[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74573-74577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26503]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2022-0880; FRL-10388-01-R7]
Air Plan Approval; MO; Marginal Nonattainment Plan for the St.
Louis Area for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) on September 8, 2021,
and supplemented on April 8, 2022, as meeting the Marginal
nonattainment area requirements for the 2015 8-hour ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) for the Missouri
portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL nonattainment area (``St. Louis area''
or ``area''). The EPA is proposing this action pursuant to the Clean
Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2022-0880 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received will be posted without
change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Written
Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Keas, Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201 Renner
Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-7629;
email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Written Comments
II. What is the background for this proposed action?
III. What is the EPA's analysis of Missouri's submission?
IV. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
V. What action is the EPA proposing to take?
VI. Environmental Justice Considerations
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Written Comments
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2022-
0880, at https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions,
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
II. What is the background for this proposed action?
EPA has determined that ground-level ozone is detrimental to human
health. On October 1, 2015, EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour ozone
NAAQS of 0.070 parts per million (ppm). See 80 FR 65292 (October 26,
2015). Under EPA's regulations at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
part 50, the 2015 ozone NAAQS is attained in an area when the 3-year
average of the annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average
concentration is equal to or less than 0.070 ppm, when truncated after
the thousandth decimal place, at all ozone monitoring sites in the
area. See
[[Page 74574]]
40 CFR 50.19 and appendix U to 40 CFR part 50.
Upon promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, section 107(d)(1)(B)
of the CAA requires EPA to designate as nonattainment any areas that
are violating the NAAQS, based on the most recent 3 years of quality
assured ozone monitoring data. On April 30, 2018, EPA designated the
St. Louis, MO-IL bi-state area as Marginal nonattainment for the 2015
Ozone NAAQS (83 FR 25776). The area included Boles Township of Franklin
County, St. Charles County, St. Louis County, and St. Louis City in
Missouri, and Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois. As part of
that same action, EPA designated Jefferson County and the remaining
portion of Franklin County, in Missouri, and Monroe County in Illinois,
as attainment/unclassifiable. On July 10, 2020, the District of
Columbia Circuit Court remanded the Jefferson County, Missouri, and
Monroe County, Illinois, designations (among other designations) to the
EPA. The Court upheld EPA's designation of Boles Township as
nonattainment and the remainder of Franklin County as attainment/
unclassifiable. In response to the Court remand, the EPA revised the
Jefferson County, Missouri, and Monroe County, Illinois designation to
nonattainment on May 26, 2021 (86 FR 31438).
On October 7, 2022, the EPA published a final rulemaking including
EPA's determination of whether areas designated as Marginal
nonattainment for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS attained by the
applicable attainment date of August 3, 2021 (87 FR 60897). In that
document, the EPA determined the St. Louis bi-state area, among other
areas, failed to attain by the attainment date based on the monitoring
data available as of the attainment date, for the 2018-2020 time
period. In that time period, the highest design value in the St. Louis
area was 0.071 ppm which is above the level of the standard, 0.70 ppm.
As a result of EPA's determination that the St. Louis area failed to
attain by the Marginal attainment date, the area is reclassified to
Moderate nonattainment, effective November 7, 2022. Moderate
nonattainment areas must attain by August 3, 2024 and submit a Moderate
nonattainment area plan and its required elements by January 1, 2023.
The CAA requirements applicable to Marginal ozone nonattainment areas
continue to apply to Missouri despite the reclassification to Moderate.
Missouri's submission to meet the Marginal ozone nonattainment area
requirements is the subject of this action.
III. What is the EPA's analysis of Missouri's submission?
Section 172(c) of the CAA sets forth the basic requirements of air
quality plans for states with nonattainment areas that are required to
submit them pursuant to section 172(b). Subpart 2 of part D, which
includes section 182 of the CAA, establishes specific requirements for
ozone nonattainment areas depending on the areas' nonattainment
classifications.
The St. Louis area was classified as Marginal under subpart 2 for
the 2015 ozone NAAQS at the time of its nonattainment designation. At
the time of Missouri's September 2021 SIP submission, the area was
subject to the relevant requirements of subpart 1 contained in section
172(c) and section 176. Similarly, the area was subject to the subpart
2 requirements contained in section 182(a) (Marginal nonattainment area
requirements). A thorough discussion of the requirements contained in
section 172(c) and 182 can be found in the April 16, 1992, General
Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the CAA Amendments of
1990 (57 FR 13498) and the April 28, 1992 supplement (57 FR 18070).
As provided in subpart 2, for Marginal ozone nonattainment areas,
the specific requirements of section 182(a) apply in lieu of the
attainment planning requirements that would otherwise apply under
section 172(c), including the attainment demonstration and reasonably
available control measures (RACM) under section 172(c)(1), reasonable
further progress (RFP) under section 172(c)(2), and contingency
measures under section 172(c)(9).\1\
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\1\ See 42 U.S.C. 7511a(a).
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Section 172(c)(3) requires submission and approval of a
comprehensive, accurate and current inventory of actual emissions. This
requirement is superseded by the inventory requirement in section
182(a)(1) discussed below.
Section 172(c)(4) requires the identification and quantification of
allowable emissions for major new and modified stationary sources in an
area, and section 172(c)(5) requires source permits for the
construction and operation of new and modified major stationary sources
anywhere in the nonattainment area. The EPA most recently approved
Missouri's New Source Review (NSR) program on August 11, 2022 (87 FR
49530).\2\
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\2\ In its August 2022 action, the EPA partially approved and
partially disapproved Missouri's SIP revision related to state rule
10 CSR 10-6.060. In the August 2022 action, the EPA disapproved one
provision related to voluntary permits and approved the remainder of
the SIP revision. For purposes of this action, the EPA notes this
partial disapproval does not affect the state's ability to continue
implementation of its SIP-approved NSR program.
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CAA section 172(b) requires states to submit SIPs meeting the
requirements of section 172(c) no later than 3 years from the date of
the nonattainment designation. For the St. Louis nonattainment area,
the Marginal nonattainment area plan elements required under CAA
section 172 and 182 were due August 3, 2021. Missouri submitted the
requisite plan elements on September 8, 2021. In this action, the EPA
is proposing to approve the September 8, 2021 submission from Missouri
as meeting the relevant requirements of CAA section 172 and 182.
Section 182(a)(2)(C) requires states to implement a permitting
program requiring permits for the construction and operation of new or
modified major stationary sources anywhere in the nonattainment area.
In its September 2021 submission, MoDNR confirms it has a fully-
approved and fully-implemented Part D NSR permitting program for new
major sources and significant modifications of existing sources enabled
by SIP-approved state rule 10 Code of State Regulations (CSR) 10-6.060
Construction Permits Required. Missouri also notes it has been
delegated full authority to implement its NSR program by the EPA.
Section 182(a)(3)(A) requires states to submit revised emission
inventories every three years until the area is redesignated to
attainment. Section 182(a)(3)(B) requires a revision to the SIP to
require the owners or operators of stationary sources to annually
submit emission statements documenting actual VOC and NOX
emissions. In its September 2021 submission, MoDNR committed to
providing future updates to its emissions inventory at least once every
3 years to meet the requirement of section 182(a)(3)(A). To meet the
requirement of section 182(a)(3)(B), the state certified that SIP-
approved state rule 10 CSR 10-6.110 requires annual emissions
statements from permitted sources in the state.
Section 182(a)(4) requires establishing a Marginal Area emission
offset reduction ratio of 1.1:1 for VOC emissions. As noted in MoDNR's
September 2021 SIP revision, the requirement for emission offset
reductions is part of Missouri's NSR program and codified in the
state's regulations at 10 CSR 10-6.060(7)(C)1. The corresponding offset
ratio for each ozone area classification (i.e. 1.1:1 for Marginal) is
found in the Federal code
[[Page 74575]]
at 40 CFR 51.165(a)(9). Thus, Missouri has satisfied the CAA section
182(a)(4) requirement for Marginal Area Plan submissions in
establishing a Marginal Area emission offset reduction ratio of 1.1:1
in its NSR program by SIP-approved rule consistent with the
corresponding Federal code.
As noted above, section 182(a)(1) requires states to submit a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from
sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides
(NOX) emitted within the boundaries of the ozone
nonattainment area. The state's ``Marginal Area Plan for the Missouri
Portion of the St. Louis Nonattainment Area for the 2015 8-Hour Ground
Level Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'' submitted by the
state on September 8, 2021, and supplemented on April 8, 2022, included
a 2017 base year emissions inventory for the Missouri portion of the
St. Louis area. The EPA has reviewed Missouri's emissions inventory
submission and as discussed further below, is proposing to approve it
as meeting the requirements of section 182(a)(1) of the CAA.
The section 182(a)(1) base year inventory is defined in the SIP
Requirements Rule as ``a comprehensive, accurate, current inventory of
actual emissions from sources of VOC and NOX emitted within
the boundaries of the nonattainment area as required by CAA section
182(a)(1).'' See 40 CFR 51.1300(p). The inventory year must be selected
consistent with the baseline year for the RFP plan as required by 40
CFR 51.1310(b), the inventory must include actual ozone season day
emissions as defined in 40 CFR 51.1300(q), and contain data elements
consistent with the detail required by 40 CFR part 51, subpart A. See
40 CFR 51.1315(a), (c), and (e). In addition, the point source
emissions included in the inventory must be reported according to the
point source emissions thresholds of the Air Emissions Reporting
Requirements (AERR) in 40 CFR part 51, subpart A.
Missouri selected 2017 as the base year for the emissions
inventories, which was the most recent calendar year for which a
complete triennial inventory was required to be submitted to the EPA
under 40 CFR part 51, subpart A, at the time of plan development. This
base year is consistent with the regulations for 2015 ozone NAAQS
nonattainment area base year emission inventory regulations. See 40 CFR
51.1315(a) and 51.1310(b). The emissions inventory is based on data
developed and submitted by the MoDNR to EPA's 2017 National Emissions
Inventory (NEI), and it contains data elements consistent with the
requirements of 40 CFR part 51, subpart A.
Missouri's emissions inventory for the St. Louis Area provides 2017
typical ozone season day emissions for NOX and VOC for the
following general source categories: point sources, nonpoint or area
sources, on-road mobile sources, and non-road mobile sources. MoDNR
documents the methodology used to determine the typical ozone season
day emissions by source category in the appendices to its September
2021 submittal, which is included in the docket for this action.
Point sources are large, stationary, identifiable sources of
emissions that release pollutants into the atmosphere. NOX
and VOC emissions were calculated by using facility-specific emissions
data reported to the 2017 NEI from sources that are required to submit
inventory data according to the AERR. A detailed account of the point
source emissions can be found in Appendix D to Missouri's September
2021 submittal and Appendix E to Missouri's April 2022 submittal.
Area or nonpoint sources are small stationary sources of emissions,
which due to their large number, collectively have significant
emissions (e.g., dry cleaners, service stations). Emissions for these
sources are estimated at the county level and were obtained from the
2017 NEI. A detailed account of the area or nonpoint source emissions
can be found in Appendix C of Missouri's September 2021 submittal and
Appendix E to Missouri's April 2022 submittal.
On-road mobile sources include vehicles used on roads for
transportation of passengers or freight. For the St. Louis area, on-
road emissions inventories were developed using the latest version of
EPA's Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES), MOVES3, for each ozone
nonattainment county. County level on-road emissions modeling was
conducted using county-specific vehicle populations and other local
data. A detailed account of the on-road source emissions and
methodology can be found in Appendices A and B of Missouri's September
2021 submittal and Appendix E to Missouri's April 2022 submittal.
Non-road mobile sources include vehicles, engines, and equipment
used for construction, agriculture, recreation, and other purposes that
do not use the roadways (e.g., lawn mowers, construction equipment,
railroad locomotives, and aircraft). Missouri calculated emissions for
most non-road sources using the MOVES model's non-road option.
Estimated non-road emissions for commercial marine vessels, locomotives
and aircraft are based on reported activity data. A detailed account of
non-road mobile source emissions can be found in Appendix B of
Missouri's September 2021 submittal and Appendix E to Missouri's April
2022 submittal.
As noted in MoDNR's submittal, the 2017 emission inventory is
created at the annual level for most source categories. Missouri
performed temporal allocation of emissions for all nonpoint, some
nonroad and all event source categories using the Sparse Matrix
Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) model. For point source data,
Missouri utilized reported data to estimate ozone season day emissions
specific to each facility. For on-road and non-road emissions, the
MOVES3 model provides an output at the temporal scale of total daily
emissions. As described in MoDNR's submittal, a typical weekday in July
is selected as the representative typical ozone season day for these
model runs.
In its April 8, 2022, submittal, MoDNR provided an updated 2017
base year emissions inventory using the latest version of EPA's MOVES3
model for on-road and non-road sources as well as updates to certain
non-road categories. Section 7 and Appendix E of Missouri's April 2022
SIP submission included in the docket for this action contain further
information related to the updated 2017 nonattainment base year
emissions inventory. Table 1 provides a summary of the nonattainment
base year anthropogenic emissions inventories for the Missouri portion
of the St. Louis area.\3\
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\3\ This table contains the updated 2017 base year emissions
inventory as contained in Table 23 on page 41 of Missouri's April
2022 Submission titled, ``Maintenance Plan for the St. Louis
Nonattainment Area for the 2015 Ozone Standard'' which is included
in the docket for this action. In April 2022, Missouri separately
submitted a redesignation request for the St. Louis area, that
submittal also contained information on the updated 2017 base year
inventory and is included in the docket for this action, it is
titled, ``Redesignation Request for the St. Louis Nonattainment Area
for the 2015 Ozone Standard.''
[[Page 74576]]
Table 1--2017 Emissions for the Missouri Portion of the St. Louis Area
[Tons/ozone season day]
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Point Area On-road Non-road
County -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOX VOC NOX VOC NOX VOC NOX VOC
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Boles Township, Franklin County. 21.86 1.29 0.08 1.08 1.40 0.49 0.64 0.25
Jefferson County................ 22.37 2.24 0.48 6.99 8.88 3.42 2.47 1.66
St. Charles County.............. 18.94 3.71 0.92 12.03 11.36 3.94 5.63 3.79
St. Louis County................ 5.54 1.30 2.83 39.08 37.30 10.53 14.21 16.37
St. Louis City.................. 3.19 2.71 0.99 10.46 9.97 3.68 3.78 1.86
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Total....................... 71.90 11.25 5.29 69.65 68.92 22.05 26.74 23.94
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Missouri's April 2022 submittal contains additional plan elements
such as maintenance plan, contingency plan and attainment year
inventory. In today's action, the EPA is only proposing to approve the
updated 2017 nonattainment base year emissions inventory as included in
the April 2022 submittal as meeting the requirements of CAA section
182(a)(1) and is not acting on the other elements contained in the
April 2022 submittal. The EPA has reviewed Missouri's nonattainment
base year emissions inventories for the St. Louis Area and proposes to
approve them as meeting the requirements under CAA section 182(a)(1)
and the SIP Requirements Rule for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS, as well
as the requirements in 40 CFR part 51, subpart A. Specifically, EPA
proposes to approve Missouri's Marginal nonattainment area plan as
submitted on September 8, 2021 and supplemented on April 8, 2022, as
meeting the Marginal nonattainment area requirements of CAA section
182(a) for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Missouri portion of the
St. Louis area.
IV. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
The State submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The
State provided public notice on the September 8, 2021, SIP revision
from April 26, 2021, to June 3, 2021, and held a public hearing on May
27, 2021. During the public comment period, the State received three
comments from the EPA. The State responds to the comments in its
submittal and made changes to the plan as a result of the comments. The
State provided public notice on the April 8, 2022, SIP revision from
December 27, 2021, to February 3, 2022, and held a public hearing on
January 27, 2022. During the public comment period, the State received
comments from various entities. The State addressed the comments in its
submittal. No comments received on the April 8, 2022, submittal were
related to the updated 2017 nonattainment base year emissions
inventory. In addition, as explained above, the revision meets the
substantive SIP requirements of the CAA and implementing regulations.
V. What action is the EPA proposing to take?
The EPA is proposing to approve a SIP revision submitted by the
MoDNR on September 8, 2021, and supplemented on April 8, 2022, as
meeting the Marginal nonattainment area requirements of CAA section
182(a) for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Missouri portion of the
St. Louis area.
VI. Environmental Justice Considerations
While EPA did not perform an area-specific environmental justice
analysis for purposes of this action, due to the nature of the action
being taken here, i.e. to merely approve emissions inventories and
certifications regarding Missouri's fully approved permitting program
as meeting the relevant plan requirements for Marginal nonattainment
areas, as explained in this preamble, this action is expected to have
no impact on air quality. For these reasons, this action is not
expected to have a disproportionately high or adverse human health or
environmental effects on a particular group of people.
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Administrator is required to
approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act
and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly,
this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements
and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by
state law. For that reason, this action:
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not
involve technical standards; and
This action does not have disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects on minority populations,
low-income populations and/or indigenous peoples, as specified in
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). The basis for
this determination is contained in section VI of this action,
``Environmental Justice Considerations.''
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land
[[Page 74577]]
or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that
a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, this rule
does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175
(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because redesignation is an action
that affects the status of a geographical area and does not impose any
new regulatory requirements on tribes, impact any existing sources of
air pollution on tribal lands, nor impair the maintenance of ozone
national ambient air quality standards in tribal lands.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: November 30, 2022.
Meghan A. McCollister,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA proposes to amend
40 CFR part 52 as set forth below:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart AA--Missouri
0
2. In Sec. 52.1320, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding
the entry ``(85)'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1320 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA-Approved Missouri Nonregulatory SIP Provisions
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Applicable
Name of nonregulatory SIP geographic or State submittal EPA approval date Explanation
provision nonattainment area date
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* * * * * * *
(85) Marginal Plan for the St. St. Louis Area: 9/8/2021, 4/8/2022 [Date of This action
Louis 2015 8-Hour Ozone Missouri counties publication of approves the
Nonattainment Area. of Jefferson, St. the final rule in Marginal
Charles, and St. the Federal nonattainment
Louis along with Register], area plan for the
the City of St. [Federal Register St. Louis Area
Louis and Boles citation of the for the 2015 8-
Township in final rule]. hour Ozone NAAQS
Franklin County. [EPA-R07-OAR-2022-
0880; FRL-10388-
01-R7].
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[FR Doc. 2022-26503 Filed 12-5-22; 8:45 am]
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