### Summary of Interagency Work ing Comments on Draft Language under

EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further Policy Review.

1 1. Page 30, line 3

- Change wildfire to wildland fire

Response : Making this change would effectively identify all wildland fires as natural sources of emissions. The EPA recognizes wildfires as being “natural,” but expanding natural fire to include wildland fires is a policy decision that is outside the scope of this O 3 NAAQS review rulemaking . The EPA has not incorporated th is change.

2. Page 33, line 7

- Insert sentence s : Wildfire, due to recent growth in the size, duration and severity; has also been found to contribute to elevated ozone levels across the country and

well removed from the wildfire location. (Please provide cite ) Under most forecasted trends due to climate change, this increasing trend in wildfire activity will likely continue and assessment of options for consideration of this impact upon background will be assessed by

EPA in concert with the Forest Service. Inn ovative methods beyond the use of the exceptional event rule will be considered.

Response : C ommit ting resources to assess the impacts of potential future fires to background O 3 concentrations and to identify methods beyond the Exceptional Events Rule req uires a policy decision that is outside the scope of this O 3 NAAQS review rulemaking . The EPA is currently undertaking a notice

- and

- comment rulemaking effort to revise the Exceptional Events Rule and develop wildfire/ozone implementation guidance. The EPA expects to identify a streamlined approach for addressing certain criteria (e.g., clear causal relationship/but for) for wildfire/ozone exceptional events demonstrations. The EPA has not incorporated this change.

3. Page 528, line 9

– Insert sentence: If such an extension were granted for the secondary standard, General Conformity requirements would also be extended to a matching time period.

Response : Both Transportation and General Conformity requirements are applicable and must be met by Federal ag encies 1

- year following the effective date of the final nonattainment designation of each NAAQS. This 1

- year grace period is set by law in the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)(6)). EPA does not have discretion to change the date for the start of these

im plementation requirements , therefore no changes have been made to the text

.

4. Page 559, line 2

– If there is a delay in SIP submittal granted by EPA for the secondary standard, Transportation and General Conformity implementation would also be delayed.

Response : Both Transportation and General Conformity requirements are applicable and must be met by Federal agencies 1

- year following the effective date of the final nonattainment designation of each NAAQS. This 1

- year grace period is set by law in the Cl ean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)(6)). EPA does not have discretion to change the date for the start of these implementation requirements , therefore no changes have been made to the text

.

### Summary of Interagency Work ing Comments on Draft Language under

EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further Policy Review.

2 5. Page 559, line 14

– Insert sentence: This includes retention of source specific requirements such as use of smoke management programs or use of basic smoke management practices 1
for prescribed fire.

Response : There is not a source specific requirement for the use of smoke management programs or use of basic smoke management practices (BSMPs) for prescribed fires for the purposes of general conformity compliance. To reduce administrative burden on federal agenc ies

, EPA’s General Conformity Regulations (40 CFR 93.153(i)) provides that emissions from prescribed fires conducted in accordance with a smoke management program (SMP) which meets the requirements of EPA’s Interim Air Quality Policy on Wildland and Prescr ibed Fires or an equivalent replacement EPA policy are “presumed to conform” for the purposes of fulfilling the general conformity requirements. Additionally

, EPA’s April 5, 2010 revisions to its General Conformity Regulations (75 FR 17254) provided flexib ilities in 40 CFR 93.153 (h) for prescribed fires to meet general conformity requirements using BSMP where the Federal agency identifies through publication in the Federal Register a list of proposed activities (i.e., BSMPs) that are “presumed to conform” and the basis for the presumption. Inserting the sentence recommended by the commenter would create confusion since there is no requirement and the referenced BSMP have not been identified in accordance with 40 CFR 93.153 (h). Therefore no changes have bee n made to the text.

6. Page 561, line 6

– Insert sentence : As wildfire emissions are a key portion (Please provide cite) of this natural background along with the potential for such emissions to increase, it is critical to specifically identify when such challenging situations may exist. Additionally, the natural background for such areas should consider the contribution of wildland f ire , wildfire and prescribed fire, as has been considered in regional haze rule and elsewhere. Prescribed fire is considered a viable mitigation method for reducing this wildfire contribution to natural background and critical for protecting pub lic safety while providing for ecological resilience of ecosystems . The role of prescribed fire in nonattainment areas which are taxed by the high ozone levels and climate change is doubly critical. This relationship should be considered in the developme nt of state plans to implement the standards.

Response : The EPA has added language in section VII. F.1. to clarify that background O 3 generally refers to O 3 that originates from natural sources of O 3 (e.g., wildfires and stratospheric

O 3 intrusions) and O 3 precursors, as well as from manmade internation a l emissions of O 3 precursors. The EPA has also added language in VII. F.1. noting that temperature increases could lead to more prevalent wildfires, the impacts of which may be lessened by various mitigation measures. Identifying and implementing appropriate mechanism(s) to mitigate the effects of wildfires is a state decision that is part of the State Implementation Plan process. The EPA does

not intend to endorse one mitigation approach o ver another.

1 USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, Basic Smoke Management Practices Tech Note,

October 2011. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/s telprdb1046311.pdf

### Summary of Interagency Work ing Comments on Draft Language under

EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further Policy Review.

3 7. Page 562 , line 8

- Change and add sentence s : In many most locations, these events were are relatively infrequent however recent and projected trends for wildfire impacts on background are increasing . These impacts increase the monitored ozo ne levels and an increased background could inadvertently lead to areas classified as nonattainment or lead to SIP planning which requires more stringent control strategies by states. This increasing trend in wildfire activity will likely continue and ass essment of options for consideration of this impact upon background will be assessed by EPA in concert with the Forest Service and

DOI . Innovative methods beyond the use of the exceptional event rule will be considered.

Response : The EPA’s analyses, summarized in the preamble and explained in detail in the Policy Assessment, indicate that instances in which stratospheric ozone intrusion, wildfires, and long

range transport cause background O 3 levels to approach or exceed the concentration levels

propo sed in the O 3 notice is and will likely continue to be infrequent and is limited to very few areas of the country. The EPA is not incorporating th e specific change suggested by the

commenter, but has added language in other portions of section VII.F.1 indi cating that temperature increases could lead to more prevalent wildfires and potential increases in O 3 concentrations. Committing resources to assess the impacts of potential future fires and to identify methods beyond the Exceptional Events Rule requires a policy decision that is outside the scope of this O 3 NAAQS review rulemaking

.

8. Page 563, line 5

- Insert sentences: Increasing trends in wildfire activity which can contribute to elevated ozone background and unhealthy ozone levels across large expanses of the country are a particular concern especially considering temperature and drought trends in climate change projections. Additionally, use of prescribed fire

, which is used to improve resilience of fire dependent ecosystems and as a means of managing fuels which could otherwise threaten public safety if a wildfire were to occur , can contribute to this background. EPA has previously acknowledged that a substantial portion of prescribed fire is natural for purposes of demonstrating progress in regional haze. For the purposes of NAAQS classification of areas and demonstration of reasonable progress towards achieving the NAAQS, the same view is retained that prescribed fire plays a natural and important role in US ecosystem health, resilience and maintena nce. In order to assess the wildland fire (wildfire and prescribed fire) contribution to background, EPA will investigate further options beyond the EER to consider these impacts when classifying areas.

Response : The EPA is not incorporating this specific change but has added language in other portions of section VII.F.1 that temperature increases could lead to more p revalent wildfires and potential increases in O 3 concentrations. Addressing the current or future t reatment of fire within the context of Regional Haze involves policy decisions that are out side of the scope of this O 3 NAAQS review rulemaking

. Similarly, c ommitting resources to assess the impacts of potential future fires and to identify methods beyond the Exceptional Events Rule requires a policy decision that is outside the scope of this O 3 NAAQS review rulemaking

.

9. Page 565, line 12

- Add: ...challenging and expensive. As the ozone effects of wildfire become smaller further from the fire, the modeling becomes that much more difficult. As the

### Summary of Interagency Work ing Comments on Draft Language under

EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further Policy Review.

4 frequency, duration and spatial extant of impact from wildfire is anticipated to grow, the use of the Exceptional Events Rule will become more frequent. Other more central and national scale approaches for addressing the impacts of wildfire on ozone background will be assessed by EPA to insure that areas are not assessed regulatory burden due to these types of impacts and variation in approach between EPA Regions is reduced.

Response : The EPA has not included this specific language. Rather, we believe that the concepts are addressed in other changes to VII.F.1.

10. Page 565, line 18

– Strike the sentence “While EPA...”

Response : We deleted the s entence and reference to the Flint Hills exceptional event s demonstration.

11. Page 566, line 6

– Replace fires with wildland fires.

Response : The EPA has not incorporated this change. Rather, we clarified that we are developing exceptional events implementation guidance that specifically addresses wildfires that could

influence ozone concentrations , which air agency co

- regulators have indicated are particularly challenging.

12. Page 580

– Insert Executive Order 13653

- Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change Agencies are guided to identify and seek to remove or reform barriers that discourage investments or other actions to increase the Nation's resilience to climate change

w hile ensuring continued protection of public health and the environment; and reform policies and Federal funding programs that may, perhaps unintentionally, increase the vulnerability of natural or built systems, economic sectors, natural resources, or com munities to climate change related risks. (If EPA wishes to address benefits of Secondary Standard approach it could fit here.) In the calculation of background cited in section VII.F, the relationship and contribution of wildland fire, wildfire and pres cribed fire, should be clearly defined by EPA as to not allow increases from these natural background sources to mask progress towards attainment. As these sources are critical to long

- term carbon sequestration and carbon stability in the United States, st ates developing implementation plans in concert with EPA will address these natural background sources, their contributions towards nonattainment and viable approaches such as use of smoke management programs and basic smoke management techniques to insure that efforts to use fire to address hazardous fuels are

not derailed.

Response : EO 13653 is not a required element in regulatory packages. The EPA has not included this language.

13. Page 626, line 11

– Add: prescribed fires.

Response : The EPA has modified this language in Appendix U

.

### Summary of Interagency Work ing Comments on Draft Language under

EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further Policy Review.

5 14. Page 580

– EO 13653

- Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change

– specific text to document consideration of wildland fire management within land and resource management policies related to climate change:

Response : EO 13653 is not a required element in regulatory packages. The EPA has not included this language.

<commenter’s text omitted>