[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 16, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33855-33858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15090]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0387; FRL-9996-72-Region 3]


Approval of the Redesignation Request for the Washington, DC-MD-
VA 2008 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
request from the District of Columbia (the District) to redesignate to 
attainment their respective portion of the Washington, DC-MD-VA 
nonattainment area (hereafter ``the Washington Area'' or ``the Area'') 
for the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS 
or standard) (also referred to as the ``2008 ozone NAAQS'') as the 
District's portion of the Area meets the statutory requirements for 
redesignation under the Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA is therefore 
redesignating the District of Columbia to attainment for the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS in accordance with the CAA.

DATES: This final rule is effective on August 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0387. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index,

[[Page 33856]]

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, Planning & 
Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-
2043. Ms. Calcinore can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On May 21, 2012 and June 11, 2012, EPA designated nonattainment 
areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. 77 FR 30088 and 77 FR 34221. Effective 
July 20, 2012, the Washington Area was designated as marginal 
nonattainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. At the time of its designation, 
the Washington Area consisted of the Counties of Calvert, Charles, 
Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George's in Maryland, the Counties of 
Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William and the Cities of 
Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park in 
Virginia, and the District of Columbia. See 40 CFR 81.309, 81.321, and 
81.347.\1\
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    \1\ On April 15, 2019 (84 FR 15108), EPA approved Maryland and 
Virginia's requests to redesignate to attainment their portions of 
the Washington Area from marginal nonattainment to attainment of the 
2008 ozone NAAQS.
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    Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA allows redesignation of an area to 
attainment of the NAAQS provided that: (1) The Administrator (EPA) 
determines that the area has attained the applicable NAAQS; (2) the 
Administrator has fully approved the applicable implementation plan for 
the area under section 110(k) of the CAA; (3) the Administrator 
determines that the improvement in air quality is due to permanent and 
enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from implementation of 
the applicable SIP, applicable Federal air pollutant control 
regulations, and other permanent and enforceable emission reductions; 
(4) the Administrator has fully approved a maintenance plan for the 
area as meeting the requirements of section 175A of the CAA; and (5) 
the State containing the area has met all requirements applicable to 
the area for purposes of redesignation under section 110 and part D of 
the CAA.\2\
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    \2\ The following EPA guidance documents are included in the 
docket for this rulemaking available online at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0387: ``Procedures 
for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' 
Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management 
Division, September 4, 1992 (the ``Calcagni memorandum'') and 
``State Implementation Plan (SIP) requirements for Areas Submitting 
Requests for Redesignation to Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon 
Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) On or 
After November 15, 1992,'' Memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, 
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, September 17, 
1993 (the ``Shapiro memorandum'').
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    On March 12, 2018, February 5, 2018, and January 3, 2018, the 
District, Maryland, and Virginia, respectively, formally submitted 
requests to redesignate their portions of the Washington Area from 
marginal nonattainment to attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. 
Concurrently, the District, Maryland, and Virginia formally submitted, 
as revisions to their respective SIPs, a joint maintenance plan for the 
Washington Area prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Council of 
Governments (MWCOG) that demonstrates maintenance of the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS through 2030 in the Washington Area. On April 15, 2019, EPA 
approved, as revisions to the District's, Maryland's, and Virginia's 
SIPs, the joint maintenance plan for the Washington Area. 84 FR 15108. 
In the April 15, 2019 action, EPA also approved Maryland and Virginia's 
requests to redesignate to attainment their portions of the Washington 
Area from marginal nonattainment to attainment of the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS.\3\ At the time, EPA did not approve the District's request to 
redesignate to attainment their portion of the Washington Area for the 
2008 ozone NAAQS.
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    \3\ EPA's April 15, 2019 action redesignated the following 
jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia to attainment for the 2008 
ozone NAAQS: The Counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, 
Montgomery, and Prince George's in Maryland as well as the Counties 
of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William and the Cities of 
Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park in 
Virginia.
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    On May 21, 2019 (84 FR 22996), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) for the District. In the NPRM, EPA proposed approval 
of the District's request to redesignate to attainment their portion of 
the Washington Area, pursuant to CAA section 107(d)(3).

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis

    EPA reviewed the District's redesignation request and found in the 
May 21, 2019 NPRM that the District's portion of the Washington Area 
has satisfied the CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) requirements for 
redesignation for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. EPA's rationale for this action 
can be found in the May 21, 2019 NPRM. EPA received one adverse comment 
regarding the proposal, and, as discussed below, we conclude that the 
air quality monitoring data supports a finding that the Washington area 
is attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS based on the 2015-2017 design value, 
and that preliminary data from 2016-2018 further supports that 
conclusion. Therefore, EPA is redesignating the District's portion of 
the Washington Area to attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

III. Public Comments and EPA Response

    EPA received one comment on the May 21, 2019 NPRM. The comment and 
EPA's response are discussed below. The comment is included in the 
docket for this action, available online at www.regulations.gov, Docket 
ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0387.
    Comment: On June 20, 2019, EPA received an anonymous comment on the 
May 21, 2019 NPRM. The commenter stated that EPA should not redesignate 
the Washington Area because ``this area has violated the ozone NAAQS 
for the 2008 year based on data from the Metropolitan Washington 
Council of Governments website''.\4\ The commenter stated that based on 
this data, the 2008 ozone NAAQS was violated five times in 2018 in 
Washington, DC. The commenter notes that although this data is 
preliminary, EPA should have access to data that is ``quality assured 
and reviewed that is not yet final.'' The commenter requests that EPA 
review the air quality data for 2018 and ensure the ``air quality is 
clean for the 2008 standard based on the most recent available air 
quality data including the 2018 year.''
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    \4\ The commenter included the following link in their comment, 
which provides daily air quality data for the Washington Area: 
https://www.mwcog.org/environment/planning-areas/air-quality/air-quality-data/.
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    EPA Response: The commenter misunderstands the 2018 air quality 
monitoring data cited in their comment, and how to interpret that data 
in the context of whether an area is attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS. As 
discussed in the May 21, 2019 NPRM, on November 14, 2017 (82 FR 52651), 
EPA

[[Page 33857]]

determined that the entire Washington Area attained the 2008 NAAQS by 
the July 20, 2016 attainment date. EPA has also reviewed the most 
recent ambient air quality monitoring data for ozone in the Washington 
Area and finds that the Washington Area continues to attain the 2018 
ozone NAAQS. The data cited by the commenter does not demonstrate a 
violation of the 2008 NAAQS. Therefore, as explained below, EPA 
correctly concluded in the May 21, 2019 NPRM that the District 
satisfies the CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(i) requirement for redesignation 
to attainment under the 2008 ozone NAAQS, and the data cited by the 
commenter does not change that conclusion.
    The air quality data cited by the commenter indicates the daily 
maximum 8-hour concentrations of ozone recorded at air quality monitors 
located in the Washington Area. Compliance with the 2008 ozone NAAQS is 
not determined by whether an area's daily maximum concentrations exceed 
the level of the NAAQS, but rather is determined by whether an area's 
``design value'' statistic meets the NAAQS. For the 2008 ozone NAAQS, 
the design value for an air quality monitor is determined by 
calculating the three-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily 
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations recorded at that monitor. 
See 40 CFR 50.15(b). An area's design value is based on the monitor in 
the area which records the highest design value over the three-year 
period. As discussed in the May 21, 2019 NPRM, an area ``attains'' the 
2008 ozone NAAQS if the area's design value is below 0.075 ppm. The 
final 2015-2017 design values and preliminary 2016-2018 design values, 
included in Table 1 of the May 21, 2019 NPRM, are below the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS. See 84 FR 22998. As can be seen in Table 1 of the May 21, 2019 
NPRM, the highest 2015-2017 design value in the Washington Area is 
0.071 ppm and the highest preliminary 2016-2018 design value in the 
Washington Area is 0.072 ppm, both of which are below the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS. The data cited by the commenter therefore do not show that the 
Washington Area has violated the 2008 ozone NAAQS, and we are 
finalizing the finding that the Washington area has satisfied the CAA 
section 107(d)(3)(E)(i) requirement for redesignation to attainment 
under the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
    In response to the commenter's request that EPA consider air 
quality data for 2018, EPA did evaluate preliminary 2018 ambient air 
quality monitoring data for ozone in the Washington Area and included 
this data in the May 21, 2019 NPRM and the docket for the rulemaking 
action available online at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-
R03-OAR-2018-0387. Therefore, EPA's determination that the Washington 
Area continues to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS is based on the most 
recent ambient air quality data for ozone in the Washington Area, 
including preliminary 2016-2018 design values.

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving the District of Columbia's request to redesignate 
the District's portion of the Washington, DC-MD-VA area to attainment 
for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the 
accompanying approval of the maintenance plan under CAA section 
107(d)(3)(E) are actions that affect the status of geographical area 
and do not impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources 
beyond those required by state law. A redesignation to attainment does 
not in and of itself impose any new requirements, but rather results in 
the application of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that 
have been redesignated to attainment. 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 regulatory action because 
this action is not significant 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 September 16, 2019. 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

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redesignating to attainment the District's portion of the Washington 
Area for the 2008 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 81

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

    Dated: July 5, 2019.
 Diana Esher,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    40 CFR part 81 is amended as follows:

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. In Sec.  81.309, the table ``District of Columbia--2008 8-Hour Ozone 
NAAQS [Primary and secondary]'' is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  81.309  District of Columbia.

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                                  District of Columbia--2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
                                             [Primary and secondary]
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                                                Designation                            Classification
        Designated area        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Date                  Type               Date               Type
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Washington, DC-MD-VA: District  July 16, 2019.......  Attainment..........
 of Columbia \1\.
 
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\1\ Excludes Indian country located in each area, unless otherwise noted.

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[FR Doc. 2019-15090 Filed 7-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P