[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11671-11673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04879]
[[Page 11671]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2014-0664; FRL-9943-33-Region 5]
Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Base Year Emission Inventories for
the 2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) on September 3, 2014, to address
emission inventory requirements for the Illinois portions of the
Chicago-Naperville, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin (IL-IN-WI) and St.
Louis, Missouri-Illinois (MO-IL) ozone nonattainment areas under the
2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard).
The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires emission inventories for all ozone
nonattainment areas. The emission inventories contained in Illinois'
September 3, 2014, submission meet this CAA requirement.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective May 6, 2016, unless EPA
receives adverse comments by April 6, 2016. If adverse comments are
received by EPA, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct
final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule
will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2014-0664 at http://www.regulations.gov or via email to
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Doty, Attainment Planning and
Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6057, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information
section is arranged as follows:
I. The 2008 Ozone NAAQS and Emission Inventory Requirements
II. Illinois' Emission Inventories
A. Base Year
B. How did the state develop the emission inventories?
III. EPA's Evaluation
A. Did the state adequately document the derivation of the
emission estimates?
B. Did the state quality assure the emission estimates?
C. Did the state provide for public review of the requested SIP
revision?
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The 2008 Ozone NAAQS and Emission Inventory Requirements
On March 12, 2008, EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour ozone NAAQS of
0.075 parts per million (ppm). See 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008). In
2012, EPA designated nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (77
FR 30088, May 21, 2012, and 77 FR 34221, June 11, 2012). The Chicago-
Naperville, IL-IN-WI and St. Louis, MO-IL areas were designated as
marginal nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The Illinois
portion (the Chicago area) of the Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI ozone
nonattainment area includes the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake,
McHenry, and Will, Aux Sable and Goose Lake Townships in Grundy County,
and Oswego Township in Kendall County. The Illinois portion (the Metro-
East St. Louis area) of the St. Louis, MO-IL ozone nonattainment area
includes Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties.
CAA sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1), 42 U.S.C. 7502(c)(3) and
7511a(a)(1), require states to develop and submit, as SIP revisions,
emission inventories for all areas designated as nonattainment for the
ozone NAAQS. An emission inventory for ozone is an estimation of actual
emissions of air pollutants that contribute to the formation of ozone
in an area. Ozone is a gas that is formed by the reaction of Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOC) and Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) in the
atmosphere in the presence of sunlight (VOC and NOX are
referred to as ozone precursors). Therefore, an emission inventory for
ozone covers the emissions of VOC and NOX. VOC is emitted by
many types of pollution sources, including power plants, industrial
sources, on-road and off-road mobile sources, smaller stationary
sources, collectively referred to as area sources, and biogenic
sources.\1\ NOX is primarily emitted by combustion sources,
both stationary and mobile.
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\1\ Biogenic emissions are produced by living organisms and are
typically not included in the base year emission inventories, but
are considered in ozone modeling analyses, which must consider all
emissions in a modeled area.
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The emission inventories provide emissions data for a variety of
air quality planning tasks, including establishing baseline emission
levels, calculating emission reduction targets needed to attain the
NAAQS, determining emission inputs for ozone air quality modeling
analyses, and tracking emissions over time to determine progress toward
achieving air quality and emission reduction goals. As stated above,
the CAA requires the states to submit emission inventories for areas
designated as nonattainment for ozone. For the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA
has recommended that states use 2011 as a base year for the emission
estimates (78 FR 34178, 34190, June 6, 2013). However, EPA also allows
states to submit base year emissions for other years during a recent
ozone standard violation period. States are required to submit
estimates of VOC and NOX emissions for four general classes
of anthropogenic sources: Stationary point sources; area sources; on-
road mobile sources; and off-road mobile sources in their emission
inventories.
II. Illinois' Emission Inventories
Illinois submitted a SIP revision addressing the VOC and
NOX emission inventory requirement for the Chicago and
Metro-East St. Louis areas on September 3, 2014. Tables 1 and 2
summarize the 2011 VOC and NOX emissions for these two areas
for a typical summer day (reflective of the summer period, when the
highest ozone concentrations are expected in these ozone nonattainment
areas).
[[Page 11672]]
Table 1--Chicago Area 2011 Emission Inventory
[Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source type VOC NOX
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Point................................................. 48.26 119.88
Area.................................................. 210.04 27.13
On-Road Mobile........................................ 91.03 296.38
Off-Road Mobile....................................... 168.66 170.86
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Totals............................................ 517.98 614.37
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Table 2--Metro-East St. Louis Area 2011 Emission Inventory
[Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source Type VOC NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point................................................. 10.80 26.18
Area.................................................. 18.12 1.24
On-Road Mobile........................................ 11.44 34.14
Off-Road Mobile....................................... 8.49 17.17
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Totals............................................ 48.86 78.72
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A. Base Year
As recommended by the EPA, the IEPA has selected 2011 as the base
year for the submitted emission inventories.
B. How did the state develop the emission inventories?
Illinois estimated VOC (Volatile Organic Material (VOM) in the
Illinois emission inventory \2\) and NOX emissions for each
Illinois county contained in (and for each township for counties
partially contained in) the Chicago and Metro-East St. Louis areas.
Emissions for the counties (or townships) were totaled by source
category for the two ozone nonattainment areas. To develop the VOC and
NOX emission inventories, IEPA used the procedures
summarized below.
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\2\ VOM as defined at 35 Illinois Administrative Code section
211.7150 is identical to EPA's definition of VOC at 40 CFR
51.100(s). The terms VOC and VOM are interchangeable, and refer to
the same compounds. We use VOC here to remain consistent with EPA's
standard practice to refer to VOC as an ozone precursor.
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The primary source of emissions data for point sources was the
source-reported 2011 Annual Emission Reports (AERs) (emission
statements). Under Illinois state law covering emission statement
requirements at 35 Illinois Administrative Code part 254, major sources
are required to report emissions annually to the state. The emissions
reported to the state for 2011 were the primary source of facility-
emissions, which were further divided into source category-specific
emission totals by county/township.
Area source emissions were generally calculated by multiplying
source category-specific emission factors by 2011 source activity
levels (population, employment levels, etc.) for each county or
township. In some cases, 2011 area source category emissions were
projected from 2010 emissions using estimated source category-specific
growth rates.
On-road mobile source emissions were estimated using EPA's Motor
Vehicle Emission Simulator model and vehicle activity levels provided
by the state Department of Transportation and local planning agencies.
Off-road emissions were estimated using the National Mobile
Inventory Model (NMIM). These emission estimates were supplemented with
emission estimates for aircraft, locomotives, and commercial marine
vessels provided through contractor studies since NMIM does not cover
these source types.
III. EPA's Evaluation
EPA has reviewed Illinois' September 3, 2014, requested SIP
revision for consistency with CAA and EPA emission inventory
requirements. In particular, EPA has reviewed the techniques used by
IEPA to derive and quality assure the emission estimates. EPA has also
evaluated whether Illinois provided the public with the opportunity to
review and comment on the development of the emission estimates and
whether IEPA addressed public comments.
A. Did the state adequately document the derivation of the emission
estimates?
IEPA documented the general procedures used to estimate the
emissions for each of the four major source types and for some specific
source types for the off-road emissions. The documentation of the
emission estimation procedures was adequate for us to determine that
Illinois followed acceptable procedures to estimate the emissions.
B. Did the state quality assure the emission estimates?
Illinois developed a quality assurance plan and followed this plan
during various phases of the emissions estimation and documentation
process to quality assure the emissions for completeness and accuracy.
These quality assurance procedures are summarized in the documentation
describing how the emissions totals were developed. We have determined
that the quality assurance procedures followed by Illinois are adequate
and acceptable and that Illinois has developed inventories of VOC and
NOX emissions that are comprehensive and complete.
C. Did the state provide for public review of the requested SIP
revision?
IEPA notified the public of the opportunity for comment both in
newspapers and on IEPA's Web site. No comments were received on the
emission inventories and no public hearing was requested.
IV. Final Action
We are approving the Illinois SIP revision submitted to address the
emission inventory requirements for the Chicago and Metro-East St.
Louis areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The emission inventories we are
approving into the SIP are specified in Tables 1 and 2 above. We are
approving the emission inventories because they contain comprehensive,
accurate, and current inventories of actual emissions for all relevant
sources in accordance with CAA sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) and
because Illinois adopted the emission inventories after providing for
reasonable public notice and the opportunity for public hearings.
We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective May 6, 2016
without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written
comments by April 6, 2016. If we receive such comments, we will
withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a
subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public
comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment
period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do
so at this time. Please note that, if EPA receives adverse comment on
an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision
may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final
those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse
comment. If we do not receive any comments, this action will be
effective May 6, 2016.
[[Page 11673]]
V. 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 approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by May 6, 2016. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
Dated: February 22, 2016.
Robert A. Kaplan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
0
2. Section 52.726 is amended by adding paragraph (pp) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.726 Control strategy: Ozone.
* * * * *
(pp) On September 3, 2014, Illinois submitted 2011 volatile organic
compounds and oxides of nitrogen emission inventories for the Illinois
portions of the Chicago-Naperville, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin and St.
Louis, Missouri-Illinois nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
national ambient air quality standard as a revision of the Illinois
state implementation plan. The emission inventories are approved as a
revision of the state's implementation plan.
[FR Doc. 2016-04879 Filed 3-4-16; 8:45 am]
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