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The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particle Pollution



### EPA’S REVISED AIR QUALITY STANDARDS FOR PARTICLE POLLUTION : MONITORI NG , DESIGNATIONS AND PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS

On Dec. 14, 2012 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strengthen ed the nation’s air quality standards for fine particle pollution to improve public health protection by revising the primary annual fine particle ( PM 2.5 ) standard to 12 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m 3 ) and retaining the 24

- hour fine particle standard of 35 μg/m 3

. Exposure to particle pollution can cause premature death and harmful effects on the cardiovascular system (the heart, blood and blood vessels) . Fine particle pollution also is linked to a varie ty of other significant health problems. In addition, p article pollution harms public welfare, including by causing haze in cities and some of our nation’s most treasured national parks.

EPA and states have issued a number of rules that will help states meet the revised standards by making significant strides toward reducing fine particle pollution.

CHANGES TO PM 2.5 MONITORING REQUIREMENTS
As part of the revisions to the PM 2.5 standards , EPA is updating monitoring requirements for fine particles
, including adding a requirement for monitoring near heavily traveled roads in large urban areas. P article p ollution can be higher along these roads as a result of emissions from cars and heavy

- duty diesel trucks and buses.

EPA will require near - roadway PM 2 .5 monitoring at one location in each urban area (a core

based statistical area, or CBSA) with a population of 1 million or more. These monitors will likely be located at existing near

- road monitoring site s also measuring nitrog en dioxide or carbon monoxide . The near

- roadway monitoring will be phased in, beginning with the largest urban areas (population of 2.5 million or more) by Jan. 1, 2015 ; and extending to the remainder of the areas by Jan. 1, 2017.

EPA is not increasing the size o f the national PM 2.5 monitoring network , which consists of about 9 00 monitors

. Today’s rule minimizes the burden to state and local air agencies; EPA anticipates that states will be able to relocate existing monitors (about 52 total) to meet the

near

- roadw ay requirement at little or no additional cost.

D ata from these monitors will not be available in time for use in making initial attainment and nonattainment designations for the revised primary annual PM 2.5 standard

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EPA also is making o ther updates to the monitoring and data handling requirements for
PM 2.5 monitoring to reflect the changes to the standards and to clarify existing requirements.

EPA is not making any changes to monitoring requirements for the coarse particle standard

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DESIGNATING ATTAIN MENT AND NONATTAINMENT AREAS

Improving air quality is a partnership between the federal government, states and tribes.
EP A will work closely with states, local and tribal air agencies to implement the revised primary annual PM 2.5 standard.

Once EPA sets a new air quality standard, or revises an existing standard, the agency designates areas as meeting the standards (attainment areas)
, not meeting them (nonattainment areas) , or there is not enough data to make a determination (unclassifiable)

. EPA works closely with states as it determines initial attainment and nonattainment boundaries.

States with nonattainment areas must then develop state implementation plans (SIPs) showing how they will meet the new or revised standards. Tribes may, but are not required to, develop their own plans for nonattainment areas in Indian country

. Where necessary, EPA will develop plans for any tribal area that choose s not to develop its own plans.

EPA anticipates the following schedule for designating areas and implementing the revised primary annual P M 2.5 standard :

o By Dec ember 2013, states (and any tribes that choose to do so), make recommendations for areas to be designated

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o By August 201 4 , EPA respond s to states’ and tribes ’ initial recommendations for attainment and nonattainment areas. States and tribes then will have the opportunity to comment on any modifications to their recommendations, and to provide new information and analyses to EPA if appropriate.

o By Dec ember 2014 , EPA makes final designations; those designations would likely become effective in early 2015 (60 days after the designations are published in the Federal Register)

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o 201 8 : I mplementation plans, outlining how states or tribes will reduce pollution to

meet the standards, are due to EPA (three years after designations). State plans can include emission reductions from federal rule s and programs , along with local

measures to demonstrate that an area will meet the standards.3

o 20 2 0 : States are required to meet the standards

. States must meet health standards “as expeditiously as practicable” but not later than five years after designations. A

s tate may request a possible extension to 2025, depending on the severity of an area’s fine particle pollution problems a nd the availability of pollution controls

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Recent Clean Air Act rules are projected to help states meet the revised standard by dramatically cutting pollution both regionally and across the country. These rules include rules to reduce pollution from power plants
, clean diesel rules for vehicles and rules to reduce pollution from stationary diesel engines.

EPA intends to propose additional guidance and regulations related to state implementation requirements for the revised PM standards as necessary. These guidance documents or rules would address SIP requirements and permitting requirements related to the revised standards. The agency intends to issue a final implementation rule in late 2014

– around the same time that the agency makes final designations.

P ERMITTING REQUIREMENTS

As part of this action
, EPA is finalizing a grandfathering provision for preconstruction permitting to ensure that changes to the PM standards will not delay certain pending permits, and to reduce potential burdens to permit applicants and state, local and tribal air agencies . Th is provision applies to Prevention of Signification Deterioration (PSD) permits, which ensure that emissions from the addition of new or modified sources of pollution, such as factories, industrial boi lers or power plants, do not significantly worsen air quality in areas with clean air.

To receive a PSD permit, a project must not cause or contribute to a violation of any NAAQS or any maximum allowable pollution increase in areas with clean air. These requirements generally apply to the air quality standards that are in place at the time the permit is issued.

To ensure that certain pending permits are not unreasonably delayed because of the changes to the fine particle standards, EPA will grandfather p ermit applications if either:

o The permitting agency has deemed the application complete . This must occur by Dec. 14, 2012; or

o The public notice for a draft permit or preliminary determination has been published prior to the date the revised PM standards become effective (60 days after publication in the Federal Register).

o Permit applications that have not met these criteria will have to demonstrate compliance with the revised standards.4

The grandfathering prov ision does not apply to NAAQS for other pollutants.

o Permit applications that qualify for the grandfathering provisions will have to demonstrate compliance with the 2006 fine particle standards.

o The grandfathering provision will become part of EPA permitting regulations, but also may apply to permits issued by states with approved PSD programs.

EPA is updating its modeling guidance to assist with the implementation of the PSD requirements for sources of PM 2.5 . The agency anticipates issuing that guidance before the revised standard becomes effective. EPA will consider issuing additional guidance or rules related to permitting requirements for the revised standard as necessary.

MORE INFORMATION:

To read the r evised standards and additional summaries, visit http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/actions.html For information on the designation process for PM 2.5 standards, visit http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/

. For information on EPA’s preconstruction permitting program, visit http://www.epa.gov/nsr/