# MDE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT 1800 Washington Boulevard. Baltimore MD 21230 410-537-3000. 1-800-633-6101 Martin O'Malley Governor Anthony G. Brown Lieutenant Governor



### Linda C. Janey, J.D., Manager Clearinghouse Review Unit Maryland State Clearinghouse for Intergovernmental Assistance Maryland Office ofPlanning 301 West Preston Street Baltimore MD 21201 Dear Ms. Janey: 

# APR 19 axl7 Shari T. Wilson Secretary Robert M. Summers, Ph.D. Deputy Secretary



### I am enclosing a copy ofthe Executive Summary ofthe Baltimore Nonattainment Area 8-Hour Ozone State Implementation Plan and Base Year Inventory. These documents provide information required to show why the Baltimore region will reduce pollution and meet the federal ozone standard by June 15, 2010, which is the designated attainment date for the Baltimore region. Based onthe large size ofthe printed document, the entire document may be viewed at the website link below: http://www.mde.state.md.uslPrograms/ AirPrograms/air planning/index.asp A public hearing on the document will be held on May 22, 2007. The official close ofthe comment period occurs at the end ofbusiness hours on May 22, 2007. The hearing will be held as required by federal law (Clean Air Act at 42 U.S.C
.. 7410 (a) and. 40 CFR 51.102). Ifyouhave any comments related to this document, please call me at (410) 537-3240.

Enclosure**~** Recycled Paper 

### Sincerely,

Brian J. Hug, Deputy Program Manager Air Quality Planning Program Air and Radiation Management Administration

www.mde.state.md.us TTY Users 1·800·735·2258 Via Maryland Relay Service

## MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT 

# MDE

Martin O'Malley Governor Anthony Brown Lt. Governor 

### 1800 Washington Boulevard. Baltimore MD 21230 410-537-3000 • 1-800-633-6101



# Baltimore Nonattainment Area 8-Hour Ozone State Implementation Plan

and BaseYear Inventory
SIPNumber: 07-04
June 15,2007 Prepared for: U.8. EnvironmentalProtection Agency Prepared by: Maryland Department ofthe Environment


# MDE

Page 1 Shari T. Wilson Secretary Robert M. Summers, Ph.D. Deputy Secretary

## 1.0 Executive Summary Introduction Ground level ozone is considered a significanthealth based pollutant and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a specific national ambient airquality standard for ozone to bestprotect public health. This standard, known as the 8-Hour Ozone standard, is implemented underthe federal Clean AirAct. Areas ofthe county that monitor airpollution above the federal standard are designated "nonattainment" and are therefore required to develop and implement airquality plans called State Implementation Plans or SIPsthat showhow a particularregion will reduce pollutionto the pointwhere the region meets the federal standards. The Baltimore region, which comprises Baltimore City and the surrounding Counties of Baltimore, Carroll, Anne Arundel, Howard and Harford, has been designated nonattainment underthe 8-HourOzone standard. The following document explainsthe process by which the region will reduce pollution and meetthe federal ozone standard by June 15,2010, which is the designated attainment date for the Baltimore region. This is a substantial good news story regarding Maryland's improving air quality. The Maryland Departmentofthe Environment (MDE) is very proud ofthis SIP document as it shows, based on significant analysis, thatthe region will indeed attain the ozone standard. 

### Emissions A significantportion ofthis document is related to emissions. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions create ozone under heat and sunlight. Reductions in these precursoremissions are a necessity to reduce ozone pollution. The MDE is responsible for creating an emissions inventory for NOx and VOC that estimates the actual emissions created by all the different emission sources in our state. Emissions come from a variety ofsources including mobile sources like cars and trucks, point sources like powerplants, area sources like lawnmowers, and non-road sources like construction equipment and all terrain vehicles. This document details the currentemission inventory for NOx and VOC and predicted emissions for the future. It is importantto predict emissions in the future to track progress from emission reduction programs and for incorporation into attainment analyses that predictwhether a region will meetthe airquality standard ornot. The good news exhibited by this document is thatNOxand VOC emissions are going down in the Baltimore region. Control programs aimed at reducing emissions have been developed and implemented and the reductions required by these programs are significant. Population growth, economic growth, and the public need tend to taxthe emission reductions that come from control programs. Despitethese obstacles, the overall trend in ozone forming emissions is downward and MDE predicts that with additional reductions will come even cleaner air.
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### ControlPrograms Overthe past several decades the MDEhas adopted and implemented numerous control programs (laws, regulations, voluntary measures) thatreduce NOx and VOC emissions in Maryland. In addition, several new control measures are being adopted specifically to help Maryland attain the federal ozone standard. The programs, in addition to the existing control programsthat continueto be implemented and enforced, allow Maryland to develop an attainment demonstration that shows how Maryland will meetthe federal ozone standard. The most significant new control program is the Maryland Healthy Air Act (HAA), which significantly reduces NOx from Maryland older coal burning power plants. The HAA is more stringentthat the parallel federal rule called the CleanAir Interstate Rule and is the most substantial emission control program ever adopted in Maryland. The HAA is the mostaggressive powerplantcontrol program on the eastcoast. Overall, the HAA will reduce Maryland power plantNOx emissions by 70% (compared to 2002 levels) in 2009 and by 75% by 2012. The 2009 reductions are a significant part ofthe attainment scheme developed by the MDE to meetthe federal ozone standard. Addition control programs being implemented to help Maryland meetthe federal ozone standard include several VOC rules targeted at adhesives and sealants, lower VOC portable fuel containers, and lower VOC consumerproducts. Othernon-traditional measures include an aggressivetelework program and a tree canopy program. The following is a briefsummary ofnew control measures being implemented to assist Maryland with attainingthe 8-hour Ozone standard. Control Measures Summary*
2009 VOC NOx Control Measure (tpd) (tpd) On-road Mobile Measures 44.32 67.82 Consumer Products Phase 1 3.72 0.00 Consumer Products Phase 2 0.45 0.00 Low VOC Paints (Architectural and Maintenance Coatings
- AIM) 6.09 0.00 Portable Fuel Containers Phase 1 8.20 0.00 Portable Fuel Containers Phase 2 0.59 0.00 Industrial Adhesives Rule 2.57 0.00 Nonroad Measures 20.89 8.47 Railroads (Tier 2 Engine Standards) 0.00 1.16 Maryland HealthyAir Act(HAA) 0.00 30.75 

### Total 86.84 108.20

.,Allcontrol level totals are rounded



### Page 9

### Modeling A significantpart ofthe attainment demonstration for Maryland consists ofair quality modeling analysis. Required by the CAA, airquality models are run to examine what future air quality conditions will be and whether a region will attain the standard or not by their designated attainment date. The models are not relied upon as the only attainmenttest but are an important part ofthe attainment demonstration for Maryland. The air quality modeling analysis completed for this SIP shows the Baltimore Nonattainment area attaining the 8-hour Ozone standard during the ozone season of2009. All ofthe air quality monitors located in the nonattainment area are predicted to be at levels consistentwith attainment (using a weight ofevidence approach). 

### Weight ofEvidence As mentioned above air quality models are notthe only tool available that canbe used to predict attainment ofthe federal ozone standard. A weight ofevidence approach can be used to further analyze air quality data, trends, meteorology, model performance and model chemistry. The MDE has developed a significantweight ofevidence thatthe BaltimoreNonattainment areawill indeed meetthe federal ozone standard during the ozone season of2009. Some ofthe weight ofevidence analyses utilized for the Baltimore Nonattainment area includes:

• an analysis ofthe chemistry component ofthe CMAQ air quality model • an analysis to the ozone sensitivity to NOx emission reductions • the effect ofland-sea interactions on ozone atthe Edgewood air quality monitor • an analysis ofthe regional nature ofozone transport • an analysis ofthe potential benefits ofan aggressive telecommuting strategy • an analysis ofthe uncertainty in the CMAQ air quality model and the overprediction ofozone design values • an analysis ofthe effects ofurban tree canopy cover ontemperatures and ozone levels Based on all ofthe above analysis and the air quality modeling performed for the BaltimoreNonattainment area there is a dramatic weight ofevidence available that shows the region will meetthe 8-hourozone standard during the 2009 ozone season. The chart below shows a summary ofthe ozone monitor design value ranges expected in the region based onthe modeling/ weight ofevidence analysis. All ofthe airquality monitors in the region are predictedto be well below the 85ppb 8-hourozone standard.

Page 10

# - .c 90 Q. Q. 

# - II) 

### 85 All sites attain the 85ppb NAAQS for 8-Hour Ozone 

### ::s

# ~ 80 

### c 75 CJ 

### 'in 70 II) Q 

# I

Monitoring Location 

# I Range of2009 8-Hour Ozone Design Values from Weight of Evidence



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