[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 95 (Thursday, May 16, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22101-22103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10189]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R07-OAR-2019-0190; FRL-9993-27-Region 7]


Approval of Missouri Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Redesignation of the Missouri Portion of the St. Louis-St. Charles-
Farmington, MO-IL 2012 PM2.5 Unclassifiable Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a request from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources 
(MoDNR) to redesignate the Missouri portion of the St. Louis-St. 
Charles-Farmington, MO-IL fine particulate matter (PM2.5) 
unclassifiable area (``St. Louis area'' or ``area'') to unclassifiable/
attainment for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The 
Missouri portion of the St. Louis area comprises of the City of St. 
Louis and the counties of Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. 
Louis. The EPA now has sufficient data to determine that the St. Louis 
area is in attainment of the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. Therefore, 
EPA is proposing to approve the state's December 11, 2018 request, and 
redesignate the area to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 
PM2.5 NAAQS based upon valid, quality-assured, and certified 
ambient air monitoring data showing that the PM2.5 monitors 
in the area are in compliance with the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. The 
EPA will address the Illinois portion of the St. Louis area in a 
separate rulemaking action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 17, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2019-0190, to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received will be posted without 
change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Written 
Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lachala Kemp, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 11201 Renner Boulevard, 
Lenexa, Kansas 66219 at (913) 551-7214, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Written Comments
II. What is being addressed in this document?
III. Background Information
IV. What are the criteria for redesignating an area from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment?
V. What is the EPA's rationale for proposing to redesignate the 
area?
VI. Proposed Action
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2019-
0190, at https://www.regulations.gov. 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

II. What is being addressed in this document?

    The EPA is proposing to approve MoDNR's request to change the 
designation of the Missouri portion of the St. Louis area from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 
PM2.5 NAAQS, based on quality-assured and certified 
monitoring data for 2015-2017, and proposing to approve that the 
Missouri portion of the St. Louis area has met the requirements for 
redesignation under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA.

III. Background Information

    The Clean Air Act (CAA) establishes a process for air quality 
management through the establishment and implementation of the NAAQS. 
Upon promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, section 107(d)(1)of the 
CAA requires EPA to designate areas as attainment, nonattainment, or 
unclassifiable. On December 14, 2012, the EPA promulgated a revised 
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS to provide increased protection 
of public health and welfare from fine particle pollution (78 FR 3086, 
January 15, 2013). In that action, the EPA revised the primary annual 
PM2.5 standard, strengthening it from 15.0 micrograms per 
cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) to 12.0 ([mu]g/m\3\), which is attained when 
the three-year average of the annual arithmetic means does not exceed 
12.0 ([mu]g/m\3\). The EPA

[[Page 22102]]

established the standard based on significant evidence and numerous 
health studies demonstrating that serious health effects are associated 
with exposures to 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 
December 18, 2014, the EPA designated the majority of areas across the 
country as nonattainment, unclassifiable/attainment, or unclassifiable 
\1\ for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based upon air quality 
monitoring data from monitors for calendar years 2011-2013. See 80 FR 
2206 (January 15, 2015).
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    \1\ For the initial PM area designations in 2014 (for the 2012 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS), EPA used a designation category of 
``unclassifiable/attainment'' for areas that had monitors showing 
attainment of the standard and were not contributing to nearby 
violations and for areas that did not have monitors but for which 
EPA had reason to believe were likely attaining the standard and not 
contributing to nearby violations. EPA used the category 
``unclassifiable'' for areas in which EPA could not determine, based 
upon available information, whether or not the NAAQS was being met 
and/or EPA had not determined the area to be contributing to nearby 
violations. EPA reserves the ``attainment'' category for when EPA 
redesignates a nonattainment area that has attained the relevant 
NAAQS and has an approved maintenance plan.
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    The EPA initially designated the bi-state St. Louis area as 
unclassifiable based on ambient air quality data from 2011-2013. During 
that time period, the EPA identified data completeness issues with the 
ambient PM2.5 monitoring data in the state of Illinois. 
Although all monitors in Missouri were attaining the standard at the 
time of the initial designations, the lack of complete monitoring data 
in Illinois prevented EPA from being able to determine whether 
violations of the standard were occurring in the Illinois portion of 
the St.Louis area or whether emission sources in Missouri were 
contributing to any violations in Illinois. Therefore, the EPA 
designated the entire St. Louis MO-IL area as unclassifiable for the 
2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.

IV. What are the criteria for redesignating 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).\2\ In keeping with 
section 107(d)(1)(A), areas that are redesignated to unclassifiable/
attainment must meet the requirements for attainment areas and thus 
must meet the relevant NAAQS. In addition, the area must not contribute 
to ambient air quality in a nearby area that does not meet the 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 redesignation request is based.\3\
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    \2\ While CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) also lists specific 
requirements for redesignations, those requirements only apply to 
redesignations of nonattainment areas to attainment and therefore 
are not applicable in the context of a redesignation of an area from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment.
    \3\ See ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate 
Areas to Attainment'', Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air 
Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992 (the ``Calcagni 
Memorandum'').
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V. What is the EPA's rationale for proposing to redesignate the area?

    To redesignate the area from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS, the 
three-year average of the annual arimethic means does not exceed 12.0 
([mu]g/m\3\) at all monitoring sites in the area over the full three-
year period, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR 50.18 and appendix 
N of part 50. The EPA reviewed PM2.5 monitoring data from 
the monitors in the St. Louis area for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS 
for the three-year period from 2015-2017. As summarized in table 1, the 
design values for the monitors in the area for the 2015-2017 are below 
the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. These data have been quality-assured, 
certified, and recorded in AQS by Missouri and Illinois, and the 
monitoring location has not changed during the monitoring period.

                                Table 1--Annual PM2.5 Design Values for the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL Area
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                                                                                                           Annual design values ([mu]g/
                                                                                                                      m\3\)                 2015- 2017
                State                           County                  Monitor            AQS site ID  ---------------------------------  Design value
                                                                                                            2015       2016       2017
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Missouri.............................  St. Louis City.........  Blair Street (FRM).....     29-510-0085       10.4        8.5        7.9             8.9
Missouri.............................  St. Louis City.........  South Broadway.........     29-510-0007       11.1        8.1        7.8             9.0
Missouri.............................  Jefferson..............  Arnold West............     29-099-0019       11.6        8.3        8.2             9.3
Missouri.............................  St. Louis County.......  Ladue..................     29-189-3001       10.3        8.7        9.4             9.5
Missouri.............................  St. Louis City.........  Forest Park............     29-510-0094        9.2        8.7        8.3             8.7
Illinois.............................  Madison................  Alton..................     17-119-2009        9.0        8.8        8.7             8.8
Illinois.............................  Madison................  Wood River.............     17-119-3007        9.1        8.7        8.3             8.7
Illinois.............................  Madison................  Granite City...........     17-119-1007       10.4        9.1        9.6             9.7
Illinois.............................  St. Clair..............  East St. Louis.........     17-163-0010       10.7       10.0        8.8             9.8
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    The EPA is proposing to redesignate the Missouri portion of the St. 
Louis area from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment because the 
three-year design value meets the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 
NAAQS.

VI. Proposed Action

    The EPA is proposing to approve the MoDNR's December 11, 2018, 
request to redesignate the Missouri's portion of the St. Louis area 
from unclassifiable to

[[Page 22103]]

unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 
NAAQS. If finalized, approval of the redesignation request would change 
the legal designation, found at 40 CFR part 81, of the City of St. 
Louis and the counties of Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. 
Louis from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, a redesignation of an area to unclassifiable/
attainment is an action that affects the status of a geographical area 
and does not impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources 
beyond those imposed by state law. A redesignation to unclassifiable/
attainment does not create any new requirements. Accordingly, this 
action merely proposes to redesignate an area to unclassifiable/
attainment and does not impose additional requirements. For that 
reason, 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 the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not 
involve technical standards; 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).
    This proposed action 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 proposed 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 in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control.

    Dated: May 8, 2019.
Edward H. Chu,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA proposes to amend 
40 CFR part 81 as set forth below:

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

0
2. Section 81.326 is amended by revising the entry for ``St. Louis 
Area, MO-IL'' in the table entitled ``Missouri--2012 Annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.326  Missouri.

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                                        Missouri--2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
                                                    [Primary]
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                                                       Designation                        Classification
          Designated area \1\          -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Date \2\               Type            Date \2\          Type
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St. Louis Area MO-IL:
    Franklin County...................  [Date of             Unclassifiable/
                                         publication of the   Attainment.
                                         final rule in the
                                         Federal Register],
                                         [Federal Register
                                         citation of the
                                         final rule].
    Jefferson County..................  [Date of             Unclassifiable/
                                         publication of the   Attainmant.
                                         final rule in the
                                         Federal Register],
                                         [Federal Register
                                         citation of the
                                         final rule].
    St. Charles County................  [Date of             Unclassifiable/
                                         publication of the   Attainmant.
                                         final rule in the
                                         Federal Register],
                                         [Federal Register
                                         citation of the
                                         final rule].
    St. Louis County..................  [Date of             Unclassifiable/
                                         publication of the   Attainmant.
                                         final rule in the
                                         Federal Register],
                                         [Federal Register
                                         citation of the
                                         final rule].
    St. Louis City....................  [Date of             Unclassifiable/
                                         publication of the   Attainmant.
                                         final rule in the
                                         Federal Register],
                                         [Federal Register
                                         citation of the
                                         final rule].
 
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\1\ Includes areas of Indian country located in each county or area, except as otherwise specified.
\2\ This date is April 15, 2015, unless otherwise noted.

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[FR Doc. 2019-10189 Filed 5-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P