[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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