UNITEDSTATESENVIRONMENTALPROTECTIONAGENCY OfficeofAirQualityPlanningandStandards ResearchTrianglePark,NorthCarolina27711 

## FEB 

# 319g4

SUBJECT: 

### Procedures for Processing Bump Ups and Extension ' 

### Requests for Marginal Ozone NonattainmentAreas
FROM: 

### D. Kent Berry, Acting Director Air Quality Management Division (MD-15)

# /cJ+T

TO: 

### Director,Air; Pesticidesand Toxics Management Division,Regions I and IV Director,Air and Waste Management Division, Region I1 

### Director,Air, Radiation and Toxics Division, Region I11 ~irector; Air and Radiation Division, RegionV Director,Air, Pesticides and Toxics Division, Region VI 

### Director,Air and Toxics Division, RegionsVII, 

### VIII, 

### IX, and X

PURPOSE Thismemorandum provides guidance to the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA)

### Regional Offices and States on two important sections of the 1990 

### Clean Air Act Amendments (!Act) that currently impactmarginal ozone nonattainment areas. The provisions cover bump 

### ups for failure to attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 

### and attainment date



### . extension requests. Additionally, this memorandum clarifies the

. 

### impact that bump ups have on ozone nonattainment rural transport areas, and discusses State submittals of air quality data on an
. 

### accelerated schedule. Finally, thismemorandum outlines the steps states need to take when requestingvoluntary bump 

### up or attainment date extensions and the process for EPA action on such requests. BACKGROUND Section 181('b)(2)

### of the Act states that within 6

### months following the applicable attainment date for ozone nonattainment areas, the Administrator shall determin,ewhether the area attained the standard by that date. For areas that have not attained the standard,the Act states that they shall be reclassifiedby operation of law (bumpedup) to the higher of: 1. 

### the next higher classification; or2. the classificationassociated.withthe area's design value. The Act requires the Administrator to publish a notice in the FederalResister identifying the areas that'havenot attained the standard no later than 6months following the attainment date. Section 181(a)(5) of theAct gives theAdministrator the discretion to grant up to two 1-year extensions.ofthe attainment dates specified in section 181(a) upon applicationby any State if: 1. the Statehas complied with all requirements and commitmentspertaining to the area in the applicable State implementationplan (SIP); and
2. no more than onemeasured exceedance of the NAAQS for ozone has occurred in the area in theyear preceding the extension year (e.g., inmarginal areas no more than onemeasured exceedance of the NAAQS could occur in 1993). This requirement does not preclude areas that have more than one measured exceedance of the standard.ina yearpreceding 1993 from requesting and receiving an extension.
POLICY SUMMARY This policy statement is directed to bump ups, extension requests, rural transport areas (RTArs),air quality data, and submittal and processing. Bump ups When making the determination as to whether an area has attained the NAAQS, EPA will use themost recently available, quality-assured air quality data covering the 3-year period up to and including the attainment date. For ozone, the average number of exceedancesper year .shallbe used to determinewhether the area has attained. For marginal ozone .nonattainmentareas, this means that the air quality data for theperiod 1991 to 1993 will be used to determinewhether the area attained by November 15, 1993.Extension Requests When requesting an extension, States should consider the consequences of eventually not attaining the NUQS. Although areas can request two 1-year extensions, those that ultimately fail to attain the NAAQS will be bumped up to at least a moderate classificationby operation of law upon a determination of nonattainment. Areas that are bumped up will be subject to the SIP requirements applicable to the new classification (see subpart 2 of the Act). Section 182(i) of the Act states that the attainmentdates for reclassified areas cannot be adjusted. For

### moderate areas, the attainment date specified in table 1 

### of section 181 

### is November 15, 1996. 

### Consequently, areas that are bumped up will be under very tight timeframes to implement the new SIP 

### requirements, in addition to achieving the reductions to. meet the new attainment date. If 

### a newly classified moderate area does not attain the NAAQS 

### by November 15, 1996, 

### it could then be bumped up to a serious or severe classification,which would impose even more stringentrequirements for the area to meet.The EPA, therefore, encourages any State that believes it has an area that will 

### be unable to attain by its applicable deadline to voluntarily request bump up early tomaximize the available time for implementing the requirements of the next higher nonattainment level. Early bump up will help areas avoid sanctions and/or Federal implementationplans that could result from failure tomeet SIP 

### submittal requirements. Thus,marginal areas that request extensions under section 181(a)(5) should document that they have initiated rule development activities in order to 

### meet the Act's requirements associatedwith the new classification. The following are examples of such activities, but States should not necessarily limit themselves to these: 1. Documentation that the State has 

### planned or begun the necessary monitoring activities to develop information for the modeling analysis that will be required for the new classification.
2. 

### For certain controlmeasures such as inspection/maintenance,documentation that the State has examined its legislativeauthority and regulatoryprocedures to determine whether or not it can quickly adopt and implement the emissions controls needed tomeet the new attainment date.

3. A 

### plan tomeet.theSIP submittalsand attainment date required by 

### the higher classification. The EPA is interpreting the requirement that the State is complying with the commitments and requirements in the applicable implementationplan, as referenced in section 181(a) (5) 

### of the Act pertaining to extensions, to mean that the State is implementing the EPA-approved SIP [see section 302(q)J. 

### Thus, in any request,the Statesmust also certify that they are, implementing the EPA-approved SIP. 

### Rural TransportAreas
In the November 6, 1991 

### designations and classifications final rule (57 FR 56694), 

### a number of areas were designated rural transport. Under section 182(h) of the Act, RTArs

### are treated asmeeting sect-ion182 requirements if they make the submissions required of marginal areas in section 182(a) of the Act. The provisions for bump ups,insection 181(b)(2) and extension requests in section 181(a)(5) are applicable to any RTA that fails tomeet its attainment date. Thus, RTA1sthat are bumped up will be subject to the attainment date for thehigher classification,but will be subjectonly to the SIP submittal requirements formarginal areas. However, if the characteristics of an area drastically change,the Administrator has the discretion to revise an arearstreatment as an RTA, and if that occurs,the area will be subject to the new SIP requirements associated with that classification. Air Qualitv Data States that havemarginal ozone nonattainment areashave been asked to submit to the EPA Regions their ozone air quality data on an accelerated time schedule. (Pleaserefer to the memorandum entitled, I1AcceleratedReporting of 1993 Ozone Monitoring Data.in Marginal.Nonattainment Areas" dated December 21, 1993 from D. Kent Berry and Robert Kellam which describes the requirements for submission of air quality data on an accelerated schedule.) Early reporting of data will enable EPA tomake attainment and bump up decisions in a timeframe consistentwith theAct. Itwill also alert the State and EPA to the need to begin developing and adopting the additionalmeasures for the appropriatehigher classification.
SUBMITTALAND PROCESSING State requests for a 1-year attainmentdate extension or voluntary bump up, as appropriate, should be made.coinciding with the submittal of the air quality data. Requests for extensions of the attainmentdate should be.submittedas soon as possible in order to .avoidconfusion and allow EPA to expeditiously process the extension requests at the same time the bump up:decisions.are made.When requesting an extension, the following materials must be included in the submittal: 1. letter from the Governor or the Governor's designee requesting a 1-year extension of the attainment date;
2. certification that only one or fewermeasured exceedances of the ozone standard occurred at any valid site in the nonattainment area in 1993, supported by the final, complete quality-assured 1993 ozone monitoring data;
3. certification that the State is implementing the EPAapproved SIP; and4. 

### documentation that the State has initiated rule development activities associated with the moderate classification. Upon submittal of these extension requests, the EPA Regional

. 

### office will be responsible for review and evaluation to determine 

### if all of the elementsdescribed above are included. The ~egional Office will also be responsible formaking the initial determination on the extension request. Bump ups and extensiondeterminationsmust go through notice and comment rulemaking. Consequently,bump up decisions and attainment date extensionswill be 

### published in the Federal Resister. Our intent is.topublish the bump up 

### determinations and attainment date extension requests in a national notice to be signed by the Administrator and to process it as a 

### direct final rulemaking. If 

### you have any questions on bump ups 

### or attainment date extension requests,please contact either SharonReinders (9191541-5284) or Denise Gerth (919/541-5550)of my 

### staff.

cc: Alan Eckert Bill Becker