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Revised- Ohio’s Recommended Designations for the 2010 1-hour SO2 Standard 

Technical Evaluation 

Ambient Air Quality Data 

The air quality analysis examines the 3-year average of the 99th percentile of the yearly 

distribution of 1-hour daily maximum SO2 concentrations for each county based on data 

for 2010 through 2012. The level of the new 1-hour SO2 standard is 75 ppb. Data is 

retrieved from the U.S. EPA’s Air Quality System (AQS) at

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/airs/airsaqs/ and is presented in ppb in all tables. Monitoring 

sites that have less than 75 percent capture in any one quarter are highlighted in red. 

Ohio EPA operates a network of federally approved monitors. AQS data retrieval 

sheets are provided in Appendix A. The State and local air monitoring stations (SLAMS) 

data certification report for calendar year 2011 is provided in Appendix B. The 

combined monitoring data for monitors 39-105-1001 and 39-105-0003 are provided in 

Appendix C. As noted above, Ohio EPA is committed to completing all QA/QC and 

certification for Ohio monitor 39-105-0003 by March 29, 2013. This is the only Ohio 

monitor that affects this revision request. It is Ohio EPA’s understanding that the West 

Virginia Department of Air Quality intends to certify all of the WV data associated with 

these changes also. 

Based on the most recent ambient data as shown in Table 1 below, Ohio has 

determined that several monitors in both Ohio and in West Virginia Counties which 

border Ohio are now attaining the standard. Given the most recent data, Ohio is, as 

detailed in the previous section, recommending several areas that may have potentially 

been designated nonattainment be designated as unclassifiable. The requested 

designations for all other counties remain the same as provided in our initial June 3, 

2011 submittal and the subsequent revision submitted on April 12, 2012. 
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County(s) Proposed/Anticipated Designation Designating Agency Proposing 

Nonattainment

Associated Monitor with ID

2009 2010 2011 2012 2009-2011 2010-2012

39-081-0017 85.0 127.0 114.0 92.0 109 11139-081-0018 -- -- 55.0 43.0 -- --39-081-0020 43.0 31.0 -- --

54-009-0005 (Brooke Co., WV) 82.0 131.0 143.0 76.0 119 11754-009-0007 (Brooke Co., WV) 81.0 92.0 75.0 68.0 83 7854-009-0011 (Brooke Co., WV) 143.0 143.0 235.0 126.0 174 168

54-009-6000 (Brooke Co., WV) -- -- 46.0 31.0 46 39

54-029-0005 (Hancock Co., WV) 139.0 85.0 33.0 24.0 86 4754-029-0007 (Hancock Co., WV) 113.0 50.0 36.0 34.0 66 4054-029-0008 (Hancock Co., WV) 133.0 44.0 30.0 23.0 69 3254-029-0009 (Hancock Co., WV) 131.0 68.0 66.0 44.0 88 5954-029-0015 (Hancock Co., WV) 102.0 68.0 34.0 25.0 68 4254-029-1004 (Hancock Co., WV) 97.0 51.0 63.0 45.0 70 53

39-105-1001

94.0 94.0 -- 92 --

39-105-0003 -- -- 26.0 -- 69

Washington Non-Attainment (Warren, Dunham, and Belpre Townships in Washington County) Probable U.S. EPA 54-107-1002 (Wood Co., WV) 119.0 84.0 49.0 24.0 84 52

Table 1: SO2 Monitoring Data and Design Values 

Monitor data combinedIncomplete Data

99th Percentile 3-year Design Value

Recommended Changes

Jefferson

Non-Attainment (Saline, Knox, Island 

Creek, Cross Creek, Steubenville, Wells, 

and Warren Townships)

Ohio EPA

All monitors in Hancock county attain the standard. The Ohio portion which borders Hancock County, Saline, Knox, and Island Creek Townships, are recommended unclassifiable. Cross Creek, Steubenville, Wells, and Warren remain recommended as nonattainment.

Meigs and Galia

Non-Attainment (Addison and Cheshire 

Townships in Galia, and Salisbury 

Township in Meigs County)

Ohio EPA (Cheshire and Salisbury) and 

Probable U.S. EPA (Addison) 88.0 Cheshire, Addison, and Salisbury Townships attain the standard. Recommend unclassifiable.

Monitor attains the standard. Recommend unclassifiable for these townships. 
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Meigs and Gallia Counties (Addison, Cheshire, and Salisbury Townships) 

In 2011, SO2 monitoring site 39-105-1001, located in the city of Pomeroy in Meigs 

County, was re-located due to an unforeseen and permanent power interruption. The 

monitor was relocated to site 39-105-0003, approximately 125 yards distance from the 

previous location. This change was documented in Ohio’s approved Air Monitoring 

Plan. The location of the two monitors is shown in Figure 1. 

Figure 1: Meigs County (Pomeroy Monitors) 

Relocation of the monitor interrupted data collection between June 29, 2011 and July 

13, 2011. However, once combined, the data meets all data collection requirements for 

2011. The combined single complete data set from which the 99th percentile was 

obtained yielded a passing design value for period 2010 to 2012 of 69 ppb. The 

combined data set was analyzed to determine the 99th percentile following the 

recommendations of 40 C.F.R Part 50, Appendix T; that is, the data were combined, the 

maximum daily value for each day of the year was determined and sorted in descending 

order to discern the 99th percentile. These data, in combined form, are provided in 

Appendix C. 

 Jefferson County (Saline, Knox, and Island Creek Townships) 

 

In Ohio EPA’s original June 3, 2011 submittal, Jefferson County was recommended as 

a partial nonattainment area, with those Ohio townships bordering Brooke and Hancock 

County, WV recommended nonattainment based, in part, upon the knowledge of 

violating monitors in both of those West Virginia Counties. The remainder of Jefferson 
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County was recommended as unclassifiable. Figure 2 shows the original recommended 

designation area. 

Figure 2: Jefferson County Nonattainment Area 
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Nonattaiment designation recommendations were based, in part, on knowledge of 

violating monitors in both Brooke and Hancock County, WV and the violating monitor in 

Jefferson County, Ohio. Using the most recent monitoring data for 2012, as shown in 

Table 1, all monitors in Hancock County are in attainment of the standard using the 

2010 to 2012 design value. Indeed, these areas demonstrate a dramatic improvement 

in air quality. Ohio EPA is therefore recommending that those townships in Jefferson 

County which border Hancock County in West Virginia be designated unclassifiable. 

These townships include Saline, Knox, and Island Creek. As shown in Figure 2, the 

only major source of SO2 emissions in this area is the W.H. Sammis Plant in Saline 

Township. In our June 3rd submittal, it was stated the meteorology of the region dictates 

that this facility would primarily impact the Hancock County monitor, to the East. It is 

reasonable in examining the meteorology of the region to conclude that the W.H. 

Sammis Plant is not the impacting source on the still-violating monitors in Jefferson 

County, Ohio and Brooke County, WV. All other townships in Jefferson County will 

retain their original recommended designation, therefore Cross Creek, Steubenville, 

Wells, and Warren townships are recommended to be designated nonattainment, and 

the remainder of the County unclassifiable. 

Washington County (Warren, Dunham, and Belpre Townships)

As stated previously, Ohio EPA was informed via several conversations with U.S. EPA 

Region 5 of the possibility of several townships in Ohio which do not have an ambient 

SO2 monitor, but may potentially impact monitors in other states, being designated 

nonattainment by U.S. EPA. These conversations indicated that Warren, Dunham, and 

Belpre Townships in Washington County, which border Wood County, WV, may be 

designated nonattainment in this manner. Based on the most recent monitoring data 

from monitor 54-107-1002, located in Parkersburg, WV (Wood County), this monitor is 

now showing attainment of the standard, with a 2010 to 2012 design value of 52 ppb. 

Although 2011 data does not meet the capture criteria for this monitor, a substitution 

analysis of the data was conducted in accordance with 40 C.F.R Part 50, Appendix T. 

Ohio EPA and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection worked jointly 

on this analysis and both are in support of the results. The West Virginia Department of 

Environmental Protection will be providing details of the analysis in a similar submittal 

as this. Therefore, Ohio EPA is recommending that those townships in Washington 

County which border Wood County, WV be designated as unclassifiable, as per Ohio 

EPA’s June 3rd submittal. Ohio EPA extends this recommendation to any other 

townships which border Wood County, West Virginia.