[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 138 (Friday, July 18, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 38421-38432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19201]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 138 / Friday, July 18, 1997 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 38421]]

                Memorandum of July 16, 1997

                
Implementation of Revised Air Quality Standards 
                for Ozone and Particulate Matter

                Memorandum for the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency

                I have approved the issuance of new air quality 
                standards to provide important new health protection 
                for all Americans by further controlling pollution from 
                ozone and particulate matter. These new standards 
                promise to improve the lives of millions of Americans 
                in coming years.

                Consistent with my Administration's approach to 
                regulatory decision making, I also want to ensure that 
                these new standards are implemented in a common sense, 
                cost-effective manner. It is critically important that 
                these standards be implemented in the most flexible, 
                reasonable, and least burdensome manner, and that the 
                Federal Government work with State and local 
                governments and other interested parties to this end.

                I have determined that there are certain essential 
                elements of an approach to implementation that will 
                accomplish these goals. I direct you to use the 
                following elements when implementing the new air 
                quality standards:

                1. Implementation of the air quality standards is to be 
                carried out to maximize common sense, flexibility, and 
                cost effectiveness;

                2. Implementation shall ensure that the Nation 
                continues its progress toward cleaner air by respecting 
                the agreements already made by States, communities, and 
                businesses to clean up the air, and by avoiding 
                additional burdens with respect to the beneficial 
                measures already underway in many areas. Implementation 
                also shall be structured to reward State and local 
                governments that take early action to provide clean air 
                to their residents; and to respond to the fact that 
                pollution travels hundreds of miles and crosses many 
                State lines;

                3. Implementation shall ensure that the Environmental 
                Protection Agency (``Agency'') completes its next 
                periodic review of particulate matter, including review 
                by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, within 
                5 years of issuance of the new standards, as 
                contemplated by the Clean Air Act. Thus, by July 2002, 
                the Agency will have determined, based on data 
                available from its review, whether to revise or 
                maintain the standards. This determination will have 
                been made before any areas have been designated as 
                ``nonattainment'' under the PM2.5 standards 
                and before imposition of any new controls related to 
                the PM2.5 standards; and

                4. Implementation is to be accomplished with the 
                minimum amount of paperwork and shall seek to reduce 
                current paperwork requirements wherever possible.

[[Page 38422]]

                Excellent preliminary work on the strategy for carrying 
                out these implementation principles has been 
                accomplished by an interagency Administration group and 
                I commend that group for these important efforts. The 
                group's work is set out in the attached plan, which is 
                hereby incorporated by reference.

                In order for the implementation of these standards to 
                proceed in accordance with the goals I have 
                established, I hereby direct you, in consultation with 
                all affected agencies and parties, to undertake the 
                steps appropriate under law to carry out the attached 
                plan and to complete all necessary guidance and 
                rulemaking no later than December 31, 1998.

                This memorandum is for the purposes of internal 
                Administration management only, and is not judicially 
                reviewable.

                You are authorized and directed to publish this 
                determination and plan in the Federal Register.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Washington, July 16, 1997.

[[Page 38423]]

                Implementation Plan for Revised Air Quality Standards

                An interagency Administration group has discussed and 
                evaluated approaches for the common sense, flexible, 
                and cost effective implementation of the revised 
                National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 
                ozone and particulate matter (PM). This document 
                reflects the preliminary work by that group on a 
                strategy for implementing these health-based standards 
                consistent with the principles discussed by President 
                Clinton in his announcement of the standards. The 
                Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will continue to 
                work with other Federal agencies, State and local 
                governments, small businesses, industry, and 
                environmental and public health groups to fully develop 
                and implement this strategy.

                This implementation plan provides a road map for areas 
                to attain the standards and protect public health 
                without sacrificing economic growth. The goals of the 
                plan are to: 1) maintain the progress currently being 
                made toward cleaner air and respect the agreements and 
                technological progress already made by communities and 
                businesses to pursue clean air; 2) reward State and 
                local governments and businesses that take early action 
                to reduce air pollution levels through cost-effective 
                approaches; 3) respond to the fact that pollution can 
                travel hundreds of miles and cross many State lines; 4) 
                work with the States to develop control programs which 
                employ regulatory flexibility to minimize economic 
                impacts on businesses large and small to the greatest 
                possible degree consistent with public health 
                protection; 5) minimize planning and regulatory burdens 
                for State and local governments and businesses where 
                air quality problems are regional, not local, in 
                nature; 6) ensure that air quality planning and related 
                Federal, State, and local planning are coordinated; and 
                7) recognize the substantial lead time necessary for 
                State and local governments and businesses to plan for 
                and meet standards for a new indicator of PM.

                The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the EPA to set air 
                quality standards to protect the public health and the 
                environment without consideration of costs. The 1997 
                revisions to the NAAQS for ground level ozone and PM 
                fulfill this requirement. However, the Act recognizes 
                that the EPA and the States must work together to 
                develop cost-effective, flexible, and fair 
                implementation plans if the standards are to be met as 
                expeditiously as practicable.

                There are a number of important linkages between these 
                pollutants. There is also a linkage between these 
                pollutants and their precursors and regional haze 
                problems. Promulgation of the two standards 
                simultaneously provides a more complete description of 
                the health and environmental effects associated with 
                two of the major components of air pollution. It can 
                help States and local areas better manage their air 
                quality by focusing on the common precursors of both 
                pollutants and provides the opportunity to work jointly 
                with industry to address common sources of multiple air 
                pollutants in a comprehensive manner. This will lead to 
                more effective and efficient protection of public 
                health and the environment.

                In addition to the interagency process, the EPA has 
                been soliciting other input. While the review of the 
                ozone and PM NAAQS was underway, the EPA convened a 
                group of air quality experts representing industry, 
                environmental, and public health groups; State and 
                local governments; other Federal agencies; and academia 
                under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). This 
                group was charged by the Administrator of the EPA to 
                develop innovative, flexible, and cost-effective 
                implementation strategies that utilize a mix of control 
                measures to address ozone, PM, and regional haze. This 
                group will continue working with the EPA to further 
                develop this strategy.

                In addition, all Federal agencies will continue to do 
                their part in carrying out the Federal responsibilities 
                in the State/Federal partnership that has been so 
                successful in improving air quality in the United 
                States. In addition, the EPA, in partnership with the 
                other Federal agencies, has developed

[[Page 38424]]

                an interagency research program that is described in 
                Appendix 1 for the coordination of future research on 
                both ground level ozone and PM.

                Implementation of Ozone Standard

                Phase-out of 1-hour standard

                The revised ozone standard is intended to replace the 
                current 1-hour standard with an 8-hour standard. 
                However, the 1-hour standard will continue to apply to 
                areas not attaining it for an interim period to ensure 
                an effective transition to the new 8-hour standard.

                Subpart 2 of part D of Title I of the CAA addresses the 
                requirements for different classifications of 
                nonattainment areas that do not meet the current 1-hour 
                standard (i.e., marginal, moderate, serious, and 
                severe). These requirements include such items as 
                mandatory control measures, annual rate of progress 
                requirements for emission reductions, and offset ratios 
                for the emissions from new or modified stationary 
                sources. These requirements have contributed 
                significantly to the improvements in air quality since 
                1990. Although the EPA initially offered an 
                interpretation of the CAA in the proposed Interim 
                Implementation Policy (IIP) (61 FR 65764, December 13, 
                1996) under which the provisions of Subpart 2 would not 
                apply to existing ozone nonattainment areas once a new 
                ozone NAAQS is promulgated, the EPA has reconsidered 
                that interpretation after receiving comments on the 
                proposed IIP. Based on EPA's legal review, the Agency 
                has concluded that Subpart 2 should continue to apply 
                as a matter of law for the purpose of achieving 
                attainment of the current 1-hour standard. Once an area 
                attains the 1-hour standard, those provisions will no 
                longer apply and the area's implementation of the new 
                8-hour standard would be governed only by the 
                provisions of Subpart 1 of Part D of Title I.

                To streamline the process and minimize the burden on 
                existing nonattainment areas, the 1-hour standard will 
                cease to apply to an area upon a determination by the 
                EPA that an area has attained air quality that meets 
                the 1-hour standard. In light of the implementation of 
                the new 8-hour standard, which is more stringent than 
                the existing 1-hour standard, States will not have to 
                prepare maintenance plans for those areas that attain 
                the 1-hour standard. Within 90 days, the EPA will 
                publish an action identifying existing nonattainment 
                areas and maintenance areas to which the 1-hour 
                standard will cease to apply because they have attained 
                the 1-hour standard.

                For areas where the air quality does not currently 
                attain the 1-hour standard, the 1-hour standard will 
                continue in effect. The provisions of Subpart 2 would 
                also apply to designated nonattainment areas until such 
                time as each area has air quality meeting the 1-hour 
                standard. At that time, the EPA will take action so 
                that the 1-hour standard no longer applies to such 
                areas. In any event, the ``bump-up'' provisions of 
                Subpart 2, which require areas not attaining the 
                standard by the applicable attainment date to be 
                reclassified to the next higher classification, will 
                not be triggered by the failure of any area to meet the 
                new 8-hour standard. The purpose of retaining the 
                current standard is to ensure a smooth legal and 
                practical transition to the new standard.

                Implementation of New 8-hour Ozone standard

                This section discusses the general timeline for 
                implementing the 8-hour standard, the importance of 
                regional approaches to address ozone and options for 
                classifying and designating areas relative to the 8-
                hour ozone NAAQS.

                General Timeline

                Following promulgation of a revised NAAQS, the Clean 
                Air Act provides up to 3 years for State governors to 
                recommend and the EPA to designate areas according to 
                their most recent air quality. In addition, States will 
                have up to 3 years from designation to develop and 
                submit State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to provide for 
                attainment of the new standard. Under

[[Page 38425]]

                this approach, areas would be designated as 
                nonattainment for the 8-hour standard by 2000 and would 
                submit their nonattainment SIPs by 2003. The Act allows 
                up to 10 years plus two 1-year extensions from the date 
                of designation for areas to attain the revised NAAQS.

                Regional Strategy

                Ozone is a pollutant that travels great distances and 
                it is increasingly clear that it must be addressed as a 
                regional problem. For the past 2 years the EPA has been 
                working with the 37 most eastern States through the 
                Ozone Transport Assessment Group (OTAG) in the belief 
                that reducing interstate pollution will help all areas 
                in the OTAG region attain the NAAQS. A regional 
                approach can reduce compliance costs and allow many 
                areas to avoid most traditional nonattainment planning 
                requirements. The OTAG was sponsored by the 
                Environmental Council of States, with the objective of 
                evaluating ozone transport and recommending strategies 
                for mitigating interstate pollution. The OTAG completed 
                its work in June 1997 and forwarded recommendations to 
                the EPA. Based on these recommendations, in September 
                1997, the EPA will propose a rule requiring States in 
                the OTAG region that are significantly contributing to 
                nonattainment or interfering with maintenance of 
                attainment in downwind States to submit SIPs to reduce 
                their interstate pollution. The EPA will issue the 
                final rule by September 1998.

                If the States choose to establish a regional emission 
                cap-and-trade system, modeled on the current acid rain 
                program, reductions can be obtained at a lower cost. 
                The EPA will encourage and assist the States to develop 
                and implement such a program. Most important, based on 
                the EPA's review of the latest modeling, a regional 
                approach, coupled with the implementation of other 
                already existing State and Federal Clean Air Act 
                requirements, will allow the vast majority of areas 
                that currently meet the 1-hour standard but would not 
                otherwise meet the new 8-hour standard to achieve 
                healthful air quality without additional local 
                controls.

                Areas in the OTAG region that would exceed the new 
                standard after the adoption of the regional strategy, 
                including areas that do not meet the current 1-hour 
                standard, will benefit as well because the regional 
                NOX program will reduce the extent of 
                additional local measures needed to achieve the 8-hour 
                standard. In many cases these regional reductions may 
                be adequate to meet CAA progress requirements for a 
                number of years, allowing areas to defer additional 
                local controls.

                Transitional Classification

                For areas that attain the 1-hour standard but not the 
                new 8-hour standard, the EPA will follow a flexible 
                implementation approach that encourages cleaner air 
                sooner, responds to the fact that ozone is a regional 
                as well as local problem, and eliminates unnecessary 
                planning and regulatory burdens for State and local 
                governments. A primary element of the plan will be the 
                establishment under Section 172(a)(1) of the CAA of a 
                special ``transitional'' classification for areas that 
                participate in a regional strategy and/or that opt to 
                submit early plans addressing the new 8-hour standard. 
                Because many areas will need little or no additional 
                new local emission reductions to reach attainment, 
                beyond those reductions that will be achieved through 
                the regional control strategy, and will come into 
                attainment earlier than otherwise required, the EPA 
                will exercise its discretion under the law to eliminate 
                unnecessary local planning requirements for such areas. 
                The EPA will revise its rules for new source review 
                (NSR) and conformity so that States will be able to 
                comply with only minor revisions to their existing 
                programs in areas classified as transitional. During 
                this rulemaking, the EPA will also reexamine the NSR 
                requirements applicable to existing nonattainment 
                areas, in order to deal with issues of fairness among 
                existing and new nonattainment areas. The transitional 
                classification will be available for any area attaining 
                the 1-hour standard but not attaining the 8-hour 
                standard as of the time the EPA promulgates 
                designations for the 8-hour

[[Page 38426]]

                standard. Areas will follow the approaches described 
                below based on their status.

                (1) Areas attaining the 1-hour standard, but not 
                attaining the 8-hour standard, that would attain the 8-
                hour standard through the implementation of the 
                regional NOX transport strategy for the 
                East.

                Based on the OTAG analyses, areas in the OTAG region 
                that can reach attainment through implementation of the 
                regional transport strategy would not be required to 
                adopt and implement additional local measures. When the 
                EPA designates these areas under section 107(d), it 
                will place them in the new transitional classification 
                if they would attain the standard through 
                implementation of the regional transport strategy and 
                are in a State that by 2000 submits an implementation 
                plan that includes control measures to achieve the 
                emission reductions required by the EPA's rule for 
                States in the OTAG region. This is 3 years earlier than 
                an attainment SIP would otherwise be required. The EPA 
                anticipates that it will be able to determine whether 
                such areas will attain based on the OTAG and other 
                regional modeling and that no additional local modeling 
                would be required.

                (2) Areas attaining the 1-hour standard but not 
                attaining the 8-hour standard for which a regional 
                transport strategy is not sufficient for attainment of 
                the 8-hour standard.

                To encourage early planning and attainment for the 8-
                hour standard, the EPA will make the transitional 
                classification available to areas not attaining the 8-
                hour standard that will need additional local measures 
                beyond the regional transport strategy, as well as to 
                areas that are not affected by the regional transport 
                strategy, provided they meet certain criteria. To 
                receive the transitional classification, these areas 
                must submit an attainment SIP prior to the designation 
                and classification process in 2000. The SIP must 
                demonstrate attainment of the 8-hour standard and 
                provide for the implementation of the necessary 
                emissions reductions on the same time schedule as the 
                regional transport reductions. The EPA will work with 
                affected areas to develop a streamlined attainment 
                demonstration. By submitting these attainment plans 
                earlier than would have otherwise been required, these 
                areas would be eligible for the transitional 
                classification and its benefits and would achieve 
                cleaner air much sooner than otherwise required.

                (3) Areas not attaining the 1-hour standard and not 
                attaining the 8-hour standard

                The majority of areas not attaining the 1-hour standard 
                have made substantial progress in evaluating their air 
                quality problems and developing plans to reduce 
                emissions of ozone-causing pollutants. These areas will 
                be eligible for the transitional classification 
                provided that they attain the 1-hour standard by the 
                year 2000 and comply with the appropriate provisions of 
                section (1) or (2) above depending upon which 
                conditions they meet.

                Areas not Eligible for the Transitional Classification

                For these areas, their work on planning and control 
                programs to meet the 1-hour standard by their current 
                attainment date (e.g., 2005 for Philadelphia and 2007 
                for Chicago) will take them a long way toward meeting 
                the 8-hour standard. While the additional local 
                reductions that they will need to achieve the 8-hour 
                standard must occur prior to their 8-hour attainment 
                date (e.g., 2010), for virtually all areas the 
                additional reductions needed to achieve the 8-hour 
                standard can occur after the 1-hour attainment date. 
                This approach allows them to make continued progress 
                toward attaining the 8-hour standard throughout the 
                entire period without requiring new additional local 
                controls for attaining the 8-hour standard until the 1-
                hour standard is attained. These areas, however, will 
                need to submit an implementation plan within 3 years of 
                designation as nonattainment for the new standard for 
                achieving the 8-hour standard. Such a plan can rely in 
                large part on measures needed to attain the 1-hour 
                standard. For virtually all of these areas, no 
                additional local control measures beyond those needed 
                to meet the requirements of Subpart 2 and needed in 
                response to the regional

[[Page 38427]]

                transport strategy would be required to be implemented 
                prior to their applicable attainment date for the 1-
                hour standard. Nonattainment areas that do not attain 
                the 1-hour standard by their attainment date would 
                continue to make progress in accordance with the 
                requirements of Subpart 2; the control measures needed 
                to meet the progress requirements under Subpart 2 would 
                generally be sufficient for meeting the control measure 
                and progress requirements of Subpart 1 as well.

                Implementation of Particulate Matter Standards

                As required under the Act, within the next 5 years the 
                EPA will complete the next periodic review of the PM 
                criteria and standards, including review by the CASAC. 
                As with all NAAQS reviews, the purpose is to update the 
                pertinent scientific and technical information and to 
                determine whether it is appropriate to revise the 
                standards in order to protect the public health with an 
                adequate margin of safety or to protect the public 
                welfare. Although the EPA has concluded that the 
                current scientific knowledge provides a strong basis 
                for the revised PM10 and new PM2.5 
                standards, there remain scientific uncertainties 
                associated with the health and environmental effects of 
                PM and the means of reducing them.

                The following steps discussed below and in Appendix 1, 
                Interagency Research Program, will address these 
                concerns. First, recognizing the importance of 
                developing a better understanding of the effects of 
                fine particles on human health, including their causes 
                and mechanisms, as well as the species and sources of 
                PM2.5, the EPA will continue to sponsor 
                research, particularly in these areas. Second, the 
                Administrator of the EPA will promptly initiate a new 
                review of the scientific criteria on the effects of 
                airborne particles on human health and the environment. 
                Within 90 days, the EPA will develop and provide to 
                CASAC a plan and proposed schedule for this review to 
                assure that the review is completed within 5 years. The 
                plan and schedule will be published in the Federal 
                Register. Thus, by July 2002, the Agency will have 
                determined, based on data available from its review, 
                whether to revise or maintain the standards. This 
                determination will have been made before any areas have 
                been designated nonattainment under the PM2.5 
                standards and before imposition of any new controls 
                related to the PM2.5 standards.

                Implementation of New PM2.5 NAAQS

                As set forth in the EPA's final action regarding PM, 
                the EPA is establishing a new indicator for fine 
                particles (i.e., PM2.5) and promulgating new 
                PM2.5 standards. Monitoring and planning 
                will be required before control measures to address 
                these standards would be required. Therefore, the first 
                priority for implementing them is establishment of a 
                comprehensive monitoring network to determine ambient 
                fine particle concentrations across the country. The 
                monitoring network will help the EPA and the States 
                determine which areas do not meet the new air quality 
                standards, what are the major sources of PM2.5 
                in various regions, and what action is needed to clean 
                up the air. The EPA and the States will consult with 
                affected stakeholders on the design of the network and 
                will then establish the network, which will consist of 
                approximately 1,500 monitors. All monitors will provide 
                for limited speciation, or analysis of the chemical 
                composition, of the particles measured. At least 50 of 
                the monitors will provide for a more comprehensive 
                speciation of the particles. The EPA will work with 
                states to deploy the PM2.5 monitoring 
                network. Based on the ambient monitoring data we have 
                seen to date, these would generally not include 
                agricultural areas. The EPA will fund the cost of 
                purchasing the monitors, as well as the cost of 
                analyzing particles collected at the monitors to 
                determine their chemical composition.

                Because the EPA is establishing standards for a new 
                indicator for PM (i.e., PM2.5), it is 
                critical to develop the best information possible 
                before attainment and nonattainment designation 
                decisions are made. Three calendar years of Federal 
                reference method monitoring data will be used to 
                determine

[[Page 38428]]

                whether areas meet or do not meet the PM2.5 
                standards. Three years of data will be available from 
                the earliest monitors in the spring of 2001, and 3 
                years of data will be available from all monitors in 
                2004. Following this monitoring schedule and allowing 
                time for data analysis, Governors and the EPA will not 
                be able to make the first determinations as to which 
                areas should be designated nonattainment until at least 
                2002, 5 years from now. The Clean Air Act, however, 
                requires that the EPA make designation determinations 
                (i.e., attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable) 
                within 2 to 3 years of revising a NAAQS. To fulfill 
                this requirement, in 1999 the EPA will issue 
                ``unclassifiable'' designations for PM2.5. 
                These designations will not trigger the planning or 
                control requirements of part D of Title I of the Act.

                When the EPA designates PM2.5 nonattainment 
                areas pursuant to the Governors' recommendations 
                beginning in 2002, areas will be allowed 3 years to 
                develop and submit to the EPA pollution control plans 
                showing how they will meet the new standards. Areas 
                will then have up to 10 years from their redesignation 
                to nonattainment to attain the PM2.5 
                standards with the possibility of two 1-year 
                extensions.

                In developing strategies for attaining the PM2.5 
                standards, it is important to focus on measures that 
                decrease emissions that contribute to regional 
                pollution. Available information indicates that nearly 
                one-third of the areas projected not to meet the new 
                PM2.5 standards, primarily in the Eastern 
                United States, could come into compliance as a result 
                of the regional SO2 emission reductions 
                already mandated under the Clean Air Act's acid rain 
                program, which will be fully implemented between 2000 
                and 2010. Similarly, the Grand Canyon Visibility 
                Transport Commission, consisting of Western States and 
                tribes, committed to reducing regional emissions of 
                PM2.5 precursors (sulfates, nitrates, and 
                organics) to improve visibility across the Colorado 
                Plateau.

                As detailed PM2.5 air quality data and data 
                on the chemical composition of PM2.5 in 
                different areas become available, the EPA will work 
                with the States to analyze regional strategies that 
                could reduce PM2.5 levels. If further cost-
                effective regional reductions will help areas meet the 
                new standard, the EPA will encourage States to work 
                together to use a cap-and-trade approach similar to 
                that used to curb acid rain. This acid rain program 
                delivered environmental benefits at a greatly reduced 
                cost.

                Given the regional dimensions of the PM2.5 
                problem, local governments and local businesses should 
                not be required to undertake unnecessary planning and 
                local regulatory measures when the problem requires 
                action on a regional basis. Therefore, as long as the 
                States are doing their part to carry out regional 
                reduction programs, the areas that would attain the 
                PM2.5 standards based on full implementation 
                of the acid rain program would not face new local 
                requirements. Early identification of other regional 
                strategies could also assist local areas in completing 
                their programs to attain the PM2.5 standards 
                after those areas have been designated nonattainment.

                The EPA will also encourage States to coordinate their 
                PM2.5 control strategy development and 
                efforts to protect regional visibility. Visibility 
                monitoring and data analysis will support both 
                PM2.5 implementation and the visibility 
                program.

                Implementation of Revised PM10 NAAQS

                In its rule, the EPA is revising the current set of 
                PM10 standards. Given that health effects 
                from coarse particles are still of concern, the overall 
                goal during this transition period is to ensure that 
                PM10 control measures remain in place to 
                maintain the progress that has been achieved toward 
                attainment of the current PM10 NAAQS (and 
                which provides benefits for PM2.5) and 
                protection of public health.

                To ensure that this goal is met, the existing PM10 
                NAAQS will continue to apply until certain critical 
                actions by the EPA, and by States and local agencies, 
                have been taken to sustain the progress already made. 
                For areas

[[Page 38429]]

                not attaining the existing PM10 NAAQS when 
                the revised standards go into effect, those standards 
                remain in effect until the EPA has completed a section 
                172(e) rulemaking to prevent backsliding. The EPA will 
                propose this rulemaking in the Fall of 1997. For areas 
                attaining the existing PM10 NAAQS, the EPA 
                will retain the existing PM10 NAAQS until 
                the State submits and the EPA approves the section 110 
                SIP which States are required to submit within 3 years 
                of a NAAQS revision. Once those areas have an approved 
                SIP, the EPA will take action so the standard no longer 
                applies. In addition, the EPA will take action within 3 
                years to designate areas for the revised PM10 
                standards.

                Cost-Effective Implementation Strategies

                There is a strong desire to drive the development of 
                new technologies with the potential of greater emission 
                reduction at less cost. It was agreed that $10,000 per 
                ton of emission reduction is the high end of the range 
                of reasonable cost to impose on sources. Consistent 
                with the State's ultimate responsibility to attain the 
                standards, the EPA will encourage the States to design 
                strategies for attaining the PM and ozone standards 
                that focus on getting low cost reductions and limiting 
                the cost of control to under $10,000 per ton for all 
                sources. Market-based strategies can be used to reduce 
                compliance costs. The EPA will encourage the use of 
                concepts such as a Clean Air Investment Fund, which 
                would allow sources facing control costs higher than 
                $10,000 a ton for any of these pollutants to pay a set 
                annual amount per ton to fund cost-effective emissions 
                reductions from non-traditional and small sources. 
                Compliance strategies like this will likely lower the 
                costs of attaining the standards through more efficient 
                allocation, minimize the regulatory burden for small 
                and large pollution sources, and serve to stimulate 
                technology innovation as well.

                Additional Future Activities and Coordination with 
                Other Federal Departments and Agencies

                The approaches outlined above for implementation of the 
                current and new ozone standards will be developed in 
                the future in much greater detail. In order to ensure 
                that the final details are practical, incorporate 
                common sense, and provide the appropriate steps toward 
                cleaning the air, input is needed from many 
                stakeholders such as representatives of State and local 
                governments, industry, environmental groups, and 
                Federal agencies. The EPA will continue seeking such 
                advice from a range of stakeholders and, after 
                evaluating their input, propose the necessary guidance 
                to make these approaches work. Moreover, the EPA will 
                continue to work with a number of Federal agencies to 
                ensure that those agencies comply with these new 
                standards in cost-effective, common sense ways. The 
                guidance and rules (e.g., revisions to NSR and 
                conformity) will be completed by the end of 1998.

                The EPA will continue to work with the Small Business 
                Administration (SBA) because small businesses are 
                particularly concerned about the potential impact 
                resulting from future control measures to meet the 
                revised PM and ozone standards. The EPA, in partnership 
                with SBA, will work with the States to include in their 
                SIPs flexible regulatory alternatives that minimize the 
                economic impact and paperwork burden on small 
                businesses to the greatest possible degree consistent 
                with public health protection.

                The EPA and the Department of Defense will continue to 
                work towards assuring that the CAA's general conformity 
                provisions are applied appropriately so as to maintain 
                the air quality benefits of this requirement consistent 
                with the Department's goals for cost-saving 
                consolidation of the defense infrastructure and the 
                economic viability for civilian use of former military 
                bases, in support of base realignment and closure 
                activities.

[[Page 38430]]

                In addition, understanding that critical training using 
                smoke and obscurants must continue to ensure the 
                training and readiness of the military, the EPA will 
                work with the Department of Defense to develop a policy 
                that ensures that a local area will not be redesignated 
                to nonattainment solely on the basis of the use of 
                obscurants or smoke for such purposes. While there is a 
                need to keep the public informed of violations of air 
                quality standards, if any were to occur, there is no 
                need to curtail the training or limit it to certain 
                weather conditions.

                The EPA will also work closely with the Department of 
                Agriculture and the Agriculture Air Quality Task Force 
                on any agricultural issues associated with the ozone 
                and PM standards. By establishing new standards for 
                particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in 
                diameter (PM2.5), as opposed to tightening 
                the existing standards for particles smaller than 10 
                micrometers (PM10), the EPA is actually 
                focusing regulatory attention away from farming and 
                tilling issues. Indeed, soils and agriculture comprise 
                a much smaller portion of the PM2.5 problem 
                than they do of the PM10 problem. The EPA 
                will issue guidance to the States to ensure that in 
                meeting the PM2.5 standards they focus their 
                control strategies on sources of fine particles, rather 
                than coarse particles (those particles larger than 
                PM2.5).

                Finally, the EPA will continue to work with the 
                interagency group addressing fire and air quality 
                issues. The EPA recognizes the inevitability of fire, 
                and the important role of fire in natural systems. The 
                interagency group will develop policies and practices 
                to assure compatibility between fire and air quality 
                programs consistent with public health, safety, and 
                environmental protection.

[[Page 38431]]

                Appendix 1

                Interagency Research Program

                The EPA has concluded that the current scientific 
                knowledge provides a strong basis for the revised ozone 
                and PM10 standards and the new PM2.5 
                standards. However, for both pollutants there exist 
                uncertainties about the health effects and their causes 
                that can benefit from further study. The complex 
                chemistry of their formation and the potential for the 
                regional transport of their precursor pollutants and 
                ozone and PM also needs to be better understood to 
                design effective control strategies to reduce their 
                concentrations in the ambient air. The research program 
                is structured to prioritize those projects that ensure 
                research activities are focused on high-priority topics 
                and that the research carried out by various agencies 
                is both complementary and timely. The EPA will reach 
                out to form partnerships with the private sector and 
                State and local governments in performing the research 
                wherever possible.

                Particulate Matter Research

                As discussed elsewhere, the EPA will complete another 
                full scientific and technical review of the PM 
                standards by 2002. Simultaneous with the planning for 
                the current criteria review in 1993, the EPA began a 
                process of increasing emphasis on PM research. As 
                discussed above, commenters on the proposed PM NAAQS 
                also expressed significant concerns about the science. 
                The steps discussed below are intended to address the 
                concerns raised by the commenters.

                Based on the recently completed comprehensive 
                scientific review, the EPA is again reassessing its 
                research priorities to address the most recent 
                understanding of these uncertainties with the 
                development of two documents, entitled PM Research 
                Needs for Human Health Risk Assessment and ORD PM 
                Research Program Strategy. These documents are designed 
                to highlight significant health research needs and EPA/
                ORD's strategy to address a subset of those needs as 
                well as research needs for implementing the standards. 
                Both documents were reviewed by the Clean Air 
                Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) in a November 
                1996 meeting, and are currently undergoing revisions to 
                address CASAC comments.

                These documents, in turn, will help to guide an 
                expansion of an ongoing government-wide effort to 
                target and coordinate Federal research on particulate 
                matter. The EPA, in partnership with other Federal 
                agencies, will develop a greatly expanded coordinated 
                interagency PM research program. The program will 
                contribute to expanding the science associated with 
                particulate matter health effects, as well as 
                developing improved monitoring methods and cost-
                effective mitigation strategies. For example, the 
                Department of Health and Human Services is conducting 
                research on respiratory disease and could undertake 
                surveillance of PM-related health effects. Significant 
                emphasis will be placed on coordinating research on 
                health effects, biological mechanism causing effects, 
                monitoring, source-receptor relationships, speciation 
                of PM, identification of sources, control technologies 
                and regional transport for particulate matter with 
                corresponding research on ozone and other related 
                pollutants including regional haze. To assist State and 
                local efforts in completing planning requirements and 
                reducing PM, the EPA will work cooperatively with the 
                Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, 
                Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, and 
                other affected Federal agencies to refine existing, 
                limited analytical models for PM10 and to 
                develop new reliable predictive models for 
                PM2.5.

                Tropospheric (Ground Level) Ozone Research

                To ensure that the ozone NAAQS and their implementation 
                continue to be based on the best available science, the 
                EPA will continue its research efforts on tropospheric 
                or ground level ozone. As with the setting and 
                implementation of virtually all health-based 
                environmental standards, there remain scientific 
                uncertainties associated with the effects of ozone and 
                the means of reducing them. The EPA has participated in 
                an intergovernmental

[[Page 38432]]

                public/private partnership called the North American 
                Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO) that 
                involves a coordinated effort to identify and address 
                key issues in the emissions, transport, and mitigation 
                of photochemical pollutants. Further, with the 
                completion of the ozone Criteria Document, the EPA has 
                reassessed the uncertainties and research needs on the 
                health and ecological effects of ozone at workshops 
                held in March and May 1997, respectively. The EPA is 
                currently developing a health and ecological effects 
                research needs document for ozone, which will be 
                submitted for review by CASAC.

                In addition, the EPA will continue broader efforts to 
                coordinate Federal research on tropospheric ozone. The 
                public/private NARSTO partnership is a model 
                cooperative effort already begun in the area of 
                atmospheric processes and risk management. NARSTO's 
                membership spans government, utilities and other 
                industries, and the academic community--all following a 
                single national research agenda. The EPA will also work 
                in partnership with other Federal agencies to address 
                research needs on ozone health and ecological effects. 
                For example, the Department of Health and Human 
                Services is conducting research on respiratory disease 
                and could undertake surveillance of ozone-related 
                health effects. These research efforts will be 
                coordinated to ensure research activities are focused 
                on high-priority topics and that the research carried 
                out by various agencies is complementary. Significant 
                emphasis will be placed on coordinating both health 
                effects, monitoring, source-receptor, and control 
                technologies for ozone with corresponding research on 
                particulate matter and other related pollutants subject 
                to significant regional transport.

[FR Doc. 97-19201
Filed 7-17-97; 12:50pm]
Billing code 6560-50-P