Federal Register: March 25, 2009 (Volume , Number )
DOCID: fr25mr09-12 FR Doc E9-6601
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Environmental Protection Agency
CFR Citation: 40 CFR Part 52
EPA ID: [EPA-R04-OAR-2007-1186-200821(a); FRL-8781-5]
NOTICE: RULES
DOCID: fr25mr09-12
DOCUMENT ACTION: Direct final rule.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans: Kentucky; Approval Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plans for the 1997 8- Hour Ozone Standard for the Huntington-Ashland Area, Lexington Area and Edmonson County
DATES: This rule is effective on May 26, 2009 without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by April 24, 2009. If EPA receives such comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that this rule will not take effect.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
EPA is approving revisions to the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning the maintenance plans addressing the 1997 8hour ozone standard for the following areas: the Kentucky portion of the HuntingtonAshland Area (a portion of Greenup County); Lexington Area (Fayette and Scott Counties); and Edmonson County. These maintenance plans were submitted to EPA on May 27, 2008, by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and ensure the continued attainment of the 1997 8hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) through the year 2020. These plans meet the statutory and regulatory requirements, and are consistent with EPA's guidance. EPA is approving the revisions pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act (``CAA'' or ``Act''). On March 12, 2008, EPA issued a revised ozone standard. The current action, however, is being taken to address requirements under the 1997 ozone standard. Requirements for the HuntingtonAshland, Lexington, and Edmonson County Areas under the 2008 standard will be addressed in the future.
SUMMARY:
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans: ; Kentucky; Approval Section 110(a) (1) Maintenance Plans for the 1997 8–hour ozone standard for the Huntington–Ashland Area et al.,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Analysis of the Commonwealth's Submittals
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
In accordance with the CAA, the HuntingtonAshland Area \1\,
Lexington Area \2\ and Edmonson County were designated as nonattainment
for the 1hour ozone NAAQS (effective January 6, 1992, 56 FR 56694).
\1\ For the 1997 8hour ozone standard Scott and Fayette
Counties were previously in the Lexington 1hour maintenance area
but were individually designated attainment for the 1997 8hour ozone standard.
\2\ The 1hour ozone nonattainment area for the Huntington
Ashland includes Boyd County and a portion of Greenup County in
Kentucky. For the 1997 8hour ozone standard, Boyd County in the
HuntingtonAshland area was designated nonattainment, whereas the
portion of Greenup County that was designated nonattainment for the
1hour ozone standard was designated attainment for the 1997 8hour ozone standard.
On November 13, 1992, the Commonwealth of Kentucky submitted a request to redesignate the Lexington Area and Edmonson County to attainment for the 1hour ozone standard. Subsequently, on November 12, 1993, the Commonwealth of Kentucky submitted a request to redesignate the HuntingtonAshland Area to attainment for the 1hour ozone standard. At the same time as the redesignation requests, Kentucky submitted the required ozone monitoring data and maintenance plans to ensure that the Areas would remain in attainment for the 1hour ozone standard for a period of 10 years, consistent with the CAA 175A(a). The maintenance plans submitted by Kentucky followed EPA guidance for limited maintenance areas, which was provided for the 1hour ozone standard areas that have design values less than 85 percent of the applicable standard. In this case, the applicable standard was the 1 hour ozone standard of 0.12 parts per million (ppm).
EPA approved Kentucky's requests to redesignate the Huntington Ashland Area (60 FR 33748), Lexington Area (60 FR 47089) and Edmonson County (59 FR 55053) to attainment for the 1hour ozone standard. The maintenance plan for the HuntingtonAshland Area (a portion of Greenup County) was approved on June 29, 1995, with an effective date of June 29, 1995 (60 FR 33748). The maintenance plan for the Lexington Area was approved on September 11, 1995, with an effective date of November 13, 1995 (60 FR 47089). The 1hour ozone maintenance plan for Edmonson County was approved on November 3, 1994, with an effective date of January 3, 1995 (59 FR 55053).
On April 30, 2004, EPA designated areas for the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS (69 FR 23858), and published the final Phase I Implementation Rule for the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS (69 FR 23951) (Phase I Rule). The HuntingtonAshland Area, Lexington Area, and Edmonson County were designated as attainment for the 1997 8hour ozone standard, effective June 15, 2004. The attainment areas consequently were required to submit 10year maintenance plans under section 110(a)(1) of the CAA and the Phase I Rule. On May 20, 2005, EPA issued guidance providing information on how a state might fulfill the maintenance plan obligation established by the CAA and the Phase I Rule (Memorandum from Lydia N. Wegman to Air Division Directors, Maintenance Plan Guidance Document for Certain 8hour Ozone Areas Under Section 110(a)(1) of Clean Air Act, May 20, 2005hereafter referred to as ``Wegman Memorandum''). On December 22, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion that vacated portions of EPA's Phase I Implementation Rule for the 1997 8hour Ozone Standard. See South Coast Air Quality Management District. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882 (D.C. Cir. 2006). The Court vacated those portions of the Rule that provided for regulation of the 1997 8hour ozone nonattainment areas designated under Subpart 1 in lieu of Subpart 2 (of part D of the CAA), among other portions. The Court's decision does not alter any requirements under the Phase I Rule for maintenance plans. Kentucky's May 27, 2008, proposed SIP revision satisfies the section 110(a)(1) CAA requirements for a plan that provides for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS in the Huntington Ashland, Lexington, and Edmonson County Areas.
II. Analysis of the State's Submittals
On May 27, 2008, the Commonwealth of Kentucky submitted SIP revisions containing 1997 8hour ozone maintenance plans for the portion of Greenup County in the HuntingtonAshland Area, the Lexington Area, and Edmonson County as required by section 110(a)(1) of the CAA and the provisions of EPA's Phase I Rule (see 40 CFR 51.905(a)(4)). The purpose of these maintenance plans are to ensure continued attainment and maintenance of the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS in the Huntington Ashland Area, Lexington Area, and Edmonson County until 2020.
As required, these plans provide for continued attainment and
maintenance of the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS in the area for 10 years
from the effective date of the area's designation as attainment for the
1997 8hour ozone NAAQS, and include components illustrating how each
area will continue attainment of the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS and provides contingency measures. Each of
[[Page 12569]]
the section 110(a)(1) plan components is discussed below for each area.
a. Attainment Inventory. Kentucky developed comprehensive
inventories of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxide
(NO
A further practical reason for selecting 2002 as the base year
emission inventory is that section 110(a)(2)(B) of the CAA and the
Consolidated Emissions Reporting Rule (67 FR 39602, June 10, 2002)
require states to submit emissions inventories for all criteria
pollutants and their precursors every three years, on a schedule that
includes the emissions year 2002. The due date for the 2002 emissions
inventory is established in the Rule as June 2004. In accordance with
these requirements, Kentucky compiles a statewide emissions inventory
for point sources on an annual basis. Onroad mobile emissions of VOC
and NO
In projecting data for the attainment year 2020 inventory, Kentucky used several methods to project data from the base year 2002 to the years 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2020. These projected inventories were developed using EPAapproved technologies and methodologies. Point source and nonpoint source projections were derived from the Emissions Growth Analysis System version 4.0 (EGAS 4.0). Nonroad mobile projections were derived from EGAS 4.0, as well as from the National Mobile Inventory Model.
The following tables provide VOC and NO
Table 1Partial Greenup County Portion of HuntingtonAshland Area VOC and NOX Emissions Inventory
Emissions 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 2020
Total VOC (tons per day)..................................... 3.14 2.86 2.69 2.53 2.43 2.36 2.33
Total NOX (tons per day)..................................... 2.42 2.18 1.95 1.72 1.47 1.29 1.19
As shown in Table 1 above, the Kentucky portion of the Huntington
Ashland area is projected to decrease total VOC and NO
Table 2Lexington Area (Scott and Fayette Counties)
[VOC and NOX Emissions Inventory]
Emissions 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 2020
Total VOC (tons per day)..................................... 50.89 47.87 48.23 47.89 48.12 48.93 50.13
Total NOX (tons per day)..................................... 39.33 32.66 29.85 25.77 21.15 17.97 15.98
As shown in Table 2 above, the Lexington Area is projected to
decrease total NO
As shown in Table 3 above, Edmonson County is projected to decrease
total VOC and NO
As shown in the tables above, Kentucky has demonstrated that the
future year emissions will be less than the 2002 base attainment year's
emissions for the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS. The attainment inventories
submitted by Kentucky for these areas are consistent with the criteria
discussed in the Wegman Memorandum. EPA finds that the future emissions
levels in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020 are expected to be
similar to or less than the emissions levels in 2002. In the event that a future
[[Page 12570]]
8hour ozone monitoring reading in theses areas is found to violate the
1997 8hour ozone standard, the contingency plan section of the
maintenance plans includes measures that will be promptly implemented
to ensure that each of these areas returns the maintenance of the 1997
8hour ozone standard. Please see section (d) Contingency Plan, below,
for additional information related to the contingency measures.
b. Maintenance Demonstration. The primary purpose of a maintenance
plan is to demonstrate how an area will continue to remain in
compliance with the 1997 8hour ozone standard for the 10 year period
following the effective date of designation as unclassifiable/
attainment. The end projection year for the maintenance plans for the
portion of Greenup County in the HuntingtonAshland Area, Lexington
Area and Edmonson County was 2020. As discussed in section (a)
Attainment Inventory above, Kentucky identified the level of ozone
forming emissions that were consistent with attainment of the NAAQS for
ozone in 2002. Kentucky projected VOC and NO
Kentucky's SIP revisions also rely on a combination of several air
quality measures that will provide for additional 8hour ozone
emissions reductions in the HuntingtonAshland Area, Lexington Area, and Edmonson County. These measures include the potential
implementation of the following, among others: (1) Federal motor
vehicle control program; (2) fleet turnover of automobiles; (3) federal
reformulated gasoline; (4) tier 2 motor vehicle emissions and fuel
standards; (5) heavyduty gasoline and diesel highway vehicles
standard; (6) large nonroad diesel engines rule; (7) nonroad spark
ignition engines and recreational engines standard; (8) point source
emission reductions; (9) reasonably available control measures (RACM);
(10) maximum available control technology (MACT); (11) NO
c. Ambient Air Quality Monitoring. The Table below shows design values for the HuntingtonAshland Area, Lexington Area and Edmonson County. The ambient ozone monitoring data was collected at sites that were selected with assistance from the EPA and are considered to be representative of the area of highest concentration.
With regard to the monitors, there is a monitor in Greenup County.
The Lexington area has two monitors in Fayette County (Ironworks and
Newton) and one in Scott County; however, the Scott County monitor was
discontinued in 2002. Edmonson County has one monitor. There were no
design values exceeding the 1997 0.08 ppm standard and it is
anticipated that the monitors will remain at current locations, unless
otherwise allowed to be removed in the consultation with the EPA and in accordance with the 40 CFR part 58.
Table 4Design Values for 8Hour Ozone (PPM)
Lexington Area
Huntington Edmonson
Year Ashland Area Fayette Scott County
County County
20002002............................................. 0.083 0.078 0.071 0.084
20012003............................................. 0.083 0.076 0.069 0.080
20022004............................................. 0.078 0.071 0.067 0.077
20032005............................................. 0.076 0.069 * 0.073
20042006............................................. 0.076 0.059 * 0.072
20062007............................................. 0.078 0.067 * 0.076 * Monitor discontinued in 2005.
Based on the Table above, each of the available design values indentified is considered to be in attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS and demonstrates that the Kentucky areas subject to this action are expected to continue attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS. In the event that a design value at one of the Kentucky area monitoring sites exceeds the 1997 ozone standard of 84 parts per billion, the Contingency Plan included in the Kentucky's maintenance plan submittal includes contingency measures which will be promptly implemented in section (d) Contingency Plan, below.
d. Contingency Plan. The section 110(a)(1) maintenance plans
include contingency provisions to promptly correct any violation of the
1997 ozone NAAQS that occurs. The contingency indicator for the
HuntingtonAshland Area, Lexington Area and Edmonson County,
maintenance plans is based on updates to the emission inventories. The
triggering mechanism for activation of contingency measures is a ten percent or greater increase in emissions of either VOC or
NO
[[Page 12571]]
These contingency measures and schedules for implementation satisfy
EPA's guidance on the requirements of section 110(a)(1) of continued
attainment. Continued attainment of the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS in the
partial area of Greenup County in HuntingtonAshland Area, Lexington
Area and Edmonson County will depend, in part, on the air quality
measures discussed previously (see section II). In addition, Kentucky
commits to verifying the 1997 8hour ozone status in each maintenance
plan through annual and periodic evaluations of the emissions
inventories. In the annual evaluations, Kentucky will review VOC and
NO
III. Final Action
Pursuant to section 110 of the Act, EPA is approving the maintenance plans addressing the 1997 8hour ozone standard for a portion of Greenup County in the HuntingtonAshland Area, the Lexington Area, and Edmonson County, which were submitted by Kentucky on May 27, 2008, and ensure continued attainment of the 1997 8hour ozone NAAQS through the year 2020. EPA has evaluated the Commonwealth's submittals and has determined that they meet the applicable requirements of the CAA and EPA regulations, and are consistent with EPA policy.
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should adverse comment be filed. This rule will be effective on May 26, 2009 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comment by April 24, 2009. If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised this rule will be effective on May 26, 2009 and no further action will be taken on the proposed rule. IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the 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, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely approves Kentucky law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:
In addition, this rule 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.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by May 26, 2009. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Incorporation by reference, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxides, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: February 25, 2009.
Beverly H. Banister,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
[[Page 12572]]
PART 52[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart SKentucky
2. Section 52.920(e), is amended by adding new entries at the end of
the table for ``HuntingtonAshland 8Hour Ozone Section 110(a)(1)
Maintenance Plan for the 1997 8hour ozone standard'', ``Lexington
Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for the 1997 8hour ozone
standard'', and ``Edmonson County Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for the 1997 8hour ozone standard'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.920 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPAApproved Kentucky NonRegulatory Provisions
Applicable State
Name of SIP provision geographic or submittal date/ EPA approval date Explanations
nonattainment area effective date
* * * * *
HuntingtonAshland Section A portion of 5/27/2008 3/25/2008 .......................
110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for Greenup County. [Insert citation
the 1997 8Hour Ozone Standard. of publication].
Lexington Section 110(a)(1) Fayette and Scott 5/27/2008 3/25/2008 .......................
Maintenance Plan for the 1997 Counties. [Insert citation
8Hour Ozone Standard. of publication].
Edmonson County Section Edmonson County... 5/27/2008 3/25/2008 .......................
110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for [Insert citation
1997 8Hour Ozone Standard. of publication]. [FR Doc. E96601 Filed 32409; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 656050P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Jane Spann or Zuri Farngalo,
Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides
and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 303038960. Jane
Spann may be reached by phone at (404) 5629029 or by electronic mail
address spann.jane@epa.gov. The telephone number for Zuri Farngalo is (404) 5629152 and the electronic mail address is
farngalo.zuri@epa.gov.