Rule2022-12318
Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Redesignation of the Ohio Portion of the Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky Area to Attainment of the 2015 Ozone Standard
Primary source
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Published
June 9, 2022
Effective
June 9, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finds that the Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky area (Area) is attaining the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) and is acting in accordance with a request from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to redesignate the Ohio portion of the Area to attainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS because the request meets the statutory requirements for redesignation under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Area includes Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio and parts of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky. OEPA submitted the request for redesignation for the Ohio portion of the area (Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties) on December 21, 2021. EPA is also approving, as a revision to the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP), the state's plan for maintaining the 2015 ozone standard through 2035 in the Area. Finally, EPA is approving the state's 2026 and 2035 volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) motor vehicle emission budgets for the Ohio portion of the Area for transportation conformity purposes. EPA received comments on its February 11, 2022, proposed rule. After considering comments received, EPA is finalizing this action as proposed.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 111 (Thursday, June 9, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 111 (Thursday, June 9, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35104-35112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12318]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0949; FRL-9532-02-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Redesignation of the Ohio Portion of the
Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky Area to Attainment of the 2015 Ozone Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finds that the
Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky area (Area) is attaining the 2015 ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) and is acting
in accordance with a request from the Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency (OEPA) to redesignate the Ohio portion of the Area to attainment
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS because the request meets the statutory
requirements for redesignation under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Area
includes Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio and
parts of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky. OEPA
submitted the request for redesignation for the Ohio portion of the
area (Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties) on December 21,
2021. EPA is also approving, as a revision to the Ohio State
Implementation Plan (SIP), the state's plan for maintaining the 2015
ozone standard through 2035 in the Area. Finally, EPA is approving the
state's 2026 and 2035 volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of
nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) motor vehicle emission budgets for the Ohio
portion of the Area for transportation conformity purposes. EPA
received comments on its February 11, 2022, proposed rule. After
considering comments received, EPA is finalizing this action as
proposed.
DATES: This final rule is effective on June 9, 2022.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0949. 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 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 either
through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or at the Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility 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. We recommend that you telephone Olivia
Davidson, Environmental Scientist, at (312) 886-0266 before visiting
the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Olivia Davidson, 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) 886-0266,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87e3e6f1eee3f4e8e9a9e8ebeef1eee6c7e2f7e6a9e0e8f1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8aeeebfce3eef9e5e4a4e5e6e3fce3ebcaeffaeba4ede5fc">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background Information
This rule takes final action on the December 21, 2021, submission
from OEPA requesting redesignation of the Ohio portion of the
Cincinnati area to attainment for the 2015 ozone standard. The
background for this action is discussed in detail in EPA's Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (Proposal), dated February 11, 2022 (87 FR 7978).
In the Proposal, we noted that, under EPA regulations at 40 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 ozone
concentration is equal to or less than 0.070 parts per million, when
truncated after the third decimal place, at all of the ozone monitoring
[[Page 35105]]
sites in the area. (See 40 CFR 50.19 and appendix U of part 50.) Under
the CAA, EPA may redesignate nonattainment areas to attainment if
sufficient complete, quality-assured data are available to determine
that the area has attained the standard and if it meets the other CAA
redesignation requirements in section 107(d)(3)(E). The Proposal
provides a detailed discussion of how Ohio has met these CAA
requirements.
As discussed in the Proposal, quality-assured and certified
monitoring data for 2019-2021 show that the Area has attained the 2015
ozone standard. In the maintenance plan submitted for the Area, Ohio
has demonstrated that the ozone standard will be maintained in the Area
through 2035. Finally, Ohio has adopted 2026 and 2035 VOC and
NO<INF>X</INF> motor vehicle emission budgets for the Area that are
supported by Ohio's maintenance demonstration, which EPA is also
approving in this action.
II. Public Comments
EPA provided a 30-day review and comment period for this action in
the Proposal. The comment period ended on March 14, 2022. EPA received
adverse comments, which are summarized and addressed below.
Comment: The commenter contends that EPA has not adequately
demonstrated that the observed decrease in emissions is attributable to
enforceable emission reductions. The commenter argues that some of the
emission reduction measures that EPA relies on were in place well
before 2019, i.e., that the measures themselves were insufficient to
get the area to attainment because even after implementation of those
measures in 2014 and 2017, the area continued to violate the NAAQS, and
did not come into attainment until the 2019-2021 time period. The
commenter cites the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) Update, Tier
3 Emission Standards, Category 3 Marine Diesel Engine Standards, and,
more generally, several mobile source control measures that were
``fully implemented'' prior to 2014.
Response: EPA disagrees with the commenter's contention that EPA
has not adequately demonstrated that the observed decrease in emissions
is attributable to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions,
per CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii).\1\ As stated in EPA's long-standing
guidance on redesignations (see ``Procedures for Processing Requests to
Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni,
Director, Air Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992), we
interpret this provision to mean that ``[a]ttainment resulting from
temporary reductions in emission rates (e.g., reduced production or
shutdown due to temporary adverse economic conditions) or unusually
favorable meteorology would not qualify as an air quality improvement
due to permanent and enforceable emission reductions.'' Calcagni Memo
at 4. EPA's guidance instructs that the showing under CAA section
107(d)(3)(E)(iii) ``should estimate the percent reduction . . .
achieved from Federal measures . . . as well as control measures that
have been adopted and implemented by the State,'' and that overall, we
must be able to ``reasonably attribute the improvement in air quality
to emission reductions which are permanent and enforceable.'' Id. EPA's
correlation of improvements in air quality with an identification of
permanent and enforceable state and Federal measures, along with the
estimated reductions in precursor emissions that cause ozone pollution
which are attributable to each measure over the relevant time period,
has long been one methodology to demonstrate compliance with CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) and has been upheld in court. See Sierra Club
v. EPA, 774 F.3d 383, 393-95 (7th Cir. 2014). As noted by the court in
Sierra Club, ``the CAA does not require EPA to prove causation to an
absolute certainty. Rather in accord with its own internal guidance . .
. EPA had to `reasonably attribute' the drops in ozone to permanent and
enforceable measures. Only if EPA's path cannot `be reasonably
discerned,' or if EPA relied on factors `that Congress did not intend
it to consider' or `fail[ed] to consider an important aspect of the
problem,' will we conclude that EPA acted arbitrarily or
capriciously.'' Id. at 396.
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\1\ The commenter states that it does not support EPA's proposal
to redesignate the Area because OEPA has failed to demonstrate that
CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) is met. However, as that statutory
provision clearly states, the Administrator may not promulgate a
redesignation of a nonattainment area unless ``the Administrator
determines that the improvement in air quality is due to permanent
and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from
implementation of the applicable implementation plan and applicable
Federal air pollutant control regulations and other permanent and
enforceable reductions.'' On its face, the statute permits EPA to
not only consider Ohio's submittal and demonstration, but also any
other information EPA has regarding emission reductions in the area.
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The commenter is correct that some of the measures cited by EPA as
contributing to the area's attainment, including the CSAPR Update, Tier
3 Emissions Standards, and Category 3 Marine Diesel Engine Standards,
were in place prior the area's attainment. However, that does not mean
that these control measures did not contribute to and were not
reasonably attributable to the area's attainment. Control measures do
not achieve all emission reductions in the first year that those
measures are implemented. State and Federal emission reduction
requirements continue to apply well past the initial implementation
year and continue to achieve reductions that contribute to improving,
and in this case, attaining, air quality. Some mobile source measures
in particular will continue to achieve cumulative emission reductions
well past the initial implementation date because they achieve
additional reductions with fleet turnover, i.e., as older on-road
vehicles and non-road engines are replaced with newer ones that meet
more stringent emission standards.
On September 7, 2016, EPA finalized an update to CSAPR requiring
further reductions in NO<INF>X</INF> emissions from electric generating
units (EGUs) beginning in May 2017. This final rule was projected to
result in a 20% reduction in ozone season NO<INF>X</INF> emissions from
EGUs in the eastern United States, a reduction of 80,000 tons in 2017
compared to 2015 levels, with continued EGU reductions each year.
Emissions of NO<INF>X</INF> from EGUs in Ohio have reflected the
continued emission reductions measures, as NO<INF>X</INF> emissions
from EGUs in Ohio have been reduced by 29 percent statewide from 2016
through 2020. The continued application of these reductions in Ohio and
upwind states was a key contributor to improved and attaining air
quality in Cincinnati. In addition, EPA finalized the revised CSAPR
Update on April 30, 2021 (86 FR 23054), and that rule required
additional reductions of almost 10,000 tons of ozone season
NO<INF>X</INF> in Ohio,\2\ equivalent to a 50% reduction in EGU
emissions, effective by the 2021 ozone season, i.e., one of the years
in the design value period that shows attainment.
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\2\ See OEPA's Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for
the Ohio Portion of the Cincinnati, OH-KY 2015 Ozone Nonattainment
Area, contained in docket EPA-OAR-R05-2021-0949 for the proposed
rule that published February 11, 2022 (87 FR 7978) approving the
redesignation request, page 43.
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With respect to the mobile sources measures cited by the commenter,
the commenter incorrectly states that the Tier 3 Emission Standards for
Vehicles were fully implemented by 2017. In fact, the standards, which
are expected to reduce NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC emissions by 80%, first
took effect in 2017, and will continue to be phased in through 2025,
after which additional reductions will continue to be achieved through
fleet
[[Page 35106]]
turnover. Similarly, the Category 3 Marine Diesel Engine Standards,
which will reduce NO<INF>X</INF> emissions from new engines by 80%,
began in 2016, and emission reductions will continue to occur at least
through 2030 as older engines are replaced. These standards, in
conjunction with rules reducing emissions from international and in-use
vessels covered by MARPOL Annex VI, are estimated to result in
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions reductions in the United States of 1.2 million
tons per year (tpy). Reductions from both Tier 3 Emissions Standards
and Category 3 Marine Diesel Engine Standards first took effect between
the nonattainment period and the attainment period but have been
achieving emission reductions every year since they were first
implemented. EPA reasonably attributed the improved air quality in the
Cincinnati area to these significant control measures, even if those
measures did not immediately and independently cause the Area to attain
the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
In addition, there are numerous other permanent and enforceable
control measures that resulted in emission reductions that contributed
to and are reasonably attributable for the Area's attainment. These
include the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Residential
Wood Heaters, of which Phase 2 began in 2020 and is projected by EPA to
achieve 9,265 tons of VOC reductions annually when fully implemented;
the Control of Hazardous Air Pollutants from Mobile Sources, which EPA
estimates will reduce VOC emissions by over 1 million tons by 2030; and
the Emissions Standards for Locomotives and Marine Compression-Ignition
Engines, first promulgated in 2008, which EPA projected to reduce
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions by 800,000 tons in 2030 which will continue to
increase in later years as fleet turnover is completed.
None of these control programs which rely upon the replacement of
older, more polluting technology with newer technology that meets more
stringent emissions standards can be considered fully implemented upon
initial adoption of the emission standard. The rules are considered
fully implemented when the fleet has turned over and the new technology
is in widespread use. Additional reductions from these programs
continue to be generated throughout the implementation period as newer
units replace older, more polluting units.
In reviewing Ohio's request, EPA applied the same methodology as it
has for the many redesignated areas across the country over the last
three decades. The Proposal discussed at length the various state and
Federal promulgated measures and the estimated precursor emission
reductions impacts attributable to each of those measures. The
commenter does not dispute the permanence or enforceability of any of
the measures listed by EPA, nor does the commenter refute that the
measures obtained the estimated reductions cited by EPA.
Comment: The commenter argues that EPA's determination that
improved air quality during 2019-2021 was caused by permanent and
enforceable emissions reductions program is unlawful, arbitrary, and
capricious because EPA did not evaluate whether decreased economic
activity from the COVID-19 pandemic caused improved air quality in the
Area. The commenter contends that EPA should not rely solely on data
from 2019, 2020 and 2021 when the Area came into attainment, due to
COVID-19 effects on power plant emissions and automobile travel being
the likely cause of the reductions rather than the cited enforceable
reduction measures. Further, the commenter argues that the fact that
EPA considered the impact of the pandemic in the Agency's proposal to
redesignate Detroit, Michigan demonstrates that it was unreasonable for
EPA to ignore the potential impact of the pandemic on Cincinnati's
attainment.
Response: EPA does not agree that our determination that the Area's
attainment is due to permanent and enforceable reductions is arbitrary
and capricious. As previously discussed, we think that OEPA's
submission and the rationale provided in EPA's Proposal establishes
that the Area's attainment is due to the cited permanent and
enforceable reductions. However, in response to this comment, EPA has
performed an additional analysis focused on emission trends in point
sources and mobile sources in the Cincinnati area. That analysis,
discussed in detail below, confirms our determination.
The commenter highlighted nationally decreased power plant
emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic recession beginning in 2020.
Therefore, EPA evaluated the point source emissions from Butler,
Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio, the counties that make
up the Ohio portion of the Area, based on data from EPA's Emissions
Inventory System (EIS) \3\ Gateway. The point source reductions
achieved from the nonattainment year 2014 through the attainment year
of 2019 show NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC emission reductions of 22 and 12
percent, respectively. Between 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (pandemic),
NO<INF>X</INF> point source emission were reduced by 0.4 percent. The
vast majority of the emission reductions did not occur as a result of
the pandemic.
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\3\ See <a href="https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/emissions-inventory-system-eis-gateway">https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/emissions-inventory-system-eis-gateway</a>, last accessed 3/24/2022.
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EPA also analyzed the pandemic's impact on passenger and truck
traffic in response to the commenter's assertion that automobile travel
``plunged'' in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. We found that,
consistent with statewide trends, car traffic did decrease during the
pandemic, but truck traffic increased. From mid-March 2019 to mid-March
2020, passenger and truck traffic in Hamilton County, the county which
contains the Cincinnati city limits, were down 12 percent and 4
percent, respectively.\4\ From mid-March 2019 to mid-March 2021,
passenger traffic was down 19 percent, while truck traffic was up by 5
percent. Expanding this further, from mid-March 2019 to mid-March 2022,
passenger traffic was down 12 percent while truck traffic was up by 9
percent. This pattern highlights several components of the United
States' `new normal' since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. An
Ohio statewide analysis by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council
of Governments (OKI) assesses the `new normal' including monthly
traffic impacts after the state of emergency was lifted on June 6,
2021, concluded overall traffic conditions in 2021 were decreased by a
range of 3 to 7 percent, from June 2021 through January 2022,
considering a monthly average. Separating between car and truck
traffic, over the same time period, car traffic was decreased ranging
from 5 to 9 percent, while truck traffic was increased from June 2021
through January 2022, ranging from 9 to 14 percent. In EPA's 2017
National Emissions Inventory (NEI), there were 31,762 tpy of
NO<INF>X</INF> attributed to heavy duty vehicles (HDV) in Clermont,
Butler, Hamilton, and Warren counties and 38,564 tpy of NO<INF>X</INF>
attributed to light duty vehicles (LDV). Thus a 10% decrease in LDV
Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) and a 10% increase in HDV VMT would be
expected to lead to a small net decrease in onroad NO<INF>X</INF>
emissions for these counties of less than 1,000 tpy and corresponding
to a change of less than 1 percent. Thus, assuming that vehicle traffic
scales linearly with NO<INF>X</INF> emissions, decreases in LDV VMT
[[Page 35107]]
of between 3 and 19% paired with changes in truck VMT ranging from a 4%
decrease to a 14% increase could lead to net NO<INF>X</INF> change
ranging from a decrease of approximately 8,600 tpy to an increase of
approximately 3,300 tpy corresponding to a 12% decrease and a 5%
increase respectively. As a result of these light duty and heavy duty
VMT trends in opposite directions in the Cincinnati area it is not
clear whether the COVID-19 lockdowns led to any significant net mobile
NO<INF>X</INF> reductions in this nonattainment area.
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\4\ The data was acquired by the Ohio Department of
Transportation (ODOT) Statewide Traffic Analysis website, see
<a href="https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiZDRjZWRiNTktZGI2Ny00MzdjLTk1ZTYtNjAwNjUzZThlYjBlIiwidCI6IjUwZjhmY2M0LTk0ZDgtNGYwNy04NGViLTM2ZWQ1N2M3YzhhMiJ9">https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiZDRjZWRiNTktZGI2Ny00MzdjLTk1ZTYtNjAwNjUzZThlYjBlIiwidCI6IjUwZjhmY2M0LTk0ZDgtNGYwNy04NGViLTM2ZWQ1N2M3YzhhMiJ9</a>.
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A similar analysis by OKI of the Ohio counties in the Area
(Clermont, Butler, Hamilton, and Warren) included average weekday daily
traffic in the OKI region from 2019 to 2021, from 20 (directional) Ohio
Department of Transportation (ODOT) permanent traffic count stations
(Table 1). The results highlight 2021 car traffic levels higher than
2020, but remaining approximately 7 percent below 2019 traffic levels,
while truck traffic increased by 13 percent from 2019 to 2021, which
OKI characterizes as the `new normal'. Truck traffic did not experience
the marked decrease beginning in March of 2020 at the outbreak of
COVID-19 to the degree car traffic experienced, and by late June of
2020, truck traffic counts equaled June 2019 truck traffic counts, and
exceeded them throughout the rest of 2020. This distinction is
pertinent because EPA has found that in the upper Midwest, the majority
of ozone exceedances occur in late May though late July. In the Area in
particular, through the 2011-2021 time period, as ozone design values
have decreased, ozone exceedances are more likely to occur later in the
ozone season, and most likely in the months of June or July.\5\ This
time period would be within the same time frame that 2020 truck traffic
returned to and exceeded 2019 truck traffic and hence, would have
entered the `new normal' conditions by the time the Area experiences
its highest ozone values.
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\5\ See <a href="https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data/air-data-ozone-exceedances">https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data/air-data-ozone-exceedances</a>, last accessed 3/29/2022.
Table 1--Average Weekday Daily Traffic Counts in Clermont, Butler, Hamilton, and Warren Counties, 2019-2021
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2019 Average 2020 Average 2021 Average
Vehicle type weekday daily weekday daily weekday daily
traffic traffic traffic
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Car.......................................................... 526,880 440,190 487,522
Truck........................................................ 54,429 56,461 61,560
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An analysis performed by OKI showed that VMT values are projected
to increase throughout the maintenance period in the Area.\6\ While EPA
recognizes COVID-19 led to decreases in traffic and mobile source
emissions, EPA would like to emphasize that the Area has continued to
model decreases in on-road emissions despite modeled VMT increases,
leaving the Area with an even larger margin when comparing on-road
emissions in 2019 and emissions in 2026 and 2035 if the `new normal'
conditions prove to be temporary and traffic again rises beyond what is
forecast in the maintenance plan.
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\6\ See OEPA's December 21, 2021, submittal contained in the
docket for this action.
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Additionally, NEI trends data shows consistent decreases in both
NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC emissions in Ohio from highway vehicles since
2011, and off-highway NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC emissions since 2002. With
the many mobile source reduction measures in place in Ohio, EPA has no
reason to believe that the reductions achieved are based on a brief
period of decreased VMT in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As suggested by the commenter, EPA also performed an analysis
similar to the one performed by Michigan's Environment, Great Lakes and
Energy agency in their submittal requesting redesignation of the
Detroit area for the 2015 ozone standard,\7\ to evaluate whether the
improvement in air quality was caused by temporary adverse economic
conditions, especially the economic conditions associated with the
COVID-19 pandemic which first impacted Ohio in 2020. EPA first
considered point source reduction trends, noting that between 2005 and
2017, OEPA provided that Ohio's NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC emissions
decreased by 57 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Further, EPA
compared the maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations against VMT and
employment from 2014 through 2021. This highlighted that while
employment levels were affected by COVID-19 and saw a decrease of
employed individuals of almost 12,000 comparatively from the average
2019 levels to April of 2020, employment returned to 2019 levels by
July 2020, according to Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages.\8\ Employment levels continued to
increase through 2021, and while the analysis showed a correlation
between VMT and employment in the Area, no direct correlation between
these economic indicators and the high ozone values was identified. The
VMT and emissions values generated by OKI using EPA's MOVES3 model
indicate increasing VMT and decreasing emissions from the nonattainment
year of 2014, through the attainment year of 2019, the interim year of
2026, and the end year of 2035. Further, under section 176(c) of the
CAA, new transportation plans, programs, or projects that receive
Federal funding or support, such as the construction of new highways,
must ``conform'' to (i.e., be consistent with) the SIP. Conformity to
the SIP means that transportation activities will not cause or
contribute to any new air quality violations, increase the frequency or
severity of any existing air quality problems, or delay timely
attainment or any required interim emissions reductions or any other
milestones.
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\7\ The proposed approval to redesignate the Detroit, Michigan
area to attainment of the 2015 Ozone Standards published on March
14, 2022 (87 FR 14210).
\8\ See <a href="http://www.bls.gov/cew/">www.bls.gov/cew/</a>. Last accessed March 22, 2022.
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Ohio's maintenance plan includes NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC motor
vehicle emissions budgets (budgets) for the Area for 2026, the interim
year, and 2035, the last year of the maintenance period (Table 2). The
budgets are the portion of the total allowable emissions that are
allocated to highway and transit vehicle use that, together with
emissions from other sources in the Area, will provide for attainment
or maintenance. These budgets represent the projected 2026 and 2035 on-
road emissions plus a safety margin and are consistent with maintenance
of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, which is described below. Detailed information
on the transportation
[[Page 35108]]
conformity program can be found in our Proposal.
Table 2--2026 and 2035 Budgets for the Ohio Portion for the 2015 Ozone
NAAQS Maintenance Area
[Tons per summer day, TPSD]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026 2035
Pollutant Budget Budget
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NOX................................................... 14.15 10.58
VOC................................................... 25.30 18.98
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A ``safety margin'' is the difference between the attainment level
of emissions (from all sources) and the projected level of emissions
(from all sources) in the maintenance plan. Further, the transportation
conformity regulations allow states to allocate all or a portion of a
documented safety margin to the motor vehicle emissions budgets for an
area (40 CFR 93.124(a)). Ohio is allocating a portion of that safety
margin to the mobile source sector. Specifically, in 2026, Ohio is
allocating 1.85 TPSD and 3.30 TPSD of the VOC and NO<INF>X</INF> safety
margins, respectively. In 2035, Ohio is allocating 1.38 TPSD and 2.48
TPSD of the VOC and NO<INF>X</INF> safety margins, respectively. Since
only a part of the safety margin is being used, maintenance
requirements are still easily met. Once allocated to on-road mobile
sources, these safety margins will not be available for use by other
sources.
EPA recognizes the difficulties in assessing the impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on ozone precursor emissions and ozone design values
and the economic disparities from the COVID-19 pandemic, but we do not
agree that the Area's attainment is due to a temporary economic
downturn associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. To the contrary, our
analysis of the available data regarding point source emissions in the
Cincinnati area and trends in vehicular traffic do not indicate that
the Area's attainment was driven by temporary conditions. The effect of
the pandemic on point source emissions in the Area was insignificant in
comparison to the effect of enforceable control measures, and the
decrease in passenger vehicle VMT during the pandemic is not only
largely offset by an increase in truck traffic but likely does not have
a strong correlation with maximum ozone design values. OKI's mobile
source modeling performed for the Area indicates that vehicular
emission control measures will continue to drive emissions down even as
VMT is projected to increase.
Comment: The commenter asserts that ozone concentrations from the
design value period 2017-2019 (i.e., before the COVID-19 pandemic)
undermines EPA's finding that the reduced ambient ozone concentrations
observed in 2019-2021 are in fact attributable to permanent and
enforceable regulations that took effect between 2004 and 2017. The
commenter points out that during the 2017-2019 time period, several
monitors in the Area recorded annual 4th high daily maximum 8-hour
ozone concentrations that exceeded the level of the NAAQS. The
commenter contends that EPA's failure to consider this earlier period
(i.e., 2017-2019) as a relevant set of data for assessing the relative
impact of enforceable emission reductions and the impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic on reduced ozone levels in 2020-2021 was arbitrary and
capricious and calls into question the reasonableness of EPA's proposed
redesignation to attainment. The commenter also notes that EPA looked
at precursor emissions from 2014 and 2019 but only analyzed ozone
concentrations during the 2019-2021 period.
Response: EPA disagrees with the commenter's suggestion that the
fact that the Cincinnati area was not attaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS in
2017-2019 (i.e., before the COVID-19 pandemic) undermines our
conclusion that the Area has attained due to permanent and enforceable
measures, as opposed to decreases in emissions associated with the
pandemic. As discussed in the previous comment responses, many of the
permanent and enforceable measures applicable to the sources in the
Area or to sources upwind of the Area impose continued, and in some
cases additional, emission reductions with each year of implementation
(e.g., phased-in mobile source standards in addition to fleet
turnover). Control measures do not obtain all emission reductions in
the first year of their implementation, and not all impacts from a
control measure are necessarily reflected in ozone concentrations in
that year. Ozone formation and measured concentrations are dependent on
a host of factors, including emissions and meteorology, and the
continued application of many control measures across many source
categories over a period of time has a significant impact on decreasing
ozone concentration trends.
We therefore do not think that violating data from 2017-2019
necessarily means that attaining data from 2019-2021 was caused by a
reduction in emissions due to the pandemic. However, in response to the
commenter's suggestion, we analyzed emissions information for point
sources in the Area and for mobile sources in the Area during pre-
pandemic periods and from the years 2020 and 2021 (i.e., during the
pandemic). Our conclusion, discussed in the comment response above, is
that while the pandemic likely had some impact on emissions in the
Area, that impact does not appear to have been the primary driver of
decreased ozone concentrations in the Area.
To further support OEPA's demonstration that the improvement in air
quality between the year violations occurred and the year attainment
was achieved, is due to permanent and enforceable emission reductions
and not on favorable meteorology, the state included a classification
and regression tree (CART) analysis to demonstrate that the improvement
in air quality was not due to unusually favorable meteorology, which
was performed by the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO).
The goal of the analysis was to determine the meteorological and air
quality conditions associated with ozone episodes, and construct trends
for the days identified as sharing similar meteorological conditions in
ozone nonattainment areas in the LADCO region. Regression trees were
developed for the Cincinnati area ozone data to classify each summer
day by its ozone concentration and associated meteorological
conditions. By grouping days with similar meteorology, the influence of
meteorological variability on the underlying trend in ozone
concentrations is partially removed and the remaining trend is presumed
to be due to trends in precursor emissions or other non-meteorological
influences. The CART analysis showed the resulting trends in ozone
concentrations declining over the period examined, 2005 through 2020,
supporting the conclusion that the improvement in air quality was not
due to unusually favorable meteorology.
The CART analysis shows that ozone concentrations for all five
high-ozone day types have decreased over the last 16 years,
demonstrating that on days with similar meteorology, ozone
concentrations on high-ozone days at Cincinnati monitors have decreased
substantially since 2005. Overall, OEPA concluded that average summer
temperatures have remained steady and average ozone concentrations have
decreased from 2005 through 2021, providing a strong basis to conclude
that reductions in precursors are responsible for the reductions in
elevated ozone concentrations in the Area, and that these emission
reductions were not
[[Page 35109]]
solely or primarily driven by a pandemic-related decrease in emissions
or unusually favorable meteorology, but rather by the host of permanent
and enforceable state and federal measures that have been applied and
will continue to apply over time.
Further, we find no fault with Ohio's examination of 2019 emissions
within the nonattainment area (i.e., the attainment inventory) for
purposes of illustrating the reduction in emissions in the Area over
time (from 2014 to 2019). To the extent that commenter is suggesting
Ohio also should have provided emission inventories for years 2020 and
2021, we do not agree that information was necessary to evaluate
emission trends. The State's selection of one year of emissions during
a design value period indicating nonattainment and one year of
emissions during a design value period indicating attainment was
sufficient to show that emissions had decreased substantially within
the Area during that time period. Moreover, even though the state did
not supply full emission inventories for years 2020 and 2021 (which
they were not required to do), EPA performed additional analysis of the
potential COVID-19 effects on the Area in response to the commenter's
suggestion. As discussed in the previous comment responses, that
analysis showed that point source precursor emissions of NO<INF>X</INF>
and VOC in the Area did not decrease substantially from the pre-
pandemic year of 2019 to 2020. Likewise, the Ohio state-wide analysis
by OKI concluded that overall traffic conditions in 2021 were decreased
by a range of 3 to 7 percent compared to 2019, from June 2021 through
January 2022, while truck traffic increased over the same time period.
The overall mobile source modeling indicated that an increase in VMT
does not necessarily correspond to an increase in emissions, because of
the impact of mobile source standards.
We therefore do not agree that it is unreasonable to redesignate
the Ohio portion of the Cincinnati area to attainment of the 2015 ozone
NAAQS.
Comment: The commenter argues that this action affects an
Environmental Justice (EJ) Community. Specifically, the commenter
points out that Black Americans make up more than 40% of Cincinnati's
residents, and that according to the U.S. Census, Cincinnati has twice
the poverty rate of the United States as a whole. The commenter
therefore argues that it is particularly incumbent upon EPA to
thoroughly consider the monitoring time period of 2017-2019 and not the
pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, to ensure that any redesignation to
attainment consider the ``longstanding excessive burden experienced by
Black and low-income communities in southwestern Ohio.''
Response: EPA sets the NAAQS at a level to protect the public
health, with an adequate margin of safety, including the health of at-
risk populations, and protect the public welfare from adverse effects.
The criteria set forth in 40 CFR 50.19 and appendix U of part 50 to
attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS establishes that the 3-year average of the
annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration
must be less than or equal to 0.070 ppm, which is true of the Area.
While EPA recognizes the importance of assessing impacts of our actions
on potentially overburdened communities, we believe that our approval
of Ohio's redesignation request for the 2015 ozone NAAQS would not
exacerbate existing pollution exposure or burdens for populations in
the Cincinnati area.
Even so, Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994)
requires that Federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and
permitted by law, identify and address disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects of their actions on
minority and low-income populations. Additionally, Executive Order
13985 (86 FR 7009, January 25, 2021) directs Federal Government
agencies to assess whether, and to what extent, their programs and
policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for
people of color and other underserved groups, and Executive Order 14008
(86 FR 7619, February 1, 2021) directs Federal agencies to develop
programs, policies, and activities to address the disproportionate
health, environmental, economic, and climate impacts on disadvantaged
communities. To identify environmental burdens and susceptible
populations in communities in the Area, EPA performed a screening-level
analysis using EPA's EJ screening and mapping tool (``EJSCREEN'').\9\
EPA utilized the EJSCREEN tool to evaluate environmental and
demographic indicators at the county level for each county within the
Area (Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren). Additional indicators of
overall pollution burden include estimates of ambient particulate
matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>) concentration, a score for traffic proximity
and volume, percentage of pre-1960 housing units (lead paint
indicator), and scores for proximity to Superfund sites, risk
management plan (RMP) sites, and hazardous waste facilities. EPA's
screening-level analysis indicates that communities in the Area
affected by this action score below the national average for the
EJSCREEN ``Demographic Index'', which is the average of an area's
percent minority and percent low income populations, i.e., the two
demographic indicators explicitly named in Executive Order 12898. As
discussed in the EPA's EJ technical guidance, people of color and low-
income populations often experience greater exposure and disease
burdens than the general population, which can increase their
susceptibility to adverse health effects from environmental
stressors.\10\ Additionally, EPA has provided that if any of the EJ
indexes for the areas under consideration are at or above the 80th
percentile nationally, then further review may be appropriate.\11\ The
results indicate that these areas score below the 80th percentile (in
comparison to the nation as a whole) in the twelve EJ Indexes
established by EPA, which include a combination of environmental and
demographic information, with one exception. In Hamilton county, the EJ
Index for Risk Management Plan (RMP) Facility Proximity scored at the
81st percentile. This EJ index considers the count of RMP (potential
chemical accident management plan) facilities within 5 km (or nearest
one beyond 5 km), each divided by distance in kilometers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See documentation on EPA's Environmental Justice Screening
and Mapping Tool at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen">https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen</a>, last accessed 5/2/
2022.
\10\ EPA, ``Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental
Justice in Regulatory Analysis,'' section 4 (June 2016).
\11\ EPA, ``EJSCREEN Technical Documentation,'' appendix H
(September 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Considering these results, EPA further considered forthcoming and
existing emission reduction measures that may help to mitigate existing
pollution issues in the Area. The Area's redesignation to attainment
will include the continued application of the Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) permitting requirements including installation of
the Best Available Control Technology (BACT), air quality analysis,
additional impacts analysis, and public involvement for new and
modified sources. The Federal mobile source and point source emission
reduction programs and NO<INF>X</INF> cap and trade programs through
CSAPR, identified as the permanent and enforceable regulations which
led to the Area's attainment, remain in place and will continue to
achieve reductions. Further, Ohio has submitted a maintenance plan that
shows continuing reductions in NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC
[[Page 35110]]
emissions through 2035 and includes contingency measure provisions to
address any possible future violation of the NAAQS.
Additionally, Ohio has adopted regulations to address the
NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT)
requirements that apply to moderate areas. Despite Cincinnati's current
marginal ozone classification, Ohio voluntarily adopted these RACT
rules for the Area after planning efforts were underway for moderate
RACT requirements for the 2015 ozone standard in Cleveland. The
NO<INF>X</INF> RACT Rule 3745-110 of the Ohio Administrative Code
(OAC), which became effective March 25, 2022, applies to existing
boilers, stationary combustion turbines, stationary internal combustion
engines, reheat furnaces, or sources located at a facility that emits
or has the potential to emit a total of more than 100 tpy of
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions and specifically states applicability to
sources located in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton or Warren county.\12\
Similarly, VOC RACT Rule 3745-21 of the OAC, effective March 27, 2022,
is applicable to various source categories in Butler, Clermont,
Hamilton and Warren counties to facilities that have a total
uncontrolled potential to emit for VOC emissions of 100 tpy. OEPA has
submitted the VOC RACT rules that cover both Cleveland and Cincinnati
for approval into the Ohio SIP and have submitted the NO<INF>X</INF>
RACT rules that apply to Cleveland for approval into the Ohio SIP.
Hence, they will be implementing NO<INF>X</INF> RACT in both Cleveland
and Cincinnati, and NO<INF>X</INF> RACT will be federally enforceable
in Cleveland. These rules will be SIP strengthening and go beyond what
is required in the Area at the Federal level and are expected to
achieve additional emission reductions and contribute to maintenance of
the ozone standard in the Area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See <a href="https://epa.ohio.gov/divisions-and-offices/air-pollution-control/regulations/effective-rules/dapc-effective-rules">https://epa.ohio.gov/divisions-and-offices/air-pollution-control/regulations/effective-rules/dapc-effective-rules</a>,
last accessed 5/20/2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA acknowledges that ozone problems may not be solved through
redesignations, that regional solutions are required, and that
coordinated cooperation between stakeholders may lead to improved air
quality. As previously noted, OEPA has established a maintenance plan
containing contingency measures as a safeguard designed to ensure
compliance with the NAAQS going forward. EPA also continues to
implement programs addressing regional and interstate transport of
NO<INF>X</INF>, such as the Revised CSAPR Update. Finally, EPA
encourages the commenter to remain engaged with stakeholders in the
effort to protect human health and the environment.
III. Final Action
In accordance with Ohio's December 21, 2021, request, EPA is
redesignating the Cincinnati Ohio-Kentucky nonattainment area from
nonattainment to attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA finds that the
Area is attaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS and meets the statutory
requirements for redesignation under the CAA. EPA is also approving
Ohio's maintenance plan, which is designed to ensure that the Area will
continue to maintain the ozone NAAQS through 2035. Lastly, EPA is
approving the state's 2026 and 2035 NO<INF>X</INF> and VOC motor
vehicle emission budgets for the Ohio portion of the Area.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d) of the Administrative Procedure
Act (APA), EPA finds there is good cause for this action to become
effective immediately upon publication. The immediate effective date
for this action is authorized under both 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1).\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ See <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title5/pdf/USCODE-2020-title5-partI-chap5-subchapII-sec553.pdf">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title5/pdf/USCODE-2020-title5-partI-chap5-subchapII-sec553.pdf</a>, last
accessed 3/16/2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 553(d)(1) of the APA provides that final rules shall not
become effective until 30 days after publication in the Federal
Register ``except . . . a substantive rule which grants or recognizes
an exemption or relieves a restriction.'' The purpose of this provision
is to ``give affected parties a reasonable time to adjust their
behavior before the final rule takes effect.'' Omnipoint Corp. v. Fed.
Commc'n Comm'n, 78 F.3d 620, 630 (D.C. Cir. 1996); see also United
States v. Gavrilovic, 551 F.2d 1099, 1104 (8th Cir. 1977) (quoting
legislative history). However, when the agency grants or recognizes an
exemption or relieves a restriction, affected parties do not need a
reasonable time to adjust because the effect is not adverse. EPA has
determined that this rule relieves a restriction because this rule
relieves sources in the area of Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR)
permitting requirements; instead, upon the effective date of this
action, sources will be subject to less restrictive PSD permitting
requirements. For this reason, EPA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(1) for this action to become effective on the date of
publication of this action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the
accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under section 107(d)(3)(E)
are actions that affect the status of a geographical area and do not
impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those
imposed by state law. A redesignation to attainment does not in and of
itself create any new requirements, but rather results in the
applicability of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have
been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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 these reasons, 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
[[Page 35111]]
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).
This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and 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).
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 August 8, 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
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Dated: June 2, 2022.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR parts 52
and 81 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. 52.1870, the table in paragraph (e) is amended under
``Summary of Criteria Pollutant Maintenance Plan'' by adding an entry
for ``Ozone (8-Hour, 2015)'' before the entry for ``PM-10'' to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1870 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA-Approved Ohio Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Provisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicable
geographical or
Title non-attainment State date EPA approval Comments
area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary of Criteria Pollutant Maintenance Plan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Ozone (8-Hour, 2015)........... Cincinnati 12/21/2021 6/9/2022, [INSERT EPA is approving the
(Butler, FEDERAL REGISTER following elements: a
Clermont, CITATION]. determination that the
Hamilton, and Cincinnati area has
Warren Counties). attained the 2015 8-
Hour ozone standard, a
maintenance plan for
the 2015 a8-Hour ozone
NAAQS, 2026 and 2035
VOC and NOX motor
vehicle emission
budgets for the
Cincinnati area.
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES
0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
0
4. Section 81.336 is amended in the table entitled ``Ohio-2015 8-Hour
Ozone NAAQS [Primary and Secondary]'' by revising the entry for
``Cincinnati, OH-KY'' to read as follows:
Sec. 81.336 Ohio.
* * * * *
Ohio--2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
[Primary and secondary]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Designation Classification
Designated area \1\ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date \2\ Type Date \2\ Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Cincinnati, OH-KY................... June 9, 2022............... Attainment................. ........................... Marginal.
Butler County.
Clermont County.
Hamilton County.
[[Page 35112]]
Warren County.
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the boundaries of any area of Indian country
in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation
area is not a determination that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is August 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-12318 Filed 6-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.