[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15895-15898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6669]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0084-201112; FRL-9284-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and
Designations of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Alabama,
Georgia, and Tennessee: Chattanooga; Determination of Attaining Data
for the 1997 Annual Fine Particulate Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to determine that the Chattanooga, Tennessee-
Georgia, fine particulate (PM2.5) nonattainment area
(hereafter referred to as ``the Chattanooga Area'' or ``Area'') has
attained the 1997 annual average PM2.5 National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS). The Chattanooga Area is comprised of
Hamilton County in Tennessee, Catoosa and Walker Counties in Georgia,
and a portion of Jackson County in Alabama. This proposed determination
of attainment is based upon complete, quality-assured and certified
ambient air monitoring data for the 2007-2009 period showing that the
Area has monitored attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS. If EPA finalizes this proposed determination of attainment, the
requirements for the Area to submit an attainment demonstration and
associated reasonably available control measures (RACM), a reasonable
further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures, and other planning
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions related to attainment of the
standard shall be suspended so long as the Area continues to attain the
annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 21, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2011-0084, by one of the following methods:
1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: [email protected].
3. Fax: (404) 562-9040.
4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0084, Regulatory Development Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
5. Hand Delivery: Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed
information. The Regional Office official hours of business are Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2011-0084. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The http://www.regulations.gov website is an
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your
[[Page 15896]]
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 electronically at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30,
excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Huey or Sara Waterson, Regulatory
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Mr. Huey may be
reached by phone at (404) 562-9104 or via electronic mail at
[email protected]. Ms. Waterson may be reached by phone at (404) 562-
9061 or via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What action Is EPA taking?
II. What Is the background for this action?
III. Does the Chattanooga area meet the annual PM2.5
NAAQS?
A. Criteria
B. Chattanooga Area Air Quality
IV. What Is the effect of this action?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to determine that the Chattanooga Area (comprised
of Hamilton, Catoosa, and Walker Counties in their entireties and a
portion of Jackson County) has attaining data for the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS.\1\ The proposal is based upon complete,
quality-assured and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2007-
2009 monitoring period that shows the Area has monitored attainment of
the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Available data for 2010
indicate attaining data for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
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\1\ ``1997 Annual NAAQS'' refers to both the primary and
secondary standards, which are identical.
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II. What is the background for this action?
On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 36852), EPA established an annual
PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\)
based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5
concentrations. At that time, EPA also established a 24-hour NAAQS of
65 [mu]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR 50.7. On January 5, 2005 (70 FR 944), EPA
published its air quality designations and classifications for the 1997
PM2.5 NAAQS based upon air quality monitoring data from
those monitors for calendar years 2001-2003. These designations became
effective on April 5, 2005. The Chattanooga Area was designated
nonattainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR
81.301(Alabama), 40 CFR 81.311 (Georgia), and 40 CFR 81.343
(Tennessee).
On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of
annual mean PM2.5 concentrations, and promulgated a 24-hour
NAAQS of 35 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of the 98th percentile
of 24-hour concentrations. On November 13, 2009, EPA designated the
Chattanooga Area as attainment for the 2006 24-hour NAAQS (74 FR
58688). In that action, EPA also clarified the designations for the
NAAQS promulgated in 1997, stating that the Chattanooga Area was
designated as nonattainment for the annual NAAQS but attainment for the
24-hour NAAQS. Thus, today's action does not address attainment of
either the 1997 or the 2006 24-hour NAAQS.
In response to legal challenges of the annual NAAQS promulgated in
2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
(DC Circuit) remanded this NAAQS to EPA for further consideration. See
American Farm Bureau Federation and National Pork Producers Council, et
al. v. EPA, 559 F.3d 512 (DC Cir. 2009). However, given that the 1997
and 2006 annual NAAQS are essentially identical, attainment of the 1997
annual NAAQS would also indicate attainment of the remanded 2006 annual
NAAQS.
On April 25, 2007 (72 FR 20664), EPA promulgated its
PM2.5 Implementation Rule, codified at 40 CFR part 51,
subpart Z, in which the Agency provided guidance for state and tribal
plans to implement the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. This rule, at 40
CFR 51.1004(c), specifies some of the regulatory consequences of
attaining the NAAQS, as discussed below.
III. Does the Chattanooga area meet the annual PM2.5 NAAQS?
A. Criteria
Today's rulemaking proposed to find that the Chattanooga Area is
attaining the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, and provides a basis
for that final action. The Chattanooga Area is comprised of Hamilton,
Catoosa, and Walker Counties in their entireties, and a portion of
Jackson County.
Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.7, the annual primary and
secondary PM2.5 NAAQS are met when the annual arithmetic
mean concentration, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix N, is less than or equal to 15.0 [micro]g/m\3\ at all relevant
monitoring sites in the subject area.
B. Chattanooga Area Air Quality
EPA has reviewed the ambient air monitoring data for the
Chattanooga Area in accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix N. All data considered have been quality-assured, certified,
and recorded in EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database. This review
addresses air quality data collected in the 3-year period from 2007--
2009.
The following table provides the annual average concentrations
averaged over 2007--2009 at the sites in the Chattanooga Area. The
Rossville site did not have complete data for 2007. As a result, data
substitution was performed and is discussed in the technical support
document (TSD) for this proposed rule. The annual design value for
2007-2009 for the Chattanooga Area is 12.7 [micro]g/m\3\, at the Siskin
Drive site (47-065-4002).
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\2\ The Rossville site did not meet 75 percent data completeness
for the 2007-2009 time period due to roof replacement and subsequent
relocation of the monitor. Because the site passed data substitution
analysis, the design value for the Area is the highest reading
monitor, which is Tombras Avenue.
[[Page 15897]]
Table 1.--Annual Average Concentrations in the Chattanooga Area
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Annual average
Site name Site No. concentration
([mu]g/m\3\)
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Tombras Avenue...................... 47-065-0031 12.6
Soddy Daisy High School............. 47-065-1011 11.7
Siskin Drive........................ 47-065-4002 12.7
Rossville........................... 13-295-0002 \2\ 12.3
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A new roof was installed in June of 2007 at the Rossville site;
therefore, no data were collected from June 12, 2007, through November
13, 2007. The pitched roof no longer supported ambient air monitors,
which resulted in the establishment of a new monitoring location. Due
to the shut-down, the Rossville site did not meet data completeness
requirements for 2007. Data substitution was used to determine the
attainment status of the Rossville site. The Georgia Environmental
Protection Division (GA EPD) developed a weight-of-evidence approach
\3\ for an alternative method of data substitution. The analysis used
data from Siskin Drive and Tombras Avenue sites to determine the
attainment status of the Rossville site. EPA has determined that GA EPD
successfully demonstrated a strong correlation between the
PM2.5 data from the Rossville site and two other sites.
Additionally, EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards did an
additional analysis on the correlation between the sites. Further
discussion on the data substitution can be found in the TSD for this
proposed rule. Data completeness requirements were met at the other
monitors in the Area.
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\3\ For the Chattanooga analysis, the weight-of-evidence
approach used was spatial averaging. The analysis can be found in
the ``Analysis of Rossville PM2.5 Data'' document
provided by GA EPD on 5/5/2010. This document will be posted in the
docket.
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Determinations of attainment are based on the most recent three
years of complete, quality-assured data. EPA also considers additional
quality-assured data to the extent those data are available. In
accordance with Appendix N and standard EPA practice, EPA's review of
the data was centered on the three most recent years of complete data,
2007-2009. Appendix N does not explicitly provide for comparisons to
the NAAQS involving partial years of data, because various seasons of
the year reflect various influences on PM2.5 concentrations,
and a partial year's data may not be representative of values that
would be determined from a full year's data set. Nevertheless, EPA
examined data that are available to date. For the Area, the available
data for 2010 in the AQS database are below the NAAQS; however, not all
of the 2010 data have been reported and they are not yet certified.
Based on data available in AQS through the third quarter of 2010, the
Tombras site has a preliminary 2008-2010 design value of 11.7 [micro]g/
m\3\, the Soddy Daisy site has a preliminary 2008-2010 design value of
11.1 [micro]g/m\3\, the Siskin Drive site has a preliminary 2008-2010
design value of 11.7 [micro]g/m\3\, and the Rossville site has a
preliminary design value of 10.9 [micro]g/m\3\. These preliminary
design values are consistent with continued attainment, and the
complete 2008--2010 design values are expected to be below 15.0
[micro]g/m\3\. On the basis of this review, EPA is proposing to
determine that the Chattanooga Area has attained the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS, and is soliciting public comments on its
proposed determination.
IV. What is the effect of this action?
If this proposed determination of attainment is made final, the
requirements for the Chattanooga Area to submit an attainment
demonstration and associated RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures,
and any other planning SIPs related to attainment of the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS would be suspended for so long as the Area
continues to attain the PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 51.1004(c).
Notably, as described below, any such determination would not be
equivalent to the redesignation of the Area to attainment for the
annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
If this proposed rulemaking is finalized and EPA subsequently
determines, after notice and comment rulemaking in the Federal
Register, that the Area has violated the annual PM2.5 NAAQS,
the basis for the suspension of the specific requirements would no
longer exist for the Chattanooga Area, and the Area would thereafter
have to address the applicable requirements. See 40 CFR 51.1004(c).
Finalizing this proposed action would not constitute a
redesignation of the Area to attainment of the annual PM2.5
NAAQS under section 107(d)(3) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Further,
finalizing this proposed action does not involve approving maintenance
plans for the Area as required under section 175A of the CAA, nor would
it find that the Area has met all other requirements for redesignation.
Even if EPA finalizes the proposed action, the designation status of
the Chattanooga Area would remain nonattainment for the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS until such time as EPA determines that the Area
meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to attainment and takes
action to redesignate the Area.
This action is only a proposed determination of attainment that the
Chattanooga Area has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
Today's action does not address the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
If the Chattanooga Area continues to monitor attainment of the
annual PM2.5 NAAQS, the requirements for the Chattanooga
Area to submit an attainment demonstration and associated RACM, a RFP
plan, contingency measures, and any other planning SIPs related to
attainment of the annual PM2.5 NAAQS will remain suspended.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This action proposes to make a determination of attainment based on
air quality, and would, if finalized, result in the suspension of
certain federal requirements, and it would not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this
proposed action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
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.);
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);
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Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
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
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,
this proposed 1997 annual average PM2.5 NAAQS data
determination for the Chattanooga Area does not have tribal
implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian
country located in the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 10, 2011.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2011-6669 Filed 3-21-11; 8:45 am]
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