September 17, 1993

 

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: State Implementation Plan (SIP) Requirements for Areas 

Submitting Requests for Redesignation to Attainment of

 the Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air 

 Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or after November 15, 1992 

 

FROM: Michael H. Shapiro

 Acting Assistant Administrator

 for Air and Radiation (ANR-443)

TO: Director, Air, Pesticides and Toxics

 Management Division, Regions I and IV

Director, Air and Waste Management Division,

 Region II

Director, Air, Radiation and Toxics Division, 

 Region III

Director, Air and Radiation Division, 

 Region V

Director, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Division,

 Region VI

Director, Air and Toxics Division,

 Regions VII, VIII, IX, and X

I. Purpose

The purpose of this memorandum is to address State requests

to redesignate from nonattainment to attainment of the ozone and

CO NAAQS under section 107. Specifically at issue are requests

submitted on or after November 15, 1992 where outstanding Clean

Air Act (Act) requirements have not been met. This memo provides

guidance on the statutorily-mandated control programs that must

be in the EPA-approved SIP if EPA is to approve the redesignation

request. The Act's requirements for redesignation and a list of

EPA's redesignation policy and guidance are included in

Attachments A and B. In the future, further guidance may be

provided for redesignations submitted after November 15, 1993. 
2

 Note that this represents a departure from earlier guidance 1

for part D new source review (NSR) regulations. 

II. Policy Summary

Section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) of the Act as amended (amended Act)

provides that the State must have met all applicable requirements

of section 110 and part D in order to be redesignated. 

Furthermore, section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) provides that the State

must have a fully-approved SIP for the area seeking

redesignation.

The EPA is interpreting these section 107 provisions to

require satisfactory completion of the current Act planning

requirements. Specifically, before EPA can act favorably upon

any State redesignation request, the statutorily-mandated control

programs of section 110 and part D (that were due prior to the

time of the redesignation request) must have been adopted by the

State and approved by EPA into the SIP. 

Thus, with respect to redesignation requests submitted on or

after the Act's deadline for submittal of the required programs,

States must generally adopt and provide for implementation of

their regulations for all of the programs that were due. States

must submit these plans to EPA for incorporation into the SIP.1

This would include such requirements as emissions inventories

and/or emission statements. Such requirements must be met in

order for the area to have a fully-approved SIP that meets all

requirements applicable to the area under section 110 and part D. 

The amended Act, however, also provides that upon

redesignation, a State may move measures from the implemented SIP

to the contingency plan portion of the SIP if the State

demonstrates that such measures are not needed for maintaining

the NAAQS. Many areas sought redesignation at or about the same

time they were required to adopt and implement the requirements

due on November 15, 1992. In many instances, the State will be

able to immediately move these measures to the contingency plan

without implementation. 

 

III. Exceptions to Policy

The EPA decided to review the requirements to determine if

something less than full adoption of these regulations would be
3

acceptable under the Act for areas seeking redesignation.

Exceptions to this policy on the States' need to complete the

full planning and adoption process for the November 15, 1992

mandated programs are very limited. The language in the Act

allows a degree of flexibility in only four program areas. These

are: (1) basic inspection and maintenance (I/M), (2) annual

updates of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) forecasts and annual

estimates of actual VMT for CO nonattainment areas, (3) nitrogen

oxides (NOx) reasonably available control technology (RACT), and

(4) small business programs (SBP).

These exceptions are only applicable in areas for which EPA

approves a redesignation. The States should be aware that if EPA

denies a redesignation request, rules submitted in accordance

with this guidance may also be disapprovable. Finally, because

EPA anticipates issuing onboard regulations by January 1994,

States seeking redesignation of areas classified as moderate may

have some flexibility with respect to the Stage II requirement. 

 

Our guidance for State submittals covering these four

programs is described in the following paragraphs. 

Basic I/M

For areas where maintenance plans do not rely on

implementation of a basic I/M program immediately following

redesignation, the I/M component of the SIP should include:

1. Legislative authority for basic I/M such that

implementing regulations can be adopted without any further

legislative action.

2. A provision in the SIP providing that basic I/M be

placed in the contingency measures portion of the maintenance

plan upon redesignation. 

3. An enforceable schedule and commitment by the Governor

or his designee for adoption and implementation of a basic I/M

program upon a specified, appropriate triggering event.

Note that, for purposes of consideration of a redesignation

request submitted after November 15, 1992, the commitment as

described in the I/M regulation (see 57 FR 52950, November 5,

1992) is not sufficient to meet the Act's requirement for a

fully-approved SIP. 

In addition, please note that, EPA's final I/M regulations

in 40 CFR part 51 require a fully-adopted I/M program by 

November 15, 1993. At this time, our preliminary interpretative
4

 Note that the section 182(f) exemption for NOx RACT and NSR 2

requirements described in this section is applicable only for

guidance on basic I/M in this memo is not discussed in the I/M

regulations. Therefore, EPA is proceeding to establish this

interpretation through regulatory action, thus enabling EPA to

accept legislative authority and a commitment to adopt and

implement basic I/M regulations for those areas being

redesignated to attainment. 

VMT Forecasting

The VMT forecasting SIP for CO should include:

1. Annual forecasts of VMT (i.e., average daily VMT for the

peak 3-month CO seasons for 1993, 1994, and 1995 in moderate

areas above 12.7 ppm, and until 2000 in serious areas).

2. An enforceable commitment by the Governor or his

designee to estimate actual annual VMT for each of these years

(by September 30 of the following year) and to update the

forecast of the VMT in the remaining years. 

3. A request that the commitment be moved to the

contingency plan portion of the SIP upon redesignation, becoming

a contingency provision triggered by a specified triggering

event. 

4. Adopted contingency measures to reduce CO emissions. 

The implementation of such measures is contingent upon either:

(a) an annual estimate of actual VMT or updated forecast of VMT

exceeding the previous forecast for that year, or (b) the area

failing to attain by the CO attainment deadline. These

contingency measures must meet the requirements of section

187(a)(3) as interpreted by the April 16, 1992, "General Preamble

for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments

of 1990," including the requirement that no further action by the

State is needed for them to take effect.

NOx RACT

Section 182(f) provides that States may request an exemption

from the NOx RACT requirements. The NOx RACT requirements of

section 182(f) do not apply if additional reductions of NOx would

not contribute to attainment. In an area that did not implement 2
5

States outside an ozone transport region, since only those States

fall under the section 182(f) "contribute to attainment"

provision. 

the section 182(f) NOx requirement but did meet the ozone

standard, as demonstrated by adequate monitoring data consistent

with EPA guidance, it is clear that the additional NOx reductions

required by section 182(f) would not contribute to attainment,

although they might contribute to maintenance. Therefore, EPA

believes that if a State submits a redesignation request along

with a section 182(f) exemption request based on monitoring data 

demonstrating attainment of the ozone NAAQS, further

documentation is not required. The State may follow one of two

approaches in making such a submittal: 

1. Submit a redesignation request along with a section

182(f) exemption request based solely upon monitoring data

showing that the area's air quality is meeting the ozone NAAQS;

and submit a maintenance plan SIP revision, which includes a NOx

RACT program as a contingency measure. In lieu of adopted NOx

RACT rules, such a NOx RACT program may consist of an enforceable

schedule and commitment by the Governor or his designee to adopt

and implement the NOx RACT rules upon a specified, appropriate

triggering event.

2. An exemption request based on both ambient monitoring

and urban airshed modeling consistent with EPA guidance that

shows additional NOx reductions would not contribute to

attainment in the area. In this case, NOx RACT rules do not have

to be included as a contingency measure of the maintenance plan. 

SBP

For several reasons, the Act can be interpreted as not

requiring the section 507 SBP submittal in order for EPA to

approve a redesignation request. The SBP submittal is required

regardless of whether there are any designated nonattainment

areas within the State. In addition, the SBP is not a control

measure intended to contribute to the emission reductions

achieved by an area; rather it is a service provided to help

small businesses comply with requirements of the Act. For the

above reasons, EPA is interpreting the SBP as not being an

applicable requirement for any specific nonattainment area that

is seeking redesignation. However, EPA will continue to ensure

that States make SBP submittals in a timely fashion. 

Stage II Vapor Recovery
6

Stage II vapor recovery remains an applicable requirement

for moderate ozone nonattainment areas until EPA promulgates

onboard vapor recovery regulations. Section 202(a)(6) of the Act

provides that once onboard regulations are promulgated, the Stage

II regulations required under section 182(b)(3) are no longer

applicable for moderate ozone nonattainment areas. Therefore,

final redesignation for a moderate nonattainment area that occurs

after EPA's onboard regulations are promulgated does not have to

include a Stage II SIP control program. For redesignation

requests that are submitted before EPA promulgates onboard rules

and that do not include Stage II rules for moderate areas,

Regional Offices may prepare rulemaking actions proposing to

approve the redesignation, if appropriate, as long as final

approval occurs after EPA promulgates onboard regulations. 

IV. Coordination of SIP Submittals and Redesignation

 Requests 

If the State elects to follow the approach above, the State

should submit the SIP control program as described above along

with the redesignation request and maintenance plan. The EPA

will review the required SIP submittal(s) against EPA policy and

guidance and in coordination with the redesignation request and

maintenance plan. Approvability of the redesignation is directly

related to the approvability of the SIP submittals (i.e., EPA is

precluded from approving a redesignation to attainment if the SIP

is not approvable).

As a general policy, a State may not relax the adopted and

implemented SIP for an area upon the area's redesignation to

attainment. States should continue to implement existing control

strategies in order to maintain the standard. However, section

175A recognizes that States may be able to move SIP measures to

the contingency plan upon redesignation if the State can

adequately demonstrate that such action will not interfere with

maintenance of the standard. The type of demonstration necessary

is dependent upon the pollutant for which the area has been

redesignated to attainment.

 

In order to make such a demonstration for an area

redesignated to attainment for CO, EPA believes that the State

could submit a revised control strategy demonstration showing

that the measure is not necessary to maintain the standard. For

ozone, the State would need to submit an attainment modeling

demonstration consistent with EPA's current "Guideline on Air
7

Quality Models," showing that the control measure is not needed

to maintain the standard. The EPA intends to be very cautious in

approving such revisions in cases where the control measures were

implemented during the time the area attained the standard; the

State's demonstration should indicate an ample margin of safety

with respect to maintenance of the standard.

V. Conclusion

In summary, full adoption of all of the statutorily-required

programs, as well as a schedule and an enforceable commitment for

an implementation date, are necessary for redesignation to

attainment from nonattainment for ozone or CO if the

redesignation request is submitted after the statutory due date

for the program. The few exceptions to this requirement are

basic I/M, annual updates of VMT forecasts, and estimates of

actual VMT, NOx RACT, and SBP. 

If you have any questions, please contact Sharon Reinders at

(919) 541-5284, or Annie Nikbakht at (919) 541-5246.

Attachments

cc: Air Branch Chief, Regions I-X 

Kent Berry, AQMD

Rob Brenner, OAR

 Mary Henigin, OAQPS

 Alan Eckert, OGC

 Robert Kellam, TSD

Rich Ossias, OGC 

John Seitz, OAQPS

Paul Stolpman, OAR

 Jan Tierney, OGC 

Lydia Wegman, OAQPS 

 Dick Wilson, OMS 

 

 

bcc: Valerie Broadwell, AQMD

John Cabaniss, OMS

David Cole, AQMD

 Denise Gerth, AQMD

Tom Helms, AQMD

Ed Lillis, AQMD

Phil Lorang, OMS

David Misenheimer, TSD

David Mobley, TSD

Annie Nikbakht, AQMD
8

Carla Oldham, AQMD

Sharon Reinders, AQMD

John Silvasi, AQMD

David Soloman, AQMD

Gene Tierney, OMS

Regional Contacts

This memorandum has been under development for several months. 

It has been coordinated with OGC (Jan Tierney, Rich Ossias), OMS

(John Chamberlin, Al Mannato), Regional Air Division Directors

and Air Branch Chiefs, NSR (Mike Sewell, David Solomon), and TSD

(David Misenheimer). 

OAQPS:AQMD:OCMPB:ANNIE NIKBAKHT:JKING:Ext. 5246:7/30/93

DISK: REINDERS.JK FILE: SIPRED.GEN
Attachment A

Criteria For Redesignation Under Section 107(d)

Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the Act states five criteria that

must be met before the Administrator may redesignate an area to

attainment. The criteria are:

1. The EPA has determined that the NAAQS have been

attained.

2. The applicable implementation plan has been fully

approved by EPA under section 110(k).

3. The EPA has determined that the improvement in air

quality is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in

emissions.

4. The State has met all applicable requirements for the

area under section 110 and part D.

5. The EPA has fully approved a maintenance plan, including

a contingency plan, for the area under section 175A.
Attachment B

The EPA policies for implementing section 107 of the Act for

redesignations are contained in the following memorandums.

1. "Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas

to Attainment," John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management

Division, September 4, 1992.

2. "State Implementation Plan (SIP) Actions Submitted in

Response to Clean Air Act (CAA) Deadlines," John Calcagni,

Director, Air Quality Management Division, October 28, 1992.

3. "Contingency Measures for Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Redesignations," G. T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon Monoxide

Programs Branch, June 1, 1992.

4. "Maintenance Plans for Redesignation of Ozone and Carbon

Monoxide Nonattainment Areas," G. T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon

Monoxide Programs Branch, April 30, 1992.

In the event that EPA does not approve the redesignation,

the applicable I/M program requirements and guidance can be found 

in 57 FR 52950, November 5, 1992 and in 40 CFR part 51. The

applicable VMT forecast guidance is described in the document

entitled, "Section 187 VMT Forecasting and Tracking Guidance,"

January 1992.