Proposed Rule2023-02284
Air Plan Approval; Michigan; Clean Data Determination for the Detroit Area for the 2015 Ozone Standard
Primary source
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Published
February 3, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to determine under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that the Detroit, Michigan nonattainment area (hereafter also referred to, respectively, as the "Detroit area" or "area") has attained the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or standard). This determination is based upon complete, quality-assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2020-2022 design period showing that the area achieved attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA also proposes to take final agency action on an exceptional events request submitted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) on January 26, 2023, and concurred on by EPA on January 30, 2023. As a result of these determinations, EPA is proposing to suspend the requirements for the area to submit attainment demonstrations and associated Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM), Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) plans, contingency measures for failure to attain or make reasonable progress, and other planning State Implementation Plans (SIPs) related to attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, for as long as the area continues to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS. This action does not constitute a redesignation of the area to attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, and the area remains designated nonattainment until such time as EPA determines that the area meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to attainment and takes action to redesignate the area.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 23 (Friday, February 3, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7382-7384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02284]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2023-0058; FRL-10634-01-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Michigan; Clean Data Determination for the
Detroit Area for the 2015 Ozone Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
determine under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that the Detroit, Michigan
nonattainment area (hereafter also referred to, respectively, as the
``Detroit area'' or ``area'') has attained the 2015 ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or standard). This determination
is based upon complete, quality-assured, and certified ambient air
monitoring data for the 2020-2022 design period showing that the area
achieved attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA also proposes to take
final agency action on an exceptional events request submitted by the
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) on
January 26, 2023, and concurred on by EPA on January 30, 2023. As a
result of these determinations, EPA is proposing to suspend the
requirements for the area to submit attainment demonstrations and
associated Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM), Reasonable
Further Progress (RFP) plans, contingency measures for failure to
attain or make reasonable progress, and other planning State
Implementation Plans (SIPs) related to attainment of the 2015 ozone
NAAQS, for as long as the area continues to attain the 2015 ozone
NAAQS. This action does not constitute a redesignation of the area to
attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, and the area remains designated
nonattainment until such time as EPA determines that the area meets the
CAA requirements for redesignation to attainment and takes action to
redesignate the area.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 6, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2023-0058 at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d4c5f5f4c035e4c5f4c456d485d4c034a425b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="45243737246b362437242d052035246b222a33">[email protected]</span></a>. For comments submitted at <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, follow
the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. For either
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Svingen, Environmental Engineer,
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-4489,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d6a5a0bfb8b1b3b8f8b3a4bfb596b3a6b7f8b1b9a0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4330352a2d24262d6d26312a20032633226d242c35">[email protected]</span></a>. The EPA Region 5 office is open from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays and
facility closures due to COVID-19.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background
EPA has determined that ground-level ozone is detrimental to human
health. On October 1, 2015, EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour ozone
NAAQS of 0.070 parts per million (ppm). See 80 FR 65292 (October 26,
2015). Under EPA's 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 concentration is equal to or less
than 0.070 ppm, when truncated after the thousandth decimal place, at
all of the ozone monitoring sites in the area. See 40 CFR 50.19 and
appendix U to 40 CFR part 50.
Upon promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, section 107(d)(1)(B)
of the CAA requires EPA to designate as nonattainment any areas that
are violating the NAAQS, based on the most recent three years of
quality-assured ozone monitoring data. On August 3, 2018, EPA
designated the Detroit area, consisting of Livingston, Macomb, Monroe,
Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties, as a Marginal
nonattainment area for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (83 FR 25776). On January
26, 2023, the Regional Administrator of EPA Region 5 signed a final
rulemaking determining, based on 2018-2020 monitoring data, that the
Detroit area had failed to attain by its Marginal attainment date of
August 3, 2021, and reclassifying the area to Moderate.\1\
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\1\ EPA previously proposed to approve a January 3, 2022,
request by EGLE to redesignate the Detroit area to attainment of the
2015 ozone NAAQS based on 2019-2021 monitoring data showing
attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS (87 FR 14210). EPA's proposed
approval was published on March 14, 2022, and the comment period
closed on April 27, 2022. In this proposed action, EPA is not taking
further action to finalize the proposed redesignation. EPA will
respond to comments received during the comment period for the
proposed redesignation should EPA take final action on EGLE's
January 3, 2022, request.
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II. Exceptional Events Demonstration
Congress has recognized that it may not be appropriate for EPA to
use certain monitoring data collected by the ambient air quality
monitoring network and maintained in EPA's Air Quality System (AQS)
database in certain regulatory determinations. Thus, in 2005, Congress
provided the statutory authority for the exclusion of data influenced
by ``exceptional events'' meeting specific criteria by adding section
319(b) to the CAA.\2\
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\2\ Under CAA section 319(b), an exceptional event means an
event that (i) affects air quality; (ii) is not reasonably
controllable or preventable; (iii) is an event caused by human
activity that is unlikely to recur at a particular location or a
natural event; and (iv) is determined by EPA under the process
established in regulations promulgated by EPA in accordance with
section 319(b)(2) to be an exceptional event. For the purposes of
section 319(b), an exceptional event does not include (i) stagnation
of air masses or meteorological inversions; (ii) a meteorological
event involving high temperatures or lack of precipitation; or (iii)
air pollution relating to source noncompliance.
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To implement this 2005 CAA amendment, on March 22, 2007, EPA
promulgated the 2007 Exceptional Events Rule (72 FR 13560). The 2007
Exceptional Events Rule created a regulatory process codified at 40 CFR
parts 50 and 51 (Sec. Sec. 50.1, 50.14, and 51.930). These regulatory
sections, which superseded EPA's previous guidance on handling data
influenced by events, contain definitions, procedural requirements,
requirements for air agency demonstrations, criteria for EPA's approval
of the exclusion of
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event-affected air quality data from the data set used for regulatory
decisions, and requirements for air agencies to take appropriate and
reasonable actions to protect public health from exceedances or
violations of the NAAQS. On October 3, 2016, EPA promulgated a
comprehensive revision to the 2007 Exceptional Events Rule (81 FR
68216). The 2016 Exceptional Events Rule revision included the
requirement that, if a state demonstrates that emissions from a
wildfire smoke event caused a specific air pollution concentration in
excess of the NAAQS at a particular air quality monitoring location and
otherwise satisfies the requirements of 40 CFR 50.14, EPA must exclude
that data from use in determinations of exceedances and violations.\3\
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\3\ 40 CFR 50.14(b)(4).
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The CAA provides for the exclusion of air quality monitoring data
from design value calculations when there are NAAQS exceedances caused
by events, such as wildfires, that meet the criteria for an exceptional
event identified in EPA's Exceptional Events Rule at 40 CFR 50.1,
50.14, and 51.930. For the purposes of this proposed action, on January
26, 2023, EGLE submitted an exceptional events demonstration to show
that ozone concentrations recorded at the Wayne County monitor at East
7 Mile with Site ID 26-163-0019 on June 24 and 25, 2022, were
influenced by wildfires. EPA concurred on this request on January 30,
2023.
EPA found that Michigan's demonstration met the Exceptional Events
Rule criteria and determined that these wildfire events had regulatory
significance for purposes of calculating the area's most recent design
value to demonstrate the area is attaining the standard in order to
make a clean data determination for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. As such, EPA
proposes to take final regulatory action on the concurred dates, as
detailed in the docket, as exceptional events to be removed from the
data set used for regulatory purposes. For this proposed action, EPA
will rely on the calculated values that exclude the event-influenced
data for the purpose of demonstrating attainment of the 2015 ozone
NAAQS. Further details on Michigan's analyses and EPA's concurrence can
be found in the docket for this regulatory action.
While EPA has concurred with Michigan's request to exclude event-
influenced air quality monitoring data from regulatory decisions, these
regulatory actions require EPA to provide an opportunity for public
comment on the claimed exceptional events and all supporting data prior
to EPA taking final agency action. This proposed action provides the
public with an opportunity to comment on the claimed exceptional
events, all supporting documents and EPA's concurrence with Michigan's
request.
III. Clean Data Determination
Following enactment of the CAA Amendments of 1990, EPA discussed
its interpretation of the requirements for implementing the NAAQS in
the General Preamble for the Implementation of title I of the CAA
Amendments of 1990 (General Preamble), 57 FR 13498, 13564 (April 16,
1992). On November 29, 1995, EPA set forth what has become known as its
``Clean Data Policy'' for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS (70 FR 71612). Under
the Clean Data Policy, for a nonattainment area that can demonstrate
attainment of the standard before implementing CAA nonattainment
measures, EPA interprets the requirements of the CAA that are
specifically designed to help an area achieve attainment, such as the
requirements for such area to submit attainment demonstrations and
associated RACM, RFP plans, contingency measures for failure to attain
or make reasonable progress, and other planning SIPs related to
attainment of the ozone NAAQS, to be suspended for as long as air
quality continues to meet the standard. Such a determination of
attainment under the Clean Data Policy is known informally as a clean
data determination. On December 6, 2018, in the final rule updating
implementing regulations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, EPA codified this
policy at 40 CFR 51.1318 (83 FR 62998).
An area is attaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS if it meets the 2015
ozone NAAQS based on three complete, consecutive calendar years of
quality-assured air quality data for all monitoring sites in the area.
To attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS, the 3-year average of the annual
fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations (ozone
design values) at each monitor must not exceed 0.070 ppm. The air
quality data must be collected and quality-assured in accordance with
40 CFR part 58 and recorded in AQS. Ambient air quality monitoring data
for the 3-year period must also meet data completeness requirements. An
ozone design value is valid if daily maximum 8-hour average
concentrations are available for at least 90% of the days within the
ozone monitoring seasons,\4\ on average, for the 3-year period, with a
minimum data completeness of 75% during the ozone monitoring season of
any year during the 3-year period. See section 4 of appendix U to 40
CFR part 50.
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\4\ The ozone season is defined by state in 40 CFR part 58,
appendix D. The ozone season for Michigan is March-October. See 80
FR 65292, 65466-67 (October 26, 2015).
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EPA has reviewed the available ozone monitoring data from EGLE's
monitoring sites in the Detroit area for the 2020-2022 period. These
data have been quality assured, are recorded in the AQS, and were
certified in advance of EPA's publication of this proposal. These data
demonstrate that the Detroit area is attaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
The annual fourth-highest 8-hour ozone concentrations and the 3-year
average of these concentrations (monitoring site ozone design values)
for all monitoring sites are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1--Annual Fourth-Highest Daily Maximum 8-Hour Ozone Concentrations and 3-Year Average of the Fourth-
Highest Daily Maximum 8-Hour Ozone Concentrations for the Detroit Area
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2020 4th high 2021 4th high 2022 4th high 2020-2022
County Monitor (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) average (ppm)
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Macomb.......................... 26-099-0009 0.074 0.068 0.066 0.069
26-099-1003 0.070 0.067 0.068 0.068
Oakland......................... 26-125-0001 0.074 0.068 0.065 0.069
St. Clair....................... 26-147-0005 0.069 0.072 0.066 0.069
Washtenaw....................... 26-161-0008 0.072 0.066 0.067 0.068
26-161-9991 0.067 0.063 0.066 0.065
Wayne........................... 26-163-0001 0.070 0.069 0.071 0.070
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26-163-0019 0.073 0.069 0.067 0.069
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The Detroit area's 3-year ozone design value for 2020-2022 is 0.070
ppm,\5\ which meets the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Therefore, in this action,
EPA proposes to find that the Detroit area is attaining the 2015 ozone
NAAQS.
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\5\ The monitor ozone design value for the monitor with the
highest 3-year averaged concentration.
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EPA will not take final action to determine that the Detroit area
is attaining the NAAQS if the design value of a monitoring site in the
area violates the NAAQS prior to final approval of the clean data
determination.
Should this action be finalized, the requirements for EGLE to
submit attainment demonstrations and associated RACM, RFP plans,
contingency measures for failure to attain or make reasonable progress,
and other planning SIPs related to attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS
for the proposed Detroit area, would be suspended for as long as the
area continues to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 40 CFR 51.1318. This
action does not constitute a redesignation of the area to attainment of
the 2015 ozone NAAQS under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA, nor does it
constitute approval of a maintenance plan for the area as required
under section 175A of the CAA, nor does it find that the area has met
all other requirements for redesignation. The Detroit area will remain
designated nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS until such time as
EPA determines that the area meets CAA requirements for redesignation
to attainment and takes a separate action to redesignate the area.
IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve a determination under the CAA that the
Detroit area has attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS. This determination is
based upon complete, quality-assured, and certified ambient air
monitoring data for the 2020-2022 design period showing that the area
achieved attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA is also proposing to
take final agency action on an exceptional events request submitted by
EGLE on January 26, 2023, and concurred on by EPA on January 30, 2023.
As a result of these determinations, EPA is proposing to suspend the
requirements for the area to submit attainment demonstrations and
associated RACM, RFP plans, contingency measures for failure to attain
or make reasonable progress, and other planning SIPs related to
attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, for as long as the area continues
to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This action proposes to make a clean data determination for the
Detroit area for the 2015 ozone NAAQS based on air quality data which
would result in the suspension of certain Federal requirements and does
not impose any additional 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 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).
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: January 30, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2023-02284 Filed 2-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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