Proposed Rule2025-11304

Finding of Failure To Attain for the Missouri Portion of the St. Louis Nonattainment Area for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

Primary source

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Published
June 20, 2025

Issuing agencies

Environmental Protection Agency

Abstract

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting comment on a determination that the Missouri portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL bi-state nonattainment area failed to attain the 2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the applicable attainment date. The effect of failing to attain by the applicable attainment date is that the area is reclassified by operation of law to "Serious" nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. On November 25, 2024, the EPA published a final action in the Federal Register which determined that the St. Louis area failed to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the Moderate area attainment date. That action also reclassified the area to Serious by operation of law with an effective date of December 31, 2024. On January 24, 2025, the EPA received a petition for reconsideration of that final action from the State of Missouri. On March 5, 2025, EPA Region 7 granted the petition for reconsideration and stated our intention to undergo a notice and comment rulemaking. Therefore, the EPA is accepting comment on the determination that the St. Louis area failed to attain by the attainment date. The Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL bi-state area is addressed separately.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 117 (Friday, June 20, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 117 (Friday, June 20, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26240-26244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11304]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R7-OAR-2025-0291; FRL-12824-01-R7]


Finding of Failure To Attain for the Missouri Portion of the St. 
Louis Nonattainment Area for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting comment 
on a determination that the Missouri portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL 
bi-state nonattainment area failed to attain the 2015 8-hour ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the applicable 
attainment date. The effect of failing to attain by the applicable 
attainment date is that the area is reclassified by operation of law to 
``Serious'' nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. On November 25, 
2024, the EPA published a final action in the Federal Register which 
determined that the St. Louis area failed to attain the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS by the Moderate area attainment date. That action also 
reclassified the area to Serious by operation of law with an effective 
date of December 31, 2024. On January 24, 2025, the EPA received a 
petition for reconsideration of that final action from the State of 
Missouri. On March 5, 2025, EPA Region 7 granted the petition for 
reconsideration and stated our intention to undergo a notice and 
comment rulemaking. Therefore, the EPA is accepting comment on the 
determination that the St. Louis area failed to attain by the 
attainment date. The Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL bi-state 
area is addressed separately.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 21, 2025.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2025-0291 to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received will be posted without 
change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Written 
Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Keas, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 7 Office, Air and Radiation Division, 11201 Renner 
Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-7629; 
email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#88e3ede9fba6e9fbe0e4edf1c8edf8e9a6efe7fe"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="62090703114c03110a0e071b220712034c050d14">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Written Comments
II. Overview of Action
III. What is the background for this action?
IV. What is the statutory authority for this action?
V. How does the EPA determine whether an area has attained the 
standard?
VI. What is the EPA's determination for the area?
VII. What action is the EPA proposing to take?
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2025-
0291, at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Once submitted, comments cannot be 
edited or removed from <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. The 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. The 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, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="http://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">http://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.

II. Overview of Action

    On November 25, 2024, the EPA published a final action in the 
Federal Register which determined that the St. Louis area failed to 
attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the August 3, 2024, Moderate area 
attainment date. (See 89 FR 92816) That action also reclassified the 
area to Serious by operation of law with an effective date of December 
31, 2024. On January 24, 2025, the EPA received a petition for 
reconsideration of that final action from the State of Missouri. On 
March 5, 2025, EPA Region 7 granted the petition for reconsideration 
and stated our intention to undergo a notice and comment rulemaking. 
Therefore, the EPA is publishing this proposed rule to accept comment 
on the determination that the St. Louis area failed to attain the 2015 
ozone standard by the Moderate area attainment date.
    The EPA is required to determine whether areas designated 
nonattainment for an ozone NAAQS attained the standard by the 
applicable attainment date, and to take certain steps for areas that 
failed to attain (see CAA section 181(b)(2)). Per the explicit 
statutory language of CAA section 181(b)(2), the EPA's determination of 
attainment by the attainment date must be based on a nonattainment 
area's design value (DV) as of the attainment date.\1\
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    \1\ A DV is a statistic used to compare data collected at an 
ambient air quality monitoring site to the applicable NAAQS to 
determine compliance with the standard. The data handling 
conventions for calculating DVs for the 2015 ozone NAAQS are 
specified in appendix U to 40 CFR part 50. The DV for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS is the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest daily 
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration. The DV is calculated for 
each air quality monitor in an area, and the DV for an area is the 
highest DV among the individual monitoring sites located in the 
area.
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    The 2015 ozone NAAQS is met at an EPA regulatory monitoring site 
when the DV does not exceed 0.070 parts per million (ppm). For Moderate 
nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, the attainment date was 
August 3, 2024. Because the DV is based

[[Page 26241]]

on the three most recent, complete calendar years of data, attainment 
must occur no later than December 31 of the year prior to the 
attainment date (i.e., December 31, 2023, in the case of Moderate 
nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS). As such, the EPA's 
determinations for the Moderate nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS are based upon the complete, quality-assured, and certified ozone 
monitoring data from calendar years 2021, 2022, and 2023.
    This action addresses the Missouri portion of the St. Louis bi-
state nonattainment area (hereafter St. Louis area) that was classified 
as Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS as of the Moderate area attainment 
date of August 3, 2024. Table 1 provides a summary of the DVs and the 
EPA's air quality-based determinations for the St. Louis area.

 Table 1--Summary of Nonattainment Areas in Missouri for the 2015 Ozone
                                  NAAQS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    2021-2023       Attainment by the
       Nonattainment area         Design value        moderate area
                                   (DV) (ppm)        attainment date
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St. Louis......................           0.074  Failed to attain.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA is accepting comment on the finding that the St. Louis area 
as shown in Table 1 did not attain by the attainment date, because the 
2021-2023 DV is greater than 0.070 ppm. If the EPA determines that a 
nonattainment area classified as Moderate failed to attain by the 
attainment date, CAA section 181(b)(2)(B) requires the EPA to publish a 
notice in the Federal Register, no later than 6 months following the 
attainment date, identifying each such area and identifying the 
applicable reclassification. The EPA's November 25, 2024, action 
fulfilled the EPA's obligation with respect to the St. Louis area.
    Under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A), areas that EPA finds have failed to 
attain by the attainment date are reclassified by operation of law to 
the next higher classification. The reclassification of the St. Louis 
Area to Serious became effective on December 31, 2024, and is still in 
effect. As such, the St. Louis area is currently subject to the Serious 
area requirement to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as 
practicable, but not later than August 3, 2027. Similarly, the other 
Serious area requirements remain in effect.
    Stationary air pollution sources in the St. Louis ozone 
nonattainment area became subject to Serious ozone nonattainment area 
New Source Review (NSR) and Title V permit requirements as a result of 
the area's reclassification. The source applicability thresholds for 
major sources and major source modification emissions are now 50 tons 
per year (tpy) for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides 
(NO<INF>X</INF>). For new and modified major stationary sources subject 
to review under Missouri regulation 10 CSR 10-6.060, in the EPA 
approved SIP,\2\ VOC and NO<INF>X</INF> emission increases from the 
proposed construction of the new or modified major stationary sources 
must be offset by emission reductions by a minimum offset ratio of 1.20 
to 1 (see CAA section 182(c)(10)). These permitting requirements 
associated with the Serious classification remain in effect.
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    \2\ Specifically, we are referring to the EPA-approved Missouri 
regulation 10 Code of State Regulations (CSR) 10-6.060, titled 
``Construction Permits Required.'' Most recently revised and 
approved into Missouri's SIP on August 11, 2022. (85 FR 49530)
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    Additionally, Missouri must submit to the EPA the SIP revisions for 
this area that satisfy the statutory and regulatory requirements 
applicable to Serious areas established in CAA section 182(c), the 2015 
Ozone NAAQS SIP Requirements Rule (see 83 FR 62998, December 6, 2018) 
and the Ozone Reclassifications Requirements Rule (see 90 FR 5651, 
January 17, 2025), which also established SIP submission and control 
measure implementation deadlines for newly reclassified areas (see 40 
CFR 51.1402).

III. What is the background for this action?

    On October 26, 2015, the EPA issued its final action to revise the 
NAAQS for ozone to establish a new 8-hour standard (see 80 FR 65452, 
October 26, 2015). In that action, the EPA promulgated identical 
tighter primary and secondary ozone standards designed to protect 
public health and welfare that specified an 8-hour ozone level of 0.070 
ppm. Specifically, the standards require that the 3-year average of the 
annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration 
may not exceed 0.070 ppm.
    Effective on August 3, 2018, the EPA designated 52 areas throughout 
the country as nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (see 83 FR 25776, 
June 4, 2018). As part of that action, the EPA designated the St. 
Louis, MO-IL bi-state area as Marginal nonattainment for the 2015 Ozone 
NAAQS. The area included Boles Township of Franklin County, St. Charles 
County, St. Louis County, and St. Louis City in Missouri, and Madison 
and St. Clair Counties in Illinois. As part of that same action, EPA 
designated Jefferson County and the remaining portion of Franklin 
County, in Missouri, and Monroe County in Illinois, as attainment/
unclassifiable. On July 10, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia remanded the Jefferson County, Missouri, and 
Monroe County, Illinois, designations (among other designations) to the 
EPA. The Court upheld EPA's designation of Boles Township as 
nonattainment and the remainder of Franklin County as attainment/
unclassifiable. In response to the Court's remand, the EPA revised the 
Jefferson County, Missouri, and Monroe County, Illinois designation to 
nonattainment on May 26, 2021 (86 FR 31438).
    In a separate action, the EPA classified and established attainment 
dates for each classification in accordance with CAA section 181(a)(1), 
based on the severity of an area's ozone problem, determined by the 
area's DV (see 83 FR 10376, May 8, 2018). The EPA established the 
maximum attainment date for Marginal, Moderate, and Serious 
nonattainment areas as 3 years, 6 years, and 9 years, respectively, 
from the effective date of the final designations. Thus, the attainment 
date for any nonattainment areas classified as Marginal for the 2015 
ozone NAAQS was August 3, 2021, the attainment date for Moderate areas 
was August 3, 2024, and the attainment date for Serious areas is August 
3, 2027. On October 7, 2022 (87 FR 60897), the EPA determined that 22 
areas, including the St. Louis area addressed in this action, did not 
attain the standards by the Marginal attainment date, and were 
reclassified as Moderate by operation of law.

[[Page 26242]]

IV. What is the statutory authority for this action?

    The statutory authority for this determination is provided by the 
CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). Relevant portions of the CAA 
include, but are not necessarily limited to, sections 181 and 182.
    CAA section 107(d) provides that when the EPA establishes or 
revises a NAAQS, the agency must designate areas of the country as 
nonattainment, attainment, or unclassifiable based on whether an area 
is not meeting (or is contributing to air quality in a nearby area that 
is not meeting) the NAAQS, meeting the NAAQS, or cannot be classified 
as meeting or not meeting the NAAQS, respectively. Subpart 2 of part D 
of title I of the CAA governs the classification, state planning, and 
emissions control requirements for any areas designated as 
nonattainment for a revised primary ozone NAAQS. In particular, CAA 
section 181(a)(1) requires each area designated as nonattainment for a 
revised ozone NAAQS to be classified at the same time as the area is 
designated based on the extent of the ozone problem in the area (as 
determined based on the area's DV). Classifications for ozone 
nonattainment areas are ``Marginal,'' ``Moderate,'' ``Serious,'' 
``Severe,'' and ``Extreme,'' in order of stringency. CAA section 
181(a)(1) also establishes attainment dates for each area classified 
under that section. CAA section 182 provides the specific attainment 
planning and additional requirements that apply to each ozone 
nonattainment area based on its classification.
    Section 181(b)(2)(A) of the CAA requires that within 6 months 
following the applicable attainment date, the EPA shall determine 
whether an ozone nonattainment area attained the ozone standard based 
on the area's DV as of that date. Under CAA section 181(a)(5) as 
interpreted by the EPA in 40 CFR 51.1307, upon application by any 
state, the EPA may grant a 1-year extension to the attainment date when 
certain criteria are met. One criterion for a first attainment date 
extension is that an area's fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour value 
for the attainment year must not exceed the level of the standard. In 
the event an area fails to attain the ozone NAAQS by the applicable 
attainment date and is not granted a 1-year attainment date extension, 
CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) requires the EPA to make the determination 
that an ozone nonattainment area failed to attain the ozone standard by 
the applicable attainment date, and requires the area to be 
reclassified by operation of law to the higher of: (1) The next higher 
classification for the area, or (2) the classification applicable to 
the area's DV as of the determination of failure to attain.\3\ Section 
181(b)(2)(B) of the CAA requires the EPA to publish the determination 
of failure to attain and accompanying reclassification in the Federal 
Register no later than 6 months after the attainment date, which in the 
case of the St. Louis area was February 3, 2025. The EPA's November 25, 
2024, action fulfilled the EPA's obligation with respect to the St. 
Louis area.
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    \3\ The nonattainment area named in this action that failed to 
attain by the attainment date would be classified to the next higher 
classification, Serious. The affected area's DV as of the attainment 
date does not otherwise place the area in a higher classification.
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    Once an area is reclassified, each state that contains a 
reclassified area is required to submit certain SIP revisions in 
accordance with its more stringent classification. The SIP revisions 
are intended to, among other things, demonstrate how the area will 
attain the NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 
August 3, 2027, the Serious area attainment date for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS. Per CAA section 182(i), a state with a reclassified ozone 
nonattainment area must submit the applicable attainment plan 
requirements ``according to the schedules prescribed in connection with 
such requirements'' in CAA section 182(c) for Serious areas, but the 
EPA ``may adjust applicable deadlines (other than attainment dates) to 
the extent such adjustment is necessary or appropriate to assure 
consistency among the required submissions.'' The EPA addressed the SIP 
revision and implementation deadlines for newly reclassified Serious 
areas, as well as the continued applicability of Moderate area 
requirements, if they have not yet been met, in a separate rulemaking. 
(See 90 FR 5651, January 17, 2025)

V. How does the EPA determine whether an area has attained the 
standard?

    The level of the 2015 ozone NAAQS is 0.070 ppm.\4\ Under the EPA 
regulations at 40 CFR part 50, appendix U, the 2015 ozone NAAQS is 
attained at a site when the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest 
daily maximum 8-hour average ambient ozone concentration (i.e., DV) 
does not exceed 0.070 ppm. When the DV does not exceed 0.070 ppm at 
each ambient air quality monitoring site within the area, the area is 
deemed to be attaining the ozone NAAQS. Each area's DV is determined by 
the highest DV among monitors with valid DVs.\5\ The data handling 
convention in appendix P dictates that concentrations shall be reported 
in ``ppm'' to the third decimal place, with additional digits to the 
right being truncated. Thus, a computed 3-year average ozone 
concentration of 0.071 ppm is greater than 0.070 ppm and would exceed 
the standard, but a computed 3-year average ozone concentration of 
0.0709 ppm is truncated to 0.070 ppm and attains the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
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    \4\ See 40 CFR 50.19.
    \5\ According to appendix U to 40 CFR part 50, ambient 
monitoring sites with a DV of 0.070 ppm or less must meet minimum 
data completeness requirements in order to be considered valid. 
These requirements are met for a 3-year period at a site if daily 
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations are available for at 
least 90% of the days within the ozone monitoring season, on 
average, for the 3-year period, with a minimum of at least 75% of 
the days within the ozone monitoring season in any one year. Ozone 
monitoring seasons are defined for each State in appendix D to 40 
CFR part 58. DVs greater than 0.070 ppm are considered to be valid 
regardless of the data completeness.
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    The EPA's proposed determination of attainment is based upon the 
area's design value as of August 3, 2024, which in turn is calculated 
using hourly ozone concentration data for calendar years 2021, 2022 and 
2023 that have been collected and quality-assured in accordance with 40 
CFR part 58 and reported to the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) 
database.\6\
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    \6\ The EPA maintains the AQS, a database that contains ambient 
air pollution data collected by the EPA, state, local, and tribal 
air pollution control agencies. The AQS also contains meteorological 
data, descriptive information about each monitoring station 
(including its geographic location and its operator) and data 
quality assurance/quality control information. The AQS data is used 
to (1) assess air quality, (2) assist in attainment/non-attainment 
designations, (3) evaluate SIPs for non-attainment areas, (4) 
perform modeling for permit review analysis, and (5) prepare reports 
for Congress as mandated by the CAA. Access is through the website 
at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/aqs">https://www.epa.gov/aqs</a>.
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    State and local monitoring network plans are subject to approval by 
the EPA on an annual basis and any interim modifications to those plans 
must also be approved by the EPA.\7\ The annual monitoring network plan 
process is provided in 40 CFR 58.10 and the requirements governing 
system modifications and monitor discontinuations are laid out in 40 
CFR 58.14. Where state or local agencies seek to modify the ambient air 
quality monitoring networks by discontinuing a monitor station, the EPA 
may approve such modifications subject to the criteria established in 
40 CFR 58.14(c). The EPA may not approve such discontinuation if doing 
so would

[[Page 26243]]

compromise data collection needed for implementation of a NAAQS. If a 
monitor has been discontinued subject to 40 CFR 58.14 such that the 
discontinuation results in insufficient data to calculate a valid DV 
according to appendix U to 40 CFR part 50, the EPA will determine the 
applicable area's attainment status based on the remaining monitors in 
the area.
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    \7\ Annual monitoring network plans for each state are available 
at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/amtic/state-monitoring-agency-annual-air-monitoring-plans-and-network-assessments">https://www.epa.gov/amtic/state-monitoring-agency-annual-air-monitoring-plans-and-network-assessments</a>.
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VI. What is the EPA's determination for the area?

    The EPA is accepting comment on the finding that the St. Louis 
nonattainment area addressed in this action failed to attain the 2015 
ozone NAAQS by the attainment date of August 3, 2024. As shown in Table 
1, at least one monitor in this area had a 2021-2023 DV greater than 
0.070 ppm.\8\ Table 2 shows the annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-
hour average ozone concentration and 2021-2023 DV for each monitor in 
the St. Louis, MO-IL area.
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    \8\ See definition of design value in 40 CFR 58.1, ``means the 
calculated concentration according to the applicable appendix of 
part 50 of this chapter for the highest site in an attainment or 
nonattainment area.'' See also appendix U to 40 CFR part 50.

  Table 2--2021-2023 Fourth Highest Daily Maximum 8-Hour Average Ozone Concentrations and Design Values at All Monitors in the St. Louis, MO-IL Area *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
                                                                                                     average ozone concentration (ppm)       2021-2023
             AQS site ID                          County                         State            ---------------------------------------  design value
                                                                                                       2021         2022         2023       (DV) (ppm)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
290990019............................  Jefferson...................  Missouri....................        0.073        0.067        0.078           0.072
291831002............................  Saint Charles...............  Missouri....................        0.067        0.071        0.080           0.072
291831004............................  Saint Charles...............  Missouri....................        0.065        0.067        0.073           0.068
291890005............................  Saint Louis.................  Missouri....................        0.065        0.061        0.077           0.067
291890014............................  Saint Louis.................  Missouri....................        0.065        0.067        0.081           0.071
295100085............................  St. Louis City..............  Missouri....................        0.068        0.068        0.077           0.071
171190120............................  Madison.....................  Illinois....................        0.070        0.076        0.078           0.074
171190122............................  Madison.....................  Illinois....................        0.070        0.067        0.078           0.071
171193007............................  Madison.....................  Illinois....................        0.070        0.072        0.077           0.073
171630010............................  Saint Clair.................  Illinois....................        0.066        0.067        0.077           0.070
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Monitors that did not meet completeness criteria and do not have a valid design value are not shown.

VII. What action is the EPA proposing to take?

    Effective December 31, 2024, the EPA determined that the Missouri 
portion of the St. Louis area failed to attain by the Moderate 2015 
ozone attainment date, and the area was therefore reclassified by 
operation of law to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Missouri 
submitted a petition for reconsideration to the Agency on January 24, 
2025, asserting that the state did not have an opportunity to comment 
on the Agency's determination. The EPA granted the state's request for 
reconsideration on March 5, 2025, and is in this proposed notice 
accepting comment on the Agency's determination that the area failed to 
attain by the Moderate 2015 ozone attainment date based on the area's 
design value as of the attainment date.

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

    This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the 
terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993).

B. Executive Order 14192: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065, 
February 6, 2025) because Section 181 actions are exempt from review 
under Executive Order 12866;

C. 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 accept comment on a determination that the St. Louis nonattainment 
area failed to attain the 2015 ozone standards by the August 3, 2024, 
Moderate area attainment date.

D. 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.). This action will not impose any requirements on 
small entities. A determination of failure to attain the 2015 ozone 
standards (and resulting reclassifications), will not in and of itself 
create any new requirements beyond what is mandated by the CAA. This 
action would not itself directly regulate any small entities.

E. 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. This action does not impose additional requirements 
beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, no additional costs to 
State, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, will 
result from this action.

F. 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.

G. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), requires the 
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

[[Page 26244]]

Tribe has jurisdiction, or non-reservation areas of Indian country. 
Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.

H. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    The 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 the 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.

I. 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.

J. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)

    This rulemaking does not involve technical standards. Therefore, 
the EPA is not considering the use of any voluntary consensus 
standards.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: June 2, 2025.
Edward H. Chu,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 2025-11304 Filed 6-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on June 20, 2025.

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