MEMORANDUM

TO : Board of Environmental Protection FROM : Jeffrey S. Crawford, Bureau ofAir Quality DATE: August 5, 2010 RE: State Implementation Plan (SIP) Submittals- State Implementation Plan for

Regional Haze (Post to Public Comment) Statutory and Regulatory Reference: A . Statutory authority. 38 MRSA Section 585-A provides that the Board of Environmental Protection "may establish and amend regulations to implement ambient air quality standards and emission standards. These regulations shall be designed to achieve and maintain ambient air quality standards and emission standards within any region and prevent air pollution." Section 107(a) of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA) provides that "Each State shall have the primary responsibility for assuring air quality within the entire geographic area comprising such State by submitting an implementation plan for such State which will specify the manner in which national ambient primary and secondary ambient air quality standards will be achieved and maintained within each air quality control region in such State." Section 110ofthe CAAprovides that each state shall, after reasonable notice and public hearing, adopt and submit a plan which provides for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of national ambient air quality standards. This plan, known as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) consists of the regulations and planning documents a state has developed to meet these air quality standards. As the rulemaking body of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Board may hold public hearings, and has traditionally been responsible for approving non-regulatory SIP submittals.B

. Specific legal mandates requiring adoption.

Section 169Aofthe CAAestablishes the federal programfor visibility protection at Class I areas. 40 CFR Part 51, subpart P establishes the federal regional haze requirements . The primary purposes ofthis rule are "(1) to require states to develop programs to assure reasonable progress toward meeting the national goal ofpreventing any future, and remedying anyexisting, impairment ofvisibility in mandatory Class I Federal areas which impairment results fromman-made air pollution, and (2) to establish necessary additional procedures for new source permit applicants, States, and Federal Land Managers to use in conducting the visibility impact analysis required for new sources under §51 .166. This subpart sets forth requirements addressing visibility impairment in its two principal forms: "reasonably attributable" impairment (i .e., impairment attributable to a single source or small group ofsources) and regional haze (i .e. widespread haze froma multitude ofsources which impairs visibility in multiple directions over a large area) ." Location/Applicabilit~~ . The proposed SIP amendment will apply statewide. Description: In 1977, Congress added the goal of restoring pristine visibility conditions in national parks and wilderness areas to the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) . Section 169 ofthe CAAcalls for the prevention ofany future, and the remedying of "any" existing, man-made visibility impairment in so-called "Class I" areas.' These are ambitious targets given that air pollution now reduces average visual range in the eastern United States tojust 15 to 30 miles, about one-third the visual range typical of natural conditions. Despite these goals, only modest steps were takenover the ensuing twodecades to remedy visibility impairment at Class I areas around the country . Control measures undertaken to improvevisibilitywere largely confined to addressing plume blight fromspecific pollution sources near Class I areas; they did little to address the pervasive, regional nature of haze throughout the eastern U .S. However, emissions reductions were realized through the implementation ofother sections ofthe CAA, most notably the adoption, in 1990, ofa national acid rain programaimed at substantially reducing sulfur dioxide emissions, a key contributor to visibility impairment in the East. OnJuly 1, 1999, the U

.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a new set of regulations aimed at achieving national visibility goals by 2064. Commonly known as the 1 There are 156Class I areas across the country, including many well-known national parks and wilderness areas, such as the Grand Canyon National Park. The State of Maine contains, or shares, three Class I areas: 1) Acadia National Park; 2) Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area; and 3) Roosevelt Campobello International Park."Regional Haze Rule", these regulations attempt, for the first time, to address the combined

visibility effects of numerous pollution sources over a wide geographic region. Significantly, all states - even thosewithout Class I areas - are now required to participate in haze reduction efforts. In an effort to foster cooperation in the development and implementation ofregional haze programs, the Regional Haze Rule and the CAA require consultation between the states, tribes and Federal Land Mangers (FLMs) responsible for managing Class I areas. Since regional haze often results frompollution emitted across broad regions, this multi-state approach to air quality planning also aids in developing the most cost-effective controls for regional haze. Maine is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Northeast Visibility Union (MANE-VU), which was established to facilitate regional haze planning in the region extending fromthe District of Columbia through Maine. As noted above, research has shown that sulfur emissions, which react in the atmosphere to form sulfates, are the predominant cause ofvisibility impairment in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. In fact, sulfate alone accounts for one-halfto two-thirds oftotal fine particle mass on the 20 percent haziest days at Class I sites in Maineand throughout the MANE-VUregion. These small particles cause poor visibility by scattering and absorbing light, therebyreducing the amount ofvisual information about distant objects that reaches an observer. Because ofthe dominant role played by sulfates, our regional haze planning efforts, including control strategies, are focused on reducing sulfur emissions, primarily in the formofsulfur dioxide (S02) . The Regional Haze Rule requires each state to submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) demonstrating that "reasonable progress" is being made toward the 2064 goal ofnatural visibility. Given the long-termnature ofthe regional haze planning effort, the first SIP addresses the ten-year period from2008 to 2018. Class I states such as Maine must demonstrate that their regional haze plans will make reasonable progress towards meeting the 2064 goal . The Regional Haze SIP is also required to include calculations ofbaseline and natural visibility conditions, as well as monitoring strategies for tracking reasonable progress. Finally, the SIPmust include a determination of Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) for sources ofa certain size or emissions profile that began operating between 1962 and 1977. In the future, Maine must submit revisions evaluating progress towards meeting the reasonable progress goals every 5 years, and must also update the long-termstrategy in 2018 as well as every 10 years thereafter. Federal, regional and state emission control programs that are already adopted and scheduled to be implemented in the coming years (such as the Federal Clean Air Interstate Rule directed at electric generating units) will provide significant S02 emission reductions, and improvements in visibility at Class I sites in Maine and throughout the eastern United States. While these measures provide substantial reductions in visibility impairing pollutants, the CAA requires states to consider additional control measures during the establishment ofreasonable progress goals, and assess the following four factors during their analysis: 1) costs ofcompliance, 2) time necessary for compliance, 3) energy and non-air quality environmental impacts ofcompliance, and 4) remaining useful life ofany existing source subject to such requirements. Maine, along with the other MANE-VU members, utilized the four CAA statutory factors and worked through an exhaustive list of more than 900 potential control strategies to asses their potential for reducing regional haze.The Department and other MANE-VUmembers have identified additional measures that we

believe are reasonable for adoption and implementation both within and outside the MANE-VU region for meeting our reasonable progress goals. These measures include: 1) Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) sulfate reductions fromspecific sources as defined in the CAA ; 2) a low-sulfur oil strategy for all sectors (commercial, industrial and residential)2; and 3) a strategy that targets a 90% sulfate reduction fromeach ofthe keyelectric generating unit (EGU) stacks impacting any MANE-VUClass I area (comprising a total of 167 stacks throughout the eastern United States), or a reduction equivalent to that amount in each state. The Department's proposed Regional Haze SIP demonstrates that each ofthe Class I areas in Mainewill meet the 2018 "reasonable progress" requirements. The analysis also demonstrates that the required visibility improvements at Acadia National Park, MoosehornWilderness Area, and Roosevelt Campobello International Park are best accomplished througha plan relying on existing programs and new regional strategies for providing additional emission reductions that will reduce S02emissions in the coming years. Environmental Issues: Fine particles are the major cause of reducedvisibility at Class I areas. These same particles have also been linked to serious health problems and environmental damage. Exposure to fine particles in the air has been linked to increased respiratory illness, decreased lung function, and prematuredeath. In addition, fine particles such as sulfates and nitrates contribute to acid rain formation which makes lakes, rivers and streamunsuitable for many fish, and damages buildings, structures and coated (painted) surfaces. In addition to improvingvisibility at Maine's Class I areas and reducing acid deposition, controlling emissions of S02and other haze pollutants will provide significant public health benefits to the people of Maine. The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) estimated thatjust one strategy alone, the useof low-sulfur distillate and residual fuel oils, would provide in $149,718,300 health benefits (i .e., thevalue ofavoided morbidity and mortality) for 2018.3 These annual health benefits would continue to accrue each year thereafter.4

z Mainehas already adopted a low sulfur fuel strategy. The 124th Second Regular Session ofthe MaineLegislature (2010) adopted LD 1662, "An Actto Improve Maine's Air Quality andReduce Regional Haze at Acadia National Park and Other Federally Designated Class I Areas," which implements the MANE-VUlowsulfur fuel strategy in Maine. This legislation establishes a statewide sulfur limit fordistillate fuels of 50 ppm in 2016, and 15 ppmin 2018. For residual (#6) fuel oil, the statewide sulfur limit will be reduced to 0.5%in 2018. 3 Source: NESCAUM, 2008, Public Health Benefits ofReducing Ground-Level OzoneandFine Particle Matter in the Northeast U

.S., http://www

.nescaum

.org/topics/reg_ional-haze/regional-haze-documents 4 Regionally, the low-sulfur fuel oil strategy wouldprovide $3.8 billion in health benefits.Departmental Recommendation:

The Department recommends that the Board post the Regional Haze State Implementation Plan to a 30-day public comment period with the opportunity to request a public hearing. Estimated Time of Presentation: 1 hour.