51992 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 166 / Thursday, August 27, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

hearings to run on schedule; however, 

due to on-site schedule fluctuations, 

actual speaking times may shift slightly. 

Because the Denver, CO, and 

Pittsburgh, PA, hearings are being held 

at United States government facilities, 

individuals planning to attend these 

hearings should be prepared to show 

valid picture identification to the 

security staff in order to gain access to 

the meeting room. Please note that the 

REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 

2005, established new requirements for 

entering federal facilities. If your 

driver’s license is issued by American 

Samoa, Louisiana, Minnesota, New 

Hampshire or New York, you must 

present an additional form of 

identification to enter the federal 

building. Acceptable alternative forms 

of identification include: Federal 

employee badges, passports, enhanced 

driver’s licenses, and military 

identification cards. For additional 

information for the status of your state 

regarding REAL ID, go to http://

www.dhs.gov/real-id-enforcement-brief. 

In addition, you will need to obtain a 

property pass for any personal 

belongings you bring with you. Upon 

leaving the buildings, you will be 

required to return this property pass to 

the security desk. No large signs will be 

allowed in the buildings, cameras may 

only be used outside of the buildings, 

and demonstrations will not be allowed 

on federal property for security reasons. 

At all of the hearing locations, 

atttendees will be asked to go through 

metal detectors. To help facilitate this 

process, please be advised that you will 

be asked to remove all items from all 

pockets and place them in provided 

bins for screening; remove laptops, 

phones, or other electronic devices from 

their carrying case and place in 

provided bins for screening; avoid shoes 

with metal shanks, toe guards, or 

supports as a part of their construction; 

remove any metal belts, metal belt 

buckles, large jewelry, watches; and 

follow the instructions of the guard if 

identified for secondary screening. 

Additionally, no weapons (e.g., pocket 

knives) or drugs or drug paraphernalia 

(e.g., marijuana) will be allowed in the 

buildings. We recommend that you 

arrive 20 minutes in advance of your 

speaking time in Denver, CO, Dallas, 

TX, and Pittsburgh, PA, to allow time to 

go through security and to check in with 

the registration desk. 

How can I get copies of this document 

and other related information? 

The EPA has established separate 

dockets for all three of the proposed 

rulemakings (available at http://

www.regulations.gov). For the proposed 

rulemaking titled, ‘‘Source 

Determination for Certain Emission 

Units in the Oil and Natural Gas 

Sector,’’ the Docket ID No. is EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2013–0685. For the proposed 

rulemaking titled, ‘‘Oil and Natural Gas 

Sector: Emission Standards for New and 

Modified Sources,’’ the Docket ID No. is 

EPA–HQ–OAR–2010–0505. For the 

proposed rulemaking titled, ‘‘Review of 

New Sources and Modifications in 

Indian Country: Federal Implementation 

Plan for Managing Air Emissions from 

True Minor Sources Engaged in Oil and 

Natural Gas Production in Indian 

Country,’’ the Docket ID No. is EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2014–0606. All three 

proposed rulemakings are posted at 

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/

oilandgas/actions.html. If you need 

assistance in accessing any information 

related to these rulemakings, please 

contact Ms. Aimee St. Clair, Office of 

Air Quality Planning and Standards, 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

by phone at (919) 541–1063, or by email 

at StClair.Aimee@epa.gov. 

Dated: August 21, 2015. 

Mary E. Henigin, 

Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning 

and Standards. 

[FR Doc. 2015–21255 Filed 8–26–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2015–0468; FRL–9933–06– 

OAR] 

Determinations of Attainment by the 

Attainment Date, Extensions of the 

Attainment Date, and Reclassification 

of Several Areas Classified as Marginal 

for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient 

Air Quality Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing three 

separate and independent 

determinations related to the 36 areas 

that are currently classified as 

‘‘Marginal’’ for the 2008 ozone National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS). First, the EPA is proposing to 

determine that 17 areas attained the 

2008 ozone NAAQS by the applicable 

attainment date of July 20, 2015, based 

on complete, quality-assured and 

certified ozone monitoring data for 

2012–2014. Second, the EPA is 

proposing to grant 1-year attainment 

date extensions for eight areas on the 

basis that the requirements for such 

extensions under the Clean Air Act 

(CAA or Act) have been met. Third, the 

EPA is proposing to determine that 11 

areas failed to attain the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS by the applicable attainment 

date of July 20, 2015, and that they are 

not eligible for an extension, and to 

reclassify these areas as ‘‘Moderate’’ for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Once 

reclassified as Moderate, states must 

submit State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revisions that meet the statutory and 

regulatory requirements that apply to 

2008 ozone NAAQS nonattainment 

areas classified as Moderate. In this 

action, the EPA is proposing and taking 

comment on two options for the 

deadline by which states would need to 

submit to the EPA for review and 

approval the SIP revisions required for 

Moderate areas once their areas are 

reclassified. 

DATES: Comments. Comments must be 

received on or before September 28, 

2015. Public Hearings. If anyone 

contacts us requesting a public hearing 

on or before September 11, 2015, we 

will hold a public hearing. Please refer 

to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 

additional information on the comment 

period and the public hearing. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–OAR– 

2015–0468, to the Federal eRulemaking 

Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. Once submitted, 

comments cannot be edited or 

withdrawn. The 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. If you need to 

include CBI as part of your comment, 

please visit http://www.epa.gov/

dockets/comments.html for instructions. 

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. For additional 

submission methods, the full EPA 

public comment policy, and general 

guidance on making effective 

comments, please visit http://

www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Cecil (Butch) Stackhouse, Office of Air 

Quality Planning and Standards, Air 

Quality Policy Division, Mail Code 

C539–01, Research Triangle Park, NC 

27711, telephone (919) 541–5208; fax 

number: (919) 541–5315; email address: 

stackhouse.butch@epa.gov. 


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1AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, 

MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, 

TX, VA, WI and WY. 

2An area’s design value for the 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS is the highest 3-year average of the annual 

fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average 

ozone concentration of all monitors in the area. See 

40 CFR part 50, appendix P. 

3These proposed determinations of attainment do 

not constitute a redesignation to attainment. 

Redesignations require states to meet a number of 

additional criteria, including EPA approval of a 

state plan to maintain the air quality standard for 

10 years after redesignation. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

Entities potentially affected by this 

action include states (typically state air 

pollution control agencies), the District 

of Columbia and, in some cases, tribal 

governments. In particular, 26 states 1

with areas designated nonattainment 

and classified as ‘‘Marginal’’ for the 

2008 ozone NAAQS and the District of 

Columbia are affected by this action. 

Entities potentially affected indirectly 

by this proposal include owners and 

operators of sources of volatile organic 

compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides 

(NOX) emissions that contribute to 

ground-level ozone formation within the 

subject ozone nonattainment areas. 

B. What should I consider as I prepare 

my comments for the EPA? 

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this 

information to the EPA through http:// 

www.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 the 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 to be 

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 submitting comments, remember 

to: 

• Identify the rulemaking by docket 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

• Follow directions—The agency may 

ask you to respond to specific questions 

or organize comments by referencing a 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

or section number. 

• Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

• Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

• If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

• Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns, and suggest 

alternatives. 

• Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

• Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

C. Where can I get a copy of this 

document and other related 

information? 

In addition to being available in the 

docket, an electronic copy of this 

document will be posted at http://

www.epa.gov/airquality/ozonepollution/

actions.html#impl. 

D. What information should I know 

about a possible public hearing? 

To request a public hearing or 

information pertaining to a public 

hearing on this document, contact Ms. 

Pamela Long at (919) 541–0641 before 5 

p.m. on September 11, 2015. If 

requested, further details concerning a 

public hearing for this proposed rule 

will be published in a separate Federal 

Register document. For updates and 

additional information on a public 

hearing, please check the EPA’s Web 

site for this rulemaking at http://

www.epa.gov/airquality/ozonepollution/

actions.html#impl. 

E. How is this preamble organized? 

The information presented in this 

preamble is organized as follows. 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

B. What should I consider as I prepare my 

comments for EPA? 

C. Where can I get a copy of this document 

and other related information? 

D. What information should I know about 

a possible public hearing? 

E. How is this preamble organized? 

II. Overview and Basis of Proposal 

A. Overview of Proposal 

B. What is the background for the proposed 

actions? 

C. What is the statutory authority for the 

proposed actions? 

D. How does the EPA determine whether 

an area has attained the 2008 ozone 

standard? 

III. What is the EPA proposing and what is 

the rationale? 

A. Determination of Attainment 

B. Extension of Marginal Area Attainment 

Dates 

C. Determinations of Failure To Attain and 

Reclassification 

D. Moderate Area SIP Revision Submission 

Deadline 

E. Summary of Proposed Actions 

IV. Environmental Justice Considerations 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

and Safety Risks 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions 

To Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations 

II. Overview and Basis of Proposal 

A. Overview of Proposal 

CAA section 181(b)(2) requires the 

EPA Administrator to determine, based 

on an area’s design value (which 

represents air quality in the area for the 

most recent 3 year period) 2 as of an 

area’s attainment deadline, whether an 

ozone nonattainment area attained the 

ozone standard by that date. The statute 

provides a mechanism by which states 

that meet certain criteria may request 

and be granted by the EPA 

Administrator a 1-year extension of an 

area’s attainment deadline. The CAA 

also requires that areas that have not 

attained the standard by their 

attainment deadlines be reclassified to 

either the next ‘‘highest’’ classification 

(e.g., Marginal to Moderate, Moderate to 

Serious, etc.) or to the classifications 

applicable to the areas’ design values in 

Table 1 of 40 CFR 51.1103. In this 

document, the EPA proposes to find that 

17 Marginal areas attained the 2008 

NAAQS by the applicable deadline of 

July 20, 2015, based on complete, 

quality-assured and certified ozone 

monitoring data for 2012–2014.3 The 

EPA also proposes to find that 8 

Marginal areas meet the criteria, as 

provided in CAA section 181(a)(5) and 

interpreted by regulation at 40 CFR 

51.1107, to qualify for a 1-year 

attainment date extension for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS. Finally, the EPA 

proposes to find that 11 Marginal areas 


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4Since the 2008 primary and secondary NAAQS 

for ozone are identical, for convenience, we refer to 

both as ‘‘the 2008 ozone NAAQS’’ or ‘‘the 2008 

ozone standard.’’ 

failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS 

by the applicable Marginal attainment 

deadline of July 20, 2015, and do not 

qualify for a 1-year extension. 

Accordingly, as required by CAA 

section 181(b)(2)(A), if the EPA finalizes 

the determinations that these areas 

failed to attain, the EPA must reclassify 

those 11 Marginal areas to Moderate. 

The reclassified areas must attain the 

2008 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as 

practicable, but no later than July 20, 

2018. Table 1 provides a summary of the 

EPA’s proposed actions that would 

apply to these 36 Marginal areas. 

The EPA is proposing in this 

document to apply the discretion 

granted to the Administrator in the 

statute to adjust the statutory deadlines 

for submitting required SIP revisions for 

reclassified Moderate ozone 

nonattainment areas in order to align 

the SIP due dates with the regulatory 

deadline for implementing reasonably 

available control measures (RACM), 

including reasonably available control 

technology (RACT), in such areas as 

necessary to attain the 2008 ozone 

standard by the Moderate area 

attainment deadline of July 20, 2018. 

TABLE 1—2008 OZONE NAAQS MARGINAL NONATTAINMENT AREA EVALUATION SUMMARY

2008 NAAQS Nonattainment area 

2012–2014 

Design value 

(ppm) 

Meets 2008 NAAQS by marginal 

attainment date 

2014 4th 

Highest daily 

maximum 8-hr 

average 

(ppm) 

Areas not attaining 2008 NAAQS 

eligible for attainment date extensions based on 2014 4th highest 

daily maximum 8-hr average 

≤0.075 ppm 

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA .. 0.070 Attaining ......................................... 0.068 Not applicable. 

Atlanta, GA ..................................... 0.077 Not Attaining .................................. 0.079 No. 

Baton Rouge, LA ............................ 0.072 Attaining ......................................... 0.075 Not applicable. 

Calaveras County, CA .................... 0.071 Attaining ......................................... 0.071 Not applicable. 

Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NCSC.0.073 Attaining ......................................... 0.068 Not applicable. 

Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI .......... 0.081 Not Attaining .................................. 0.076 No. 

Chico (Butte County), CA ............... 0.074 Attaining ......................................... 0.074 Not applicable. 

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN ...................... 0.075 Attaining ......................................... 0.071 Not applicable. 

Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, OH .......... 0.078 Not Attaining .................................. 0.075 Yes. 

Columbus, OH ................................ 0.075 Attaining ......................................... 0.070 Not applicable. 

Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.0.082 Not Attaining .................................. 0.077 No. 

Dukes County, MA ......................... 0.068 Attaining ......................................... 0.059 Not applicable. 

Greater Connecticut, CT ................ 0.080 Not Attaining .................................. 0.077 No. 

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .... 0.080 Not Attaining .................................. 0.072 Yes. 

Imperial County, CA ....................... 0.080 Not Attaining .................................. 0.078 No. 

Jamestown, NY .............................. 0.071 Attaining ......................................... 0.066 Not applicable. 

Kern County (Eastern Kern), CA .... 0.084 Not Attaining .................................. 0.089 No. 

Knoxville, TN .................................. 0.067 Attaining ......................................... 0.064 Not applicable. 

Lancaster, PA ................................. 0.071 Attaining ......................................... 0.066 Not applicable. 

Mariposa County, CA ..................... 0.078 Not Attaining .................................. 0.077 No. 

Memphis, TN-MS-AR ..................... 0.073 Attaining ......................................... 0.067 Not applicable. 

Nevada County (Western part), CA 0.079 Not Attaining .................................. 0.082 No. 

New York, N. New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT.0.085 Not Attaining .................................. 0.081 No. 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic 

City, PA-NJ-MD-DE.

0.077 Not Attaining .................................. 0.074 Yes. 

Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona .................. 0.080 Not Attaining .................................. 0.080 No. 

Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley, PA ......... 0.077 Not Attaining .................................. 0.071 Yes. 

Reading, PA ................................... 0.071 Attaining ......................................... 0.068 Not applicable. 

San Diego County, CA ................... 0.079 Not Attaining .................................. 0.079 No. 

San Francisco Bay Area, CA ......... 0.072 Attaining ......................................... 0.076 Not applicable. 

San Luis Obispo County (Eastern 

San Luis Obispo), CA.

0.076 Not Attaining .................................. 0.073 Yes. 

Seaford, DE .................................... 0.074 Attaining ......................................... 0.067 Not applicable. 

Sheboygan, Wisconsin ................... 0.081 Not Attaining .................................. 0.072 Yes. 

St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, 

MO-IL.

0.078 Not Attaining .................................. 0.072 Yes. 

Tuscan Buttes, CA ......................... 0.075 Attaining ......................................... 0.076 Not applicable. 

Upper Green River Basin, WY ....... 0.064 Attaining ......................................... 0.065 Not applicable. 

Washington, DC-MD-VA ................. 0.076 Not Attaining .................................. 0.069 Yes. 

B. What is the background for the 

proposed actions? 

On March 12, 2008, the EPA issued its 

final action to revise the NAAQS for 

ozone to establish new 8-hour standards 

(73 FR 16436, March 27, 2008). In that 

action, we promulgated identical 

revised primary and secondary ozone 

standards, designed to protect public 

health and welfare, that specified an 8- 

hour ozone standard of 0.075 parts per 

million (ppm).4 Specifically, the 

standards require that the 3-year average 

of the annual fourth highest daily 

maximum 8-hour average ozone 

concentration may not exceed 0.075 

ppm. The 2008 ozone NAAQS retains 

the same general form and averaging 

time as the 0.08 ppm NAAQS set in 

1997 but is set at a level that is more 

protective of public health and the 

environment. 

On April 30, 2012 (May 31, 2012), the 

EPA issued rules designating 46 areas 

throughout the country as 

nonattainment for the 2008 ozone 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 166 / Thursday, August 27, 2015 / Proposed Rules 51995 

5 In certain cases, states included as part of their 

designation recommendations a request that the 

EPA consider more up-to-date monitoring data from 

2009–2011 in making final designation decisions. 

The EPA considered the state requests, and, 

accordingly, adjusted some of the classifications 

based on the more recent data. 

6The EPA considers the average of the annual 

fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour ozone 

concentrations for 2 years at each monitoring site 

in an area. 7See 40 CFR 51.1107(a)(1). 8All of the affected nonattainment areas 

addressed in this document would be classified to 

the next highest classification of Moderate. None of 

the affected areas has a design value that would 

otherwise place it in a higher classification (e.g., 

Serious) under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A)(ii). 

NAAQS, effective July 20, 2012 (77 FR 

30088, May 21, 2012 and 77 FR 34221, 

June 11, 2012). In April 30, 2012, action, 

the EPA established classifications for 

the designated nonattainment areas, and 

classified 36 of those areas as Marginal. 

We used primarily certified air quality 

monitoring data from calendar years 

2008–2010 5 to designate these areas as 

nonattainment, and as the basis for their 

classification (77 FR 30088 and 77 FR 

34221). Also in the April 30, 2012, 

action, the EPA promulgated a 

Classifications Rule that specified some 

of the requirements for implementing 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS under the 

provisions of Subpart 2 of part D of title 

I of the CAA to the newly designated 

nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone 

standard (77 FR 30160, May 21, 2012). 

CAA Section 181 provides that the 

attainment deadline for ozone 

nonattainment areas is ‘‘as 

expeditiously as practicable’’ but no 

later than the prescribed dates that are 

provided in Table 1 of that section. In 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS Classifications 

Rule, the EPA translated the 

‘‘maximum’’ deadlines in Table 1 of 

Subpart 2 for purposes of the 2008 

standard by measuring those deadlines 

from the effective date of the new 

designations, but extended those 

deadlines by several months to 

December 31 of the corresponding 

calendar year (77 FR 30166). 

Pursuant to a challenge of the EPA’s 

interpretation of the attainment 

deadlines, on December 23, 2014, the 

D.C. Circuit issued a decision rejecting, 

among other things, the Classifications 

Rule’s attainment deadlines for the 2008 

ozone nonattainment areas, finding that 

the EPA did not have statutory authority 

under the CAA to extend those 

deadlines to the end of the calendar 

year. NRDC v. EPA, 777 F.3d 456, 464– 

69 (D.C. Cir. 2014). Accordingly, as part 

of the final 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP 

Requirements Rule (80 FR 12264, March 

6, 2015), the EPA modified the 

maximum attainment dates for all 

nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS, consistent with the court’s 

decision. As relevant here, the SIP 

Requirements Rule established a 

maximum deadline for Marginal 

nonattainment areas of 3 years from the 

effective date of designation, or July 20, 

2015, to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS. 

See 80 FR at 12268; 40 CFR 51.1103. 

C. What is the statutory authority for the 

proposed actions? 

The statutory authority for the actions 

proposed in this document is provided 

by the CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 

7401 et seq.). Relevant portions of the 

CAA include, but are not necessarily 

limited to, sections 181(a)(5) and 

181(b)(2). 

By way of background, CAA section 

107(d) provides that when the EPA 

establishes or revises a NAAQS, the 

agency must designate areas of the 

country as nonattainment, attainment, 

or unclassifiable based on whether they 

are not meeting (or contributing to air 

quality in a nearby area that is not 

meeting) the NAAQS, meeting the 

NAAQS, or cannot be classified as 

meeting or not meeting the NAAQS, 

respectively. Subpart 2 of part D of title 

I of the CAA governs the classification, 

state planning and emissions control 

requirements for any areas designated as 

nonattainment for a revised primary 

ozone NAAQS. In particular, CAA 

section 181(a)(1) requires each area 

designated as nonattainment for a 

revised ozone NAAQS to be ‘‘classified’’ 

at the same time as the area is 

designated based on the severity of the 

ozone level in the area (as determined 

based on the area’s ‘‘design value,’’ 

which represents air quality in the area 

for the most recent 3 years). See footnote 

2. Classifications for ozone 

nonattainment areas range from 

‘‘Marginal’’ (for areas with monitored 

ozone levels just exceeding the level of 

the NAAQS) to ‘‘Extreme’’ (for areas 

with monitored ozone levels well above 

the levels of the NAAQS). CAA section 

182 stipulates the specific attainment 

planning and additional requirements 

that apply to each ozone nonattainment 

area based on its classification. CAA 

section 182, as interpreted by the EPA’s 

implementation regulations at 40 CFR 

51.1108–1117, also establishes the 

timeframes by which air agencies must 

submit SIP revisions to address the 

applicable attainment planning 

elements, and the timeframes by which 

ozone nonattainment areas must attain 

the relevant NAAQS. 

Section 181(b)(2)(A) of the CAA 

requires that within 6 months following 

the applicable attainment date, the 

Administrator will determine whether 

an ozone nonattainment area attained 

the ozone standard based on the area’s 

design value as of that date. Section 

181(a)(5) of the CAA gives the 

Administrator the discretion to grant a 

1-year extension of the attainment date 

specified in CAA section 181(a) upon 

application by any state if: (i) The state 

has complied with all requirements and 

commitments pertaining to the area in 

the applicable implementation plan; 

and (ii) no more than one measured 

exceedance of the NAAQS for ozone has 

occurred in the area preceding the 

extension year. The EPA may grant a 

second 1-year extension if these same 

criteria are met by the end of the first 

extension year.6

Because CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) was 

written for an exceedance-based 

standard, such as the 1-hour ozone 

NAAQS, the EPA has interpreted 

through notice-and-comment 

rulemaking the air quality requirement 

of the extension criteria for purposes of 

a concentration-based standard like the 

2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. For 

purposes of determining an area’s 

eligibility for an attainment date 

extension for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, 

the EPA has interpreted the criteria of 

CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) to mean that 

an area’s fourth highest daily maximum 

8-hour value for the attainment year 7 is 

at or below the level of the standard [80 

FR 12264, 12292 (March 6, 2015); 40 

CFR 51.1107]. 

In the event an area fails to attain the 

relevant ozone NAAQS by the 

applicable attainment date, CAA section 

181(b)(2)(A) requires the Administrator 

to make the determination that an ozone 

nonattainment area failed to attain the 

ozone standard by the applicable 

attainment date, and subsequently 

requires the area to be reclassified by 

operation of law to the higher of (i) the 

next higher classification for the area, or 

(ii) the classification applicable to the 

area’s design value as determined at the 

time of the required Federal Register 

document.8 Section 181(b)(2)(B) 

requires the EPA to publish a document 

in the Federal Register identifying the 

reclassification status of an area that has 

failed to attain the standard by its 

attainment date no later than 6 months 

after the attainment date, which in the 

case of the Marginal nonattainment 

areas addressed in this document would 

be January 20, 2016. 

Once an area is reclassified, the EPA 

must address the schedule by which the 

state is required to submit a revised SIP 

for that area to, among other things, 

demonstrate how the area will attain the 

relevant NAAQS as expeditiously as 

practicable but no later than the new 


rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
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9 ‘‘Technical Support Document Regarding Ozone 

Monitoring Data—Determinations of Attainment, 1- 

Year Attainment Date Extensions, and 

Reclassifications for Marginal Areas under the 2008 

8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 

Standard (NAAQS), EPA–HQ–OAR–2015–0468. 

applicable attainment date under the 

statute. According to CAA section 

182(i), a state with a reclassified ozone 

nonattainment area must submit the 

applicable attainment plan requirements 

‘‘according to the schedules prescribed 

in connection with such requirements’’ 

in CAA section 182(b) for Moderate 

areas, section 182(c) for Serious areas, 

and section 182(d) for Severe areas. 

However, the Act permits the 

Administrator to adjust the statutory 

due dates that would otherwise apply 

for any SIP revisions required as a result 

of the reclassification ‘‘to the extent that 

such adjustment is necessary or 

appropriate to assure consistency among 

the required submissions.’’ 

D. How does the EPA determine whether 

an area has attained the 2008 ozone 

standard? 

Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 

50, appendix P, the 2008 ozone NAAQS 

is attained at a site when the 3-year 

average of the annual fourth highest 

daily maximum 8-hour average ambient 

air quality ozone concentration is less 

than or equal to 0.075 ppm. This 3-year 

average is referred to as the design 

value. When the design value is less 

than or equal to 0.075 ppm at each 

ambient air quality monitoring site 

within the area, then the area is deemed 

to be meeting the NAAQS. The 

rounding convention under 40 CFR part 

50, appendix P, dictates that 

concentrations shall be reported in ppm 

to the third decimal place, with 

additional digits to the right being 

truncated. Thus, a computed 3-year 

average ozone concentration of 0.076 

ppm is greater than 0.075 ppm and, 

therefore, over the standard. 

The EPA’s determination of 

attainment is based upon data that have 

been collected and quality-assured in 

accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and 

recorded in the EPA’s Air Quality 

System database (formerly known as the 

Aerometric Information Retrieval 

System). Ambient air quality monitoring 

data for the 3-year period must meet a 

data completeness requirement. The 

ambient air quality monitoring data 

completeness requirement is met when 

the average percent of required 

monitoring days with valid ambient 

monitoring data is greater than 90 

percent, and no single year has less than 

75 percent data completeness as 

determined according to Appendix P of 

part 50. 

III. What is the EPA proposing and 

what is the rationale? 

The EPA is issuing this proposal 

pursuant to the agency’s statutory 

obligation under CAA section 181(b)(2) 

to determine whether the 36 Marginal 

ozone nonattainment areas have 

attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the 

applicable attainment date of July 20, 

2015. The separate actions being taken 

in this proposal, as well as the rationale 

for these actions, are described in the 

sections below. 

A. Determinations of Attainment 

The EPA evaluated data from air 

quality monitors in the 36 Marginal 

nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS in order to determine the areas’ 

attainment status as of the applicable 

attainment date of July 20, 2015. The 

data were supplied and quality assured 

by state and local agencies responsible 

for monitoring ozone air monitoring 

networks. Seventeen of the 36 

nonattainment areas’ monitoring sites 

with valid data had a design value equal 

to or less than 0.075 ppm based on the 

2012–2014 monitoring period. Thus, the 

EPA proposes to determine, in 

accordance with section 181(b)(2)(A) of 

the CAA and the provisions of the SIP 

Requirements Rule (40 CFR 51.1103), 

that these 17 areas (listed in Table 2 

below) attained the standard by the 

applicable attainment date for Marginal 

nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS. The EPA’s determination is 

based upon 3 years of complete, qualityassured and certified data. Table 2 

displays the 2012–2014 design value for 

these 17 areas. The fourth high values 

for each of the 3 years used to calculate 

each monitor’s 2012–2014 design value 

are provided in the technical support 

document (TSD) in the docket for this 

action.9 The EPA is soliciting comments 

on these proposed determinations of 

attainment by the applicable attainment 

date. 

TABLE 2—MARGINAL NONATTAINMENT

AREAS THAT ATTAINED THE 2008 

OZONE NAAQS BY THE JULY 20, 

2015, ATTAINMENT DATE

2008 Ozone NAAQS 

nonattainment area 

2012–2014 

Design value 

(ppm) 

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, 

PA ..................................... 0.070 

Baton Rouge, LA .................. 0.072 

Calaveras County, CA .......... 0.071 

Charlotte-Rock Hill, NC-SC a 0.073 

Chico (Butte County), CA ..... 0.074 

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN ............ 0.075 

Columbus, OH ...................... 0.075 

Dukes County, MA ............... 0.068 

TABLE 2—MARGINAL NONATTAINMENT

AREAS THAT ATTAINED THE 2008 

OZONE NAAQS BY THE JULY 20, 

2015, ATTAINMENT DATE—Continued 

2008 Ozone NAAQS 

nonattainment area 

2012–2014 

Design value 

(ppm) 

Jamestown, NY .................... 0.071 

Knoxville, TN b ...................... 0.067 

Lancaster, PA ....................... 0.071 

Memphis, TN-MS-AR ........... 0.073 

Reading, PA ......................... 0.071 

San Francisco Bay Area, CA 0.072 

Seaford, DE .......................... 0.074 

Tuscan Buttes, CA ............... 0.075 

Upper Green River Basin, 

WY .................................... 0.064 

aOn July 28, 2015, the EPA redesignated to 

attainment the North Carolina portion of the 

Charlotte-Rock Hill, NC–SC, nonattainment 

area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, effective August 27, 2015. See 80 FR 44873. 

Given that this area was still designated nonattainment as of July 20, 2015, the EPA is 

herein proposing to determine that this area 

attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date in order to satisfy the 

agency’s obligation under CAA section 

181(b)(2)(A) to make determinations of attainment for nonattainment areas within 6 months 

following an area’s applicable attainment date. bOn July 13, 2015, the EPA redesignated to 

attainment the Knoxville, TN, nonattainment 

area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, effective August 12, 2015. See 80 FR 39970. 

Given that this area was still designated nonattainment as of July 20, 2015, the EPA is 

herein proposing to determine that this area 

attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date in order to satisfy the 

agency’s obligation under CAA section 

181(b)(2)(A) to make determinations of attainment for nonattainment areas within 6 months 

following an area’s applicable attainment date. 

B. Extension of Marginal Area 

Attainment Dates 

Of the 36 Marginal nonattainment 

areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, there 

are eight areas for which the EPA is 

proposing to grant a 1-year attainment 

date extension based on determinations 

that these areas have met the 

requirements for an extension under 

CAA section 181(a)(5). 

Specifically, for each of the eight 

nonattainment areas, the EPA received a 

letter from a state air agency requesting 

a 1-year extension of the area’s 

attainment date and certifying that the 

state is in compliance with the 

applicable implementation plan, as 

required under CAA section 

181(a)(5)(A). In their requests, the states 

certified that they have complied with 

all requirements and commitments 

pertaining to their respective 

nonattainment areas in the applicable 

implementation plan and that all 

monitors in the area have a fourth 

highest daily maximum 8-hour average 


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10The EPA notes that while Delaware did not 

submit a letter requesting a 1-year attainment date 

extension for the multi-state Philadelphia 

nonattainment area, based on extension requests 

from the other states with jurisdiction over that 

area, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and 

Maryland, and the EPA’s own analysis of the CAA 

section 181(a)(5)(A) criteria with regard to 

Delaware, the EPA is exercising its discretion to 

propose granting the Philadelphia area a 1-year 

extension of the attainment date. 

11The 2012–2014 design value for each of the 11 

areas does not exceed 0.100 ppm, which is the 

threshold for reclassifying an area to Serious per 

CAA section 181(b)(2)(A)(ii) and 40 CFR 51.1103. 

12 Details on the EPA’s existing Clean Data Policy 

and redesignation guidance are available at http:// 

www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/sipstatus/policy.html. 

of 0.075 ppm or less for 2014 (i.e., the 

last full year of air quality data prior to 

the July 20, 2015, attainment date). A 

summary of the information in these 

letters is provided in the TSD for this 

action. The EPA evaluated the 

information submitted by each state for 

its nonattainment area(s) and is 

proposing determinations that each state 

has met the requirement of CAA section 

181(a)(5)(A) for each applicable area.10

The EPA has also evaluated the 

certified air quality monitoring data for 

2014 and is proposing to determine that 

each of the eight areas listed in Table 3 

meets the air quality requirements of 

CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) and the EPA’s 

interpretation of that statutory provision 

in 40 CFR 51.1107. As explained in 

Section II.C of this preamble, the EPA 

has interpreted the air quality criterion 

in CAA section 181(a)(5)(B) for purposes 

of the 2008 8-hour standard to mean 

that an eligible area’s fourth highest 

daily maximum 8-hour average in the 

year preceding the attainment date is 

equal to or below the NAAQS (80 FR 

12292). The EPA has evaluated the data 

for these eight areas and has determined 

that the fourth highest daily maximum 

8-hour average for each area in 2014 is 

equal to or below 0.075 ppm. Table 3 

provides the fourth highest daily 

maximum 8-hour averages for 2014 for 

each of the eight Marginal 

nonattainment areas for which a state 

has requested an attainment date 

extension. 

Based on the EPA’s evaluation and 

determination that eight Marginal 

nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS that failed to attain the NAAQS 

by July 20, 2015, have met the 

attainment date extension criteria of 

CAA section 181(a)(5), the EPA is 

exercising its discretion to propose 

granting a 1-year extension of the 

applicable Marginal area attainment 

date to July 20, 2016, from July 20, 2015, 

for the nonattainment areas listed in 

Table 3. If this proposal is finalized, 

then the nonattainment areas would 

remain classified as Marginal for the 

2008 ozone NAAQS unless and until the 

EPA makes a determination that the 

areas have not attained the NAAQS by 

the July 20, 2016, attainment date. The 

EPA is soliciting comments on this 

proposal. 

TABLE 3—MARGINAL NONATTAINMENT AREAS THAT QUALIFY FOR A 1-YEAR ATTAINMENT DATE EXTENSION FOR THE 2008 

OZONE NAAQS a

2008 Ozone NAAQS nonattainment area 

2012–2014 

Design value 

(ppm) 

2014 4th 

Highest daily 

maximum 8-hr 

average 

(ppm) 

Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, OH .................................................................................................................................... 0.078 0.075 

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX ............................................................................................................................. 0.080 0.072 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE ............................................................................................ 0.077 0.074 

Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley, PA .................................................................................................................................. 0.077 0.071 

San Luis Obispo County (Eastern part), CA ........................................................................................................... 0.076 0.073 

Sheboygan, WI ........................................................................................................................................................ 0.081 0.072 

St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL ................................................................................................................ 0.078 0.072 

Washington, DC-MD-VA .......................................................................................................................................... 0.076 0.069 

aThe areas listed are Marginal nonattainment areas that did not attain the 2008 ozone standard by July 20, 2015, but qualify for an extended 

attainment date to July 20, 2016, under CAA section 181(a)(5). 

C. Determinations of Failure To Attain 

and Reclassification 

The EPA is proposing to determine 

that 11 Marginal nonattainment areas 

(listed in Table 4) have failed to attain 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the 

applicable attainment date of July 20, 

2015. These areas are not eligible for a 

1-year attainment date extension 

because the fourth highest daily 

maximum 8-hour average for at least 

one monitor in each area is greater than 

0.075 ppm for 2014 (i.e., last full year 

of air quality data prior to the July 20, 

2015, attainment date). Each of these 

areas failed to attain because the 2012– 

2014 design value for at least one 

monitor in each area exceeded the 2008 

ozone NAAQS of 0.075 ppm. The TSD 

for this action shows all monitoring data 

for the relevant years for each of these 

nonattainment areas, as well as the 3- 

year design value calculations for each 

area. 

CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) provides 

that a Marginal nonattainment area shall 

be reclassified by operation of law upon 

a determination by the EPA that such 

area failed to attain the relevant NAAQS 

by the applicable attainment date. Based 

on quality-assured ozone monitoring 

data from 2012–2014, as provided in the 

TSD for this proposal, the new 

classification applicable to each of these 

11 areas would be the next higher 

classification of ‘‘Moderate’’ under the 

CAA statutory scheme.11

Moderate nonattainment areas are 

required to attain the standard ‘‘as 

expeditiously as practicable’’ but no 

later than 6 years after the initial 

designation as nonattainment (which, in 

the case of these 11 areas, is July 20, 

2018). The attainment deadlines 

associated with each classification are 

prescribed by the Act and codified at 40 

CFR 51.1103. 

We also note that the states with areas 

that attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS after 

they are reclassified to Moderate can use 

the EPA’s existing Clean Data Policy. 

The state with areas attaining the 

NAAQS could also submit a complete 

redesignation request with a 

maintenance plan to the EPA prior to 

the SIP revision deadline that uses the 

EPA’s redesignation guidance.12

There are a number of significant 

emission reduction programs that will 

lead to reductions of ozone precursors, 

and that are in place today or are 

expected to be in place by 2017 to meet 

the July 20, 2018 attainment date for the 

2008 ozone NAAQS Moderate areas. 

Examples of such rules include state 


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13 79 FR 23414 (April 29, 2014). Control of Air 

Pollution From Motor Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor 

Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards. 

14All 11 of the areas reclassified to Moderate 

except Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Fort CollinsLoveland, CO have been classified Moderate or higher classification for a prior ozone NAAQS. 

and federal implementation plans 

adopted under the Cross-State Air 

Pollution Rule (CSAPR), the regional 

haze rule and the Best Available Retrofit 

Technology (BART) requirements, as 

well as regulations controlling on-road 

and non-road engines and fuels, Tier 3 

motor vehicle emission and fuel 

standards program,13 hazardous air 

pollutant rules for utility and industrial 

boilers, and various other programs 

already adopted by states to reduce 

emissions from key emissions sources. 

Further, states and the EPA are 

currently evaluating interstate transport 

obligations addressing CAA 

110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) requirements for this 

NAAQS, and the state or federal plans 

that are adopted to satisfy these 

obligations will provide a level of 

additional emission reductions from 

upwind states that will further assist 

each nonattainment area in attaining the 

ozone NAAQS by the Moderate 

attainment area deadline. 

TABLE 4—MARGINAL NONATTAINMENT AREAS THAT WILL BE RECLASSIFIED AS MODERATE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT

ATTAIN THE 2008 OZONE NAAQS BY THE JULY 20, 2015, ATTAINMENT DATE

2008 Ozone NAAQS nonattainment area 

2012–2014 

Design value 

(ppm) 

2014 4th 

highest daily 

maximum 8-hr 

average 

(ppm) 

Atlanta, GA .............................................................................................................................................................. 0.077 0.079 

Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI ................................................................................................................................... 0.081 0.076 

Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Fort Collins-Loveland, CO ............................................................................................... 0.082 0.077 

Greater Connecticut, CT .......................................................................................................................................... 0.080 0.077 

Imperial County, CA ................................................................................................................................................ 0.080 0.078 

Kern County (Eastern Kern), CA ............................................................................................................................. 0.084 0.089 

Mariposa County, CA .............................................................................................................................................. 0.078 0.077 

Nevada County (Western part), CA ........................................................................................................................ 0.079 0.082 

New York-N. New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT ................................................................................................. 0.085 0.081 

Phoenix-Mesa, AZ ................................................................................................................................................... 0.080 0.080 

San Diego County, CA ............................................................................................................................................ 0.079 0.079 

D. Moderate Area SIP Revision 

Submission Deadline 

For each new Moderate ozone 

nonattainment area, the states 

responsible for managing air quality in 

the 11 areas identified in Table 4 will 

be required to submit a revised SIP that 

addresses the CAA’s Moderate 

nonattainment area requirements, as 

interpreted and described in the final 

SIP Requirements Rule for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS. See 40 CFR 51.1100 et 

seq. Those requirements include: (1) an 

attainment demonstration (CAA section 

182(b) and 40 CFR 51.1108); (2) 

provisions for RACT (CAA section 

182(b)(2) and 40 CFR 51.1112(a)–(b)) 

and RACM (CAA section 172(c)(1) and 

40 CFR 51.1112(c)); (3) reasonable 

further progress (RFP) reductions in 

VOC and/or NOX emissions in the area 

(CAA sections 172(c)(2) and 182(b)(1) 

and 40 CFR 51.1110); (4) contingency 

measures to be implemented in the 

event of failure to meet a milestone or 

to attain the standard (CAA section 

172(c)(9)); (5) a vehicle inspection and 

maintenance program, if applicable 

(CAA section 181(b)(4) and 40 CFR 

51.350); and, (6) NOX and VOC emission 

offsets at a ratio of 1.15 to 1 for major 

source permits (CAA section 182(b)(5) 

and 40 CFR 51.165(a)). See also the 

requirements for Moderate ozone 

nonattainment areas set forth in CAA 

section 182(b) and the general 

nonattainment plan provisions required 

under CAA section 172(c).14

As noted elsewhere in this preamble, 

when an area is reclassified under CAA 

section 181(b)(2), CAA section 182(i) 

directs that the state shall meet the new 

requirements according to the schedules 

prescribed in those requirements. It 

provides, however, ‘‘that the 

Administrator may adjust any 

applicable deadlines (other than 

attainment dates) to the extent such 

adjustment is necessary or appropriate 

to assure consistency among the 

required submissions.’’ CAA section 

182(b), as interpreted by 40 CFR 51.1100 

et seq., describes the required SIP 

revisions and associated deadlines for a 

nonattainment area classified as 

Moderate at the time of the initial 

designations. However, these SIP 

submission deadlines (e.g., 3 years after 

the effective date of designation for 

submission of an attainment plan and 

attainment demonstration) have already 

passed. Accordingly, the EPA is 

proposing to exercise its discretion 

under CAA section 182(i) to adjust the 

SIP submittal deadlines for these 11 

new Moderate nonattainment areas. 

In determining an appropriate 

deadline for the Moderate area SIP 

revisions for these 11 areas, the EPA 

notes that pursuant to 40 CFR 

51.1108(d), for each nonattainment area, 

the state must provide for 

implementation of all control measures 

needed for attainment no later than the 

beginning of the attainment year ozone 

season. The attainment year ozone 

season is the ozone season immediately 

preceding a nonattainment area’s 

attainment date. In the case of 

nonattainment areas classified as 

Moderate for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, 

the attainment year ozone season is the 

2017 ozone season (40 CFR 51.1100(g)). 

The ozone season is the ozone 

monitoring season as defined in 40 CFR 

part 58, appendix D, section 4.1, Table 

D–3 (October 17, 2006, 71 FR 61236). 

We note that the EPA has proposed 

changes to the ozone monitoring season 

in its most recent proposal to revise the 

ozone NAAQS (79 FR 75234, December 

17, 2014). For the purposes of 

reclassification for the 11 Marginal 

nonattainment areas identified in this 

proposal, Table 5 provides the starting 

month of the ozone monitoring season 

for each state with one of the 11 

Marginal areas as currently codified in 

the EPA’s regulations. Table 5 also 

includes the December 17, 2014, 

proposed changes, if any, to the 

beginning of the ozone monitoring 

season in such states. If the proposed 

changes to the beginning of the ozone 


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monitoring seasons are included in the 

final ozone NAAQS revision (expected 

by October 1, 2015), and that 

rulemaking is finalized before the EPA 

finalizes this action, the revised ozone 

season dates would also apply to our 

adjusted deadlines for the Moderate area 

SIP revisions for the areas we propose 

to reclassify in this document. We also 

note that we believe it is reasonable to 

provide states with a period of at least 

approximately 1 year after the 

reclassification is finalized to develop 

and submit the Moderate area SIP 

revisions. This provides time necessary 

for states and local air districts to finish 

their review of available control 

measures, adopt necessary attainment 

strategies, address other SIP 

requirements, and complete the public 

notice process necessary to adopt and 

submit SIP revisions. 

Therefore, the EPA is proposing and 

taking comment on two options for 

setting the date by which states with 

jurisdiction for these 11 reclassified 

nonattainment areas would be required 

to submit for EPA review and approval 

SIP revisions to address Moderate area 

requirements. The first option, which is 

reflected in Table 5 below, would 

require that states submit the required 

SIP revisions as expeditiously as 

practicable, but no later than the 

beginning of the ozone season in 2017 

for each state. This proposed option 

would align the SIP submittal deadline 

with the deadline for implementing 

applicable controls, which, as noted 

above, is also no later than the 

beginning of the ozone season in 2017 

for each area. This option would give 9 

states additional time that may be 

needed to accomplish planning, 

administrative and SIP revision 

processes. This option would treat states 

consistently in that they would need to 

have submitted SIP revisions by the 

beginning of their respective ozone 

seasons, but it would result in SIP 

submittal dates that vary among the 

states. In addition, as noted above, if the 

EPA finalizes the proposed changes to 

the start dates of the ozone season in a 

number of states, the proposed 

deadlines for SIP revisions in this 

rulemaking would also change 

accordingly. Under this first option, in 

multi-state nonattainment areas, such as 

the Chicago-Naperville area, where the 

three affected states do not have the 

same ozone season start date, the 

deadline for the entire nonattainment 

area would be the earliest ozone season 

start date for any of the states (e.g., April 

1, 2017, for the Chicago area). 

TABLE 5—BEGINNING OF OZONE SEASON FOR STATES WITH AREAS IDENTIFIED FOR RECLASSIFICATION TO MODERATE

FOR THE 2008 OZONE NAAQS 

2008 Moderate ozone 

areas State Current month or date ozone season begins a

Proposed deadline for 

moderate area SIP 

submittal 

Proposed month or date 

ozone season begins b

Atlanta, GA ........................ Georgia ............................. March ................................ 1-Mar-17 ............................ No change. 

Chicago-Naperville, IL-INWI.Illinois ................................ April ................................... 1-Apr-17 ............................ March. 

Chicago-Naperville, IL-INWI.Indiana .............................. April ................................... 1-Apr-17 ............................ March. 

Chicago-Naperville, IL-INWI.Wisconsin .......................... 15-Apr ............................... 15-Apr-17 .......................... 15-Mar. 

Denver-Boulder-GreeleyFort Collins-Loveland, 

CO.

Colorado ............................ March ................................ 1-Mar-17 ............................ January. 

Greater Connecticut, CT ... Connecticut ....................... April ................................... 1-Apr-17 ............................ March. 

Imperial County, CA .......... California ........................... January ............................. 1-Jan-17 ............................ No change. 

Kern County (Eastern 

Kern), CA.

California ........................... January ............................. 1-Jan-17 ............................ No change. 

Mariposa County, CA ........ California ........................... January ............................. 1-Jan-17 ............................ No change. 

Nevada County (Western 

part), CA.

California ........................... January ............................. 1-Jan-17 ............................ No change. 

New York-N. New JerseyLong Island, NY-NJ-CT.New Jersey ....................... April ................................... 1-Apr-17 ............................ March. 

New York-N. New JerseyLong Island, NY-NJ-CT.New York .......................... April ................................... 1-Apr-17 ............................ March. 

New York-N. New JerseyLong Island, NY-NJ-CT.Connecticut ....................... April ................................... 1-Apr-17 ............................ March. 

Phoenix-Mesa, AZ ............. Arizona .............................. January ............................. 1-Jan-17 ............................ No change. 

San Diego County, CA ...... California ........................... January ............................. 1-Jan-17 ............................ No change. 

aTable D–3 of Appendix D to Part 58—Ozone Monitoring Season by State. First day of beginning month except for WI. 

bBeginning of ozone season proposed in the ozone NAAQS revision proposal (79 FR 75234, December 17, 2014). 

Under the second option, the EPA 

proposes that the deadline for the 

required SIP revisions for areas that 

would be reclassified under this 

rulemaking would be as expeditiously 

as practicable, but no later than January 

1, 2017. By establishing a single specific 

submittal date, this option would 

establish a consistent deadline for all 11 

areas, similar to the single uniform SIP 

submission deadline that would have 

applied to all areas if they had been 

initially classified as Moderate. A 

uniform deadline of January 1, 2017, is 

reasonable because it would provide all 

states with approximately 1 year after 

these reclassifications are finalized to 

develop complete SIP submissions, and 

it is the latest SIP submittal date that 

would be compatible with ensuring 

controls are in place no later than the 

start of the attainment year ozone season 

for all of the 11 reclassified areas. 

The EPA solicits comments on both of 

these proposed options for deadlines to 

submit the required SIP revisions that 

would apply to states after any current 

Marginal nonattainment area for the 

2008 ozone NAAQS is reclassified to 

Moderate. 

With regard to the New York-N. New 

Jersey-Long Island (NY–NJ–CT) 

nonattainment area, the EPA notes that 

in addition to the actions related to the 

2008 ozone standard addressed in this 


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proposed rulemaking, on May 15, 2014, 

the agency proposed to rescind the 

clean data determination (CDD) for that 

nonattainment area under the 1997 8- 

hour ozone standard because the EPA 

determined that the area was no longer 

attaining the 1997 ozone NAAQS (79 FR 

27830, ‘‘May 2014 proposal 

document’’). The CDD, issued by the 

EPA in June 2012, suspended the three 

states’ obligations to meet attainmentrelated planning requirements for that 

standard, including submitting 

attainment demonstrations, RACM, RFP 

plans, and contingency measures. In the 

May 2014 proposal document, the EPA 

proposed to find that the New Jersey, 

New York, and Connecticut’s SIPs were 

substantially inadequate to demonstrate 

attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS, 

and the agency proposed to issue a SIP 

Call under the authority of CAA section 

110(k)(5) requiring the states to submit 

revised SIPs within 18 months to 

demonstrate how the New York-N. New 

Jersey-Long Island nonattainment area 

would re-attain the 1997 standard as 

expeditiously as practicable. 

One option proposed by the EPA in 

the May 2014 proposal document would 

permit the relevant states to respond to 

the final SIP Call by requesting to be 

reclassified to Moderate for the 2008 

ozone standard (see CAA section 

181(b)(3)), which would consequently 

require that the states submit SIPs 

demonstrating how they would attain 

the more stringent 2008 standard as 

expeditiously as practicable. We 

proposed that this alternative response 

of submitting an attainment plan for the 

2008 ozone standard would satisfy a 

final SIP Call on the 1997 ozone 

standard because an approvable plan 

would demonstrate compliance with a 

more stringent NAAQS. 

The public comment period for the 

May 2014 proposal document closed on 

June 16, 2014, and the EPA is reviewing 

comments received on the proposal. 

However, given that this action 

proposes to find that the New York-N. 

New Jersey-Long Island nonattainment 

area has failed to attain the 2008 ozone 

standard by its Marginal attainment date 

of July 20, 2015, and must be 

reclassified to Moderate by operation of 

law in accordance with CAA section 

181(b)(2)(A), this proposed action 

would effectively eliminate the need for 

the three affected states to request 

reclassification for the area under the 

option described in the May 2014 

proposal document. Although we are 

not taking final action in this document 

on the proposed CDD rescission and SIP 

Call (79 FR 27830), the actions which 

may occur pursuant to this proposal 

(i.e., a final finding of failure to attain 

the 2008 standard by the applicable 

attainment date, reclassification of the 

area as Moderate, and a state submittal 

of a Moderate area attainment 

demonstration) would, thus, also serve 

to satisfy a final SIP Call under CAA 

section 110(k)(5). We also note that 

either of the 2008 ozone attainment plan 

due dates proposed in this document 

would meet the statutory timeframe for 

the SIP revision due subsequent to a SIP 

Call for the 1997 ozone NAAQS for the 

area. 

E. Summary of Proposed Actions 

The actions proposed in this 

document affect the 36 nonattainment 

areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS that 

were initially designated and classified 

Marginal effective July 20, 2012, based 

on their individual design values. The 

design value of an area is represented by 

the annual fourth-highest daily 

maximum 8-hour average ozone 

concentration measured at each monitor 

in the area, averaged over a consecutive 

3-year period. According to CAA section 

181(a)(1), as interpreted by EPA 

regulations at 40 CFR 51.1103, 

nonattainment Marginal areas are 

required to attain the standard ‘‘as 

expeditiously as practicable’’ but no 

later than 3 years after the designation 

effective date of July 20, 2012 (i.e., no 

later than July 20, 2015). CAA section 

181(b)(2)(A) requires that within six 

months of the attainment date, which, 

in the case of the Marginal areas that are 

the subject of this document, was July 

20, 2015, the EPA must determine, 

based on the ozone nonattainment area’s 

design value as of the attainment date, 

whether the area attained the ozone 

standard by that date. A Marginal 

nonattainment area has attained the 

2008 ozone NAAQS by the attainment 

date if its design value is equal to or less 

than 0.075 ppm based on data from the 

period 2012–2014. If the EPA 

determines that an area has failed to 

attain by its attainment date, CAA 

section 181(b)(2) requires that those 

areas be reclassified to the higher of (i) 

the next highest classification, or (ii) the 

classification that corresponds with the 

area’s design value as of the time that 

the EPA publishes the document 

identifying the areas that have failed to 

attain by their attainment date. 

Accordingly, the EPA is proposing that 

the following 11 Marginal 

nonattainment areas failed to attain the 

2008 ozone NAAQS by July 20, 2015, 

and must be reclassified as Moderate: 

Atlanta, GA; Chicago-Naperville, IL-INWI; Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Fort 

Collins-Loveland, CO; Greater 

Connecticut, CT; Imperial County, CA; 

Kern County (Eastern Kern), CA; 

Mariposa County, CA; Nevada County 

(Western part), CA; New York-N. New 

Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT; PhoenixMesa, AZ; and, San Diego County, CA. 

For these 11 areas, the EPA is further 

proposing that the responsible states 

must submit SIP revisions to fulfill the 

CAA’s Moderate area requirements by 

one of the following two alternative 

deadlines: Option 1—as expeditiously 

as practicable but not later than the start 

of each nonattainment area’s 2017 ozone 

season; Option 2—as expeditiously as 

practicable but not later than January 1, 

2017. The EPA is taking comment on 

the determinations of failure to attain 

and subsequent reclassifications of each 

of these 11 nonattainment areas from 

Marginal to Moderate, and on an 

appropriate deadline for responsible 

states to submit SIP revisions to fulfill 

Moderate area requirements for these 

areas. 

Upon application by any state, the 

Administrator may extend the 2008 

ozone attainment date by 1 year, in 

accordance with CAA section 181(a)(5) 

and 40 CFR 51.1107, provided that the 

state has complied with all 

requirements and commitments 

pertaining to the area in the applicable 

implementation plan, and the area’s 

fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour 

average value for the last full year of air 

quality data prior to the July 20, 2015, 

attainment date (i.e., 2014) is at or below 

0.075 ppm. Based on state requests and 

a review of 2014 ozone air quality data, 

the EPA is proposing to grant 1-year 

extensions of the attainment date to July 

20, 2016 (from July 20, 2015) for the 

following eight Marginal nonattainment 

areas: Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, OH; 

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX; 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, 

PA-NJ-MD-DE; Pittsburgh-Beaver 

Valley, PA; San Luis Obispo County 

(Eastern part), CA; Sheboygan, WI; St. 

Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL; 

and, Washington, DC-MD-VA. The EPA 

is taking comment on the 1-year 

attainment date extensions for each of 

these eight areas. 

For the 17 remaining 2008 ozone 

NAAQS nonattainment areas currently 

classified as Marginal, the EPA is 

proposing to determine that each area 

has ozone design values for the 2012– 

14 period at or below 0.075 ppm, and, 

thus, each area has attained the NAAQS 

by the attainment date of July 20, 2015. 

The 17 areas are: Allentown-BethlehemEaston, PA; Baton Rouge, LA; Calaveras 

County, CA; Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock 

Hill, NC-SC; Chico (Butte County), CA; 

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN; Columbus, OH; 

Dukes County, MA; Jamestown, NY; 

Knoxville, TN; Lancaster, PA; Memphis, 

TN-MS-AR; Reading, PA; San Francisco 


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15 80 FR 12264, March 6, 2015. 

16 77 FR 30088, May 21, 2012. 

17 77 FR 34227, June 11, 2012. 

18State responses are the number of SIP revisions 

required from the respective states to satisfy their 

2008 ozone nonattainment requirements. Due to an 

oversight in the original submitted ICR, the 

estimated number of state responses (58) does not 

include the one required SIP revision for the 

Mississippi portion of the multi-state Memphis 

nonattainment area. 

19 78 FR 34178, June 6, 2013. 

Bay Area, CA; Seaford, DE; Tuscan 

Buttes, CA; and, Upper Green River 

Basin, WY. The EPA is taking comment 

on the determinations of attainment by 

the applicable attainment date for these 

17 areas. 

IV. Environmental Justice 

Considerations 

The CAA requires that states with 

areas designated as nonattainment 

submit to the Administrator the 

appropriate SIP revisions and 

implement specified control measures 

by certain dates applicable to the area’s 

classification. By requiring additional 

planning and implementation 

requirements for the 11 nonattainment 

areas proposed to be reclassified from 

Marginal to Moderate, the part of this 

action reclassifying the areas from 

Marginal to Moderate will protect all 

those residing, working, attending 

school, or otherwise present in those 

areas regardless of minority or economic 

status. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a significant 

regulatory action and was, therefore, not 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

The information collection activities 

associated with this proposed rule were 

submitted for approval to the OMB 

under the PRA as part of the 

information collection assessment for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP 

Requirements Rule. The Information 

Collection Request (ICR) document 

prepared by the EPA has been assigned 

the EPA ICR number 2347.01. You can 

find a copy of the ICR in the docket for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP 

Requirements Rule 15 (EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2010–0885), and in the docket for this 

rule (EPA–HQ–OAR–2015–0468). The 

ICR is briefly summarized here. 

The EPA issued the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS SIP Requirements Rule to 

provide states with assistance in 

interpreting how CAA requirements 

apply to their nonattainment areas when 

the states develop their SIPs for 

attaining and maintaining the 2008 

ozone NAAQS. The intended effect of 

the SIP Requirements Rule—in 

conjunction with other rules that 

address additional aspects of 

implementation, such as this proposed 

action—is to provide assistance to states 

regarding their planning obligations 

such that states may begin SIP 

development. In preparing its analysis 

of the estimated paperwork burden 

associated with the SIP Requirements 

Rule and additional rules providing 

clarity on implementation of the 2008 

ozone NAAQS, the EPA calculated that 

burden for the 46 areas designated nonattainment under that standard.16 17 The 

estimate in the ICR included the 

assumption that 10 nonattainment areas 

originally classified as Marginal would 

require reclassification to Moderate after 

the July 20, 2015, attainment date for 

Marginal nonattainment areas. If this 

proposed action is finalized, 11 

nonattainment areas originally classified 

as Marginal would be reclassified to 

Moderate. Therefore, we believe that the 

original estimate in the ICR has fairly 

quantified the information collection 

activities that will be associated with 

the 11 areas we proposed to reclassify 

in this action. Upon finalization of the 

reclassification to Moderate, the states 

with jurisdiction over the 11 areas will 

be required to prepare an attainment 

demonstration as well as submit SIP 

revisions for purposes of meeting RFP 

requirements and RACT. The attainment 

demonstration requirement is codified 

at 40 CFR 51.908, which implements 

CAA subsections 172(c)(1), 182(b)(1)(A) 

and 182(c)(2)(B). The RFP SIP 

submission requirement is codified at 

40 CFR 51.910, which implements CAA 

subsections 172(c)(2) and 182(b)(1)(A), 

and the RACT SIP submission 

requirement is codified at 40 CFR 

51.912, which implements CAA 

subsections 172(c)(1) 182(b)(2),(c),(d) 

and (e). 

States should already have 

information from emission sources, as 

facilities should have provided this 

information to meet 1-hour and 1997 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS SIP requirements, 

operating permits and/or emissions 

reporting requirements. Such 

information does not generally reveal 

the details of production processes. But, 

to the extent it may, CBI for the affected 

facilities is protected. Specifically, 

submissions of emissions and control 

efficiency information that is 

confidential, proprietary and trade 

secret is protected from disclosure 

under the requirements of subsections 

503(e) and 114(c) of the CAA. 

The annual burden for the 

information collection associated with 

all 46 nonattainment areas, averaged 

over the first 3 years of the ICR, was 

estimated to be a total of 120,000 labor 

hours per year at an annual labor cost 

of $2.4 million (present value) over the 

3-year period, or approximately $91,000 

per state for the 25 state respondents 

and the District of Columbia. The 

average annual reporting burden is 690 

hours per response, with approximately 

two responses per state for 58 state 

responses.18 There are no capital or 

operating and maintenance costs 

associated with the SIP Requirements 

Rule’s or this proposed rule’s 

requirements. Burden is defined at 5 

CFR 1320.3(b). 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control 

numbers for the EPA’s regulations in 40 

CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9. 

The comment period on the agency’s 

need for this information ran from June 

6, 2013, to August 5, 2013.19 No 

comments were received on the 

accuracy of the provided burden 

estimates and any suggested methods 

for minimizing respondent burden. The 

EPA public docket for this rule includes 

the ICR approved in conjunction with 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP 

Requirements Rule. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

I certify that this action will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the RFA. This action will not 

impose any requirements on small 

entities. The proposed determinations of 

attainment and failure to attain the 2008 

ozone NAAQS (and resulting 

reclassifications), and the proposed 

determination to grant 1-year attainment 

date extensions do not in and of 

themselves create any new requirements 

beyond what is mandated by the CAA. 

Instead, this rulemaking only makes 

factual determinations, and does not 

directly regulate any entities. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This action does not contain any 

unfunded mandate as described in 

UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, and does 

not significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. This action imposes no 

enforceable duty on any state, local or 

tribal governments or the private sector. 


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52002 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 166 / Thursday, August 27, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It will not have substantial 

direct effects on the states, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action has tribal implications. 

However, it will neither impose 

substantial direct compliance costs on 

federally recognized tribal governments, 

nor preempt tribal law. The EPA has 

identified a number of tribal areas 

implicated in the 36 areas covered by 

the EPA’s proposed determinations of 

attainment and failure to attain the 2008 

ozone NAAQS (and resulting 

reclassifications), and the proposed 

determination to grant 1-year attainment 

date extensions. We intend to 

communicate with potentially affected 

tribes located within the boundaries of 

the nonattainment areas for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS as we move forward in 

developing a final rule. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 as applying only to those 

regulatory actions that concern 

environmental health or safety risks that 

the EPA has reason to believe may 

disproportionately affect children, per 

the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. This action is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not concern an 

environmental health risk or safety risk. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 13211, because it is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

This rulemaking does not involve 

technical standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

The EPA believes the human health or 

environmental risk addressed by this 

action will not have potential 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority, low-income or indigenous 

populations. The results of this 

evaluation are contained in the section 

of the preamble titled ‘‘Environmental 

Justice Considerations.’’ 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Dated: August 19, 2015. 

Janet G. McCabe, 

Acting Assistant Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2015–21196 Filed 8–26–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R07–OAR–2015–0512; FRL–9932–79– 

Region 7] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; State of 

Kansas; Infrastructure SIP 

Requirements for the 2008 Ozone 

National Ambient Air Quality Standard 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

an element of a State Implementation 

Plan (SIP) submission from the State of 

Kansas addressing the applicable 

requirements of Clean Air Act (CAA) 

section 110 for the 2008 National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) for Ozone (O3), which 

requires that each state adopt and 

submit a SIP to support implementation, 

maintenance, and enforcement of each 

new or revised NAAQS promulgated by 

EPA. These SIPs are commonly referred 

to as ‘‘infrastructure’’ SIPs. The 

infrastructure requirements are designed 

to ensure that the structural components 

of each state’s air quality management 

program are adequate to meet the state’s 

responsibilities under the CAA. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed 

action must be received in writing by 

September 28, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R07– 

OAR–2015–0512, by mail to Lachala 

Kemp, Environmental Protection 

Agency, Air Planning and Development 

Branch, 11201 Renner Boulevard, 

Lenexa, Kansas 66219. Comments may 

also be submitted electronically or 

through hand delivery/courier by 

following the detailed instructions in 

the ADDRESSES section of the direct final 

rule located in the rules section of this 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lachala Kemp, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Air Planning and 

Development Branch, 11201 Renner 

Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219 at 

(913) 551–7214 or by email at 

kemp.lachala@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

final rules section of this Federal 

Register, EPA is approving the state’s 

SIP revision as a direct final rule 

without prior proposal because the 

Agency views this as a noncontroversial 

revision amendment and anticipates no 

relevant adverse comments to this 

action. A detailed rationale for the 

approval is set forth in the direct final 

rule. If no relevant adverse comments 

are received in response to this action, 

no further activity is contemplated in 

relation to this action. If EPA receives 

relevant adverse comments, the direct 

final rule will be withdrawn and all 

public comments received will be 

addressed in a subsequent final rule 

based on this proposed action. EPA will 

not institute a second comment period 

on this action. Any parties interested in 

commenting on this action should do so 

at this time. Please note that if EPA 

receives adverse comment on part of 

this rule and if that part can be severed 

from the remainder of the rule, EPA may 

adopt as final those parts of the rule that 

are not the subject of an adverse 

comment. For additional information, 

see the direct final rule which is located 

in the rules section of this Federal 

Register. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: August 12, 2015. 

Mark Hague, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7. 

[FR Doc. 2015–20894 Filed 8–26–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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