 2013) regarding EPA approval of
the 2011 version of the California EMFAC model and announcement of
its availability. The software and detailed information on the EMFAC
vehicle emission model can be found on the following CARB Web site:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msei/msei.htm.
\52\ Metropolitan Transportation/Sustainable Communities
Strategy Plan, SACOG, adopted April 19, 2013. For more information,
go to: http://www.sacog.org/2035/mtpscs/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to off-road mobile sources (or ``other mobile'' as
categorized in the PM2.5 Plan), the category includes
aircraft, trains, boats, and off-road vehicles and equipment used for
construction, farming, commercial, industrial, and recreational
activities. In general, off-road emissions are calculated using
equipment population, engine size and load, usage activity, and
emission factors. Off-road mobile source emissions were calculated
using CARB category specific methods and inventory models.\53\ For
unlisted categories, CARB's OFFROAD2007 model was used to calculate
emissions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\53\ Available at http://www.arb.ca.gov/msei/categories.htm#offroad_motor_vehicles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 5 presents the direct PM2.5 and PM2.5
precursor emissions estimates for 2011, 2017, and 2024 in the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan. Based on the 2011 inventory
estimates in Table 4, the on-road and off-road mobile sources accounted
for 44% and 28%, respectively, of the NOX emissions.
Areawide sources (e.g., residential wood
[[Page 61838]]
burning, farming operations, and managed burning) accounted for 72% of
direct PM2.5.
Table 5--Yuba City-Marysville Emissions Inventories for 2011, 2017, and 2024 and Net Changes Between 2011 to
2024 (tpd) a
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Net Change
Pollutant category ----------------------------------------------------------------
2011 2017 2024 2011-2024 %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOX
Stationary Sources......................... 4.4 4.8 4.3 -0.1 -2
Areawide Sources........................... 1.1 1.3 1.3 0.2 17
On-Road Mobile Sources..................... 8.4 5.3 3.1 -5.3 -63
Other Mobile Sources....................... 5.4 4.6 3.4 -2.1 -38
----------------------------------------------------
Total.................................. 19.3 16.0 12.1 -7.2 -37
PM2.5
Stationary Sources......................... 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.3 29
Areawide Sources........................... 3.8 4.1 4.0 0.1 4
On-Road Mobile Sources..................... 0.3 0.2 0.2 -0.1 -26
Other Mobile Sources....................... 0.3 0.2 0.1 -0.1 -50
----------------------------------------------------
Total.................................. 5.3 5.5 5.4 0.2 3
SOX
Stationary Sources......................... 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 90
Areawide Sources........................... 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.1 67
On-Road Mobile Sources..................... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 14
Other Mobile Sources....................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 1
----------------------------------------------------
Total.................................. 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.2 61
NH3
Stationary Sources......................... 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.1 35
Areawide Sources........................... 4.5 4.3 4.3 -0.2 -5
On-Road Mobile Sources..................... 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 -16
Other Mobile Sources....................... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0
----------------------------------------------------
Total.................................. 5.0 4.9 4.9 -0.1 -3
VOCs
Stationary Sources......................... 4.0 4.5 4.1 0.1 2
Areawide Sources........................... 5.5 6.3 6.5 1.0 19
On-Road Mobile Sources..................... 2.8 1.5 1.1 -1.7 -60
Other Mobile Sources....................... 2.3 2.0 1.7 -0.6 -26
----------------------------------------------------
Total.................................. 14.6 14.2 13.4 -1.2 -8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Source: Table 1 in CARB's 2014 Staff Report. Net percent change is computed using the original figures
having four decimal places, but values for 2011, 2017, 2018, and net tpd change are rounded to the nearest
tenth of a tpd and, as a result, adding rounded values may not equal totals in table.
Based on our review of the emissions inventories (and related
documentation) from the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan, we
find that the inventories for 2011 are comprehensive, that the methods
and assumptions used by CARB and FRAQMD to develop the emission
inventories are reasonable, and that the 2011 inventory reasonably
estimates actual PM2.5 emissions in the attainment year.
Therefore, we are proposing to approve the 2011 inventory, which serves
as the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan's attainment year
inventory, as satisfying the requirements of section 172(c)(3) of the
CAA for the purposes of redesignation of the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area to attainment of the 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS.
2. Maintenance Demonstration
Section 175A(a) of the CAA requires that the maintenance plan
``provide for the maintenance of the national primary ambient air
quality standard for such air pollutant in the area concerned for at
least 10 years after the redesignation.'' Generally, a state may
demonstrate maintenance of the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS by
modeling to show that the future mix of sources and emissions rates
will not cause a violation of the NAAQS. A showing that future
emissions will not exceed the level of the attainment year inventory
can also be used to further support of a maintenance demonstration. For
areas that are required under the Act to submit modeled attainment
demonstrations, the maintenance demonstration should use the same type
of modeling. Calcagni memorandum, page 9.
The Yuba-City Marysville PM2.5 Plan's maintenance
demonstration is based on the use of proportional rollback to
demonstrate maintenance of the 24-hour PM2.5 standard until
the maintenance year 2024. See Plan, pp. VI-1--VI-3. FRAQMD assumes
that the 2011 design value (DV) will change in proportion to the change
in the corresponding species components of the emission inventory
between 2011 and 2024.
As described previously, exceedances of the 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS in the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area
have occurred November through February. Chemical composition data can
be used to understand the types of emission sources that contribute to
ambient PM2.5 in these winter months; however, these
measurements are not
[[Page 61839]]
routinely collected in the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area. A
limited chemical composition analysis was done on samples collected at
the Yuba City-Almond Street monitor (AQS ID: 061010003) in 2004-
2006.\54\ Archived Teflon filters were analyzed by a combination of X-
ray Fluorescence (XRF) to provide elemental concentrations and Ion
Chromatography (IC) to estimate ions (sulfate, nitrate, potassium,
ammonium, etc.). These data show that PM2.5 on days with
high concentrations during the cool season \55\ was made up of TCM
(54%), ammonium nitrate (38%), ammonium sulfate (6%), and crustal
materials (2%). See Plan, pp. IV-5--IV-7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\54\ Availability of New Speciation Data for Some Areas that EPA
Intends to Designate as Nonattainment, Neil Frank, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, September 18, 2008 available at
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/pm/docs/available_new_speciation_data_pm2.5_naa.pdf.
\55\ Days with concentrations above the 95th percentile of
measured PM2.5 during October-April.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Yuba-City Marysville PM2.5 Plan shows that the
PM2.5 composition on high concentration days likely did not
change between 2004-2006 and the emission inventory year 2011. See CARB
2014 Staff Report p. 8-9. FRAQMD argues that while emission reductions
have reduced the frequency and magnitude of high concentration day
events, there would be little impact on exceedance day composition due
to consistent meteorology and control programs targeting all
contributors to PM2.5 mass. As additional evidence, data
from the Sacramento-T Street site (AQS ID: 060670010), the closest
monitor with routine composition data and similar meteorology, is
presented. These data shows that despite decreases in emissions over
the years the composition in 2010-2012 was very similar to that in
2004-2006. We find the assumption that the chemical composition was
consistent between 2004-2006 and 2011 to be reasonable. FRAQMD used the
composition data for 2004-2006 to partition the 2011 DV of 27 [micro]g/
m\3\ into its components of 14.6 [mu]g/m\3\ TCM, 10.3 [mu]g/m\3\
ammonium nitrate, 1.6 [mu]g/m\3\ ammonium sulfate, and 0.5 [mu]g/m\3\
crustal materials.
The Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan demonstrates that
the 2024 maintenance year inventory is well below the 2011 attainment
year inventory for NOX, the most important PM2.5
precursor and about equal for direct PM2.5, the largest
contributor to PM2.5. Emissions for SOX are
projected to increase, but sulfate is a very small contributor.
Emissions for VOC and ammonia, the other potential precursors, are
projected to decrease. Table 6 presents a summary of the direct
PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursor emissions estimates for
2011, 2017, and 2024 in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Maintenance Plan. Emissions are projected to change between 2011 and
2014 for direct PM2.5 (+3%), NH3 (-3%),
NOX (-37%), SOX (+61%), and VOCs (-8%). Since
current ambient concentrations are well below the NAAQS, the
NOX decrease together with the slight increase in projected
direct PM2.5 and SOX emissions are consistent
with maintenance of the NAAQS, as discussed below.
Based on our review of the 2017 and 2024 emissions inventories and
related documentation from the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Plan, we find that the 2017 and 2024 emissions inventories in the Plan
reflect the latest planning assumptions and emissions models available
at the time the Plan was developed, and provide a comprehensive and
reasonably accurate basis upon which to forecast direct
PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursor emissions for years
2017 and 2024.\56\ These inventories further support maintenance
through 2024.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\56\ The 2024 emission inventory includes emissions reductions
from State measures adopted through June 2011 plus reductions from
the Advanced Clean Cars Program. Emails from Kasia Turkiewicz, CARB,
to John Ungvarsky, EPA, August 20, 2014, and September 8, 2014.
Table 6--Summary of 2011, 2017 and 2024 Projected PM2.5 and PM2.5 Precursor Emissions in the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Nonattainment Area (Tons Per Day, Average Winter Day), and 2011-2024 Change a
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net change Net change
Pollutants 2011 2017 2024 tpd %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM2.5.......................................... 5.3 5.5 5.4 0.2 3
NOX............................................ 19.3 16.0 12.1 -7.2 -37
SOX............................................ 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.2 61
NH3............................................ 5.0 4.9 4.9 -0.1 -3
VOC............................................ 14.6 14.2 13.4 -1.2 -8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Source: Table 1 in CARB's 2014 Staff Report. Net percent change is computed using the original figures
having four decimal places, but values 2011, 2017, 2024, and net tpd change are rounded to the nearest tenth
of a tpd, and, as a result, adding rounded values may not equal net change in table.
Assuming TCM and crustal material are from directly emitted
PM2.5, a 3% increase in the estimated 2011 TCM ambient
contribution (i.e., 14.6 [mu]g/m\3\) corresponds to a 0.45 [mu]g/m\3\
increase in ambient PM2.5. Ammonium nitrate and ammonium
sulfate are secondary PM, that is, they are formed from chemical
reactions in the air, and so do not necessarily scale one-to-one with
the precursor NOX, NH3, and SOX
emissions. Assuming a conservative one-to-one SOX to
ammonium sulfate, a 61% increase in SOX corresponds to a 1.0
[mu]g/m\3\ PM2.5 increase. NOX emissions are
projected to decrease by 37% and NH3 is projected to
decrease by 3%. FRAQMD assumes a one-to-one NOX to ammonium
nitrate resulting in a 3.8 [mu]g/m\3\ PM2.5 decrease. The
amount of NOX to ammonium nitrate formation, however, can
vary depending on a number of chemical and meteorological factors.
Photochemical modeling for the Sacramento region shows that a 1% change
in NOX causes only a 0.7% change in ammonium nitrate. See 78
FR 44494 at 59261 (July 24, 2013). Using this assumption, the 37%
NOX decrease results in a 2.7 [mu]g/m\3\ PM2.5
decrease. Taken together, the changes in precursor emissions from 2011
to 2024 result in an overall decrease of 1.25 [mu]g/m\3\ in the DV. See
Plan, Table VI-4 p. VI-3.
The results of the proportional roll-back analysis show that the
Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area will be well
below the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in 2024, with the projected DV
of 25.75 [mu]g/m\3\. This is higher than the 24.6 [micro]g/m\3\ in the
Plan (based on a one-to-one ammonium nitrate response to NOX
reductions), but is still well below the NAAQS. The effects of the
declining NOX outweigh slight increases in direct
PM2.5 and SOX.
For the above reasons, EPA believes the area will continue to
maintain the
[[Page 61840]]
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS at least through 2024 and that the
Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Maintenance Plan shows
maintenance for a period of ten years following redesignation. Thus,
EPA proposes approval of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Maintenance Plan in 2014, based on a showing, in accordance with
section 175A, that the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Maintenance Plan provides for maintenance for at least ten years after
redesignation.
3. Maintenance Plan and Evaluation of VOC and Ammonia Precursors
With regard to the redesignation of Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area, in evaluating the effect of the Court's remand of
EPA's implementation rule, which included presumptions against
consideration of VOC and ammonia as PM2.5 precursors, EPA in
this proposal is also considering the impact of the decision on the
maintenance plan required under sections 175A and 107(d)(3)(E)(iv). To
begin with, EPA notes that the area has attained the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard and that the State has shown that attainment
of that standard is due to permanent and enforceable emission
reductions.
EPA proposes to determine that the State's maintenance plan shows
continued maintenance of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard by
tracking the levels of the precursors whose control brought about
attainment of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard in the Yuba
City-Marysville nonattainment area. EPA, therefore, believes that the
only additional consideration related to the maintenance plan
requirements that results from the Court's January 4, 2013 decision is
that of assessing the potential role of VOC and ammonia in
demonstrating continued maintenance in this area. As explained below,
based upon documentation provided by the State and supporting
information, EPA believes that the maintenance plan for the Yuba City-
Marysville nonattainment area need not include any additional emission
reductions of VOC or ammonia in order to provide for continued
maintenance of the 2006 24-hr PM2.5 standard.
First, as noted above in EPA's discussion of section 189(e), VOC
emission levels in this area have historically been controlled under
SIP requirements related to ozone and other pollutants, and the area
has no major stationary sources of ammonia. Second and as described
below, available information shows that precursor emissions, including
VOC and ammonia, are not expected to increase over the maintenance
period so as to interfere with or undermine the State's maintenance
demonstration.
In the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area, emissions of
NOX, NH3, and VOC are projected to decrease over
the maintenance period for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard.
See Tables 5 and 6. Given that the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment
area is already attaining the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS even
with the current level of emissions from sources in the area, the
downward trend of emissions inventories would be consistent with
continued attainment. Indeed, projected emissions reductions for the
precursors that the State is addressing for purposes of the 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 standard indicate that the area should continue
to attain the standard following the precursor control strategy that
the State has already elected to pursue. Even though direct
PM2.5 and SOX are both projected to marginally
increase by 0.2 tpd between 2011 and 2024, the overall emissions
reductions projected in NOX, NH3, and VOC would
be sufficient to offset the very small increase in direct
PM2.5 and SOX. For these reasons, EPA believes
that emissions from potential PM2.5 precursors will not
cause monitored PM2.5 levels to violate the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 standard during the maintenance period. In addition,
the 2011-2013 design value for the area is 29 [micro]g/m\3\, which is
well below the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard of 35 [micro]g/
m\3\. Given that precursor emissions are projected to decrease through
2024, it is reasonable to conclude that monitored PM2.5
levels in this area will also continue to decrease through 2024.
Thus, EPA believes that there is ample justification to conclude
that the Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area should be
redesignated, even taking into consideration the emissions of other
precursors potentially relevant to PM2.5. Even if the
requirements of section 189(e) were deemed applicable at the time the
State submitted the redesignation request, and for the reasons set
forth in this notice, EPA proposes to approve the State's maintenance
plan and its request to redesignate the Yuba City-Marysville
nonattainment area to attainment for the 1997 PM2.5 annual
standard.
4. Verification of Continued Attainment
In demonstrating maintenance, continued attainment of the NAAQS can
be verified through operation of an appropriate air quality monitoring
network. The Calcagni memorandum states that the maintenance plan
should contain provisions for continued operation of air quality
monitors that will provide such verification. Calcagni memorandum, p.
11. As discussed in section VI.A of this document, PM2.5 is
currently monitored by CARB within the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area. In the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan (see Plan, p. VII-1), the District indicates it
will work with CARB in the continued operation of the Yuba City-
Marysville monitoring site (i.e., AQS site 06-101-0003) and maintain
compliance with federal requirements in 40 CFR Part 58. The Plan also
indicates that CARB intends to maintain an appropriate PM2.5
monitoring network through the maintenance period. We find that the
Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan contains adequate provisions
for continued operation of air quality monitors that will provide
verification of continued attainment.
Second, the transportation conformity process, which would require
a comparison of on-road motor vehicle emissions that would occur under
new or amended regional transportation plans and programs with the
MVEBs in the Plan, represents another means by which to verify
continued attainment of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in Yuba
City-Marysville nonattainment area.
Lastly, CARB and FRAQMD must inventory emissions sources and report
to EPA on a periodic basis under 40 CFR part 51, subpart A (``Air
Emissions Reporting Requirements''). These emissions inventory updates
will provide a third way to evaluate emissions trends in the area and
thereby verify continued attainment of the NAAQS. These methods are
sufficient for the purpose of verifying continued attainment.
5. Contingency Provisions
Section 175A(d) of the CAA requires that maintenance plans include
contingency provisions, as EPA deems necessary, to promptly correct any
violations of the NAAQS that occur after redesignation of the area.
Such provisions must include a requirement that the State will
implement all measures with respect to the control of the air pollutant
concerned that were contained in the SIP for the area before
redesignation of the area as an attainment area. These contingency
provisions are distinguished from those generally required for
nonattainment areas under section 172(c)(9) in that they are not
required to be fully-adopted measures that will take effect without
further action by the state in order for the maintenance plan to be
approved. However, the contingency plan is considered to be an
enforceable part of the SIP and should ensure that the
[[Page 61841]]
contingency measures are adopted expeditiously once they are triggered
by a specified event.
Under section 175A(d), contingency measures identified in the
contingency plan do not have to be fully adopted at the time of
redesignation. However, the contingency plan is considered to be an
enforceable part of the SIP and should ensure that the contingency
measures are adopted expeditiously once they are triggered by a
specified event. The maintenance plan should clearly identify the
measures to be adopted, a schedule and procedure for adoption and
implementation, and a specific timeline for action by the State. As a
necessary part of the plan, the State should also identify specific
indicators or triggers, which will be used to determine when the
contingency measures need to be implemented.
As required by section 175A of the CAA, FRAQMD has adopted a
contingency plan to address possible future PM2.5 air
quality problems. The contingency provisions in the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Plan are contained in section VII of the
Plan and were clarified in a subsequent letter from the District.\57\
In the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan, FRAQMD identifies
the contingency plan trigger as a violation of the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. If that should occur, FRAQMD commits to the
following steps.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\57\ Letter from Christopher D. Brown, Air Pollution Control
Officer, FRAQMD, to Deborah Jordan, Director, Air Division, US EPA,
Region 9, and Richard W. Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, dated
December 19, 2013.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Within 60 days of the trigger, FRAQMD will commence an analysis
to determine if the violation was caused by a natural event or
instrument malfunction, and evaluate meteorological conditions and
emissions inventory.
(2) FRAQMD will consult with interested parties, community
organizations, and industry to identify and implement, within nine
months after the trigger, voluntary and incentive measures to reduce
directly emitted PM2.5.
(3) If the violation occurred because of emissions from sources
within Sutter or Yuba counties, the FRAQMD will promptly adopt and
implement, no later than 18-24 months after the violation, new or
revised measures necessary to ensure attainment. The measures that
FRAQMD would consider and analyze are listed in Table 7. Additional
rules may be considered depending on the cause of the violation of the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard.
Table 7--Measures for Consideration and Analysis in Step 3 of the FRAQMD
Contingency Plan
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source category Control measures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary Sources................ Combustion Devices (boilers,
incinerators, engines, and
turbines).
Industrial Processes (manufacturing,
industrial, agricultural, oil and
gas).
Opening Burning Restrictions...... Managed Burning (agricultural and
residential opening burning).
Prescribed Burning.
Fugitive Dust..................... Paved Roads (truck covering,
construction site measures, storm
water drainage).
Unpaved Roads (paving and surface
improvements, chemical
stabilization, speed reduction).
Construction and Demolition (truck
covering, access areas, watering).
Storage Piles (wet suppression and
dust control).
Agricultural Processes (reducing
dust from tilling, harvesting,
processing; also conservation).
Opacity Restrictions.............. Visible emissions limitations.
Residential Wood Burning Devices.. Mandatory curtailment, conversion/
upgrade of existing devices,
restrictions on new devices.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In their December 19, 2013 letter, FRAQMD clarified that all three
of the aforementioned steps will be completed, including the
implementation of additional control measures, within 18-24 months of
trigger activation.
Upon our review of the Plan, as summarized above, we find that the
contingency provisions of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Plan clearly identify specific contingency measures, contain tracking
and triggering mechanisms to determine when contingency measures are
needed, contain a description of the process of recommending and
implementing contingency measures, and contain specific timelines for
action. Thus, we conclude that the contingency provisions of the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan are adequate to ensure prompt
correction of a violation and therefore comply with section 175A(d) of
the CAA. For the reasons set forth above, EPA is proposing to find that
the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan is consistent with the
maintenance plan contingency provision requirements of the CAA and EPA
guidance.
6. Transportation Conformity and Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
a. Requirements for Transportation Conformity and Motor Vehicle
Emissions Budgets
Under section 176(c) of the CAA, transportation plans, programs and
projects in the nonattainment or maintenance areas that are funded or
approved under title 23 U.S.C. and the Federal Transit Laws (49 U.S.C.
chapter 53) must conform to the applicable SIP. In short, a
transportation plan and program are deemed to conform to the applicable
SIP if the emissions resulting from the implementation of that
transportation plan and program are less than or equal to the motor
vehicle emissions budgets (budgets) established in the SIP for the
attainment year, maintenance year and other years. See, generally, 40
CFR part 93 for the federal conformity regulations and 40 CFR 93.118
specifically for how budgets are used in conformity.
The budgets serve as a ceiling on emissions that would result from
an area's planned transportation system. The budget concept is further
explained in the preamble to the November 24, 1993, transportation
conformity rule (58 FR 62188). Maintenance plan submittals must specify
the maximum emissions of transportation-related PM2.5 and
NOX emissions allowed in the last year of the maintenance
period, i.e., the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs). (MVEBs may
also be specified for additional years during the maintenance period.)
The submittal must also demonstrate that these emissions levels, when
considered with emissions from all other sources, are consistent with
maintenance of the NAAQS.
b. Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan
The Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan contains
PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs for the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area for 2017 and 2024.
[[Page 61842]]
The MVEBs are the on-road mobile source primary PM2.5 and
NOX (as a PM2.5 precursor) emissions for Yuba
City-Marysville nonattainment area for 2017 and 2024. The derivation of
the MVEBs is discussed in section VIII of the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan and in SACOG's Regional Planning Partnership
Action Item #3, February 20, 2013.\58\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\58\ Included in the docket for this action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The details for each component of the budgets are shown in Table 9
and are comprised of direct on-road mobile source emissions, safety
margins, and an adjustment for reductions from the State's Advanced
Clean Car Program. Direct PM2.5 emissions from road
construction, paved roads and unpaved roads were evaluated by FRAQMD
and determined to not be a significant contributor to the
PM2.5 nonattainment problem, and, as such, do not need to be
evaluated as part of a conformity determination.\59\ See 40 CFR
93.124(a). A state may choose to apply a safety margin under our
transportation conformity rule so long as such margins are explicitly
quantified in the applicable plan and are shown to be consistent with
attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS (whichever is relevant to the
particular plan).\60\ In this instance, the safety margin has been
explicitly quantified and shown to be consistent with continued
maintenance of the PM2.5 NAAQS through the applicable
maintenance period, through 2024. The State's MVEB analysis considered:
(1) On-road motor vehicle emission inventory factors of EMFAC2011; and
(2) updated recent vehicle activity data from SACOG's Sacramento
Activity-Based Travel Demand Simulation Model transportation modeling
system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\59\ See section VIII.c. in the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan.
\60\ See 40 CFR 93.124(a).
Table 9--Source Categories and Emissions Comprising the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
[tons per day, average winter day]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 2024
Category ---------------------------------------------------
NOX PM2.5 NOX PM2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-road emissions inventory \a\............................. 4.6 0.15 2.7 0.15
Safety Margin............................................... 0.7 -- 0.5 --
Advanced Clean Car Program Adjustment....................... 0.0 -- -0.1 --
---------------------------------------------------
Totals.................................................. 5.3 0.2 3.1 0.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Rounded up to nearest tenth of a ton, includes PM2.5 from tire and brake wear.
c. Initial Adequacy Review of Budgets
On May 20, 2014, EPA announced the availability of the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Plan with MVEBs and a 30-day public comment
period on EPA's Adequacy Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/reg9sips.htm#ca. The comment period for this
notification ended on June 19, 2014, and EPA received no comments from
the public. On August 25, 2014, EPA published in the Federal Register
(79 FR 50646) a finding of adequacy for the PM2.5 MVEBs for
the years 2017 and 2024. The new MVEBs became effective on September 9,
2014. After the effective date of the adequacy finding, the new MVEBs
must be used in future transportation conformity determinations in the
Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment area. EPA is not required under its
transportation conformity rule to find budgets adequate prior to
proposing approval of them, but in this instance, we have completed the
adequacy review of these budgets prior to our action on the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Plan.
d. Proposed Actions on the Budgets
EPA is proposing to approve the MVEBs for 2017 and 2024 as part of
our approval of Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan. EPA has
determined that the MVEB emission targets are consistent with emission
control measures in the SIP and that Yuba City-Marysville nonattainment
area can maintain attainment of the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
Because the budgets EPA found adequate in 79 FR 50646 (August 25, 2014)
are the same budgets EPA is proposing to approve in this action, if EPA
approves the MVEBs in the final rulemaking action, it would not change
the budgets currently in use for future transportation conformity
determinations for Yuba City-Marysville County. As discussed in section
V.D.2 of this notice, EPA is proposing that if this approval is
finalized in 2014 the area will continue to maintain the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS through at least 2024. Consistent with this
proposal, EPA is proposing to approve the MVEBs submitted by the State
in the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan. EPA is proposing
that the submitted budgets are consistent with maintenance of the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS through 2024.
VII. Proposed Action and Request for Public Comment
Based on our review of the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5
Plan submitted by the State, air quality monitoring data, and other
relevant materials, EPA is proposing to find that the State has
addressed all the necessary requirements for redesignation of the Yuba
City-Marysville nonattainment area to attainment of the
PM2.5 NAAQS, pursuant to CAA sections 107(d)(3)(E) and 175A.
First, under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D), we are proposing to approve
CARB's request, which accompanied the submittal of the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 Plan, to redesignate the Yuba City-
Marysville PM2.5 nonattainment area to attainment for the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. We are doing so based on our
conclusion that the area has met the five criteria for redesignation
under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E). Our conclusion is based on our proposed
determination that the area has attained the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS; that relevant portions of the California SIP
are fully approved; that the improvement in air quality is due to
permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions; that California has
met all requirements applicable to the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area with respect to section 110 and
part D of the CAA; and is based on our proposed approval of the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan as part of this action.
Second, in connection with the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 Plan showing maintenance through 2024, EPA is
proposing to find that the maintenance demonstration, which documents
how the area will continue to attain the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS for 10 years
[[Page 61843]]
beyond redesignation (i.e., through 2024) and the actions that FRAQMD
will take if a future monitored violation triggers the contingency
plan, meets all applicable requirements for maintenance plans and
related contingency provisions in section 175A of the CAA. EPA is also
proposing to approve the motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Yuba
City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan because we find they meet the
applicable transportation conformity requirements under 40 CFR
93.118(e). Lastly, EPA is proposing to approve the 2011 inventory,
which serves as the Yuba City-Marysville PM2.5 Plan's
attainment year inventory, as satisfying the requirements of section
172(c)(3) of the CAA.
We are soliciting comments on these proposed actions. We will
accept comments from the public on this proposal for 30 days following
publication of this proposal in the Federal Register. We will consider
these comments before taking final action.
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the
accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under section 107(d)(3)(E)
are actions that affect the status of a geographical area and do not
impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those
imposed by State law. Redesignation to attainment does not in and of
itself create any new requirements, but rather results in the
applicability of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have
been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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
Clean Air Act. Accordingly, these actions merely propose to approve a
State plan and redesignation request as meeting federal requirements
and do not impose additional requirements beyond those by State law.
For these reasons, these proposed actions:
Are 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);
Do not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Are 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.);
Do 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);
Do not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Are not an economically significant regulatory action
based on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Are not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Are 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
Do not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this proposed 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. There are no
federally recognized tribes located within the Yuba City-Marysville
PM2.5 nonattainment area.
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur dioxide.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Dated: September 29, 2014.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2014-24489 Filed 10-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P