[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50556-50560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21878]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0368; EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0556; FRL-9985-10-Region 5]


Air Quality Designation; Illinois; Indiana; Revised Designation 
of Illinois and Indiana 2012 PM2.5 Unclassifiable Areas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve Illinois' May 8, 2018 request to revise the designation for the 
entire state of Illinois from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment and Indiana's July 3, 2018 request to revise the designation 
for the Indiana portions of the Chicago IL-IN and Louisville KY-IN 
(herein referred to as Chicago and Louisville) areas from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 primary and 
secondary annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is proposing to approve 
these requests because valid, quality-assured, and certified ambient 
air monitoring data show that the PM2.5 monitors in the 
areas are meeting the 2012 primary and secondary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. This includes data from monitors in Illinois 
where data substitution rules have been applied consistent with 
applicable regulations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 8, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2018-0368 (Illinois) or EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0556 (Indiana) 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.

[[Page 50557]]

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: Michelle Becker, Life Scientist, 
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-3901, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. Background
II. What are the criteria for redesignating an area from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment?
III. What is EPA's rationale for proposing to revise the designation 
areas?
IV. What action is EPA taking?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    The Clean Air Act (CAA) establishes a process for air quality 
management through the establishment and implementation of the NAAQS. 
After the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, EPA is required to 
designate areas, pursuant to section 107(d)(1) of the CAA, as 
attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable. On December 14, 2012, EPA 
promulgated a revised primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS to provide 
increased protection of public health from fine particle pollution (78 
FR 3086, January 15, 2013). In that action, EPA revised the primary 
annual PM2.5 standard from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter 
([mu]g/m\3\) to 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\, which is attained when the 3-year 
average of the annual arithmetic mean concentration does not exceed 
12.0 [mu]g/m\3\. See also 40 CFR 50.18. EPA established the standards 
based on significant evidence and numerous health studies demonstrating 
that serious health effects are associated with exposures to fine 
particulate matter.
    The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new 
or revised NAAQS is contained in section 107(d)(1) of the CAA. On 
January 15, 2015 (80 FR 2206) and April 7, 2015 (80 FR 18535), EPA 
designated areas across the country as nonattainment, unclassifiable, 
or unclassifiable/attainment for the PM2.5 NAAQS based upon 
air quality monitoring data from monitors for calendar years 2011-2013 
or 2012-2014.
    In the first action referenced above, EPA designated the entire 
state of Illinois, including the multi-state areas of Chicago, IL-IN 
and St. Louis, MO-IL (herein referred to as St. Louis), as 
unclassifiable because the ambient air quality monitoring sites lacked 
complete data for the relevant periods, which were from 2011-2013. 
Therefore, EPA could not determine, based on available information, 
whether those areas were meeting the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA 
also designated the Louisville area as nonattainment, based on 
monitoring data for Clark and Floyd counties for 2011-2013 showing that 
a monitor in Clark County had a design value above the standard.
    On April 7, 2015 (80 FR 18535), EPA changed the Louisville area 
initial designation from nonattainment to unclassifiable. Although 
Indiana submitted complete, quality-assured and certified 2014 data 
from the Clark County monitor showing it was attaining the NAAQS, EPA 
noted that an air quality determination was not possible due to invalid 
monitoring data for neighboring Jefferson County, Kentucky.
    On May 8, 2018, Illinois submitted to EPA a request to 
``redesignate'' the State of Illinois, including the St. Louis area, 
from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment based on three years 
of quality-assured, certified ambient air monitoring data for the 
three-year period of 2015-2017.
    On July 3, 2018, Indiana submitted to EPA a request to 
``redesignate'' the Louisville and Chicago areas from unclassifiable to 
unclassifiable/attainment based on three years of quality-assured, 
certified ambient air monitoring data for the three-year period of 
2015-2017.

II. What are the criteria for revising a designation an area from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment?

    Section 107(d)(3) of the CAA provides the framework for changing 
the area designations for any NAAQS pollutants. Section 107(d)(3)(A) 
provides that the Administrator may notify the Governor of any state 
that the designation of an area should be revised ``on the basis of air 
quality data, planning and control considerations, or any other air 
quality-related considerations the Administrator deems appropriate.'' 
The CAA further provides in section 107(d)(3)(D) that even if the 
Administrator has not notified a state Governor that a designation 
should be revised, the Governor of any state may, on the Governor's own 
motion, submit a request to revise the designation of any area, and the 
Administrator must approve or deny the request.
    When approving or denying a request to redesignate an area, EPA 
bases its decision on the air quality data for the area as well as the 
considerations provided under section 107(d)(3)(A). While CAA section 
107(d)(3)(E) lists specific requirements for redesignations, those 
requirements only apply to redesignations of nonattainment areas to 
attainment and therefore are not applicable in this context of a 
revised designation of an area from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment. In keeping with section 107(d)(3)(A), areas that request a 
revised designation to unclassifiable/attainment must meet the 
requirements for attainment areas and thus must meet the relevant 
NAAQS. The relevant monitoring data must be collected and quality-
assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and recorded in the EPA Air 
Quality System (AQS) database. The designated monitors generally should 
have remained at the same location for the duration of the monitoring 
period upon which the revised designation request is based.\1\
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    \1\ See Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, EPA Air Quality 
Management Division, entitled ``Procedures for Processing Requests 
to Redesignate Areas to Attainment'' (September 4, 1992).
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    Additionally, appendix N of 40 CFR part 50 specifies the data 
handling conventions and computations necessary for determining when 
the NAAQS for PM2.5 are met. Appendix N contains data 
substitution tests, which allow incomplete monitoring data to be 
considered valid in certain instances prescribed by the rules. Appendix 
N also provides that, when the data substitution test conditions do not 
apply, EPA may consider other factors, such as monitoring site 
closures/moves, monitoring diligence, the consistency and levels of the 
daily values that are available, and nearby concentrations in 
determining whether to use such data. See 4.1(d) of appendix N.

III. What is EPA's rationale for proposing to revise the designation 
areas?

    In order to revise the designation of an area from unclassifiable 
to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 primary and secondary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS, the 3-year average of annual arithmetic mean 
concentrations (i.e., design value) over the most recent 3-year period 
must be less than or equal to 12.0 [micro]g/m\3\ at all monitoring 
sites in

[[Page 50558]]

the area over the full 3-year period, as determined in accordance with 
40 CFR 50.18 and appendix N of part 50. EPA reviewed PM2.5 
monitoring data from monitoring stations in the state of Illinois as 
well as the multi-state areas of St. Louis, Chicago, and Louisville for 
the 2012 primary and secondary annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the 3-
year period of 2015-2017. These data have been quality-assured, 
certified, and recorded in AQS by Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and 
Missouri. As summarized in Tables 1-4, the design values for the 
monitors in the areas for the 2015-2017 period are below the 2012 
primary and secondary annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

Table 1--2012 Annual PM2.5 Design Values for Monitors in the Chicago, IL-
                          IN Area for 2015-2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             2015-2017
             Local site name                Monitoring     design value
                                               site        ([mu]g/m\3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alsip...................................     17-031-0001             9.5
Washington High School..................     17-031-0022             9.3
Mayfair Pump Station....................     17-031-0052             9.1
Springfield Pump Station................     17-031-0057            10.2
Com Ed..................................     17-031-0076             9.5
Schiller Park...........................     17-031-3103            10.5
Summit..................................     17-031-3301             9.7
Des Plaines.............................     17-031-4007             9.4
Northbrook..............................     17-031-4201             8.4
Cicero..................................     17-031-6005            10.0
Naperville..............................     17-043-4002             8.3
Elgin...................................     17-089-0003             8.3
Aurora..................................     17-089-0007             8.3
Cary....................................     17-111-0001         \+\ 8.2
Joliet..................................     17-197-1002             7.9
Braidwood...............................     17-197-1011             7.9
Washington School.......................     18-089-0006             9.3
Gary Water *............................     18-089-0031             9.2
Purdue Calumet Powers Building *........     18-089-2004             8.7
Water Treatment Plant *.................     18-127-0024             8.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Indiana monitor.
+ Data incomplete.


 Table 2--2012 Annual PM2.5 Design Values for St. Louis, MO-IL Monitors
                              for 2015-2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             2015-2017
             Local site name                Monitoring     design value
                                               site        ([mu]g/m\3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jerseyville.............................     17-083-0117         \+\ 8.8
Granite City............................     17-119-1007             9.7
Alton...................................     17-119-2009             8.8
Wood River..............................     17-119-3007             8.7
Houston.................................     17-157-0001             8.5
East St. Louis..........................     17-163-0010             9.8
Blair Street *..........................     29-510-0085             8.8
South Broadway *........................     29-510-0007             8.7
Arnold West *...........................     29-099-0019             9.3
Ladue *.................................     29-189-3001             9.4
Forest Park *...........................     29-510-0094             8.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Missouri Monitor.
+ Data incomplete.


   Table 3--2012 Annual PM2.5 Design Values for Monitors in Remaining
                      Illinois Areas for 2015-2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             2015-2017
             Local site name                Monitoring     design value
                                               site        ([mu]g/m\3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Champaign...............................     17-019-0006             7.9
Bondville...............................     17-019-1001             7.8
Knight Prairie..........................     17-065-0002             8.2
Normal..................................     17-113-2003             8.0
Decatur.................................     17-115-0013             8.4
Peoria..................................     17-143-0037             8.2
Rock Island.............................     17-161-3002             8.1
Springfield.............................     17-167-0012             8.2
Rockford................................     17-201-0013             8.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 50559]]


 Table 4--2012 Annual PM2.5 Design Values for Monitors in the Louisville
                           Area for 2015-2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             2015-2017
             Local site name                Monitoring     design value
                                               site        ([mu]g/m \3\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jefferson PFAU *........................     18-019-0006             9.6
Charlestown State Park *................     18-019-0008             8.0
Green Valley Elementary School *........     18-043-1004             8.5
Southwick...............................     21-111-0043             9.7
Watson Lane.............................     21-111-0051             9.2
Cannons Lane............................     21-111-0067             8.6
Durrett Lane............................     21-111-0075             9.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Indiana monitors.

    There are two groups of monitoring sites with incomplete data and 
for which data substitution rules were applied under appendix N of 40 
CFR part 50. First, Illinois had eight monitoring sites with a data 
capture rate below 75 percent during at least one quarter, but had 
valid PM2.5 annual design values after applicable data 
substitution test conditions were applied consistent with section 
4.1(c) of appendix N under 40 CFR part 50. These substitution rules 
were automatically applied in the EPA AQS database, and the data from 
these monitors all meet the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.\2\
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    \2\ AQS contains ambient air pollution data collected by EPA, 
state, local, and tribal air pollution control agencies from over 
thousands of monitors and is used to assess air quality, assist in 
attainment/non-attainment designations, evaluate SIPs for non-
attainment areas, and perform modeling for permit review analysis.
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    Second, Illinois had two monitoring sites, Cary (17-111-0001) and 
Jerseyville (17-183-0117), that had at least one calendar quarter of 
data capture below 75 percent and did not meet the substitution test 
conditions under section 4.1(c) of appendix N. Because the substitution 
test conditions were not applicable, EPA considered other factors under 
section 4.1(d) of appendix N, such as monitoring site closures/moves, 
the consistency of daily levels, and nearby concentrations in 
determining whether the data from the monitors was valid. In addition, 
EPA performed a substitution test similar to the test methods specified 
in 4.1(c). Based on consideration of these factors, EPA determined that 
the data from these monitors could be used and the data showed that the 
areas were meeting the PM2.5 NAAQS, as described in the 
tables above. For more information regarding EPA's analyses, see the 
Technical Support Document titled ``Evaluation of IL Monitors without 
valid 2017 PM2.5 Design Values'' (July 2, 2018).
    Because the 3-year design values, based on valid, quality-assured 
data, demonstrate that the areas meet the 2012 primary and secondary 
annual PM2.5 standards, EPA is proposing to revise the 
designations of the entire state of Illinois, and the Indiana portions 
of the Chicago and Louisville areas from unclassifiable to 
unclassifiable/attainment for this NAAQS.

IV. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is proposing to approve Illinois' May 8, 2018 request to revise 
the designation of the entire state from unclassifiable to 
unclassifiable/attainment as well as Indiana's July 3, 2018 request to 
revise the designation of the Indiana portions of the Louisville and 
Chicago areas for the 2012 primary and secondary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. If finalized, approval of the revised 
designations requests would change the legal designation, found at 40 
CFR part 81, for the state of Illinois and the Indiana counties of 
Lake, Porter, Clark, and Floyd from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment for the 2012 primary and secondary annual PM2.5 
NAAQS.

V. 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 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).

[[Page 50560]]

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Particulate 
matter.

    Dated: September 25, 2018.
James Payne,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2018-21878 Filed 10-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P