Proposed Rule2024-21895
Determination of Attainment by the Attainment Date; Michigan; St. Clair 2010 Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area
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Published
September 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to determine that the St. Clair, MI sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) nonattainment area attained the 2010 1-hour primary SO<INF>2</INF> national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) by the date of September 12, 2021. This determination is based on annual SO<INF>2</INF> emissions data, modeled data, and certified ambient air quality data from EPA's December 7, 2021, Clean Data Determination for St. Clair, as well as publicly available additional supporting 2020 data. This action, if finalized, will address EPA's obligation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to determine whether the St. Clair SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area (referred to hereafter as the St. Clair area, or simply the area) attained the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the September 12, 2021, attainment date.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 78837-78840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21895]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2020-0385; FRL-12224-01-R5]
Determination of Attainment by the Attainment Date; Michigan; St.
Clair 2010 Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
determine that the St. Clair, MI sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>)
nonattainment area attained the 2010 1-hour primary SO<INF>2</INF>
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) by the date of September
12, 2021. This determination is based on annual SO<INF>2</INF>
emissions data, modeled data, and certified ambient air quality data
from EPA's December 7, 2021, Clean Data Determination for St. Clair, as
well as publicly available additional supporting 2020 data. This
action, if finalized, will address EPA's obligation under the Clean Air
Act (CAA) to determine whether the St. Clair SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area (referred to hereafter as the St. Clair area, or
simply the area) attained the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the
September 12, 2021, attainment date.
DATES: Written comments for this proposed rule must be received on or
before October 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2020-0385 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#96f7e4e4f7b8c5f7e4f7fed6f3e6f7b8f1f9e0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f796858596d9a49685969fb7928796d9909881">[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 the docket. EPA may publish
any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's
docket at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> any information you consider to
be Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business
Information (PBI), 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,
PBI, or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making
effective comments, please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis Bender, Air and Radiation
Division (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-9497,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f092959e949582de919c95889983b0958091de979f86"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b595e555f5e49155a575e4352487b5e4b5a155c544d">[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
A. The 2010 1-Hour Primary SO2 NAAQS
Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA has established primary and
secondary NAAQS for certain pervasive air pollutants (referred to as
``criteria pollutants'') and conducts periodic reviews of the NAAQS to
determine whether they should be revised or whether new NAAQS should be
established.
On June 22, 2010 (75 FR 35520), EPA published in the Federal
Register a strengthened, primary 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS,
establishing a new standard at a level of 75 ppb, based on the 3-year
average of the annual 99th percentile of daily maximum 1-hour average
concentrations of SO<INF>2.</INF> This revised SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS
provided increased protection of public health and provided for
revocation of the 1971 primary annual and 24-hour SO<INF>2</INF>
standards for most areas of the country following area designations
under the new NAAQS.
B. Designations and Attainment Dates for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS
Following promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, EPA is required
to designate all areas of the country as either ``attainment,''
``nonattainment,'' or ``unclassifiable,'' pursuant to CAA section
107(d)(1). On July 12, 2016 (81 FR 45039), EPA finalized its second
round of initial designations under the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS.
During the second round of designations, the St. Clair area of Michigan
was designated as nonattainment for the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS (40
CFR 81.323) based on modeling of actual emissions for the designated
area.
CAA section 191(a) directs states containing an area designated
nonattainment for the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS to develop and submit a
nonattainment area State Implementation Plan (SIP) to EPA within 18
months of the effective date of an area's designation as nonattainment.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
was required to submit a SIP by March 12, 2018, to bring the St. Clair
area into attainment by the attainment date of September 12, 2021.
EGLE submitted a request for a Clean Data Determination (CDD) on
July 24, 2020. When a nonattainment area is attaining the 2010
SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS based on the most recent available data, EPA may
issue a CDD suspending planning requirements. EPA issued a CDD for the
St. Clair area based on monitoring and modeling data for the 2017-2019
period via a final rule published on December 7, 2021 (86 FR 69173).
[[Page 78838]]
C. Requirement To Determine Attainment by the Attainment Date
Section 179(c)(1) of the CAA requires EPA to determine whether a
nonattainment area attained a standard by the applicable attainment
date based on the area's air quality as of the attainment date. EPA is
to issue this determination within six months of the attainment date.
Thus, EPA had a mandatory duty under CAA section 179(c) to determine by
March 12, 2022 whether the area attained by September 12, 2021. This
action proposes to determine the St. Clair area did attain the 2010
SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the attainment date of September 12, 2021.
A determination of whether an area's air quality meets applicable
standards is generally based upon the most recent three years of
complete, quality-assured data gathered at established State and local
air monitoring stations in a nonattainment area and entered into EPA's
Air Quality System (AQS) database. Data from ambient air monitors
operated by State and local agencies in compliance with EPA monitoring
requirements must be submitted to AQS. Monitoring agencies annually
certify that these data are accurate to the best of their knowledge.
All data are reviewed to determine the area's air quality status in
accordance with 40 CFR part 50, appendix T (for SO<INF>2</INF>). In
general, for SO<INF>2</INF>, EPA does not rely exclusively on
monitoring data to determine whether the NAAQS is met unless it has
been demonstrated that the monitors were appropriately sited to record
expected maximum ambient concentrations of SO<INF>2</INF> in an area.
As such, monitoring data can be supplemented with other relevant
information, including dispersion modeling and emissions inventories,
for determining attainment.
II. Proposed Determination of Attainment by the Attainment Date
A. Area Characterization
The St. Clair area is located within the lower southeastern corner
of Michigan northeast of Detroit and shares a border with Ontario,
Canada along the St. Clair River. The area is defined by the St. Clair
River for the eastern boundary, an extension from the St. Clair River
straight west to the intersection of State Highway M-29 and St. Clair
River Drive, continuing west on State Highway M-29 to Church Road to
Arnold Road to County Line Road for the southern boundary, County Line
Road and the Macomb/St. Clair County boundary to Stoddard Road to Wales
Ridge Road for the western boundary, and Alpine Road to Fitz Road to
Smith Creek Road to Range Road to Huron Avenue, extending straight east
from the intersection of Huron Road and River Road to the St. Clair
River for the northern boundary.
The St. Clair area contains two SO<INF>2</INF>-emitting facilities
that are both coal-fired power plants. Additionally, the area contains
two SO<INF>2</INF> monitors which reside near the facilities. The two
monitors have been operating since 2016 and have had no recorded
violations of the NAAQS. As these monitors were sited to operate under
guidance per the ``SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS Designations Source-Oriented
Monitoring Technical Assistance Document'' (SO<INF>2</INF> Monitoring
TAD), EPA believes that these monitors' locations adequately represent
the locations of potential maximum SO<INF>2</INF> impacts from the two
power plants.
B. St. Clair Nonattainment Area's Attainment of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS
We propose to determine that the St. Clair nonattainment area
attained the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the attainment date of
September 12, 2021. EPA previously determined that the St. Clair
SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area was attaining the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF>
NAAQS in its December 7, 2021 (86 FR 69173), CDD. EPA issued the CDD
based on SO<INF>2</INF> monitoring and modeling data from EGLE. For
this determination of attainment by the attainment date, EPA is in part
relying on the approved CDD of the St. Clair area as well as additional
supporting information. The data cited by the CDD demonstrated
attainment for the 2017-2019 time period, with averaged SO<INF>2</INF>
monitoring values of 54 ppb for the Belle River-Mills Monitor and 45
ppb for the St. Clair-Remer Monitor. The CDD modeled 2017-2019 emission
sources for an overall maximum 99th percentile impact output of 64.4
ppb, which falls below the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS of 75 ppb.
As noted, determinations of whether areas attained the NAAQS by the
attainment date are generally based on the area's design value as of
the attainment date, i.e., the three most recent calendar years of
data, in this case 2018-2020. Therefore, in this proposal EPA is
closely examining monitoring and emissions data from 2020 to supplement
the analysis already concluded in the CDD, which looked at air quality
information from 2017-2019. In 2020, primary source SO<INF>2</INF>
emissions and monitored SO<INF>2</INF> ambient air concentrations in
the area continued to decline. The SO<INF>2</INF> emissions from the
Belle River and St. Clair power plants decreased by an additional total
of 8,996 tons per year from 2019 to 2020 (Table 1). As seen in Table 2,
the 2018-2020 design values at the two air quality monitors in the area
continued to show SO<INF>2</INF> levels below the 75 ppb level of the
NAAQS and a decline in SO<INF>2</INF> concentration from 2017-2019.
Therefore, the additional information EPA has examined for 2020,
coupled with the existing CDD based on 2017-2019 monitoring and
emissions data, leads the agency to conclude that the St. Clair
nonattainment area attained by its attainment date.
Table 1--St. Clair, MI Nonattainment Area Annual Emissions
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SO2 emissions
------------------------------- Power plant Total tons/year
Year
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2017.......................... Belle River/St. Clair 36,918
2018.......................... Belle River/St. Clair 41,381
2019.......................... Belle River/St. Clair 30,751
2020.......................... Belle River/St. Clair 21,755
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[[Page 78839]]
Table 2--St. Clair, MI Nonattainment Area 2010 SO2 NAAQS Standard 3-Year Design Values
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Power plant monitors 3-Year design values (ppb)
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Site ID 2017-2019 2018-2020
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26-147-0913................................ Belle River-Mills.................. 45 40
26-147-0914................................ St. Clair-Remer.................... 54 45
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III. Proposed Action and Request for Public Comment
Based on EPA's review of all available evidence described in this
notice, EPA is proposing to determine that the St. Clair nonattainment
area attained the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the relevant attainment
date of September 12, 2021.
The determination of attainment by the attainment date does not
constitute a redesignation of the St. Clair, MI nonattainment area to
attainment of the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS under section 107(d)(3) of
the CAA. If this action is finalized, the St. Clair area will remain
designated nonattainment for the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS until such
time as EPA approves a redesignation request and accompanying 10-year
maintenance plan, and EPA determines that the area meets the
requirements of CAA section 107(d)(3) and provides for maintenance as
required by CAA section 175A.
If finalized, this action will address EPA's obligation under CAA
section 179(c) to determine if the St. Clair Area attained the 2010
SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the attainment date of September 12, 2021.
EPA is soliciting public comments on this action. These comments
will be considered before taking final action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review, and Executive
Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory Review
This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the
terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and is
therefore not subject to review under Executive Order 14094 (88 FR
21879, April 11, 2023).
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This rule does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This action
does not contain any information collection activities and serves only
to make a final determination that the St. Clair, Michigan
nonattainment area attained the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS by the
September 12, 2021, attainment date.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The determination of attainment by attainment date
action of attaining the 2010 SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS will not impose any
requirements on small entities or will not create any new requirements
beyond what is mandated by the CAA.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain any unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or uniquely affect
small governments. The action imposes no enforceable duty on any State,
local or Tribal governments or the private sector.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government. The
division of responsibility between the Federal Government and the
States for purposes of implementing the NAAQS is established under the
CAA.
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), requires EPA
to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful and timely
input by Tribal officials in the development of regulatory policies
that have Tribal implications.'' This action does not have Tribal
implications as specified in Executive Order 13175. This action does
not apply on any Indian reservation land, any other area where EPA or
an Indian Tribe has demonstrated that a Tribe has jurisdiction, or non-
reservation areas of Indian country. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does
not apply to this action.
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health and Safety Risks
EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997)
as applying to those regulatory actions that concern environmental
health or safety risks that EPA has reason to believe may
disproportionately affect children, per the definition of ``covered
regulatory action'' in section 2-202 of the Executive Order. This
action is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because it does not
establish an environmental standard intended to mitigate health or
safety risks.
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355,
May 22, 2001) because it is not a significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This rulemaking does not involve technical standards. Therefore,
EPA is not considering the use of any voluntary consensus standards.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects'' of their actions on communities with environmental justice
(EJ) concerns to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
EPA defines EJ as ``the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of
all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with
respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of
environmental laws, regulations, and policies.'' EPA further defines
the term fair treatment to mean that ``no group of people should bear a
disproportionate burden of environmental harms and
[[Page 78840]]
risks, including those resulting from the negative environmental
consequences of industrial, governmental, and commercial operations or
programs and policies.''
EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in this
action. Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this action
is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the air quality of
the affected area. Consideration of EJ is not required as part of this
action, and there is no information in the record inconsistent with the
stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving environmental justice for
communities with EJ concerns.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Sulfur dioxide.
Dated: September 18, 2024.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2024-21895 Filed 9-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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