Rule2022-07132
Air Plan Approval; Alabama; Birmingham Limited Maintenance Plan for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
Primary source
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Published
April 6, 2022
Effective
May 6, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Alabama, through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), via a letter dated September 15, 2020. The SIP revision includes the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for the Birmingham, Alabama Area (hereinafter referred to as the "Birmingham Area" or "Area"). The Birmingham Area is comprised of Jefferson and Shelby Counties. EPA is approving the Birmingham Area LMP because it provides for the maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS within the Birmingham Area through the end of the second 10-year portion of the maintenance period. This action makes certain commitments related to maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the Birmingham Area federally enforceable as part of the Alabama SIP.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19806-19808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07132]
[[Page 19806]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0010; FRL-9539-02-R4]
Air Plan Approval; Alabama; Birmingham Limited Maintenance Plan
for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state
implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Alabama,
through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), via
a letter dated September 15, 2020. The SIP revision includes the 1997
8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) Limited
Maintenance Plan (LMP) for the Birmingham, Alabama Area (hereinafter
referred to as the ``Birmingham Area'' or ``Area''). The Birmingham
Area is comprised of Jefferson and Shelby Counties. EPA is approving
the Birmingham Area LMP because it provides for the maintenance of the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS within the Birmingham Area through the end of
the second 10-year portion of the maintenance period. This action makes
certain commitments related to maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS in the Birmingham Area federally enforceable as part of the
Alabama SIP.
DATES: This rule is effective May 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0010. All documents in the docket are listed on
the <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the index, some
information may not be publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business
Information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by
statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not
placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy
form. Publicly available docket materials can either be retrieved
electronically via <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or in hard copy at the Air
Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch,
Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA
requests that if at all possible, you contact the person listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection.
The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through
Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah LaRocca, Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is
(404) 562-8994. Ms. LaRocca can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#224e43504d4141430c514350434a624752430c454d54"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8be7eaf9e4e8e8eaa5f8eaf9eae3cbeefbeaa5ece4fd">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In 1979, under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), 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. EPA determined that the 8-
hour NAAQS would be more protective of human health, especially for
children and adults who are active outdoors, and individuals with a
pre-existing respiratory disease, such as asthma.
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\1\ In March 2008, EPA completed another review of the primary
and secondary ozone NAAQS and tightened them further by lowering the
level for both to 0.075 ppm. See 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008).
Additionally, in October 2015, EPA completed a review of the primary
and secondary ozone NAAQS and tightened them by lowering the level
for both to 0.070 ppm. See 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, EPA designated the Birmingham
Area, which includes Jefferson and Shelby Counties, as nonattainment
for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and the designation became effective
on June 15, 2004. See 69 FR 23858 (April 30, 2004). Similarly, on May
21, 2012, EPA designated areas as unclassifiable/attainment or
nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA designated the
Birmingham Area as unclassifiable/attainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. This designation became effective on July 20, 2012. See 77 FR
30088. On November 16, 2017, areas were designated for the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS. The Birmingham Area was again designated attainment/
unclassifiable for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS, with an effective date
of January 16, 2018. See 82 FR 54232 (November 16, 2017).
A state may submit a request that EPA redesignate a nonattainment
area that is attaining the NAAQS to attainment, and if the area has met
other required criteria described in section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA,
EPA may approve the redesignation request.\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 NAAQS for the period extending ten 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 NAAQS will be promptly
corrected. Eight years after the effective date of redesignation, the
state must also submit a second maintenance plan to ensure ongoing
maintenance of the NAAQS for an additional ten years pursuant to CAA
section 175A(b) (i.e., ensuring maintenance for 20 years after
redesignation).
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\2\ Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA sets out the requirements
for redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment. They include
attainment of the NAAQS, full approval of the applicable SIP
pursuant to CAA section 110(k), 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 memo 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 projected 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 memo at page 9. EPA clarified
in three subsequent
[[Page 19807]]
guidance memos that certain areas could meet the CAA section 175A
requirement to provide for maintenance by showing that the area was
unlikely to violate the NAAQS in the future, using information such as
the area's design value \4\ being well below the standard and the area
having a historically stable design value.\5\ EPA refers to a
maintenance plan containing this streamlined demonstration as an LMP.
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\3\ John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division,
EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, ``Procedures for
Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' September
4, 1992 (Calcagni memo).
\4\ The ozone design value for a monitoring site is the 3-year
average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentrations. The design value for an ozone area is the
highest design value of any monitoring site in the area.
\5\ See ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable
Ozone Nonattainment Areas,'' from Sally L. Shaver, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), dated November 16, 1994;
``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable CO
Nonattainment Areas,'' from Joseph Paisie, OAQPS, dated October 6,
1995; and ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate
PM<INF>10</INF> Nonattainment Areas,'' from Lydia Wegman, OAQPS,
dated August 9, 2001. Copies of these guidance memoranda can be
found in the docket for this proposed rulemaking.
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EPA has interpreted CAA section 175A as permitting the LMP option
because section 175A of the Act does not define how areas may
demonstrate maintenance, and in EPA's experience implementing the
various NAAQS, areas that qualify for an LMP and have approved LMPs
have rarely, if ever, experienced subsequent violations of the NAAQS.
As noted in the LMP guidance memoranda, states seeking an LMP must
still submit the other maintenance plan elements outlined in the
Calcagni memo, including: An attainment emissions inventory, provisions
for the continued operation of the ambient air quality monitoring
network, verification of continued attainment, and a contingency plan
in the event of a future violation of the NAAQS. Moreover, a state
seeking an LMP must still submit its section 175A maintenance plan as a
revision to its SIP, with all attendant notice and comment procedures.
While the LMP guidance memoranda were originally written with respect
to certain NAAQS,\6\ EPA has extended the LMP interpretation of section
175A to other NAAQS and pollutants not specifically covered by the
previous guidance memos.\7\
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\6\ The prior memos addressed: Unclassifiable areas under the 1-
hour ozone NAAQS, nonattainment areas for the PM<INF>10</INF>
(particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10
microns) NAAQS, and nonattainment for the carbon monoxide NAAQS.
\7\ See, e.g., 79 FR 41900 (July 18, 2014) (approval of the
second ten-year LMP for the Grant County 1971 SO<INF>2</INF>
maintenance area).
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In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on February 9,
2022, see 87 FR 7404, EPA proposed to approve Birmingham's LMP because
the State made a showing that the Area's ozone concentrations are well
below the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS and have been historically stable and
that it met the other maintenance plan requirements. The details of
Alabama's submission and the rationale for EPA's action are explained
in the NPRM. Comments on the February 9, 2022, NPRM were due on or
before March 11, 2022. EPA received only one comment, which was in
support of the February 9, 2022, NPRM.
II. Final Action
EPA is taking final action to approve the Birmingham Area LMP for
the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, submitted by ADEM on September 17, 2020,
as a revision to the Alabama SIP.\8\ EPA is approving the Birmingham
Area LMP because it includes a sufficient update of the various
elements of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS Maintenance Plan approved by
EPA for the first 10-year portion of the maintenance period (including
emissions inventory, assurance of adequate monitoring and verification
of continued attainment, and contingency provisions) and retains the
relevant provisions of the SIP under sections 110(k) and 175A of the
CAA. EPA also finds that the Birmingham Area qualifies for the LMP
option and that the Birmingham Area LMP is sufficient to provide for
maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the Birmingham Area over
the second 10-year maintenance period (i.e., through 2026).
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\8\ The SIP revision was adopted by ADEM on September 16, 2020,
and submitted by ADEM as a revision to the Alabama SIP on September
17, 2020, via a letter dated September 15, 2020.
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III. 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. See 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. 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:
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
<bullet> 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.);
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
<bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
<bullet> 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
<bullet> 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).
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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 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).
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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 June 6, 2022. 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. 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, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: March 30, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52
as follows:
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.
0
2. In Sec. 52.50(e), amend the table by adding an entry for ``1997 8-
Hour Ozone Second 10-Year Limited Maintenance Plan for the Birmingham
Area'' at the end of the table to read as follows:
Sec. 52.50 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA Approved Alabama Non-Regulatory Provisions
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Applicable State submittal
Name of nonregulatory SIP geographic or date/effective EPA approval date Explanation
provision nonattainment area date
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* * * * * * *
1997 8-Hour Ozone Second 10-Year Jefferson County 9/16/2020 4/6/2022, [Insert
Limited Maintenance Plan for and Shelby County. citation of
the Birmingham Area. publication].
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[FR Doc. 2022-07132 Filed 4-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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