March18,2009Mr.WilliamT.Wisniewski(3RA00)ActingRegional AdministratorRegionI11U.S.Environmental Protection Agency1650Arch Street:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania19103-2029DearAdministrator Wisniewski:OnMarch12,2008,theEPA revised the primary and secondary NationalAmbient AirQualityStandards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone fromthecurrent 0.08 partspermillion(ppm)toa new 0.075ppm. Section107(d)of theCleanAirAct (CAA) requires the GovernorofeachStatetosubmittothe EPAa listofall areas (or portions thereof)intheState, designatingeachasnonattainment, attainment, or unclassifiable.Thisletter fulfills Delaware's obligationsunderSection107(d)oftheCAA.It also recommends the placementofDelaware's countiesinnonattainment status under thenew0.075 pprn standard in a non-attainment area.AreaDescriptionandAttainment/NonattainmentStatusDelaware is composedofthree counties,namely New Castle, KentandSussex,layingfromnorthtosouth.Thenorthern portion of New Castle County lies above the ChesapeakeandDelaware Canal, a waterway that connectstheChesapeakeBaywith the DelawareBay.Thispart of New Castle Countyismoremetropolitanandindustrialized than theremainderofDelaware.Theremainder of Delaware liessouthofthe ChesapeakeandDelaware Canal,andcomprises thesouthernportionofNewCastle County,and allof KentandSussexCounties.Allthree countiesshare similarair quality problems with respect to ozone, because theproblemispredominantly causedbyozoneandozoneprecursor emissions from upwind states.Delaware's ozonemonitoring network includes ambient ozone monitors in eachofitscounties (threemonitorsin New Castle,onemonitorinKent,andone monitor inSussex).Basedon2006 through2008 ozonemonitoringdata(i.e.,the mostrecentthree years), the 8-hour ozoneMr.WilliamT.WisniewskiMarch18,2009Page 2design values forNewCastle,KentandSussexcounties are 0.083 ppm,0.081ppm,and0.081ppm,respectively.Sincethese design values areallgreater thanthe0.075ppmstandard,allthree countiesin Delawareshouldbedesignated as non-attainmentforboth theprimaryandsecondary8-how:ozoneNAAQS.Placementof Delaware's CountiesinaLargeNonattainment AreaGround-levelozoneandozone precursor emissions are pervasiveandreadilytransported.Numerous epidemiological studies conducted during thepastdecade haverevealedthatprolonged(i.e.,8-hour) exposuretoozone is associated with increasedmortality andarangeofserious morbidityhealtheffects, including aggravation of a varietyofrespiratorysymptomsandlungimpairment,asthmaattacks, respiratory hospital admissionsandemergencydepartmentvisits, and cardiovascular problems. This level of ozone concentrationisalso associatedwithadverse public welfare effects,whichinclude impacts on vegetation, and forest ecosystems,andagricultural crop yields.Thepervasive nature of ozone,andtheserious adversehealthandwelfare effectsassociatedwithozone,non-attainmentmakenon-attainmentboundarydeterminations critical.Under the19978-hour ozone NAAQS, the EPA included Delaware's threecounties'inthePhiladelphia-Wilmington-TrentonNonattainment Area.Inestablishing this area theEPArelied on their policy presumptionofusing Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area(CMSA)boundariesandthe prior1-hour nonattainment area (NAA) boundariesas 8-hour nonattainmentarea boundaries,exceptthey also consideredtheimpactof upwindemissionsandincludedOceanCounty,NJ,despiteOceanCounty,NJbeing partofthe NewYorkCMSA.Delawarebelievesthat full consideration of upwind contribution when establishing non-attainmentboundariesisnecessary becauseozoneand ozone precursor emissions are pervasiveandreadilytransported.Itisimportant thattheemissions that are causing Delaware's ozoneproblem besubjecttotheCAAnon-attainment requirements.Inits guidanceentitled"AreaDesignation for the 2008 Revised OzoneNAAQS(December4,2008),"EPArecommends using theCoreBasedStatistical Area(CBSA)orCombined StatisticalArea(CSA), similar to thepreviousCMSA concept,todelineatenonattainment boundaries.Intheguidance, EPA recognizes thatupwind contributionissignificant, andindicatesthat"Inadditiontonearbyareas with sourcescontributingtononattainment,ozoneconcentrationsina local areamay beaffectedbylong-rangetransportofozone and its precursors (notably nitrogen oxides).Incertainpartsofthecountry,suchastheeasternUnitedStates,ozoneis a widespreadproblem."However, in this guidancedocumentEPA also indicted thatwherethis isthecase,theCAA doesnotrequire thatallcontributingareasbedesignated nonattainment, but onlythenearby areas;andthat regional strategies,suchasthose employedintheOzoneTransport Region andEPA'sNOxSIPCallare neededtoaddressthe long-rangetransportcomponent ofozonenonattainment,whilethelocalcomponentmustbeaddressed throughlocalplanninginand aroundthedesignated nonattainment area.TheEPAYspractice being guidedbythis interpretation hasled toa separation between regionalcontrolsandlocal controls,which hasbeen proved tobesubstantiallyineffectivein ozoneNAAQS strategyMr.WilliamT.WisniewskiMarch18,2009Page3planningand attainment.Inparticular, this interpretationhas ledineffective, insufficientanddelayed regional controls,andinsufficient and even no local controls being installed inmanyareas duetoexclusionofmanycontributingareaslcountiesinthenonattainment designation.Section107(d)(l)oftheCAAdefines a nonattainment areaas"anyarea that doesnotmeet (orthat contributestoambient airquality in a nearby area thatdoesnot meet) thenationalprimaryor secondary,ambient airquality standard forthepollutant."Inthe contextofaregionalproblemlike ozone nonattainment,theterm"nearby" mustbeinterpreted consistentwiththescale oftheproblemand thenature of the pollutant. For the purposes of solving airqualityproblems associated with pollutants like sulfurdioxideand;carbon monoxide,CMSAorCBSNCSAscale boundaries have proven adequate. Thisisbecause concentrations ofthesepollutants abovethestandard aregenerally drivenbyemission sources that arevery close,geographically anddo notinvolve complex atmospheric chemistry. However, this is not thecasewith ozone.Overthe past35+years,andin particular since 1990, Delaware's local sourcesofozone precursoremissions haveallbeenwell controlled, yet Delaware'sairquality remainsnonattainment relative toozone. Highozone concentrations inDelawareare not drivenbyemissionsourcesthataregeographicallyclose,butrather emissionssourcesthat aremanymilesaway.Given this, Delawarebelieves thatitisnecessary to consider regional transportofozoneandozone precursoremissionsin establishing non-attainment area boundaries. Morespecificreasons for this beliefinclude:TheCBSNCSAapproachisbased oncensusdatarather than air-shed monitoringandforanalysis data.Census data,in comparisontoair-shed data, represents a poorsurrogatefor determiningozonenon-attainment boundaries. This is particularly true for areaslikeDelaware thatareheavily affectedbylong-range transportofozone and ozoneprecursors.Detailed regionalair-shedstudies have been completed in the past decade or so, suchasthe RegionalOxidantModeling (ROM) project covering mostofthe OzoneTransportRegion (OTR)states,theOzone Transport Assessment Group (OTAG) project, theNOxSIP Call analysiscoveringmostoftheEastern U.S.,andtheEPA Clean AirInterstateRule (CAIR)analysis. Thesestudies have demonstrated that the ozoneproblemistransport-driven and regional in scope, rather than localized or confined to therelativelysmallCBSNCSAdomains.Thestudies mentioned above have further demonstrated that individualCBSNCSAbased non-attainmentareas donot havetheability toachieveattainment regardlessofthelevels of emission controls they implement withintheirown jurisdictionalboundaries.Delaware believesthatthis conclusion should becomethecornerstoneofgoodair qualityplanning and policy, starting with the crucial boundary determinations.Inmany downwind nonattainment areas, includingDelaware,the air comingintoacountyisoftenwith ozoneconcentration greaterthan0.075 ppm(i.e.,greaterthanNAAQS).Therefore, itbecomes impossible forsuchanareatosolve its non-attainmentproblem underitsownauthority.TheCBSNCSAapproach hasled tosituationswheremany downwindareas arestruggling with non-cost-effective controls to reduceambientozonecomponentsthat comefrom upwind areas thatare notsubject tothereasonableemission control requirements. As a result, protectionofpublic healthinthoseMr.WilliamT.WisniewskiMarch18,2009Page4downwind areashasbeen severely hinderedan(arenotinplaceintheupwind areas.idelayed because reasonable emissioncontrols*heCBSAICSAapproach has ledtostringent controls being implementedwithinindividualnon-attainmentareas. This approach hashadsuccess in theOTRtowardachieving attainmentofboth1-hour (0.12 ppm) andthecurrent 8-hour (0.08ppm)ozoneNAAQS, however,themost success toward attainment ofozoneNAAQSintheOTRtodate is attributable to national measures takenbytheEPA,andregionalmeasuresdevelopedandadoptedbytheOzone Transport Commission(OTC)member states.Theareaisalsofacingwith having to implement measuresthatwill providediminishingreturns.Weare revisiting standards for a secondorthird time for sectors thatgo'uncontrolledinthecontributing upwind states.InitsDecember4,2008 guidance, EPA recommends nine factorsforstates tousetojustifytheirboundary recommendations. The EPA statesitsrationale for recommendingthesefactors as beingthat theyare similartotheones'usedtoestablish CBSAs and CSAs.Delawarebelieves,however,usingthese factorstojustify, ozonenon-attainmentboundariesbecausetheyaresimilar tothe onesused to establish CBSAs and CSAsis notappropriate. Instead,boundaryrecommendationsmustbeevaluated with considerationgiventothepervasive natureofthepollutant ozone,andtheozone/precursortransport issue discussed above.Basedon theabovediscussion Delaware recommends thatEPAinclude Delaware'sthreecountiesinasinglemulti-state regional large nonattainment area (NAA) thatincludesallcountiesinthestatesof Maryland, Michigan,NewJersey,NewYork, North Carolina, .Ohio,Pennsylvania,Virginia,and West Virginia. This area encompasses the emissions thatarecausingDelaware's ozonenon-attainment problems,andrationale for it is more fullydescribedintheCAA Section 126petition that Delaware submittedtothe EPAonDecember15,2008.Amapthat detailsDelaware'srecommended nonattainment area boundariesisattached to thisletter.eDelaware believes that this approach would:Reinforcethescience-based and wide-accepted fact that ozone non-attainmentisa"regional problem" and not only a"local problem";Include allor mostof the counties necessary to solvethisregional problem,give themavested interestinsolving this regional problem,andfoster cooperative developmentandimplementation of control strategies that are most effective to solving thewide-spreadozonenonattainment problem;Removepolitical barriers and leveltheplaying fieldbysettingtheconsistentbaselineofcontrol requirementsofSubpart 2 ofTitleI,PartDofthe CAA within theregion,whichincludeNewSourceReview(NSR),vehicle InspectionandMaintenance,andhighlycosteffective Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements;Effectively compliment nationalandregional rules that address regional transport;Greatlysimplifyand provide equity totheprocessofimplementing the new8-hourNAAQS.Mr.WilliamT.WisniewskiMarch18,2009Page5implementation of control strategies that are most effective to solving thewide-spreadozone nonattainment problem;Removepolitical barriers and level the playingfieldbysettingtheconsistent baselineofcontrol requirementsofSubpart 2ofTitleI,PartD of the CAA within the region,whichinclude NewSourceReview(NSR),vehicle Inspection and Maintenance, andhighlycost effective Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements;Effectivelycomplimentnationalandregional rules that address regional transport;Greatlysimplifyandprovide equitytothe processofimplementing the new8-hourNAAQS.Delaware believesthat theabove large-NAA recommendation represents themosteffectiveandeconomical waytoaddressthepervasive ozone nonattainmentprobleminthenortheast region. If,however,theEPA chooses nottoembracetheabove recommendation(i.e.,not to fully considerupwindcontribution insettingnonattainment boundaries,andnottoestablish a largeregional.,ozonenon-attainment area), despiteourconfidence that is abettercourse of action, thenela awareproposes that the EPA establish Delaware as a stand-aloneozonenonattainment area(i.e.,thegeographical boundariesofDelaware constitute Delaware'sozonenonattainment boundaries). Delaware suggests this stand-alone alternative notbecauseit isthebest approachtocleantheair,but rather because it ismorerationale than aCBSAICSAsupported designation underthemuse that emissions within theCBSAICSAarea arecausingthenonattainment problem.Notethat Delaware's ozone nonattainment problems aremainlycausedbylong-range ozonelprecursor transport fromupwindsources,andunder this approach theEPAwould needtocommittodevelopand implement effective regional controlstocompletelymitigateo~onelprecursortransport inthetimeframe of Delaware(andother downwindstates)attainment scheduleaccordingto theCAA.Thankyouforyourconsiderationoftheabove recommendations.Ifyou feelyoucannotsupportthelarge non-attainment boundary approach discussed above Delawarewould liketohaveanopportunity tocontinuethis discussion before you proposeanymodification.If youhave any questionsconcerningthis submittalorwould liketodiscuss it further, pleasecontactMr.AliMirzakhalili,theadministrator of our air quality management section, at (302)739-9402.JackA.MarkellGovernorpc: DaveSmallJim WernerAliMirzakhaliliJudithKatzMr.WilliamT.WisniewskiMarch18,2009Page6Attachment1Delaware RecommendationofLargeNonattainment Area Boundaries for the2008Revised OzoneNAAQSDelaware Recommended8-hour Ozone Non-attainmentBoundaries