[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8254-8273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03169]
[[Page 8254]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0868; FRL-9923-03-Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Redesignation Request and Associated Maintenance Plan for
the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE
Nonattainment Area for the 1997 Annual and 2006 24-Hour Fine
Particulate Matter Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's September 5, 2014 request to
redesignate to attainment the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE nonattainment area (hereafter ``the Philadelphia
Area'' or ``the Area'') for both the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS or standards). EPA is also proposing to approve as a
revision to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP) the
associated maintenance plan to show maintenance of the 1997 annual and
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS through 2025 for the
Pennsylvania portion of the Area. EPA is also proposing to approve the
motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) included in Pennsylvania's
maintenance plan for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area for both the
1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also
proposing to determine that the Pennsylvania portion of the
Philadelphia Area continues to attain both the 1997 annual and the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. In addition, EPA is proposing to
approve the 2007 emissions inventory included in the maintenance plan
for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. In this rulemaking action, EPA also addresses
the effects of several decisions of the United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit Court) and a decision of the
United States Supreme Court: (1) The D.C. Circuit Court's August 21,
2012 decision to vacate and remand to EPA the Cross-State Air Pollution
Control Rule (CSAPR); (2) the Supreme Court's April 29, 2014 reversal
of the vacature of CSAPR, and remand to the D.C. Circuit Court; (3) the
D.C. Circuit Court's October 23, 2014 decision to lift the stay of
CSAPR; and (4) the D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 decision to
remand to EPA two final rules implementing the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. This rulemaking action to propose approval of
the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS redesignation
request and associated maintenance plan for the Pennsylvania portion of
the Philadelphia Area is based on EPA's determination that Pennsylvania
has met the criteria for redesignation to attainment specified in the
Clean Air Act (CAA) for both the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA has taken separate rulemaking actions to
approve the redesignation of the New Jersey portion and the Delaware
portion of the Philadelphia Area for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 78 FR 54396, September 4, 2013 (for the New
Jersey portion of the Area), and 79 FR 45350, August 5, 2014 (for the
Delaware portion of the Area).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 19, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2014-0868 by one of the following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. Email: [email protected].
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0868, Marilyn Powers, Acting Associate
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2014-0868. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online
at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Copies of the State submittal are
available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn Powers, (215) 814-2308 or by
email at [email protected] and Rose Quinto, (215) 814-2182 or
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. EPA's Requirements
A. Criteria for Redesignation to Attainment
B. Requirements of a Maintenance Plan
III. Summary of Proposed Actions
IV. Effects of Recent Court Decisions on Proposed Actions
A. Effect of Court Decisions Regarding EPA's CSAPR
B. Effect of the D.C. Circuit Court Decision Regarding
PM2.5 Implementation under Subpart 4 of Part D of Title I
of the CAA
V. EPA's Analysis of Pennsylvania's Submittal
A. Redesignation Request
B. Maintenance Plan
C. Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
[[Page 8255]]
VI. Proposed Actions
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
The first air quality standards for PM2.5 were
established on July 16, 1997 (62 FR 38652, July 18, 1997). EPA
promulgated an annual standard at a level of 15 micrograms per cubic
meter ([mu]g/m\3\), based on a three-year average of annual mean
PM2.5 concentrations (the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS). In the same rulemaking action, EPA promulgated a 24-hour
standard of 65 [mu]g/m\3\, based on a three-year average of the 98th
percentile of 24-hour concentrations.
On January 5, 2005 (70 FR 944, 1014), EPA published air quality
area designations for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. In that
rulemaking action, EPA designated the Philadelphia Area as
nonattainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The
Philadelphia Area is comprised of New Castle County in Delaware (the
Delaware portion of the Area); Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester
Counties in New Jersey (the New Jersey portion of the Area); and Bucks,
Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in
Pennsylvania (the Pennsylvania portion of the Area). See 40 CFR 81.308
(Delaware), 40 CFR 81.331 (New Jersey), and 40 CFR 81.339
(Pennsylvania).
On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the annual average
standard at 15 [mu]g/m\3\, but revised the 24-hour standard to 35
[mu]g/m\3\, based again on the three-year average of the 98th
percentile of 24-hour concentrations (the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS). On November 13, 2009 (74 FR 58688), EPA published designations
for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, which became effective on
December 14, 2009. In that rulemaking action, EPA designated the
Philadelphia Area as nonattainment for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 77 FR 58775 and also see 40 CFR 81.308
(Delaware), 40 CFR 81.331 (New Jersey), and 40 CFR 81.339
(Pennsylvania). Today's proposed rulemaking actions address the
redesignations to attainment for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS for the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia
Area.
On May 16, 2012 (77 FR 28782) and January 7, 2013 (78 FR 882), EPA
made determinations that the entire Philadelphia Area had attained the
1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1004(c) and based on these determinations, the
requirements for the Philadelphia Area to submit an attainment
demonstration and associated reasonably available control measures
(RACM), a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures,
and other planning SIPs related to the attainment of either the 1997
annual or 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS were, and continue to be,
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 be submitted. In the May 16,
2012 action, EPA also determined, in accordance with CAA section
179(c), that the Philadelphia Area attained the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS by its attainment date of April 5, 2010.
On September 5, 2014, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), formally
submitted a request to redesignate the Pennsylvania portion of the Area
from nonattainment to attainment for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. Concurrently, PADEP submitted a combined
maintenance plan for the Area as a SIP revision to ensure continued
attainment throughout the Area over the next 10 years. The maintenance
plan includes the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and NOX
MVEBs for the Area for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS which EPA is proposing to approve for
transportation conformity purposes. On September 5, 2014, PADEP also
submitted a 2007 comprehensive emissions inventory for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS for PM2.5, nitrogen oxides
(NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), and ammonia (NH3). EPA is proposing to
approve as a SIP revision the maintenance plan for the 1997 annual and
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also proposing to
approve as a SIP revision the 2007 emissions inventory for the 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS to meet the emissions inventory requirement
of section 172(c)(3) of the CAA.
II. EPA's Requirements
A. Criteria for Redesignation to Attainment
The CAA provides the requirements for redesignating a nonattainment
area to attainment. Specifically, section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA
allows for redesignation providing that: (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 and applicable Federal air pollutant control
regulations and other permanent and enforceable reductions; (4) EPA has
fully approved a maintenance plan for the area as meeting the
requirements of section 175A of the CAA; and (5) the state containing
such area has met all requirements applicable to the area under section
110 and part D.
EPA has provided guidance on redesignation in the ``State
Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the Implementation of Title
I of the Clear Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' (57 FR 13498, April 16,
1992) (the General Preamble) and has provided further guidance on
processing redesignation requests in the following documents: (1)
``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4, 1992 (hereafter the 1992 Calcagni
Memorandum); (2) ``State Implementation Plan (SIP) Actions Submitted in
Response to Clean Air Act (CAA) Deadlines,'' Memorandum from John
Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division, October 28, 1992;
and (3) ``Part D New Source Review (Part D NSR) Requirements for Areas
Requesting Redesignation to Attainment,'' Memorandum from Mary D.
Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, October 14,
1994.
B. Requirements of a Maintenance Plan
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment.
Under section 175A, the plan must demonstrate continued attainment of
the applicable NAAQS for at least 10 years after approval of a
redesignation of an area to attainment. Eight years after the
redesignation, the state must submit a revised maintenance plan
demonstrating that attainment will continue to be maintained for the 10
years following the initial 10-year period. To address the possibility
of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must contain such
contingency measures, with a schedule for implementation, as EPA deems
necessary to assure prompt correction of any future PM2.5
violations.
The 1992 Calcagni Memorandum provides additional guidance on the
content of a maintenance plan. The Memorandum states that a maintenance
plan should address the following provisions: (1) An attainment
emissions inventory; (2) a maintenance demonstration showing
maintenance for
[[Page 8256]]
10 years; (3) a commitment to maintain the existing monitoring network;
(4) verification of continued attainment; and (5) a contingency plan to
prevent or correct future violations of the NAAQS.
III. Summary of Proposed Actions
EPA is proposing to take several rulemaking actions related to the
redesignation of the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area to
attainment for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS. EPA is proposing to find that the Pennsylvania portion of the
Area meets the requirements for redesignation of the 1997 annual and
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS under section 107(d)(3)(E) of
the CAA. EPA is thus proposing to approve Pennsylvania's request to
change the legal designation of the Pennsylvania portion of the Area
from nonattainment to attainment for both the 1997 annual and 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS. This rulemaking action does not impact the
legal designation of the New Jersey and Delaware portions of the
Philadelphia Area. On September 4, 2013 (78 FR 54396) and August 5,
2014 (79 FR 45350), EPA took separate rulemaking actions to redesignate
to attainment the New Jersey portion of the Area and the Delaware
portion of the Area, respectively, for both the 1997 annual and 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
EPA is also proposing to approve the associated maintenance plan
for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area as a revision to the
Pennsylvania SIP for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS, including the MVEBs for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area for
both the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The
approval of the maintenance plan is one of the CAA criteria for
redesignation of the Pennsylvania portion of the Area to attainment for
both NAAQS. Pennsylvania's combined maintenance plan is designed to
ensure continued attainment of the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively, in the Pennsylvania portion of
the Area for 10 years after redesignation.
EPA previously determined that the Philadelphia Area attained both
the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS (see 77 FR
28782 and 78 FR 882), and EPA is proposing to find that the Area
continues to attain both NAAQS. Furthermore, under section 172(c)(3) of
the CAA, EPA is proposing to approve the 2007 comprehensive emissions
inventory submitted by PADEP for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area
as a revision to the Pennsylvania's SIP for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA's analysis of the proposed actions is
provided in Section V. of today's proposed rulemaking action.
IV. Effects of Recent Court Decisions on Proposed Actions
A. Effect of Court Decisions Regarding EPA's CSAPR
1. Background
The D.C. Circuit Court and the Supreme Court have issued a number
of decisions and orders regarding the status of EPA's regional trading
programs for transported air pollution, the Clean Air Interstate Rule
(CAIR) and CSAPR, that impact this proposed redesignation action. In
2008, the D.C. Circuit Court initially vacated CAIR, North Carolina v.
EPA, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir. 2008), but ultimately remanded the rule to
EPA without vacatur to preserve the environmental benefits provided by
CAIR, North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176, 1178 (D.C. Cir. 2008). On
August 8, 2011 (76 FR 48208), acting on the D.C. Circuit Court's
remand, EPA promulgated CSAPR, to address interstate transport of
emissions and resulting secondary air pollutants and to replace
CAIR.\1\ CSAPR requires substantial reductions of SO2 and
NOX emissions from electric generating units (EGUs) in 28
states in the Eastern United States. Implementation of CSAPR was
scheduled to begin on January 1, 2012, when CSAPR's cap-and-trade
programs would have superseded the CAIR cap-and-trade programs.
Numerous parties filed petitions for review of CSAPR, and on December
30, 2011, the D.C. Circuit Court issued an order staying CSAPR pending
resolution of the petitions and directing EPA to continue to administer
CAIR. EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA, No. 11-1302 (D.C. Cir.
Dec. 30, 2011), Order at 2. On August 21, 2012, the D.C. Circuit Court
issued its ruling, vacating and remanding CSAPR to EPA and once again
ordering continued implementation of CAIR. EME Homer City Generation,
L.P. v. EPA, 696 F.3d 7, 38 (D.C. Cir. 2012). The D.C. Circuit Court
subsequently denied EPA's petition for rehearing en banc. EME Homer
City Generation, L.P. v. EPA, No. 11-1302, 2013 WL 656247 (D.C. Cir.
Jan. 24, 2013), at *1. EPA and other parties then petitioned the
Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, and the Supreme Court granted
the petitions on June 24, 2013. EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P.,
133 S. Ct. 2857 (2013).
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\1\ CAIR addressed the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS and
the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. CSAPR addresses contributions from
upwind states to downwind nonattainment and maintenance of the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS as well as the ozone and
PM2.5 NAAQS addressed by CAIR.
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On April 29, 2014, the Supreme Court vacated and reversed the D.C.
Circuit Court's decision regarding CSAPR, and remanded that decision to
the D.C. Circuit Court to resolve remaining issues in accordance with
its ruling. EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P., 134 S. Ct. 1584
(2014). EPA moved to have the stay of CSAPR lifted by the D.C. Circuit
Court in light of the Supreme Court decision. EME Homer City
Generation, L.P. v. EPA, Case No. 11-1302, Document No. 1499505 (D.C.
Cir. filed June 26, 2014). In its motion, EPA asked the D.C. Circuit
Court to toll CSAPR's compliance deadlines by three years, so that the
Phase 1 emissions budgets apply in 2015 and 2016 (instead of 2012 and
2013), and the Phase 2 emissions budgets apply in 2017 and beyond
(instead of 2014 and beyond). On October 23, 2014, the D.C. Circuit
Court granted EPA's motion and lifted the stay of CSAPR which was
imposed on December 30, 2011. EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA,
No. 11-1302 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 23, 2014), Order at 3. On December 3, 2014,
EPA issued an interim final rule to clarify how EPA will implement
CSAPR consistent with the D.C. Circuit Court's order granting EPA's
motion requesting lifting the stay and tolling the rule's deadlines.
See 79 FR 71663 (December 3, 2014) (interim final rulemaking).
Consistent with that rule, EPA began implementing CSAPR on January 1,
2015.
2. Proposal on This Issue
Because CAIR was promulgated in 2005 and incentivized sources and
states to begin achieving early emission reductions, the air quality
data examined by EPA in issuing a final determination of attainment for
the Pennsylvania portion of the Area in 2012 (May 16, 2012, 77 FR
28782) and the air quality data from the Area since 2005 necessarily
reflect reductions in emissions from upwind sources as a result of
CAIR, and Pennsylvania included CAIR as one of the measures that helped
to bring the Area into attainment. However, modeling conducted by EPA
during the CSAPR rulemaking process, which used a baseline emissions
scenario that ``backed out'' the effects of CAIR, see 76 FR 48223,
projected that the counties in the Philadelphia Area would have design
values below the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS for 2012 and 2014 without taking into account emission reductions
from CAIR or CSAPR. See Appendix B of EPA's ``Air Quality Modeling
Final Rule Technical Support Document,'' (Pages
[[Page 8257]]
B-37, B-51, B-57, B-58, B-66, B-80, B-86), which is available in the
docket for this proposed rulemaking action. In addition, the 2010-2012
quality-assured, quality-controlled, and certified monitoring data for
the Philadelphia Area confirms that the PM2.5 annual design
value for the Area remained well below the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS in 2012.
The status of CSAPR is not relevant to this redesignation. CSAPR
was promulgated in June 2011, and the rule was stayed by the D.C.
Circuit Court just six months later, before the trading programs it
created were scheduled to go into effect. As stated previously, EPA
began implementing CSAPR on January 1, 2015, subsequent to the emission
reductions documented in the Commonwealth's September 2014 request for
redesignation. Therefore, the Philadelphia Area's attainment of the
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS or the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS cannot have been a result of any emission reductions associated
with CSAPR. In summary, neither the status of CAIR nor the current
status of CSAPR affects any of the criteria for proposed approval of
this redesignation request for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area.
B. Effect of the D.C. Circuit Court Decision Regarding PM2.5
Implementation Under Subpart 4 of Part D of Title I of the CAA
1. Background
On January 4, 2013, in NRDC v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court remanded
to EPA the ``Final Clean Air Fine Particle Implementation Rule'' (72 FR
20586, April 25, 2007) and the ``Implementation of the New Source
Review (NSR) Program for PM2.5'' final rule (73 FR 28321,
May 16, 2008) (collectively, 1997 PM2.5 Implementation
Rule). 706 F.3d 428 (D.C. Cir. 2013). The D.C. Circuit Court found that
EPA erred in implementing the 1997 annual 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 EPA regulations and guidance
derived from subpart 1 of part D of Title I of the CAA. In response to
the D.C. Circuit Court's remand, EPA took this history into account by
setting a new deadline for any remaining submissions that may be
required for moderate nonattainment areas as a result of the D.C.
Circuit Court's decision regarding the applicability of subpart 4 of
part D of Title I of the CAA.
On June 2, 2014 (79 FR 31566), EPA issued a final rule,
``Identification of Nonattainment Classification and Deadlines for
Submission of SIP Provisions for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5
NAAQS'' (the PM2.5 Subpart 4 Classification and Deadline
Rule), which identifies the classification under subpart 4 for areas
currently designated nonattainment for the 1997 annual and/or 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The rule set a deadline for states to
submit attainment plans and meet other subpart 4 requirements. The rule
specified December 31, 2014 as the deadline for 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 PM2.5 and/or 2006
PM2.5 NAAQS and to submit SIPs addressing the nonattainment
new source review (NSR) requirements in subpart 4.
As explained in detail in the following section, since Pennsylvania
submitted its request to redesignate the Pennsylvania portion of the
Philadelphia Area on September 5, 2014, any additional attainment-
related SIP elements that may be needed for the Pennsylvania portion of
the Area to meet the applicable requirements of subpart 4 were not due
at the time Pennsylvania submitted its request to redesignate the
Pennsylvania portion of the Area for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS.
2. Proposal on This Issue
In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA addresses the effect of the
D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 ruling and the June 2, 2014
PM2.5 Subpart 4 Classification and Deadline Rule on the
redesignation requests for the Area. EPA is proposing to determine that
the D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 decision does not prevent EPA
from redesignating the Area to attainment for the 1997 annual and the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. Even in light of the D.C. Circuit
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 redesignation requests of the Area
and disregards the provisions of its 1997 PM2.5
Implementation Rule recently remanded by the D.C. Circuit Court,
Pennsylvania's request for redesignation of the Area still qualifies
for approval. EPA's discussion takes into account the effect of the
D.C. Circuit Court's ruling and the June 2, 2014 PM2.5
Subpart 4 Classification and Deadline Rule on the maintenance plans of
the Area, which EPA views as approvable when subpart 4 requirements are
considered.
a. Applicable Requirements Under Subpart 4 for Purposes of Evaluating
the Redesignation Request of the Area
With respect to the 1997 PM2.5 Implementation Rule, the
D.C. Circuit 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 PM2.5 NAAQS under
subpart 4 of Part D of the CAA, in addition to subpart 1. For the
purposes of evaluating Pennsylvania's September 2014 redesignation
request for the 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 section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA, and
thus EPA is not required to consider subpart 4 requirements with
respect to the redesignation of the areas. 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 1992
Calcagni Memorandum. See also ``SIP Requirements for Areas Submitting
Requests for Redesignation to Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon
Monoxide (CO) NAAQS on or after November 15, 1992,'' Memorandum 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
[[Page 8258]]
``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'').\2\ In
this case, at the time that Pennsylvania submitted its redesignation
request for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS, the requirements under subpart 4 were not due.
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\2\ 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. See section 175A(c) of the CAA.
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EPA's view that, for purposes of evaluating the redesignation of
the Pennsylvania portion of the Area, the subpart 4 requirements were
not due at the time Pennsylvania 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
Court's decision in South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. v. EPA, 472
F.3d 882 (D.C. Cir. 2006). In South Coast, the D.C. Circuit 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 rulemaking 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 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 CAA 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
D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 decision in NRDC v. EPA, and EPA's
June 2, 2014 PM2.5 Subpart 4 Classification and Deadline
Rule compound the consequences of imposing requirements that come due
after the redesignation request is submitted. Pennsylvania submitted
its redesignation request for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS on September 5, 2014 for the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area, which is prior to the deadline by which the Area
is required to meet the attainment plan and other requirements pursuant
to subpart 4.
To require Pennsylvania's fully-completed and pending redesignation
request for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS to
comply now with requirements of subpart 4 that the D.C. Circuit Court
announced only in January 2013 and for which the December 31, 2014
deadline to comply occurred subsequent to EPA's receipt of
Pennsylvania's September 5, 2014 redesignation request, would be to
give retroactive effect to such requirements and provide Pennsylvania a
unique and earlier deadline for compliance solely on the basis of
submitting its redesignation requests for the Area. The D.C. Circuit
Court recognized the inequity of this type of retroactive impact in
Sierra Club v. Whitman, 285 F.3d 63 (D.C. Cir. 2002),\3\ where it
upheld the D.C. Circuit Court's ruling refusing to make retroactive
EPA's determination that the areas did not meet their attainment
deadlines. In that case, petitioners urged the D.C. Circuit 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 D.C. Circuit 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
Pennsylvania by rejecting its September 2014 redesignation request for
an area that EPA previously determined was attaining the 1997 annual
and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS 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 Pennsylvania did
not expressly address subpart 4 requirements which came due after
receipt of such request and for which it had little to no notice, would
inflict the same unfairness condemned by the D.C. Circuit Court in
Sierra Club v. Whitman.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Sierra Club v. Whitman was discussed and distinguished in a
recent D.C. Circuit Court 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 8259]]
b. Subpart 4 Requirements and Pennsylvania's Redesignation Request
Even if EPA were to take the view that the D.C. Circuit Court's
January 4, 2013 decision, or the June 2, 2014 PM2.5 Subpart
4 Classification and Deadline Rule, requires that, in the context of
pending redesignation request for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, which were submitted prior to December 31,
2014, subpart 4 requirements must be considered as being due and in
effect, EPA proposes to determine that the Area still qualifies for
redesignation to attainment for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. As explained subsequently, EPA believes that
the redesignation request for the 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
1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
With respect to evaluating the relevant substantive requirements of
subpart 4 for purposes of redesignating the 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 coarse particulate
matter (PM10) \4\ nonattainment areas, and under the D.C.
Circuit 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 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ PM10 refers to particulates nominally 10
micrometers in diameter or smaller.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the purposes of this redesignation request, in order to
identify any additional requirements which would apply under subpart 4,
consistent with EPA's June 2, 2014 PM2.5 Subpart 4
Classification and Deadline Rule, EPA is considering the areas to be
``moderate'' PM2.5 nonattainment areas. As EPA explained in
its June 2, 2014 rule, section 188 of the CAA provides that all areas
designated nonattainment areas under subpart 4 are initially 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.\5\ 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 NSR Requirements for Areas Requesting Redesignation to
Attainment.'' 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). With respect to the specific attainment planning requirements
under subpart 4,\6\ when EPA evaluates a redesignation request under
either subpart 1 or 4, any area that is attaining the PM2.5
NAAQS 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:
``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.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ The potential effect of section 189(e) on section
189(a)(1)(A) for purposes of evaluating this redesignation is
discussed in this rulemaking action.
\6\ EPA refers to attainment demonstration, RFP, RACM, milestone
requirements, and contingency measures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 D.C. Circuit
Court's January 4, 2013 decision in NRDC v. EPA, or the June 2, 2014
PM2.5 Subpart 4 Classification and Deadline Rule, to mean
that attainment-related requirements specific to subpart 4 were either
due prior to Pennsylvania's September 2014 redesignation request or
became due subsequent to the September 2014 redesignation request and
must now be imposed retroactively \7\, those requirements do not apply
to areas that are attaining the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, for the purpose of evaluating a pending request
to redesignate the areas 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
[[Page 8260]]
ago. 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ As EPA has explained above, we do not believe that the D.C.
Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 decision should be interpreted so as
to impose these requirements on the states retroactively. Sierra
Club v. Whitman, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
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.
As stated previously in this proposed rulemaking, on May 16, 2012
(77 FR 28782) and January 7, 2013 (78 FR 882), EPA made determinations
that the entire Philadelphia Area had attained the 1997 annual and 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively. Pursuant to 40 CFR
51.1004(c) and based on these determinations, the requirements for the
Philadelphia 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 1997 annual or 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS were, and continue to be, 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 be submitted. Under its longstanding interpretation,
EPA is proposing to determine here that the Area meets the attainment-
related plan requirements of subparts 1 and 4 for the 1997 annual and
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. 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 this redesignation request.
c. Subpart 4 and Control of PM2.5 Precursors
The D.C. Circuit Court 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 D.C. Circuit 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 NOX from major stationary, mobile, and area sources
in order to attain the standard as expeditiously as practicable,
section 189(e) of the CAA 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 Court, contained rebuttable presumptions concerning
certain PM2.5 precursors 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 NH3] as . . . PM2.5
attainment plan precursor[s] and to evaluate sources of VOC [and
NH3] 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 NH3 in specific areas where that
was necessary.
The D.C. Circuit 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 VOCs and
NH3 are not PM2.5 precursors, as subpart 4
expressly governs precursor presumptions.'' NRDC v. EPA, at 27, n.10.
Elsewhere in the D.C. Circuit Court's opinion, however, the D.C.
Circuit Court observed: ``NH3 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, the redesignation of the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS is consistent with the D.C. Circuit Court's
decision on this aspect of subpart 4. While the D.C. Circuit Court,
citing section 189(e), stated that ``for a PM10 area
governed by subpart 4, a precursor is `presumptively' regulated,'' the
D.C. Circuit Court expressly declined to decide the specific challenge
to EPA's 1997 PM2.5 Implementation Rule provisions regarding
NH3 and VOC as precursors. The D.C. Circuit 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 1997 PM2.5
Implementation Rule's rebuttable presumptions regarding NH3
and VOC as PM2.5 precursors, 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 Pennsylvania portion of the Area, EPA believes that doing
so is consistent with proposing redesignation of the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. The Pennsylvania portion of the Area has
attained the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS
without any specific additional controls of NH3 and VOC
emissions from any sources in the Pennsylvania portion of the Area.
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.\8\ Under subpart 1 and EPA's prior
implementation rule, all major
[[Page 8261]]
stationary sources of PM2.5 precursors were subject to
regulation, with the exception of NH3 and VOC. Thus, EPA
must address here whether additional controls of NH3 and VOC
from major stationary sources are required under section 189(e) of
subpart 4 in order to redesignate the Pennsylvania portion of the Area
for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. As
explained subsequently, EPA does not believe that any additional
controls of NH3 and VOC are required in the context of this
redesignation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ 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 and precursor emissions,
and adopt those measures that are deemed reasonably available.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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. EPA in this rulemaking action, proposes to determine
that the Pennsylvania SIP revision has met the provisions of section
189(e) with respect to NH3 and VOC as precursors. These
proposed determinations are based on EPA's findings that: (1) The
Pennsylvania portion of the Area contains no major stationary sources
of NH3; and (2) existing major stationary sources of VOC are
adequately controlled under other provisions of the CAA regulating the
ozone NAAQS.\9\ 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 1997
annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, at present
NH3 and VOC precursors from major stationary sources do not
contribute significantly to levels exceeding the 1997 annual and the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in the Area. See 57 FR 13539-42.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ The Areas have reduced VOC emissions through the
implementation of various control programs including VOC Reasonably
Available Control Technology (RACT) regulations and various on-road
and non-road motor vehicle control programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA notes that its 1997 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 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. By contrast,
redesignation to attainment primarily requires the nonattainment 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 D.C. Circuit Court's
January 4, 2013 decision as calling for ``presumptive regulation'' of
NH3 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 Pennsylvania to address precursors differently than it has
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.\10\ Courts have upheld this approach to the requirements of
subpart 4 for PM10.\11\ EPA believes that application of
this approach to PM2.5 precursors under subpart 4 is
reasonable. Because the Area has already attained the 1997 annual and
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 these redesignations that
there is no need to revisit the attainment control strategy with
respect to the treatment of precursors. Even if the D.C. Circuit
Court's decision is construed to impose an obligation, in evaluating
this redesignation request, to consider additional precursors under
subpart 4, it would not affect EPA's approval here of Pennsylvania's
request for redesignation of the Pennsylvania portion of the Area for
the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. In the
context of a redesignation, Pennsylvania has shown that the Area has
attained the standards. Moreover, Pennsylvania has shown and EPA has
proposed to determine that attainment of the 1997 annual and the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in this Area is due to permanent and
enforceable emission reductions on all precursors necessary to provide
for continued attainment of the standards. See Section V.A.3 of this
rulemaking. It follows logically that no further control of additional
precursors is necessary. Accordingly, EPA does not view the January 4,
2013 decision of the D.C. Circuit Court as precluding redesignation of
the Area to attainment for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS at this time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See, e.g., ``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation
Plans for California--San Joaquin Valley PM10
Nonattainment Area; Serious Area Plan for Nonattainment of the 24-
Hour and Annual PM10 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 SO2, VOC, or NH3
emissions).
\11\ See, e.g., Assoc. of Irritated Residents v. EPA et al., 423
F.3d 989 (9th Cir. 2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In summary, even if, prior to submitting its September 2014
redesignation request submittal or subsequent to such submission and
prior to December 31, 2014, Pennsylvania was required to address
precursors for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area under subpart 4
rather than under subpart 1, as interpreted in EPA's remanded 1997
PM2.5 Implementation Rule, EPA would still conclude that the
Pennsylvania portion of the Area had met all applicable requirements
for purposes of redesignation in accordance with section
107(d)(3(E)(ii) and (v) of the CAA.
V. EPA's Analysis of Pennsylvania's Submittal
EPA is proposing several rulemaking actions for the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area: (1) To redesignate the Pennsylvania portion of the
Area to attainment for both the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS; and (2) to approve into the Pennsylvania SIP
the associated maintenance plan for both the 1997 annual and the 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also proposing in this
rulemaking action to approve the 2007 comprehensive emissions inventory
to satisfy section 172(c)(3) requirement for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, which is one of the criteria for redesignation.
EPA's proposed approval of the redesignation request and maintenance
plan for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS are
based upon EPA's determination that the Area continues to attain both
standards, which EPA is proposing in this rulemaking action, and that
all other redesignation criteria have been met for the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area. The following is a description of how
Pennsylvania's September 5, 2014 submittal satisfies the requirements
of the CAA including specifically section 107(d)(3)(E) for the 1997
annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
A. Redesignation Request
1. Attainment
As discussed previously in this proposed rulemaking action, in a
final
[[Page 8262]]
rulemaking action dated May 16, 2012 (77 FR 28782), EPA determined that
the entire Philadelphia Area attained the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS by its applicable attainment date, based upon quality-assured and
certified ambient air quality monitoring data for the period of 2007-
2009, and continued to attain that standard based upon quality-assured
and certified ambient air quality monitoring data for the period of
2008-2010. In a separate rulemaking action dated January 7, 2013 (78 FR
882), EPA determined that the Philadelphia Area attained the 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS, based on quality-assured and certified
ambient air quality monitoring data for 2008-2010 and 2009-2011. The
basis and effect of these determinations of attainment for both the
1997 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS were discussed in the notices of
the proposed (77 FR 3147 and 77 FR 60089, respectively) and final (77
FR 28782 and 78 FR 882, respectively) rulemakings.
EPA has reviewed the ambient air quality PM2.5
monitoring data in the Philadelphia Area, consistent with the
requirements contained in 40 CFR part 50, and recorded in EPA's Air
Quality System (AQS), including quality-assured, quality-controlled,
and state-certified data for the monitoring periods 2009-2011, 2010-
2012, 2011-2013, and preliminary data for 2012-2014. The air quality
data, included in the docket for this proposed rulemaking action, show
that the Philadelphia Area continues to attain both the 1997 annual and
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The Area's annual and 24-hour
PM2.5 design values \12\ are provided in Tables 1 and 2,
respectively.
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\12\ As defined in 40 CFR part 50, Appendix N, section (1)(c).
Table 1--Philadelphia Area's Annual Design Values for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 Standard for the 2009-2013
Monitoring Periods, in [mu]g/m \3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual design values
---------------------------------------------------------------
State County Preliminary
2009-2011 2010-2012 2011-2013 2012-2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delaware...................... New Castle...... 10.7 10.4 10.0 9.9
New Jersey.................... Camden.......... 9.7 9.7 10.1 10.5
---------------------------------------------------------------
Burlington...... No monitor
---------------------------------------------------------------
Gloucester...... 9.3 9.3 9.3 9.4
Pennsylvania.................. Bucks........... 10.9 10.9 10.8 10.6
Chester......... 13.7 12.3 11.1 9.9
Delaware........ 12.9 13.1 12.4 12.3
Montgomery...... 10.1 9.8 9.8 9.3
Philadelphia.... 11.4 11.0 11.1 12.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area's Annual Design Value 13.7 13.1 12.4 12.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: AQS Design Value Report dated December 12, 2014.
Table 2-- Philadelphia Area's 24-Hour Design Values for the 2006 24-Hour PM2.5 Standard for the 2009-2013
Monitoring Periods, in [mu]g/m \3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24-Hour design values
---------------------------------------------------------------
State County Preliminary
2009-2011 2010-2012 2011-2013 2012-2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delaware...................... New Castle...... 27 26 25 25
New Jersey.................... Camden.......... 24 23 25 26
---------------------------------------------------------------
Burlington...... No monitor
---------------------------------------------------------------
Gloucester...... 22 22 23 24
Pennsylvania.................. Bucks........... 28 29 30 30
Chester......... 33 31 28 26
Delaware........ 30 31 29 30
Montgomery...... 27 25 26 25
Philadelphia.... 34 29 28 30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area's Annual Design Value 34 31 30 30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: AQS Design Value Report dated December 12, 2014.
EPA's review of the monitoring data from 2009 through 2013 supports
EPA's previous determinations that the Area has attained the 1997
annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and that the Area
continues to attain both standards. Preliminary 2014 data, currently
uncertified, is consistent with a finding that the Area is expected to
continue to attain both standards. States are required to certify 2014
data by May 1, 2015. In addition, as discussed subsequently, with
respect to the maintenance plan, Pennsylvania has committed to continue
monitoring ambient PM2.5 concentrations in accordance with
40 CFR part 58. Thus, based upon an analysis of currently
[[Page 8263]]
available data, EPA is proposing to determine that the Philadelphia
Area continues to attain the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS.
2. The Area Has Met All Applicable Requirements Under Section 110 and
Subpart 1 of the CAA and Has a Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k)
In accordance with section 107(d)(3)(E)(v), the SIP revision for
the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS for the
Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area must be fully approved
under section 110(k) and all the requirements applicable to the
Pennsylvania portion of the Area under section 110 of the CAA (general
SIP requirements) and part D of Title I of the CAA (SIP requirements
for nonattainment areas) must be met.
a. Section 110 General SIP Requirements
Section 110(a)(2) of Title I of the CAA delineates the general
requirements for a SIP, which include enforceable emissions limitations
and other control measures, means, or techniques, provisions for the
establishment and operation of appropriate devices necessary to collect
data on ambient air quality, and programs to enforce the limitations.
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 minor source permit program;
provisions for the implementation of Part C requirements (PSD);
Provisions for the implementation of Part D requirements
for NSR permit programs;
Provisions for air pollution modeling; and
Provisions for public and local agency participation in
planning and emission control rule development.
Section 110(a)(2)(D) of the CAA requires that SIPs contain certain
measures to prevent sources in a state from significantly contributing
to air quality problems in another state. To implement this provision
for various NAAQS, EPA has required certain states to establish
programs to address transport of air pollutants in accordance with
EPA's Finding of Significant Contribution and Rulemaking for Certain
States in the Ozone Transport Assessment Group Region for Purposes of
Reducing Regional Transport of Ozone (63 FR 57356, October 27, 1998),
also known as the NOX (oxides of nitrogen) SIP Call;
amendments to the NOX SIP Call (64 FR 26298, May 14, 1999
and 65 FR 11222, March 2, 2000), and CAIR (70 FR 25162, May 12, 2005),
and CSAPR. However, section 110(a)(2)(D) requirements for a state are
not linked with a particular nonattainment area's designation and
classification in that state. EPA believes that the requirements linked
with a particular nonattainment area's designation and classifications
are the relevant measures to evaluate in reviewing a redesignation
request. The transport SIP submittal requirements, where applicable,
continue to apply to a state regardless of the designation of any one
particular area in the state. Thus, EPA does not believe that these
requirements are applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation.
In addition, EPA believes that the other section 110(a)(2) elements
not connected with nonattainment plan submissions and not linked with
an area's attainment status are not applicable requirements for
purposes of redesignation. The Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia
Area will still be subject to these requirements after it is
redesignated. EPA concludes that the section 110(a)(2) and part D
requirements which are linked with a particular area's designation and
classification are the relevant measures to evaluate in reviewing a
redesignation request, and that section 110(a)(2) elements not linked
to the area's nonattainment status are not applicable for purposes of
redesignation. This approach is consistent with EPA's existing policy
on applicability of conformity (i.e., for redesignations) and
oxygenated fuels requirement. See Reading, Pennsylvania, proposed and
final rulemakings (61 FR 53174, October 10, 1996), (62 FR 24826, May 7,
1997); Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio final rulemaking (61 FR 20458, May
7, 1996); and Tampa, Florida, final rulemaking (60 FR 62748, December
7, 1995). See also, the discussion on this issue in the Cincinnati,
Ohio redesignation (65 FR at 37890, June 19, 2000), and in the
Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania redesignation (66 FR at 53099,
October 19, 2001).
EPA has reviewed the Pennsylvania SIP and has concluded that it
meets the general SIP requirements under section 110(a)(2) of the CAA
to the extent they are applicable for purposes of redesignation. EPA
has previously approved provisions of Pennsylvania's SIP addressing
section 110(a)(2) requirements, including provisions addressing
PM2.5. See 77 FR 58955 (September 25, 2012). These
requirements are, however, statewide requirements that are not linked
to the PM2.5 nonattainment status of the Philadelphia Area.
Therefore, EPA believes that these SIP elements are not applicable
requirements for purposes of review of the Commonwealth's
PM2.5 redesignation request.
b. Subpart 1 Requirements
Subpart 1 sets forth the basic nonattainment plan requirements
applicable to PM2.5 nonattainment areas. Under section 172,
states with nonattainment areas must submit plans providing for timely
attainment and must meet a variety of other requirements.
The General Preamble for Implementation of Title I discusses the
evaluation of these requirements in the context of EPA's consideration
of a redesignation request. The General Preamble sets forth EPA's view
of applicable requirements for purposes of evaluating redesignation
requests when an area is attaining the standard. See 57 FR 13498, April
16, 1992.
As mentioned previously, on May 16, 2012 (77 FR 28782), EPA made a
determination that the Philadelphia Area had attained the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. This determination of attainment was based upon
quality-assured and certified ambient air quality monitoring data for
the period of 2007-2009 showing that the entire Area had attained the
standard by its applicable attainment date, and 2008-2010 data showing
that the Area continued to attain the standard. In a separate
rulemaking action, dated January 7, 2013 (78 FR 882), EPA made a
determination of attainment for the Philadelphia Area for the 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS, based on quality-assured and certified
ambient air quality monitoring data for the 2008-2010 and 2009-2011
monitoring periods.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.2004(c), upon these determinations by EPA
that the Area has attained the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, the requirement for Pennsylvania to submit for
the Pennsylvania portion of the Area an attainment demonstration and
associated RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures, and other planning
SIPs related to the attainment of the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS were suspended until the Pennsylvania portion of
the Area is redesignated to attainment for each standard or EPA
determines that the Area has again violated either of the standards, at
which time such plans are required to be submitted. Thus, because
[[Page 8264]]
attainment has been reached for the Area for the 1997 annual and 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS and the Area continues to attain both
standards, no additional measures are needed to provide for attainment.
Therefore, the requirements of sections 172(c)(1), 172(c)(2),
172(c)(6), and 172(c)(9) are no longer considered to be applicable for
purposes of redesignation of the Area for both standards.
However, determinations of attainment do not preclude states from
submitting and EPA from approving planning SIP revisions for the 1997
or 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. On April 12, 2010, as amended on August
2, 2012, PADEP submitted an attainment plan for the Pennsylvania
portion of the Philadelphia Area for the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS, which included a 2002 comprehensive emissions inventory. On
August 28, 2012 (77 FR 51930), EPA approved Pennsylvania's attainment
plan for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS for the Pennsylvania portion
of the Philadelphia Area, which included the 2002 emissions inventory,
MVEBs for transportation conformity purposes for the five counties in
the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area, and contingency
measures.
Section 172(c)(4) of the CAA requires the identification and
quantification of allowable emissions for major new and modified
stationary sources in an area, and section 172(c)(5) requires source
permits for the construction and operation of new and modified major
stationary sources anywhere in the nonattainment area. EPA has
determined that, since PSD requirements will apply after redesignation,
areas being redesignated need not comply with the requirement that a
nonattainment NSR program be approved prior to redesignation, provided
that the area demonstrates maintenance of the NAAQS without part D 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, entitled, ``Part D New Source Review Requirements for
Areas Requesting Redesignation to Attainment.'' Nevertheless,
Pennsylvania currently has an approved NSR program codified in
Pennsylvania's regulation at 25 Pa. Code 127.201 et seq. See 77 FR
41276 (July 13, 2012) (approving NSR program into the SIP). See also 49
FR 33127 (August 21, 1984) (approving Pennsylvania's PSD program).
However, Pennsylvania's PSD program for PM2.5 will become
effective in the Philadelphia Area upon redesignation to attainment.
Section 172(c)(7) of the CAA requires the SIP to meet the
applicable provisions of section 110(a)(2). As noted previously, EPA
believes the Pennsylvania SIP meets the requirements of section
110(a)(2) that are applicable for purposes of redesignation.
As a result of EPA's determinations of attainment of the Area for
the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively,
the only remaining requirement under section 172 to be considered for
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard is the comprehensive
emissions inventory required under section 172(c)(3). Section 172(c)(3)
of the CAA requires submission of a comprehensive, accurate, and
current inventory of actual emissions. For purposes of the
PM2.5 NAAQS, this emissions inventory should address not
only direct emissions of PM2.5, but also emissions of all
precursors with the potential to participate in PM2.5
formation, i.e., SO2, NOX, VOC and
NH3.
PADEP's April 12, 2010 attainment plan submittal, as amended on
August 2, 2012, for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is relevant
to this proposed rulemaking action to redesignate the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area only with respect to the comprehensive emissions
inventory requirement of section 172(c)(3) for the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. On August 28, 2012 (77 FR 51930), EPA approved
the 2002 comprehensive emissions inventory included in the attainment
plan for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, to meet the
requirement of section 172(c)(3) for this standard. The 2002
comprehensive emissions inventory for the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS includes emissions estimates that cover the general source
categories of point sources, area sources, on-road mobile sources, and
non-road mobile sources. The pollutants that comprise the 2002
emissions inventory are PM2.5, NOX,
SO2, VOC, and NH3. An evaluation of
Pennsylvania's 2002 comprehensive emissions inventory for the
Philadelphia portion of the Area is provided in the Technical Support
Document (TSD) prepared by EPA for the August 28, 2012 rulemaking
action. See Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0391.
To satisfy the 172(c)(3) requirement for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, Pennsylvania's September 5, 2014 redesignation
request and maintenance plan for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS contains a 2007 comprehensive emissions inventory. PADEP has
submitted the 2007 emissions inventory to fulfill its obligation to
submit a comprehensive inventory under CAA section 172(c)(3), because
that inventory has gone through extensive quality assurance. The 2007
emissions inventory was the most current, accurate and comprehensive
emissions inventory of direct PM2.5, NOX,
SO2, VOC, and NH3 for the Area. Thus, as part of
this rulemaking action, EPA is proposing to approve Pennsylvania's 2007
comprehensive emissions inventory for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS as satisfying the requirement of section 172(c)(3) of the CAA for
this standard. Final approval of the 2007 base year emissions inventory
will satisfy the emissions inventory requirement under section
172(c)(3) of the CAA for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The
2007 comprehensive emissions inventory addresses the general source
categories of point sources, area sources, on-road mobile sources, and
non-road mobile sources. A summary of the 2007 comprehensive emissions
inventory is shown in Table 3. For more information on EPA's analysis
of the 2007 emissions inventory, see the TSD prepared by the EPA Region
III Office of Air Monitoring and Analysis dated December 23, 2014,
``Technical Support Document (TSD) for the Redesignation Request and
Maintenance Plan for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE 1997 PM2.5 Nonattainment Area'' and
``Technical Support Document (TSD) for the Redesignation Request and
Maintenance Plan for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE 2006 PM2.5 Nonattainment Area''
(``Inventory TSDs''), available in the docket for this rulemaking
action at www.regulations.gov. See Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0868.
Table 3--2007 Emissions for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area, in Tons per Year
[tpy]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sector PM2.5 NOX SO2 VOC NH3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................... 2,444 20,744 19,633 6,281 743
Area............................ 7,722 12,925 15,005 47,568 3,293
[[Page 8265]]
Onroad.......................... 2,386 69,327 508 29,293 1,270
Nonroad......................... 1,562 20,393 3,375 18,751 23
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... 14,114 123,390 38,520 101,894 5,329
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 175A requires a state seeking redesignation to attainment
to submit a SIP revision to provide for the maintenance of the NAAQS in
the area ``for at least 10 years after the redesignation.'' In
conjunction with its request to redesignate the Pennsylvania portion of
the Area to attainment status, Pennsylvania submitted a SIP revision on
September 5, 2014 to provide for maintenance of the 1997 annual and
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in the Pennsylvania portion of the
Area for at least 10 years after redesignation, throughout 2025.
Pennsylvania is requesting that EPA approve this SIP revision as
meeting the requirement of CAA section 175A for both NAAQS. Once
approved, the maintenance plan for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area
will ensure that the SIP for Pennsylvania meets the requirements of the
CAA regarding maintenance of the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area. EPA's
analysis of the maintenance plan is provided in Section V.B. of this
proposed rulemaking action.
Section 176(c) of the CAA requires states to establish criteria and
procedures to ensure that Federally supported or funded projects
conform to the air quality planning goals in the applicable SIP. The
requirement to determine conformity applies to transportation plans,
programs, and projects that are developed, funded or approved under
Title 23 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) and the Federal Transit Act
(transportation conformity) as well as to all other Federally supported
or funded projects (general conformity). State transportation
conformity SIP revisions must be consistent with Federal conformity
regulations relating to consultation, enforcement and enforceability
which EPA promulgated pursuant to its authority under the CAA. EPA
interprets the conformity SIP requirements as not applying for purposes
of evaluating a redesignation request under CAA 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) and (60 FR 62748, December 7, 1995) (discussing
Tampa, Florida).
Thus, for purposes of redesignating to attainment the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, EPA determines that Pennsylvania has met all
the applicable SIP requirements under part D of Title I of the CAA. EPA
also determines that upon final approval of the 2007 comprehensive
emissions inventory as proposed in this rulemaking action, Pennsylvania
will also meet all the applicable SIP requirements under part D of
Title I of the CAA for purposes of redesignating the Area to attainment
for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
c. The Pennsylvania Portion of the Area Has a Fully Approved Applicable
SIP Under Section 110(k) of the CAA
For purposes of redesignation to attainment for the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS, EPA has fully approved all applicable
requirements of Pennsylvania's SIP for the Pennsylvania portion for the
Area in accordance with section 110(k) of the CAA. Upon final approval
of the 2007 comprehensive emissions inventory as proposed in this
rulemaking action, EPA will have fully approved all applicable
requirements of Pennsylvania's SIP for the Pennsylvania portion of the
Area for purposes of redesignation to attainment for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with section 110(k) of the CAA.
3. Permanent and Enforceable Reductions in Emissions
For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, section
107(d)(3)(E)(iii) requires EPA to determine that the air quality
improvement in the area is due to permanent and enforceable reductions
in emissions resulting from implementation of the SIP and applicable
Federal air pollution control regulations and other permanent and
enforceable reductions. Pennsylvania has calculated the change in
emissions between 2002, a year showing nonattainment for the 1997
annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the Pennsylvania portion of the
Philadelphia Area, and 2007, one of the years for which the
Philadelphia Area monitored attainment for the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. For the 2006 24-hour daily standard, 2008 was a
year in which the Area attained the standard. Appendix F-1 of
Pennsylvania's September 5, 2014 submittal provides a comparison
between the 2007 and the 2008 inventories, and the projected reductions
between 2025 and 2007 and between 2025 and 2008. The analysis shows
that the 2007 emission inventory is comparable to the 2008 emission
inventory for the Philadelphia portion of the Area. Pennsylvania has
shown that the 2007 emission inventory is an appropriate and
representative emission inventory to use as a surrogate for the 2008
inventory.
A summary of the emissions reductions of PM2.5,
NOX, SO2, VOC, and NH3 from 2002 to
2007 in the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area, submitted by
PADEP, is provided in Table 4. For more information on EPA's analysis
of the 2007 emissions inventories, see EPA's Inventory TSDs, dated
December 23, 2014, available in the docket for this rulemaking action
at www.regulations.gov.
[[Page 8266]]
Table 4--Emission Reductions From 2002 to 2007 in the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent
Sector 2002 2007 Net reduction reduction 2002-
2002-2007 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM2.5......................... Point........... 2,139 2,444 -305 -14.3
Area............ 10,020 7,722 2,298 22.7
On-road......... 2,905 2,386 518 17.8
Non-road........ 1,535 1,562 -27 -1.8
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total........ 16,598 14,114 2,484 15.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOX........................... Point........... 22,124 20,744 1,380 6.2
Area............ 13,029 12,925 105 0.8
On-road......... 90,879 69,327 21,552 23.7
Non-road........ 21,619 20,393 1,226 5.7
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total........ 147,651 123,390 24,262 16.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SO2........................... Point........... 23,745 19,633 4,112 17.3
Area............ 13,153 15,005 -1,852 -14.1
On-road......... 1,848 508 1,340 72.6
Non-road........ 1,640 3,375 -1,735 -1.1
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total........ 40,387 38,520 1,866 4.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC........................... Point........... 8,183 6,281 1,903 23.3
Area............ 59,227 47,568 11,659 19.7
On-road......... 32,150 29,293 2,856 8.9
Non-road........ 21,589 18,751 2,838 13.1
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total........ 121,149 101,894 19,256 15.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NH3........................... Point........... 256 743 -487 -190
Area............ 4,821 3,293 1,529 31.7
On-road......... 1,451 1,270 181 12.5
Non-road........ 14 23 -9 -64.3
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total........ 6,542 5,329 1,213 18.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reduction in emissions and the corresponding improvement in air
quality from 2002 to 2007 for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively, in the Pennsylvania portion of
the Philadelphia Area can be attributed to a number of regulatory
control measures that have been implemented in the Area and
contributing areas in recent years.
a. Federal Measures Implemented
Reductions in PM2.5 precursor emissions have occurred
statewide and in upwind states as a result of Federal emission control
measures, with additional emission reductions expected to occur in the
future.
Control of NOX and SO2
PM2.5 concentrations in the Philadelphia Area are
impacted by the transport of sulfates and nitrates, and the Area's air
quality is strongly affected by regulation of SO2 and
NOX emissions from power plants.
NOX SIP Call--On October 27, 1998 (63 FR 57356), EPA issued the
NOX SIP Call requiring the District of Columbia and 22
states to reduce emissions of NOX, a precursor to ozone
pollution.\13\ Affected states were required to comply with Phase I of
the SIP Call beginning in 2004 and Phase II beginning in 2007. Emission
reductions resulting from regulations developed in response to the
NOX SIP Call are permanent and enforceable. By imposing an
emissions cap regionally, the NOX SIP Call reduced
NOX emissions from large EGUs and large non-EGUs such as
industrial boilers, internal combustion engines, and cement kilns. In
response to the NOX SIP Call, Pennsylvania adopted its
NOX Budget Trading Program regulations for EGUs and large
industrial boilers, with emission reductions starting in May 2003.
Pennsylvania's NOX Budget Trading Program regulation was
approved into the Pennsylvania SIP on August 21, 2001 (66 FR 43795). To
meet other requirements of the NOX SIP Call, Pennsylvania
adopted NOX control regulations for cement plants and
internal combustion engines, with emission reductions starting in May
2005. These regulations were approved into the Pennsylvania SIP on
September 29, 2006 (71 FR 57428).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Although the NOX SIP Call was issued in order to
address ozone pollution, reductions of NOX as a result of
that program have also impacted PM2.5 pollution, for
which NOX is also a precursor emission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAIR--As previously noted, CAIR (70 FR 25162, May 12, 2005) created
regional cap-and-trade programs to reduce SO2 and
NOX emissions in 27 eastern states, including Pennsylvania.
EPA approved the Commonwealth's CAIR regulation, codified in 25 Pa.
Code Chapter 145, Subchapter D, into the Pennsylvania SIP on December
10, 2009 (74 FR 65446). In 2009, the CAIR ozone season NOX
trading program superseded the NOX Budget Trading Program,
although the emission reduction obligations of the NOX SIP
Call were not rescinded. See 40 CFR 51.121(r) and 51.123(aa). EPA
promulgated CSAPR to replace CAIR as an emission trading program for
EGUs. As discussed previously, pursuant to the D.C. Circuit Court's
October 23, 2014 Order, the stay of CSAPR has been lifted and
implementation of CSAPR commenced
[[Page 8267]]
in January 2015. EPA expects that the implementation of CSAPR will
preserve the reductions achieved by CAIR and result in additional
SO2 and NOX emission reductions throughout the
maintenance period.
Tier 2 Emission Standards for Vehicles and Gasoline Sulfur Standards
These emission control requirements result in lower NOX
emissions from new cars and light duty trucks, including sport utility
vehicles. The Federal rules were phased in between 2004 and 2009. EPA
estimated that, after phasing in the new requirements, the following
vehicle NOX emission reductions will have occurred
nationwide: Passenger cars (light duty vehicles) (77 percent); light
duty trucks, minivans, and sports utility vehicles (86 percent); and
larger sports utility vehicles, vans, and heavier trucks (69 to 95
percent). Some of the emissions reductions resulting from new vehicle
standards occurred during the 2008-2010 attainment period; however,
additional reductions will continue to occur throughout the maintenance
period as new vehicles replace older vehicles. EPA expects fleet wide
average emissions to decline by similar percentages as new vehicles
replace older vehicles.
Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Rule
EPA issued the Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Rule in July 2000. This
rule included standards limiting the sulfur content of diesel fuel,
which went into effect in 2004. A second phase took effect in 2007
which reduced PM2.5 emissions from heavy-duty highway
engines and further reduced the highway diesel fuel sulfur content to
15 parts per million (ppm). Standards for gasoline engines were phased
in starting in 2008. The total program is estimated to achieve a 90
percent reduction in direct PM2.5 emissions and a 95 percent
reduction in NOX emissions for new engines using low sulfur
diesel fuel.
Nonroad Diesel Rule
On June 29, 2004 (69 FR 38958), EPA promulgated the Nonroad Diesel
Rule for large nonroad diesel engines, such as those used in
construction, agriculture, and mining, to be phased in between 2008 and
2014. The rule phased in requirements for reducing the sulfur content
of diesel used in nonroad diesel engines. The reduction in sulfur
content prevents damage to the more advanced emission control systems
needed to meet the engine standards. It will also reduce fine
particulate emissions from diesel engines. The combined engine
standards and the sulfur in fuel reductions will reduce NOX
and PM emissions from large nonroad engines by over 90 percent,
compared to current nonroad engines using higher sulfur content diesel.
Nonroad Large Spark-Ignition Engine and Recreational Engine Standards
In November 2002, EPA promulgated emission standards for groups of
previously unregulated nonroad engines. These engines include large
spark-ignition engines such as those used in forklifts and airport
ground-service equipment; recreational vehicles using spark-ignition
engines such as off-highway motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and
snowmobiles; and recreational marine diesel engines. Emission standards
from large spark-ignition engines were implemented in two tiers, with
Tier 1 starting in 2004 and Tier 2 in 2007. Recreational vehicle
emission standards are being phased in from 2006 through 2012. Marine
Diesel engine standards were phased in from 2006 through 2009. With
full implementation of all of the nonroad spark-ignition engine and
recreational engine standards, an overall 80 percent reduction in
NOX are expected by 2020. Some of these emission reductions
occurred by the 2002-2007 attainment period and additional emission
reductions will occur during the maintenance period as the fleet turns
over.
Federal Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
As required by the CAA, EPA developed Maximum Available Control
Technology (MACT) Standards to regulate emissions of hazardous air
pollutants from a published list of industrial sources referred to as
``source categories.'' The MACT standards have been adopted and
incorporated by reference in Section 6.6 of Pennsylvania's Air
Pollution Control Act and implementing regulations in 25 Pa. Code Sec.
127.35 and are also included in Federally enforceable permits issued by
PADEP for affected sources. The Industrial/Commercial/Institutional
(ICI) Boiler MACT standards (69 FR 55217, September 13, 2004, and 76 FR
15554, February 21, 2011) are estimated to reduce emissions of PM,
SO2, and VOCs from major source boilers and process heaters
nationwide. Also, the Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE)
MACT will reduce NOX and PM emissions from engines located
at facilities such as pipeline compressor stations, chemical and
manufacturing plants, and power plants.
b. State Measures
Heavy-Duty Diesel Emissions Control Program
In 2002, Pennsylvania adopted the Heavy-Duty Diesel Emissions
Control Program for model years starting in May 2004. The program
incorporates California standards by reference and required model year
2005 and beyond heavy-duty diesel highway engines to be certified to
the California standards, which were more stringent than the Federal
standards for model years 2005 and 2006. After model year 2006,
Pennsylvania required implementation of the Federal standards that
applied to model years 2007 and beyond, discussed in the Federal
measures section of this proposed rulemaking action. This program
reduced emissions of NOX statewide.
Vehicle Emission Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) Program
The Pennsylvania portion of the Area has had a vehicle emissions
inspection program since 1984, and in 2004, Pennsylvania revised the
implementation of its Vehicle Emission I/M program in the five-counties
that comprise the Pennsylvania portion of the Area, and applies to
model year 1975 and newer gasoline-powered vehicles that are 9,000
pounds and under. The program, approved into the Pennsylvania SIP on
October 6, 2005 (70 FR 58313), consists of annual on-board diagnostics
and gas cap test for model year 1996 vehicles and newer, and an annual
visual inspection of pollution control devices and gas cap test for
model year 1995 vehicles and older. This program reduces emissions of
NOX from affected vehicles.
Consumer Products Regulation
Pennsylvania regulation ``Chapter 130, Subchapter B. Consumer
Products'' established, effective January 1, 2005, VOC emission limits
for numerous categories of consumer product, and applies statewide to
any person who sells, supplies, offers for sale, or manufactures such
consumer products on or after January 1, 2005 for use in Pennsylvania.
It was approved into the Pennsylvania SIP on December 8, 2004 (69 FR
70895).
Based on the information summarized above, Pennsylvania has
adequately demonstrated that the improvement in air quality in the
Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area are due to permanent and
enforceable emissions reductions. The reductions result from Federal
and State requirements and regulation of precursors within Pennsylvania
that affect the
[[Page 8268]]
Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area.
B. Maintenance Plan
On September 5, 2014, PADEP submitted a combined maintenance plan
for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, as
required by section 175A of the CAA. EPA's analysis for proposing
approval of the maintenance plan is provided in this section.
1. Attainment Emissions Inventories
An attainment inventory is comprised of the emissions during the
time period associated with the monitoring data showing attainment.
PADEP determined that the appropriate attainment inventory year for the
maintenance plan for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is 2007,
one of the years in the periods during which the Philadelphia Area
monitored attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. As
discussed previously in this proposed rulemaking, for the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, 2008 was a year in which the Area attained the
standard. Appendix F-1 of Pennsylvania's September 5, 2014 submittal
provides a comparison between the 2007 and the 2008 inventories, and
the projected reductions between 2025 and 2007 and between 2025 and
2008. The analysis shows that the 2007 emission inventory is comparable
to the 2008 emission inventory for the Philadelphia portion of the
Area. Pennsylvania has shown that the 2007 emission inventory is an
appropriate and representative emission inventory to use as a surrogate
for the 2008 inventory.
In its redesignation request and maintenance plan for the 1997
annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, PADEP described the
methods used for developing its 2007 inventory. The 2007 inventory
included the primary PM2.5 emissions (including
condensables), SO2, NOX, VOC, and NH3.
EPA reviewed the procedures used to develop the projected inventory and
found them to be reasonable. EPA has reviewed the documentation
provided by PADEP and found the 2007 emissions inventory to be
approvable. For more information on EPA's analysis of the 2007
emissions inventory, see EPA's Inventory TSDs, dated December 23, 2014,
available in the docket for this rulemaking action at
www.regulations.gov.
2. Maintenance Demonstration
Section 175A requires a state seeking redesignation to attainment
to submit a SIP revision to provide for the maintenance of the NAAQS in
the area ``for at least 10 years after the redesignation.'' EPA has
interpreted this as a showing of maintenance ``for a period of ten
years following redesignation.'' The Federal and State measures
described in Section V.A.3 of this proposed rulemaking action
demonstrate that the reductions in emissions from point, area, and
mobile sources in the Area has occurred and will continue to occur
through 2025. In addition, the following State and Federal regulations
and programs ensure the continuing decline of SO2,
NOX, PM2.5, and VOC emissions in the Area during
the maintenance period and beyond:
Non-EGUs Previously Covered Under the NOX SIP Call
Pennsylvania established NOX emission limits for the
large industrial boilers that were previously subject to the
NOX SIP Call, but were not subject to CAIR. For these units,
Pennsylvania established an allowable ozone season NOX limit
based on the unit's previous ozone season's heat input. A combined
NOX ozone season emissions cap of 3,418 tons applies for all
of these units.
CSAPR (August 8, 2011, 76 FR 48208)
EPA promulgated CSAPR to replace CAIR as an emission trading
program for EGUs. As discussed previously implementation of CSAPR
commenced in January 2015. EPA expects that the implementation of CSAPR
will preserve the reductions achieved by CAIR and result in additional
SO2 and NOX emission reductions throughout the
maintenance period.
Regulation of Cement Kilns
On July 19, 2011 (76 FR 52558), EPA approved amendments to 25 Pa.
Code Chapter 145 Subchapter C to further reduce NOX
emissions from cement kilns. The amendments established NOX
emission rate limits for long wet kilns, long dry kilns, and preheater
and precalciner kilns that are lower by 35 percent to 63 percent from
the previous limit of 6 pounds of NOX per ton of clinker
that applied to all kilns. The amendments were effective on April 15,
2011.
Stationary Source Regulations
Pennsylvania regulation 25 Pa. Code Chapter 130, Subchapter D for
Adhesives, Sealers, Primers, and Solvents was approved into the
Pennsylvania SIP on September 26, 2012 (77 FR 59090). The regulation
established VOC content limits for various categories of adhesives,
sealants, primers, and solvent, and became applicable on January 1,
2012.
Amendments to Pennsylvania regulation 25 Pa. Code Chapter 130,
Subchapter B for Consumer Products, established, effective January 1,
2009, new or more stringent VOC standards for consumer products. The
amendments were approved into the Pennsylvania SIP on October 18, 2010
(75 FR 63717).
Pennsylvania's Clean Vehicle Program
The Pennsylvania Clean Vehicles Program (formerly, New Motor
Vehicle Control Program) incorporates by reference the California Low
Emission Vehicle program (CA LEVII), although it allowed automakers to
comply with the NLEV program as an alternative to this program until
Model Year (MY) 2006. The Clean Vehicles Program, codified in 25 Pa.
Code Chapter 126, Subchapter D, was modified to require CA LEVII to
apply to MY 2008 and beyond, and was approved into the Pennsylvania SIP
on January 24, 2012 (77 FR 3386). The Clean Vehicles Program
incorporates by reference the emission control standards of CA LEVII,
which, among other requirements, reduces emissions of NOX by
requiring that passenger car emission standards and fleet average
emission standards also apply to light duty vehicles. Model year 2008
and newer passenger cars and light duty trucks are required to be
certified for emissions by the California Air Resource Board (CARB), in
order to be sold, leased, offered for sale or lease, imported,
delivered, purchased, rented, acquired, received, titled or registered
in Pennsylvania. In addition, manufacturers are required to demonstrate
that the California fleet average standard is met based on the number
of new light-duty vehicles delivered for sale in the Commonwealth. The
Commonwealth's submittal for the January 24, 2012 rulemaking projected
that, by 2025, the program will achieve approximately 334 tons more
NOX reductions than Tier II for the counties in the
Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area.
Two Pennsylvania regulations--the Diesel-Powered Motor Vehicle
Idling Act (August 1, 2011, 76 FR 45705) and the Outdoor Wood-Fired
Boiler regulation (September 20, 2011, 76 FR 58114)--were not included
in the projection inventories, but may also assist in maintaining the
standard. Also, the Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards
(79 FR 23414, April 29, 2014) establishes more stringent vehicle
emissions standards and will reduce the sulfur content of gasoline
beginning in 2017. The fuel standard will achieve NOX
reductions by further increasing the effectiveness of vehicle emission
[[Page 8269]]
controls for both existing and new vehicles.
The State and Federal regulations and programs described above
ensure the continuing decline of SO2, NOX,
PM2.5, and VOC emissions in the Area during the maintenance
period and beyond. A summary of the projected reductions from these
measures from 2007 to 2025 is shown in Table 5. Table 5 incorporates
the expected emissions from future construction at the Philadelphia
International Airport (PHL-CEP), as well as potential emissions
increases from Emission Reduction Credits (ERCs), which are also
included in Tables 6a--6e.
Table 5--Emission Reductions From 2007 to 2025 Due to Control Measures
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOX PM2.5 SO2 VOC NH3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................... 2,279 -90 3,936 -690 -46
Area............................ 250 674 5,818 3,039 -143
On-Road......................... 43,966 1,070 249 18,071 363
Non-Road........................ 8,493 624 2,817 6,666 -6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals...................... 54,988 2,278 12,820 27,085 167
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where the emissions inventory method of showing maintenance is
used, its purpose is to show that emissions during the maintenance
period will not increase over the attainment year inventory. See 1992
Calcagni Memorandum, pages 9-10. For a demonstration of maintenance,
emissions inventories are required to be projected to future dates to
assess the influence of future growth and controls; however, the
demonstration need not be based on modeling. See Wall v. EPA, supra;
Sierra Club v. EPA, supra. See also 66 FR 53099-53100 and 68 FR 25430-
32. PADEP uses projection inventories to show that the Pennsylvania
portion of the Area will remain in attainment and developed projection
inventories for an interim year of 2017 and a maintenance plan end year
of 2025 to show that future emissions of NOX,
SO2, PM2.5, VOC, and NH3 will remain
at or below the attainment year 2007 and 2008 attainment-level
emissions levels, for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS, respectively, throughout the Pennsylvania portion of the Area
through the year 2025.
EPA has reviewed the documentation provided by PADEP for developing
annual 2017 and 2025 emissions inventories for the Pennsylvania portion
of the Area. EPA has determined that the 2017 and 2025 projected
emissions inventories provided by PADEP are approvable. For more
information on EPA's analysis of the emissions inventories, see EPA's
Inventory TSDs, dated December 23, 2014, available in the docket for
this rulemaking action at www.regulations.gov.
Tables 6a through 6e provide a summary of the PM2.5,
NOX, SO2, VOC, and NH3 emissions
inventories for the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area for
the 2007 attainment year, the 2017 interim year, and the 2025
maintenance plan end year for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
The future year inventories include expected emissions from future
construction at the PHL-CEP, as well as potential emissions increases
from ERCs.
Table 6a--Comparison of 2007, 2017, and 2025 Emissions of PM2.5 for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007-2017 2007-2025
---------------------------------------------------
Sector 2007 2017 2025 Percent Percent
Reduction reduction Reduction reduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................................................ 2,444 1,788 1,808 656 26.8 636 26.0
Area......................................................... 7,722 7,383 7,047 339 4.4 675 8.7
On-Road...................................................... 2,386 1,679 1,316 707 29.6 1,070 44.8
Non-Road..................................................... 1,562 1,019 837 543 34.8 725 46.4
PHL-CEP...................................................... ........... 83 102 -83 ........... -102 ...........
ERC.......................................................... ........... 726 726 -726 ........... -726 ...........
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................................................... 14,114 12,678 11,837 1,436 10.2 2,277 16.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 6b--Comparison of 2007, 2017, and 2025 Emissions of NOX for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOX
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007-2017 2007-2025
---------------------------------------------------
Sector 2007 2017 2025 Percent Percent
Reduction reduction Reduction reduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................................................ 20,744 11,366 11,316 9,378 45.2 9,428 45.4
Area......................................................... 12,925 12,461 12,675 464 3.4 250 1.9
[[Page 8270]]
On-Road...................................................... 68,327 37,922 25,361 31,405 45.3 43,966 63.4
Non-Road..................................................... 20,393 10,332 7,990 10,061 49.3 12,403 60.2
PHL-CEP...................................................... ........... 3,337 3,910 -3,337 ........... -3,910 ...........
ERC.......................................................... ........... 7,150 7,150 -7,150 ........... -7,150 ...........
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................................................... 123,390 82,567 68,402 40,823 33.1 54,988 44.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 6c--Comparison of 2007, 2017, and 2025 Emissions of SO2 for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SO2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007-2017 2007-2025
---------------------------------------------------
Sector 2007 2017 2025 Percent Percent
Reduction reduction Reduction reduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................................................ 19,633 5,870 5,858 13,763 70.1 13,775 70.2
Area......................................................... 15,005 12,844 9,186 2,161 14.4 5,819 38.8
On-Road...................................................... 508 248 259 260 51.2 249 49.0
Non-Road..................................................... 3,375 305 123 3,070 91.0 3,252 96.4
PHL-CEP...................................................... ........... 355 435 -355 ........... -435 ...........
ERC.......................................................... ........... 9,839 9,839 -9,839 ........... -9,839 ...........
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................................................... 38,520 29,460 25,701 9,060 23.5 12,819 33.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 6d--Comparison of 2007, 2017, and 2025 Emissions of VOC for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC/E>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007-2017 2007-2025
---------------------------------------------------
Sector 2007 2017 2025 Percent Percent
Reduction reduction Reduction reduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................................................ 6,281 6,438 6,508 -157 -2.5 -227 -3.6
Area......................................................... 47,568 45,239 44,530 2,329 4.9 3,038 6.4
On-Road...................................................... 29,293 16,349 11,222 12, 944 44.2 18,041 6.2
Non-Road..................................................... 18,751 11,224 11,058 7,527 40.1 7,693 41.0
PHL-CEP...................................................... ........... 828 1,027 -828 ........... -1,027 ...........
ERC.......................................................... ........... 463 463 -463 ........... -463 ...........
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................................................... 101,894 80,540 74,808 21,354 20.9 27,086 26.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 6e--Comparison of 2007, 2017, and 2025 Emissions of NH3 for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NH3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007-2017 2007-2025
---------------------------------------------------
Sector 2007 2017 2025 Percent Percent
Reduction reduction Reduction reduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point........................................................ 743 814 789 -71 -9.5 -46 -6.2
Area......................................................... 3,293 3,375 3,436 -82 -2.5 -143 -4.3
On-Road...................................................... 1,270 903 908 387 30.5 362 28.5
Non-Road..................................................... 23 26 29 -3 -13.0 -6 -26.1
[[Page 8271]]
PHL-CEP...................................................... ........... 0 0 0 ........... 0 ...........
ERC.......................................................... ........... 0 0 0 ........... 0 ...........
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................................................... 5,329 5,117 5,162 212 4.0 167 3.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 7a provides a summary of PM2.5, NOX,
and SO2 emissions for the entire Philadelphia Area for the
2007 attainment year, the 2017 interim year, and the 2025 maintenance
plan end year for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS. The inventories show that, between 2007 and 2025, the Area is
projected to reduce PM2.5 emissions by 16.2 percent,
NOX emissions by 41.2 percent, and SO2 emissions
by 46.8 percent.
Table 7a--Comparison of 2007, 2017, and 2025 PM2.5, NOX, and SO2 Emissions for the Entire Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM2.5 NOX SO2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007 2017 2025 2007 2017 2025 2007 2017 2025
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pennsylvania portion................................. 14,114 12,678 11,837 38,520 29,460 25,701 123,390 82,567 68,402
Delaware portion..................................... 3,193 2,844 2,893 15,228 6,995 6,958 23,084 14,475 13,797
New Jersey portion................................... 5,159 4,549 4,102 4,965 1,579 1,880 41,718 26,057 17,780
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................ 22,466 20,071 18,832 58,713 38,034 34,539 188,192 123,099 100,069
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The redesignation requests for Delaware and New Jersey did not
include VOC and NH3 emission inventories. Therefore, in
order to take VOC and NH3 emissions for the Delaware and New
Jersey portions of the Area into consideration, Pennsylvania used
information from EPA's Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) for the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS. Table 7b provides a comparison of the 2007 and
2020 VOC and NH3 emissions for the entire Philadelphia Area.
The RIA only projected to 2020; however, Pennsylvania believes, and EPA
agrees, that the downward trend for these precursors and attainment
would continue into 2025, given that the area is attaining both the
1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS with the current
level of emissions in the Area, and that additional reductions will be
achieved from the Federal and State measures that will be implemented
during the maintenance period. The projected emissions inventories show
that the Philadelphia Area will continue to maintain the 1997 annual
PM2.5 standards during the maintenance period.
Table 7b--Comparison of 2007 and 2020 VOC and NH3 Emissions for the Entire Philadelphia Area
[tpy]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC NH3
---------------------------------------------------------------
2007 2020 2007 2020
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pennsylvania portion............................ 95,255 75,861 5,229 4,903
Delaware portion................................ 14,326 9,242 984 850
New Jersey portion.............................. 36,108 27,510 1,677 1,526
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 145,689 112,613 7,890 7,279
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Monitoring Network
Pennsylvania currently operates PM2.5 monitors in each
of the five counties that comprise the Pennsylvania portion of the
Philadelphia Area. Pennsylvania's maintenance plan includes a
commitment by PADEP and the Philadelphia County Health Department to
continue to operate its EPA-approved monitoring network, as necessary
to demonstrate ongoing compliance with the NAAQS. In its September 5,
2014 submittal, Pennsylvania stated that it will consult with EPA prior
to making any necessary changes to the network and will continue to
operate the monitoring network in accordance with the requirements of
40 CFR part 58.
4. Verification of Continued Attainment
To provide for tracking of the emission levels in the Area, PADEP
will: (a) Evaluate annually the vehicle miles travelled (VMT) data and
the annual emissions reported from
[[Page 8272]]
stationary sources to compare them with the assumptions used in the
maintenance plan; and (b) evaluate the periodic emissions inventory for
all PM2.5 precursors prepared every three years in
accordance with EPA's Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR) to
determine whether there is an exceedance of more than ten percent over
the 2007 inventories. Also, as noted in the previous subsection, PADEP
has stated that it will continue to operate its monitoring system in
accordance with 40 CFR 58 and remains obligated to quality-assure
monitoring data and enter all data into the AQS in accordance with
federal requirements. PADEP has stated that it will use this data in
considering whether additional control measures are needed to assure
continuing attainment in the Area.
5. Contingency Measures
The contingency plan provisions are designed to promptly correct a
violation of the 1997 annual and/or the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS that occurs in the Pennsylvania portion of the Area after
redesignation. Section 175A of the CAA requires that a maintenance plan
include such contingency measures as EPA deems necessary to ensure that
a state will promptly correct a violation of the NAAQS that occurs
after redesignation. The maintenance plan should identify the events
that would ``trigger'' the adoption and implementation of a contingency
measure(s), the contingency measure(s) that would be adopted and
implemented, and the schedule indicating the time frame by which the
state would adopt and implement the measure(s).
Pennsylvania's maintenance plan describes the procedures for the
adoption and implementation of contingency measures to reduce emissions
should a violation occur. Pennsylvania's contingency measures include a
first level response and a second level response. A first level
response is triggered if the annual mean PM2.5 concentration
exceeds 15.5 [mu]g/m\3\ in a single calendar year within the Area, if
the 98th percentile 24-hour PM2.5 concentration exceeds 35.0
[mu]g/m\3\ in a single calendar year within the Area, or if the
periodic emissions inventory for the Area exceed the attainment year
inventory (2007) by more than ten percent. The first level response
will consist of a study to determine if the emissions trends show
increasing concentrations of PM2.5, and whether this trend
is likely to continue. If it is determined through the study that
action is necessary to reverse a trend of emissions increases,
Pennsylvania will, as expeditiously as possible, implement necessary
and appropriate control measures to reverse the trend.
A second level response will be prompted if the two-year average of
the annual mean concentration exceeds 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ or if the two-
year average of 98th percentile 24-hour PM2.5 concentration
exceeds 35.0 [mu]g/m\3\ within the Area. This would trigger an
evaluation of the conditions causing the exceedance, whether additional
emission control measures should be implemented to prevent a violation
of the standard, and analysis of potential measures that could be
implemented to prevent a violation. Pennsylvania would then begin its
adoption process to implement the measures as expeditiously as
practicable. If a violation of the PM2.5 NAAQS occurs, PADEP
will propose and adopt necessary additional control measures in
accordance with the implementation schedule in the maintenance plan.
Pennsylvania's candidate contingency measures include the
following: (1) A regulation based on the Ozone Transport Commission
(OTC) Model Rule to update requirements for consumer products; (2) a
regulation based on the Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for
industrial cleaning solvents; (3) voluntary diesel projects such as
diesel retrofit for public or private local onroad or offroad fleets,
idling reduction technology for Class 2 yard locomotives, and idling
reduction technologies or strategies for truck stops, warehouses, and
other freight-handling facilities; (4) promotion of accelerated
turnover of lawn and garden equipment, focusing on commercial
equipment; and (5) promotion of alternative fuels for fleets, home
heating and agricultural use. Pennsylvania's rulemaking process and
schedule for adoption and implementation of any necessary contingency
measure is shown in the SIP submittals as being 18 months from PADEP's
approval to initiate rulemaking. For all of the reasons discussed in
this section, EPA is proposing to approve Pennsylvania's 1997 annual
and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 maintenance plan for the Pennsylvania
portion of the Philadelphia Area as meeting the requirements of section
175A of the CAA.
C. Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
Section 176(c) of the CAA requires Federal actions in nonattainment
and maintenance areas to ``conform to'' the goals of SIPs. This means
that such actions will not cause or contribute to violations of a
NAAQS, worsen the severity of an existing violation, or delay timely
attainment of any NAAQS or any interim milestone. Actions involving
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) funding or approval are subject to the transportation conformity
rule (40 CFR part 93, subpart A). Under this rule, metropolitan
planning organizations (MPOs) in nonattainment and maintenance areas
coordinate with state air quality and transportation agencies, EPA, and
the FHWA and FTA to demonstrate that their long range transportation
plans and transportation improvement programs (TIP) conform to
applicable SIPs. This is typically determined by showing that estimated
emissions from existing and planned highway and transit systems are
less than or equal to the MVEBs contained in the SIP. On September 5,
2014, Pennsylvania submitted SIP revisions that contain the 2017 and
2025 PM2.5 and NOX onroad mobile source budgets
for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties.
Pennsylvania did not provide emission budgets for SO2, VOC,
and NH3 because it concluded, consistent with the
presumptions regarding these precursors in the Transportation
Conformity Rule at 40 CFR 93.102(b)(2)(v), which predated and were not
disturbed by the litigation on the 1997 PM2.5 Implementation
Rule, that emissions of these precursors from motor vehicles are not
significant contributors to the Area's PM2.5 air quality
problem. EPA issued conformity regulations to implement the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS in July 2004 and May 2005 (69 FR 40004, July 1,
2004 and 70 FR 24280, May 6, 2005). That decision does not affect EPA's
proposed approval of the MVEBs for the Area. The MVEBs are presented in
Table 8.
Table 8--MVEBs for the Pennsylvania Portion of the Philadelphia Area for
the 1997 PM2.5 and 2006 24-Hour NAAQS, in tpy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year PM2.5 NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017.............................................. 1,679 37,922
2025.............................................. 1,316 25,361
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA's substantive criteria for determining adequacy of MVEBs are
set out in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). Additionally, to approve the MVEBs, EPA
must complete a thorough review of the SIP, in this case the
PM2.5 maintenance plan, and conclude that with the projected
level of motor vehicle and all other emissions, the SIPs will achieve
its overall purpose, in this case providing for maintenance of the 1997
[[Page 8273]]
annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA's process for
determining adequacy of a MVEB consists of three basic steps: (1)
Providing public notification of a SIP submission; (2) providing the
public the opportunity to comment on the MVEB during a public comment
period; and (3) EPA taking action on the MVEB.
In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA is initiating the process
for determining whether or not the MVEBs are adequate for
transportation conformity purposes. The publication of this rulemaking
starts a 30-day public comment period on the adequacy of the submitted
MVEBs. This comment period is concurrent with the comment period on
this proposed action and comments should be submitted to the docket for
this rulemaking. EPA may choose to make its determination on the
adequacy of the budgets either in the final rulemaking on this
maintenance plan and redesignation request or by informing Pennsylvania
of the determination in writing, publishing a notice in the Federal
Register and posting a notice on EPA's adequacy Web page (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm).\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ For additional information on the adequacy process, please
refer to 40 CFR 93.118(f) and the discussion of the adequacy process
in the preamble to the 2004 final transportation conformity rule.
See 69 FR 40039-40043.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA has reviewed the MVEBs and found that the submitted MVEBs are
consistent with the maintenance plan and meet the criteria for adequacy
and approval. Therefore, EPA is proposing to approve the 2017 and 2025
PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs for Bucks, Chester, Delaware,
Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties for transportation conformity
purposes. Additional information pertaining to the review of the MVEBs
can be found in the TSD dated December 17, 2014, available on line at
www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0868.
VI. Proposed Actions
EPA is proposing to approve Pennsylvania's request to redesignate
the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia Area from nonattainment to
attainment for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS. EPA has evaluated Pennsylvania's redesignation request and
determined that upon approval of the 2007 comprehensive emissions
inventory for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS proposed as part
of this rulemaking action, it would meet the redesignation criteria set
forth in section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA for both standards. EPA
believes that the monitoring data demonstrate that the Philadelphia
Area is attaining and will continue to attain the 1997 annual and 2006
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also proposing to approve the
associated maintenance plan for the Pennsylvania portion of the Area as
a revision to the Pennsylvania SIP for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS because it meets the requirements of CAA section
175A for both standards. For transportation conformity purposes, EPA is
also proposing to approve MVEBs for both the 1997 annual and 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS. Final approval of the redesignation
requests would change the official designations of the Pennsylvania
portion of the Philadelphia Area for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively, found at 40 CFR part 81,
from nonattainment to attainment, and would incorporate into the
Pennsylvania SIP the associated maintenance plan ensuring continued
attainment of the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS
in the Pennsylvania portion of the Area for the next 10 years, until
2025. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule proposing to approve Pennsylvania's
redesignation request, maintenance plan, 2007 comprehensive emissions
inventory for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and MVEBs for
transportation conformity purposes for the Pennsylvania portion of the
Philadelphia Area for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS, does not have tribal implications as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state,
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen oxides, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
40 CFR Part 81
Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 2, 2015.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2015-03169 Filed 2-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P