[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 46 (Friday, March 8, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8492-8496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04160]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0224; FRL-9990-47-Region 5]


Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Ohio; 
Redesignation of the Lake County Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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[[Page 8493]]

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to redesignate the Lake County 
sulfur dioxide (SO2) nonattainment area from nonattainment 
to attainment. EPA is also proposing to approve Ohio's maintenance 
plan, which Ohio submitted on April 9, 2018. EPA has approved Ohio's 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Lake County, and the air quality in 
the area is meeting the SO2 standard.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2018-0224 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: Mary Portanova, Environmental 
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-5954, [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 and Redesignation Requirements
II. Determination of Attainment
III. Ohio's SIP
IV. Permanent and Enforceable Emission Reductions
V. Requirements for the Area Under Section 110 and Part D
VI. Maintenance Plan
VII. What action is EPA taking?
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and redesignation requirements

    In 2010, EPA established a revised primary SO2 national 
ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) of 75 parts per billion (ppb) (75 
FR 35520, June 22, 2010). EPA designated the Lake County area as 
nonattainment for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS on August 5, 2013 (78 
FR 47191) based upon air quality monitoring data for calendar years 
2009-2011. The Lake County nonattainment area is comprised of the 
entirety of Lake County, Ohio.
    Ohio was required to prepare a nonattainment plan that would 
provide for attainment of the NAAQS by the SO2 attainment 
date of October 4, 2018. The plan must also meet the additional 
requirements of sections 172(c) and 191-192 of the CAA. Ohio submitted 
its plan on April 3, 2015, and supplemented it on October 13, 2015, and 
on March 13, 2017. EPA approved the Lake County nonattainment plan on 
February 14, 2019 (84 FR 3986).
    Under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E), there are five criteria which must 
be met before a nonattainment area may be redesignated to attainment.
    1. EPA has determined that the relevant NAAQS has been attained in 
the area.
    2. The applicable implementation plan has been fully approved by 
EPA under section 110(k).
    3. EPA has determined that improvement in air quality is due to 
permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from the 
SIP, Federal regulations, and other permanent and enforceable 
reductions.
    4. The State has met all applicable requirements for the area under 
section 110 and part D.
    5. EPA has fully approved a maintenance plan, including a 
contingency plan, for the area under section 175A of the CAA.

II. Determination of Attainment

    The first requirement for redesignation is to demonstrate that the 
standard has been attained in the area. As stated in EPA's April 2014 
``Guidance for 1-Hour SO2 Nonattainment Area SIP 
Submissions,'' for SO2, there are two components needed to 
support an attainment determination: a review of representative air 
quality monitoring data, and a further analysis, generally requiring 
air quality modeling, to demonstrate that the entire area is attaining 
the applicable standard, based on current actual emissions or the fully 
implemented control strategy. Ohio has addressed both components.
    Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.17, the SO2 standard 
is met at an ambient air quality monitoring site when the three-year 
average of the annual 99th percentile of one-hour daily maximum 
concentrations is less than or equal to 75 ppb, as determined in 
accordance with appendix T of 40 CFR part 50 at all relevant monitoring 
sites in the subject area. EPA has reviewed the ambient air monitoring 
data for the Lake County nonattainment area. The Lake County 
nonattainment area has two SO2 monitoring sites, located in 
Painesville and Eastlake in northern Lake County. This review addresses 
air quality data collected from 2015 through 2017, which includes the 
most recent three years of complete, quality-assured data. All data 
considered are certified and recorded in EPA's Air Quality System 
database. Ohio has committed to continue monitoring for SO2 
at these locations.
    Table 1 shows the 99th percentile results and three-year average 
design value for the Lake County nonattainment area monitors for 2015-
2017. The overall 2015-2017 design value for Lake County is 66 ppb, 
which is below the SO2 standard. Therefore, Ohio has 
demonstrated that Lake County's SO2 monitors show 
attainment. Preliminary data for 2018 indicate that the area is 
continuing to attain the SO2 standard.

[[Page 8494]]



                  Table 1--Monitoring Data for the Lake County Nonattainment Area for 2015-2017
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                                                       Year and 99th percentile value (ppb)        Average 2015-
            Site ID                 Location     ------------------------------------------------   2017 (ppb)
                                                       2015            2016            2017
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39-085-0003...................  Eastlake, Lake                36              10               5              17
                                 County.
39-085-0007...................  Painesville,                  89              80              29              66
                                 Lake County.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regarding the requirement for Ohio to demonstrate that the entire 
area is attaining the SO2 standard, Ohio referred to the 
dispersion modeling analysis which was submitted on April 3, 2015, as 
part of its nonattainment plan. This analysis demonstrated that revised 
SO2 emission limits in Painesville and concurrent permanent 
SO2 emission reductions in Eastlake would provide for 
attainment. Ohio has confirmed that the modeled facilities are 
currently in full compliance with their emission limits, so that 
current actual emissions are at or below the levels Ohio used in its 
modeling analysis. The modeling analysis was discussed in detail in the 
August 21, 2018 (83 FR 42235) notice of proposed rulemaking for the 
Lake County SO2 nonattainment SIP. EPA approved the Lake 
County nonattainment plan on February 14, 2019 (84 FR 3986). EPA 
proposes to find that this modeling analysis addresses the CAA 
requirements for redesignation.

III. Ohio's SIP

    On October 11, 2018 (83 FR 51361), EPA approved revisions to Ohio's 
SO2 SIP, including emission limits which were demonstrated 
to provide for attainment in Lake County. On February 14, 2019 (84 FR 
3986), EPA approved Ohio's nonattainment SIP for Lake County, including 
a finding that Ohio had satisfied requirements for providing for 
attainment of the SO2 standard in Lake County. Ohio has 
adopted its SO2 SIP regulations, including those which cover 
Lake County, at Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3745-18, and Ohio has 
shown that it maintains an active enforcement program to ensure ongoing 
compliance. Ohio's new source review/prevention of significant 
deterioration program will address emissions from new sources.

IV. Permanent and Enforceable Emission Reductions

    For an area to be redesignated, the state must be able to 
reasonably attribute the improvement in air quality to emission 
reductions which are permanent and enforceable. The FirstEnergy 
Generation, LLC, Eastlake Plant (Eastlake plant), located in Eastlake, 
Ohio, permanently shut down its coal-fired boilers as of April 2015. 
The boiler retirement provided a decrease of 48,300 tons per year (tpy) 
from 2011 actual emissions. Ohio has removed the authority to operate 
the retired units from the Eastlake plant's federally enforceable State 
operating permit. The Eastlake plant cannot begin to use its large 
boilers again without applying for a new operating permit. Therefore, 
EPA proposes to accept this boiler retirement as a permanent and 
enforceable emission reduction.
    Ohio has implemented new emission limits at OAC 3745-18-49(F) for 
the Painesville Municipal Electric Plant (Painesville plant) in 
Painesville, Ohio. The new limits for the Painesville plant provide for 
at least a 2,080 tpy decrease from 2011 actual emissions and an 
approximate 90 percent decrease from the plant's previously allowable 
emissions. EPA approved these new limits into Ohio's SIP on October 11, 
2018 (83 FR 51361), which renders the limits federally enforceable, and 
Ohio has confirmed that the Painesville plant is currently complying 
with the limits.
    The design value for Lake County at the time of its nonattainment 
designation was 157 ppb, with the highest monitored values found at the 
Painesville monitor (39-085-0007). More recent monitoring data in Lake 
County indicates that ambient SO2 levels improved after the 
Eastlake plant closed its large boilers in April 2015, and after the 
Painesville plant's emissions dropped in 2016 to approximately a tenth 
of their 2011 level, as the Painesville plant prepared for the January 
2017 compliance date of its new emission limits. The current design 
value for Lake County (2015-2017) is 66 ppb, with the highest measured 
values found at the Painesville monitor. This design value demonstrates 
attainment of the SO2 NAAQS. EPA proposes to find that the 
improvement in air quality in Lake County can be attributed to 
permanent and enforceable emission reductions at the Eastlake and 
Painesville plants.

V. Requirements for the Area Under Section 110 and Part D

    Ohio has submitted information demonstrating that it meets the 
requirements of the CAA for the Lake County nonattainment area. EPA 
approved Ohio's infrastructure SIP for SO2 on August 14, 
2015 (80 FR 48733). This infrastructure SIP approval confirms that 
Ohio's SIP meets the requirements of CAA section 110(a)(1) and 
110(a)(2) to contain the basic program elements, such as an active 
enforcement program and permitting program.
    Section 191 of the CAA requires Ohio to submit a part D SIP for the 
Lake County nonattainment area by April 4, 2015. Ohio submitted its 
part D SIP on April 3, 2015 and supplemented it on October 13, 2015 and 
on March 13, 2017. The SIP included a demonstration of attainment and 
revised emission limits for the Painesville plant. EPA approved the 
Lake County nonattainment plan on February 14, 2019 (84 FR 3986).
    This rulemaking concluded that Ohio satisfied the various 
requirements under CAA section 110 and part D for the Lake County 
SO2 nonattainment area. For example, EPA concluded that Ohio 
satisfied requirements for an attainment inventory of the 
SO2 emissions from sources in the nonattainment area 
(required under section 173(c)(3)), reasonably available control 
measures (RACM) (required under section 173(c)(1)), and reasonable 
further progress (required under section 173(c)(2)).
    Section 176(c) of the CAA requires States to establish criteria and 
procedures to ensure that federally supported or funded projects 
conform to the air quality planning goals in the applicable SIP. The 
requirement to determine conformity applies to transportation plans, 
programs, and projects that are developed, funded, or approved under 
title 23 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) and the Federal Transit Act 
(transportation conformity) as well as to all other federally supported 
or funded projects (general conformity). State transportation 
conformity SIP revisions must be consistent with Federal conformity 
regulations relating to consultation, enforcement, and enforceability 
that EPA promulgated pursuant to its authority under the CAA. On August 
20,

[[Page 8495]]

2014, Ohio submitted documentation establishing transportation 
conformity procedures in its SIP. EPA approved these procedures on 
March 2, 2015 (80 FR 11133). EPA is proposing to find that Ohio has 
satisfied the applicable requirements for the redesignation of the Lake 
County nonattainment area under section 110 and part D of title I of 
the CAA.

VI. Maintenance Plan

    CAA section 175A sets forth the elements of a maintenance plan for 
areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment. Under 
section 175A, the plan must demonstrate continued attainment of the 
applicable NAAQS for at least ten years after the nonattainment area is 
redesignated to attainment. Eight years after the redesignation, the 
State must submit a revised maintenance plan demonstrating that 
attainment will continue to be maintained for the ten years following 
the initial ten-year period. To address the possibility of future NAAQS 
violations, the maintenance plan must contain contingency measures as 
EPA deems necessary to assure prompt correction of any future one-hour 
violations. Specifically, the maintenance plan should address five 
requirements: The attainment emissions inventory, maintenance 
demonstration, monitoring, verification of continued attainment, and a 
contingency plan. Ohio's April 9, 2018 redesignation request contains 
its maintenance plan, which Ohio has committed to review eight years 
after redesignation.
    Ohio submitted an attainment emission inventory which addresses the 
2011 base year emissions of over 52,000 tpy and projections of future 
emissions, for point, area, and mobile sources. While the attainment 
date for Lake County was October 4, 2018, Ohio's April 9, 2018 
redesignation request chose 2016 as the attainment year for its 
maintenance plan emission inventory, because in 2016, significant 
SO2 emission reductions occurred at the Eastlake and 
Painesville plants, and 2016 was one of the years contributing to the 
2015-2017 design value which demonstrated Lake County's achievement of 
attainment of the SO2 NAAQS. The attainment year inventory 
included actual reductions due to the boiler retirements at the 
Eastlake plant and actual reductions at the Painesville plant (as it 
was approaching full required compliance with the plant's expected 
revised limits). Total SO2 emissions in Lake County for the 
attainment year were 483 tpy. Ohio projected emissions for an interim 
future year, 2023, and the maintenance year, 2030.
    Ohio projected that total SO2 emissions in Lake County 
in the applicable years would be 433 tpy. This large reduction in 
emissions since the base year is expected to be sufficient to maintain 
the SO2 standard in Lake County.
    Ohio's maintenance demonstration consists of the nonattainment SIP 
air quality analysis which demonstrated that the emission reductions 
now in effect in Lake County will provide for attainment of the NAAQS. 
The permanent and enforceable SO2 emission reductions 
described above ensure that Lake County emissions will be equal to or 
less than the emission levels which were evaluated in the air quality 
analysis, and Ohio's enforcement program will ensure that the Lake 
County SO2 emission limits are met continuously.
    For continuing verification, Ohio has committed to track the 
emissions and compliance status of the major facilities in Lake County 
so that future emissions will not exceed the attainment inventory. All 
major sources in Ohio are required to submit annual emissions data, 
which the state uses to update its emission inventories as required by 
the CAA. Ohio has also committed to continue ambient SO2 
monitoring in Lake County to verify attainment of the NAAQS.
    The requirement to submit contingency measures in accordance with 
section 172(c)(9) can be adequately addressed for SO2 by the 
operation of a comprehensive enforcement program which can quickly 
identify and address sources that might be causing exceedances of the 
NAAQS level. Ohio's enforcement program is active and capable of prompt 
action to remedy compliance issues or NAAQS exceedances. In particular, 
Ohio's April 9, 2018 redesignation request submittal discusses its two-
tiered plan to respond to increasing SO2 concentrations or 
new exceedances of the SO2 NAAQS in the maintenance area. 
Ohio commits to study SO2 emission trends and identify areas 
of concern and potential additional measures, particularly where an 
annual average 99th percentile maximum daily one-hour SO2 
concentration of 79 ppb or greater occurs. In the case of a two-year 
average of 76 ppb or greater occurring in the maintenance area, Ohio 
will assess the situation and consider additional control measures 
which can be implemented quickly. Ohio has the authority to 
expeditiously adopt, implement and enforce any subsequent emissions 
control measures deemed necessary to correct any future SO2 
violations. Ohio commits to adopt and implement such corrective actions 
as necessary to address trends of increasing emissions or ambient 
impacts. The public will have the opportunity to participate in the 
contingency measure implementation process. EPA proposes to find that 
Ohio has addressed the contingency measure requirement. Further, EPA 
proposes to find that Ohio's maintenance plan adequately addresses the 
five basic components necessary to maintain the SO2 standard 
in the Lake County nonattainment area.

VII. What action is EPA taking?

    In accordance with Ohio's April 9, 2018 request, EPA is proposing 
to redesignate the Lake County nonattainment area from nonattainment to 
attainment of the SO2 NAAQS. Ohio has demonstrated that the 
area is attaining the SO2 standard, and that the improvement 
in air quality is due to permanent and enforceable SO2 
emission reductions in the nonattainment area. EPA is also proposing to 
approve Ohio's maintenance plan, which is designed to ensure that the 
area will continue to maintain the SO2 standard.

VIII. 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.);

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     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).

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

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

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Environmental protection, Air pollution 
control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

    Dated: February 21, 2019.
Cheryl L Newton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2019-04160 Filed 3-7-19; 8:45 am]
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