UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC 27711


### OCT 2 2007

MEMORANDUM OFFICE OF AIR QUALITY PLANNING AND STANDARDS

SUBJECT: Guidance on SIP Elements Required Under Sections 110(a)(l) and (2) for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and PM2.s National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

### FROM:

# ~WilliamT.Hamett,Direct_j**·OJ~** UAir Quality Policy

# Divisio~f{t TO: Air Division Directors, Regions I-X

The purpose ofthis memorandum is to provide guidance onthe "infrastructure" elements for State Implementation Plans (SIPs) required under section 110(a)(l) and (2) ofthe Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 1997 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2
.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Attachment A to this memo provides a list ofthe basic elements that States must include intheir SIPs. To the extentthat existing SIPs for ozone and particulate matter already meetthese requirements, States need only certifythat fact to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To the extentthat existing SIPs for ozone and particulate matter fail to address any ofthese requirements for purposes ofthe 1997 8-hour ozone or PM2.s NAAQS, States need to make timely SIP submissions to EPAto address these requirements. We anticipate that States will already have approved SIPs in place for ozone thatmeetthe basic requirements ofsections 11O(a)(l) and (2). For PM2
. 5, however, we anticipate that many States may needto make SIP revisions to ensure that their existing SIPs for prior particulate matterNAAQS are revised to include the newparticle size indicator. 

### Background
OnJuly 18, 1997, the EPApromulgated new and revised NAAQS for ozone and particulate matter. For ozone, EPArevised the NAAQS to provide an 8-hour averaging period (versus a 1-hour averaging period for the pre-existing NAAQS), and setthe level ofthe standard at 0.08 ppm (versus 0.12 ppm for the pre-existing NAAQS). For PM, EPApromulgated a new 24-hour and a new

Internet Address (URL) • http://www.epa.gov Recycled/Recyclable • Printed wtth Vegetable Oil Based Inks on Recycled Paper (Minimum 25% Postconsumer)annual NAAQS for PM2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers). 1
Under sections 110(a)(1) and (2) ofthe CAA, all States are required to submit plans to provide for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the 8-hour ozone and PM2
.5 standards. Sections 110(a)(l) and (2) require States to address basic SIP requirements, including emissions inventories, monitoring, and modeling to assure attainment and maintenance ofthe standards. By statute, SIPs meeting the requirements ofsections 11O(a)(l) and (2) are to be submitted by States within 3 years after promulgation ofa new orrevised standard. This being the case, States were required to submit such SIPs for the 1997 standards to EPA no later than July 2000. However, intervening litigation overthe 1997 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS, created uncertainty about howto proceed and, to date, States have not submitted SIPs to meetthe basic or infrastructure requirements enumerated in sections 110(a)(l) and (2).
In March of2004, Earth Justice initiated a lawsuit against EPA for failure to take action against States that had not made SIP submissions to meet the requirements ofsections 11O(a)(l) and (2), i.e., failure to make a "finding of failure to submit." On March 10,2005,EPA entered into a Consent Decree with Earth Justice that obligates EPAto make official findings whether States have made required SIP submissions by dates certain. The Consent Decree obligates EPA to determine whether States have made SIP submissions required to meet CAA section 11O(a)(2)(D)(i) relating to interstate transport by no laterthan March 15,2005. The Consent Decree also obligates EPA to make a determination whether States have made submissions necessary to meet the remaining 110(a)(1) and (2) requirements by December 15,2007, for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and by October 5, 2008, for the PM2
.. 5NAAQS? It should be noted thatthe latter determinations pertain only to whether the submissions are complete, pursuant to section 11O(k)(l)(A), and do not constitute EPA approval or disapproval ofsuch submissions. In addition, the determinations required by the Consent Decree explicitly exclude any determinations regarding: (i)

1More recently, on December 18, 2006, EPA again revised the standards for particulate matter, tightening the 24-hour PM2.5 standard from 65 micrograms per cubic meter (J.lg/m3) to 35 J.lg/m, 3 and retaining the current annual fine particle standard at 15 J.lg/m3

. EPA also decided to retain the existing 24-hour PM 10 standard of 150 11g/m3 and to revoke the annual PM 10. This guidance document applies only to the SIP submission requirements for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA will address SIP requirements for the 2006 NAAQS separately, although the Agency notes that the statutory requirements for SIPs for new or revised NAAQS are comparable. 2The dates specified in the Consent Decree reflect the anticipated dates for submission of nonattainment area SIPs for each NAAQS, plus six months for EPA evaluation. EPA presumed that States would make SIP submissions meeting the basic requirements ofsections llO(a)(l) and (2) for each NAAQS contemporaneously with, or not later than, SIPs meeting the nonattainment area plan requirements. EPA notes that recent decisions by the U.S. Court ofAppeals for the District ofColumbia concerning the implementation rule for the 8-hour Ozone NAAQS have affected certain nonattainment area SIP requirements. Thesejudicial decisions do not, however, affect States' obligations under the CAA or EPA's obligations under the Consent Decree concerning the infrastructure SIP requirements ofsections llO(a)(l) and (2). 2submissions required by section 110(a)(2)(C) to the extentthat subsectionpertains to a nonattainment area new source permitprogram inpart D Title I ofthe CAA; and (ii) submissions required by section 110(a)(2)(I) for Part D Title I nonattainment area plans.
In accordance with the Consent Decree, EPA has already published a finding that all States had failed to submit new SIPs addressing interstate transport for the 8-hour ozone and PM2
.5NAAQS, as required by section 11O(a)(2)(D)(i) of the CAA (70 FR 21147, April25, 2005). That finding initiated a 2-year deadline for the promulgation ofa Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) by EPA for each such State unless, prior to thattime, each State makes a submissionto meet the requirements ofSection 11O(a)(2)(D)(i) and EPA approves such submission. On May 12,2005,EPA published the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) which identifies the degree to which emissions ofS02and NOx in certain States significantly contribute to nonattainment of, orinterfere with maintenance of, the 1997 8-hour ozone and PM2
.5NAAQS in downwind States, and the reductions that must be achieved in those States to eliminate such contributions.
On August 15, 2006, EPA issued guidance entitled "Guidance for State Implementation Plan (SIP) Submissions to Meet Current Outstanding Obligations Under Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 8-hour Ozone and PM2.s National Ambient Air Quality Standards." The section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) guidance indicates that States within the CAIRregion can satisfy 110(a)(2)(D) by satisfying the requirements ofthe CAIR, and addresses what other States that are outside ofthe CAIR region should consider doing to meet the "significant contribution" and "interfere with maintenance" requirements ofsection 11O(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 1997 standards. The section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) guidance also addresses what all States (whether inside oroutside ofthe CAIRregion) should consider in making SIP submissions to meetthe "preventionofsignificant deterioration" and "protect visibility" requirements ofsection 11O(a)(2)(D)(i). The SIP submissions addressed bythe section 11O(a)(2)(D)(i) guidance are those that are necessary to rectify the finding offailure to submit that EPA has already issued for all States for section 110(a)(2)(D)(i).
The guidance contained inthis memorandum is intended as a reminder that States musthave SIPs for the 1997 8-hour ozone and PM2.s NAAQS that meet all ofthe requirements ofsections 110(a)(l) and (2). Pursuantto the Consent Decree, EPA has an obligation to take actionto determine whether States have made such submissions by the dates noted above. Because States should currently be in the process ofsubmitting nonattainment SIPs for the 8-hour ozone standard and working onnonattainment area SIPs for the PM2.s standard, we want to alert them to be sure that their SIPs also meet the basic requirements ofsections 110(a)(l) and (2).

3Guidance
The EPA believes that the currently-approved section 110 SIPs for ozone may already be adequate in most cases to implement the 8-hour ozoneNAAQS. Many oftherequired section llO(a)(l) and (2) SIP elements relate to the general information and authorities that constitute the "infrastructure" ofthe ozone air quality managementprogram, and these have been inplace since the initial SIPs were submitted in response to the 1970 CleanAir Act. Forparticulate matter, however, EPA believes that some States may need to adopt language specific to the PM2.s NAAQS to ensure that they have adequate SIP provisions to implement the PM2
.5NAAQS, e.g., existing State laws may refer to PM 10 specifically orto particulate matter more generally, ratherthanto PM2 .s. We believe that with one exception, the infrastructure requirements ofsections 110(a)(l) and (2) are relatively selfexplanatory, and past experience with SIPs for otherNAAQS should enable States to meet these requirements with assistance from EPA Regions. The one exception is section 11O(a)(2)(G) relating to emergency episodes, for which EPA intends to take additional regulatory action to provide necessary numerical limits and concentration levels for emergency episode action plans for PM2.S·
States should review and revise, as appropriate, their existing ozone and particulate matter SIPs to ensure that they are adequate to address the 8-hour ozone and PM2
.5NAAQS. Ifa State determines that its existing SIP is adequate, then the State needs to certify, via a letter to the Agency from the Governor or his/her designee, thatthe existing SIPs containprovisions that address the requirements for the 8-hour ozone and PM2 .s NAAQS. Ifa State determines that its existing ozone orparticulate matter SIPs are inadequate, however, thenthe State needs to submit a SIP revision to make the appropriate changes.
Withrespect to PM2.s, States may find it more advantageous to revise the language in their SIPs to identify "particulate matter" as the pollutantbeing implemented and define the size fractions as "those that EPAhas currently set for the NAAQS" to the extent such an approach would be authorized by State law. This will ensure that the provisions remain adequate inthe eventthat future changes occurto the particulate matter standards. States could also specify both PM 10 and PM2
.5 as the size fractions ifa Stateprefers to be more specific.
As an aid to the States in addressing the PM2.s related requirements of Section 11O(a)(2)(G) pertainingto emergency episodeprovisions, EPA intends to take action to revise 40 CFR, Part 51, subpart H (sections 51.150). The rule changes will establish the priority classifications which determine the emergency episode planrequirements for each area and establish a significantharm level (SHL) for PM2
.5
. Until these changes are final, EPArecommends that States rely onrelevant information contained in upcoming EPArule proposals or other EPAissued interim guidance to satisfy the section 11O(a)(2)(G) requirements for PM2
.5• After EPA issues final rules, EPA will work with States to revise SIP

4submissions that were based on interim information, as appropriate. States may wish to take advantage ofthe parallel processing mechanism for making their section 110(a)(2)(G) submittal in the interim while EPA completes rulemakings on the SHL and the emergency episode plan requirements under 40 CFR 51.150.
The SHL for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS will remain unchanged as 0.60 ppm ozone, 2-hr average, as indicated in40 CFR Part 51.151. EPA believes that the existing ozone-related provisions of40 CFR Subpart H remain appropriate. Therefore, EPA expects that for purposes ofthe 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, States need only to confirm that they have existing emergency episodeplan provisions consistent with EPA's existing regulatory requirements. By statute, States are required to make SIP submissions to meet the basic requirements ofCAA sections 110(a)(l) and (2) within 3 years after promulgation ofany new orrevised standards. For the 1997 8-hour ozone and PM2.s standards, this deadline was July 2000. By Consent Decree, as noted above, EPA has agreed to make a determination whether or not States have submitted SIPs to meet these requirements by a date certain. In the case of8-hour ozone SIPs, this date is December 15, 2007. For PM2.s SIPs, this date is October 15, 2008. In order for EPA to evaluate the submissions adequately, EPA requests that States make their certifications ofSIP adequacy or SIP revisions as soon as possible and to the extent feasible sufficiently in advance ofthese dates to allow EPAtime to determine whether complete submissions have been made.
Ifyou have any questions concerning this guidance, please contact Mr. David Sanders at (919) 541-3356. Please ensure that the appropriate air agency officials for States in your Region are made aware ofthis guidance.
Attachments

cc: Margo Oge, OTAQ Steve Page, OAQPS Brian McLean, OAP Richard Wayland, OAQPS Lydia Wegman, OAQPS PeterTsirigotis, OAQPS

5Attachment A: Required Section 110 SIP Elements
The SIP elements listed below are required under section IIO(a)(l) and (2). Section IIO(a)(l) provides the procedural and timing requirements for SIPs. Section II0(a)(2) lists the basic or "infrastructure" elements that all SIPs must contain. We note that this list is not intended to constitute an interpretation of these provisions, or a change ofpastpractice with respect to these provisions, merely a briefdescription ofthe required SIP elements.

Emission limits and other control measures: Section 110(a)(2)(A) requires SIPs to include enforceable emission limits and other control measures, means or techniques, schedules for compliance and otherrelated matters. EPA notes that the specific nonattainment areaplan requirements ofsection II0(a)(2)(1) are subject to the timing requirement ofsection 172, not the timing requirement of section II0(a)(l), and also that SIPs to meet this section are not coveredbythe Consent Decree.
Ambient air quality monitoring/data system: Section IIO(a)(2)(B) requires SIPs to include provisions to provide for establishment and operation of ambient air quality monitors, collecting and analyzing ambient air quality data, and making these data available to EPA uponrequest. Program for enforcement ofcontrol measures: Section 110(a)(2)(C) requires States to include a program providing for enforcement ofall SIP measures and the regulation ofconstruction ofnew or modified stationary sources to meet prevention ofsignificant deterioration (PSD) and nonattainmentNSR requirements.
Interstate transport: Section 110(a)(2)(D) requires SIPs to include provisions prohibiting any source or' othertype ofemissions activity in one State from contributing significantlyto nonattainment, or interfering with maintenance, ofthe NAAQs in another State, or from interfering with measures required to prevent significant deterioration ofair quality or to protect visibility in another State. EPA has already issued CAIRto assist States in developing SIPs to meetthis requirement for purposes ofthe 8-hour Ozone and PM2.s NAAQS, and has issued separate guidance to all States on howto comply with eachprong ofthis statutory provision. Adequate resources: Section IIO(a)(2)(E) requires States to provide for adequate personnel, funding, and legal authority under State lawto carry out its SIP, andrelated issues. Stationary source monitoring system: Section 110(a)(2)(F) requires States to establish a system to monitor emissions from stationary sources and to submitperiodic emissions reports. Emergency power: Section 11O(a)(2)(G) requires States to provide for authority to address activities causing imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, including contingencyplans to implement the emergency episode provisions in their SIPs.
Future SIP revisions: Section 110(a)(2)(H) requires States to have the authority to revise their SIPs inresponse to changes in the NAAQS, availability of improved methods for attaining the NAAQS, or in response to an EPA finding that the SIP is substantially inadequate.
Consultation with government officials: Section 11O(a)(2)(J) requires States to provide a process for consultation with local governments and Federal Land Managers carrying out NAAQS implementationrequirements pursuantto section 121 relating to consultation.
Public notification: Section 11O(a)(2)(J) further requires States to notify the public ifNAAQS are exceeded in an area and to enhance public awareness of measures that can be taken to prevent exceedances.
PSD and visibility protection: Section 110(a)(2)(J) also requires States to meet applicable requirements ofpart C related to prevention ofsignificant deterioration and visibilityprotection.
Air quality modeling/data: Section 110(a)(2)(K) requires that SIPs provide for performing air quality modeling for predicting effects on air quality ofemissions from any NAAQS pollutant and submission ofsuch datato EPA upon request. Permittingfees: Section 110(a)(2)(L) requires SIPs to require eachmajor stationary source to pay permitting fees to cover the cost ofreviewing, approving, implementing and enforcing a permit. Consultation/participation by affected local entities: Section 110(a)(2)(M) requires States to provide for consultation and participation in SIP development by local political subdivisions affected by the SIP.

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