[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 2, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51923-51926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20787]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0450; FRL-9916-05-Region 9]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Arizona; 
Nogales Nonattainment Area; Fine Particulate Matter Emissions 
Inventories

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve revisions to the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
concerning 2008 and 2010 emissions inventories for the 2006 24-hour 
fine particle (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS) for the Nogales PM2.5 nonattainment area. We are 
approving these annual emissions inventories under the Clean Air Act 
(CAA or the Act).

DATES: Any comments must arrive by October 2, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2014-0450, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions.
    2. E-Mail: [email protected].
    3. Mail or Deliver: Jerry Wamsley (Air-2), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments 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 Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you 
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as 
such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email. 
www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not 
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the 
body of your comment. If you send email directly to EPA, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
public comment. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be 
able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of 
special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects 
or viruses.
    Docket: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901. 
While all documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov, 
some information may be publicly available only at the hard copy 
location (e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be 
publicly available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard 
copy

[[Page 51924]]

materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours 
with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Wamsley, EPA Region IX, (415) 
947-4111, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
    A. PM2.5 NAAQS
    B. Designation of PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas
    C. Submittal Requirements for PM2.5 Nonattainment 
Areas
II. Procedural Requirements for SIP Revisions
    A. Submittal for the Nogales Nonattainment Area
III. Analysis of Arizona's Submittal
    A. Nogales Area Emissions Inventories
IV. Proposed Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

A. PM2.5 NAAQS

    Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA establishes national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') for certain pervasive air 
pollutants (referred to as ``criteria pollutants'') and conducts 
periodic reviews of the NAAQS to determine whether they should be 
revised or whether new NAAQS should be established.
    On July 18, 1997, EPA revised the NAAQS for particulate matter to 
add new standards for fine particles, using PM2.5 (particles 
less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter) as the indicator for 
the pollutant. EPA established primary and secondary annual and 24-hour 
standards for PM2.5 (62 FR 38652).\1\ The annual standard 
was set at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\), based on a 3-
year average of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations, and the 
24-hour standard was set at 65 [mu]g/m\3\, based on the 3-year average 
of the 98th percentile of 24-hour PM2.5 concentrations at 
each population-oriented monitor within an area.
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    \1\ For a given air pollutant, ``primary'' national ambient air 
quality standards are those determined by EPA as requisite to 
protect the public health, and ``secondary'' standards are those 
determined by EPA as requisite to protect the public welfare from 
any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the 
presence of such air pollutant in the ambient air. See CAA section 
109(b).
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    On October 17, 2006, EPA revised the level of the 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS to 35 [mu]g/m\3\, based on a 3-year average of 
the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations (71 FR 61144). In this 
same action, EPA also retained the 1997 annual PM2.5 
standard at 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of annual mean 
PM2.5 concentrations, but with tighter constraints on the 
spatial averaging criteria.

B. Designation of PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas

    Effective December 14, 2009, EPA established the initial air 
quality designations for most areas in the United States for the 2006 
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS (74 FR 58688, November 13, 2009). Among 
the various areas designated in 2009, EPA designated the Nogales area 
in Arizona as nonattainment for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 
NAAQS.\2\ The boundaries for this area are described in 40 CFR 81.303.
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    \2\ The Nogales PM2.5 nonattainment area covers 76.1 
square miles and is located in southern Santa Cruz County, Arizona 
adjacent to the international border with Mexico.
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C. Submittal Requirements for PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas

    Section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires a state with an area 
designated as nonattainment of a standard to submit a comprehensive, 
accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions for the 
nonattainment area for EPA's review and approval. EPA's requirements 
for an emissions inventory for the PM2.5 NAAQS are set forth 
in 40 CFR 51.1008.3 4 As applied to the 2006 
PM2.5 24-hour NAAQS, this proposal is limited to the 
emissions inventories for directly emitted PM2.5 and 
PM2.5 precursors submitted by the Arizona Department of 
Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for the Nogales nonattainment area, as 
required under section 172(c)(3) of the CAA.
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    \3\ 40 CFR 51.1008(a)(2) and (b) do not apply for the Nogales 
area because they relate to requirements for attainment 
demonstrations and reasonable further progress (RFP); these 
requirements were suspended for the Nogales PM2.5 
nonattainment area so long as the area continues to meet the 
PM2.5 standard. For further discussion of our Clean Data 
Policy as applied to the Nogales area, refer to our proposed rule 
(77 FR 65656, October 30, 2012) and final rule (78 FR 887, January 
7, 2013).
    \4\ Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia (D.C. Circuit) recently remanded this rule and directed EPA 
to re-promulgate it pursuant to subpart 4 of part D, title 1 of the 
CAA (see Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA, 706 F.3d 428 
(D.C. Cir. 2013)), the court's ruling in this case does not affect 
EPA's action on these emissions inventories. Subpart 4 of part D, 
title I of the Act contains no specific provision governing 
emissions inventories for PM10 or PM2.5 
nonattainment areas that supersedes the general emissions inventory 
requirement for all nonattainment areas in CAA section 172(c)(3). 
See ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the 
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 
57 FR 13498, (April 16, 1992).
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    On January 7, 2013, EPA finalized a determination that the Nogales 
nonattainment area had attained the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS 
(78 FR 887). This determination of attainment was based upon complete, 
quality-assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data showing that 
the Nogales nonattainment area had monitored attainment of the 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS over three years, from 2009 to 2011. Based 
on this determination, the requirements for Arizona to submit an 
attainment demonstration, reasonably available control measures, a 
reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, and contingency measures for 
failure to meet RFP and attainment deadlines were suspended for so long 
as the Nogales area continues to attain the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS. The emissions inventory submittal requirement 
in CAA section 172(c)(3), however, is not suspended by our 
determination of attainment. Consequently, Arizona has submitted the 
Nogales area emissions inventories to address the 172(c)(3) 
requirement. Please see our October 30, 2012 proposed rule for further 
discussion of EPA's Clean Data Policy and its application to the 
Nogales nonattainment area (77 FR 65656).

II. Procedural Requirements for SIP Revisions

    Sections 110(a)(1) and 110(l) of the Act require states to provide 
reasonable notice and public hearing prior to adoption of SIP 
revisions. Section 110(k)(1)(B) requires EPA to determine whether a SIP 
submittal is complete within 60 days of receipt, but no later than 6 
months after the date of the submittal. Any state submittal that we 
have not determined to be complete or incomplete will become complete 
by operation of law six months after the day of submittal. A finding of 
completeness does not approve the submittal as part of the SIP and it 
does not indicate that the submittal is approvable. A completeness 
finding starts a twelve month clock for EPA to act on the SIP 
submittal. See CAA section 110(k)(2).

A. Submittal for the Nogales Nonattainment Area

    On September 6, 2013, Arizona submitted the 2008 and 2010 
PM2.5 emissions inventories for the Nogales nonattainment 
area titled ``Arizona State Implementation Plan Revision for the 
Nogales PM2.5 Nonattainment Area''.\5\

[[Page 51925]]

Arizona's submittal provides documentation of the public review process 
followed by the State prior to submitting the emissions inventories to 
EPA. The documentation provides evidence that reasonable notice of a 
public hearing was provided to the public and that a public hearing was 
conducted prior to submittal.\6\ Arizona's submittal of the Nogales 
nonattainment area emissions inventories became complete by operation 
of law on March 6, 2014.
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    \5\ See letter from Eric Massey, Director, Air Quality Division, 
ADEQ to Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator, USEPA, dated 
September 6, 2013 and enclosure titled ``Arizona State 
Implementation Plan Revision for the Nogales PM2.5 
Nonattainment Area''. Included within Appendix A of this document is 
``Primary PM2.5 and Secondary Precursor Emissions 
Inventories for 2008 and 2010,'' July 26, 2013, Arizona Department 
of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), hereafter referred to as Appendix 
A. Because much of the detailed emissions inventory information and 
analyses for the submittal document are located within Appendix A, 
this document is the substantive focus of this proposal.
    \6\ A public hearing was conducted on September 3, 2013 after 30 
days prior notice. See Enclosure 4 of the submittal for public 
notice documentation and public hearing transcripts.
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    Based on the documentation provided in Arizona's SIP revision 
submittal, we find that the Nogales area emissions inventories 
satisfies the procedural requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and 110(l) 
of the Act for revising SIPs.

III. Analysis of Arizona's Submittal

    Section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires states to submit a 
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions for 
each nonattainment area. EPA's requirements for an emissions inventory 
for the PM2.5 NAAQS are set forth in 40 CFR 51.1008. For the 
PM2.5 NAAQS, the pollutants to be inventoried are 
PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursors (i.e., nitrogen oxides 
(NOX), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur dioxide 
(SO2), and ammonia (NH3)).\7\
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    \7\ Emissions Inventory Guidance for Implementation of Ozone and 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 
and Regional Haze Regulations, EPA-454-/R-05-001, August 2005, 
updated November 2005. http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/eidocs/eiguid/eiguidfinal_nov2005.pdf.
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A. Nogales Area Emissions Inventories

    Arizona's submitted Nogales area emissions inventories provide 
annual 2008 and 2010 emissions estimates (tons per year) for 
PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursors (i.e., NOX, 
VOCs, SO2, and NH3). The source categories 
include non-road mobile sources, non-point sources, on-road mobile 
sources, and point or stationary sources. A summary of the Nogales area 
emissions inventories are provided below in Tables 1 and 2. The 
detailed Nogales emissions inventories are found in Appendix A of 
Arizona's submittal.

                         Table 1--2008 Nogales Nonattainment Area Emissions Inventories
                                                 [Tons per year]
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         Source category               PM2.5            VOC             NOX             SO2             NH3
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Non-Road Mobile.................            13.1           158.6           142.7             2.8             0.1
Non-Point.......................           396.0           902.7            48.8            28.3            22.9
On-Road Mobile..................            25.1           426.2           912.9             7.5            14.4
Point/Stationary................             1.4             3.3            11.0             0.5               0
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    Totals......................           435.6          1490.8          1115.4            39.1            37.4
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Entries are rounded consistent with submittal, as such, totals may vary due to rounding. Source: Appendix A,
  Table 6.1.


                         Table 2--2010 Nogales Nonattainment Area Emissions Inventories
                                                 [Tons per year]
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         Source category               PM2.5            VOC             NOX             SO2             NH3
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Non-Road Mobile.................            13.1           159.6           142.7             2.8             0.1
Non-Point.......................           399.2           912.6            49.3            28.3            23.0
On-Road Mobile..................            20.1           369.5           743.7             4.6            13.0
Point/Stationary................             1.4             3.3            11.0             0.5               0
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    Totals......................           433.9          1445.0           946.8            36.2            36.1
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Entries are rounded consistent with submittal, as such, totals may vary due to rounding. Source: Appendix A,
  Table 6.1.

    The Nogales area primary PM2.5 and secondary precursor 
emissions inventories for 2008 and 2010 include emissions estimates 
from non-road mobile, non-point, on-road mobile sources, and point or 
stationary sources. ADEQ derived these emissions inventories for 2008 
and 2010 from emissions data for Santa Cruz County, Arizona, in EPA's 
2008 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) versions 1.5 and 2.0. See 
Appendix A, section 3. Using 2008 NEI county-level emissions estimates, 
ADEQ allocated the share of nonattainment area emissions from county 
level estimates by one of three characteristics and relative 
percentages: (1) Human-induced activities/source categories were 
allocated by nonattainment area population share, 66.1 percent; (2) 
location-based activities/source categories were allocated by 
nonattainment area share of land area, 6.15 percent; and, (3) location 
specific sources, such as point sources, were fully allocated to the 
nonattainment area, as applicable. See Appendix A, Table 3.1 for 
population and land area allocation ratios; and, see Appendix A, 
section 2 for their derivation. In the case of on-road mobile source 
emissions, ADEQ estimated Santa Cruz County emissions separately from 
the NEI data using EPA's on-road emissions factor model MOVES2010b and 
then allocated county-level emissions to the Nogales area by population 
share. ADEQ developed 2010 emissions inventory estimates for the 
Nogales nonattainment area from 2008 levels by applying a 2008 to 2010 
population-based growth rate of 1.1 percent, relative activity levels, 
or held emissions estimates constant, as applicable. See Appendix A, 
section 3.4 for ADEQ's 2010 emissions inventories discussion.
    In sum, we find this methodology reasonable and based on reliable 
estimates of population and land area. We concur with the overall 
methodology, basis for allocating emissions and allocation calculations 
used to produce the Nogales emissions

[[Page 51926]]

inventories for PM2.5 and the precursor pollutants. ADEQ's 
population estimates are Arizona Department of Administration estimates 
that have been reconciled with U.S. Census figures. We have verified 
the land area allocation ratio using geographical information system 
applications. Please see our Technical Support Document (TSD) for our 
detailed review and discussion of Arizona's emissions inventories 
methodology and results.
    In our review, we compared the ADEQ estimates for PM2.5 
and the precursor pollutants with the subsequent and final release of 
the 2008 NEI version 3.0. The 2011 NEI version 1.0 was released on 
September 30, 2013 and was not available for use by ADEQ. We expected 
to find nominal differences between the NEI versions (1.5 and 2.0) used 
by ADEQ and the final version (3.0) of the NEI based on corrections and 
re-estimates from one version to the next. EPA released the 2008 NEI 
version 3.0 in March 2013 prior to Arizona's submittal of the Nogales 
emissions inventories in September 2013. While we did not require ADEQ 
to use the 2008 NEI version 3.0 given their emissions inventories were 
already drafted, we reviewed the submittal against 2008 NEI version 3.0 
to ensure that any subsequent version 3.0 corrections or updates are 
nominal changes to the submitted emissions inventories.
    We found that the submitted PM2.5, NH3, 
NOX, and SO2 emissions inventories, 
four of five emissions inventories, show little or no variance from the 
2008 NEI version 3.0 emissions inventory, our comparison data base. The 
submitted VOC emissions inventory shows a small under-reporting of 3-10 
percent when compared either across the Santa Cruz County 2008 NEI 
version 3.0 baseline emissions estimates, or to the submitted Nogales 
area emissions estimates. This small overall underestimate of VOC 
emissions is not significant, and becomes less significant when 
considered against an adjusted increase provided by the submitted VOC 
on-road mobile emissions inventory compared to the reference 2008 NEI 
on-road mobile VOC emissions estimates. In this way, we consider the 
adjusted difference in the submitted overall VOC emission inventory and 
our reference 2008 NEI version 3.0 VOC emissions inventory to be closer 
to 3 percent rather than 10 percent, a small variance in the context of 
the overall PM2.5 emissions inventories. For our detailed 
review, please see our TSD within the docket of this rulemaking.
    In conclusion, EPA has reviewed the results, procedures, and 
methodologies Arizona used to produce the 2008 and 2010 Nogales area 
PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursor emissions inventories 
and finds that these emissions inventories meet the requirements of the 
CAA and EPA guidance. Consequently, we propose to approve the submitted 
PM2.5, NH3, NOX, SO2, and 
VOC emissions inventories as meeting the CAA's section 172(c)(3) 
requirement to provide a comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory 
of actual emissions for the Nogales nonattainment area.\8\
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    \8\ Please note that our review and proposed approval of 
Arizona's PM2.5 emissions inventories for the Nogales 
nonattainment area, their data sources, and methodologies are 
specific to this submittal and may not be applicable to all 
PM2.5 nonattainment areas and the related 
PM2.5 and precursor emissions inventories.
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IV. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the 2008 and 2010 Nogales nonattainment 
area PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursor emissions 
inventories submitted by Arizona on September 6, 2013. In doing so, EPA 
has determined that Arizona's submittal is consistent with sections 110 
and 172(c)(3) of the CAA.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act 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 Clean Air Act. 
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 Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (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 Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with 
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive 
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this action 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, 
Ammonia, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: August 20, 2014.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2014-20787 Filed 8-29-14; 8:45 am]
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