47144 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 20, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

1The design value is a statistic computed 

according to the data handling procedures of the 

NAAQS (in 40 CFR part 50 appendix T) that, by 

comparison to the level of the NAAQS, indicates 

whether the area is violating the NAAQS. For SO2, 

the design value is the three-year average of the 

annual 99th percentile of one-hour daily maximum 

concentrations. 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 

Particulate matter, Sulfur Oxides, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: July 5, 2016. 

H. Curtis Spalding, 

Regional Administrator, EPA New England. 

[FR Doc. 2016–17069 Filed 7–19–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2015–0599; FRL–9949–28– 

Region 5] 

Designation of Areas for Air Quality 

Planning Purposes; Ohio; 

Redesignation of the Ohio Portion of 

the Campbell-Clermont KY-OH Sulfur 

Dioxide Nonattainment Area 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Clean 

Air Act (CAA), the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 

redesignate the Ohio portion of the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH sulfur 

dioxide (SO2) nonattainment area from 

nonattainment to attainment. The Ohio 

portion of this area consists of Pierce 

Township in Clermont County, Ohio. 

EPA is also proposing to approve Ohio’s 

maintenance plan submitted on August 

11, 2015. The primary emission source 

in the area has permanently closed, and 

the air quality in the area is now 

meeting the SO2 standard. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 19, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2015–0599 at http://

www.regulations.gov or via email to 

persoon.carolyn@epa.gov. For 

comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 

follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. Once submitted, 

comments cannot be edited or removed 

from Regulations.gov. For either manner 

of submission, EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. EPA will generally not consider 

comments or comment contents located 

outside of the primary submission (i.e. 

on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 

system). For additional submission 

methods, please contact the person 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the 

full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Portanova, Environmental 

Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air 

Programs Branch (AR–18J), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353–5954, 

portanova.mary@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. This SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section is arranged as follows: 

I. Background 

II. Redesignation Requirements 

III. Determination of Attainment 

IV. Ohio’s Section 110(k) SIP 

V. Permanent and Enforceable Emission 

Reductions 

VI. Requirements for the Area Under Section 

110 and Part D 

VII. Maintenance Plan 

VIII. What action is EPA taking? 

IX. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

On June 2, 2010 (75 FR 35520, June 

22, 2010), EPA established a revised 

primary SO2 national ambient air 

quality standard (NAAQS) of 75 parts 

per billion (ppb), which is met at a 

monitoring site when the three-year 

average of the 99th percentile of daily 

maximum one-hour concentrations does 

not exceed 75 ppb. On August 5, 2013 

(78 FR 47191), EPA published its initial 

air quality designations for the SO2

NAAQS based upon air quality 

monitoring data for calendar years 

2009–2011. In that action, the CampbellClermont KY-OH area was designated 

nonattainment for the SO2 NAAQS. The 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area is comprised of 

Pierce Township in Clermont County, 

Ohio, and five census tracts in Campbell 

County, Kentucky. The Ohio portion of 

the nonattainment area contains the 

Walter C. Beckjord power plant 

(Beckjord plant). The Kentucky portion 

of the nonattainment area has less than 

nine tons of total SO2 emissions per 

year, but it contains the SO2 monitor 

which had violated the SO2 standard as 

of 2011. 

By April 4, 2015, Ohio and Kentucky 

were required to submit nonattainment 

plan SIPs that meet the requirements of 

sections 172(c) and 191–192 of the CAA, 

and provide for attainment of the 

NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, 

but no later than October 4, 2018. Ohio’s 

analysis found the Beckjord plant to be 

the main contributor to SO2 monitored 

levels in the nonattainment area. In 

2011, the Beckjord plant had reported 

90,835 tons of SO2 emissions. However, 

in late 2014, the Beckjord plant 

permanently ceased operations. Its coalfired electricity generating units were 

shut down as of September 2014, and its 

oil-fired units ceased operations by the 

end of 2014. Sulfur dioxide emissions at 

the Beckjord plant totaled 32,603 tons in 

2014, and zero tons in 2015. Currently, 

the total point, area, and mobile source 

SO2 emissions in the entire CampbellClermont KY-OH nonattainment area 

are approximately 17 tons per year (tpy). 

Because of the significant, permanent 

and enforceable reduction in SO2

emissions affecting the nonattainment 

area, and because the Campbell County 

SO2 monitor’s three-year SO2 design 

value 1 for 2012–2014 had fallen below 

the SO2 NAAQS, Ohio chose to submit 

a redesignation request in 2015, in lieu 

of a nonattainment SIP. On August 11, 

2015, the Ohio Environmental 

Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) 

submitted its request to EPA to 

redesignate the Ohio portion of the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area to attainment. For 

the reasons set forth in this document, 

EPA is proposing to redesignate the area 

to attainment. 

II. Redesignation Requirements 

Under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E), there 

are five criteria which must be met 

before a nonattainment area may be 

redesignated to attainment. 

1. EPA has determined that the 

relevant NAAQS has been attained in 

the area. 

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2Although it is possible for a SO2 monitor to 

measure SO2 values above the NAAQS for several 

individual hours during a given day, only the single 

highest monitored hourly SO2 value in each 24- 

hour day is formally defined as ‘‘an exceedance of 

the SO2 NAAQS,’’ if it is greater than 75 ppb. There 

were 26 exceedances of the SO2 NAAQS at the 

Campbell County SO2 monitor during 2012–2014, 

but there were 44 total hours for which the SO2

monitor recorded SO2 values above the SO2 NAAQS 

of 75 ppb. A violation of the SO2 NAAQS, as 

opposed to an exceedance, is recorded when the 

three-year average of the annual 99th percentile of 

one-hour daily maximum concentrations exceeds 

75 ppb. In this analysis, to identify contributing SO2

sources, Ohio evaluated the 44 hours in 2012–2014 

for which the SO2 monitor had registered a SO2

concentration over 75 ppb. 

2. The applicable implementation 

plan has been fully approved by EPA 

under section 110(k). 

3. EPA has determined that 

improvement in air quality is due to 

permanent and enforceable reductions 

in emissions resulting from the SIP, 

Federal regulations, and other 

permanent and enforceable reductions. 

4. EPA has fully approved a 

maintenance plan, including a 

contingency plan, for the area under 

section 175A of the CAA. 

5. The State has met all applicable 

requirements for the area under section 

110 and part D. 

III. Determination of Attainment 

The first requirement for 

redesignation is to demonstrate that the 

standard has been attained in the area. 

As stated in the April 2014 ‘‘Guidance 

for 1-Hour SO2 Nonattainment Area SIP 

Submissions,’’ for SO2, there are two 

components needed to support an 

attainment determination: A review of 

representative air quality monitoring 

data, and a further analysis, generally 

requiring air quality modeling, to 

demonstrate that the entire area is 

attaining the applicable standard, based 

on current actual emissions or the fully 

implemented control strategy. Ohio has 

addressed both components. 

Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 

50.17, the SO2 standard is met at an 

ambient air quality monitoring site 

when the three-year average of the 

annual 99th percentile of one-hour daily 

maximum concentrations is less than or 

equal to 75 ppb, as determined in 

accordance with appendix T of 40 CFR 

part 50 at all relevant monitoring sites 

in the subject area. EPA has reviewed 

the ambient air monitoring data for the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area. The CampbellClermont KY-OH nonattainment area 

has one SO2 monitoring site, located in 

northern Campbell County, Kentucky. 

The Campbell County SO2 monitor is 

operated by the Kentucky Division for 

Air Quality. This review addresses air 

quality data collected in the 2012–2014 

and 2013–2015 periods, which are the 

most recent quality-assured data 

available. All data considered are 

complete, quality-assured, certified, and 

recorded in EPA’s Air Quality System 

database. 

Table 1 shows the 2012–2014 and 

2013–2015 design values for the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area. For 2014, the last 

year in which the Beckjord plant was 

operating, the 99th percentile monitored 

daily maximum value was 61 ppb. For 

2015, after the Beckjord plant had shut 

down, the 99th percentile monitored 

daily maximum value was 18 ppb. The 

three-year average design value for 

2012–2014 is 72 ppb, and the three-year 

average design value for 2013–2015 is 

50 ppb. Both are below the SO2

standard. Therefore, the Campbell 

County SO2 monitor clearly shows 

attainment. Kentucky has committed to 

continue monitoring for SO2 at this 

location. Preliminary data for 2016 

indicate that the area is continuing to 

attain the SO2 standard. 

TABLE 1—MONITORING DATA FOR THE CAMPBELL-CLERMONT KY-OH NONATTAINMENT AREA FOR 2012–2014 AND 2013– 

2015 

Site County 

Year and 99th percentile value 

(ppb) 

Average 

2012– 

2014 

(ppb) 

Average 

2013– 

2015 

2012 2013 2014 2015 (ppb) 

21–037–3002 ..................................... Campbell, KY .......................... 85 71 61 18 72 50 

Regarding the second component of 

the attainment determination, Ohio 

examined the extent to which the earlier 

NAAQS violations and subsequent 

improvement in the local monitored 

SO2 values were primarily attributable 

to the Beckjord plant. Ohio used three 

methods to judge the prospects of future 

violations following the shutdown of 

the Beckjord plant. In these methods, 

Ohio evaluated local emission 

inventories, wind patterns during 

monitored exceedances, and monitored 

data during periods when the Beckjord 

plant was still active but not emitting 

SO2. EPA proposes to find that these 

analyses meet the April 2014 guidance 

requirement to comprehensively 

evaluate the impacts of the Beckjord 

plant’s closure on the CampbellClermont area and demonstrate that the 

entire area is attaining the SO2 standard. 

As a first step in this approach, Ohio 

reviewed the inventory of SO2 sources 

in the area. This inventory shows no 

large SO2 sources in the Kentucky 

portion of the nonattainment area. There 

are several SO2 sources in the 

Cincinnati area, in Hamilton County, 

Ohio. The largest of these is Dynegy’s 

Miami Fort Power Station (Miami Fort 

plant), which emitted over 28,000 tons 

of SO2 in 2014. The Miami Fort plant is 

located 30 kilometers (km) west of the 

Campbell County SO2 monitor. As of 

June 2015, the Miami Fort plant reduced 

its emissions by approximately 50% 

from 2014 levels with the closure of its 

Unit 6. The next largest source, at 1,600 

tons of SO2, is the DTE St. Bernard 

facility, which is located 17 km north of 

the Campbell County SO2 monitor. The 

other SO2 sources in Hamilton County 

emitted less than 200 tons of SO2 in 

2014, and are located 16–31 km from 

the Campbell County SO2 monitor. In 

Clermont County, outside the 

nonattainment area, the only other SO2

source is the W.H. Zimmer power plant 

(Zimmer plant), located approximately 

15 km south of the Beckjord plant and 

27 km southwest of the SO2 Campbell 

County SO2 monitor. The Zimmer plant 

emitted 13,500 tons of SO2 in 2014. 

The second part of this review was to 

more closely examine potential 

contributors to SO2 NAAQS 

exceedances in the Campbell-Clermont 

KY-OH nonattainment area. For this 

purpose, Ohio analyzed wind patterns 

and back-trajectories for the 44 hours 2

for which SO2 levels were greater than 

75 ppb at the Campbell County SO2

monitor between 2010 and 2014. The 

hourly monitored SO2 values ranged 

from 76 ppb to 180 ppb. The 24-hour 

back trajectories seek to determine the 

origins of air flow leading toward the 

monitor location. Hourly wind data 

were also used to help focus on the 

short term flow close to the times of 

exceedances. Ohio found that the 

trajectories indicated that high 

concentrations at the Campbell County 

SO2 monitor were most often 

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attributable to wind flows from the 

vicinity of the Beckjord plant. Winds 

(measured at the Cincinnati/Northern 

Kentucky airport) were almost 

exclusively from the east during the 44 

hours with high monitored 

concentrations. Trajectories passed over 

or near the Beckjord plant in about two 

thirds of the 44 hours. The Beckjord 

plant appeared to be the main 

contributor to 42 of the hours. One hour 

appeared to have some influence from 

the Zimmer plant as well as from the 

Beckjord plant, and for another hour, 

Ohio could not identify any SO2 source 

located in the area indicated by the 

back-trajectory and surface winds. None 

of the exceedances appeared to be 

attributable to the Miami Fort plant or 

other sources west of the Campbell 

County SO2 monitor. 

The third analysis considered 

monitored SO2 values and wind 

directions during the time period of 

January 1, 2012, through February 28, 

2015. During that period, there were a 

total of 10,231 hours when the Beckjord 

plant’s SO2 emissions were zero. The 

Beckjord plant was not operating at all 

in 2015 or during the last four months 

of 2014, and there were 1400–2500 

hours in which the Beckjord plant did 

not emit SO2 during 2012 and 2013 as 

well. Ohio examined the Campbell 

County monitored data and found that 

no exceedances of the SO2 NAAQS were 

measured during these 10,231 hours. 

The maximum monitored concentration 

at the Campbell County SO2 monitor 

during these hours was 34 ppb. The 

highest monitored values measured 

while the Beckjord plant was emitting 

SO2 were typically associated with 

winds coming from the east and 

southeast, suggesting the Beckjord 

plant’s influence. The winds associated 

with the highest monitored values 

during the 10,231 hours without 

impacts from the Beckjord plant, 

however, came from the west and 

southwest. As those monitored values 

were less than half of the SO2 NAAQS 

in magnitude, Ohio’s analysis supports 

the assertion that the closing of the 

Beckjord plant has led to attainment of 

the SO2 NAAQS, and suggests that 

future violations caused by other nearby 

sources are unlikely. 

Ohio did not further evaluate the 

sources to the north and west of the 

nonattainment area due to their distance 

from the area and their emission levels, 

and because the previously discussed 

analyses did not indicate that sources 

north and west of the nonattainment 

area have had a significant influence on 

monitored exceedances. Ohio did, 

however, specifically evaluate the 

Zimmer plant for its potential 

contribution to elevated SO2 levels in 

the Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area. The Zimmer plant’s 

impacts warranted additional analysis 

because it has substantial emissions, is 

located relatively near the Beckjord 

plant, and generally has the greatest 

potential (after the shutdown of the 

Beckjord plant) to cause violations in 

the nonattainment area. 

First, the State considered a graphical 

analysis of the 2012–2014 hourly SO2

levels at the Campbell County SO2

monitor compared to the hourly SO2

emissions from the Beckjord and 

Zimmer plants. The Zimmer plant’s 

emissions stayed relatively constant 

over the time period, while the Beckjord 

plant’s emissions, which were much 

larger than the Zimmer plant’s, also 

varied more widely. The data showed 

that the monitored SO2 levels seemed to 

fluctuate in a pattern similar to the 

Beckjord plant’s emission variations, 

falling to its lowest levels when the 

Beckjord plant’s emissions were very 

low, even as the Zimmer plant’s 

emissions remained relatively steady, 

which suggests that the Campbell 

County SO2 monitor was more strongly 

influenced by the Beckjord plant’s 

impacts. Based on these results, 

particularly from the trajectory analyses, 

Ohio’s first approach yields a finding 

that the violations previously recorded 

at the SO2 monitor were primarily 

attributable to emissions from the 

Beckjord plant, which in turn indicates 

that the shutdown of the Beckjord plant 

can be expected to result in no further 

violations at this monitoring site. 

Ohio’s second approach to assessing 

prospects of future violations in the 

nonattainment area was to perform a 

modeling analysis to evaluate the 

location of the Zimmer plant’s 

maximum impacts and to estimate a 

worst-case impact within the 

nonattainment area. This analysis was 

intended to address the potential for 

violations not just at the monitoring site 

(28 km from the Zimmer plant) but also 

elsewhere in the nonattainment area. 

The Zimmer plant is approximately 11.5 

km from the nearest edge of the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH SO2

nonattainment area. Ohio’s analysis 

covered only the time period with 

available meteorological data after the 

Beckjord plant’s coal units shut down: 

August 30, 2014, to February 28, 2015. 

Because this data set is shorter than the 

five-year period typically used to 

demonstrate attainment of the SO2

standard, Ohio used the second high 

modeled maximum daily value to 

represent the 99th percentile, rather 

than the fourth high modeled maximum 

daily value. Ohio used a coarse receptor 

grid within the nonattainment area, and 

a finer grid within three kilometers of 

the Zimmer plant. Maximum impacts 

were found to occur within one 

kilometer of the Zimmer plant. In this 

analysis, Ohio modeled a unit emission 

rate of one gram per second from the 

Zimmer plant’s two stacks, to find the 

relative impacts from the Zimmer plant 

at the monitoring location and at a range 

of other receptors inside the 

nonattainment area as well as closer to 

the plant. Ohio then used the second 

high value measured at the Campbell 

County monitor during this time period 

with zero impacts from The Beckjord 

plant, under the conservative 

assumption that this monitored value 

was entirely caused by the Zimmer 

plant’s emissions, to develop a 

numerical estimate of the relative worstcase impact of the Zimmer plant 

elsewhere within the nonattainment 

area. The second high monitored value 

was 24 ppb, and Ohio determined that 

the Zimmer plant’s highest impact 

within the nonattainment area relative 

to that monitored value would be 

approximately 52 ppb. Impacts at this 

level would not cause exceedances of 

the SO2 NAAQS within the 

nonattainment area. 

As a third approach, Ohio and 

Kentucky estimated future SO2

concentrations in the nonattainment 

area using a method similar to 

developing a conservative background 

concentration for a typical modeled 

attainment demonstration. Ohio used 

Campbell County SO2 monitor data from 

2010–2014 for this calculation. Since 

the Beckjord plant was operating during 

this period, Ohio followed EPA 

guidance to ensure that the monitored 

values for background did not count 

impacts from the Beckjord plant or the 

Zimmer plant. Ohio determined the 90 

degree wind direction sector for which 

the Campbell County SO2 monitor could 

be impacted by direct emissions from 

either power plant, and excluded 

monitored hours when winds came 

from this sector. Ohio averaged the 

remaining monitored values in each 

year, excluding values of zero for 

additional conservatism, and chose the 

highest value, 4.4 ppb. Ohio further 

refined the analysis to exclude only the 

45 degree sector centered on the 

Beckjord plant. The highest average 

value in this case, which could include 

the Zimmer plant’s impacts, was 4.76 

ppb. Since no significant sources exist 

now that would be expected to cause 

significant concentration gradients 

within the nonattainment area, 

conceptually a modeling analysis for 

this area would reflect modeling zero 

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emissions, and the final ‘‘modeled’’ 

result would be equal to the background 

concentration. Since the background 

value could also conservatively include 

actual 2010–2014 contributions from 

Cincinnati-area sources which have 

reduced their SO2 emissions since 2014, 

this analysis supports Ohio’s assertion 

that the Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area will continue to 

attain the SO2 NAAQS. 

In addition to these analyses, all of 

which were provided in Ohio’s 

redesignation request, Ohio has also 

provided relevant information in the 

separate context of addressing the 

prospective SO2 designation for the 

more immediate vicinity of the Zimmer 

plant. Ohio’s September 16, 2015, 

submittal provided a full modeling 

analysis in accordance with EPA’s 

modeling Technical Assistance 

Document (TAD) which indicated that 

the maximum concentration estimated 

near the Zimmer plant was 56 ppb, at 

a distance just over one kilometer from 

the plant’s stacks. Based largely on this 

information, EPA wrote to Ohio on 

February 16, 2016, stating EPA’s 

preliminary intention to promulgate an 

unclassifiable/attainment designation 

for all of Clermont County that is not 

already designated, i.e. for all of 

Clermont County except the portion 

(Pierce Township) that is included in 

the Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area. Since the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area is substantially 

more distant than the peak impacts of 

the Zimmer plant, and the impacts of 

the Zimmer plant in the area would 

therefore be much lower than 56 ppb, 

this modeling provides clear evidence 

that the Zimmer plant is not causing 

violations anywhere in the CampbellClermont KY-OH nonattainment area. In 

summary, the monitored data show 

attainment for 2012–2014 and for 2013– 

2015; Ohio has demonstrated that the 

closed Beckjord plant was likely to have 

caused the previous violations of the 

SO2 NAAQS; and Ohio has 

demonstrated that neither the Zimmer 

plant nor other SO2 emissions are 

expected to cause future violations in 

the area. Therefore, EPA agrees that the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area is currently 

attaining the SO2 NAAQS. 

IV. Ohio’s Section 110(k) SIP 

EPA has determined that Ohio has a 

fully approved SIP under section 110(k). 

Ohio has implemented its SO2 SIP 

regulations at Ohio Administrative Code 

(OAC) 3745–18, and Ohio maintains an 

active enforcement program to ensure 

ongoing compliance. Ohio’s new source 

review/prevention of significant 

deterioration program will address 

emissions from new sources. Ohio’s 

current SO2 SIP rule for Clermont 

County is codified at OAC 3745–18–19. 

The existing rule addressing the 

Beckjord plant’s SO2 emissions, OAC 

3745–18–19(B), remains in the SIP, but 

Ohio has submitted documents which 

demonstrate that the facility has closed 

and is no longer authorized under the 

State’s permitting program to operate. 

V. Permanent and Enforceable Emission 

Reductions 

As previously stated, the Beckjord 

plant closed in late 2014, and the 

monitored improvement in air quality is 

largely due to this closure. The closure 

results in a reduction of 90,835 tpy, 

considering the plant’s 2011 emissions, 

representing the time the area was 

classified nonattainment; or a reduction 

of 32,603 tpy, considering the plant’s 

emissions in 2014, when the area first 

began to monitor attainment. Upon 

notification of the Beckjord plant’s 

closure, in accordance with Ohio EPA 

policy, Ohio ceased its authorization for 

the facility to operate unless it obtains 

a new permit. Ohio EPA provided 

documentation of this shutdown in the 

form of an October 14, 2014, letter from 

Duke Energy Ohio, Inc., to the 

Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency. In 

this letter, Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. 

confirmed that the Beckjord plant’s six 

large coal-fired units are permanently 

shut down and removed from service as 

of October 1, 2014. The letter confirmed 

that Ohio’s authorization for Duke 

Energy Ohio, Inc. to operate the six 

units had ceased. The Beckjord plant 

has been demonstrated to be the 

primary SO2 source which caused the 

monitored exceedances. As it has closed 

and cannot reopen without applying for 

a new operating permit, EPA agrees that 

the improvement in air quality in the 

nonattainment area is due to permanent 

and enforceable emission reductions. 

VI. Requirements for the Area Under 

Section 110 and Part D 

Ohio has submitted information 

demonstrating that it meets these 

requirements. EPA approved Ohio’s 

infrastructure SIP for SO2 on August 14, 

2015 (80 FR 48733). This infrastructure 

SIP approval confirms that Ohio’s SIP 

meets the requirements of CAA section 

110(a)(1) and 110(a)(2) to contain the 

basic program elements, such as an 

active enforcement program and 

permitting program. 

Section 191 of the CAA requires Ohio 

to submit a part D nonattainment SIP for 

the Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area by April 4, 2015. 

Because Ohio submitted its August 11, 

2015, redesignation request instead of a 

nonattainment SIP, EPA was compelled 

to include this area in our March 18, 

2016, finding of failure to submit (81 FR 

14736). However, final promulgation of 

this redesignation to attainment would 

end any nonattainment plan 

requirements, and promulgation of this 

redesignation within 18 months of the 

finding of failure to submit would result 

in no sanctions taking effect. 

With the redesignation request of 

August 11, 2015, Ohio submitted 

information addressing the section 172 

part D SIP requirements. Ohio 

submitted an attainment inventory of 

the SO2 emissions from sources in the 

nonattainment area. Ohio chose 2011 for 

its base year emissions inventory, as 

comprehensive emissions data was 

available and updated that year, which 

satisfies the 172(c)(3) requirements. The 

Kentucky portion of the nonattainment 

area contained 11 minor point source 

facilities. Their combined SO2

emissions were less than one ton per 

year. The only significant source in the 

Ohio portion of the nonattainment area 

is the Beckjord plant. Area and nonhighway mobile source emissions were 

taken from the 2011 National Emissions 

Inventory (NEI), with county-wide 

values adjusted based on the population 

percentages in the nonattainment area. 

Highway mobile source emissions were 

provided by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana 

Regional Council of Governments (OKI), 

based on dividing the vehicle miles 

traveled in the nonattainment area by 

the vehicle miles traveled in the entire 

county. Census data and projections 

were used to develop growth factors for 

future years. The attainment year 

inventory was based on 2014 emissions, 

adjusted for projected growth in the 

area, and accounting for the Beckjord 

plant’s closure. 

Table 2 shows the projected 

inventories. Note that Kentucky’s 

inventory remains steady at 

approximately 8 tpy total, while Ohio’s 

projected inventory, accounting for the 

Beckjord plant’s actual closure, drops 

from over 90,000 tpy in 2011 to 

approximately 8 tpy in the interim and 

maintenance years. This large reduction 

is expected to be sufficient to maintain 

the SO2 standard. 

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3Although the Court of Appeals for the Sixth 

Circuit has issued a contrary opinion in the context 

of redesignations for ozone and PM2.5, EPA believes 

that these opinions, interpreting the applicability of 

the ozone and PM2.5 RACM/RACT requirements for 

redesignations for those pollutants, do not address 

the applicability of the RACM/RACT requirement 

for SO2. See Sierra Club v. EPA, 793 F.3d 656 (6th 

Cir. 2015). 

TABLE 2—CAMPBELL-CLERMONT NONATTAINMENT AREA SO2 EMISSION INVENTORY TOTALS

[tpy] 

2011 

base-year 

emissions 

2014 attainment 

year 

2020 interim 

year 

2027 maintenance 

year 

Ohio ......................................................................................... 90,842.51 32,610.56 8.36 8.46 

Kentucky .................................................................................. 8.56 8.54 8.47 8.27 

Combined total ................................................................. 90,851.07 32,619.10 16.83 16.73 

Section 172(c)(1) requires 

nonattainment area SIPs to provide for 

the implementation of all reasonably 

available control measures (RACM) as 

expeditiously as practicable and to 

provide for attainment of the NAAQS. 

EPA’s longstanding interpretation of the 

nonattainment planning requirements of 

section 172 is that once an area is 

attaining the NAAQS, those 

requirements are not applicable for 

purposes of CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) 

and therefore need not be approved into 

the SIP before EPA can redesignate the 

area. In the 1992 General Preamble for 

Implementation of Title I, EPA set forth 

its interpretation of applicable 

requirements for purposes of evaluating 

redesignation requests when an area is 

attaining a standard. See 57 FR 13498, 

13564 (April 16, 1992). EPA noted that 

the requirements for reasonable further 

progress (RFP) and other measures 

designed to provide for attainment do 

not apply in evaluating redesignation 

requests because those nonattainment 

planning requirements ‘‘have no 

meaning’’ for an area that has already 

attained the standard. EPA’s 

understanding of section 172 also forms 

the basis of its Clean Data Policy, which 

was articulated with regard to SO2 in 

the April 2014 ‘‘Guidance for 1-Hour 

SO2 Nonattainment Area SIP 

Submissions,’’ and suspends a State’s 

obligation to submit most of the 

attainment planning requirements that 

would otherwise apply, including an 

attainment demonstration and planning 

SIPs to provide for RFP, RACM, and 

contingency measures under section 

172(c)(9). Courts have upheld EPA’s 

interpretation of section 172(c)(1) for 

‘‘reasonably available’’ control measures 

and control technology as meaning only 

those controls that advance attainment, 

which precludes the need to require 

additional measures where an area is 

already attaining. NRDC v. EPA, 571 

F.3d 1245, 1252 (D.C. Cir. 2009); Sierra 

Club v. EPA, 294 F.3d 155, 162 (D.C. 

Cir. 2002); Sierra Club v. EPA, 314 F.3d 

735, 744 (5th Cir. 2002); Sierra Club v. 

EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004).3

Therefore, because the CampbellClermont KY-OH nonattainment area 

has attained the SO2 standard, no 

additional measures are needed to 

provide for attainment, and section 

172(c)(1) requirements for an attainment 

demonstration and RACM are not part 

of the ‘‘applicable implementation 

plan’’ required to have been approved 

prior to redesignation per CAA section 

107(d)(3)(E)(ii). In any case, in the 

absence of major point sources, and in 

the context of implemented measures 

(especially the shutdown of the 

Beckjord plant) having achieved 

attainment, EPA believes that Ohio has 

satisfied the reasonably available 

control measures/reasonably available 

control techniques (RACM/RACT) 

requirement for this area. 

The other section 172 requirements 

that are designed to help an area achieve 

attainment are the section 172(c)(2) 

requirement that nonattainment plans 

contain provisions promoting 

reasonable further progress, the 

requirement to submit the section 

172(c)(9) contingency measures, and the 

section 172(c)(6) requirement for the SIP 

to contain control measures necessary to 

provide for attainment of the NAAQS. 

These are also not required to be 

approved as part of the ‘‘applicable 

implementation plan’’ for purposes of 

satisfying CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii). 

Section 172(c)(4) requires the 

identification and quantification of 

allowable emissions for major new and 

modified stationary sources to be 

allowed in an area, and section 172(c)(5) 

requires source permits for the 

construction and operation of new and 

modified major stationary sources 

anywhere in the nonattainment area. 

EPA has determined that, since PSD 

requirements will apply after 

redesignation, areas being redesignated 

need not comply with the requirement 

that a NSR program be approved prior 

to redesignation, provided that the area 

demonstrates maintenance of the 

NAAQS without part D NSR. A more 

detailed rationale for this view is 

described in a memorandum from Mary 

Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air 

and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994, 

entitled ‘‘Part D New Source Review 

Requirements for Areas Requesting 

Redesignation to Attainment.’’ Ohio has 

demonstrated that the CampbellClermont KY-OH nonattainment area 

will be able to maintain the NAAQS 

without part D NSR in effect, and 

therefore Ohio does not need to have a 

fully approved part D NSR program 

prior to approval of the redesignation 

request. Ohio’s PSD program will 

become effective in the CampbellClermont KY-OH nonattainment area 

upon redesignation to attainment. 

Section 172(c)(7) requires the SIP to 

meet the applicable provisions of 

section 110(a)(2). As noted above, EPA 

believes that the Ohio SIP meets the 

requirements of section 110(a)(2) 

applicable for purposes of 

redesignation. 

Section 176(c) of the CAA requires 

States to establish criteria and 

procedures to ensure that federally 

supported or funded projects conform to 

the air quality planning goals in the 

applicable SIP. The requirement to 

determine conformity applies to 

transportation plans, programs, and 

projects that are developed, funded, or 

approved under title 23 of the United 

States Code (U.S.C.) and the Federal 

Transit Act (transportation conformity) 

as well as to all other federally 

supported or funded projects (general 

conformity). State transportation 

conformity SIP revisions must be 

consistent with Federal conformity 

regulations relating to consultation, 

enforcement, and enforceability that 

EPA promulgated pursuant to its 

authority under the CAA. On August 20, 

2014, Ohio submitted documentation 

establishing transportation conformity 

procedures in its SIP. EPA approved 

these procedures on March 2, 2015 (80 

FR 11133). Moreover, EPA interprets the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 20, 2016 / Proposed Rules 47149 

conformity SIP requirements as not 

applying for purposes of evaluating a 

redesignation request under section 

107(d) because, like other requirements 

listed above, State conformity rules are 

still required after redesignation and 

Federal conformity rules apply where 

State rules have not been approved. See 

Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426 (6th Cir. 

2001) (upholding this interpretation); 

see also 60 FR 62748 (December 7, 

1995) (redesignation of Tampa, Florida). 

As discussed above, EPA is proposing 

to find that Ohio has satisfied all 

applicable requirements for purposes of 

redesignation of the Campbell-Clermont 

KY-OH nonattainment area under 

section 110 and part D of title I of the 

CAA. 

VII. Maintenance Plan 

CAA section 175A sets forth the 

elements of a maintenance plan for 

areas seeking redesignation from 

nonattainment to attainment. Under 

section 175A, the plan must 

demonstrate continued attainment of 

the applicable NAAQS for at least ten 

years after the nonattainment area is 

redesignated to attainment. Eight years 

after the redesignation, the State must 

submit a revised maintenance plan 

demonstrating that attainment will 

continue to be maintained for the ten 

years following the initial ten-year 

period. To address the possibility of 

future NAAQS violations, the 

maintenance plan must contain 

contingency measures as EPA deems 

necessary to assure prompt correction of 

any future one-hour SO2 violations. 

Specifically, the maintenance plan 

should address five requirements: The 

attainment emissions inventory, 

maintenance demonstration, 

monitoring, verification of continued 

attainment, and a contingency plan. 

Ohio’s August 11, 2015, redesignation 

request contains its maintenance plan, 

which Ohio has committed to review 

eight years after redesignation. Ohio 

submitted an attainment emission 

inventory which addresses current 

emissions and projections of future 

emissions, for point, area, and mobile 

sources. Total SO2 emissions in the 

nonattainment area were 90,851 tpy in 

the base year, 2011; 32,619 tpy in the 

attainment year, 2014; and 16.7 tpy in 

the projected future years between 2017 

and 2027 (see Table 2). Ohio has 

demonstrated that after the closure of 

the Beckjord plant, the area is attaining 

and is expected to maintain the SO2

NAAQS. Kentucky has committed to 

continue monitoring at the Campbell 

County site in accordance with the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 58. These 

data will be used to verify continued 

attainment. Ohio has the authority to 

adopt, implement and enforce any 

subsequent emissions control measures 

deemed necessary to correct any future 

SO2 violations. Regarding contingency 

measures to implement in the case of a 

future violation of the SO2 standard, 

Ohio did not name a specific control 

measure, as there are no sources in or 

near the nonattainment area with the 

potential to cause a violation. As a 

contingency plan, therefore, Ohio has 

committed to identify any sources 

which cause or contribute to monitored 

violations, and follow up with 

enforcement proceedings, expediting 

any necessary corrective actions. SIP 

rules will be revised in accordance with 

Ohio’s rulemaking procedures if new 

control measures are needed. Ohio 

commits to study SO2 emission trends 

and identify areas of concern if the 

annual average 99th percentile 

maximum daily one-hour SO2

concentration of 79 ppb or greater 

occurs in a single year, or if a two-year 

average of 76 ppb or greater occurs in 

the maintenance area. Ohio will adopt 

and implement corrective actions as 

necessary to address such trends of 

increasing emissions or ambient 

impacts. The public will have the 

opportunity to participate in the 

contingency measure implementation 

process. EPA proposes to find that 

Ohio’s maintenance plan adequately 

addresses the five basic components 

necessary to maintain the SO2 standard 

in the Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area. 

VIII. What action is EPA taking? 

In accordance with Ohio’s August 11, 

2015, request, EPA is proposing to 

redesignate the Ohio portion of the 

Campbell-Clermont KY-OH 

nonattainment area from nonattainment 

to attainment of the SO2 NAAQS. Ohio 

has demonstrated that the area is 

attaining the SO2 standard, and that the 

improvement in air quality is due to the 

permanent and enforceable shutdown of 

the main SO2 source in the 

nonattainment area. EPA is proposing to 

approve the maintenance plan that Ohio 

submitted to ensure that the area will 

continue to maintain the SO2 standard. 

IX. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 

EPA’s role is to approve State choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely approves State law as meeting 

Federal requirements and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by State law. For that 

reason, this action: 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to review by the Office of 

Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA; and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where EPA or an 

Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides. 

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47150 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 20, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: July 11, 2016. 

Robert A. Kaplan, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2016–17054 Filed 7–19–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 174 and 180 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2015–0032; FRL–9948–45] 

Receipt of Several Pesticide Petitions 

Filed for Residues of Pesticide 

Chemicals in or on Various 

Commodities 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of filing of petitions and 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

Agency’s receipt of several initial filings 

of pesticide petitions requesting the 

establishment or modification of 

regulations for residues of pesticide 

chemicals in or on various commodities. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 19, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number and the pesticide petition 

number (PP) of interest as shown in the 

body of this document, by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. 

• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental 

Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/ 

DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. 

NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: To make special 

arrangements for hand delivery or 

delivery of boxed information, please 

follow the instructions at http://

www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html. 

Additional instructions on 

commenting or visiting the docket, 

along with more information about 

dockets generally, is available at http:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Lewis, Registration Division (RD) 

(7505P), main telephone number: (703) 

305–7090; email address: 

RDFRNotices@epa.gov. The mailing 

address for each contact person is: 

Office of Pesticide Programs, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460–0001. As part of the mailing 

address, include the contact person’s 

name, division, and mail code. The 

division to contact is listed at the end 

of each pesticide petition summary. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

You may be potentially affected by 

this action if you are an agricultural 

producer, food manufacturer, or 

pesticide manufacturer. The following 

list of North American Industrial 

Classification System (NAICS) codes is 

not intended to be exhaustive, but rather 

provides a guide to help readers 

determine whether this document 

applies to them. Potentially affected 

entities may include: 

• Crop production (NAICS code 111). 

• Animal production (NAICS code 

112). 

• Food manufacturing (NAICS code 

311). 

• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS 

code 32532). 

If you have any questions regarding 

the applicability of this action to a 

particular entity, consult the person 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT for the division listed at the 

end of the pesticide petition summary of 

interest. 

B. What should I consider as I prepare 

my comments for EPA? 

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this 

information to EPA through 

regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark 

the part or all of the information that 

you claim to be CBI. For CBI 

information in a disk or CD–ROM that 

you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the 

disk or CD–ROM as CBI and then 

identify electronically within the disk or 

CD–ROM the specific information that 

is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 

complete version of the comment that 

includes information claimed as CBI, a 

copy of the comment that does not 

contain the information claimed as CBI 

must be submitted for inclusion in the 

public docket. Information so marked 

will not be disclosed except in 

accordance with procedures set forth in 

40 CFR part 2. 

2. Tips for preparing your comments. 

When preparing and submitting your 

comments, see the commenting tips at 

http://www.epa.gov/dockets/

comments.html. 

3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to 

achieve environmental justice, the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement 

of any group, including minority and/or 

low-income populations, in the 

development, implementation, and 

enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and policies. To help 

address potential environmental justice 

issues, the Agency seeks information on 

any groups or segments of the 

population who, as a result of their 

location, cultural practices, or other 

factors, may have atypical or 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health impacts or environmental 

effects from exposure to the pesticides 

discussed in this document, compared 

to the general population. 

II. What action is the Agency taking? 

EPA is announcing its receipt of 

several pesticide petitions filed under 

section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, 

and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 

346a, requesting the establishment or 

modification of regulations in 40 CFR 

part 174 or part 180 for residues of 

pesticide chemicals in or on various 

food commodities. The Agency is taking 

public comment on the requests before 

responding to the petitioners. EPA is not 

proposing any particular action at this 

time. EPA has determined that the 

pesticide petitions described in this 

document contain the data or 

information prescribed in FFDCA 

section 408(d)(2), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(2); 

however, EPA has not fully evaluated 

the sufficiency of the submitted data at 

this time or whether the data support 

granting of the pesticide petitions. After 

considering the public comments, EPA 

intends to evaluate whether and what 

action may be warranted. Additional 

data may be needed before EPA can 

make a final determination on these 

pesticide petitions. 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a 

summary of each of the petitions that 

are the subject of this document, 

prepared by the petitioner, is included 

in a docket EPA has created for each 

rulemaking. The docket for each of the 

petitions is available at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

As specified in FFDCA section 

408(d)(3), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(3), EPA is 

publishing notice of the petition so that 

the public has an opportunity to 

comment on this request for the 

establishment or modification of 

regulations for residues of pesticides in 

or on food commodities. Further 

information on the petition may be 

obtained through the petition summary 

referenced in this unit. 

New Tolerances 

PP 5F8379. EPA–HQ–OPP–2015– 

0559. Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. 

Alexander Drive, Research Triangle 

Park, NC 27709, requests to establish a 

tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for 

residues of the fungicide penflufen, (1Hmstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with PROPOSALS