[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26515-26517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10167]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2015-0839; FRL-9945-89-Region 4]


Determination of Attainment; Atlanta, Georgia; 2008 Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
determine that the Atlanta, Georgia, 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard (NAAQS) Moderate Nonattainment Area (``Atlanta Area'' 
or the ``Area'') has attained the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This 
proposed determination is based upon complete, quality-assured, and 
certified ambient air monitoring data showing that the Area has 
monitored attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2013-2015 
monitoring period. If EPA finalizes this proposed action, the 
requirement for this Area to submit an attainment demonstration and 
associated reasonably available control measures (RACM), reasonable 
further progress (RFP) plans, contingency measures, and other planning 
state implementation plans (SIPs) related to attainment of the 2008 8-
hour ozone NAAQS will be suspended until EPA redesignates the Area to 
attainment, approves a redesignation substitute, or determines that the 
Area has violated the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This proposed attainment 
determination does not constitute a redesignation to attainment. The 
Atlanta Area will remain in nonattainment status for the 2008 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS until such time as the State requests a redesignation to 
attainment and EPA determines that the Atlanta Area meets the Clean Air 
Act (CAA or Act) requirements for redesignation, including an approved 
maintenance plan.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 2, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2015-0839, at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Spann, Air Regulatory Management 
Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, Pesticides and 
Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Ms. Spann 
can be reached via phone at (404) 562-9029 or via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On March 12, 2008, EPA revised both the primary and secondary NAAQS 
for ozone to a level of 0.075 parts per million (ppm) (annual fourth-
highest daily maximum 8-hour average concentration, averaged over three 
years) to provide increased protection of public health and the 
environment. See 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008). The 2008 ozone NAAQS 
retains the same general form and averaging time as the 0.08 ppm NAAQS 
set in 1997, but is set at a more protective level. Effective July 20, 
2012, EPA designated any area that was violating the 2008 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS based on the three most recent years (2008-2010) of air 
monitoring data as a nonattainment area. See 77 FR 30088 (May 21, 
2012). The Atlanta Area, consisting of Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, 
Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, 
Newton, Paulding, and Rockdale counties, was designated as a marginal 
ozone nonattainment area. See 40 CFR 81.311. Areas that were designated 
as marginal ozone nonattainment areas were required to attain the 2008 
8-hour ozone NAAQS no later than July 20, 2015, based on 2012-2014 
monitoring data. The Atlanta Area did not attain the 2008 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS by July 20, 2015, and therefore on April 11, 2016, the EPA 
Administrator signed a final rule reclassifying the Atlanta Area from a 
marginal nonattainment area to a moderate nonattainment area for the 
2008 8-hour ozone standard. A pre-publication version of the final rule 
can be found at EPA's Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-04/documents/20160411fr.pdf. Moderate areas are 
required to attain the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS by no later than July 
20, 2018, six years after the effective date of the initial 
nonattainment designations. See 40 CFR 51.1103. Air quality monitoring 
data from the 2013-2015 monitoring period show that the Atlanta Area is 
now attaining the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
    Under the provisions of EPA's ozone implementation rule for the 
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS (40 CFR part 51, subpart AA), if EPA issues a 
determination that an area is attaining the relevant standard, also 
known as a Clean Data Determination, the area's obligations to submit 
an attainment demonstration and associated RACM, RFP, contingency 
measures, and other planning SIPs related to attainment of the 2008 8-
hour ozone NAAQS are suspended until EPA: (i) Redesignates the area to 
attainment for the standard or approves a redesignation substitute, at 
which time those requirements no longer apply; or (ii) EPA determines 
that the area has violated the standard, at which time the area is 
again required to submit such plans. See 40 CFR 51.1118. While these 
requirements are suspended, EPA is not precluded from acting upon these 
elements at any time if submitted to EPA for review and approval.
    An attainment determination is not equivalent to a redesignation 
under section 107(d)(3) of the CAA. The designation status of the 
Atlanta Area will remain nonattainment for the 2008

[[Page 26516]]

8-hour ozone NAAQS until such time as EPA determines that the Area 
meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to attainment, including 
an approved maintenance plan, and redesignates the Area. Additionally, 
the determination of attainment is separate from, and does not 
influence or otherwise affect, any future designation determination or 
requirements for the Atlanta Area based on any new or revised ozone 
NAAQS, and the determination of attainment remains in effect regardless 
of whether EPA designates this Area as a nonattainment area for 
purposes of any new or revised ozone NAAQS.

II. EPA's Analysis

    The 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS are met at a monitor when the 3-year 
average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone 
concentrations at the ozone monitor is less than or equal to 0.075 ppm 
based on complete, consecutive calendar years of certified, quality-
assured ambient air monitoring data. See 40 CFR 50.15; 40 CFR part 50, 
appendix P. This 3-year average is referred to as the design value. 
When the design value is less than or equal to 0.075 ppm at each 
monitor within the area, then the area is attaining the NAAQS. Also, 
the data completeness requirement is met when the average percent of 
days with valid ambient monitoring data is greater than or equal to 90 
percent, and no single year has less than 75 percent data completeness 
as determined in 40 CFR part 50, appendix P. The data must be collected 
and quality-assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and recorded in 
the EPA Air Quality System (AQS).
    EPA has reviewed the complete, quality-assured, and certified ozone 
ambient air monitoring data for the 2013-2015 monitoring period for the 
Atlanta Area. The design values for each monitor for this period are 
less than or equal to 0.075 ppm, and all of the monitors meet the data 
completeness requirements (see Table 1, below). Based on this data and 
consistent with the requirements contained in 40 CFR part 50, EPA has 
preliminarily concluded that this Area has attained the 2008 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS.

 Table 1--Atlanta Area 4th Highest Daily Maximum Ozone 8-Hour Averages and 8-Hour Ozone Design Values for 2013-
                                                      2015
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                                                          4th Highest daily maximum value
             County                 Monitor ID   ------------------------------------------------  Design value
                                                       2013            2014            2015         (2013-2015)
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Cobb............................       130670003              67            * 63              66            * 65
Coweta..........................       130770002              53              67              66              62
Dawson..........................       130850001              63              66              63              64
DeKalb..........................       130890002              62              70              71              67
Douglas.........................       130970004              63              65              70              66
Fulton..........................       131210055              69              73              77              73
Gwinnett........................       131350002              69              68              71              69
Henry...........................       131510002              70              75              70              71
Paulding........................       132230003              62              59              65              62
Pike............................       132319991              64              66              68              66
Rockdale........................       132470001              71              79              68              72
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* Georgia temporarily shut down the monitor during a portion of the 2014 monitoring season due to construction
  at the National Guard Depot.

    The data in Table 1 are taken from EPA's AQS database, available 
at: https://www.epa.gov/aqs. The AQS report with this data is available 
in the docket for this rulemaking.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to determine that the Atlanta Area has attained 
the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This proposed determination is based upon 
complete, quality assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data 
showing that the Atlanta Area has monitored attainment of the 2008 8-
hour ozone NAAQS for the 2013-2015 monitoring period. If EPA finalizes 
this proposal, the requirement for this Area to submit an attainment 
demonstration and associated RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures, 
and other planning SIPs related to attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS will be suspended until EPA redesignates the Area to attainment, 
approves a redesignation substitute, or determines that the Area has 
violated the standard.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This proposed attainment determination would, if finalized, result 
in the suspension of certain federal requirements and would not impose 
any additional requirements. 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
     Will not have disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 
16, 1994).

In addition, this proposed rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000) and 
will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or 
preempt tribal law

[[Page 26517]]

because it merely makes a determination based on air quality data.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: April 20, 2016.
Heather McTeer Toney,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2016-10167 Filed 5-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P