[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 2, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54517-54523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17548]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0292; FRL-10013-35-OAR]
Redesignation of Certain Unclassifiable Areas for the 2010 1-Hour
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
redesignate certain unclassifiable areas designated during the EPA's
Round 2 air quality designations for the 2010 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide
(SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).
Specifically, the EPA believes that it now has sufficient information
to determine that certain unclassifiable areas in Missouri, Nebraska,
Ohio, and Texas are attaining the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary
NAAQS, and, therefore, is proposing to redesignate these areas to
attainment/unclassifiable for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary
NAAQS.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 2, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2020-00292, at http://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 our 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://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket Center and Reading
Room for public visitors, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk
of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to
provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. We
encourage the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ as there may be a delay in processing mail and
faxes. Hand deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled
appointment only. For further information and updates on the EPA Docket
Center services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
Send information identified as CBI only to the following address:
Tiffany Purifoy, OAQPS Document Control Officer, U.S. EPA, Office of
Air Quality Planning and Standards, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Mail Code
C404-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2020-0292. There will be a delay in confirming receipt of CBI
packages, because the EPA-RTP office is closed to reduce the risk of
transmitting COVID-19. Due to the office closure, the EPA is also
requesting that parties notify the OAQPS Document Control Officer via
telephone at (919) 541-0878 or email at [email protected] when
mailing information identified as CBI.
The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this
action, please contact Ashley Keas, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, C539-04, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27709, by email at [email protected], or Gobeail
McKinley, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Air
Quality Policy Division, C539-04, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, by
email at [email protected]. The following EPA contacts can
answer questions regarding areas in a particular EPA Regional office:
U.S. EPA Regional Office Contacts
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Regional office Affected state Contact Telephone Email
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Region V........................ Ohio............... Mary Portanova.... (312) 353-5954 [email protected].
Region VI....................... Texas.............. Robert Imhoff..... (214) 665-7262 [email protected].
Region VII...................... Missouri, Nebraska. Will Stone........ (913) 551-7714 [email protected].
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The information can also be reviewed online at https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations and also in the public docket for these
SO2 redesignations at https://www.regulations.gov under
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0292.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' means the EPA.
I. Background
The Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) establishes a process for air
quality management through the establishment and implementation of the
NAAQS.
[[Page 54518]]
After the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, the EPA is required
to designate all areas of the country, pursuant to section 107(d)(1)-
(2) of the CAA. For the 2010 SO2 primary NAAQS, designations
are based on the EPA's application of the nationwide analytical
approach to, and technical assessment of, the weight of evidence for
each area, including but not limited to available air quality
monitoring data and air quality modeling results. In advance of
designating the areas that are the subject of this proposed
redesignation, the EPA issued updated designations guidance through a
March 20, 2015, memorandum from Stephen D. Page, Director, U.S. EPA,
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, to Air Division
Directors, U.S. EPA Regions 1-10 titled, ``Updated Guidance for Area
Designations for the 2010 Primary Sulfur Dioxide National Ambient Air
Quality Standard,'' which contains the factors the EPA evaluated in
determining the appropriate designations and associated boundaries,
including: (1) Air quality characterization via ambient monitoring or
dispersion modeling results; (2) emissions-related data; (3)
meteorology; (4) geography and topography; and (5) jurisdictional
boundaries. The guidance also references the EPA's non-binding
Monitoring Technical Assistance Document (Monitoring TAD) that existed
at that time.\1\
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\1\ The version of the EPA's ``SO2 NAAQS Designations
Source-Oriented Monitoring Technical Assistance Document''
(Monitoring TAD) available at the time of the Round 2 designations
action was released in December 2013. The current version of the
Monitoring TAD was released in February 2016 and superseded the
version released in December 2013.
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The EPA completed the first set of initial area designations for
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS in 2013 (Round 1). Pursuant to a
March 2, 2015, consent decree and court-ordered schedule, the EPA
finalized a second set of initial area designations for the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS in 2016 (Round 2). The March 2, 2015, consent
decree identified the following emissions criteria such that the EPA
must designate, in Round 2, an area surrounding any stationary source
which had (a) annual emissions in 2012 exceeding 16,000 tons of
SO2, or (b) both an annual average emissions rate of at
least 0.45 pounds of SO2 per one million British thermal
units (lbs SO2/mmBTU), according to the EPA's Clean Air
Markets Division Database, and annual emissions of at least 2,600 tons
of SO2 in 2012. Areas in Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and
Texas, each contained one source that met these Round 2 criteria. The
EPA evaluated each area, using the five factors identified previously,
during the Round 2 designations. Specifically, as discussed further in
Section III of this document, the Franklin County area in Missouri
contains the Labadie Energy Center; the Lancaster County area in
Nebraska contains Sheldon Station; the Gallia County area in Ohio
contains the Gavin Plant; and the Milam County area in Texas contains
the Sandow Plant.
The March 20, 2015, guidance also specified the designation
category definitions to be used in the Round 2 designations.
Specifically, the EPA defined: A ``nonattainment'' area as an area that
the EPA has determined violates the 2010 SO2 NAAQS based on
the most recent 3 years of ambient air quality monitoring data or an
appropriate modeling analysis, or that the EPA has determined
contributes to a violation in a nearby area; an ``attainment'' area as
an area that the EPA has determined meets the 2010 SO2 NAAQS
and does not contribute to a violation of the NAAQS in a nearby area
based on either: (a) the most recent 3 years of ambient air quality
monitoring data from a monitoring network in an area that is sufficient
to be compared to the NAAQS per the EPA interpretations in the
Monitoring TAD, or (b) an appropriate modeling analysis. As discussed
further in Section III of this document, the EPA was unable to
determine whether the areas in Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas that
are the subject of this action, met the definition of a nonattainment
area or the definition of an attainment area based on the available
information at the time of the Round 2 designations. As a result, the
EPA designated each of these four areas as unclassifiable in the Round
2 designations published on July 12, 2016, and December 13, 2016.\2\
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\2\ See actions published on July 12, 2016 (81 FR 45039) and
December 13, 2016 (81 FR 89870).
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Detailed rationale, analyses, and other information supporting our
initial designation for these four areas can be found in the intended
and final Round 2 designations' technical support documents for
Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas, respectively. These Round 2
documents, along with all other supporting materials for the initial
2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS designations for these areas,
can be found on the EPA's SO2 designations website.\3\
Specific technical support documents (TSDs) for the covered states are
referenced and linked in later sections of this notice.
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\3\ https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations.
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II. What are the criteria for redesignating an area from unclassifiable
to attainment/unclassifiable?
CAA 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.'' \4\ The Act 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. In keeping with CAA section 107(d)(3)(A), areas that are
redesignated to attainment/unclassifiable \5\ 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. See the definitions for
nonattainment area, attainment area, and unclassifiable area in CAA
section 107(d)(1)(A)(i)-(iii).
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\4\ 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 attainment/unclassifiable.
\5\ Historically, the EPA has designated most areas that do not
meet the definition of nonattainment as ``unclassifiable/
attainment.'' The EPA has reversed the order of the label to be
``attainment/unclassifiable'' to better convey the definition of the
designation category and so that the category is more easily
distinguished from the separate unclassifiable category. See 83 FR
1098 (January 9, 2018) and 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018). The EPA
reserves the ``attainment'' category for when the EPA redesignates a
nonattainment area that has attained the relevant NAAQS and has an
approved maintenance plan.
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In its designations under the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, the EPA
has generally defined an attainment/unclassifiable area as an area that
meets the NAAQS and does not contribute to ambient air quality in a
nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. We are proposing to find that
these specific areas now meet this definition of attainment/
unclassifiable based on the available valid monitoring data in each
area that demonstrates attainment, i.e., no violations of and not
contributing to a nearby area that is not meeting the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS. The EPA finds this information sufficient for the
purposes of redesignating an area from unclassifiable to attainment/
unclassifiable, similar to initial
[[Page 54519]]
designations, where the inquiry is also whether the area is factually
attaining the NAAQS, based on actual and current air quality data. Such
redesignations are functionally similar to initial designations and are
not subject to CAA section 107(d)(3)(E), which, amongst other things,
requires attainment to be due to permanent and enforceable measures and
which requires a demonstration that the area will maintain the NAAQS
for 10 years.
For the areas in Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas, those states have
submitted formal requests \6\ to the EPA to redesignate those areas
from unclassifiable to attainment/unclassifiable.\7\ Therefore, the EPA
is proposing in this action to approve those requests and redesignate
the areas based on the available monitoring data in those areas. For
the area in Missouri, for which the EPA has not received a formal
request to redesignate the area, the EPA is concurrently notifying the
Governor of its recommendation that the area be redesignated to
attainment/unclassifiable per CAA section 107(d)(3)(A), based on the
currently available information that demonstrates attainment of the
2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.\8\ The EPA is issuing this proposal
concurrently with notification to the state in anticipation of the
statutory timeframe provided under CAA section 107(d)(3)(B) and (C).
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\6\ These redesignation requests are included in the docket for
this action.
\7\ Ohio's April 27, 2020, letter requested that the Gallia
County area be designated attainment/unclassifiable as part of the
EPA's Round 4 designation process. As the Gallia County area was
already designated unclassifiable in Round 2, the EPA is treating
Ohio's April 27, 2020, letter as a redesignation request pursuant to
CAA section 107(d)(3)(D).
\8\ On June 26, 2020, the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources posted a redesignation request for the Franklin County
area on its website for public comment as part of the state's public
process. Missouri expects to submit the request to the EPA in the
coming months.
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III. What is the EPA's rationale for proposing to redesignate these
areas?
As previously mentioned, the EPA designated each of these areas as
unclassifiable in the Round 2 designations published on July 12, 2016
(intended designations) and December 13, 2016 (final designations). As
discussed in this section, information available for each of these
areas at the time of the Round 2 designations was inconclusive and
therefore the EPA was unable to make a determination of the area's
attainment status. For each of these areas, the states selected the
monitoring pathway for purposes of air quality characterization
pursuant to the EPA's SO2 Data Requirements Rule (DRR) (80
FR 51052, August 21, 2015). For each of these areas, the state either
identified existing SO2 monitors and/or installed and began
operating new monitors in accordance with the DRR.\9\ These monitors
now have complete 3-year design values for the 2017-2019 period.
Specifically, each area now has at least one monitor with a complete,
valid 3-year design value that is attaining the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS.
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\9\ Analyses used to support the siting of these monitors are
discussed in each state's 2016 or 2017 annual monitoring network
plans.
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A. Franklin and St. Charles Counties, Missouri
The Franklin County area contains a stationary source, the Ameren
Labadie Energy Center (Labadie), that met the Round 2 criteria,
discussed in Section I of this document, requiring the EPA to designate
this area in 2016, under the March 2, 2015, court-ordered schedule. In
its September 25, 2015, submission, regarding the second round of
designations, Missouri recommended that the area surrounding Labadie be
designated as unclassifiable. After review of all available information
at that time, including modeling provided by the state, Ameren, and
Sierra Club with differing results and uncertainties, the EPA was
unable to determine the area's attainment status. Therefore, the EPA
designated portions of Franklin and St. Charles Counties as
unclassifiable in Round 2 of designations for the 2010 1-hour
SO2 primary NAAQS.10 11
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\10\ For more information on the EPA's Round 2 designations,
see: https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations For the intended and final
TSDs specific to Missouri, see: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/mo-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-07/documents/r7_mo_final_designation_tsd_07012016.pdf.
\11\ On September 8, 2016, Sierra Club submitted a petition for
reconsideration of the final unclassifiable designation of the
Franklin County area. In a January 18, 2017, letter, the EPA
responded to Sierra Club's petition for reconsideration, stating
that the EPA intended to initiate a new rulemaking process to be
concluded by December 31, 2020, in which the Agency would evaluate
the monitoring data for the area anticipated to be newly available
at that time. Sierra Club also filed a petition for judicial review
of the Round 2 designations that included this area; that litigation
is currently in abeyance in the D.C. Circuit. Finalizing this
proposed action would constitute the evaluation contemplated by the
EPA's January 18, 2017, letter. This letter is available on our
website here: https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/reconsideration-requests-areas-illinois-missouri-and-ohio.
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Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air
quality in the area around Labadie, Missouri identified existing
monitors and installed additional monitors around Labadie and began
collecting data at these monitors by January 1, 2017.\12\
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\12\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor
placement are contained in the state's 2016 annual monitoring
network plan.
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As part of this proposed action, the EPA considered design values
for air quality monitors in Franklin and St. Charles Counties, in the
Labadie area, by assessing the most recent 3 consecutive years (i.e.,
2017-2019) of quality-assured, certified ambient air quality data in
the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) using data from Federal Reference
Method (FRM) and Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) monitors that are
sited and operated in accordance with 40 CFR parts 50 and 58.\13\
Procedures for using monitored air quality data to determine whether a
violation has occurred are given in 40 CFR part 50 Appendix T, as
revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS rulemaking. The 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS is met when the design value is 75 parts per
billion (ppb) or less. Whenever several monitors are located in an
area, the design value for the area is determined by the monitor with
the highest valid design value. Table 1 contains the 2017-2019 design
values for the monitors in this area. The monitor with the highest
design value is the North site (Site ID: 29-183-9004). Although one of
the monitors in this area, the Valley site (Site ID: 29-071-9001), does
not have a valid design value for this period, the remaining three
monitors all have valid design values and are all attaining the NAAQS.
Therefore, data collected at these monitors indicate that this area is
in attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.
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\13\ SO2 air quality data are available from the
EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data.
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.
[[Page 54520]]
Table 1--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Values for the Franklin County Area
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2017 99th 2018 99th 2019 99th 2017-2019
AQS site ID Monitor location percentile percentile percentile design value
(latitude, longitude) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb)
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29-071-9001 *............ Valley (38.572522, - 25 38 21 28
90.796911).
29-071-9002.............. Southwest (38.52814, - 22 20 30 24
90.86326).
29-183-9002.............. Northwest (38.581799, 21 17 19 19
-90.865528).
29-183-9004.............. North (38.595607, - 30 22 36 29
90.830618).
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* This monitor does not have a valid design value, but all remaining monitors in the area do have valid design
values that are below the level of the NAAQS.
Under the EPA's authority to undertake a redesignation action \14\
under CAA section 107(d)(3)(A), and reviewing all available
information, we are proposing to find that the 3 years of monitored
ambient SO2 data from the existing and new monitors
adequately characterize the SO2 air quality in Franklin and
St. Charles Counties and demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS in the same area. Specifically, the data from
these monitors indicate there are no violations in this area.
Additionally, there is no evidence of monitored or modeled violations
in the surrounding counties \15\ such that the source is not
contributing to any nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. The EPA
is, therefore, proposing to redesignate the portions of Franklin and
St. Charles Counties in Missouri that were designated as unclassifiable
in July 2016, to attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently
available information that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS.
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\14\ On June 26, 2020, the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources posted a redesignation request for the Franklin County
area on its website for public comment as part of the state's public
process. Missouri expects to submit the request to the EPA in the
coming months.
\15\ While a portion of neighboring Jefferson County is
currently designated as nonattainment for the 2010 SO2
NAAQS, the EPA determined in a final action published on September
13, 2017, that this area is now attaining the NAAQS per the EPA's
clean data policy. See 82 FR 42945.
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B. Lancaster County, Nebraska
The Lancaster County area contains a stationary source, the
Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD) Sheldon Station (Sheldon), that
met the Round 2 criteria, discussed in Section I of this document,
requiring the EPA to designate this area in 2016, under the March 2,
2015, court-ordered schedule. In its September 18, 2015, submission
regarding the second round of designations, Nebraska recommended that
the area surrounding Sheldon be designated as unclassifiable. After
review of all available information at that time, including modeling
results from the state and Sierra Club with differing results and
uncertainties, the EPA was unable to determine the area's attainment
status and designated Lancaster County as unclassifiable in Round 2 of
designations for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS.\16\
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\16\ For more information on the EPA's Round 2 designations, see
https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations. For the intended and final
TSDs specific to Nebraska, see https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/ne-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-07/documents/r7_ne_final_designation_tsd_06302016.pdf.
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Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air
quality in the area around Sheldon, Nebraska installed a new monitor
near the source to begin collecting data at this monitor by January 1,
2017.\17\
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\17\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor
placement are contained in the state's 2016 annual monitoring
network plan.
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On May 6, 2020, Nebraska submitted a letter \18\ to the EPA
requesting that the entirety of Lancaster County, containing Sheldon
Station, be redesignated to attainment/unclassifiable based on the
newly available monitoring information, which demonstrates attainment
of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. To evaluate Nebraska's
redesignation request, the EPA considered the design value for the air
quality monitor in Lancaster County, in the Sheldon area, by assessing
the most recent 3 consecutive years (i.e., 2017-2019) of quality-
assured, certified ambient air quality data in the EPA AQS using data
from FRM and FEM monitors that are sited and operated in accordance
with 40 CFR parts 50 and 58.\19\ Procedures for using monitored air
quality data to determine whether a violation has occurred are given in
40 CFR part 50 Appendix T, as revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS
rulemaking. As noted previously, the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS
is met when the design value is 75 ppb or less. Table 2 contains the
2017-2019 design value for this area. Data collected at this monitor
indicate that this area is in attainment of the NAAQS.
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\18\ This letter is included in the docket for this action.
\19\ SO2 air quality data are available from the
EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data.
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.
Table 2--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Value for the Lancaster County Area
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2017 99th 2018 99th 2019 99th 2017-2019
AQS site ID Monitor location percentile percentile percentile design value
(latitude, longitude) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb)
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31-109-0025.............. SW 42nd Street 44 10 33 29
(40.554760, -
96.780350).
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After reviewing Nebraska's request under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D)
and all available information, we are proposing to find that the 3
years of monitored ambient SO2 data from the new monitor
adequately characterize the SO2 air quality in Lancaster
County and demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2
NAAQS in the same area. Specifically, the data from this monitor
indicate there are no violations in this area. Additionally, there is
no evidence of monitored or modeled violations in the surrounding
counties such that the source is not contributing to any nearby
[[Page 54521]]
area that does not meet the NAAQS. The EPA is therefore proposing to
approve Nebraska's redesignation request and proposing to redesignate
the entirety of Lancaster County that was designated as unclassifiable
in July 2016, to attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently
available information that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS.
C. Gallia and Meigs Counties, Ohio
The Gallia County area contains a stationary source, the General
James M. Gavin power plant (Gavin plant), that met the Round 2
criteria, discussed in Section I of this document, requiring the EPA to
designate this area in 2016, under the March 2, 2015, court-ordered
schedule. In its September 16, 2015, submission, regarding the second
round of designations, Ohio recommended that the area surrounding the
Gavin plant be designated as attainment based on a modeling
demonstration. After review of all available information at that time,
including modeling provided by both the state and Sierra Club with
differing results and uncertainties, the EPA was unable to determine
the area's attainment status. Therefore, the EPA designated the
entirety of Gallia County and a portion of Meigs County as
unclassifiable in Round 2 of the designations for the 2010 1-hour
SO2 primary NAAQS.20 21
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\20\ For more information on EPA's Round 2 designations, see
https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations For the intended and final
TSDs specific to Ohio, see https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/oh-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-07/documents/r5_oh_final_designation_tsd_06302016.pdf.
\21\ On January 6, 2017, Sierra Club submitted a petition for
reconsideration of the final unclassifiable designation of the
Gallia County area. In a January 18, 2017, letter, the EPA responded
to Sierra Club's petition for reconsideration, stating that the EPA
intended to initiate a new rulemaking process to be concluded by
December 31, 2020, in which the Agency would evaluate the monitoring
data for the area anticipated to be newly available at that time.
Finalizing this proposed action would constitute the evaluation
contemplated by the EPA's January 18, 2017, letter. This letter is
available on our website https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/reconsideration-requests-areas-illinois-missouri-and-ohio.
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Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air
quality in the area around the Gavin plant and another nearby power
plant,\22\ Ohio installed four monitors in Gallia County, Ohio and
Mason County, West Virginia, to begin collecting data at these monitors
by January 1, 2017.\23\
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\22\ Kyger Creek Station is approximately 2.5 kilometers
southwest of the Gavin plant and was also a source required to be
characterized under the EPA's SO2 Data Requirements Rule.
\23\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor
placement are contained in the state's 2016 and 2017 annual
monitoring network plans.
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On April 27, 2020, Ohio submitted a letter \24\ to the EPA
requesting that the entirety of Gallia County and the unclassifiable
portion of Meigs County be redesignated to attainment/unclassifiable
based on monitoring information demonstrating attainment. To evaluate
Ohio's redesignation request, the EPA considered the design values for
the air quality monitors in Gallia County, Ohio and Mason County, West
Virginia, in the Gallia County area, by assessing the most recent 3
consecutive years (i.e., 2017-2019) of quality-assured, certified
ambient air quality data in the EPA AQS using data from FRM and FEM
monitors that are sited and operated in accordance with 40 CFR parts 50
and 58.\25\ Procedures for using monitored air quality data to
determine whether a violation has occurred are given in 40 CFR part 50
Appendix T, as revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS rulemaking.
Whenever multiple monitors are located in an area, the design value for
the area is determined by the monitor with the highest valid design
value. Table 3 contains the 2017-2019 design values for the Gallia
County area. Data collected at these monitors indicate that this area
attains the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS set at 75 ppb.
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\24\ This letter is included in the docket for this action. As
discussed in Section II of this document, the EPA is treating Ohio's
April 27, 2020, letter as a request for redesignation under CAA
section 107(d)(3)(D).
\25\ SO2 air quality data are available from EPA's
website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data.
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.
Table 3--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Values for the Gallia County Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 99th 2018 99th 2019 99th 2017-2019
AQS site ID Monitor location percentile percentile percentile design value
(latitude, longitude) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39-053-0005.............. Ridge monitor 583 34 38 54 42
Honeysuckle Dr.
(38.89495, -
82.14893).
39-053-0004.............. Cheshire school 27 41 54 41
monitor Watson Grove
Rd. (38.95018, -
82.12211).
39-053-0006.............. Guiding Hand monitor 38 28 54 40
323 SR 7 North
(38.949450, -
82.110400).
54-053-0001.............. Lakin monitor Mason 35 57 61 51
County, WV
(38.95649, -
82.08866).
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After reviewing Ohio's request under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D) and
all available information, we are proposing to find that the 3 years of
monitored ambient SO2 data from the four new monitors
adequately characterize the SO2 air quality in Gallia and
Meigs Counties and demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS in the same area. Specifically, the data from
these monitors indicate there are no violations in this area.
Additionally, there is no evidence of monitored or modeled violations
in the surrounding counties such that the source is not contributing to
any nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. The EPA is therefore
proposing to approve Ohio's redesignation request and proposing to
redesignate the entirety of Gallia County and the portion of Meigs
County, that were designated as unclassifiable in July 2016, to
attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently available information
that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.
D. Milam County, Texas
The Milam County area contains a stationary source, the Luminant
Generation Company's Sandow 5 Generating Plant (Sandow plant), that met
the Round 2 criteria, discussed in Section I of this document,
requiring the EPA to designate this area in 2016, under the March 2,
2015, court-ordered schedule. In its September 18, 2015, submission,
regarding Round 2 of designations, Texas noted that it was not able to
model all the sources impacted in that round of designations and
therefore did not provide a technical analysis for the Milam County
area nor did the state provide an updated recommendation for this area
[[Page 54522]]
but rather reiterated its previous recommendation for areas without
existing monitors to be designated as unclassifiable/attainment. After
review of all available information at that time, the EPA was unable to
determine the area's attainment status based on the lack of information
and designated the entirety of Milam County, Texas, as unclassifiable
in Round 2 of designations for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary
NAAQS.\26\
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\26\ For more information on EPA's Round 2 designations, see
https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations. For the intended and final
TSDs specific to Texas, see https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/tx-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-11/documents/texas_4_deferred_luminant_tsd_final_docket.pdf
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Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air
quality in the area around Sandow, Texas installed a new monitor near
Sandow to begin collecting data at this monitor by January 1, 2017.\27\
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\27\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor
placement are contained in the state's 2016 annual monitoring
network plan.
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On June 26, 2020, Texas submitted a letter \28\ to the EPA
requesting that the entirety of Milam County be redesignated to
attainment/unclassifiable based on the newly available monitoring
information which demonstrates attainment. To evaluate Texas'
redesignation request, the EPA considered the design value for the air
quality monitor in Milam County, in the Sandow area, by assessing the
most recent 3 consecutive years (i.e., 2017-2019) of quality-assured,
certified ambient air quality data in the EPA AQS using data from FRM
and FEM monitors that are sited and operated in accordance with 40 CFR
parts 50 and 58.\29\ Procedures for using monitored air quality data to
determine whether a violation has occurred are given in 40 CFR part 50
Appendix T, as revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS rulemaking. The
2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS is met when the design value is 75 ppb
or less. Table 4 contains the 2017-2019 design value for this area.
Data collected at this monitor indicate that this area is in attainment
of the NAAQS.
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\28\ This letter is included in the docket for this action.
\29\ SO2 air quality data are available from EPA's
website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data.
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.
Table 4--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Values for the Milam County Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 99th 2018 99th 2019 99th 2017-2019
AQS site ID Monitor location percentile percentile percentile design value
(latitude, longitude) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb) (ppb)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
48-331-1075.............. 3990 John D Harper 37 4 2 14
Road (30.569534, -
97.076294).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas' redesignation request to the EPA also indicated that the
Sandow plant permanently ceased operations in January 2018. The EPA
independently confirmed the plant is no longer permitted to
operate.\30\
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\30\ In a letter dated February 14, 2018, from Luminant to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Luminant requested
to void Sandow permits 4980, PSDTX28, PSDTX28M1, 16684, 39718,
45425, 72521, 97146, and 125855. The remaining permits (NSR Permit
5473, PBR 87631, PBR 94625 and Standard Permit 108271) are material
handling permits maintained while closure activities are completed,
such as coal piles, silos, and conveyors. In a letter dated July 19,
2018, from the TCEQ to Luminant, TCEQ verified the air quality
federal operating permit O54 for the Sandow plant was voided. These
letters are included in the docket for this action.
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After reviewing Texas' request under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D) and
all available information, we are proposing to find that the 3 years of
monitored ambient SO2 data from the new monitor adequately
characterize the SO2 air quality in Milam County and
demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS in the
same area. Specifically, the data from this monitor indicate there are
no violations in this area. Additionally, there is no evidence of
monitored or modeled violations in the surrounding counties such that
the source is not contributing to any nearby area that does not meet
the NAAQS. The EPA is therefore proposing to approve Texas'
redesignation request and proposing to redesignate the entirety of
Milam County, that was designated as unclassifiable in December 2016,
to attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently available
information that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour
SO2 NAAQS.
IV. Proposed Action
The EPA is proposing to redesignate to attainment/unclassifiable
the unclassifiable portions of Franklin and St. Charles Counties in
Missouri; the entirety of Lancaster County in Nebraska; the entirety of
Gallia County and the unclassifiable portion of Meigs County in Ohio;
and the entirety of Milam County in Texas. Additionally, the EPA is
proposing to approve requests for redesignation from the states of
Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas. For the area in Missouri, the EPA is
initiating this redesignation action under the authority of CAA section
107(d)(3)(A). As discussed in prior sections, this proposed action is
based on the currently available monitoring data for these areas that
demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS.
If finalized, this redesignation action and approval of the
redesignation requests would change the legal designation for these
listed areas, found at 40 CFR part 81, from unclassifiable to
attainment/unclassifiable for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary
NAAQS.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under CAA section 107(d)(3), redesignation of an area to
attainment/unclassifiable 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 attainment/unclassifiable does not in and of itself
create any new requirements. Accordingly, this proposed action merely
proposes to redesignate an area to attainment/unclassifiable and does
not impose additional requirements. For that reason, this proposed
action:
Is exempt from 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 it is exempt 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 not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
601 et seq.);
[[Page 54523]]
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);
Is not subject because it does not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August
10, 1999);
Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it does not establish an environmental standard
intended to mitigate health or safety risks;
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 this action does not involve technical standards;
Will not have disproportionate human health or
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February
16, 1994); and
Does not have Tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000) because no tribal
lands are located within the areas covered in this action and the
redesignation does not create new requirements. The EPA notes this
proposed action will not impose substantial direct costs on Tribal
governments or preempt Tribal law.
Anne Austin,
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2020-17548 Filed 9-1-20; 8:45 am]
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