[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 204 (Monday, October 22, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53201-53204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22285]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2017-0170; FRL-9985-39-Region 10]


Air Plan Approval; ID, West Silver Valley PM2.5 Clean Data 
Determination

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to 
determine that the West Silver Valley, Idaho nonattainment area has 
clean data for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This 
proposed clean data determination (CDD) is based upon quality-assured, 
quality-controlled, and certified ambient air monitoring data showing 
the area has attained the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based on the 
2015-2017 data available in the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) 
database. The EPA also proposes to take final agency action on the 
September 2017 wildfire exceptional event at the Pinehurst monitoring 
station, pursuant to EPA regulations, as having affected 
PM2.5 and PM10 values. Based on the proposed 
clean data determination, the EPA is also proposing to determine that 
the obligation for Idaho to make submissions to meet certain Clean Air 
Act (CAA or the Act) requirements related to attainment of the NAAQS 
for this area are not applicable for as long as the area continues to 
attain the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 21, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2017-0170, at https://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: Justin Spenillo, at 206-553-6125, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'', 
``us'' or ``our'' are used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Clean Data Determination for the West Silver Valley, Idaho 
Nonattainment Area
III. The EPA's Proposed Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    On December 14, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
promulgated a revised primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS to provide 
increased protection of public health from fine particle pollution 
(``2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS'').\1\ In that action, the EPA 
strengthened the primary annual PM2.5 standard, lowering the 
level from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([micro]g/m\3\) to 12.0 
[micro]g/m\3\. The 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is attained when 
the 3-year average of the annual arithmetic means does not exceed 12.0 
[micro]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR 50.18 and 40 CFR part 50, appendix N. 
Effective April 15, 2015, the EPA made designation determinations, as 
required by section 107(d)(1) of the CAA, for the 2012 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS.\2\ In that action, the EPA designated the West 
Silver Valley area in Shoshone County, Idaho (WSV NAA) as moderate 
nonattainment for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 
81.313.
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    \1\ 78 FR 3086, January 15, 2013.
    \2\ 80 FR 2206.
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    On March 26, 2018, the EPA issued a finding of failure to submit 
under section 110(k) of the CAA finding that several states, including 
Idaho, failed to submit specific moderate area SIP elements for the 
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS required under subpart 4 of part D 
of Title I of the CAA.\3\ In particular, Idaho failed to submit the 
following specific moderate area SIP elements for the WSV NAA: An 
attainment demonstration; control strategies, including reasonably 
available control measures (``RACM'') and reasonably available control 
technologies (``RACT''); a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan; 
quantitative milestones; and contingency measures. This finding 
triggered the sanctions clock under Section 179 of the CAA, as well as 
an obligation under Section 110(c) of the CAA for EPA to promulgate a 
FIP no later than 2 years from the effective date of the finding, if 
Idaho does not submit, and the EPA has not approved, the required SIP 
submission.
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    \3\ 83 FR 14759.
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    On August 24, 2016, the EPA issued the Fine Particulate Matter 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: State Implementation Plan 
Requirements (``PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule'').\4\ The 
PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule is codified at 40 CFR part 51, 
subpart Z and provides rules for the implementation of current and 
future PM2.5 NAAQS.
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    \4\ 81 FR 58010, effective October 24, 2016.
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    Over the past 2 decades, the EPA has consistently applied its 
``Clean Data Policy'' interpretation to attainment

[[Page 53202]]

related provisions of subparts 1, 2, and 4 of the CAA. The EPA codified 
the approach in the Clean Data Policy in the PM2.5 SIP 
Requirements Rule (40 CFR 51.1015(a)) for the implementation of current 
and future PM2.5 NAAQS. See 81 FR 58010, 58161 (August 24, 
2016). In accordance with 40 CFR 51.1015, the EPA may issue a clean 
data determination for a specific area if the EPA determines the area 
has attained the relevant NAAQS based on 3 years of quality-assured, 
certified air quality monitoring data. For a complete discussion of the 
Clean Data Policy's history and the EPA's longstanding interpretation 
under the CAA, please refer to the August 24, 2016 PM2.5 SIP 
Requirements Rule (81 FR 58010).
    As provided in 40 CFR 51.1015, so long as an area continues to meet 
the standard, finalization of a CDD suspends the requirements for a 
nonattainment area to submit an attainment demonstration, associated 
RACM and RACT, an RFP plan, quantitative milestones, contingency 
measures, and any other SIP requirements related to the attainment of 
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The requirement to submit a 
projected attainment inventory as part of an attainment demonstration 
or RFP plan is also suspended by this determination. As discussed in 
the 2016 PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule, the nonattainment base 
emissions inventory required by section 172(c)(3) of the CAA is not 
suspended by this determination because the base inventory is a 
requirement independent of planning for an area's attainment. See 81 FR 
58009 at 58028 and 58127-8 and 80 FR 15340 at 15441-2. Additionally, as 
discussed in the PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule, and required 
by sections 110(a)(2)(C); 172(c)(5); 173; 189(a), and 189(e) of the 
CAA, nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) requirements are not 
suspended by a CDD because this requirement is independent of the 
area's attainment planning. See 81 FR 58010 at 58107 and 58127.
    By extension, the requirement to submit a motor vehicle emissions 
budget (MVEB) for the attainment year for the purposes of 
transportation conformity is also suspended. A MVEB is that portion of 
the total allowable emissions defined in the submitted or approved 
control strategy implementation plan revision or maintenance plan for a 
certain date for the purpose of meeting RFP milestones or demonstrating 
attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS, for any criteria pollutant or 
its precursors, allocated to highway and transit vehicle use and 
emissions. For the purposes of the transportation conformity 
regulations, the control strategy implementation plan revision is the 
implementation plan which contains specific strategies for controlling 
the emissions of and reducing ambient levels of pollutants in order to 
satisfy CAA requirements for demonstrations of RFP and attainment. 
Given that MVEBs are required to support the RFP and attainment 
demonstration requirements in the attainment plan, suspension of the 
RFP and attainment demonstration requirements through a CDD, also 
suspends the requirement to submit MVEBs for the attainment and RFP 
years. The suspension of planning requirements pursuant to 40 CFR 
51.1015, does not preclude the state from submitting suspended elements 
of its moderate area attainment plan for EPA approval for the purposes 
of strengthening the state's SIP.
    The suspension of the obligation to submit such requirements 
applies regardless of when the plan submissions are due. A clean data 
determination is not equivalent to a redesignation, and the state must 
still meet the statutory requirements for redesignation in order to be 
redesignated to attainment.
    In accordance with 40 CFR 51.1015(a)(1) and (2), the CDD suspends 
the aforementioned SIP obligations until such time as the area is 
redesignated to attainment, after which such requirements are 
permanently discharged; or the EPA determines that the area has re-
violated the PM2.5 NAAQS, at which time the state shall 
submit such attainment plan elements for the moderate nonattainment 
area by a future date to be determined by the EPA and announced through 
publication in the Federal Register at the time the EPA determines the 
area is violating the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

II. Clean Data Determination for the West Silver Valley, Idaho 
Nonattainment Area

Air Quality Data

    Under the EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.18 and part 50, appendix N, 
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is met when the 3-year average 
of PM2.5 annual mean mass concentrations for each eligible 
monitoring site is less than or equal to 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\. Three years 
of valid, annual means are required to produce a valid annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS design value. A year of data meets data 
completeness requirements when quarterly data capture rates for all 
four quarters are at least 75 percent from eligible monitoring sites. 
See 40 CFR part 50, appendix N. There is one PM2.5 eligible 
monitoring site in the WSV NAA, located in Pinehurst, Idaho. Table 1 
shows the WSV NAA design value for the 2012 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS for the years 2015-2017 at that Pinehurst, Idaho monitoring site.

                                     Table 1--2015-2017 Annual PM2.5 Values for West Silver Valley, Shoshone, Idaho
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                                                          Weighted mean ([mu]g/m3)                      Complete quarters              Certified  annual
                                                 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ design  value 2015-
                   Monitor ID                                                                                                           2017 ([mu]g/m3)
                                                      2015          2016          2017          2015          2016          2017
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160790017.......................................         13.6           9.3          12.3             4             4             4                11.7
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    Consistent with the requirements contained in 40 CFR part 58, the 
EPA has reviewed the PM2.5 ambient air quality monitoring 
data for the monitoring period from 2015 through 2017 for the WSV NAA, 
as recorded in the AQS database, and has determined the data meet the 
quality assurance requirements set forth in part 58. In this respect, 
the data have been deemed usable by the EPA for regulatory compliance 
purposes. As shown in Table 1, each quarter from 2015 through 2017 is 
complete with all four quarters reporting data capture rates of at 
least 75 percent. The certified annual design value for 2015-2017 is 
11.7 [mu]g/m\3\, which is below the 2012 annual PM2.5 
standard of 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\. Therefore, the WSV NAA has attained the 
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with the requirements 
in 40 CFR part 50, section 50.18 and appendix N.

Exceptional Event

    The CAA allows for the exclusion of air quality monitoring data 
from design

[[Page 53203]]

value calculations when there are exceedances caused by events, such as 
wildfires or high wind events, that meet the criteria for an 
exceptional event identified in the EPA's implementing regulations, the 
Exceptional Events Rule at 40 CFR 50.1, 50.14 and 51.930. In 2017, 
emissions from multiple wildfires in the Pacific Northwest impacted 
PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations recorded at the 
Pinehurst monitor within the WSV NAA. For purposes of this proposed 
action, on August 10, 2018, the Idaho Department of Environmental 
Quality (IDEQ) submitted an exceptional event demonstration to request 
exclusion of the 2017 data impacted by wildfires. The EPA evaluated the 
IDEQ's exceptional event demonstration for the flagged values of the 
24-hour PM2.5 and PM10 listed in Table 2, at the 
monitor in Pinehurst, Idaho, with respect to the requirements of the 
EPA's Exceptional Events Rule (40 CFR 50.1, 50.14, and 50.930). The EPA 
determined the event and the IDEQ's demonstration met the exceptional 
event rule requirements.

    Table 2--24-hr PM2.5 and PM10 Values at the Pinehurst Monitoring
    Station, Concurred on by the EPA as Meeting the Exceptional Event
                                Criteria
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                                       24-hr PM2.5         24-hr PM10
                                      concentration      concentration
               Date                 ([micro]g/m3) 16-  ([micro]g/m3) 16-
                                      079-0017 POC1      079-0017 POC3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/4/2017..........................              144.9  .................
9/5/2017..........................              222.2  .................
9/6/2017..........................              147.1              169.6
9/7/2017..........................              123.8              149.8
9/8/2017..........................              116.7              143.7
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    On August 24, 2018, the EPA concurred with the IDEQ's request to 
exclude event-influenced data listed in Table 2. As such, the event-
influenced data have been removed from the data set used for regulatory 
purposes. For this proposed action, the EPA relies on the calculated 
values that exclude the event-influenced data (see Table 1, above). The 
EPA now proposes to take final regulatory action on the IDEQ's request 
to exclude PM10 and PM2.5 data listed in Table 2, 
in regulatory decisions. For further information, refer to the IDEQ's 
Exceptional Event demonstration package and the EPA's concurrence and 
analysis located in the docket for this proposed action.

III. The EPA's Proposed Action

    Pursuant to the Clean Data Policy codified at 40 CFR 51.1015(a), 
the EPA proposes to determine that based on 3-years of certified, valid 
monitoring data between 2015 and 2017, the WSV NAA has attained the 
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The EPA also proposes to take final 
agency action on the wildfire exceptional event that affected the 
Pinehurst monitor as listed in Table 2 for both PM2.5 and 
PM10. Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1015(a), and based upon our 
proposed determination that the WSV NAA has attained the standard, the 
EPA proposes to determine that the obligation to submit any attainment-
related SIP revisions arising from classification of the WSV NAA as a 
moderate nonattainment area under subpart 4 of part D, of title I of 
the Act for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is not applicable 
for so long as the area continues to attain the 2012 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. In particular, if the EPA finalizes this 
determination, it will suspend the requirements for the area to submit 
an attainment demonstration, RACM and RACT, RFP plan, quantitative 
milestones, contingency measures, and any other SIP requirements 
related to the attainment of the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, so 
long as the area continues to meet the standard. If today's action is 
finalized as proposed, the sanctions and FIP clocks triggered by the 
EPA's March 26, 2018, finding of failure to submit will be suspended. 
See 83 FR 14759.
    This proposed determination of attainment does not constitute a 
redesignation to attainment. The WSV NAA will remain designated 
nonattainment for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS until the EPA 
determines the WSV NAA meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to 
attainment, including an approved maintenance plan, pursuant to 
sections 107 and 175A of the CAA. The EPA is soliciting public comments 
on EPA's proposed action. These comments will be considered before 
taking final action.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This action proposes to exclude certain air quality monitoring data 
from design value calculations and suspend certain federal 
requirements, and thus would not impose additional requirements beyond 
those imposed by state law. For these reasons, this proposed 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 it does not involve technical standards; and
     does not provide the 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).

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    In addition, this proposed action does not have tribal implications 
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP obligations discussed herein do not apply to Indian 
tribes and, thus, this proposed action 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

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

    Dated: October 3, 2018.
Chris Hladick,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2018-22285 Filed 10-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P