[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 169 (Friday, September 3, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49497-49500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19019]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2021-0307; FRL-8894-01-R3]
Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; Allegheny County Area Fine
Particulate Matter Clean Data Determination
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
determine that the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania nonattainment area
has clean data for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This
proposed clean data determination (CDD) under EPA's Clean Data Policy
is based upon quality-assured, quality-controlled, and certified
ambient air quality monitoring data showing that the area has attained
the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based on 2018-2020 data available in
EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database. Based on the proposed clean
data determination, EPA is also proposing to determine that the
requirements for Pennsylvania to make submissions to meet certain Clean
Air Act (CAA or the Act) requirements related to attainment of the
NAAQS for this area are not applicable for as long as the area
continues to attain the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. This action
is being taken under the CAA.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2021-0307 at https://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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Rehn, 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) 814-2176. Mr. Rehn can also be reached
via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'',
``us'' or ``our'' are used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Clean Data Determination for the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
2012 PM2.5 NAAQS Nonattainment Area
III. Proposed Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On December 14, 2012, EPA promulgated a revised primary annual
PM2.5 NAAQS to provide increased protection of public health
from fine particle pollution (2012 PM2.5 NAAQS).\1\ In that
action, EPA strengthened the primary annual PM2.5 standard,
lowering the level from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([micro]g/m\3\)
to 12.0 [micro]g/m\3\, and retained the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS
at a level of 35 [micro]g/m\3\. The 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS
is attained when the 3-year average of the annual arithmetic means does
not exceed 12.0 [micro]g/m\3\.\2\ Effective April 15, 2015, EPA
established air quality designations, as required by section 107(d)(1)
of the CAA, for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.\3\ In that
action, EPA designated the Allegheny County Area in Pennsylvania as
Moderate nonattainment for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
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\1\ 78 FR 3086, January 15, 2013.
\2\ See 40 CFR 50.18 and 40 CFR part 50, appendix N.
\3\ 80 FR 2206 (January 15, 2015).
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On August 24, 2016, EPA issued the Fine Particulate Matter National
Ambient Air Quality Standards: State Implementation Plan Requirements
(PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule).\4\ The PM2.5 SIP
Requirements Rule is codified at 40 CFR part 51, subpart Z and
[[Page 49498]]
provides rules for the implementation of current and future
PM2.5 NAAQS.
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\4\ 81 FR 58010, effective October 24, 2016.
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On April 6, 2018, EPA issued a finding of failure to submit under
section 110(k) of the CAA finding that several states, including
Pennsylvania, failed to submit specific moderate area SIP elements for
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS required under subpart 4 of part
D of Title I of the CAA.\5\ In particular, Pennsylvania was late in
submitting the following specific moderate area SIP elements for the
Allegheny County Area: An attainment demonstration; control strategies,
including reasonably available control measures (RACM) and reasonably
available control technologies (RACT); a reasonable further progress
(RFP) plan; quantitative milestones; and contingency measures. That
finding triggered the sanctions clock under section 179 of the CAA, as
well as an obligation under section 110(c) of the CAA for EPA to
promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) no later than two years
from the effective date of the finding, if Pennsylvania did not submit,
and EPA had not approved, the required SIP element submission(s).
Pennsylvania submitted the required Allegheny County Area
PM2.5 Plan on September 30, 2019. On November 1, 2019, EPA
determined the submitted PM2.5 Plan for the Allegheny County
Area to be technically and administratively complete, per the
requirements in accordance with CAA section 110(k) and 40 CFR part 51,
appendix V. This completeness determination corrected the deficiency
identified in EPA's April 6, 2018 (83 FR 14759) document finding that
Pennsylvania failed to submit certain nonattainment area planning
requirements for the Allegheny County Area for the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS, turning off the sanctions clock (but not the
FIP clock) triggered by the April 6, 2018 finding. On May 14, 2021 (86
FR 26388), EPA approved most required elements of the Allegheny County
Area PM2.5 Plan, except for the contingency measures element
of the plan, which EPA conditionally approved. That action terminated
EPA's FIP obligation for all CAA required nonattainment plan elements
except for the contingency measures element. As to the contingency
measures element of the Allegheny County Area PM2.5 Plan,
EPA's May 14, 2021 conditional approval action suspended EPA's FIP
obligation for the duration of the conditional approval. Upon EPA's
approval of a SIP submission fulfilling the State commitment that had
provided the basis for the conditional approval, EPA's FIP obligation
with respect to the contingency measures element of the Allegheny
County Area Plan will be terminated.
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\5\ 83 FR 14759 (April 6, 2018).
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In accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR 51.1015, EPA may
issue a clean data determination for a specific area if we determine
the area has attained the relevant NAAQS based on three years of
quality-assured, certified air quality monitoring data.\6\ Over the
past two decades, EPA has consistently applied its Clean Data Policy
interpretation to attainment related provisions of subparts 1, 2, and 4
of the CAA. EPA codified portions of the longstanding Clean Data Policy
approach in the PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule (40 CFR
51.1015(a)) for the implementation of current and future
PM2.5 NAAQS.\7\ For a complete discussion of the history of
EPA's Clean Data Policy and our longstanding interpretation of that
policy under the CAA, please refer to the August 24, 2016
PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule (81 FR 58010).
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\6\ Per the requirements for determining whether an area has
attained the annual PM2.5 NAAQS at 40 CFR 50.18(c) and 40
CFR Appendix N to part 50.
\7\ See 81 FR 58010, 58161 (August 24, 2016).
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As provided in 40 CFR 51.1015, so long as an area continues to meet
the NAAQS, finalization of a CDD suspends the requirements for a
nonattainment area to submit an attainment demonstration, associated
RACM and RACT, an RFP plan, quantitative milestones, contingency
measures, and any other SIP planning requirements related to the
attainment of the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The requirement
to submit a projected attainment inventory as part of an attainment
demonstration or RFP plan is also suspended by this determination. As
discussed in the 2016 PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule, the
nonattainment base year emissions inventory required by section
172(c)(3) of the CAA is not suspended by this determination because the
base inventory is a requirement independent of planning for an area's
attainment.\8\ Additionally, as discussed in the PM2.5 SIP
Requirements Rule (and required by sections 110(a)(2)(C); 172(c)(5);
173; 189(a), and 189(e) of the CAA), nonattainment New Source Review
(NNSR) requirements are not suspended by a CDD because this requirement
is independent of the area's attainment planning.\9\
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\8\ See 81 FR 58009 at 58028 and 58127-8 (August 24, 2016) and
80 FR 15340 at 15441-2 (March 23, 2015).
\9\ See 81 FR 58010 at 58107 and 58127 (August 24, 2016).
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By extension, the requirement to submit a motor vehicle emissions
budget (MVEB) for the attainment year for the purposes of
transportation conformity is also suspended. A MVEB is that portion of
the total criteria pollutant emissions associated with allowable
highway and transit vehicle use, as defined in the submitted or
approved control strategy implementation plan revision or maintenance
plan, for a certain date. The MVEB serves as a cap on highway mobile
source section emissions for the purpose of meeting RFP milestones or
demonstrating attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS. For purposes of
the transportation conformity regulations, the control strategy
implementation plan revision is the implementation plan which contains
specific strategies for controlling the emissions of, and reducing
ambient levels of, pollutants in order to satisfy CAA requirements for
demonstrations of RFP and attainment. Given that MVEBs are required to
support RFP and attainment demonstration requirements in the attainment
plan, suspension of the RFP and attainment demonstration requirements
through a CDD also suspends the requirement to submit MVEBs for
attainment and RFP milestone years. Suspension of planning requirements
under the clean data policy (pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1015) does not
preclude the state from submitting suspended elements of its moderate
area attainment plan for EPA approval for the purposes of strengthening
the state's SIP, nor does issuance of a CDD compel the state to
withdraw previously submitted or SIP-approved elements of its moderate
area attainment plan.
A CDD is not equivalent to a redesignation under CAA section
107(d)(3), and the state must still meet the statutory requirements for
redesignation in order to be redesignated to attainment. In accordance
with 40 CFR 51.1015(a)(1) and (2), a CDD suspends the aforementioned
SIP obligations until the area is redesignated to attainment (after
which time such requirements are permanently discharged); or until EPA
determines that the area has re-violated the PM2.5 NAAQS. In
the event the area re-violates the NAAQS, the state shall once again be
required to submit all required attainment plan elements for the
Moderate nonattainment area, by a deadline established by EPA through
publication in the Federal Register of the determination that the area
is once
[[Page 49499]]
again violating the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
II. Clean Data Determination for the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
2012 PM2.5 NAAQS Nonattainment Area
Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.18 and part 50, appendix N, the
2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS is met when the 3-year average of
PM2.5 annual mean mass concentrations for each eligible
monitoring site is less than or equal to 12.0 [micro]g/m\3\. Three
years of valid, annual means are required to produce a valid annual
PM2.5 NAAQS design value. A year of data meets data
completeness requirements when quarterly data capture rates for all
four quarters are at least 75 percent from eligible monitoring
sites.\10\ By a letter to EPA dated March 08, 2021, Allegheny County
Health Department (ACHD) certified its 2020 ambient air quality
monitoring data. EPA issued final 2018-2020 design values on May 24,
2021.\11\ There are nine PM2.5 eligible Federal Reference
Method (FRM) or Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) monitoring sites in the
Allegheny County nonattainment area. Table 1 in this document shows the
Allegheny County Area design values for the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS for the years 2018-2020 at all area monitoring
sites.
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\10\ See 40 CFR part 50, appendix N.
\11\ See EPA's Air Quality Design Values web page, at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.
Table 1--2018-2020 Annual PM2.5 Values for the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Area
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Weighted mean ([micro]g/ Complete quarters Certified annual
m\3\) --------------------------- design value
Monitor name Monitor ID --------------------------- 2018-2020
2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 ([micro]g/m\3\)
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Avalon.......................................................... 420030002 9.61 9.89 8.57 4 4 4 9.4
Lawrenceville................................................... 420030008 8.97 8.97 7.66 4 4 4 8.5
South Fayette................................................... 420030067 8.12 7.65 6.56 4 4 4 7.4
North Park...................................................... 420030093 * 7.2 6.81 * 5.74 3 4 3 * 6.6
Harrison........................................................ 420031008 9.25 8.64 7.32 4 4 4 8.4
North Braddock.................................................. 420031301 10.17 9.85 9.03 4 4 4 9.7
Clairton........................................................ 420033007 8.80 7.87 7.34 4 4 4 8.0
Liberty......................................................... 420030064 11.52 12.16 9.76 4 4 4 11.1
Parkway East.................................................... 420031376 10.25 10.79 8.97 4 4 4 10.0
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* North Park has incomplete data sets for 2018 and 2020.
Table 2--Data Capture Rates (%) and Creditable Samples by Quarter (Q) for the North Park Monitor [420030093]
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2018 2019 2020
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Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
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Creditable Samples...................................... 15 15 16 5 14 15 15 14 15 14 15 2
Capture Rate............................................ 100 100 100 33 93 100 94 93 100 93 94 13
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As shown in Table 1 in this document, for monitors in the Allegheny
County area, all but the North Park monitoring location have complete
2018-2020 reporting data capture rates of at least 75%. At the North
Park monitoring site, the fourth quarter in 2018 and the fourth quarter
in 2020 for the North Park monitor [Monitor ID 420030093] had a data
capture rate of 33% and 13%, respectively. The North Park monitor data
was incomplete in fourth quarter 2018 because of a roof replacement
taking place at the monitor location and North Park was approved for
shut down in the third quarter of 2020 in ACHD's ``Annual Monitoring
Plan for Calendar Year 2021.''
Consistent with the requirements contained in 40 CFR part 58, EPA
has reviewed the PM2.5 ambient air quality monitoring data
for the monitoring period from 2018 through 2020 for the Allegheny
County nonattainment area, as recorded in the AQS database, and has
determined the data meet the quality assurance requirements set forth
in 40 CFR part 58. In this respect, the data has been deemed usable by
EPA for regulatory compliance purposes. As shown in Table 1 in this
document, each quarter from 2018 through 2020 is complete, with all
four quarters reporting data capture rates of at least 75 percent (with
the exception of the North Park monitor, as noted above). The highest
certified annual design value for 2018-2020 is 11.1 [micro]g/m3, with
all nine ambient monitors below the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS
of 12.0 [micro]g/m3. Therefore, the Allegheny County nonattainment area
has attained the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in accordance with
the requirements in 40 CFR 50.18 and appendix N.
III. Proposed Action
Pursuant to the PM2.5 Clean Data Policy codified at 40
CFR 51.1015, EPA proposes to determine that based on three years of
certified, valid monitoring data between 2018 and 2020, the Allegheny
County nonattainment area has attained the 2012 annual PM2.5
NAAQS. Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1015(a), and based upon our proposed clean
data determination that the Allegheny County Area has attained the
NAAQS, EPA proposes to determine that the CAA requirements to submit
attainment-related SIP revisions arising from classification of the
Area as Moderate nonattainment under subpart 4 of part D, of title I of
the Act for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS are not applicable
for so long as the area continues to attain the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. In particular, if EPA finalizes this
determination, it will suspend the requirements for the area to submit
an attainment demonstration, RACM and RACT, RFP plan, quantitative
milestones, contingency measures, and any other SIP requirements
related to the attainment
[[Page 49500]]
of the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, so long as the area
continues to meet the NAAQS, until the area is redesignated to
attainment. If this proposed CDD action is finalized, the FIP clock
triggered by the EPA's April 6, 2018 finding of failure to submit will
be suspended for these plan elements for as long as the CDD remains in
effect.\12\
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\12\ See 83 FR 14759.
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EPA's May 14, 2021 conditional approval of the contingency measures
element of the Allegheny County Area PM2.5 Plan suspended
EPA's FIP obligation with respect to this element of the plan for the
duration of the conditional approval. If EPA approves a SIP submission
fulfilling the State commitment that had provided the basis for the
conditional approval, the FIP obligation triggered by EPA's April 6,
2018 finding of failure to submit will be terminated. Alternatively, if
the State fails to fulfill its commitment and EPA converts the
conditional approval to a disapproval, the conditional approval would
no longer provide a basis for suspending EPA's FIP obligation, because
the State would have failed to correct the deficiency identified in
EPA's April 6, 2018 finding of failure to submit.\13\ If, however, EPA
finalizes our proposed CDD for the area, the CDD would provide an
independent basis for continued suspension of the FIP obligation, for
so long as the area continues to attain the 2012 PM2.5
NAAQS. If the area then violates the NAAQS and EPA rescinds the CDD,
the CDD would also no longer provide a basis for suspending EPA's FIP
obligation, and EPA would have an immediate obligation to promulgate a
FIP addressing the contingency measure requirement for the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS in the Allegheny County area.
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\13\ 83 FR 14759 (April 6, 2018) (noting that ``EPA is obligated
to promulgate a federal implementation plan (FIP) to address any
outstanding SIP requirements, if a state does not submit, and EPA
does not approve, a state's submission within 24 months of the
effective date of these findings'').
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This proposed clean data determination does not constitute a
redesignation to attainment of the NAAQS. The Allegheny County Area
will remain designated nonattainment for the 2012 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS until such time that EPA determines the
Allegheny County nonattainment area meets the CAA requirements for
redesignation to attainment, including an approved maintenance plan,
pursuant to CAA sections 107 and 175A. EPA is soliciting public
comments on this proposed action, which we will consider prior to
taking final action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This rulemaking action makes a clean data determination for
attainment of the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based on air quality and
does not impose additional requirements. For that reason, this clean
data determination:
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);
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 proposed clean data determination for the
Allegheny County Area for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS 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.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Particulate matter, and Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Dated: August 26, 2021.
Diana Esher,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2021-19019 Filed 9-2-21; 8:45 am]
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