Rule2022-07291
Air Plan Approval; Iowa; Determination of Attainment by the Attainment Date for the 2010 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide Standard
Primary source
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Published
April 7, 2022
Effective
May 9, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to determine that the Muscatine sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) nonattainment area attained the 2010 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF> primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) by the applicable attainment date of October 4, 2018, based upon a weight-of-evidence analysis using available air quality information. Additional analysis of the attainment determination is provided in a Technical Support Document (TSD) included in the docket to this rulemaking. This action addresses the EPA's obligation under a consent decree which established a deadline of March 31, 2022 for the EPA to determine under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 179(c) whether the Muscatine SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area attained the NAAQS by the October 4, 2018, attainment date. The consent decree deadline was extended to June 30, 2022.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20329-20331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07291]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0932; FRL-9461-02-R7]
Air Plan Approval; Iowa; Determination of Attainment by the
Attainment Date for the 2010 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to determine that the Muscatine sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>)
nonattainment area attained the 2010 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF> primary
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) by the applicable
attainment date of October 4, 2018, based upon a weight-of-evidence
analysis using available air quality information. Additional analysis
of the attainment determination is provided in a Technical Support
Document (TSD) included in the docket to this rulemaking. This action
addresses the EPA's obligation under a consent decree which established
a deadline of March 31, 2022 for the EPA to determine under Clean Air
Act (CAA) section 179(c) whether the Muscatine SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area attained the NAAQS by the October 4, 2018,
attainment date. The consent decree deadline was extended to June 30,
2022.
DATES: This final rule is effective on May 9, 2022.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0932. All documents in the docket are
listed on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in
the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e.,
confidential business information (CBI) 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 are available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section for additional information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Heitman, Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201
Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-
7664; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1c9c4c8d5ccc0cf8fcbc0d2cecfe1c4d1c08fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ce4e9e5f8e1ede2a2e6edffe3e2cce9fceda2ebe3fa">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and
``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. What is being addressed in this document?
II. Determination
III. Final Action
IV. Environmental Justice Concerns
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is being addressed in this document?
The EPA is taking final action to determine that the Muscatine
SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area attained the 2010 1-hour
SO<INF>2</INF> primary NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of
October 4, 2018, based upon a weight-of-evidence analysis using
available air quality information. This action also fulfills the EPA's
obligation under a consent decree in Center for Biological Diversity,
et al. v. Regan, No. 3:20-cv-05436-EMC (N.D. Cal June 25, 2021), which
established a deadline of March 31, 2022, for the EPA to determine
under CAA section 179(c) whether the Muscatine SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area attained the NAAQS by the October 4, 2018,
attainment date. The consent decree deadline was extended by
stipulation to June 30, 2022.
II. Determination
CAA section 179(c)(1) requires the Agency to ``determine, based on
the area's air quality as of the attainment date, whether the area
attained the standard by that date.''
On January 26, 2022, the EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) to determine that the Muscatine SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area attained the NAAQS by the October 4, 2018,
attainment date. (87 FR 3958) During the comment period on EPA's NPRM,
open from January 26, 2022, to February 25, 2022, EPA received no
comments.
As discussed in the NPRM, the EPA first assessed what air quality
information was available related to making a determination of
attainment by the attainment date for the Muscatine area. The EPA chose
to employ a weight-of-evidence approach for making this determination
because the EPA does not have any analysis (including modeling)
associated with the monitor siting to demonstrate that the monitors
record maximum ambient SO<INF>2</INF> concentrations in the NAA, nor
does EPA have modeling of actual emissions to support a determination
based on modeled ambient concentrations whether the area attained the
NAAQS by the attainment date. The available modeling of permitted
allowable emissions in the area, as discussed in the NPRM, does not on
its own provide a basis for determining whether the area attained by
the attainment date. Thus, EPA relied upon SO<INF>2</INF> emissions
data and trends, relevant air monitoring data and trends,
SO<INF>2</INF> monitoring data incorporated with local meteorological
data, as well as available modeling information in order to make its
determination under CAA section 179(c)(1).
The EPA finds that the analysis of multiple types of air-quality
related information supports our determination and is consistent with
section 179(c)(1)'s direction to determine the area's air quality as of
the attainment date. Further detail on EPA's weight-of-evidence
analysis is contained in the NPRM and TSD included in the docket for
this action.
As discussed in the NPRM and in the TSD, we find that the weight of
the available evidence indicates that the Muscatine area attained the
2010 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS in the 2015-2017
[[Page 20330]]
timeframe by the October 4, 2018, attainment date. Specifically, the
significant reductions in emissions during the relevant time period
from sources within the nonattainment area and a nearby source outside
the nonattainment area, coupled with corresponding decreased monitored
SO<INF>2</INF> concentrations within the nonattainment area during that
same time period lead us to our determination that the area attained by
its attainment date.
III. Final Action
The EPA conducted a weight-of-evidence analysis, described in
detail in the NPRM and the TSD, to determine if the Muscatine
SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area attained the 2010 1-hour
SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the October 4, 2018, attainment date by
evaluating all available technical information and data relevant to the
SO<INF>2</INF> air quality (e.g., emissions, monitoring, meteorological
data, and modeling) in the Muscatine, Iowa, area. Based on the analysis
and information presented in the NPRM and the TSD contained in the
docket for this action, the EPA determines that the Muscatine
SO<INF>2</INF> NAA attained the 2010 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF> standard by
the applicable attainment date of October 4, 2018, consistent with CAA
section 179(c)(1).
On January 26, 2022, the EPA published a NPRM to determine that the
Muscatine SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area attained the NAAQS by the
October 4, 2018, attainment date. (87 FR 3958) The EPA sought public
comment on the proposed determination and received no comments.
Therefore, the EPA is finalizing the determination as proposed.
In addition, this action addresses EPA's obligation under a consent
decree in Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. Regan, which
established a deadline of March 31, 2022, for the EPA to determine
under CAA section 179(c) whether the Muscatine County SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area attained the NAAQS by the October 4, 2018,
attainment date. The consent decree deadline was extended by
stipulation to June 30, 2022.
This action does not constitute a redesignation of the Muscatine
SO<INF>2</INF> NAA to attainment for the 2010 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF>
NAAQS under CAA section 107(d)(3) because we have not yet approved a
maintenance plan for the area as meeting the requirements of section
175A of the CAA and have not determined that the area has met the other
CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) requirements for redesignation. The
classification and designation status in 40 CFR part 81 will remain
nonattainment until the EPA has determined that Iowa has met the CAA
requirements for redesignation to attainment for the Muscatine
SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area.
IV. Environmental Justice Concerns
When the EPA establishes a new or revised NAAQS, the CAA requires
the EPA to designate all areas of the U.S. as either nonattainment,
attainment, or unclassifiable. Area designations address environmental
justice concerns by ensuring that the public is properly informed about
the air quality in an area.
The EPA utilized the EJSCREEN tool to evaluate environmental and
demographic indicators within the area. The tool outputs report is
contained in the docket for this action. While the EPA's EJSCREEN tool
demonstrates that demographic indicators are consistent or lower than
national averages, there are vulnerable populations in the area
including low-income populations and persons over 64 years of age.
This action addresses EPA's determination, as required by the CAA,
of whether the Muscatine County, Iowa, area attained the 2010 1-hour
SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the relevant attainment date. This action
determines an area has attained the NAAQS by the relevant attainment
date, but it does not change the geographic status of the area nor does
it impose additional or modify existing requirements on sources. Based
on the information presented in the NPRM and the TSD, the EPA
determines that the air quality in the Muscatine County area is
attaining the NAAQS. For these reasons, this action does not result in
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects on minority populations, low-income populations and/or
indigenous peoples.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This action determines an area has attained the NAAQS by the
relevant attainment date and does not impose additional or modify
existing requirements. 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 the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not
involve technical standards; and
<bullet> 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 IV of this action,
``Environmental Justice Concerns.''
<bullet> This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act,
and the EPA will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and
to the Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
<bullet> 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, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides.
[[Page 20331]]
Dated: March 31, 2022.
Meghan A. McCollister,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 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 Q--Iowa
0
2. Revise Sec. 52.834 to read as follows:
Sec. 52.834 Control strategy: Sulfur dioxide.
(a) Approval. On April 21, 1997, the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources (IDNR) submitted a maintenance plan and redesignation request
for the Muscatine County nonattainment area for the 1971 SO<INF>2</INF>
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The maintenance plan and
redesignation request satisfy all applicable requirements of the Clean
Air Act.
(b) Determination of attainment by the attainment date. As of May
9, 2022, the EPA has determined that the Muscatine, Iowa SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area has attained the 2010 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF> primary
NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of October 4, 2018.
[FR Doc. 2022-07291 Filed 4-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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