[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44522-44525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20324]
[[Page 44522]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2017-0149; FRL-9968-00-Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; 2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard for the Maryland Portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct
final action to approve the 2011 base year inventory for the Maryland
portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City marginal
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standard (NAAQS). The State of Maryland submitted the emission
inventory, which included the ozone precursors, nitrogen oxides
(NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), as well as
several other pollutants, through the Maryland Department of the
Environment (MDE) to meet the nonattainment requirements for marginal
ozone nonattainment areas for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is
approving the 2011 base year emissions inventory for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS as a revision to the Maryland State Implementation Plan
(SIP) as the inventory for NOX and VOC is in accordance with
the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on November 24, 2017 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by October 25,
2017. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform
the public that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2017-0149 at https://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: Sara Calcinore, (215) 814-2043, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Ground level ozone is formed when NOX and VOC react in
the presence of sunlight. NOX and VOC are referred to as
ozone precursors and are emitted by many types of pollution sources,
including motor vehicles, power plants, industrial facilities, and area
wide sources, such as consumer products and lawn and garden equipment.
Scientific evidence indicates that adverse public health effects occur
following exposure to ozone. These effects are more pronounced in
children and adults with lung disease. Breathing air containing ozone
can reduce lung function and inflame airways, which can increase
respiratory symptoms and aggravate asthma or other lung diseases. In
response to this scientific evidence, EPA promulgated the first ozone
NAAQS in 1979, the 0.12 part per million (ppm) 1-hour ozone NAAQS. See
44 FR 8202 (February 8, 1979). EPA had previously promulgated a NAAQS
for total photochemical oxidants.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a revised ozone NAAQS of 0.08
ppm, averaged over eight hours. 62 FR 38855. This 8-hour ozone NAAQS
was determined to be more protective of public health than the previous
1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS. In 2008, EPA revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS
from 0.08 to 0.075 ppm. See 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008).\1\
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\1\ On October 1, 2015, EPA strengthened the 8-hour ozone NAAQS
to 0.070 ppm. See 80 FR 65292 (October 16, 2015). This rulemaking
addresses the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and does not address the 2015
8-hour ozone NAAQS.
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On May 21, 2012, the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area was
designated as marginal nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
77 FR 30088. The designation of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic
City area as marginal nonattainment was effective July 20, 2012. The
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area is comprised
of Cecil County in Maryland, as well as counties in Delaware, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Under section 172(c)(3) of the CAA, Maryland
is required to submit a comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory
of actual emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutants, i.e.
the ozone precursors NOX and VOC, in its marginal
nonattainment area, i.e., the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
Under CAA section 172(c)(3), states are required to submit a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from
all sources (point, nonpoint, nonroad, and onroad) of the relevant
pollutant or pollutants in the nonattainment area. CAA section
182(a)(1) requires that areas designated as nonattainment and
classified as marginal submit an inventory of all sources of ozone
precursors no later than 2 years after the effective date of
designation. EPA's guidance for emissions inventory development calls
for actual emissions to be used in the base year inventory. The state
must report annual emissions as well as ``summer day emissions.'' As
defined in 40 CFR 51.900(v), ``summer day emissions'' means, ``an
average day's emissions for a typical summer work weekday. The state
will select the particular month(s) in summer and the day(s) in the
work week to be represented.''
On January 19, 2017, MDE submitted a formal revision (SIP #16-15)
to its SIP. The SIP revision consists of the 2011 base year inventory
for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. MDE selected 2011
as its base year for SIP planning purposes, as recommended in EPA's
final rule, ``Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone: State Implementation Plan Requirements.'' See 80
FR 12263 (March 6, 2015). MDE's 2011 base year inventory includes
emissions estimates covering the general source categories of
stationary point, area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, onroad mobile, and
Marine-Air-Rail (M-A-R).
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In its 2011 base year inventory, MDE reported actual annual emissions
and typical summer day emissions for the months of May through
September for NOX, VOC, and carbon monoxide (CO). Although
MDE also reported annual emissions for fine particulate matter
(PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ammonia
(NH3) and typical summer day emissions for CO, in this
approval of the 2011 base year emissions inventory for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS, EPA is approving only relevant ozone precursors, which are VOC
and NOX.\2\
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\2\ The actual annual emissions and typical summer day emissions
were summarized by MDE in Table 1-1: 2011 Base Year SIP Emission
Inventory Summary. A discrepancy was found between the area annual
emissions reported for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table
1-1 and the area annual emissions reported for PM2.5 and
NH3 in Table 4-1: 2011 Base Year SIP Area Source Emission
Inventories and the Nonpoint Annual data table under Appendix C
Area/Nonpoint Sources. Since the anthropogenic totals in Table 1-1
correspond to the annual emissions values, the anthropogenic totals
for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1-1 were also
affected by the discrepancy. In a correction letter, MDE confirmed
that the area annual emissions for PM2.5 and
NH3 in Table 1-1 are 456.50 tpy for PM2.5 and
477.15 tpy for NH3. MDE also confirmed that the
corresponding anthropogenic totals for PM2.5 and
NH3 are 625.04 tpy and 530.10 tpy. MDE has submitted a
corrected version of page 3 of the 2011 base year inventory to
reflect the necessary corrections to Table 1-1. The corrected
version as well as the correction letter are included in the docket
for this rulemaking even though the CAA at sections 172 and 182 only
require an inventory of ozone precursors. See July 20, 2017 letter
from Brian Hug, Program Manager, Maryland Department of the
Environment to Cecil Rodrigues, Acting Regional Administrator, EPA
Region III, Subject: SIP #16-15 ``2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory
for the Maryland Portion of the Philadelphia-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-
DE-MD 2008 Ozone NAAQS Nonattainment Area (Cecil County, MD)'' Minor
Corrections.
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Table 1 summarizes the 2011 VOC and NOX emission
inventory by source sector for Maryland's marginal nonattainment area.
Annual emissions are given in tons per year (tpy) and summer weekday
emissions are given by tons per day (tpd).
Table 1--Summary of 2011 Emissions of Ozone Precursors for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
Nonattainment Area
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Summer weekday (tpd) Annual (tpy)
Source sector ---------------------------------------------------------------
VOC NOX VOC NOX
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Point........................................... 0.301 2.63 64.91 76.19
Area............................................ 2.863 0.31 937.78 242.02
Nonroad......................................... 5.127 2.01 1,054.93 529.02
Onroad.......................................... 2.29 7.50 791.98 2,730.44
M-A-R........................................... 0.030 0.46 11.03 167.97
Anthropogenic Subtotal.......................... 10.61 12.90 2,860.63 3,745.63
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Point sources are large, stationary, and identifiable sources of
emissions that release pollutants into the atmosphere. Maryland
obtained its point source data from the MDE Air and Radiation
Management Administration (ARMA) point source emissions inventory. ARMA
identifies and inventories stationary sources for the point source
emissions inventory through inspections, investigations, permitting,
and equipment registrations.
Area sources, also known as nonpoint sources, are sources of
pollution that are small and numerous and have not been inventoried as
specific point or mobile sources. To inventory these sources, they are
grouped so that emissions can be estimated collectively using one
methodology. Examples include residential heating emissions and
emissions from consumer solvents. MDE calculated nonpoint emissions for
the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area by multiplying emissions factors specific for each
source category with some known indicator of collective activity for
each source category, such as population or employment data.
Nonroad sources are mobile sources other than onroad vehicles,
including aircraft, locomotives, construction and agricultural
equipment, and marine vessels. Emissions from different source
categories are calculated using various methodologies. MDE relied on
EPA's nonroad emissions calculations from the National Mobile Inventory
Model (NMIM--April 5, 2009). Onroad or highway sources are vehicles,
such as cars, trucks, and buses, which are operated on public roadways.
MDE estimated onroad emissions using EPA's Motor Vehicle Emission
Simulator (MOVES) model, version 2010a, and appropriate activity
levels, such as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates developed from
vehicle count data maintained by the State Highway Administration (SHA)
of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). M-A-R sources
include marine vessels, airports, and railroad locomotives. MDE
estimated M-A-R emissions using data from surveyed sources or state and
federal reporting agencies.
EPA reviewed Maryland's 2011 base year emission inventory's
results, procedures, and methodologies for the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area and found them
to be acceptable and approvable for sections 110, 172(c)(3) and
182(a)(1) of the CAA. EPA's review and analysis is detailed in a
Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared for this rulemaking. The TSD
is available online at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-
R03-OAR-2017-0149.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the Maryland January 19, 2017 SIP revision as
meeting requirements for a base year inventory for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Atlantic City nonattainment area because the inventory for ozone
precursors was prepared in accordance with requirements in sections
110, 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of the CAA and its implementing
regulations including 40 CFR 51.915. EPA is publishing this rule
without prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial
amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the
``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal Register, EPA is publishing
a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP
revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective on
November 24, 2017 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse
comment by October 25, 2017. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will
publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the
public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the
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proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this
action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
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, this rule does not have tribal implications as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000),
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in
the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 November 24, 2017. 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 this 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 action.
This action approving Maryland's 2011 base year inventory for the
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area 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, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 8, 2017.
Cecil Rodrigues,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
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.
Subpart V--Maryland
0
2. In Sec. 52.1070, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding an
entry for ``2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard'' at the end of the table to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1070 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
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Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable geographic State Additional
revision area submittal date EPA approval date explanation
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* * * * * * *
2011 Base Year Inventory for Maryland portion of 01/19/2017 09/25/2017, Sec. 52.1075(q).
the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National the Philadelphia- [Insert Federal
Ambient Air Quality Standard. Wilmington-Atlantic Register
City, PA-NJ-DE-MD citation].
2008 ozone
nonattainment area.
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0
3. Section 52.1075 is amended by adding paragraph (q) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1075 Base year emissions inventory.
* * * * *
(q) EPA approves, as a revision to the Maryland state
implementation plan the
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2011 base year emissions inventory for the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City marginal nonattainment area for
the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards submitted
by the Maryland Department of the Environment on January 19, 2017, as
amended July 20, 2017. The 2011 base year emissions inventory includes
emissions estimates that cover the general source categories of
stationary point, area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, onroad mobile, and
Marine-Air-Rail (M-A-R). The inventory included actual annual emissions
and typical summer day emissions for the months of May through
September for the ozone precursors, VOC and NOX.
[FR Doc. 2017-20324 Filed 9-22-17; 8:45 am]
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