[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 57 (Wednesday, March 25, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15711-15713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06731]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0883; FRL-9924-96-Region-3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; Determination of Attainment of the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard for the Baltimore, Maryland Serious
Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to make
a determination that the Baltimore, Maryland Serious Nonattainment Area
(Baltimore Area) has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This proposed determination is based upon
complete, quality-assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data
that shows the Area has monitored attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS for the 2012-2014 monitoring period. If this proposal becomes
final, the requirement for this Area to submit an attainment
demonstration, reasonably available control measures (RACM), a
reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, and contingency measures
related to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS shall be suspended
for so long as the Area continues to attain the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. This action does not constitute a redesignation to attainment.
The Baltimore Area will remain nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS until such time as EPA determines that the Baltimore Area meets
the Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements for redesignation to attainment,
including an approved maintenance plan. This action is being taken
under the CAA.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 24, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2014-0883 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-2014-0883, Cristina Fernandez, Associate
Director, Office of Air Program 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-
2014-0883. 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 19103.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Shandruk, (215) 814-2166, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On July 18, 1997, EPA revised the health-based NAAQS for ozone
based on 8-hour average concentrations. 62 FR 38856. The 8-hour
averaging period replaced the previous 1-hour averaging period, and the
level of the NAAQS was changed from 0.12 parts per million (ppm) to
0.08 ppm. Id. On April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23858), EPA finalized its
attainment/nonattainment designations for areas across the country for
the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. These actions became effective on June 15,
2004. Among those nonattainment areas was the Baltimore Area
(specifically, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County,
Carroll County, Harford County, and Howard County), which was
designated as a moderate ozone nonattainment area. Id. Later, the
Baltimore Area was reclassified as a serious nonattainment area for the
1997 ozone NAAQS. 77 FR 4901 (February 1, 2012). See 40 CFR 81.321. Air
quality monitoring data from the 2012-2014 monitoring period indicate
that the Baltimore Area is now attaining the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
Under the provisions of EPA's ozone implementation rule (40 CFR
51.918), if EPA issues a determination that an area is attaining the
relevant standard (through a rulemaking that includes public notice and
comment), it will suspend the area's obligations to submit an
attainment demonstration, RACM, RFP, contingency measures and other
planning requirements related to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS for as long as the area continues to attain the standard. This
suspension remains in effect until such time, if ever, that EPA (i)
redesignates the area to attainment at which time those requirements no
longer apply, or (ii) subsequently determines that the area has
violated the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Although these requirements are
suspended, EPA is not precluded
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from acting upon these elements at any time if submitted to EPA for
review and approval. The determination of attainment is not equivalent
to a redesignation under section 107(d)(3) of the CAA. The designation
status of the Baltimore Area will remain nonattainment for the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS until such time as EPA determines that the Baltimore
Area meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to attainment,
including an approved maintenance plan. Additionally, the determination
of attainment is separate from, and does not influence or otherwise
affect, any future designation determination or requirements for the
Baltimore Area based on any new or revised ozone NAAQS, and it remains
in effect regardless of whether EPA designates the Baltimore Area as a
nonattainment area for purposes of any new or revised ozone NAAQS.
II. EPA's Evaluation
For ozone, an area may be considered to be attaining the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS if there are no violations, as determined in
accordance with 40 CFR part 50, based on three complete, consecutive
calendar years of quality-assured ambient air monitoring data. Under
EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the 1997 8-hour ozone standard is
attained when the 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration at an ozone monitor is less
than or equal to 0.08 ppm. This 3-year average is referred to as the
design value. When the design value is less than or equal to 0.084 ppm
(based on the rounding convention in 40 CFR part 50, Appendix I) at
each monitor within the area, then the area is attaining the NAAQS.
Also, the data completeness requirement is met when the average percent
of days with valid ambient monitoring data is greater than or equal to
90 percent (%), and no single year has less than 75% data completeness
as determined in Appendix I of 40 CFR part 50. The data must be
collected and quality-assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58, and
recorded in the EPA Air Quality System (AQS).
EPA has reviewed the complete, quality-assured and certified ozone
ambient air monitoring data for the monitoring period for 2012-2014 for
the Baltimore Area. The design values for each monitor for the years
2012-2014 are less than or equal to 0.084 ppm, and all monitors meet
the data completeness requirements (see Table 1). Based on this 2012-
2014 data from the AQS database and consistent with the requirements
contained in 40 CFR part 50, EPA has concluded that this Area attained
the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
Table 1--2012-2014 Baltimore Area 1997 8-Hour Ozone Design Values
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Average percent (%) 2012-2014 Design
Monitor ID data completeness value (ppm)
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24-003-0014....................................................... 97 0.074
24-005-1007....................................................... 95 0.072
24-005-3001....................................................... 99 0.072
24-013-0001....................................................... 99 0.069
24-025-1001....................................................... 98 0.075
24-025-9001....................................................... 96 0.073
24-510-0054....................................................... 90 0.064
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The data in Table 1 are available in EPA's AQS database. The AQS
report with this data is available in the docket for this rulemaking
under docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0883 and available online at
www.regulations.gov, docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0883.
III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to make a determination that the Baltimore Area
has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This proposed determination
is based upon complete, quality-assured, and certified ambient air
monitoring data that show the Area has monitored attainment of the 1997
8-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2012-2014 monitoring period. Once this
proposal is final, the requirement for this Area to submit an
attainment demonstration, RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures, and
other planning requirements related to attainment of the 1997 8-hour
ozone NAAQS shall be suspended for so long as the Area continues to
attain the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Although these requirements are
suspended, EPA is not precluded from acting upon these elements at any
time if submitted to EPA for review and approval. Finalizing this
determination does not constitute a redesignation of the Baltimore Area
to attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS under CAA section
107(d)(3). This determination of attainment also does not involve
approving any maintenance plan for the Baltimore Area and does not
determine that the Area has met all the requirements for redesignation
under the CAA, including that the attainment be due to permanent and
enforceable measures. Therefore, the designation status of the
Baltimore Area will remain nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS until such time as EPA takes final rulemaking action to determine
that such Area meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to
attainment. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed
in this document. These comments will be considered before taking final
action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This action proposes to make an attainment determination based on
air quality data and would, if finalized, result in the suspension of
certain Federal requirements and would not impose any additional
requirements. 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 (Public Law 104-4);
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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 proposed rule, concerning a determination of
attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Baltimore Area, does
not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the State Implementation Plan
(SIP) is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state,
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Incorporation by reference,
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 9, 2015.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2015-06731 Filed 3-24-15; 8:45 am]
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