[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 192 (Friday, October 3, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59703-59717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23638]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0387; FRL-9917-40-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Redesignation Request and Associated Maintenance Plan for the 
Baltimore, Maryland Nonattainment Area for the 1997 Annual Fine 
Particulate Matter Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve the State of Maryland's request to redesignate to attainment 
the Baltimore, Maryland Nonattainment Area (Baltimore Area or Area) for 
the 1997 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national 
ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The EPA has determined that the 
Baltimore Area attained the standard and is proposing to determine that 
it continues to attain the standard. In addition, EPA is proposing to 
approve, as a revision to the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP), 
the Baltimore Area maintenance plan to show maintenance of the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS through 2025 for the Area. The 
maintenance plan includes the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) mobile vehicle emissions budgets 
(MVEBs) for the Baltimore Area for the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS, which EPA is proposing to approve for transportation conformity 
purposes. These actions are being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 3, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2014-0387 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0387, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.

[[Page 59704]]

    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2014-0387. 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 (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means 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 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, 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 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: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI 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 during normal business hours at the Air Protection 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal 
are available at the Maryland Department of the Environment, Air and 
Radiation Management Administration, 1800 Washington Boulevard, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn Powers, at (215) 814-2308, or 
by email at [email protected].

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. EPA's Requirements
    A. Criteria for Redesignation to Attainment
    B. Requirements of a Maintenance Plan
III. Summary of Proposed Actions
IV. Effects of Recent Court Decisions on Proposed Actions
    A. Effect of the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit Court's 
Decisions on EPA's CSAPR
    B. Effect of the January 4, 2013 D.C. Circuit Court Decision 
Regarding the PM2.5 Implementation under Subpart 4 of 
Part D of Title I of the CAA
V. EPA's Analysis of Maryland's SIP Submittal
    A. Redesignation Request
    B. Maintenance Plan
    C. Transportation Conformity
VI. Proposed Actions
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    The first air quality standards for PM2.5 were 
established on July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38652). EPA promulgated an annual 
standard at a level of 15 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\), 
based on a three-year average of annual mean PM2.5 
concentrations (the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard). In the same 
rulemaking, EPA promulgated a 24-hour standard of 65 [mu]g/m\3\ based 
on a three-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour 
concentrations.
    On January 5, 2005 (70 FR 944, 1014), EPA published air quality 
area designations for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. In that 
rulemaking action, EPA designated the Baltimore Area as nonattainment 
for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The Baltimore Area is 
comprised of the City of Baltimore, and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, 
Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne Counties. See 40 CFR 81.321.
    On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the annual average 
standard at 15 [mu]g/m\3\ but revised the 24-hour standard to 35 [mu]g/
m\3\, based again on the three-year average of the 98th percentile of 
the 24-hour concentrations (the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 
standard). On November 13, 2009 (74 FR 58688), EPA published 
designations for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard, which 
became effective on December 14, 2009. In that rulemaking action, EPA 
designated the Baltimore Area as attainment for the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 74 FR 58737 and 40 CFR 81.321. Since the 
Baltimore Area is designated nonattainment for the annual NAAQS 
promulgated in 1997, today's proposed rulemaking action addresses the 
redesignation to attainment only for this standard.
    On May 22, 2012 (77 FR 30208), EPA determined that the Baltimore 
Area had attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, and that the 
Area attained the NAAQS by the statutory attainment date of April 5, 
2010. Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1004(c) and based on the determination of 
attainment, the requirements for the Baltimore Area to submit an 
attainment demonstration and associated reasonably available control 
measures (RACM), a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency 
measures, and other planning SIP revisions related to the attainment of 
the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS were suspended until such time 
as: (1) The Area is redesignated to attainment for the standard, at 
which time the requirements no longer apply or (2) EPA determines that 
the Area has again violated the standard, at which time such plans are 
required to be submitted.
    On December 12, 2013, the State of Maryland, through the Maryland 
Department of the Environment (MDE), formally submitted a request to 
redesignate the Baltimore Area from nonattainment to attainment for the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Concurrently, MDE submitted a 
maintenance plan for the Area as a SIP revision to ensure continued 
attainment throughout the Area over the next 10 years. The maintenance 
plan includes the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and NOX 
MVEBs used for transportation conformity purposes for the Baltimore 
Area for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

II. EPA's Requirements

A. Criteria for Redesignation to Attainment

    The CAA provides the requirements for redesignating a nonattainment 
area to attainment. Specifically, section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA 
allows for redesignation providing that: (1) EPA determines that the 
area has attained the applicable NAAQS; (2) EPA has fully approved the 
applicable implementation plan for the area under section 110(k) of the 
CAA; (3) EPA determines that the improvement in air quality is due to 
permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from 
implementation of the applicable SIP and applicable Federal air 
pollution control regulations and other permanent and enforceable 
reductions; (4) EPA has fully approved a maintenance plan for the area 
as meeting the requirements of section 175A of the CAA; and, (5) the 
state containing such area has met all requirements applicable to the 
area under section 110 and part D of the CAA. Each of these 
requirements are discussed in section V (EPA's Analysis

[[Page 59705]]

of Maryland's SIP Submittal) of this proposed rulemaking action.
    EPA has provided guidance on redesignation in the ``State 
Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the Implementation of Title 
I of the CAA Amendments of 1990,'' (57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992) (the 
``General Preamble'') and has provided further guidance on processing 
redesignation requests in the following documents: (1) ``Procedures for 
Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' Memorandum 
from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division, 
September 4, 1992 (hereafter referred to as the ``1992 Calcagni 
Memorandum''); (2) ``SIP Actions Submitted in Response to CAA 
Deadlines,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality 
Management Division, October 28, 1992; and, (3) ``Part D New Source 
Review (Part D NSR) Requirements for Areas Requesting Redesignation to 
Attainment,'' Memorandum from Mary D. Nichols, Assistant Administrator 
for Air and Radiation, October 14, 1994.

B. Requirements of a Maintenance Plan

    Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance 
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment. 
Under section 175A of the CAA, the plan must demonstrate continued 
attainment of the applicable NAAQS for at least 10 years after EPA 
approves the redesignation of an area to attainment. Eight years after 
the redesignation, the state must submit a revised maintenance plan 
demonstrating that attainment will continue to be maintained for the 10 
years following the initial 10-year period. To address the possibility 
of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must contain such 
contingency measures, with a schedule for implementation, as EPA deems 
necessary to assure prompt correction of any future PM2.5 
violations.
    The 1992 Calcagni Memorandum provides additional guidance on the 
content of a maintenance plan. The memorandum states that a maintenance 
plan should address the following provisions: (1) An attainment 
emissions inventory; (2) a maintenance demonstration showing 
maintenance for 10 years; (3) a commitment to maintain the existing 
monitoring network; (4) verification of continued attainment; and, (5) 
a contingency plan to prevent or correct future violations of the 
NAAQS.
    Under the CAA, states are required to submit, at various times, 
control strategy SIP revisions and maintenance plans for nonattainment 
areas and for areas seeking redesignation to attainment for a given 
NAAQS. These emission control strategy SIP revisions (e.g., RFP and 
attainment demonstration SIP revisions) and maintenance plans create 
MVEBs based on onroad mobile source emissions for the relevant criteria 
pollutants and/or their precursors, where appropriate, to address 
pollution from onroad transportation sources. The MVEBs are the 
portions of the total allowable emissions that are allocated to onroad 
vehicle use that, together with emissions from all other sources in the 
area, will provide attainment, RFP, or maintenance, as applicable. The 
budget serves as a ceiling on emissions from an area's planned 
transportation system. Under 40 CFR part 93, an MVEB for an area 
seeking a redesignation to attainment is established for the last year 
of the maintenance plan.
    The maintenance plan for the Baltimore Area includes 2017 and 2025 
PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs for transportation conformity 
purposes. The transportation conformity determination for the Area is 
further discussed in subsection C of section V (Transportation 
Conformity) of this proposed rulemaking action and in a technical 
support document (TSD) dated May 20, 2014, which is available in the 
docket for this proposed rulemaking action.

III. Summary of Proposed Actions

    EPA is proposing to take several rulemaking actions related to the 
redesignation of the Baltimore Area to attainment for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is proposing to find that the Baltimore 
Area meets the requirements for redesignation for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. EPA is 
proposing to approve the maintenance plan for the Baltimore Area as a 
revision to the Maryland SIP for the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS. Approval of the maintenance plan is one of the CAA criteria for 
redesignation of the Area to attainment for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. The Baltimore Area maintenance plan is designed 
to ensure continued attainment in the Area for 10 years after 
redesignation. EPA is also proposing to approve the MVEBs for 
PM2.5 and NOX emissions for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 standard. In this rulemaking action, EPA is proposing 
to find that the Area continues to attain the standard.
    EPA previously determined that the Baltimore Area had attained the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS and that it had done so by its 
applicable attainment date. See 77 FR 30208, May 22, 2012. In this 
rulemaking action, EPA is proposing to find that the Area continues to 
attain the standard. EPA is, therefore, proposing to approve MDE's 
request to change the designation for the Baltimore Area from 
nonattainment to attainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

IV. Effects of Recent Court Decisions on Proposed Actions

    In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA considers the effects of 
three legal decisions on this redesignation. EPA first considers the 
effects of the D.C. Circuit Court and U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in 
EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA, 696 F.3d 7 (D.C. Cir. 2012), 
rev'd, No. 12-1182 (S. Ct. April 29, 2014). The Supreme Court reversed 
the D.C. Circuit Court decision vacating and remanding the Cross-State 
Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). EPA is also considering the effect of the 
January 4, 2013 D.C. Circuit decision remanding to EPA the ``Final 
Clean Air Fine Particle Implementation Rule'' (72 FR 20586, April 25, 
2007) and the ``Implementation of the New Source Review (NSR) Program 
for Particulate Matter Less than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5)'' 
final rule (73 FR 28321, May 16, 2008) (collectively, ``1997 
PM2.5 Implementation Rule''). Natural Resources Defense 
Council (NRDC) v. EPA, 706 F.3d 428 (D.C. Cir. 2013).

A. Effect of the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit Court's Decisions 
Regarding EPA's CSAPR

    EPA has considered the recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court 
and the D.C. Circuit Court regarding EPA's CSAPR, and has concluded 
that the decisions do not affect the Agency's proposal to redesignate 
the Baltimore Area from nonattainment to attainment for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA promulgated CSAPR (76 FR 48208, August 8, 
2011) to replace the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which has been 
in place since 2005. See 76 FR 59517. Both CSAPR and CAIR require 
significant reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) 
and NOX from electric generating units (EGUs) to limit the 
interstate transport of these pollutants and the ozone and fine 
particulate matter they form in the atmosphere. The D.C. Circuit Court 
initially vacated CAIR, North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir. 
2008), but ultimately remanded the rule to EPA without vacatur to 
preserve the environmental benefits provided by CAIR, North Carolina v. 
EPA, 550 F.3d 1176, 1178 (D.C. Cir. 2008). After staying the 
implementation of CSAPR on December 20, 2011 and instructing EPA to 
continue to implement CAIR in

[[Page 59706]]

the interim, on August 21, 2012, the D.C. Circuit Court issued a 
decision to vacate CSAPR, with further instruction to continue 
administering CAIR ``pending the promulgation of a valid replacement.'' 
EME Homer City Generation L.P. v. EPA, 696 F.3d 7, 38 (D.C. Cir. 2012). 
On April 29, 2014, the Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the D.C. 
Circuit Court and remanded the matter to the D.C. Circuit Court for 
further proceedings. EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P., No. 12-
1182 (S. Ct. April 29, 2014).
    In its submission, MDE does not rely on either CAIR or CSAPR for 
emission reductions that contributed to the Baltimore Area's attainment 
of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, nor does the State rely on 
either of the rules to show maintenance of the standard in the Area for 
10 years following redesignation. However, because CAIR was promulgated 
in 2005 and incentivized sources and states to begin achieving early 
emission reductions, the air quality data examined by EPA in issuing a 
final determination of attainment for the Baltimore Area in 2009 
(November 20, 2009, 74 FR 60119) and the air quality data from the Area 
since 2005 necessarily reflect reductions in emissions from upwind 
sources as a result of CAIR. Nonetheless, in this case EPA believes 
that it is appropriate to redesignate the Area. Modeling conducted by 
EPA during the CSAPR rulemaking process, which used a baseline 
emissions scenario that ``backed out'' the effects of CAIR, see 76 FR 
at 48223, projected that the counties in the Baltimore Area would have 
PM2.5 annual design values \1\ below the level of the 1997 
annual PM2.5 standard for 2012 and 2014 without taking into 
account emission reductions from CAIR or CSAPR. See Appendix B of EPA's 
``Air Quality Modeling Final Rule Technical Support Document,'' (Page 
B-45, B-46), which is available in the docket for this proposed 
rulemaking action. In addition, the 2010-2012 quality-assured, quality-
controlled, and certified monitoring data for the Baltimore Area 
confirms that 2012 PM2.5 annual design values for each 
monitoring site in the Area remained well below the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS, and, thus, the entire Area continued to attain 
the standard in 2012. See Table 1 of this proposed rulemaking action 
for the Baltimore Area's monitoring data for 2010-2012.
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    \1\ As defined in 40 CFR part 50, Appendix N, section (1)(c). A 
monitoring site's design value is compared to the level of the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS to determine compliance with the 
standard.
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    The status of CSAPR is not relevant to this redesignation. CSAPR 
was promulgated in June 2011, and the rule was stayed by the D.C. 
Circuit Court just six months later, before the trading programs it 
created were scheduled to go into effect. Therefore, the Baltimore 
Area's attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard cannot 
have been a result of any emission reductions associated with CSAPR. In 
sum, neither the current status of CAIR nor the current status of CSAPR 
affects any of the criteria for proposed approval of this redesignation 
request for the Area.

B. Effect of the January 4, 2013 D.C. Circuit Court Decision Regarding 
PM2.5 Implementation Under Subpart 4 of Part D of Title I of the CAA

1. Background
    On January 4, 2013, in Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA, 
the D.C. Circuit Court remanded to EPA the ``Final Clean Air Fine 
Particle Implementation Rule'' (72 FR 20586, April 25, 2007) and the 
``Implementation of the New Source Review (NSR) Program for Particulate 
Matter Less than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5)'' final rule (73 FR 
28321, May 16, 2008) (collectively, ``1997 PM2.5 
Implementation Rule''). 706 F.3d 428 (D.C. Cir. 2013). The D.C. Circuit 
Court found that EPA erred in implementing the 1997 PM2.5 
NAAQS pursuant to the general implementation provisions of subpart 1 of 
Part D of Title I of the CAA (subpart 1), rather than the particulate-
matter-specific provisions of subpart 4 of Part D of Title I (subpart 
4).
    Prior to the January 4, 2013 decision, the states had worked 
towards meeting the air quality goals of the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with EPA regulations and guidance 
derived from subpart 1. Subsequent to this decision, in rulemaking that 
responds to the D.C. Circuit Court's remand, EPA took this history into 
account by proposing to set a new deadline for any remaining 
submissions that may be required for moderate nonattainment areas as a 
result of the Court's decision regarding subpart 4.
    On June 2, 2014 (79 FR 31566) EPA finalized the ``Identification of 
Nonattainment Classification and Deadlines for Submission of SIP 
Provisions for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS and 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS'' rule (the PM2.5 Subpart 4 
Classification and Deadline Rule). The rule identifies the 
classification under subpart 4 for areas currently designated 
nonattainment for the 1997 annual and/or 2006 24-hour PM2.5 
standards, and sets a new deadline for states to submit attainment-
related and other SIP elements required for these areas pursuant to 
subpart 4. The rule also identifies EPA guidance that is currently 
available regarding subpart 4 requirements. The PM2.5 
Subpart 4 Classification and Deadline Rule specifies December 31, 2014 
as the deadline for the states to submit any additional attainment-
related SIP-elements that may be needed to meet the applicable 
requirements of subpart 4 for areas currently designated nonattainment 
for the 1997 annual and/or 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS and to 
submit SIPs addressing the nonattainment NSR requirements in subpart 4. 
Therefore, as explained in detail in the following section, any 
additional attainment-related SIP elements that may be needed for the 
Baltimore Area to meet the applicable requirements of subpart 4 were 
not due at the time that Maryland submitted its redesignation request 
for the Area. Maryland submitted its request for redesignating the 
Baltimore Area for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS on December 
12, 2013.
2. Proposal on This Issue
    In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA addresses the effect of the 
D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 ruling and the proposed 
PM2.5 Subpart 4 Nonattainment Classification and Deadline 
Rule on the redesignation request for the Baltimore Area. EPA is 
proposing to determine that the D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 
decision does not prevent EPA from redesignating the Baltimore Area to 
attainment. Even in light of the D.C. Circuit Court's decision, 
redesignation for the Baltimore Area is appropriate under the CAA and 
EPA's longstanding interpretations of the CAA provisions regarding 
redesignation. EPA first explains its longstanding interpretation that 
requirements that are imposed, or that become due, after a complete 
redesignation request is submitted for an area that is attaining the 
standard, are not applicable for purposes of evaluating a redesignation 
request. Second, EPA then shows that, even if EPA applies the subpart 4 
requirements to the redesignation request for the Baltimore Area and 
disregards the provisions of its 1997 annual PM2.5 
implementation rule remanded by the D.C. Circuit Court, the State's 
request for redesignation of the Baltimore Area still qualifies for 
approval. EPA's discussion takes into account the effect of the D.C. 
Circuit Court's ruling and the proposed PM2.5 Subpart 4 
Classification and Deadline Rule on the Baltimore Area maintenance 
plan, which EPA views as

[[Page 59707]]

approvable when subpart 4 requirements are considered.
a. Applicable Requirements Under Subpart 4 for Purposes of Evaluating 
the Redesignation Request for the Baltimore Area
    With respect to the 1997 PM2.5 Implementation Rule, the 
D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 ruling rejected EPA's reasons for 
implementing the PM2.5 NAAQS solely in accordance with the 
provisions of subpart 1, and remanded that matter to EPA, so that it 
could address implementation of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS 
under subpart 4, in addition to subpart 1. For the purposes of 
evaluating the redesignation request for the Baltimore Area, to the 
extent that implementation under subpart 4 would impose additional 
requirements for areas designated nonattainment, EPA believes that 
those requirements are not ``applicable'' for the purposes of CAA 
section 107(d)(3)(E), and thus EPA is not required to consider subpart 
4 requirements with respect to the redesignation of the Baltimore Area. 
Under its longstanding interpretation of the CAA, EPA has interpreted 
section 107(d)(3)(E) to mean, as a threshold matter, that the part D 
provisions which are ``applicable'' and which must be approved in order 
for EPA to redesignate an area include only those which came due prior 
to a state's submittal of a complete redesignation request. See 1992 
Calcagni Memorandum. See also ``State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
Requirements for Areas Submitting Requests for Redesignation to 
Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or after November 15, 1992,'' Memorandum 
from Michael Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator, Air and 
Radiation, September 17, 1993 (Shapiro memorandum); Final Redesignation 
of Detroit-Ann Arbor, (60 FR 12459, 12465-66, March 7, 1995); Final 
Redesignation of St. Louis, Missouri, (68 FR 25418, 25424-27, May 12, 
2003); Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537, 541 (7th Cir. 2004) (upholding 
EPA's redesignation rulemaking applying this interpretation and 
expressly rejecting Sierra Club's view that the meaning of 
``applicable'' under the statute is ``whatever should have been in the 
plan at the time of attainment rather than whatever actually was in the 
plan and already implemented or due at the time of attainment'').\2\ In 
this case, at the time that the State submitted its redesignation 
request, the requirements under subpart 4 were not due.
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    \2\ Applicable requirements of the CAA that come due subsequent 
to the area's submittal of a complete redesignation request remain 
applicable until a redesignation is approved, but are not required 
as a prerequisite to redesignation. Section 175A(c) of the CAA.
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    EPA's view that, for purposes of evaluating the redesignation of 
the Baltimore Area, the subpart 4 requirements were not due at the time 
Maryland submitted the redesignation request is in keeping with the 
EPA's interpretation of subpart 2 requirements for subpart 1 ozone 
areas redesignated subsequent to the D.C. Circuit Court's decision in 
South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882 (D.C. Cir. 
2006). In South Coast, the D.C. Circuit Court found that EPA was not 
permitted to implement the 1997 8-hour ozone standard solely under 
subpart 1, and held that EPA was required under the statute to 
implement the standard under the ozone-specific requirements of subpart 
2 as well. Subsequent to the South Coast decision, in evaluating and 
acting upon redesignation requests for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard 
that were submitted to EPA for areas under subpart 1, EPA applied its 
longstanding interpretation of the CAA that ``applicable 
requirements,'' for purposes of evaluating a redesignation, are those 
that had been due at the time the redesignation request was submitted. 
See, e.g., Proposed Redesignation of Manitowoc County and Door County 
Nonattainment Areas (75 FR 22047, 22050, April 27, 2010). In those 
actions, EPA, therefore, did not consider subpart 2 requirements to be 
``applicable'' for the purposes of evaluating whether the area should 
be redesignated under section 107(d)(3)(E).
    EPA's interpretation derives from the provisions of section 
107(d)(3). Section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) states that, for an area to be 
redesignated, a state must meet ``all requirements `applicable' to the 
area under section 110 and part D.'' Section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) provides 
that the EPA must have fully approved the ``applicable'' SIP for the 
area seeking redesignation. These two sections read together support 
EPA's interpretation of ``applicable'' as only those requirements that 
came due prior to submission of a complete redesignation request. 
First, holding states to an ongoing obligation to adopt new CAA 
requirements that arose after the state submitted its redesignation 
request, in order to be redesignated, would make it problematic or 
impossible for EPA to act on redesignation requests in accordance with 
the 18-month deadline Congress set for EPA action in section 
107(d)(3)(D). If ``applicable requirements'' were interpreted to be a 
continuing flow of requirements with no reasonable limitation, states, 
after submitting a redesignation request, would be forced continuously 
to make additional SIP submissions that in turn would require EPA to 
undertake further notice-and-comment rulemaking actions to act on those 
submissions. This would create a regime of unceasing rulemaking that 
would delay action on the redesignation request beyond the 18-month 
timeframe provided by the CAA for this purpose.
    Second, a fundamental premise for redesignating a nonattainment 
area to attainment is that the area has attained the relevant NAAQS due 
to emission reductions from existing controls. Thus, an area for which 
a redesignation request has been submitted would have already attained 
the NAAQS as a result of satisfying statutory requirements that came 
due prior to the submission of the request. Absent a showing that 
unadopted and unimplemented requirements are necessary for future 
maintenance, it is reasonable to view the requirements applicable for 
purposes of evaluating the redesignation request as including only 
those SIP requirements that have already come due. These are the 
requirements that led to attainment of the NAAQS. To require, for 
redesignation approval, that a state also satisfy additional SIP 
requirements coming due after the state submits its complete 
redesignation request, and while EPA is reviewing it, would compel the 
state to do more than is necessary to attain the NAAQS, without a 
showing that the additional requirements are necessary for maintenance.
    In the context of this redesignation, the timing and nature of the 
D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 decision in NRDC v. EPA and EPA's 
PM2.5 Subpart 4 Nonattainment Classification and Deadline 
Rule compound the consequences of imposing requirements that come due 
after the redesignation request is submitted. Maryland submitted its 
redesignation request for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS on 
December 12, 2013, which is prior to the deadline by which the 
Baltimore Area is required to meet the applicable requirements pursuant 
to subpart 4.
    To require Maryland's fully-completed and pending redesignation 
request for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS to comply now with 
requirements of subpart 4 that the D.C. Circuit Court announced only in 
January 2013 and for which the deadline to comply has not yet come, 
would be to give retroactive effect to

[[Page 59708]]

such requirements and provide the State a unique and earlier deadline 
for compliance solely on the basis of submitting its redesignation 
request for the Baltimore Area. The D.C. Circuit Court recognized the 
inequity of this type of retroactive impact in Sierra Club v. Whitman, 
285 F.3d 63 (D.C. Cir. 2002),\3\ where it upheld the D.C. Circuit 
Court's ruling refusing to make retroactive EPA's determination that 
the St. Louis area did not meet its attainment deadline. In that case, 
petitioners urged the D.C. Circuit Court to make EPA's nonattainment 
determination effective as of the date that the statute required, 
rather than the later date on which EPA actually made the 
determination. The D.C. Circuit Court rejected this view, stating that 
applying it ``would likely impose large costs on States, which would 
face fines and suits for not implementing air pollution prevention 
plans . . . even though they were not on notice at the time.'' Id. at 
68. Similarly, it would be unreasonable to penalize the States by 
rejecting their redesignation request for an area that is already 
attaining the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard and that met all 
applicable requirements known to be in effect at the time of the 
requests. For EPA now to reject the redesignation request solely 
because the States did not expressly address subpart 4 requirements 
which have not yet come due, would inflict the same unfairness 
condemned by the D.C. Circuit Court in Sierra Club v. Whitman.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Sierra Club v. Whitman was discussed and distinguished in a 
recent D.C. Circuit Court decision that addressed retroactivity in a 
quite different context, where, unlike the situation here, EPA 
sought to give its regulations retroactive effect. National 
Petrochemical and Refiners Ass'n v. EPA. 630 F.3d 145, 163 (D.C. 
Cir. 2010), rehearing denied 643 F.3d 958 (D.C. Cir. 2011), cert 
denied 132 S. Ct. 571 (2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Subpart 4 Requirements and Maryland Redesignation Request
    Even if EPA were to take the view that the D.C. Circuit Court's 
January 4, 2013 decision requires that, in the context of pending 
redesignations for the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard, subpart 4 
requirements were due and in effect at the time Maryland submitted its 
redesignation request, EPA proposes to determine that the Baltimore 
Area still qualifies for redesignation to attainment for the 1997 
annual PM2.5 standard. As explained subsequently, EPA 
believes that the redesignation request for the Baltimore Area, though 
not expressed in terms of subpart 4 requirements, substantively meets 
the requirements of that subpart for purposes of redesignating the Area 
to attainment.
    With respect to evaluating the relevant substantive requirements of 
subpart 4 for purposes of redesignating the Baltimore Area, EPA notes 
that subpart 4 incorporates components of subpart 1, which contains 
general air quality planning requirements for areas designated as 
nonattainment. See section 172(c). Subpart 4 itself contains specific 
planning and scheduling requirements for coarse particulate matter 
(PM10) \4\ nonattainment areas, and under the D.C. Circuit 
Court's January 4, 2013 decision in NRDC v. EPA, these same statutory 
requirements also apply for PM2.5 nonattainment areas. EPA 
has longstanding general guidance that interprets the 1990 amendments 
to the CAA, making recommendations to states for meeting the statutory 
requirements for SIPs for nonattainment areas. See the General 
Preamble. In the General Preamble, EPA discussed the relationship of 
subpart 1 and subpart 4 SIP requirements, and pointed out that subpart 
1 requirements were to an extent ``subsumed by, or integrally related 
to, the more specific PM10 requirements'' (57 FR 13538, 
April 16, 1992). The subpart 1 requirements include, among other 
things, provisions for attainment demonstrations, RACM, RFP, emissions 
inventories, and contingency measures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ PM10 refers to particulates nominally 10 
micrometers in diameter or smaller.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For the purposes of this redesignation request, in order to 
identify any additional requirements which would apply under subpart 4, 
consistent with EPA's June 2, 2014 PM2.5 Subpart 4 
Nonattainment Classification and Deadline Rule, EPA is considering the 
Baltimore Area to be a ``moderate'' PM2.5 nonattainment 
area. As EPA explained in its June 2, 2014 rule, section 188 of the CAA 
provides that all areas designated nonattainment areas under subpart 4 
are initially classified by operation of law as ``moderate'' 
nonattainment areas, and will remain moderate nonattainment areas 
unless and until EPA reclassifies the area as a ``serious'' 
nonattainment area. Accordingly, EPA believes that it is appropriate to 
limit the evaluation of the potential impact of subpart 4 requirements 
to those that would be applicable to moderate nonattainment areas. 
Sections 189(a) and (c) of subpart 4 apply to moderate nonattainment 
areas and include the following: (1) An approved permit program for 
construction of new and modified major stationary sources (section 
189(a)(1)(A)); (2) an attainment demonstration (section 189(a)(1)(B)); 
(3) provisions for RACM (section 189(a)(1)(C)); and (4) quantitative 
milestones demonstrating RFP toward attainment by the applicable 
attainment date (section 189(c)).
    The permit requirements of subpart 4, as contained in section 
189(a)(1)(A), refer to and apply the subpart 1 permit provisions 
requirements of sections 172 and 173 to PM10, without adding 
to them. Consequently, EPA believes that section 189(a)(1)(A) does not 
itself impose for redesignation purposes any additional requirements 
for moderate areas beyond those contained in subpart 1.\5\ In any 
event, in the context of redesignation, EPA has long relied on the 
interpretation that a fully approved nonattainment NSR program is not 
considered an applicable requirement for redesignation, provided the 
area can maintain the standard with a prevention of significant 
deterioration (PSD) program after redesignation. A detailed rationale 
for this view is described in a memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant 
Administrator for Air and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994, entitled, 
``Part D New Source Review Requirements for Areas Requesting 
Redesignation to Attainment.'' See also rulemakings for Detroit, 
Michigan (60 FR 12467-12468, March 7, 1995); Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, 
Ohio (61 FR 20458, 20469-20470, May 7, 1996); Louisville, Kentucky (66 
FR 53665, October 23, 2001); and Grand Rapids, Michigan (61 FR 31834-
31837, June 21, 1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The potential effect of section 189(e) on section 
189(a)(1)(A) for purposes of evaluating this redesignation request 
is discussed in this rulemaking action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With respect to the specific attainment planning requirements under 
subpart 4,\6\ when EPA evaluates a redesignation request under either 
subpart 1 or 4, any area that is attaining the PM2.5 
standards is viewed as having satisfied the attainment planning 
requirements for these subparts. For redesignations, EPA has for many 
years interpreted attainment-linked requirements as not applicable for 
areas attaining the standard. In the General Preamble, EPA stated that: 
``The requirements for RFP will not apply in evaluating a request for 
redesignation to attainment since, at a minimum, the air quality data 
for the area must show that the area has already attained. Showing that 
the State will make RFP towards attainment will, therefore, have no 
meaning at that point.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ i.e., attainment demonstration, RFP, RACM, milestone 
requirements, contingency measures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The General Preamble also explained that: ``The section 172(c)(9) 
requirements are directed at ensuring RFP and attainment by the 
applicable

[[Page 59709]]

date. These requirements no longer apply when an area has attained the 
standard and is eligible for redesignation. Furthermore, section 175A 
for maintenance plans . . . provides specific requirements for 
contingency measures that effectively supersede the requirements of 
section 172(c)(9) for these areas.'' Id. EPA similarly stated in its 
1992 Calcagni Memorandum that: ``The requirements for reasonable 
further progress and other measures needed for attainment will not 
apply for redesignations because they only have meaning for areas not 
attaining the standard.''
    It is evident that even if we were to consider the D.C. Circuit 
Court's January 4, 2013 decision in NRDC v. EPA to mean that 
attainment-related requirements specific to subpart 4 should be imposed 
retroactively \7\ or prior to December 31, 2014 and, thus, were due 
prior to the State's redesignation request, those requirements do not 
apply to an area that is attaining the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS, for the purpose of evaluating a pending request to redesignate 
the area to attainment. EPA has consistently enunciated this 
interpretation of applicable requirements under section 107(d)(3)(E) 
since the General Preamble was published more than twenty years ago. 
Courts have recognized the scope of EPA's authority to interpret 
``applicable requirements'' in the redesignation context. See Sierra 
Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ As EPA has explained previously, we do not believe that the 
D.C. Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 decision should be interpreted 
so as to impose these requirements on the states retroactively. 
Sierra Club v. Whitman, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Moreover, even outside the context of redesignations, EPA has 
viewed the obligations to submit attainment-related SIP planning 
requirements of subpart 4 as inapplicable for areas that EPA determines 
are attaining the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard. EPA's prior 
``Clean Data Policy'' rulemakings for the PM10 NAAQS, also 
governed by the requirements of subpart 4, explain EPA's reasoning. 
They describe the effects of a determination of attainment on the 
attainment-related SIP planning requirements of subpart 4. See 
``Determination of Attainment for Coso Junction Nonattainment Area,'' 
(75 FR 27944, May 19, 2010). See also Coso Junction Proposed 
PM10 Redesignation, (75 FR 36023, 36027, June 24, 2010); 
Proposed and Final Determinations of Attainment for San Joaquin 
Nonattainment Area (71 FR 40952, 40954-55, July 19, 2006 and 71 FR 
63641, 63643-47, October 30, 2006). In short, EPA in this context has 
also long concluded that to require states to meet superfluous SIP 
planning requirements is not necessary and not required by the CAA, so 
long as those areas continue to attain the relevant NAAQS.
    Elsewhere in this notice, EPA proposes to determine that the 
Baltimore Area has attained and continues to attain the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. Under its longstanding interpretation, EPA is 
proposing to determine here that the Baltimore Area meets the 
attainment-related plan requirements of subparts 1 and 4 for the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Thus, EPA is proposing to conclude that 
the requirements to submit an attainment demonstration under 
189(a)(1)(B), a RACM determination under section 172(c)(1) and section 
189(a)(1)(c), a RFP demonstration under 189(c)(1), and contingency 
measure requirements under section 172(c)(9) are satisfied for purposes 
of evaluating this redesignation request.
c. Subpart 4 and Control of PM2.5 Precursors
    The D.C. Circuit Court in NRDC v. EPA remanded to EPA the two rules 
at issue in the case with instructions to EPA to re-promulgate them 
consistent with the requirements of subpart 4. EPA in this section 
addresses the D.C. Circuit Court's opinion with respect to 
PM2.5 precursors. While past implementation of subpart 4 for 
PM10 has allowed for control of PM10 precursors 
such as NOX from major stationary, mobile, and area sources 
in order to attain the standard as expeditiously as practicable, 
section 189(e) of the CAA specifically provides that control 
requirements for major stationary sources of direct PM10 
shall also apply to PM10 precursors from those sources, 
except where EPA determines that major stationary sources of such 
precursors ``do not contribute significantly to PM10 levels 
which exceed the standard in the area.'' EPA's 1997 PM2.5 
Implementation Rule, remanded by the D.C. Circuit Court, contained 
rebuttable presumptions concerning certain PM2.5 precursors 
applicable to attainment plans and control measures related to those 
plans. Specifically, in 40 CFR 51.1002, EPA provided, among other 
things, that a state was ``not required to address VOC [and ammonia] as 
. . . PM2.5 attainment plan precursor[s] and to evaluate 
sources of VOC [and ammonia] emissions in the State for control 
measures.'' EPA intended these to be rebuttable presumptions. EPA 
established these presumptions at the time because of uncertainties 
regarding the emission inventories for these pollutants and the 
effectiveness of specific control measures in various regions of the 
country in reducing PM2.5 concentrations. EPA also left open 
the possibility for such regulation of VOC and ammonia in specific 
areas where that was necessary.
    The D.C. Circuit Court in its January 4, 2013 decision made 
reference to both section 189(e) and 40 CFR 51. 1002, and stated that: 
``In light of our disposition, we need not address the petitioners' 
challenge to the presumptions in [40 CFR 51.1002] that volatile organic 
compounds and ammonia are not PM2.5 precursors, as subpart 4 
expressly governs precursor presumptions.'' NRDC v. EPA, at 27, n.10. 
Elsewhere in the D.C. Circuit Court's opinion, however, the D.C. 
Circuit Court observed: ``Ammonia is a precursor to fine particulate 
matter, making it a precursor to both PM2.5 and 
PM10. For a PM10 nonattainment area governed by 
subpart 4, a precursor is presumptively regulated. See 42 U.S.C. 
7513a(e) [section 189(e)].'' Id. at 21, n.7.
    For a number of reasons, EPA believes that its proposed 
redesignation of the Baltimore Area for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS is consistent with the D.C. Circuit Court's 
decision on this aspect of subpart 4. While the D.C. Circuit Court, 
citing section 189(e), stated that ``for a PM10 area 
governed by subpart 4, a precursor is `presumptively regulated,' '' the 
D.C. Circuit Court expressly declined to decide the specific challenge 
to EPA's 1997 PM2.5 Implementation Rule provisions regarding 
ammonia and VOC as precursors. The D.C. Circuit Court had no occasion 
to reach whether and how it was substantively necessary to regulate any 
specific precursor in a particular PM2.5 nonattainment area, 
and did not address what might be necessary for purposes of acting upon 
a redesignation request.
    However, even if EPA takes the view that the requirements of 
subpart 4 were deemed applicable at the time the State submitted the 
redesignation request, and disregards the 1997 PM2.5 
Implementation Rule's rebuttable presumptions regarding ammonia and VOC 
as PM2.5 precursors, the regulatory consequence would be to 
consider the need for regulation of all precursors from any sources in 
the area to demonstrate attainment and to apply the section 189(e) 
provisions to major stationary sources of precursors. In the case of 
the Baltimore Area, EPA believes that doing so is consistent with 
proposing redesignation of the Area for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 standard. The Baltimore Area has attained the 1997 
annual PM2.5 standard without any specific additional 
controls of VOC and

[[Page 59710]]

ammonia emissions from any sources in the Area.
    Precursors in subpart 4 are specifically regulated under the 
provisions of section 189(e), which requires, with important 
exceptions, control requirements for major stationary sources of 
PM10 precursors.\8\ Under subpart 1 and EPA's prior 
implementation rule, all major stationary sources of PM2.5 
precursors were subject to regulation, with the exception of ammonia 
and VOC. Thus, EPA must address here whether additional controls of 
ammonia and VOC from major stationary sources are required under 
section 189(e) of subpart 4 in order to redesignate the Baltimore Area 
for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. As explained subsequently, 
EPA does not believe that any additional controls of ammonia and VOC 
are required in the context of this redesignation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ Under either subpart 1 or subpart 4, for purposes of 
demonstrating attainment as expeditiously as practicable, a state is 
required to evaluate all economically and technologically feasible 
control measures for direct PM emissions and precursor emissions, 
and adopt those measures that are deemed reasonably available.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the General Preamble, EPA discusses its approach to implementing 
section 189(e). See 57 FR 13538-13542. With regard to precursor 
regulation under section 189(e), the General Preamble explicitly stated 
that control of VOC under other CAA requirements may suffice to relieve 
a state from the need to adopt precursor controls under section 189(e). 
See 57 FR 13542. EPA in this rulemaking action proposes to determine 
that Maryland's SIP has met the provisions of section 189(e) with 
respect to ammonia and VOC as precursors. This proposed determination 
is based on our findings that: (1) The Baltimore Area contains no major 
stationary sources of ammonia; and (2) existing major stationary 
sources of VOC are adequately controlled under other provisions of the 
CAA regulating the ozone NAAQS.\9\ In the alternative, EPA proposes to 
determine that, under the express exception provisions of section 
189(e), and in the context of the redesignation of the Baltimore Area, 
which is attaining the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard, at 
present ammonia and VOC precursors from major stationary sources do not 
contribute significantly to levels exceeding the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 standard in the Area. See 57 FR 13539-42.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ The Baltimore Area has reduced VOC emissions through the 
implementation of various control programs including VOC Reasonably 
Available Control Technology (RACT) regulations and various onroad 
and nonroad motor vehicle control programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA notes that its 1997 PM2.5 Implementation Rule 
provisions in 40 CFR 51.1002 were not directed at evaluation of 
PM2.5 precursors in the context of redesignation, but at SIP 
plans and control measures required to bring a nonattainment area into 
attainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. By contrast, 
redesignation to attainment primarily requires the nonattainment area 
to have already attained due to permanent and enforceable emission 
reductions, and to demonstrate that controls in place can continue to 
maintain the standard. Thus, even if we regard the D.C. Circuit Court's 
January 4, 2013 decision as calling for ``presumptive regulation'' of 
ammonia and VOC for PM2.5 under the attainment planning 
provisions of subpart 4, those provisions in and of themselves do not 
require additional controls of these precursors for an area that 
already qualifies for redesignation. Nor does EPA believe that 
requiring the State to address precursors differently than it has 
already, would result in a substantively different outcome.
    Although, as EPA has emphasized, its consideration here of 
precursor requirements under subpart 4 is in the context of a 
redesignation to attainment, EPA's existing interpretation of subpart 4 
requirements with respect to precursors in attainment plans for 
PM10 contemplates that states may develop attainment plans 
that regulate only those precursors that are necessary for purposes of 
attainment in the area in question, i.e., states may determine that 
only certain precursors need be regulated for attainment and control 
purposes.\10\ Courts have upheld this approach to the requirements of 
subpart 4 for PM10.\11\ EPA believes that application of 
this approach to PM2.5 precursors under subpart 4 is 
reasonable. Because the Baltimore Area has already attained the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS with its current approach to regulation 
of PM2.5 precursors, EPA believes that it is reasonable to 
conclude in the context of this redesignation that there is no need to 
revisit the attainment control strategy with respect to the treatment 
of precursors. Even if the D.C. Circuit Court's decision is construed 
to impose an obligation, in evaluating this redesignation request, to 
consider additional precursors under subpart 4, it would not affect 
EPA's approval here of the State's request for redesignation of the 
Baltimore Area for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. In the 
context of a redesignation, the State has shown that the Baltimore Area 
has attained the standard. Moreover, the State has shown and EPA is 
proposing to determine that attainment of the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS in the Baltimore Area is due to permanent and 
enforceable emissions reductions on all precursors necessary to provide 
for continued attainment of the standard (see section V.A.3 of this 
rulemaking notice). It follows logically that no further control of 
additional precursors is necessary. Accordingly, EPA does not view the 
January 4, 2013 decision of the D.C. Circuit Court as precluding 
redesignation of the Baltimore Area to attainment for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS at this time. In summary, even if, prior to the 
date of the redesignation request submittal, the State was required to 
address precursors for the Baltimore Area under subpart 4 rather than 
under subpart 1, as interpreted in EPA's remanded 1997 PM2.5 
Implementation Rule, EPA would still conclude that the Baltimore Area 
had met all applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation in 
accordance with section 107(d)(3(E)(ii) and (v).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See, e.g., ``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation 
Plans for California--San Joaquin Valley PM10 
Nonattainment Area; Serious Area Plan for Nonattainment of the 24-
Hour and Annual PM10 Standards,'' (69 FR 30006, May 26, 
2004) (approving a PM10 attainment plan that impose 
controls on direct PM10 and NOX emissions and 
did not impose controls on SO2, VOC, or ammonia 
emissions).
    \11\ See, e.g., Assoc. of Irritated Residents v. EPA et al., 423 
F.3d 989 (9th Cir. 2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. EPA's Analysis of Maryland's SIP Submittal

    EPA is proposing several rulemaking actions for the Baltimore Area: 
(1) To redesignate the Area to attainment for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS; (2) to approve into the Maryland SIP the 
associated maintenance plan for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS; 
and, (3) to approve the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and 
NOX MVEBs for the Baltimore Area for transportation 
conformity purposes. EPA's proposed approval of the redesignation 
request and maintenance plan for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS 
is based upon EPA's determination that the Area continues to attain the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, and that all other redesignation 
criteria have been met for the Baltimore Area. The following is a 
description of how the December 12, 2013 Maryland submittal satisfies 
the requirements of section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS.

A. Redesignation Request

1. Attainment
    EPA has previously determined that the Baltimore Area has attained 
the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. As noted earlier, on May 22, 
2012 (77 FR 30208), EPA determined that the Baltimore Area

[[Page 59711]]

had attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard, based on 2007-
2009 and 2008-2010 quality-assured, quality-controlled, and certified 
ambient air quality monitoring data. Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.2004(c), 
this ``clean data'' determination for the Area suspended the 
requirements for the State to submit an attainment demonstration and 
associated RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures, and other planning 
SIPs related to the attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS until the Area is redesignated to attainment for the standard or 
EPA determines that the Area has again violated the standard, at which 
time such plans are required to be submitted. EPA also determined in 
the May 22, 2012 rulemaking, that the Baltimore Area had attained the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by its statutory attainment date of 
April 5, 2010. The basis and effect of the determination of attainment 
for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS was discussed in the 
proposed (76 FR 72374, November 23, 2011) and final rulemaking notice 
(77 FR 30208, May 22, 2012).
    Maryland's redesignation request submittal included the historic 
monitoring data for the annual PM2.5 monitoring sites in the 
Baltimore Area. The historic monitoring data shows that the Baltimore 
Area has attained and continues to attain the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. MDE assures that all PM2.5 
monitoring data for the Baltimore Area has been quality-assured, 
quality-controlled, and certified by the State in accordance with 40 
CFR 58.10. Furthermore, EPA has thoroughly reviewed the most recent 
ambient air quality monitoring data for PM2.5 in the Area, 
as submitted by the State and recorded in EPA's Air Quality System 
(AQS). The PM2.5 quality-assured, quality-controlled, and 
state-certified 2009-2012 air quality data shows that the Baltimore 
Area continues to attain the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The 
Area's PM2.5 annual design values for the 2009-2011, and 
2010-2012 monitoring periods as well as preliminary data for 2013 are 
provided in Table 1.

                  Table 1--Design Values in the Baltimore Area for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        Annual design value (in [mu]g/m\3\)
             Monitor ID                    Monitor location      -----------------------------------------------
                                                                     2009-2011       2010-2012       2011-2013
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24-003-1003........................  Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel              10.9            10.7            10.0
                                      County.
24-005-1007........................  Padonia, Baltimore County..            10.1             9.6             9.0
24-005-3001........................  Essex, Baltimore County....            11.1            11.0            10.3
24-025-1001........................  Edgewood, Harford County...             9.8            10.3            10.3
24-510-0006........................  Baltimore City.............            10.0            10.0             9.9
24-510-0007........................  Baltimore City.............            10.2             9.9             9.3
24-510-0008........................  Baltimore City.............            10.9            10.4             9.9
24-510-0040........................  Baltimore City.............            11.3            11.1            10.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Baltimore Area's recent monitoring data supports EPA's previous 
determinations that the Area has attained the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. In addition, as discussed subsequently with 
respect to the Baltimore Area's maintenance plan, the State has 
committed to continue monitoring ambient PM2.5 
concentrations in accordance with 40 CFR part 58. Thus, EPA is 
proposing to determine that the Baltimore Area continues to attain the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
2. The State Has Met All Applicable Requirements Under Section 110 and 
Subpart 1 of the CAA and Has a Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) 
of the CAA
    In accordance with section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) of the CAA, the SIP 
revisions for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the Baltimore 
Area must be fully approved under section 110(k) of the CAA and all the 
requirements applicable to the Baltimore Area under section 110 of the 
CAA (general SIP requirements) and part D of Title I of the CAA (SIP 
requirements for nonattainment areas) must be met.
a. Section 110 General SIP Requirements
    Section 110(a)(2) of Title I of the CAA delineates the general 
requirements for a SIP, which include enforceable emissions limitations 
and other control measures, means, or techniques, provisions for the 
establishment and operation of appropriate devices necessary to collect 
data on ambient air quality, and programs to enforce the limitations. 
The general SIP elements and requirements set forth in section 
110(a)(2) of the CAA include, but are not limited to the following: (1) 
Submittal of a SIP that has been adopted by the state after reasonable 
public notice and hearing; (2) provisions for establishment and 
operation of appropriate procedures needed to monitor ambient air 
quality; (3) implementation of a source permit program; provisions for 
the implementation of Part C requirements (PSD); (4) provisions for the 
implementation of Part D requirements for NSR permit programs; (5) 
provisions for air pollution modeling; and, (6) provisions for public 
and local agency participation in planning and emission control rule 
development.
    Section 110(a)(2)(D) of the CAA requires that SIPs contain certain 
measures to prevent sources in a state from significantly contributing 
to air quality problems in another state. To implement this provision, 
EPA has required certain states to establish programs to address the 
interstate transport of air pollutants in accordance with the 
NOX SIP Call (63 FR 57356, October 27, 1998), amendments to 
the NOX SIP Call (64 FR 26298, May 14, 1999 and 65 FR 11222, 
March 2, 2000), and CAIR (70 FR 25162, May 12, 2005). However, section 
110(a)(2)(D) of the CAA requirements for a state are not linked with a 
particular nonattainment area's designation and classification in that 
state. EPA believes that the requirements linked with a particular 
nonattainment area's designation and classifications are the relevant 
measures to evaluate in reviewing a redesignation request. The 
transport SIP submittal requirements, where applicable, continue to 
apply to a state regardless of the designation of any one particular 
area in the state. Thus, EPA does not believe that these requirements 
are applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation.
    In addition, EPA believes that the other section 110(a)(2) elements 
of the CAA which are not connected with nonattainment plan submissions 
and not linked with an area's attainment

[[Page 59712]]

status are not applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation. 
The Baltimore Area will still be subject to these requirements after it 
is redesignated. EPA concludes that section 110(a)(2) of the CAA and 
part D requirements which are linked with a particular area's 
designation and classification are the relevant measures to evaluate in 
reviewing a redesignation request, and that section 110(a)(2) elements 
of the CAA not linked to the area's nonattainment status are not 
applicable for purposes of redesignation. This approach is consistent 
with EPA's existing policy on applicability of conformity (i.e., for 
redesignations) and oxygenated fuels requirement. See Reading, 
Pennsylvania, proposed and final rulemakings (61 FR 53174, October 10, 
1996), (62 FR 24826, May 7, 1997); Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio final 
rulemaking (61 FR 20458, May 7, 1996); and Tampa, Florida final 
rulemaking (60 FR 62748, December 7, 1995). See also the discussion on 
this issue in the Cincinnati, Ohio redesignation (65 FR 37890, June 19, 
2000) and in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania redesignation (66 FR 53099, 
October 19, 2001).
    EPA has reviewed the Maryland SIP and has concluded that it meets 
the general SIP requirements under section 110(a)(2) of the CAA to the 
extent they are applicable for purposes of redesignation. EPA has 
previously approved provisions of Maryland's SIP addressing section 
110(a)(2) requirements, including provisions addressing 
PM2.5. See 76 FR 72624, November 25, 2011. These 
requirements are, however, statewide requirements that are not linked 
to the PM2.5 nonattainment status of the Baltimore Area. 
Therefore, EPA believes that these SIP elements are not applicable 
requirements for purposes of review of Maryland's PM2.5 
redesignation request.
b. Subpart 1 Requirements
    Subpart 1 sets forth the basic nonattainment plan requirements 
applicable to PM2.5 nonattainment areas. Under section 172 
of the CAA, states with nonattainment areas must submit plans providing 
for timely attainment and meet a variety of other requirements. The 
General Preamble for Implementation of Title I discusses the evaluation 
of these requirements in the context of EPA's consideration of a 
redesignation request. The General Preamble sets forth EPA's view of 
applicable requirements for purposes of evaluating redesignation 
requests when an area is attaining the standard. See 57 FR 13498, April 
16, 1992.
    As noted previously, EPA has determined that the Baltimore Area has 
attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Pursuant to 40 CFR 
51.2004(c), the requirement for Maryland to submit, for the Baltimore 
Area, an attainment demonstration and associated RACM, an RFP plan, 
contingency measures, and other planning SIPs related to the attainment 
of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS are suspended until the Area 
is redesignated to attainment for the standard, or EPA determines that 
the Area again violated the standard, at which time such plans are 
required to be submitted. Since the Baltimore Area has attained the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS and continues to attain the 
standard, no additional measures are needed to provide for attainment. 
Therefore, the requirements of sections 172(c)(1), 172(c)(2), 
172(c)(6), and 172(c)(9) of the CAA are no longer considered to be 
applicable for purposes of redesignation of the Baltimore Area for the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
    The requirement under section 172(c)(3) was not suspended by EPA's 
clean data determination for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 
and is the only remaining requirement under section 172 of the CAA to 
be considered for purposes of redesignation of the Baltimore Area. 
Section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires submission and approval of a 
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions.
    On December 10, 2012 (77 FR 73313), EPA approved a 2002 emissions 
inventory for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the Baltimore 
Area. The emissions inventory, submitted by Maryland on June 8, 2008 
along with the Baltimore Area attainment plan for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS, was submitted to meet the requirements of 
section 172(c)(3) of the CAA. The 2002 comprehensive emissions 
inventory for the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard submitted by 
the State included emissions estimates that cover the general source 
categories of point sources, area sources, onroad mobile sources, and 
nonroad mobile sources for the Baltimore Area. The pollutants that 
comprise the State's 2002 emissions inventory for the Baltimore Area 
are PM2.5, NOX, SO2, VOC, and ammonia 
(NH3). An evaluation of the 2002 comprehensive emissions 
inventory for the Baltimore Area is provided in the TSD prepared by EPA 
for that separate rulemaking action. See Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2010-0143.
    Section 172(c)(4) of the CAA requires the identification and 
quantification of allowable emissions for major new and modified 
stationary sources in an area, and section 172(c)(5) of the CAA 
requires source permits for the construction and operation of new and 
modified major stationary sources anywhere in the nonattainment area. 
EPA has determined that, since the PSD requirements will apply after 
redesignation, areas being redesignated need not comply with the 
requirement that a nonattainment NSR program be approved prior to 
redesignation, provided that the area demonstrates maintenance of the 
NAAQS without part D NSR. A more detailed rationale for this view is 
described in a memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator 
for Air and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994 entitled, ``Part D New 
Source Review Requirements for Areas Requesting Redesignation to 
Attainment.'' Maryland's PSD program for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS will become effective in the Baltimore Area upon 
redesignation to attainment. See (77 FR 45949, August 2, 2012) 
(approving revisions to Maryland's PSD program).
    Section 172(c)(7) of the CAA requires the SIP to meet the 
applicable provisions of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA. As noted 
previously, EPA believes the Maryland SIP meets the requirements of 
section 110(a)(2) of the CAA that are applicable for purposes of 
redesignation.
    Section 175A of the CAA requires a state seeking redesignation to 
attainment to submit a SIP revision to provide for the maintenance of 
the NAAQS in the area ``for at least 10 years after the 
redesignation.'' In conjunction with its request to redesignate the 
Baltimore Area to attainment status, Maryland submitted a SIP revision 
to provide for maintenance of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in 
the Baltimore Area through 2025, which is at least 10 years after 
redesignation. Maryland is requesting that EPA approve this SIP 
revision as meeting the requirement of section 175A of the CAA. Once 
approved, the Baltimore Area maintenance plan will ensure that the SIP 
for Maryland meets the requirements of the CAA regarding maintenance of 
the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the Area. EPA's analysis of 
the maintenance plan is provided in section V.B (Maintenance Plan) of 
this document.
    Section 176(c) of the CAA requires states to establish criteria and 
procedures to ensure that Federally supported or funded projects 
conform to the air quality planning goals in the applicable SIP. The 
requirement to determine conformity applies to transportation plans, 
programs, and projects developed, funded or approved under Title 23 of 
the United States Code

[[Page 59713]]

(U.S.C.) and the Federal Transit Act (transportation conformity) as 
well as to all other Federally supported or funded projects (general 
conformity). State transportation conformity SIP revisions must be 
consistent with Federal conformity regulations relating to 
consultation, enforcement and enforceability which EPA promulgated 
pursuant to its authority under the CAA. EPA interprets the conformity 
SIP requirements as not applying for purposes of evaluating the 
redesignation request under section 107(d) of the CAA because state 
conformity rules are still required after redesignation and Federal 
conformity rules apply where state rules have not been approved. See 
Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426, (6th Cir. 2001) (upholding this 
interpretation). See also (60 FR 62748, December 7, 1995) (discussing 
Tampa, Florida).
    Thus, for purposes of redesignating the Baltimore Area to 
attainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, EPA determines 
that the Area has meet all applicable SIP requirements under part D of 
Title I of the CAA.
c. Maryland Has a Fully Approved Applicable SIP Under Section 110(k) of 
the CAA
    EPA has fully approved all applicable requirements of the Maryland 
SIP for the Baltimore Area for purposes of redesignaton to attainment 
for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with section 
110(k) of the CAA.
3. Permanent and Enforceable Reductions in Emissions
    For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, section 
107(d)(3)(E)(iii) of the CAA requires EPA to determine that the air 
quality improvement in the area is due to permanent and enforceable 
reductions in emissions resulting from implementation of the SIP and 
applicable Federal air pollution control regulations and other 
permanent and enforceable reductions. Maryland's redesignation request 
indicates that a variety of federal vehicle control programs have 
created emission reductions that contributed to attainment in 2007. In 
making this demonstration, Maryland has calculated the change in 
emissions for the on-road sector between 2002, one of the years used to 
designate the Area as nonattainment, and 2007, one of the years the 
Area monitored attainment, as shown in Table 2.

 Table 2--Comparison of 2002 Nonattainment Year and 2007 Attainment Year Reductions for On Road Emissions in the
                                              Baltimore Area (tpy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       2002            2007          Decrease
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SO2.............................................................        2,025.51          385.34        1,640.17
NOX.............................................................       76,060.01       49,140.12       26,219.89
PM2.5...........................................................        2,344.86        1,789.28          555.52
VOC.............................................................       28,060.25       19,998.51        8,061.74
NH3.............................................................        1,402.09           91.77       1,310. 32
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................      109,892.72       71,405.02       37,787.64
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The reduction in emissions and the corresponding improvement in air 
quality from 2002 to 2007 in the Baltimore Area can be attributed to a 
number of regulatory control measures that have been implemented in the 
Baltimore Area and contributing areas in recent years. An evaluation of 
the State's 2002 comprehensive emissions inventory for the Baltimore 
Area is provided in the TSD prepared by EPA for the December 7, 2012 
rulemaking action approving the base year inventory. See Docket ID No. 
EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0143. An evaluation of the 2007 emissions inventory is 
provided in EPA's emissions inventory TSD dated July 23, 2014, which is 
available in the docket for this proposed rulemaking action.
a. Federal Measures Implemented
    Reductions in PM2.5 precursor emissions have occurred 
statewide and in upwind states as a result of Federal emission control 
measures, with additional emission reductions expected to occur in the 
future. The Tier 2 Emission Standards for Vehicles and Gasoline Sulfur 
Standards (Tier 2 Standards) have resulted in lower NOX and 
SO2 emissions from all new passenger vehicles, including 
sport utility vehicles, minivans, vans, and pick-up trucks. The Federal 
rules were phased in between 2004 and 2009. EPA has estimated that, 
after phasing in the new requirements, new vehicles emit less 
NOX in the following percentages: Passenger cars (light duty 
vehicles)--77 percent; light duty trucks, minivans, and sports utility 
vehicles--86 percent; and larger sports utility vehicles, vans, and 
heavier trucks--69-95 percent. EPA expects fleet wide average emissions 
to decline by similar percentages as new vehicles replace older 
vehicles. The Tier 2 standards also reduced the sulfur content of 
gasoline to 30 parts per million (ppm) beginning in January 2006, which 
reflects up to a 90 percent reduction in sulfur content.
    EPA issued the Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Rule in July 2000. This 
rule includes standards limiting the sulfur content of diesel fuel, 
which went into effect in 2004. A second phase took effect in 2007 
which reduced PM2.5 emissions from heavy-duty highway 
engines and further reduced the highway diesel fuel sulfur content to 
15 ppm. The total program is estimated to achieve a 90 percent 
reduction in direct PM2.5 emissions and a 95 percent 
reduction in NOX emissions for these new engines using low 
sulfur diesel, compared to existing engines using higher sulfur diesel 
fuel. The reduction in fuel sulfur content also yielded an immediate 
reduction in particulate sulfate emissions from all diesel vehicles.
    On June 29, 2004 (69 FR 38958), EPA promulgated the Nonroad Diesel 
Rule for large nonroad diesel engines, such as those used in 
construction, agriculture, and mining, to be phased in between 2008 and 
2014. The rule phased in requirements for reducing the sulfur content 
of diesel used in nonroad diesel engines. The reduction in sulfur 
content prevents damage to the more advanced emission control systems 
needed to meet the engine standards. It will also reduce fine 
particulate emissions from diesel engines. The rule also reduces the 
sulfur content in nonroad diesel fuel by over 99%. Prior to 2006, 
nonroad diesel fuel averaged approximately 3,400 ppm sulfur. Starting 
in 2007, this rule limited nonroad diesel sulfur content to 500 ppm, 
with a further reduction to 15 ppm in 2010. The combined engine 
standards and the sulfur in fuel reductions will reduce NOX 
and PM emissions from large nonroad engines by over 90%,

[[Page 59714]]

compared to current nonroad engines using higher sulfur content diesel.
    In November 2002, EPA promulgated emission standards for groups of 
previously unregulated nonroad engines. These engines include large 
spark-ignition engines such as those used in forklifts, airport ground 
service equipment, and farm and construction equipment; recreational 
vehicles using spark-ignition engines such as off highway motorcycles, 
all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles; and recreational marine diesel 
engines. Emission standards from large spark-ignition engines were 
implemented in two tiers, with Tier 1 starting in 2004 and Tier 2 in 
2007. Recreational vehicle emission standards were phased in from 2006 
through 2012. Marine diesel engine standards were phased in from 2006 
through 2009. With full implementation of the entire nonroad spark-
ignition engine and recreational engine standards, an 80% reduction in 
NOX is expected by 2020.

B. Maintenance Plan

    On December 12, 2013, MDE submitted a maintenance plan for the 
Baltimore Area for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS pursuant to 
section 175A of the CAA. EPA's analysis for proposing approval of the 
maintenance plan is provided in this section.
1. Attainment Emissions Inventory
    Section 172(c)(3) requires states to submit a comprehensive, 
accurate, current inventory of actual emissions from all sources in the 
nonattainment area. For a maintenance plan, states are required to 
submit an inventory to identify the level of emissions in the area 
which is sufficient to attain the NAAQS, referred to as the attainment 
inventory (or the maintenance plan base year inventory), and which 
should be based on actual emissions. MDE submitted an attainment 
inventory for 2007, one of the years in the period during which the 
Baltimore Area monitored attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 
standard. The attainment inventory is comprised of NOX, 
PM2.5, SO2, VOC, and NH3 emissions 
from point sources, nonpoint sources, onroad mobile sources, and 
nonroad mobile sources.
    For the 2007 emissions inventory for point, nonpoint, and nonroad 
source categories, MDE submitted the 2007 Version 3 emissions inventory 
developed through the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association 
(MARAMA) regional planning process. Details related to the development 
of the 2007 emissions inventory can be found in the January 23, 2012 
MARAMA TSD entitled ``Technical Support Document for the Development of 
the 2007 Emissions Inventory for the Regional Air Quality Modeling in 
the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region Version 3.3'', which may be found in 
Appendix D of the State's submittal, and is available in the docket for 
this proposed rulemaking action.
    The 2007 point source inventory includes emissions from EGUs and 
non-EGU sources as developed by MARAMA in consultation with MDE. The 
nonpoint source emissions inventory for 2007 was developed using 2007 
specific activity data along with EPA emission factors and the most 
recently available emission calculation methodologies. The 2007 nonroad 
mobile source emissions was generated using EPA's National Mobile 
Inventory Model (NMIM) 2008, which used the NONROAD 2008a emissions 
model. Since marine, air and rail/locomotive (MAR) emissions are not 
part of the NONROAD model, they were calculated separately outside of 
the NONROAD model using the most recent methodologies and inputs.
    The 2007 onroad mobile source inventory was developed by using 
EPA's highway mobile source emissions model MOVES2010a. A mix of 
default and local data was used to develop the inventory. The 2007 
onroad emissions inventory, including a summary of the methodology and 
data assumptions used for the analysis may be found in Appendix F of 
the State's submittal, which is available in the docket for this 
proposed rulemaking action.
    EPA has reviewed the documentation provided by MDE and found the 
emissions inventory to be approvable. For more information on the 2007 
inventory submitted by MDE and EPA's analysis of the inventory, see 
Appendix A of the State's submittal and EPA's emissions inventory TSD 
dated July 23, 2014, both of which are available in the docket for this 
proposed rulemaking action.
2. Maintenance Demonstration
    Section 175A requires a state seeking redesignation to attainment 
to submit a SIP revision to provide for the maintenance of the NAAQS in 
the area ``for at least 10 years after the redesignation.'' EPA has 
interpreted this as a showing of maintenance ``for a period of ten 
years following redesignation.'' Where the emissions inventory method 
of showing maintenance is used, its purpose is to show that emissions 
during the maintenance period will not increase over the attainment 
year inventory. See 1992 Calcagni Memorandum, pages 9-10.
    For a demonstration of maintenance, emissions inventories are 
required to be projected to future dates to assess the influence of 
future growth and controls; however, the maintenance demonstration need 
not be based on modeling. See Wall v. EPA, supra; Sierra Club v. EPA, 
supra. See also 66 FR 53099-53100; 68 FR 25430-32. The measures 
described in subsection A.3 of section V (Permanent and Enforceable 
Reductions in Emissions) of this proposed rulemaking action achieved 
the reduction in emissions from point, area, and mobile sources in the 
Area that led to attainment in 2007, and will continue through 2025. In 
addition, some of the nonroad and on-road measures that helped the Area 
attain the standard in 2007 have requirements which became applicable 
after 2007, and will help maintain the standard during the 10 year 
maintenance period. In addition to the measures described in subsection 
A.3 of section V, Maryland's Healthy Air Act (HAA) regulation will help 
to ensure the continuing decline of SO2 and NOX 
emissions in the Area during the maintenance period and beyond. 
Maryland's HAA regulation requires emission reductions of 
NOX and SO2 from large coal-fired power plants in 
Maryland, and will limit emissions from the Brandon Shores, Herbert A. 
Wagner, and C.P. Crane Generating Stations, all of which are located in 
the Baltimore Area. See 73 FR 51599, September 4, 2008 (approving 
Maryland's HAA regulation into the Maryland SIP). The HAA was phased in 
starting in 2009 with a second phase that started in 2012. At full 
implementation, the HAA will reduce NOX and SO2 
emissions from affected units by 65 percent and 80 percent, 
respectively, from 2002 levels.
    To show that the Baltimore Area will remain in attainment, MDE uses 
projection inventories derived by applying appropriate growth and 
control factors to the 2007 attainment year emissions inventory. MDE 
developed projection inventories for an interim year of 2017 and a 
maintenance plan end year of 2025 to show that future emissions of 
SO2, NOX, PM2.5, VOC, and 
NH3, will remain at or below the 2007 emissions levels 
throughout the Baltimore Area through the year 2025.
    For EGU emissions, the Department of Energy 2011 Annual Energy 
Outlook growth factors, delineated by region and fuel, were used to 
develop the projected EGU emissions. Non-EGU emissions were developed 
using employment projections and other state specific

[[Page 59715]]

emission data. Nonpoint emissions for 2017 and 2025 were developed by 
applying the appropriate growth and control factors to the 2007 
inventory. Nonroad source emissions for 2017 and 2025 were developed 
using growth factors from EPA's NMIM2008 model. On-road emissions for 
2017 and 2025 were developed using EPA's MOVES2010a mobile source 
inventory model.
    EPA has determined that the emissions inventories discussed above 
as provided by MDE are approvable. For detailed information on the 
projected inventories, see Appendices B and C of the State submittal, 
and for more information on EPA's analysis of the emissions inventory, 
see EPA's emissions inventory TSD dated July 23, 2014, all of which are 
available in the docket for this proposed rulemaking action. Table 3 
shows the inventories for the 2007 attainment year, the 2017 interim 
year, and the 2025 maintenance plan end year for the Baltimore Area.

 Table 3--Comparision of 2007 Attainment Year Inventory With 2017 and 2025 Projected Emissions in the Baltimore
                                                   Area (tpy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Change from     Change from
                                       2007            2017            2025          2007-2017       2007-2025
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SO2.............................         103,510          24,714          24,620          78,796          78,890
NOX.............................         116,595          69,258          58,249          47,337          58,346
PM2.5...........................          19,005          16,374          16,205           2,631           2,800
VOC.............................          64,416          46,800          44,302          17,616          20,114
NH3.............................           4,117           3,905           3,930             212             187
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................         307,643         161,051         147,305         146,592         160,337
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 3 shows that between 2007 and 2017, the Baltimore Area is 
projected to reduce SO2 emissions by 76.1 percent, 
NOX emissions by 40.6 percent, PM2.5 emissions by 
13.8 percent, NH3 by 5.1 percent, and VOC by 27.3 percent. 
Between 2007 and 2025, the Baltimore Area is projected to reduce 
SO2 emissions by 76.2 percent, NOX emissions by 
50.0 percent, PM2.5 emissions by 14.7 percent, 
NH3 by 4.5 percent and VOC by 31.2 percent. The projected 
emissions inventories show that the Baltimore Area will continue to 
maintain the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS during the 10 year 
maintenance period.
3. Monitoring Network
    There are eight PM2.5 monitors in the Baltimore Area. 
EPA has determined that Maryland's maintenance plan includes a 
commitment to continue to operate its EPA-approved monitoring network, 
as necessary to demonstrate ongoing compliance with the NAAQS. The 
Baltimore Area maintenance plan includes the State's commitment to 
continue to operate and maintain its PM2.5 air quality 
monitoring network, consistent with EPA's monitoring requirements, as 
necessary to demonstrate ongoing compliance with the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. In its December 12, 2013 submittal, Maryland 
states that it will consult with EPA prior to making any necessary 
changes to the network and will continue to quality assure the 
monitoring data in accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR part 58.
4. Verification of Continued Attainment
    To provide for tracking of the emission levels in the Baltimore 
Area, MDE will periodically update the emissions inventory, consisting 
of annual and periodic evaluations. Annual emissions updates of 
stationary sources, the Highway Performance Monitoring System vehicle 
miles travelled data reported to the Federal Highway Administration, 
and other growth indicators, which will be compared to the growth 
assumptions to determine if the projected growth and observed growth 
are consistent. MDE will also submit comprehensive tracking inventories 
to EPA every three years as required by EPA's Air Emissions Reporting 
Requirements (AERR) or as required by other federal regulations during 
the maintenance plan period.
5. Contingency Measures
    The contingency plan provisions for maintenance plans are designed 
to promptly correct a violation of the NAAQS that occurs after 
redesignation. Section 175A of the CAA requires that a maintenance plan 
include such contingency measures as EPA deems necessary to ensure that 
a state will promptly correct a violation of the NAAQS that occurs 
after redesignation. The maintenance plan should identify the events 
that would ``trigger'' the adoption and implementation of a contingency 
measure(s), the contingency measure(s) that would be adopted and 
implemented, and the schedule indicating the time frame by which the 
state would adopt and implement the measure(s).
    Maryland's maintenance plan outlines the procedures for the 
adoption and implementation of contingency measures to further reduce 
emissions should a violation occur. These procedures would be triggered 
in one of three situations: (1) When the annual actual emissions of 
SO2, NOX, or PM2.5 exceed the 
attainment year inventories that are identified in Table 3, (2) when 
there is an annual exceedance (annual average for one year at a federal 
reference method monitor located in the Baltimore Area) of 15.0 [mu]g/
m\3\; or, (3) When there is any violation (three year average of the 
annual average at a federal reference method monitor located in the 
Baltimore Area) of 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ or greater.
    If any future year emissions inventory indicates that the Baltimore 
Area's total emissions of SO2, NOX, or 
PM2.5 exceeds the attainment year levels, MDE would first 
perform an audit to determine if inventory refinements are needed, 
including a review of whether appropriate models, control strategies, 
monitoring strategies, planning assumptions, industrial throughput, and 
production data were used in the attainment year and future year 
projections. If the audit does not reconcile the emissions exceedances, 
MDE will implement one or more of the contingency measures identified 
in the plan. If an annual exceedance of 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ occurs, MDE 
commits to implementing one of the contingency measures identified for 
additional emission reductions, and if a violation occurs, MDE commits 
to implementing two or more of the contingency measures to correct the 
violation.
    As explained in greater detail in the Baltimore Area maintenance 
plan, the candidate contingency measures include the following: (1) 
PM2.5 RACM determinations; (2) NOX RACM 
determination; (3) Non Road diesel emission reduction strategies; (4) 
low

[[Page 59716]]

sulfur home heating oil requirements; (5) alternative fuel and diesel 
retrofit programs for fleet vehicle operations; and, (6) wet 
suppression upgrade requirements for concrete manufacturing. EPA finds 
that the Baltimore Area maintenance plan includes appropriate 
contingency measures as necessary to ensure MDE will promptly correct 
any violation of the NAAQS that occurs after redesignation. Finally, 
the maintenance plan establishes a schedule for implementation of 
contingency measures if needed, and MDE has committed to full 
implementation of contingency measures or programs within 24 months 
after notification by EPA that contingency measures must be implemented 
or 27 months after quality assured data indicates an exceedance or 
violation has occurred. For all of the reasons discussed above, EPA is 
proposing to approve the 1997 annual PM2.5 maintenance plan 
for the Baltimore Area as meeting the requirements of section 175A of 
the CAA.

C. Transportation Conformity

    Section 176(c) of the CAA requires Federal actions in nonattainment 
and maintenance areas to ``conform to'' the goals of SIPs. This means 
that such actions will not cause or contribute to violations of a 
NAAQS, worsen the severity of an existing violation, or delay timely 
attainment of any NAAQS or any interim milestone. Actions involving 
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or Federal Transit Administration 
(FTA) funding or approval are subject to the transportation conformity 
rule (40 CFR Part 93, subpart A). Under this rule, metropolitan 
planning organizations (MPOs) in nonattainment and maintenance areas 
coordinate with state air quality and transportation agencies, EPA, and 
the FHWA and FTA to demonstrate that their long range transportation 
plans and transportation improvement programs (TIP) conform to 
applicable SIPs. This is typically determined by showing that estimated 
emissions from existing and planned highway and transit systems are 
less than or equal to the MVEBs contained in the SIP.
    On December 12, 2013, Maryland submitted a SIP revision that 
contains the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and NOX onroad 
mobile source budgets for the Baltimore Area. Maryland did not provide 
emission budgets for SO2, VOC, and NH3 because it 
concluded, consistent with the presumptions regarding these precursors 
in the Transportation Conformity Rule at 40 CFR 93.102(b)(2)(v), which 
predated and was not disturbed by the litigation on the 1997 
PM2.5 Implementation Rule, that emissions of these 
precursors from motor vehicles are not significant contributors to the 
Area's PM2.5 air quality problem. EPA issued conformity 
regulations to implement the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in July 
2004 and May 2005 (69 FR 40004, July 1, 2004 and 70 FR 24280, May 6, 
2005). Those actions were not part of the final rule remanded to EPA by 
the D.C. Circuit Court in NRDC v. EPA, No. 08-1250 (January 4, 2013), 
in which the D.C. Circuit Court remanded to EPA the 1997 
PM2.5 Implementation Rule because it concluded that EPA must 
implement that NAAQS pursuant to the PM-specific implementation 
provisions of subpart 4, rather than solely under the general 
provisions of subpart 1. That decision does not affect EPA's proposed 
approval of the MVEBs for the Baltimore Area. The MVEBs are presented 
in Table 4.

 Table 4--MVEBs for Baltimore Area, Maryland for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS in
                                   tpy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Year                         PM2.5            NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017....................................        1,218.60       29,892.01
2025....................................        1,051.39       21,594.96
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA's substantive criteria for determining adequacy of MVEBs are 
set out in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). Additionally, to approve the MVEBs, EPA 
must complete a thorough review of the SIP, in this case the 
PM2.5 maintenance plan, and conclude that with the projected 
level of motor vehicle and all other emissions, the SIP will achieve 
its overall purpose, in this case providing for maintenance of the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA's process for determining adequacy 
of a MVEB consists of three basic steps: (1) Providing public 
notification of a SIP submission; (2) providing the public the 
opportunity to comment on the MVEB during a public comment period; and, 
(3) EPA taking action on the MVEB.
    On April 30, 2014, EPA initiated an adequacy review of the MVEBs 
for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS that Maryland included in 
its redesignation request submittal. As such, a notice of the 
submission of these MVEBs were posted on the adequacy Web site (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm). The public 
comment period closed on May 30, 2014. There were no public comments 
received. EPA is acting on making the adequacy finding final through a 
separate notice of adequacy. EPA has reviewed the MVEBs and found them 
consistent with the maintenance plan and found that the budgets meet 
the criteria for adequacy and approval. Therefore, EPA is proposing to 
approve the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs for 
the Baltimore Area for transportation conformity purposes. Additional 
information pertaining to the review of the MVEBs can be found in the 
transportation conformity TSD dated May 20, 2014, available in the 
docket for this proposed rulemaking action.

VI. Proposed Actions

    EPA is proposing to approve the request submitted by Maryland to 
redesignate the Baltimore Area from nonattainment to attainment for the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA has evaluated the State's 
redesignation request and determined that it meets the redesignation 
criteria set forth in section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA for the 1997 
annual PM2.5 standard. The monitoring data demonstrates that 
the Baltimore Area has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 
and, for the reasons discussed previously, that it will continue to 
attain the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also proposing to 
approve the maintenance plan for the Baltimore Area as a revision to 
the Maryland SIP for the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard because 
the plan meets the requirements of CAA section 175A for the standard, 
as described previously in this proposed rulemaking notice. In 
addition, EPA is proposing to approve the 2017 and 2025 
PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs for the Baltimore Area for 
transportation conformity purposes. Final approval of the redesignation 
request would change the official designation of the Baltimore Area 
from nonattainment to attainment as found at 40 CFR part 81, for the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, and would incorporate into the 
Maryland SIP the maintenance plan ensuring continued attainment of the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the Area for 10 years after 
redesignation. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues 
discussed in this document. These comments will be considered before 
taking final action.

VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does

[[Page 59717]]

not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
For that reason, this proposed 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 CAA; and
     does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this rule proposing to approve Maryland's 
redesignation request, associated maintenance plan, and MVEBs for 
transportation conformity purposes for the Baltimore Area for the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS 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

40 CFR Part 52

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

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: September 15, 2014.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2014-23638 Filed 10-2-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P