June 8, 2007 

CERTIFIED MAIL

James I. Palmer, Regional Administrator 

USEPA Region 4 

Atlanta Federal Center 

61 Forsyth Street, SW 

Atlanta, GA 30303-8909 

RE: Revision to South Carolina Air Quality State Implementation Plan 

 8-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration 

 Request for Parallel Processing 

Dear Mr. Palmer: 

On February 8, 1979, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

promulgated the 0.12 parts per million (ppm) 1-hour ozone standards, (44 FR 8202). On 

July 18, 1997, the EPA promulgated a revised ozone standard of 0.08 ppm, as measured 

over an 8-hour period [i.e., the 8-hour standard (62 FR 38856)]. Upon promulgation of a 

new or revised National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), the Clean Air Act 

(CAA) requires the EPA to designate areas as attaining or not attaining that NAAQS. On 

April 30, 2004, EPA announced and promulgated designations, classifications, and 

boundaries for every area in the United States with respect to the 8-hour ozone NAAQS 

(69 FR 23857). 

On April 30, 2004, the EPA designated and classified that portion of York County, South 

Carolina within the Rock Hill Fort Mill Area Transportation Study (RFATS) 

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) as a moderate nonattainment area for the 8-

hour ozone NAAQS as part of the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC (Metrolina) 

nonattainment area. As a result of this designation, the South Carolina Department of 

Health and Environmental Control (the Department) is required to amend the South 

Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan, also known as the State Implementation Plan, 

or SIP, in accordance with the requirements of the CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401, et 

seq.). States involved in a multi-State ozone nonattainment area must work together to 

perform the appropriate modeling analyses to identify control measures that will enable 

the area to achieve attainment as expeditiously as practicable. Each State is responsible 

for its portion of the control program and will be held accountable for controls identified 

for implementation within its State boundaries. 
Parallel Processing Request 

8-hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration 

Page Two 

June 8, 2007 

Sections 172(c), 182(a), and 182(b) of the CAA prescribe the requirements for ozone 

nonattainment areas. All designated nonattainment areas must comply with the general 

requirements mandated by Section 172(c) of the CAA. As a Subpart 2, moderate ozone 

nonattainment area, the Metrolina area must also meet the additional requirements 

prescribed by Section 182 of the CAA. Each State in which all or part of a moderate 

nonattainment area is located shall make the submissions described under Section 182(a) 

(relating to marginal nonattainment areas) and shall also submit the revisions to the 

applicable implementation plan described under Section 182(b) with respect to moderate 

nonattainment areas. The Department believes it has, through the measures outlined in 

the enclosed 8-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration for the Portion of York County, 

SC Within the Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study (RFATS) Metropolitan 

Planning Organization (MPO), fulfilled these requirements. Included in the proposed 

SIP amendment is a Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) demonstration 

for affected facilities within the noted nonattainment area. The Department submitted the 

draft RACT demonstration to EPA Region 4 on March 6, 2007. 

South Carolina has worked diligently with its planning partners [including but not limited 

to: the State of North Carolina, the RFATS MPO, York County, the South Carolina 

Department of Transportation, EPA Region 4, the South Carolina Division Office of 

Federal Highways, the Federal Transit Authority (FTA), the City of Rock Hill, Visibility 

Improvement State and Tribal Association of the Southeast (VISTAS) Regional Planning 

Organization (RPO), the Association of Southeastern Integrated Planning (ASIP) RPO] 

in developing this proposed SIP amendment, designed to achieve attainment for the 8-

hour ozone NAAQS by the June 15, 2010, attainment deadline. The attainment 

demonstration SIP submission deadline for States having moderate ozone nonattainment 

areas (such as the Metrolina nonattainment area) is June 15, 2007. 

On May 25, 2007, with regard to the proposed 8-hour ozone attainment demonstration for 

the portion of York County, South Carolina within the RFATS MPO, and to encourage 

participation by interested parties and the regulated community, the Department published 

a notice of public hearing and announcement of the commencement of a thirty-day public 

comment period in the South Carolina State Register “Notices” section. Department 

staff will continue to receive comments until 5:00 p.m. EST on the day of the public 

hearing, which is June 25, 2007. A copy of this announcement has been enclosed with 

this letter. South Carolina has the necessary legal authority to adopt and implement this 

revision to the SIP and to carry out the responsibilities of the CAA. (A description of 

South Carolina’s statutory powers, as required in 40 CFR Section 51.230, is also 

enclosed.) It is the Department’s intent to submit to EPA Region 4 a final SIP 

amendment for the 8-hour ozone attainment demonstration after the expiration of the 

comment period and execution of the public hearing.
Parallel Processing Request 

8-hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration 

Page Three 

June 8, 2007 

The Department respectfully requests that EPA Region 4 provide a review of the 

enclosed documentation comprising South Carolina’s SIP amendment through the 

parallel processing mechanism. Should you or your staff have any questions regarding 

this SIP amendment, please do not hesitate to contact Stacey Gardner at (803) 898-4287. 

Sincerely, 

Robert W. King, Jr., P.E. 

Deputy Commissioner 

Environmental Quality Control 

cc: Kay Prince, Chief, Air Planning Branch, USEPA Region 4 

 Dick Schutt, Chief, Regulatory Development Section, USEPA Region 4 

 Nacosta Ward, Regulatory Development Section, USEPA Region 4 

 Myra Reece, Chief, BAQ, SCDHEC 

Robert J. Brown, Jr., Director, Division of Air Planning, Development & Outreach, 

BAQ, SCDHEC 

 Stacey Gardner, Manager, Regulations Development Section, BAQ, SCDHEC 

Attachments 

1. Notice to Amend Air Quality State Implementation Plan and Notice of Public 

Hearing (May 25, 2007, publication in South Carolina State Register) 

2. South Carolina’s Legal Authority - Excerpt from the EPA-approved SIP 

3. Text of Proposed Amendment (Draft SIP Revision, contained in XX three-ringed 

binders) 
ATTACHMENT 1 

SOUTH CAROLINA 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL 

Statutory Authority: 1976 Code Section 48-1-10, et seq.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE 

SOUTH CAROLINA AIR QUALITY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

ATTAINMENT PLAN FOR THE RFATS MPO, S. C. 

8-HOUR OZONE NAAQS NONATTAINMENT AREA 

Requirement to Amend the South Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan: 

 In a Federal Register (FR) notice published on July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38856), the 

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated amendments to the 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. Based on its review of 

available scientific evidence linking exposures to ambient ozone to adverse health and 

welfare effects at levels allowed by the 1-hour ozone standards, the EPA replaced the 1-

hour primary standard with an 8-hour standard at a level of 0.08 ppm based on the 3-year 

average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone 

concentrations measured at each monitor within an area. The 1-hour secondary standard 

was also replaced by an 8-hour secondary standard identical to the new primary standard. 

 On April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23858), the EPA designated and classified that portion of 

York County, South Carolina within the Rock Hill Fort Mill Area Transportation Study 

(RFATS) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) as a moderate nonattainment area 

for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS as part of the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill nonattainment 

area. As a result of this designation, the South Carolina Department of Health and 

Environmental Control (Department) is required to amend the South Carolina Air Quality 

Implementation Plan, also known as the State Implementation Plan, or SIP, in accordance 

with the requirements of Title I, Part D - Plan Requirements for Nonattainment Areas, 

Subpart 1, Section 172, and Subpart 2, Section 182 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.). States involved in a multi-State ozone nonattainment 

area must work together to perform the appropriate modeling analyses to identify control 

measures that will enable the area to achieve attainment as expeditiously as practicable. 

Each State is responsible for its portion of the control program and will be held 

accountable for controls identified for implementation within its State boundaries. 

Notice of Public Hearing and Opportunity for Public Comment: 

 Interested members of the public are invited to provide comments on the proposed 

amendment to the South Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan at a public hearing to 

be conducted by staff of the Department on June 25, 2007. The public hearing is to be 

held at 10:00 a.m. in room 2380 at the Department of Health and Environmental Control, 
2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC. The purpose of the public hearing is to receive comments 

from interested persons on the proposed 8-hour ozone NAAQS attainment demonstration 

SIP for the South Carolina RFATS MPO moderate nonattainment area. 

 Interested persons are also provided an opportunity to submit written comments to 

Stacey Gardner at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 

Bureau of Air Quality, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Comments may also be 

submitted via email to gardnesr@dhec.sc.gov. To be considered, comments must be 

received no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 25, 2007. 

 Copies of the proposed amendment to the SIP may be obtained by contacting 

Stacey Gardner at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 

Bureau of Air Quality, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, or by calling (803) 898-

4287. Copies of the proposed amendment to the SIP will also be posted on the 

Department's Bureau of Air Quality web site at: http://www.scdhec.net/environment/baq/. 
ATTACHMENT 2 

LEGAL AUTHORITY1

No plan for attaining a goal, the attainment of which is dependent upon regulatory action, can be 

used with any degree of effectiveness unless the legal framework is strong. Consequently, the 

Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of Implementation Plans, 40 CFR 51, as 

amended, define the necessary statutory powers which must be immediately available to states to 

carry out the responsibility to the Clean Air Act. 

40 CFR 51.230 sets forth six specific requirements for State authority. The South Carolina 

Pollution Control Act, Act 1157 of 1970, as amended, S. C. Code Sections 48-1-10 thru - 350 

(1976), provides the State’s authority to respond to these requirements. The Attorney General of 

the State of South Carolina has given an opinion as to the adequacy of South Carolina laws, as 

follows: 

Legal Authority Required 

40 CFR 51 

Adequacy 

of S. C. 

Law 

S. C. Statutes Involved 

(a) “Adopt emission standards and limitations 

and any other measures necessary for 

attainment and maintenance of national 

standards.” 

Adequate S. C. Code Secs. 48-1-20, 

48-1-50(23) 

(b) “Enforce applicable laws, regulations, & 

standards, and seek injunctive relief.” Adequate 

S. C. Code Sec. 48-1-50(1), 

(3), (4), (5), (11); Secs. 48-1-

120, 48-1-130, 48-1-210, 

48-1-320, 48-1-330. 

(c) “Abate pollutant emissions on an 

emergency basis to prevent substantial 

endangerment to the health of persons, i.e., 

authority comparable to that available to the 

Administrator under section 305 of the Act.” 

Adequate S. C. Code Sec. 48-1-290. 

(d) “Prevent construction, modification, or 

operation of a facility, building, structure, or 

installation, or combination thereof, which 

directly or indirectly results or may result in 

emissions of any air pollutant at any location 

which will prevent the attainment or 

maintenance of a national standard.” 

Adequate 

S. C. Code Sec. 48-1-50(5), 

(10); Secs. 48-1-100, 

48-1-110. 

(e) “Obtain Information necessary to 

determine whether air pollution sources are in 

compliance with applicable laws, regulations, 

and standards, Including authority to require 

Adequate S. C. Code Sec. 48-1-50(10), 

(20), (22), (24). 

 

1

 Section 2 of the EPA-approved South Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan (SIP), which defines the State’s 

statutory powers as required in 40 CFR 51.230. 
Legal Authority Required 

40 CFR 51 

Adequacy 

of S. C. 

Law 

S. C. Statutes Involved 

recordkeeping and to make inspections and 

conduct tests of air pollution sources.” 

(f) “Require owners or operators of stationary 

sources to install, maintain, and use emission 

monitoring devices and to make periodic 

reports to the State on the nature and amounts 

of emissions from such stationary sources; 

also authority for the State to make such data 

available to the public as reported and as 

correlated with any applicable emission 

standards or limitations.” 

Adequate S. C. Code Secs. 48-1-50(22), 

48-1-270. 

Public Hearings 

The South Carolina Pollution Control Act provides for notice and public hearings prior to action 

by the Board of Health and Environmental Control concerning adoption of regulations and 

standards, adoption or modification of final compliance dates, and other specified legal actions. 

Additionally, Act 176 of 1977 enacted by the South Carolina General Assembly requires, among 

other things, that at least thirty days public notice be given before adoption, amendment or repeal 

of any rule. It also requires that the substance of the intended action or a description of the 

subjects and issues involved be made known. While this act escapes the actual requirement for a 

public hearing in each case, the two Acts taken together do impose the requirement of a thirty 

days notice of public hearing, assuring compliance with the requirements of 40 CFR 51.102 as 

amended. 

Public Availability of Information 

The South Carolina Pollution Control Act provides for the public availability of any records, 

report or information obtained under the provisions of the Act. However, upon a showing 

satisfactory to the Department that records, reports or information, other than effluent or 

emission data, if made public would divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as trade 

secrets of the source, the Department shall consider such data confidential. 

All source data are kept on file at the offices of the Bureau of Air Quality Control, Department of 

Health and Environmental Control, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, South Carolina, and are 

available to the public at this location, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. 

and 5:00 p.m. Such data are retained in the Permit, Source Test, and Emission Inventory Files. 

The files contain information as to the source emissions, and these emissions are depicted in 

comparison to the applicable emission standards or limitations as stated in the Air Pollution 

Control Regulations and Standards for the State of South Carolina. 
ATTACHMENT 3 

 The 8-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration For The Portion Of York County, SC 

Within the Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study (RFATS) Metropolitan Planning 

Organization (part of the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment 

Area) can be found in the set of three ringed binders enclosed with this submission.