[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 165 (Thursday, August 25, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58435-58438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20313]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2016-0368; FRL-9951-26-Region 3]


Determination of Attainment by the Attainment Date for the 2008 
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards; Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh-
Beaver Valley

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
determine that the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania marginal 
ozone nonattainment area (the Pittsburgh Area) has attained the 2008 
ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by the July 20, 
2016 attainment date. This proposed determination is based on complete, 
certified, and quality assured ambient air quality monitoring data for 
the Pittsburgh Area for the 2013-2015 monitoring period. This proposed 
determination does not constitute a redesignation to attainment. This 
action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 26, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2016-0368 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, 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. 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, please contact the person 
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For 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: Maria A. Pino, (215) 814-2181, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 58436]]

I. Background

A. Statutory Requirement--Determination of Attainment by the Attainment 
Date

    Section 181(b)(2) of the CAA requires EPA to determine, within 6 
months of an ozone nonattainment area's attainment date, whether that 
area attained the ozone standard by that date. Section 181(b)(2) of the 
CAA also requires that areas that have not attained the standard by 
their attainment deadlines be reclassified to either the next higher 
classification (e.g., marginal to moderate, moderate to serious, etc.) 
or to the classifications applicable to the areas' design values in 
Table 1 of 40 CFR 51.1103. CAA section 181(a)(5) provides a mechanism 
by which the EPA Administrator may grant a 1-year extension of an 
area's attainment deadline, provided that the relevant states meet 
certain criteria.

B. The Pittsburgh Area and Its Attainment Date

    On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a revised ozone NAAQS of 0.08 
parts per million (ppm), averaged over eight hours. 62 FR 38855. This 
standard was determined to be more protective of public health than the 
previous 1979 1-hour ozone standard. In 2008, EPA revised the 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS from 0.08 to 0.075 ppm (the 2008 ozone NAAQS). See 73 FR 
16436 (March 27, 2008). In a May 21, 2012 final rule, the Pittsburgh 
Area was designated as marginal nonattainment for the more stringent 
2008 ozone NAAQS, effective on July 20, 2012. 77 FR 30088. The 
Pittsburgh Area consists of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, 
Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania. See 40 
CFR 81.339.
    In a separate rulemaking action, also published on May 21, 2012 and 
effective on July 20, 2012, EPA established the air quality thresholds 
that define the classifications assigned to all nonattainment areas for 
the 2008 ozone NAAQS (the Classifications Rule). 77 FR 30160. This rule 
also established December 31 of each relevant calendar year as the 
attainment date for all nonattainment area classification categories. 
Section 181 of the CAA provides that the attainment deadline for ozone 
nonattainment areas is ``as expeditiously as practicable'' but no later 
than the prescribed dates that are provided in Table 1 of that section. 
In the Classifications Rule, EPA translated the deadlines in Table 1 of 
CAA section 181 for purposes of the 2008 standard by measuring those 
deadlines from the effective date of the new designations, but extended 
those deadlines by several months to December 31 of the corresponding 
calendar year. Pursuant to a challenge of EPA's interpretation of the 
attainment deadlines, on December 23, 2014, the United States Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) issued a 
decision rejecting, among other things, the Classifications Rule's 
attainment deadlines for the 2008 ozone nonattainment areas, finding 
that EPA did not have statutory authority under the CAA to extend those 
deadlines to the end of the calendar year. NRDC v. EPA, 777 F.3d 456, 
464-69 (D.C. Cir. 2014). Accordingly, as part of the final SIP 
Requirements Rule for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (80 FR 12264, March 6, 
2015), EPA modified the maximum attainment dates for all nonattainment 
areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, consistent with the D.C. Circuit's 
decision. The State Implementation Plan (SIP) Requirements Rule 
established a maximum deadline for marginal nonattainment areas of 
three years from the effective date of designation, or July 20, 2015, 
to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS. See 80 FR at 12268; 40 CFR 51.1103.
    In a final rulemaking action published on May 4, 2016, EPA 
determined that the Pittsburgh Area did not attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS 
by its July 20, 2015 attainment date, based on ambient air quality 
monitoring data for the 2012-2014 monitoring period. In that same 
action, EPA determined that the Pittsburgh Area qualified for a 1-year 
extension of its attainment date, as provided in section 181(a)(5) of 
the CAA and interpreted by regulation at 40 CFR 51.1107. The new 
attainment date for the Pittsburgh Area is July 20, 2016. See 81 FR 
26697 (May 4, 2016).

II. EPA's Analysis of the Relevant Air Quality Data

    Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 50, appendix P, the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS is attained at a monitoring site when the three-year average of 
the annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ambient air 
quality ozone concentration is less than or equal to 0.075 ppm. This 
three-year average is referred to as the design value. When the design 
value is less than or equal to 0.075 ppm at each ambient air quality 
monitoring site within the area, then the area is deemed to be meeting 
the NAAQS. The rounding convention under 40 CFR part 50, appendix P 
dictates that concentrations shall be reported in ppm to the third 
decimal place, with additional digits to the right being truncated. 
Thus, a computed three-year average ozone concentration of 0.0759 ppm 
or lower would meet the standard, but 0.0760 ppm or higher is over the 
standard.
    EPA's determination of attainment is based upon data that has been 
collected and quality-assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and 
recorded in EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database. Ambient air 
quality monitoring data for the three-year period must meet a data 
completeness requirement. The ambient air quality monitoring data 
completeness requirement is met when the three-year average of the 
percent (%) of required monitoring days with valid ambient monitoring 
data is greater than 90%, and no single year has less than 75% data 
completeness, as determined according to appendix P of part 50. Tables 
1 and 2 show the data completeness and ozone design values, 
respectively, for each monitor in the Pittsburgh Area for the years 
2013-2015.

                                                               Table 1--2013-2015 Pittsburgh Area Ozone Monitor Data Completeness
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                    County                         Site ID                Percent data completeness
                                                  2013-2015 average percent        Comment
                                                        completeness
                                                              ------------------------------------------------
                                                                    2013            2014            2015
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Allegheny....................................       420030008              98             100              95                98
                                                    420030010             100  ..............  ..............                33                Site shut down in 2013.\a\
                                                    420030067              99              99             100                99
                                                                                                              --------------------------------
                                                    420031005              98  ..............  ..............              33              97  Site shut down in 2013.\b\
 
                                                    420031008  ..............             100              93              64                  Site started 2014.\b\
                                                                                                              --------------------------------
Armstrong....................................       420050001              95             100             100                98
Beaver.......................................       420070002              98              96              97                97

[[Page 58437]]

 
                                                    420070005              96              95              93                95
                                                    420070014              89              99              94                94
Washington...................................       421250005              98             100              97                98
                                                    421250200              98              98             100                98
                                                    421255001             100              98              94                97
                                                    421255200              99              99  ..............                66                Site shut down in 2015.\a\
Westmoreland.................................       421290006              98              38  ..............                45                Site shut down in July 2014.\a\
                                                    421290008              97              99              97                98
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Notes:
\a\ The monitoring site shutdowns and startups are included in the Pennsylvania Department of the Environment's (PADEP's) July 2014 Annual Network Plan. PADEP submitted the monitoring plan to
  EPA on June 27, 2014, and EPA approved it on November 21, 2014.
\b\ The ozone monitor at monitoring site 420031005 was moved to monitoring site 420031008 in February 2014. The new location is about one quarter of a mile away from the previous location, and
  is at a similar elevation. The data from these sites will be combined to calculate a valid design value. This monitor move was included in the Allegheny County Health Department's (ACHD's)
  July 2014 monitoring plan, which ACHD submitted to EPA on July 1, 2014, and which EPA approved on November 21, 2014.

    As shown in Table 1, several monitoring sites do not meet the 
completeness criteria set out in 40 CFR part 50, appendix P. However, 
the reasons for the completeness issues were either monitor shutdowns 
or startup, approved into PADEP's and ACHD's monitoring plans. Because 
three years of complete data is not possible at these monitoring sites, 
EPA does not look for valid design values at these sites. However, the 
circumstances are different for monitoring sites 420031005 and 
420031008. The ozone monitor was moved from monitoring site 420031005 
to monitoring site 420031008. These sites are within 0.25 miles of each 
other, and are at similar elevations. Therefore, EPA is able to 
consider the data at both monitoring sites as representing the same 
area, and can combine the data for these two locations to calculate a 
valid design value. When data from both locations is considered, the 
three-year average completeness is 97%.

                           Table 2--2013-2015 Pittsburgh Area 2008 Ozone Design Values
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                                                             4th highest daily maximum               2013-2015
             County                   Site ID    ------------------------------------------------  Design value
                                                       2013            2014            2015            (ppm)
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Allegheny.......................       420030008           0.070           0.065           0.071           0.068
                                       420030010           0.075  ..............  ..............  ..............
                                       420030067           0.066           0.065           0.068           0.066
                                       420031005           0.076           0.042  ..............           0.073
                                       420031008  ..............           0.071           0.074  ..............
Armstrong.......................       420050001           0.078           0.068           0.070           0.072
Beaver..........................       420070002           0.072           0.069           0.070           0.070
                                       420070005           0.072           0.070           0.067           0.069
                                       420070014           0.066           0.066           0.063           0.065
Washington......................       421250005           0.064           0.065           0.072           0.067
                                       421250200           0.067           0.064           0.069           0.066
                                       421255001           0.071           0.064           0.071           0.068
                                       421255200           0.063           0.062           0.045  ..............
Westmoreland....................       421290006           0.067           0.053  ..............  ..............
                                       421290008           0.070           0.064           0.069           0.067
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Note: Only valid design values for monitors meeting the completeness criteria are shown.

    Consistent with the requirements contained in 40 CFR part 50, EPA 
has reviewed the ozone ambient air quality monitoring data for the 
monitoring period from 2013 through 2015 for the Pittsburgh Area, as 
recorded in the AQS database. As shown in Table 2, all valid 2013-2015 
design values are less than or equal to 0.075 ppm. Therefore, the 
Pittsburgh Area has attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS, considering 2013-
2015 data.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA evaluated ozone data from air quality monitors in the 
Pittsburgh Area in order to determine the area's attainment status 
under the 2008 ozone NAAQS. State and local agencies responsible for 
ozone air monitoring networks supplied and quality assured the data. 
All the monitoring sites with valid data had design values equal to or 
less than 0.075 ppm based on the 2013-2015 monitoring period. 
Considering that review, EPA has concluded that this area attained the 
2008 ozone NAAQS based on complete, quality assured and certified data 
for the 2013-2015 ozone seasons. Thus, EPA proposes to determine, in 
accordance with its statutory obligations under section 181(b)(2)(A) of 
the CAA and the provisions of the SIP Requirements Rule (40 CFR 
51.1103), that the Pittsburgh Area attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the 
applicable attainment date of July 20, 2016.
    This proposed determination of attainment does not constitute a 
redesignation to attainment. Redesignations require states to meet a 
number of additional criteria, including EPA approval of a state plan 
to maintain the air quality standard 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.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This rulemaking action proposes to make a determination of 
attainment on the 2008 ozone NAAQS based on air quality and, if 
finalized, would not impose additional requirements. For that reason, 
this proposed determination of attainment:

[[Page 58438]]

     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 proposed rule, proposing to determine that the 
Pittsburgh Area attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by its July 20, 2016 
attainment date, does not have tribal implications as specified by 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because this 
proposed determination of attainment does not apply in Indian country 
located in the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial 
direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

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

    Dated: August 12, 2016.
Shawn M. Garvin,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2016-20313 Filed 8-24-16; 8:45 am]
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