ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA-ROI-OAR-2009-0705; A-1-FRL- ] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation 

Plans ; Rhode Island; Determination of Attainment of the 1997 Ozone Standard 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

ACTION : Proposed rule . 

SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to determine that the Providence (All of Rhode Island) 

moderate 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area has attained the 1997 8-hour National Ambient 

Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone . This determination is based upon complete, qualityassured, certified ambient air monitoring data that shows the area has monitored attainment of' 

the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2006-2008 monitoring period . In addition, preliminary ozone 

data for 2009 show the area continues to attain the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. If this proposed 

determination is made final, under the provisions of EPA's ozone implementation rule, the 

requirements for this area to submit an attainment demonstration, a reasonable further progress 

plan, contingency measures, and other planning State Implementation Plans related to attainment 

of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS shall be suspended for so long as the area continues to attain 

the 1997 ozone NAAQS. 

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before [Insert date 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register] . 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket 1D Number EPA-ROI-OAR-2009-

0705 by one of the following methods: 
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1 . www.ref4ulations .gov : Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments . 

2. E-mail : arnold .anne kepa. ov 

3 . Fax: (617) 918-0047. 

4 . Mail : "Docket Identification Number EPA-ROI-OAR-2009-0705, " Anne Arnold, 

U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 5 Post 

Office Square, Suite 100 (mail code: OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109-3912. 

5 . Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to : Anne Arnold, Manager, Air 

Quality Planning Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S . Environmental Protection 

Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, 

MA 02109-3912 . Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal 

hours of operation . The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through 

Friday, 8 :30 to 4 :30, excluding legal holidays . 

Instructions : Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-ROl-OAR-2009-0705. EPA's policy 

is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be 

made available online at www.reQulations .g-ov , including any personal information provided, 

unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit through 

www.regulations .gov, or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. 

The www.regulations .gov website is an "anonymous access" system, which means EPA will not 

know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If 

you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations .gUv your 

e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed 

in the public docket and made available on the Internet . If you submit an electronic comment, 
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EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your 

comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider 

your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. 

Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the www.regulations . o~v index . 

Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e ., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 

material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form . 

Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in www.reg_ulations .gov or 

in hard copy at Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 

New England Regional Office, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that 

if at all possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 

CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of 

business are Monday through Friday, 8 :30 to 4 :30, excluding legal holidays . 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard P. Burkhart, Air Quality Planning 

Unit, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 5 Post Office 

Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA 02109-3912, telephone number (617) 918-1664, fax number 

(617) 918-0664, email Burkhart.Richardgepa.gov . 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever "we," "us," or "our" is used, we mean EPA. 
Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to aid in locating 

information in this preamble . 

I . What Action is EPA Taking? 

lI . What is the Effect of this Action? 

111. What is the Background for this Action? 

IV . What is EPA's Analysis of the Relevant Air Quality Data? 

V. Proposed Action 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What Action is EPA Taking? 

EPA is proposing to determine that the Providence (All of Rhode Island) moderate 8-hour 

ozone nonattainment area (hereafter the Rhode Island (RI) area) has attained the 1997 8-hour 

NAAQS for ozone. This determination is based upon complete, quality-assured and certified 

ambient air monitoring data that show the area has monitored attainment of the 1997 ozone 

NAAQS for the 2006-2008 monitoring period . In addition, preliminary ozone data for 2009 

show this area continues to attain the 1997 ozone NAAQS. 

II . What is the Effect of this Action? 

If this determination is made final, under the provisions of EPA's ozone implementation 

rule (see 40 CFR Section 51 .918), the requirements for the Rhode Island moderate ozone 

nonattainment area to submit an attainment demonstration, a reasonable further progress plan, 

section 172(c)(9) contingency measures, and any other planning State Implementation Plans 
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( .SIPs) related to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS would be suspended for so long as 

the area continues to attain the ozone NAAQS. As discussed further below, this action also 

affects the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) clock started for Rhode Island in 2008. This 

proposed action, if finalized, would not constitute a redesignation to attainment under the Clean 

Air Act (CAA) section 107(d)(3), because we would not yet have an approved maintenance plan 

for the area as required under section 175A of the CAA, nor a determination that the area has 

met the other requirements for redesignation. The classification and designation status of the 

area would remain moderate nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS until such time as 

EPA determines that the area meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to attainment . 

For the Rhode Island area, EPA started a FIP clock on March 24, 2008 (73 FR 15416) for 

failure to submit attainment demonstration and Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) SIPs . That 

same notice also started a highway sanctions clock and an offset sanctions clock for Rhode 

Island . This proposed action, if finalized, will stay the FIP clock started on March 24, 2008, for 

both the attainment demonstration and the RFP SIP. The highway and offset sanctions clocks 

were previously stopped for these areas since Rhode Island submitted the required SIPs and EPA 

has determined them complete. If the area subsequently violates the 8-hour standard before it is 

redesignated to attainment, the FIP clock would restart for Rhode Island for these SIPs. 

If this determination of attainment is finalized and EPA subsequently determines, after 

notice-and-comment rulemaking in the Federal Register , that the area has violated the 1997 8-

hour ozone standard, the basis for the suspension of these requirements would no longer exist, 

and the area would thereafter have to address the pertinent CAA requirements . 

III . What is the Background for this Action? 
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On April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23857), EPA designated as nonattainment any area that was 

violating the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS based on the three most recent years (2001-2003) of air 

quality data. The entire state of Rhode Island was designated as a moderate ozone nonattainment 

area. Recent air quality data, however, indicate that the Rhode Island area is now attaining the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard . 

IV. What is EPA's Analysis of the Relevant Air Quality Data? 

The EPA has reviewed the ambient air monitoring data for ozone, consistent with the 

requirements contained in 40 CFR Part 50 and recorded in the AQS database, for Rhode Island, 

from 2006 through 2008 . On the basis of that review, EPA has concluded that the area attained 

the 1997 8-hour ozone standard at the end of the 2008 ozone season, based on three years of 

complete, quality-assured and state-certified 2006-2008 ozone data. In addition, preliminary 

ozone data for 2009, show the area continues to attain the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 

Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR Part 50, the 1997 8-hour ozone standard is attained 

when the 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone 

concentrations at an ozone monitor is less than or equal to 0.08 parts per million (ppm) (i .e ., 

0.084 ppm, based on the rounding convention in 40 CFR Part 50, Appendix I) . This 3-year 

average is referred to as the design value. When the design value is less than or equal to 0.084 

ppm at each monitor within the area, then the area is meeting the NAAQS. (See 69 FR 23857 

(April 30, 2004) for further information.) Also, the data completeness requirement is met when 

the average percent of days with valid ambient monitoring data is greater than 90%, and no single 

year has less than 75% data completeness as determined in Appendix 1 of 40 CFR Part 50. 
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Table 1 shows the fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations 

for the Rhode Island nonattainment area monitors for the years 2006-2008, and the ozone design 

values for these same monitors based on 2006-2008 . 

Table 1. Fourth-High 8-hour Ozone Average Concentrations and Design Values (parts per 

million) in the Rhode Island Area 

State Site ID Site Location 

4th high 

2006 

4th High 

2007 

4th High 

2008 

Design Value 

(2006-2008) 

RI 440030002 West Greenwich 0 .079 0 .089 0 .074 0. 080 

RI 440071010 East Providence _ 0 .081 0.088 0 .077 

----- 

0.082 

RI 440090007 Narragansett 0.081 

_ 

0.083 0 .081 0.081 

EPA's review of these data indicates that the Rhode Island ozone nonattainment area has 

met the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. In addition, preliminary ozone data for 2009, show the 

area continues to attain the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 

EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this notice or on other 

relevant matters pertaining to this rulemaking action. These comments will be considered before 

EPA takes final action . Interested parties may participate in the Federal rulemalcing procedure by 

submitting written comments to the EPA New England Regional Office listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this Federal Re ister. 

V. PROPOSED ACTION : EPA is proposing to determine that the Rhode Island 1997 8-hour 

ozone moderate nonattainment area has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone standard, based on 

complete, quality-assured data through 2008, and preliminary data for 2009 indicating continuing 

attainment . As provided in 40 CFR Section 51 .918, if EPA finalizes this determination, it would 
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suspend the requirements for Rhode Island to submit planning SIN related to attainment of the 

1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for this area, for so long as the area continues to attain the standard . 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

This action proposes to make a determination of attainment based on air quality, and would, if 

finalized; result in the suspension of certain Federal requirements, and would not impose 

additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed 

action : 

" is not a "significant regulatory action" subject to review by the Office of Management 

and Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 199-')),- 

" does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S .C . 3501 et seq.) ; 

" is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 

entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S .C. 601 et seq.) ; 

" does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 

104-4) ; 

" does not have Federalism implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 

43255, August 10, 1999) ; 

" is not an economically significant regulatory action based on health or safety risks subject 

to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

" is not a significant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, 

May 22, 2001); 
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" is not subject to the requirements of Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S .C. 272 note) because application of those 

requirements would be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; and 

" does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to address, as appropriate, 

disproportionate human health or environmental effects, using practicable and legally 

permissible methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) . 

In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, 

Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds. 

AUTHORITY: 42 U.S .C. 7401 et seq. 

H. Curtis Spalding 

Regional Administrator, 

EPA New England.