[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 168 (Friday, August 29, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51517-51520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20641]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0918; FRL- 9915-91-OAR]


EPA Responses to State and Tribal 2012 Primary Annual Fine 
Particle Designation Recommendations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) has posted its responses to state and tribal designation 
recommendations for the 2012 primary annual fine particle 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on 
the agency's Internet Web site. The EPA invites the public to review 
and provide input on its responses during the comment period specified 
in the DATES section. The EPA sent its responses directly to the states 
and tribes on or about August 19, 2014. These responses focus on 
designating as ``nonattainment'' certain areas of the country where air 
monitoring data from 2011-2013 indicate violations of the 2012 primary 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The EPA intends to make final 
designation determinations for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 
NAAQS for most areas of the country in December 2014. This notice also 
announces the EPA's decision to extend the designation period by up to 
1 year to December 2015 for a limited number of areas for which 
insufficient information is currently available to promulgate 
designations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 29, 2014. 
Please

[[Page 51518]]

refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on the 
comment period.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-OAR-
HQ-2012-0918, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Attention Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0918 in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 202-566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0918.
     Mail: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center 
(EPA/DC), Mail Code 28221T, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-
0918, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand/Courier Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Room 3334, EPA 
WJC West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0918. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
confidential business information or other information whose disclosure 
is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider 
to be confidential business information or otherwise protected through 
www.regulations.gov or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means the EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without 
going through www.regulations.gov, your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your 
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with 
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA is unable to read your 
comment and cannot contact you for clarification due to technical 
difficulties, the EPA may not be able to consider your comment. 
Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form 
of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 
information about the EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For additional 
instructions on submitting comments, go to Section II of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., confidential business 
information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by 
statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not 
placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy 
form. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket 
Center, Room 3334, EPA WJC West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number for the Public Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone 
number for the Air Docket is 202-566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this 
action, please contact Beth Palma, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, Air Quality Planning Division, C539-04, 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone 919-541-5432, email at 
[email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 1, 
please contact Alison Simcox, U.S. EPA, telephone 617-918-1684, email 
at [email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 2, 
please contact Kenneth Fradkin, U.S. EPA, telephone 212-637-3702, email 
at [email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 3, 
please contact Maria Pino, U.S. EPA, telephone 215-814-2181, email at 
[email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 4, please 
contact Joel Huey, U.S. EPA, telephone 404-562-9104, email at 
[email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 5, please 
contact Carolyn Persoon, U.S. EPA, telephone 312-353-8290, email at 
[email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 6, 
please contact John Walser, U.S. EPA, telephone 214-665-7128, email at 
[email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 7, please 
contact Andy Hawkins, U.S. EPA, telephone 913-551-7179, email at 
[email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 8, please 
contact Crystal Ostigaard, U.S. EPA, telephone 303-312-6602, email at 
[email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 9, 
please contact John J. Kelly, U.S. EPA, telephone 415-947-4151, email 
at [email protected]. For questions about areas in EPA Region 10, 
please contact Justin Spenillo, U.S. EPA, telephone 206-553-6125, email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Purpose

    On December 14, 2012, the EPA revised the primary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS to provide increased protection of public health 
and welfare from fine particle pollution (78 FR 3086; January 15, 
2013). In that action, the EPA revised the primary annual 
PM2.5 standard, strengthening it from 15.0 micrograms per 
cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) to 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\, which is attained when the 
3-year average of the annual arithmetic means does not exceed 12.0 
[mu]g/m\3\.
    The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new 
or revised NAAQS is contained in Clean Air Act (CAA) section 107(d), 42 
U.S.C. 7407(d). Following the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, 
each governor or tribal leader has an opportunity to recommend air 
quality designations, including the appropriate boundaries for 
nonattainment areas, to the EPA. The EPA considers these 
recommendations as part of its duty to promulgate the formal area 
designations and boundaries for the new or revised NAAQS. By no later 
than 120 days prior to promulgating designations, the EPA is required 
to notify states and tribes of any intended modification to an area 
designation or boundary recommendation that the EPA deems necessary.
    On or about August 19, 2014, the EPA notified states and tribes of 
its intended area designations for the 2012 primary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. The EPA based its intended 2012 primary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS area designations on an evaluation of complete, 
certified, and quality-assured monitored air quality data for 2011-
2013, including an evaluation of exceptional event claims.\1\ States 
and tribes now have an opportunity to demonstrate why they believe an 
intended modification by the EPA may be inappropriate. The EPA

[[Page 51519]]

encourages states and tribes to provide comments and additional 
information for the EPA to consider before finalizing designations in 
December 2014.
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    \1\ Exceptional event claims influenced the EPA's intended 
designations for areas in the state of Hawaii and for Lemhi County, 
Idaho.
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    The purpose of this notice is to solicit public comments from 
interested parties other than states and tribes regarding the EPA's 
recent responses to the state and tribal designation recommendations 
for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS. These responses, 
and their supporting technical analyses, can be found on the EPA's 
Internet Web site at http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/designations/2012standards/index.htm and also in the public docket for 
the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 designations at 
www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0918. The EPA 
invites public comment on its responses to states and tribes during the 
30-day comment period provided by this notice. Although under CAA 
section 107(d) the EPA is not required to seek public comment during 
this designation process, the EPA is electing to do so for the 2012 
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS to gather additional information 
for consideration before promulgating final designations. Due to the 
statutory timeframe for promulgating designations set out in CAA 
section 107(d), the EPA will not be able to consider any public 
comments submitted after September 29, 2014. This notice and 
opportunity for public comment does not affect any rights or 
obligations of the EPA, or any state or tribe, which might otherwise 
exist pursuant to CAA section 107(d).
    Please refer to the ADDRESSES section above in this document for 
specific instructions on submitting comments and locating relevant 
public documents.
    The EPA believes that the boundaries for each nonattainment area 
should be evaluated and determined on a case-by-case basis considering 
the specific facts and circumstances unique to the area. CAA section 
107(d) requires that the EPA designate as nonattainment not only any 
area that is violating the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 
but also any nearby areas that contribute to the violation in the 
violating area. The EPA is particularly interested in receiving 
comments, supported by relevant information, if you believe that a 
specific geographic area that the EPA is proposing to identify as a 
nonattainment area should not be categorized by the section 107(d) 
criteria as nonattainment, or if you believe that a specific nearby 
area not proposed by the EPA to be identified as contributing to a 
nonattainment area should in fact be categorized as contributing to 
nonattainment using the section 107(d) criteria. Please be as specific 
as possible in supporting your views.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible.
     Make sure to provide your input by the comment period 
deadline identified in this notice.
    To date, the EPA has identified 14 areas that do not meet the 2012 
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS, and intends to designate these 
areas as nonattainment--http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/designations/2012standards/docs/20140819nonattainment.pdf. The EPA has also identified eight areas with 
ambient air quality monitoring sites that lack complete data for the 
relevant period--http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/designations/2012standards/docs/20140819unclassifiablelist.pdf. 
Accordingly, because the EPA cannot determine based on available 
information whether or not these areas are meeting or not meeting the 
NAAQS, the EPA intends to designate these areas as ``unclassifiable.'' 
The EPA intends to designate all but five of the remaining areas of the 
country as ``unclassifiable/attainment.'' For the five remaining areas, 
which are located in the state of Georgia and 2 neighboring counties in 
the bordering states of Alabama and South Carolina, relevant 
information, including air quality monitoring data, are insufficient to 
promulgate a designation at this time--http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/designations/2012standards/docs/20140819deferredlist.pdf. For these areas the EPA believes that an 
additional year of air quality monitoring data will result in complete 
and valid data sufficient to inform a designation determination. 
Accordingly, the EPA is extending the designation determination period 
for these five areas for up to 1 year under the authority of CAA 
section 107(d)(1)(B)(i). The EPA will assess supplementary data for 
these areas before promulgating initial designations by the statutory 
deadline of December 14, 2015.

II. Instructions for Submitting Public Comments

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?

    1. Submitting Confidential Business Information. Do not submit this 
information to the EPA through www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly 
mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be 
confidential business information. For confidential business 
information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to the EPA, mark the 
outside of the disk or CD-ROM as confidential business information and 
then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific 
information that is claimed as confidential business information. In 
addition to one complete version of the comment that includes 
information claimed as confidential business information, a copy of the 
comment that does not contain the information claimed as confidential 
business information must be submitted for inclusion in the public 
docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in 
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. Send or deliver 
information identified as confidential business information only to the 
following address: Roberto Morales, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, Mail Code C404-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 
27711, telephone 919-541-0880, email at [email protected], 
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0918.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
     Follow directions--the agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified in the DATES section above.

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III. Internet Web Site for Rulemaking Information

    The EPA has also established a Web site for this rulemaking at 
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/designations/2012standards/index.htm. The Web site includes the state and tribal 
designation recommendations, information supporting the EPA's 
preliminary designation decisions, as well as the rulemaking actions 
and other related information that the public may find useful.

    Dated: August 20, 2014.
Mary Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2014-20641 Filed 8-28-14; 8:45 am]
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