DEVAL L. PATRICK Governor TIMOTHY P. MURRAY Lieutenant Governor COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY &ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ONE WINTER STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108 617-292-5500

IAN A . BOWLES Secretary LAURIE BURT Commissioner 

# Revision to the Carbon Monoxide Maintenance State Implementation Plan for Lowell, Massachusetts

Bureau of Waste Prevention December 2009

This information is available in alternate format

. Call Donald M . Gomes, ADA Coordinator at 617-556-10 .57

. TDD# 1-866-539-7622 or 1-617-574-6868 . MassDEPon theWorld Wide Web: http://www .mass.gov/dep 11004 Printed on Recycled PaperDecember 2009 Revision to Lowell COMaintenance Plan

Page 2of 6 REVISION TOTHE CARBON MONOXIDE MAINTENANCE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FORLOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS Summary This is a revision to the 2001 Massachusetts Carbon Monoxide (CO) Maintenance State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the City of Lowell (the 2001 Maintenance Plan) . The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is revising the 2001 Maintenance Plan by eliminating the requirement to monitor COconcentrations in the ambient air in Lowell . Instead, MassDEPwill verify continued attainment ofthe National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for COin Lowell by using the COmonitor located in the City of Worcester as a surrogate. MassDEP will also use the Worcester monitor data as the trigger for adoption in Lowell of contingency measures in the event that the CONAAQS is violated. MassDEPwill discontinue COmonitoring in Lowell because monitored COreadings in Lowell have been well below

the CO NAAQS for many years. The staffand resources used to monitor COin Lowell will be reallocated to other monitoring efforts upon the U .S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) approval ofthis SIPrevision. Background Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas emitted as a by-product of incomplete combustion offossil fuels. When inhaled, COhas a high affinity for the body's red blood cells, and displaces the oxygen molecules carried to organs and other tissues. The NAAQS for COpromulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect public health and welfare is 9.0 parts per million (ppm) averaged over an eight-hour period, and 35.0 parts per million averaged over one-hour . The CO NAAQS may not be exceeded more than once per year at any monitoring site. To measure the concentration of COin the ambient air, MassDEPhas operated one COmonitor in Lowell, one in Springfield, one in Worcester and two in Boston. The monitors have been continuously operated for more than 15 years. MassDEP has routinely collected and quality assured the COdata fromthese stations in accordance with 40 CFR58. Lowell was first designated as a non-attainment area for COin 1978 (43 FR 9003) . CO emissions were significantly reduced as a result ofstate and federal control measures throughout the 1980s and 1990s, particularly fromcontrols on motor vehicles.' On November 6, 1991, as

1 Federal mobile source reduction strategies include the pre-1990 Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program (FMVCP), federal Tier I emission standards for newly manufactured cars and trucks (phased-in beginning with the 1994 model year), and reformulated gasoline (beginning in January 1995) . In 1983, Massachusetts began implementation ofa basic inspection and maintenance programfor on-roadDecember 2009 Revision to Lowell COMaintenancePlan

Page 3 of 6 required by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, EPA designated Lowell as an unclassifiablez non-attainment area for C0 .3 At that time, monitored readings of COin Lowell were already below the CONAAQS, but the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required that the area remain classified as a non-attainment area, even though-ambient monitoring showed attainment at that time. On May 25, 2001, MassDEP submitted to EPAa request that Lowell (and Springfield, Waltham and Worcester) be redesignated to attainment .4 It also submitted a Maintenance Plan for Lowell demonstrating how

the area would maintain compliance with the NAAQS for the next 10 years. The submittal was based on EPA's Limited Maintenance Plan option guidance. The Limited Maintenance Plan option was available to non-classifiable COnon-attainment areas seeking redesignation, provided that monitored design values were at or below 7.65 ppm

(85%ofthe 8- hour NAAQS) . The monitored data for Lowell qualified the area for this option. On February 19, 2002, EPAapproved the redesignation request and 2001 Maintenance Plan for Lowell (and for Springfield, Walthamand Worcester) . (See 67 FR 7272) .5 Current COStatus As illustrated in Figure 1, monitored COlevels throughout Massachusetts have fallen significantly since the 1980s. There has not been a violation ofthe NAAQS in Lowell since 1984. For the 2005-2008 period, the second-highest monitored 8-hour concentrations in Lowell and Worcester have been under 2 .2 ppm - less than one-quarter ofthe standard. 6

vehicles . It implemented an enhanced inspection and maintenance programstarting in 1999. Local traffic flowimprovements were implemented in heavily congested areas to reduce COconcentrations. z Non-classifiable means that there were no air quality measurements that wouldjustify classifying these non-attainment areas as either serious or moderate non-attainment areas. 3 At the time that EPA designated Lowell, it also designated Springfield, Walthamand Worcester as CO nonattainment areas. Like Lowell, these cities have been re-designated to attainment, are subject to a Maintenance Plan, and have monitored readings well below the CONAAQS. The Maintenance Plan revision for Lowell will have no impact on the Maintenance Plans that apply to these cities. 4 The Redesignation Request, including the Technical Support document and Maintenance Plan ~rovisions, is available on MassDEP's website at: www .mass.gov/dep/air/priorities/cotsd .doc These were the last MAcities to be redesignated for CO . Nine Boston-area communities were redesignated to attainment in 1999. 6 Since a monitor must exceed the NAAQS of9.0 ppmmore than once a year to violate the standard, the second highest eight-hourvalue recorded each year is the indicator of attainment .December 2009 Revision to Lowell COMaintenance Plan

Page 4of 6 FIGURE 1: COTrends 1985-2008 2"a Maximum

8-hour Values Standard = 9 ppm

85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 --s-"' LOWELL --E- SPRGFLD(E Columbus) SPRGFLD(Liberty St) WORC(Central St) 020 )K - WORC(Franklin St) 022 -e - WORC(Sunmer St) 023 (Note: only the Summer Street monitor in Worcester remains in operation.)

Worcester Monitor Given the low

COconcentrations in Lowell and throughout Massachusetts, and MassDEP's expectation that COlevels will remain well below the NAAQS, MassDEP will shut down the COmonitor in Lowell upon EPA's approval ofthis SIP Revision. Only COis monitored at the existing Lowell monitor and MassDEP allocates considerable staff and other resources to maintain the monitoring and support equipment, to travel to and fromthe site to collect data, and to conduct routine and emergency maintenance at the site. The approved 2001 Maintenance Plan, Section 7.4, Monitoring Network and Verification of Future Attainment, provides that MassDEP will continue to operate an appropriate air quality monitoring network during the maintenance period to verify the attainment status of the area and that it will operate COmonitors in Lowell, Springfield, and Worcester. MassDEP will use the Worcester monitor as a surrogate for Lowell to meet this commitment. Worcester and Lowell are located 42 miles apart. Worcester (pop. 175,454) is somewhat larger than Lowell (pop. 103,229), so its COconcentrations can be expected to be slightly higher due to greater motor vehicle emissions. Both monitors are located adjacent to high traffic volume intersections, which are generally areas ofthe highest COconcentrations. As shown in Figure 2, CO concentrations in Lowell andWorcester have tracked very closely for many years and both are well below

the NAAQS

. Based on these characteristics, ambient COconcentrations in Worcester are a valid surrogate for COconcentrations in Lowell . Once MassDEP begins to use the Worcester monitor as a surrogate, in the event the secondhighest monitored COconcentration in any calendar year in Worcester reaches 75 percent oftheDecember 2009 Revision to Lowell COMaintenance Plan

Page 5 of6 federal 1-hour or 8-hour NAAQS for CO, MassDEPwill, within 9 months of the date such concentrations are recorded, re-establish a COmonitoring site in Lowell consistent with EPA siting criteria, and resume analyzing and reporting COconcentrations in Lowell .

FIGURE 2: Lowell, MA Compared to Worcester, MA 2"aHighest 8-Hour Average Carbon Monoxide Concentration

(NAAQS =9

.0 ppm)

I E3 Low ell w Worcester

Contingency Plan Trigger The Clean Air Act requires that maintenance plans include contingency provisions that will be implemented in the event that a violation ofthe NAAQS occurs after redesignation ofthe area to attainment . In Section 7.5, Contingency Plan, ofthe approved 2002 COMaintenance Plan, MassDEPcommitted to implement the contingency plan if monitored CO concentrations in Lowell (or in Springfield, Waltham, or Worcester) violated the NAAQS, provided that the data met quality assurance criteria and did not qualify for exclusion under EPA's "exceptional events" policy. In the approved 2001Maintenance Plan, the trigger for implementing the contingency plan in Lowell was a violation at the Lowell monitor. Once the Lowell monitor is shut down, MassDEP will use the Worcester monitor data as the trigger for implementation ofthe contingency plan for Lowell . If the Worcester monitor measures a COviolation ofeither the 1-hour or 8-hour NAAQS for CO, MassDEPwill implement contingency measures (discussed below) in Lowell . (Aviolation at the Worcester monitor will also trigger contingency measures in Worcester underDecember 2009 Revision to Lowell COMaintenance Plan

Page 6 of 6 the terms of the existing Maintenance Plan for Worcester.) In the event that MassDEP reestablishes a COmonitor in Lowell (because the second-highest COconcentration in any calendar year in Worcester reaches 75 percent ofthe NAAQS, as discussed above), aviolation of the NAAQS at the re-established Lowell monitor will trigger the contingency plan for Lowell . (In this case, a violation at the Worcester monitor would no longer trigger contingency measures in Lowell .) Contingency Measures The contingency plan measures that MassDEPcommitted to in 2001 are: 1) to investigate traffic conditions in the local vicinity ofthe monitor measuringviolation, and work with relevant parties and officials to remedy the problemthrough local measures, such as traffic signal changes and revised parking restrictions; 2) to further reduce COemissions based on implementation of the Massachusetts enhanced vehicle inspection/maintenance (I/M) program ; and 3) to further reduce COemissions based on implementation of the California low-emission vehicle (LEV) program

. Subsequent to the approval of the 2001 Maintenance Plan in 2002, MassDEP adopted the second and third measures - enhanced I/Mand LEV - for purposes ofreducing ground-level ozone concentrations. In the unlikely event that the contingency plan is triggered for Lowell by a monitoredviolation at the Worcester monitor, or at a re-established Lowell monitor, MassDEP will implement measures necessary to remedy the violation. It will first implement the first contingency measure described in the 2001 COMaintenance Plan related to local traffic conditions. It will also review and adopt transportation control measures, or other additional vehicle or fuel controls as needed, to reduce monitored concentrations to levels that meet the NAAQS.