UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENC Y RESEARCH TRIANGLE PAR K , N C 277 11


### OCT 2 2007

MEMORANDUM OF FICE OF AIR QUALITY PLANNIN G

AND STANDARDS



### SUBJECT: Guidance on SIP Elements Required Under Sections llO(a)( l ) and (2) for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and PM2 .s National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

### FROM: 

# ri, William T

. Harnett, Direct

- ;/ (} 

# j

# ~ lJAir Quality Policy

# Divi**i;~f(t** T O : Air Division Directors, Regions I-X

The purpose ofthis memorandum is to provide guidance on the "infrastructure" elements for State Implementation Plans (SIPs) required under section l10(a)(1) and (2) ofthe Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 1997 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2
. 5) 

### national amb i ent air quality standards (NAAQS). Attaclunent A to this memo provides a list ofthe basic elements that States must include in their SIPs. To the extent that exist i ng SIPs for ozone and particulate matter already meet these requirements, States need only certify tha t fact to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To the extent that existing SIPs for ozone and particulate matter fail to address any of these requirements for purposes of the 1997 8-hour ozone or PM2 .s NAAQS, States need to make timely SIP submissions to EPA to address these requirements. We anticipate that States will already have approved SIPs in place for ozone that meet the basic requirements of sections 11 O(a)(l) and (2). For PM25 , however, we anticipate that many States may need to make SIP revisions to ensure that their existing SIPs for prior particulate matter NAAQS are revised to include the new particle size indica tor. Background 

### On July 18, 1997, the EPA promulgated new and revis ed NAAQS f or ozone and particulate matter. For ozone, EPA revised the NAAQS to provide an 8-hour averaging period (versus a 1 -hour averaging period for the pre-exi sting NAAQS), and set the level ofthe standard at 0.08 ppm (versus 0

. 12 ppm for the pre-existing NAAQS). For PM, EPA promulgated a new 24-hour and a new

Internet Address (URL) • http ://www.epa.gov Recycl&d/Recyclable • Printed**w~h** Vege tab l e OU Based I nks on Recyc led Paper (Minimum 25% Post consumer)annual NAAQS for PM2
. 5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers). 1
Under sections IIO(a)(l) and (2) ofthe CAA, all States are required to submit plans to provide for the implementation , maintenance, and enforcement of the 8-hour ozone and PM2 .5 standards. Sections 11 O(a)( 1) and (2) require States to address basic SIP requirements, including emissions inventories, monitori ng , and modeling to assure attainment and maintenance of the standards. By statute, SIPs meeting the r equirements of sections llO(a)(l) and (2) are to be submitted by States within 3 years after p romulgation of a new or revised standard. This being the case, States were required to submit such SIPs for the 1997 standards to EPA no later th an July 2000. H owever, intervening litigation over the 1997 8-hour ozone and PM2 .s NAAQS, created uncertainty about how to proceed and, to date, States have not submitted S IP s to meet the basic or infrastructure requirements enumerated in sections 11 O(a)(l) and (2).
In March of2004, Earth Justice initiated a lawsuit against EPA for failure to take action against States that had not made SIP submissions to meet the requirements of sections 11 O(a)(l) and (2), i.e., failure to make a "finding of failure to submit." On March 10,2005, EPA entered into a Consent Decree with Earth Justi ce that obligates EPA to make official findings whether Stales have made required SIP submissions by dates certain. The Consent Decree obligates EPA to determine whether States have made SIP submissions required to meet CAA section 11 O(a)(2)(D)(i) rela ting to interstate transport by no later than March 15 ,2005. The Consent Decree also obligates EPA to make a determination whether States have made submissions necessary to meet the remaining llO(a)(l) and (2) requirements by December 15,2007, for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and by October 5, 2008, for the

### PM**.~** NAAQS? 

### It should be noted that the latter determinations pertain o nly to whether the submissions are complete, pursuant to section llO(k)(l)(A), and do no t constitute EPA approval or disapproval of such submissions. In addition, the determinations required by the Consent Decree explicitly exch_1de any determinations regarding: (i)

1 More recently, on December 18, 2006, EPA again revised the standards for particulate matter, tightening the 24-hour PMu standard from 65 micrograms per cubic meter (!lg/m 3 ) to 35 J.ig/m, 3 and retaining the current annual fine particle standard at 15!lg/m3

. EPA also decided to retain the existing 24-hour PM 10 standard of 150 J.ig/m3 and to revoke the annual PM 10 . This guidance document applies only to the SIP submission requ i rements for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and PM 2.s NAAQS. EPA will address SIP requirements for the 2006 NAAQS separately, although the Agency notes that th e statutory requirements for SIPs for new or revised NAAQS are comparable. 2The dates specified in the Consent Decree reflect the anticipated dates for submission of nonattainment area SIPs for each NAAQS, plus six months for EPA evaluation. EPA presumed that States would make SIP submissions meeting the basic requirements of sections II O(a)( I) and (2) fo r each NAAQS contemporaneously with, or not later than , SIPs meeting the nonattainment area plan requirements. EPA notes that recent decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia concerning the implementation rule for the 8-hour Ozone NAAQS have affected certain nonattainment area SIP requirements. These judicial decisions do n ot, however, af

f ect States ' obligations under the CAA or EPA's obligations under the Consent Decree concerning the infrastructure SIP requirements of sections II O(a)( I) and (2). 2submissions required by section 1 1 O(a)(2)(C) to the extent that s ub section pertains to a nonattairunent area new source permit program in 

### part D Title I ofthe CAA; and (ii) submissions required by section 

### 11 O(a)(2)(I) for 

### Part D Title 

### I nonattainment area plans.
In accordance with the Consent Decree , EPA has already published a finding that all States had failed to submit new SIPs addressing interstate transport for the 8

-hour ozone and PM2
.5 NAAQS, as required by section 

### ll O(a)(2)(D)(i ) of the C AA (70 FR 21 147, April25, 2005). That finding initiated a 2-year deadli ne for the promulgation of a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) by EPA for each such State unless, prior to that time, each State makes a submission to meet the requirements of Section 11 O(a)(2)(D)(i) and EPA approves such submiss ion. On May 12, 2005, EPA published the Clean Air Interstate Ru le (CAIR) which identifies the degree to which emissions of S02 and NOx in certain States significantly contribute to nonattairunent of, or interfere with maintenance of, the 

### 1997 8

-hour ozone and PM2
.5 NAAQS in downwind States, and the reductions that must be achieved in those States to eliminate such contributions.
On August 15, 2006, EPA issued guidance entitled "Guidance for State Implementation Plan ( SIP) Submissions to Meet Current Outstanding Obligations Un der Section 11 O(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 8-hour Ozone and 

### PM 2s National Ambient Air Quality Standards." The section 11 O(a)(2)(D)(i) guidance indicates that States within t he CAIR region can satisfy 11 O(a)(2)(D) by satisfying the require ments of the CAIR, and addresses what other States that are outside of the CAIR region should consider doing to meet the "significant contribution" and "interfere with maintenance" requirements of section 

### II O(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 

### 1997 standards

. T he section 11 O(a)(2)(D)(i) guidance also addresses what all States (whether inside or outside of the CAIR region) should consider in making SIP submissions to meet 

### the "prevention 

### of significant deterioration" and "protect visibility" requirements of section 

### II O(a)(2)(D)(i). The SIP submissions addressed by the**s~ction** 11 O(a)(2)(D)(i) guidance are · those that are necessary to rectify the finding of failure to submit that EPA has already issued for all States for section 11 O(a)(2)(D) (i). The guidance contained in this memorandum is intended as a remi nder that States must have SIPs for the 

### 1997 8-hour ozo ne and PM2 . 5 NAAQS that meet 

### all of the requirements of sections 110(a)( 1) and (2). Pursuant to the Consent Decree, EPA has an obligation to take action to determine whether States have made such submissions by the dates noted above. Because States sho uld currently be in the process of submitting nonattairunent SIPs for the 8-hour ozone standard and working on nonattairunent area SIPs for the PM2 . 5 standard, we want to alert them to be sure that their SIPs also meet the basic requirements of sections 

### IIO( a)(l) and (2)

.

3

### Guidance The E PA believes tha t the currently-approved section 110 SIPs for ozone may already be adequate in most cases to implement the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Many of the required section 11 O(a)( 1) and (2) SIP elements relate to the general information and authorities that constitute the "inf rastructure" of the ozone air quality management program, and t h ese have been in place since the initial SIPs were submitted in response to the 1970 Clean Air Act. For particulate matter, however, E PA believes that some States may need to adopt language specific to the PM2 

### .s NAAQS to ensure that they have adequate SIP provisions to implement the P M2 .s NAAQS, e.g., e xist ing State laws may refer to PM 1o specificall y or to particulate matter more generally, rather than to PM2 . 5 . We believe that with one exception, the infrastructure requirements of sections 11 O(a)(l) and (2) are relatively self explanatory, and past experience with SIPs for other NAAQS should enable States to meet these requ ir ements with assistance from EPA Regions. The one exception is section 110(a) (2)(G) relating to emergency episodes, for which EPA intends to take additional regulatory action to provide necessary numeri cal limits and concentration levels for emergency episode action plans for PM2 

### s . States should review and revise, as approp riate, their ex isting ozo ne and part iculate. matter SIPs to ensure that t hey are adequate to address the 8 -h our ozone and PM2.s NAAQS. If a State determines that its existing SIP is adeq uate , then the State needs to certify, via a letter to the Agency from the Governor or his/her designee, that the ex i sting SIPs contain provisions th at address the requirements for the 8-hour ozone and PM2
. 5 NAAQS. If a State determines that its existing o zone or particulate matter SIPs are inadequate , however, then the State needs to submit a SIP revision to make the appropriate changes

. With respect to PM2s, States may find it more advantageous to revise the language in their SIPs to ident ify "part ic ulat e matter" as the pollutant being i m p lemented and define the size fractions as "thos e that EP A has currently set for the NAAQS" to the exte nt such an approach would be authorized by State law. This will ensure that the provisions remain adequate 

### in the event that future changes occur to the particulate matter standards. States could also specify both PM , o and PM2

.5 as the size fractions if a Stat e prefers to b e more sp ecific.
As an aid to the States in addressing the PM2
.5 related requirements of Section 11 O(a)(2)(G) pertaining to emergency episode provisions, EPA intends to take action to revi se 40 CFR, Part 51, subpart H (sec tions 51.150). The rule changes will establi sh the priority classifications which determine the emergency episode plan requirements for each area and establish a significant harm level (SHL) for PM2

. S· Until these changes are final , EPA recommends that States rely on relevant information contained 

### in upcoming EPA rule proposals or other EP A

issued inte rim g uidance to satisfy the section 11 O(a)(2)(G) requirements for PM2.s · Afte r EPA issues final rules, EPA w ill work with States to revise SIP

4submiss i ons that were based on interim information, as appr opr i ate. States may wish to take advantage ofthe parallel processing mechanism for making their section 11 O(a)(2)(G) s ubmittal in the interim while EPA completes rulemakings on the SHL and the emergency episode plan requirements under 40 CFR 51.150. The SHL for the 8

-hour ozone NAAQS will remain unchanged as 0.60 ppm ozone, 2 -hr average, as indi cated in 40 CFR Part 51.151. E PA believes that the existing ozone-related provisions of40 CFR Subpart H remain appropriate. Therefore, EPA expects that for purposes of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, States need only to confirm that they have existing emergency episode plan provisions consistent with EPA's existing regulatory requirements. By s tatute, States are required to make SIP submissions t o meet the basic requirements ofCAA sec tions llO(a)(l) and (2) within 3 years after promulgation of any new or revised standards. For the 1997 8-hour ozone and 

### PM 2

### .s standards, this deadline was July 2000. By Consent Decr ee, as noted above, E PA has agreed to make a determination whether or not States have submitted SIPs to meet these requirements by a date certain. In the case of 8-hour ozone SIPs, this date is December 15, 2007. For PM 2.s SIPs, this date is October 15, 2008. In order for EPA to evaluate the submissions adequate ly, EPA requests that Sta tes make their certificat ions of SIP adequacy or SIP rev i sions as soon as poss ib le and to the extent feasible sufficiently in advance ofthese dates to allow EPA time to determine whether complete submissions have been made.
If you have any questions concerning this guidance, please contact 

### Mr. Dav id Sanders at (919) 541-3356. Please ensure that the appropriate a ir agency officials for States in your Region are made aware of this guidance.
Attaclunents

cc: Margo Oge, OT AQ Steve Page, OAQPS Brian McLean , OAP Richard Wayland, OAQPS Lydia Wegman, OAQPS Peter Tsirigotis, OAQPS



### 5Attachment A: Required Sectio n 110 SIP E le ments The SIP elements listed below are required under section 11 0( a)( I) and (2). Section II O(a)(l) provides the procedural and timing requirements for SIPs. Section 11 O(a)(2) lists the basic or "infrastructure" elements that all SIPs must contain. We note that this list is not intended to constitute an interpretation of these provisions, or a change ofpast practice with respect to these provisions, merely a brief description of the required SIP elements.

E missio n limits and o ther co nt rol m eas u res: Section 110(a)(2)(A) requires SIPs to include enforcea ble emission limits and other control measures, means or techniques, schedules for compliance and other re lated matters. EP/\. notes that the specific nonattainment area plan requirements of section 11 O(a)(2)(I) are subject to the timing requirement of section 172 , not the timing requirement of section 11 O(a)(l ), and also that SIPs to meet this section are no t covered by the Consent Decree.
Ambient air quality monitoring /data system: Section 11 O(a)(2)(B) requires SIPs to include provisions to provide for establislunent and operation of ambient air quality monitors, conecting and analyzing ambient air quality data, and making these data available to EPA upon request.
P ro g r am for e nf orceme nt of control m eas ure s: Section 11 O(a)(2)(C) requires States to include a program providing for enf orcement of all SIP measures and the regulation of constructio n of new or modified stationary sources to meet prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) and nonattainment NSR requirements.
Interstate tran sport: Section 11 O(a)(2)(D) requires SIPs to include provisions prohibiting any source or other type of emissions activity in one S tate from contributing significantly to nonattainment, or interfering with maintenance, of the NAAQs in another State, or f rom int erferin g with measures required to prevent significant deterioration of air quality or to protect visibility in another S tate

. EPA has already issued CAIR to assist S tates in developing SIPs to meet this requirement fo r purposes of the 8-hour Ozone and PM 2
. 5 • AAQS ; and has issued separate guidance to all States on how to comply with each prong of this statutory provision. Adequate resources: Section 11 O(a)(2)(E) requires States to provide for adequate personnel, funding, and legal authority under State law to carry out its SIP, and related issues. Stationary source monito rin g sys tem: Section I I O(a)(2)(F) requires States to establish a system to monitor emissions from stationary sources and to submitperiodic emissions r eports.
E mergency power: Section 11 O(a)(2)(G) requires States to prov ide for authority to address activities causing imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, including contingency plans to implement the emergency episode provisions in the i r SIPs.
F uture S IP revi s ion s : Section 11 O(a)(2)(H) requ ires States to have the autho ri ty to revise their SIPs in response to changes in the NAAQS, availability of improved methods for attaining the NAAQS, or in respoJ1se to an EP A finding that the SIP is substant i ally inadequa te. C onsultation wit h government officials: Sect io n 1 1O(a)(2)(J ) requires States to provide a process for consultation with local governments and Federal Land Managers carrying out NAAQS implementation requirements pursu ant to section 121 relating to consultation.
Public n otification: Section 11 O(a)( 2)(J ) further requires States to notify the public i f NAAQS arc exceeded in an area and to enhance public awareness of measures that can be ta k en to prevent exceedances

. PSD and v is ibility protection: Sec tion 1 1 O(a )(2)(J) also r e quire s States to meet applicable requirements ofpart C related to prevention of significant deterioration and visibility protection. Air quali ty m o deling /data: Section 1 1O(a)(2)(K) requires that S IPs provide for performing air quality modeling for predicting effects on air quality of emissions from any NAAQS pollutant and submission of such data to EPA upon request.
Pe rmittin g f ees : Section 11 O(a)(2)(L) requires SIPs to require each major stationary source to pay permitting fees to cover the cost of reviewing, approving, implementing and enforcing a permit.
C onsulta tion/ participation by affected local entities: Section 11 O(a)(2)(M) requires States to provide for consultation and participa t ion in SIP deve lopment by local political s u bdivi si ons affected by the SIP.

2