[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15629-15635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05175]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0744; FRL-10682-01-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Second Maintenance Plan for 1997
Ozone NAAQS; Jersey County Portion of St. Louis Missouri-Illinois Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve, as a revision to the Illinois State Implementation Plan (SIP),
the state's plan for maintaining the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) through 2032 in the St. Louis, MO-
IL area. The original St. Louis nonattainment area for the 1997 ozone
standard included Jersey, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties in
Illinois and Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis Counties
and St. Louis City in Missouri. The SIP submitted by the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) on August 24, 2022, addresses
the second maintenance plan required for Jersey County, Illinois.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 13, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2022-0744 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://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen D'Agostino, Environmental
Scientist, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs
Branch (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-1767,
[email protected]. The EPA Region 5 office is open from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays
and facility closures due to COVID-19.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Summary of EPA's Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve, as a revision to the Illinois SIP, an
updated 1997 ozone NAAQS maintenance plan for Jersey County in the St.
Louis, MO-IL area. The maintenance plan is designed to keep the St,
Louis area in attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS through 2032.
II. Background
Ground-level ozone is formed when oxides of nitrogen
(NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) react in the
presence of sunlight. These two pollutants are referred to as ozone
precursors. Scientific evidence indicates that adverse public health
effects occur following exposure to ozone.
In 1979, under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA
established primary and secondary NAAQS for ozone at 0.12 parts per
million (ppm), averaged over a 1-hour period. See 44 FR 8202 (February
8, 1979). On July 18, 1997, EPA revised the primary and secondary NAAQS
for ozone to set the acceptable level of ozone in the ambient air at
0.08 ppm, averaged over an 8-hour period. See 62 FR 38856 (July 18,
1997).\1\ EPA set the 8-hour ozone NAAQS based on scientific evidence
demonstrating that ozone causes adverse health effects at lower
concentrations and over longer periods of time than was understood when
the pre-existing 1-hour ozone NAAQS was set.
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\1\ In March 2008, EPA completed another review of the primary
and secondary ozone standards and tightened them further by lowering
the level for both to 0.075 ppm. 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008).
Additionally, in October 2015, EPA completed a review of the primary
and secondary ozone standards and tightened them by lowering the
level for both to 0.70 ppm. 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015).
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Following promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, EPA is required
by the CAA to designate areas throughout the nation as attaining or not
attaining the NAAQS. On April 15, 2004 (69 FR 23857), EPA designated
the St. Louis area as nonattainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, and the
designations became effective on June 15, 2004. Under the CAA, states
are also required to adopt and submit SIPs to implement, maintain, and
enforce the NAAQS in designated nonattainment areas and throughout the
state.
When a nonattainment area has three years of complete, certified
air quality data that have been determined to attain the 1997 ozone
NAAQS, and the area has met other required criteria described in
section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA, the
[[Page 15630]]
state can submit to EPA a request to be redesignated to attainment,
referred to as a ``maintenance area''.\2\ One of the criteria for
redesignation is to have an approved maintenance plan under CAA section
175A. The maintenance plan must demonstrate that the area will continue
to maintain the standard for the period extending 10 years after
redesignation, and it must contain such additional measures as
necessary to ensure maintenance and such contingency provisions as
necessary to assure that violations of the standard will be promptly
corrected. At the end of the eighth year after the effective date of
the redesignation, the state must also submit a second maintenance plan
to ensure ongoing maintenance of the standard for an additional ten
years. See CAA section 175A.
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\2\ Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA sets out the requirements
for redesignation. They include attainment of the NAAQS, full
approval of the SIP under section 110(k) of the CAA, determination
that improvement in air quality is a result of permanent and
enforceable reductions in emissions, demonstration that the state
has met all applicable section 110 and part D requirements, and a
fully approved maintenance plan under CAA section 175A.
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EPA has published long-standing guidance for states on developing
maintenance plans.\3\ The Calcagni Memorandum provides that states may
generally demonstrate maintenance by either performing air quality
modeling to show that the future mix of sources and emission rates will
not cause a violation of the NAAQS or by showing that future emissions
of a pollutant and its precursors will not exceed the level of
emissions during a year when the area was attaining the NAAQS (i.e.,
attainment year inventory). See Calcagni Memorandum at 9.
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\3\ ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4, 1992 (the ``Calcagni
Memorandum'').
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On May 26, 2010, IEPA submitted to EPA a request to redesignate the
Illinois portion of the St. Louis area to attainment for the 1997 ozone
NAAQS.\4\ This submittal included, as a revision to the Illinois SIP, a
plan to provide for maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in the St.
Louis area through 2025. EPA approved the maintenance plan for the
Illinois portion of the St. Louis area and redesignated the area to
attainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS on June 12, 2012 (77 FR 34819).
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\4\ IEPA supplemented this submittal on September 16, 2011.
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Under CAA section 175A(b), states must submit a revision to the
first maintenance plan eight years after redesignation to provide for
maintenance of the NAAQS for ten additional years following the end of
the first 10-year period. EPA's final implementation rule for the 2008
ozone NAAQS revoked the 1997 ozone NAAQS and stated that one
consequence of revocation was that areas that had been redesignated to
attainment (i.e., maintenance areas) for the 1997 standard no longer
needed to submit second 10-year maintenance plans under CAA section
175A(b).\5\ However, in South Coast Air Quality Management District v.
EPA \6\ (South Coast II), the D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's interpretation
that, because of the revocation of the 1997 ozone standard, second
maintenance plans were not required for ``orphan maintenance areas,''
i.e., areas that had been redesignated to attainment for the 1997 NAAQS
and were designated attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Thus, states
with these ``orphan maintenance areas'' under the 1997 ozone NAAQS must
submit maintenance plans for the second maintenance period.
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\5\ See 80 FR 12315 (March 6, 2015).
\6\ 882 F.3d 1138 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
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When areas were designated under the 2008 ozone NAAQS, Jersey
County, Illinois was not included in the St. Louis, MO-IL nonattainment
area. Therefore, Jersey County is considered an orphan maintenance area
requiring a second maintenance plan. Accordingly, on August 24, 2022,
IEPA submitted a second maintenance plan for Jersey County that shows
that the St. Louis area is expected to remain in attainment of the 1997
ozone NAAQS through 2032, i.e., through the end of the full 20-year
maintenance period.
III. EPA's Evaluation of the Illinois SIP Submittal
A. Second Maintenance Plan
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment.
Under section 175A, the maintenance plan must demonstrate continued
attainment of the NAAQS for at least 10 years after the Administrator
approves a redesignation to attainment. Eight years after the
redesignation, the state must submit a revised maintenance plan which
demonstrates that attainment of the NAAQS will continue for an
additional 10 years beyond the initial 10-year maintenance period. To
address the possibility of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance
plan must contain contingency measures, as EPA deems necessary, to
assure prompt correction of the future NAAQS violation.
The Calcagni Memorandum provides further guidance on the content of
a maintenance plan, explaining that a maintenance plan should address
five elements: (1) an attainment emission inventory; (2) a maintenance
demonstration; (3) a commitment for continued air quality monitoring;
(4) a process for verification of continued attainment; and (5) a
contingency plan.
On August 24, 2022, IEPA submitted, as a SIP revision, a plan to
provide for maintenance of the 1997 ozone standard in the St. Louis
area through 2032, more than 20 years after the effective date of the
redesignation to attainment. As discussed below, EPA proposes to find
that IEPA's second maintenance plan includes the necessary components
and to approve the maintenance plan as a revision to the Illinois SIP.
1. Attainment Inventory
The CAA section 175A maintenance plan approved by EPA for the first
10-year period included an attainment inventory for the St. Louis area
that reflected typical summer day VOC and NOX emissions in
2008. In addition, because the St. Louis area continued to monitor
attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in 2014, 2014 is an appropriate year
to use for an attainment year inventory. IEPA is using the State's
previously compiled 2014 summer day emissions inventory as the basis
for the attainment inventory presented in Tables 1 and 2, below. Data
compiled for this inventory were submitted to EPA and used in the EPA
2014 version 7.0 modeling platform.\7\ These data are derived from the
2014 National Emissions Inventory version 2.
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\7\ The inventory documentation for this modeling platform can
be found here: https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-modeling/2014-version-70-platform.
[[Page 15631]]
Table 1--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day VOC Emissions for Attainment Year 2014
[Tons/day (tpd)]
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County Point Area On-road Nonroad Total
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Illinois:
Jersey...................... 0.03 1.22 0.52 2.10 3.87
Madison..................... 7.52 9.41 4.85 3.86 25.64
Monroe...................... 0.10 1.72 0.63 1.03 3.48
St. Clair................... 1.76 7.93 4.63 2.58 16.90
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Total................... 9.41 20.28 10.63 9.57 49.89
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Missouri:
Franklin.................... 2.08 5.80 2.57 2.91 13.36
Jefferson................... 1.91 5.44 4.65 2.72 14.72
St. Charles................. 4.12 11.50 7.75 5.25 28.62
St. Louis City.............. 2.88 11.19 4.23 2.92 21.22
St. Louis................... 2.87 35.88 73.21 19.61 131.57
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Total................... 13.86 69.81 92.41 33.41 209.49
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Area total.......... 23.27 90.09 103.04 42.98 259.38
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Table 2--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day NOX Emissions for Attainment Year 2014
[tpd]
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County Point Area On-road Nonroad Total
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Illinois:
Jersey...................... 0.00 0.09 1.08 2.87 4.04
Madison..................... 21.39 0.83 13.05 9.29 44.56
Monroe...................... 0.48 0.15 1.62 8.01 10.26
St. Clair................... 1.42 0.55 12.27 7.32 21.56
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Total................... 23.29 1.62 28.22 27.49 80.42
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Missouri:
Franklin.................... 21.13 0.46 8.00 5.24 34.83
Jefferson................... 17.96 0.42 12.87 3.04 34.29
St. Charles................. 21.05 0.89 19.68 7.40 49.02
St. Louis City.............. 4.78 0.93 10.92 5.23 21.86
St. Louis................... 16.79 3.76 118.61 17.53 156.69
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Total................... 81.71 6.47 170.08 38.44 296.69
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Area total.......... 105.00 8.09 198.30 65.93 377.11
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2. Maintenance Demonstration
IEPA is demonstrating maintenance through 2032 by showing that
future emissions of VOC and NOX for the St. Louis area
remain at or below attainment year emission levels. 2032 is an
appropriate maintenance year because it is 10 years beyond the first
10-year maintenance period. Jersey County point and area source
emissions were projected to 2032 from the U.S. EPA 2011 version 6.3
modeling platform.\8\ The relevant inventory scenario names are
``2014fd'' and ``2028el.'' The 2028 scenario was used to support past
air quality modeling to support the regional haze program. Since this
data set only grew emissions to 2028, IEPA assumed that emissions would
keep growing at the same rate out to 2032. Jersey County on-road mobile
source emissions for 2013 were calculated using MOVES 2014a using the
same inputs for 2014. The vehicle population and vehicle miles traveled
were grown from 2014 to 2032 using a growth rate of 1.5% per year.\9\
Jersey County nonroad mobile source emissions, not including aircraft,
commercial marine vessels, and locomotives, were calculated using MOVES
2014a. Emissions for aircraft, commercial marine vessels, and
locomotives were grown 2% per year.
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\8\ The inventory documentation for this platform can be found
here: https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-modeling/2011-version-63-platform.
\9\ MOVES 2014a was the current mobile model when Illinois
developed the second maintenance plan and posted it for public
comment in June 2019.
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For the other counties in the St. Louis area, the emissions for
2032 were assumed to be the same as the 2030 emissions identified in
the document ``Maintenance Plan for the Illinois Portion of the Metro-
East St. Louis Ozone Nonattainment Area for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone
Standard (AQPSTR 16-05),'' which was submitted as part of the
redesignation submittal for the St. Louis area under the 2008 ozone
NAAQS. As emissions have been shown to be decreasing, this is a
conservative assumption. Emissions for point and area source sectors,
as well as nonroad mobile categories not calculated by the MOVES model,
were projected to 2030 using data from EPA's Air Emissions Modeling
platform (2011v6.2) inventories for years 2011, 2017 and 2025. On-road
and nonroad mobile source emissions were calculated for 2020 and 2030
using the MOVES2014a model.
[[Page 15632]]
The 2032 summer day emissions inventory for the St. Louis area is
summarized in Tables 3 and 4, below. Table 5 documents changes in VOC
and NOX emissions in both Jersey County and the entire St.
Louis area between 2014 and 2032.
Table 3--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day VOC Emissions for Maintenance Year 2032
[tpd]
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County Point Area On-road Nonroad Total
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Illinois:
Jersey...................... 0.03 1.18 0.18 0.49 1.88
Madison..................... 6.75 8.90 1.79 2.64 20.08
Monroe...................... 0.09 1.66 0.25 0.51 2.51
St. Clair................... 1.69 7.49 1.72 1.40 12.84
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Total................... 8.56 19.23 3.94 5.58 37.31
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Missouri:
Franklin.................... 2.52 3.36 2.40 3.31 11.59
Jefferson................... 1.63 7.48 4.24 3.12 16.47
St. Charles................. 3.34 11.21 6.73 6.23 27.51
St. Louis City.............. 3.59 12.04 4.46 3.38 23.47
St. Louis................... 3.50 38.68 20.17 22.99 85.34
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Total................... 14.58 72.77 38.00 39.03 164.38
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Area total.......... 23.14 92.00 41.94 44.61 201.69
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Table 4--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day NOX Emissions for Maintenance Year 2032
[tpd]
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County Point Area On-road Nonroad Total
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Illinois:
Jersey...................... 0.00 0.09 0.27 2.86 3.22
Madison..................... 14.57 0.82 1.79 4.30 15.11
Monroe...................... 0.93 0.15 0.25 3.56 4.22
St. Clair................... 1.43 0.54 1.72 3.45 8.73
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Total................... 16.93 18.14 4.03 14.17 31.28
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Missouri:
Franklin.................... 30.92 2.20 3.22 1.97 38.31
Jefferson................... 27.72 0.88 2.73 2.32 33.65
St. Charles................. 8.87 1.81 4.34 5.88 20.90
St. Louis City.............. 3.82 2.70 2.18 2.80 11.50
St. Louis................... 21.75 5.44 13.10 16.93 57.22
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Total................... 93.08 13.03 25.57 29.90 161.58
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Area total.......... 110.01 14.63 32.55 44.07 201.26
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Table 5--Change in Typical Summer Day VOC and NOX Emissions in Jersey County and in the Entire St. Louis Area
Between 2014 and 2032
[tpd]
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VOC NOX
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Source category Net change Net change
2014 2032 (2014-2032) 2014 2032 (2014-2032)
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Jersey County:
Point....................... 0.03 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Area........................ 1.22 1.18 -0.04 0.09 0.09 0.00
On-road..................... 0.52 0.18 -0.34 1.08 0.27 -0.81
Nonroad..................... 2.10 0.49 -1.61 2.87 2.86 -0.01
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Total................... 3.87 1.88 -1.99 4.04 3.22 -0.82
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Entire Area:
Point....................... 23.27 23.14 -0.13 105.00 110.01 5.01
Area........................ 90.09 92.00 1.91 8.09 14.63 6.54
On-road..................... 103.04 41.94 -61.10 198.30 32.55 -165.75
[[Page 15633]]
Nonroad..................... 42.98 44.61 1.63 65.93 44.07 -21.86
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Total................... 259.38 201.69 -57.69 377.11 201.26 -175.85
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In summary, the maintenance demonstration for Jersey County shows
maintenance of the 1997 ozone standard by providing emissions
information to support the demonstration that future emissions of
NOX and VOC will remain at or below 2014 emission levels in
both Jersey County and the entire St. Louis area when taking into
account both future source growth and implementation of future
controls. Table 5 shows VOC and NOX emissions in Jersey
County are projected to decrease by 1.99 tpd and 0.82 tpd,
respectively, between 2014 and 2032. Similarly, VOC and NOX
emissions in in the entire area are projected to decrease by 57.69 tpd
and 175.85 tpd, respectively, between 2014 and 2032.
3. Continued Air Quality Monitoring
In its submittal, IEPA commits to continue monitoring ozone levels
according to an EPA approved monitoring plan, as required to ensure
maintenance of the ozone NAAQS. Should changes in the location of an
ozone monitor become necessary, IEPA commits to work with EPA to ensure
the adequacy of the monitoring network. IEPA remains obligated to meet
monitoring requirements and continues to quality assure monitoring data
in accordance with 40 CFR part 58, and to enter all data into the Air
Quality System in accordance with Federal guidelines.
4. Verification of Continued Attainment
IEPA has the legal authority to enforce and implement the
requirements of the maintenance plan for the St. Louis area. This
includes the authority to adopt, implement, and enforce any subsequent
emission control measures determined to be necessary to correct future
ozone attainment problems.
Verification of continued attainment is accomplished through
operation of the ambient ozone monitoring network and the periodic
update of the area's emissions inventory. IEPA will continue to operate
an approved ozone monitoring network in the St. Louis area. There are
no plans to discontinue operation of, relocate, or otherwise change the
existing ozone monitoring network other than through revisions in the
network approved by EPA.
In addition, to track future levels of emissions, IEPA will
continue to develop and submit to EPA updated emission inventories for
all source categories at least once every three years, consistent with
the requirements of 40 CFR part 51, subpart A, and in 40 CFR 51.122.
The Consolidated Emissions Reporting Rule (CERR) was promulgated by EPA
on June 10, 2002 (67 FR 39602). The CERR was replaced by the Annual
Emissions Reporting Requirements on December 17, 2008 (73 FR 76539).
IEPA will also continue to implement the annual emissions reporting
rule contained in 35 Illinois Administrative Code Part 254.
5. Contingency Plan
Section 175A of the CAA requires that the state adopt a maintenance
plan, as a SIP revision, that includes such contingency measures as EPA
deems necessary to ensure that the state will promptly correct a
violation of the NAAQS that occurs after redesignation of the area to
attainment of the NAAQS. The maintenance plan must identify: the
contingency measures to be considered and, if needed for maintenance,
adopted and implemented; a schedule and procedure for adoption and
implementation; and a time limit for action by the state. The state
should also identify specific indicators to be used to determine when
the contingency measures need to be considered, adopted, and
implemented. The maintenance plan must include a commitment that the
state will implement all measures with respect to the control of the
pollutant that were contained in the SIP before redesignation of the
area to attainment in accordance with section 175A(d) of the CAA. See
Calcagni Memorandum at 12-13.
As required by section 175A of the CAA, Illinois has adopted a
contingency plan for the St. Louis area to address possible future
ozone air quality problems. The contingency plan adopted by Illinois
has two levels of response, a Level I response and a Level II response.
In IEPA's plan, a Level I response will be triggered when either an
annual fourth high monitored value of 0.084 ppm or higher is monitored
within the maintenance area, or the NOX or VOC emissions
inventories in the Illinois portion of the area increase more than 5%
above the levels included in the 2014 emissions inventories. A Level I
response will consist of Illinois evaluating air quality or determining
if adverse emissions trends are likely to continue. Illinois will
determine what and where controls may be required as well as the level
of emissions reductions needed to avoid a violation of the NAAQS. The
study must be completed within 9 months, with adoption of necessary
control measures within 18 months of the determination.
In IEPA's plan, a Level II response is triggered by a violation of
the ozone NAAQS at any monitoring site in the St. Louis area. In the
event that a Level II response is triggered, within 6 months, IEPA will
conduct an analysis to determine appropriate measures to address the
cause of the violation. Selected measures will be implemented within 18
months of the violation.
IEPA included the following list of potential contingency measures
in its maintenance plan:
1. NOX reasonably available control technology;
2. National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants risk
and technology review: petroleum refineries 40 CFR part 63, subparts CC
and UUU;
3. New Source Performance Standards--petroleum refineries 40 CFR
part 60, subpart Ja;
4. Conversion of coal-fired Electric Generating Units to natural
gas and from baseload units to intermittent units;
5. Broader geographic applicability of existing measures;
6. Oil and gas sector emissions guidelines;
7. Implementation of OTC model rules for above ground storage
tanks;
[[Page 15634]]
8. Continued phasing in of 2017 light-duty vehicle Green House Gas
(GHG) and corporate average fuel economy standards;
9. Tier 3 vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards;
10. Mobile source air toxics rule;
11. High-enhanced Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance (On-
Board Diagnostic II);
12. Federal railroad/locomotive standards;
13. Federal commercial marine vessel engine standards;
14. Heavy-duty vehicle GHG rules;
15. Regulations on the sale of aftermarket catalytic converters;
16. Standards and limitations for organic material emissions for
area sources (consumer and commercial products and architectural and
industrial maintenance coatings rule);
17. Current California commercial and consumer products--aerosol
adhesive coatings, dual purpose air freshener/disinfectants, etc.
To qualify as a contingency measure, emissions reductions from that
measure must not be factored into the emissions projections used in the
maintenance plan.
EPA has concluded that Illinois' maintenance plan adequately
addresses the five basic components of a maintenance plan: an
attainment emission inventory, a maintenance demonstration, a
commitment for continued air quality monitoring, a process for
verification of continued attainment, and a contingency plan. Thus, EPA
proposes to find that the maintenance plan SIP revision submitted by
IEPA for the St. Louis area meets the requirements of section 175A of
the CAA.
B. Transportation Conformity
Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the CAA.
Conformity to a SIP means that transportation activities will not
produce new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or
delay timely attainment of the NAAQS (CAA section 176(c)(1)(B)). EPA's
conformity rule at 40 CFR part 93 requires that transportation plans,
programs, and projects conform to SIPs and establish the criteria and
procedures for determining whether they conform. The conformity rule
generally requires a demonstration that emissions from the Regional
Transportation Plan and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
are consistent with the motor vehicle emissions budget (Budget)
contained in the control strategy SIP revision or maintenance plan (40
CFR 93.101, 93.118, and 93.124). A Budget is defined as ``that portion
of the total allowable emissions defined in the submitted or approved
control strategy implementation plan revision or maintenance plan for a
certain date for the purpose of meeting reasonable further progress
milestones or demonstrating attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS, for
any criteria pollutant or its precursors, allocated to highway and
transit vehicle use and emissions'' (40 CFR 93.101).
However, the South Coast II court decision upheld EPA's revocation
of the 1997 ozone NAAQS, which was effective on April 6, 2015. EPA's
current transportation conformity regulation requires a regional
emissions analysis only during the time period beginning one year after
a nonattainment designation for a particular NAAQS until the effective
date of revocation of that NAAQS (40 CFR 93.109(c)). Therefore,
pursuant to the conformity regulation, a regional emissions analysis
using Budgets is not required for conformity determinations for the
1997 ozone NAAQS because that NAAQS has been revoked (80 FR 12264). As
no regional emissions analysis is required for the St. Louis area for
the 1997 ozone NAAQS, transportation conformity for the 1997 ozone
NAAQS can be demonstrated for transportation plans and TIPs by showing
that the remaining criteria contained in Table 1 in 40 CFR 93.109, and
40 CFR 93.108 have been met. As noted previously, EPA is proposing to
find that the projected emissions inventory is consistent with
maintenance of the 1997 ozone standard.
IV. What action is EPA taking?
Under sections 110(k) and 175A of the CAA and for the reasons set
forth above, and based on IEPA's representations and commitments set
forth above, EPA is proposing to approve the Jersey County second
maintenance plan for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, submitted by IEPA on August
24, 2022, as a revision to the Illinois SIP. The second maintenance
plan is designed to keep the St. Louis area in attainment of the 1997
ozone NAAQS through 2032.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, 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 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 Clean Air Act; 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Volatile organic compounds.
[[Page 15635]]
Dated: March 9, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2023-05175 Filed 3-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P