[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 41 (Thursday, March 1, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8752-8756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04184]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2017-0149; FRL-9974-98--Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; 2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard for the Maryland Portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the
2011 base year inventory for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City marginal nonattainment area for the 2008 8-
hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The State of
Maryland submitted the emission inventory, which included the ozone
precursors, nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic
compounds (VOC), as well as several other pollutants, through the
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to meet the nonattainment
requirements for marginal ozone nonattainment areas for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS. EPA is approving the 2011 base year NOX and VOC
emissions inventory for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS as a revision to
the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP) in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This final rule is effective on April 2, 2018.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2017-0149. All documents in the docket are listed on
the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business
information (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 through
https://www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in
the For Further Information Contact section for additional availability
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Calcinore, (215) 814-2043, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Ground level ozone is formed when NOX and VOC react in
the presence of sunlight. NOX and VOC are referred to as
ozone precursors and are emitted by many types of pollution sources,
including motor vehicles, power plants, industrial facilities, and area
wide sources, such as consumer products and lawn and garden equipment.
Scientific evidence indicates that adverse public health effects occur
following exposure to ozone. These effects are more pronounced in
children and adults with lung disease. Breathing air containing ozone
can reduce lung function and inflame airways, which can increase
respiratory symptoms and aggravate asthma or other lung diseases. In
response to this scientific evidence, EPA promulgated the first ozone
NAAQS in 1979, the 0.12 part per million (ppm) 1-hour ozone NAAQS. See
44 FR 8202 (February 8, 1979). EPA had previously promulgated a NAAQS
for total photochemical oxidants.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a revised ozone NAAQS of 0.08
ppm, averaged over eight hours. 62 FR 38855. This 8-hour ozone NAAQS
was determined to be more protective of public health than the previous
1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS. In 2008, EPA revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS
from 0.08 to 0.075 ppm. See 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008).
On May 21, 2012, the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area was
designated as marginal nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
77 FR 30088. The designation of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic
City area as marginal nonattainment was effective July 20, 2012. The
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area is comprised
of Cecil County in Maryland, as well as counties in Delaware, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Under sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of the CAA, Maryland is
required to submit a comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of
actual emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutants, i.e. the
ozone precursors NOX and VOC, for the marginal nonattainment
area, i.e., the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Atlantic City nonattainment area. In order to satisfy the requirements
of CAA sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1), on January 19, 2017, Maryland
formally submitted the 2011 base year inventory for the Maryland
portion of the
[[Page 8753]]
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area for the 2008
8-hour ozone NAAQS as a SIP revision (SIP # 16-15).
On September 25, 2017, EPA simultaneously published a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPR) (82 FR 44544) and a direct final rule (DFR)
(82 FR 44522) approving Maryland's 2011 base year inventory for the
Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS as a SIP revision.
The DFR included an amendment to 40 CFR 52.1070 (identification of
Maryland's SIP) and an amendment to 40 CFR 52.1075 (explanation of
Maryland's base year emissions inventories). EPA received an adverse
comment on the rulemaking and withdrew the DFR prior to the effective
date of November 24, 2017. See 82 FR 54298 (November 17, 2017).
However, in the withdrawal, EPA only withdrew the amendment to 40 CFR
52.1070, which would have added an entry for the ``2011 Base Year
Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standard'' to the table under 40 CFR 52.1075(e) (EPA-approved
nonregulatory and quasi-regulatory material). EPA inadvertently did not
withdraw the amendment to 40 CFR 52.1075, which became effective on
November 24, 2017. This provision revised Maryland's SIP to include
paragraph (q) under 40 CFR 52.1075, which described EPA's ``approval''
of Maryland's 2011 base year inventory for the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area for the 2008
8-hour ozone NAAQS. Because the addition of 40 CFR 52.1075(q) did not
contain an effective date and this final action approving Maryland's
2011 base year inventory for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS will correctly add 40 CFR 52.1075(q), the earlier effective date
which added 40 CFR 52.1075(q) is harmless. Therefore, no correction is
needed for this harmless early addition. In the NPR, EPA had proposed
to approve the SIP revision, which included Maryland's 2011 base year
inventory for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Atlantic City nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. In
this final rulemaking, EPA is responding to the comments submitted on
the proposed revision to the Maryland SIP and is approving Maryland's
2011 base year inventory for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS as a SIP revision. Because 40 CFR 52.1075(q) was prematurely
added by EPA's inadvertent failure to withdraw the amendment to 40 CFR
52.1075 when we withdrew the DFR in the November 17, 2017 withdrawal
Federal Register notice, no further amendment to 40 CFR 52.1075 is
necessary.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
Under CAA section 172(c)(3), states are required to submit a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from
all sources (point, nonpoint, nonroad, and onroad) of the relevant
pollutant or pollutants in the nonattainment area. CAA section
182(a)(1) requires that areas designated as nonattainment and
classified as marginal submit an inventory of all sources of ozone
precursors no later than 2 years after the effective date of
designation. EPA's guidance for emissions inventory development calls
for actual emissions to be used in the base year inventory. The state
must report annual emissions as well as ``summer day emissions.'' As
defined in 40 CFR 51.900(v), ``summer day emissions'' means, ``an
average day's emissions for a typical summer work weekday. The state
will select the particular month(s) in summer and the day(s) in the
work week to be represented.''
On January 19, 2017, MDE submitted a formal revision (SIP #16-15)
to its SIP. The SIP revision consists of the 2011 base year inventory
for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. MDE selected 2011
as its base year for SIP planning purposes, as recommended in EPA's
final rule, ``Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone: State Implementation Plan Requirements.'' See 80
FR 12263 (March 6, 2015). MDE's 2011 base year inventory includes
emissions estimates covering the general source categories of
stationary point, area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, onroad mobile, and
Marine-Air-Rail (M-A-R). In its 2011 base year inventory, MDE reported
actual annual emissions and typical summer day emissions for the months
of May through September for NOX, VOC, and carbon monoxide.
MDE also reported annual emissions for fine particulate matter
(PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ammonia
(NH3) In this approval of the 2011 base year emissions
inventory for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA is approving only the portions
of the inventory that relate to the relevant ozone precursors, which
are VOC and NOX.\1\
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\1\ The actual annual emissions and typical summer day emissions
were summarized by MDE in Table 1-1: 2011 Base Year SIP Emission
Inventory Summary. A discrepancy was found between the area annual
emissions reported for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table
1-1 and the area annual emissions reported for PM2.5 and
NH3 in Table 4-1: 2011 Base Year SIP Area Source Emission
Inventories and the Nonpoint Annual data table under Appendix C
Area/Nonpoint Sources. Since the anthropogenic totals in Table 1-1
correspond to the annual emissions values, the anthropogenic totals
for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1-1 were also
affected by the discrepancy. In a correction letter, MDE confirmed
that the area annual emissions for PM2.5 and
NH3 in Table 1-1 are 456.50 tpy for PM2.5 and
477.15 tpy for NH3. MDE also confirmed that the
corresponding anthropogenic totals for PM2.5 and
NH3 are 625.04 tpy and 530.10 tpy. MDE has submitted a
corrected version of page 3 of the 2011 base year inventory to
reflect the necessary corrections to Table 1-1. The corrected
version as well as the correction letter are included in the docket
for this rulemaking even though the CAA at sections 172 and 182 only
require an inventory of ozone precursors. See July 20, 2017 letter
from Brian Hug, Program Manager, Maryland Department of the
Environment to Cecil Rodrigues, Acting Regional Administrator, EPA
Region III, Subject: SIP #16-15 ``2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory
for the Maryland Portion of the Philadelphia-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-
DE-MD 2008 Ozone NAAQS Nonattainment Area (Cecil County, MD) Minor
Corrections.''
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Table 1 summarizes the 2011 VOC and NOX emission
inventory by source sector for the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area. Annual
emissions are given in tons per year (tpy) and summer weekday emissions
are given by tons per day (tpd).
Table 1--Summary of 2011 Emissions of Ozone Precursors for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
Nonattainment Area
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Summer weekday (tpd) Annual (tpy)
Source sector ---------------------------------------------------------------
VOC NOX VOC NOX
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Point........................................... 0.301 2.63 64.91 76.19
[[Page 8754]]
Area............................................ 2.863 0.31 937.78 242.02
Nonroad......................................... 5.127 2.01 1,054.93 529.02
Onroad.......................................... 2.29 7.50 791.98 2,730.44
M-A-R........................................... 0.030 0.46 11.03 167.97
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Anthropogenic Subtotal...................... 10.61 12.90 2,860.63 3,745.63
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Point sources are large, stationary, and identifiable sources of
emissions that release pollutants into the atmosphere. Maryland
obtained its point source data from the MDE Air and Radiation
Management Administration (ARMA) point source emissions inventory. ARMA
identifies and inventories stationary sources for the point source
emissions inventory through inspections, investigations, permitting,
and equipment registrations.
Area sources, also known as nonpoint sources, are sources of
pollution that are small and numerous and have not been inventoried as
specific point or mobile sources. To inventory these sources, they are
grouped so that emissions can be estimated collectively using one
methodology. Examples of nonpoint sources include residential heating
emissions and emissions from consumer solvents. MDE calculated nonpoint
emissions for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Atlantic City nonattainment area by multiplying emissions factors
specific for each source category with some known indicator of
collective activity for each source category, such as population or
employment data.
Nonroad sources are mobile sources other than onroad vehicles. In
its 2011 base year inventory, MDE separated nonroad sources into two
categories: ``Nonroad Model NMIM'' and M-A-R. Nonroad Model NMIM
sources include lawn and garden equipment, airport service equipment,
recreational land vehicles or equipment, recreational marine equipment,
light commercial equipment, industrial equipment, construction
equipment, agricultural or farm equipment, and logging equipment. MDE
relied on EPA's nonroad emissions calculations from the National Mobile
Inventory Model (NMIM- April 5, 2009) to calculate emissions from
sources in the ``Nonroad Model NMIM'' category. M-A-R sources include
railroads, commercial aviation, air taxis, general aviation, military
aviation, and commercial marine vessels. MDE estimated M-A-R emissions
using data from surveyed sources or state and federal reporting
agencies. Onroad or highway sources are vehicles, such as cars, trucks,
and buses, which are operated on public roadways. MDE estimated onroad
emissions for these sources using EPA's Motor Vehicle Emission
Simulator (MOVES) model, version 2010a, and appropriate activity
levels, such as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates developed from
vehicle count data maintained by the State Highway Administration (SHA)
of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).
EPA reviewed Maryland's 2011 base year emission inventory's
results, procedures, and methodologies for the Maryland portion of the
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area and found them
to be acceptable and approvable under CAA sections 110, 172(c)(3) and
182(a)(1) of the CAA. EPA's review and analysis is detailed in a
Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared for this rulemaking. The TSD
is available online at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-
R03-OAR-2017-0149. The public comments received on the NPR are
discussed in Section III of this rulemaking action.
III. Public Comments and EPA's Response
EPA received two public comments on our September 25, 2017 proposal
to approve Maryland's 2011 base year inventory for the Maryland portion
of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area for the
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The comment submitted on October 25, 2017, was
not related to this action and will not be addressed here.
Comment: The commenter stated that for a multistate nonattainment
area, EPA cannot approve a single state's emission inventory. Rather,
the commenter believes that EPA must approve a single emission
inventory for the entire nonattainment area instead of taking a
piecemeal approach to act on each individual emissions inventory
submitted by each state for that state's portion of the nonattainment
area. The commenter expressed concern that by approving separate
emission inventories for each state, EPA will not know if all of the
other states are ``within the right limits.''
Response: For ozone nonattainment areas, CAA section 182(a)
specifically provides that ``Each State in which all or part of a
Marginal Area is located shall, with respect to the Marginal Area (or
portion thereof . . .), submit to the Administrator the State
implementation plan revisions . . . described under this subsection.''
CAA section 182(a)(1) requires that ``the State shall submit a
comprehensive, accurate, current inventory of actual emissions from all
sources.'' EPA notes that this requirement to submit a SIP revision
providing for a comprehensive inventory applies to each individual
state, including a state in which only part of a nonattainment area is
located. Each other state that is part of the nonattainment area would
also bear the same requirement and, therefore, the CAA provides for a
comprehensive emission inventory for the entire nonattainment area.
CAA section 110(k) requires the EPA to act on a SIP revision within
a set amount of time of when that SIP revision is submitted. The
requirement is to act on each individual SIP submission. Nothing in the
CAA requires EPA to act on groups of submittals, and likewise, there is
no CAA requirement to act in a single action for SIPs submitted across
an entire nonattainment area. Thus, EPA is appropriately acting to
approve only Maryland's inventory submission for the Maryland portion
of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area for the
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the Maryland SIP revision submitted on January 19,
2017, which is Maryland's 2011 base year
[[Page 8755]]
inventory for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Atlantic City nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, as a
revision to the Maryland SIP. This rule, which responds to the adverse
comment received, finalizes our proposed approval of Maryland's 2011
base year inventory for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
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 approves state law as meeting federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866.
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 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.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by April 30, 2018. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action.
This action approving Maryland's 2011 base year inventory for the
Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS may not be
challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See
section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: February 15, 2018.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart V--Maryland
0
2. In Sec. 52.1070, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding
the entry ``2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard'' at the end of the table to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1070 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
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Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable State Additional
revision geographic area submittal date EPA approval date explanation
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* * * * * * *
2011 Base Year Emissions Maryland portion of 01/19/2017 03/01/2018, Sec. 52.1075(q).
Inventory for the 2008 8-Hour the Philadelphia- [Insert Federal
Ozone National Ambient Air Wilmington- Register
Quality Standard. Atlantic City, PA- citation].
NJ-DE-MD 2008
ozone
nonattainment area.
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[FR Doc. 2018-04184 Filed 2-28-18; 8:45 am]
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