Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 90249 

TABLE 3—DESTINATION ENTRY SERVICE TO CONTIGUOUS STATES—Continued 

Mail class 

Contiguous states 

Destination entry (at appropriate facility) range 

(days) 

* DDU * DLPC * DRPDC 

Package Services ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 

* DDU = Destination Delivery Unit; DLPC = Destination Local Processing Center; DRPDC = Destination Regional Processing and Distribution Center or Campus. 

Table 4. Destination entry service standard 

day ranges for mail to non-contiguous states 

and territories. 

TABLE 4—DESTINATION ENTRY SERVICE TO NON-CONTIGUOUS STATES AND TERRITORIES

Mail class 

Destination entry (at appropriate facility) 

* DDU range 

(days) 

* DLPC range (days) * DRPDC range (days) 

Alaska 

** Hawaii, 

Guam, 

NMI, & AS 

** PR & 

USVI Alaska 

Hawaii, 

Guam, NMI, 

& AS 

PR & 

USVI 

Periodicals ......................................................................... 1 1–3 1–4 1–3 10–11 10 8–10 

USPS Marketing Mail ........................................................ 2 3–4 3–5 3–5 14 13 12 

Package Services ............................................................. 1 2 2–3 2–3 12 11 11 

* DDU = Destination Delivery Unit; DLPC = Destination Local Processing Center; DRPDC = Destination Regional Processing and Distribution Center or Campus. 

** AS = American Samoa; NMI = Northern Mariana Islands; PR = Puerto Rico; USVI = United States Virgin Islands. 

Christopher Doyle, 

Attorney, Ethics & Legal Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26434 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2022–0987; FRL–10551– 

01–R3] 

Air Plan Approval; District of 

Columbia, Maryland, Virginia; 

Determination of Attainment by the 

Attainment Date and Clean Data 

Determination for the Washington, DCMD-VA Nonattainment Area for the 

2015 Ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to determine 

that the Washington, DC-MD-VA 

nonattainment area (the Washington 

Area or the Area) has attained the 2015 

8-hour ozone national ambient air 

quality standards (2015 ozone NAAQS) 

by the applicable attainment date of 

August 3, 2024. Accompanying this 

proposed determination of attainment 

by the attainment date is a re-proposed 

clean data determination (CDD) under 

the EPA’s Clean Data Policy. If finalized, 

this action will address the EPA’s 

obligation under Clean Air Act (CAA) 

sections 179(c) and 181(b)(2) to 

determine whether the Washington Area 

attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the 

August 3, 2024 attainment date and, as 

set forth in the EPA’s Clean Data Policy, 

suspend the obligation of the District of 

Columbia (DC), the State of Maryland 

(MD), and the Commonwealth of 

Virginia (VA) to submit certain 

attainment planning requirements for as 

long as the Area continues to attain the 

2015 ozone NAAQS. As part of this 

rulemaking, the EPA also proposes to 

take final agency action on an 

exceptional events request submitted by 

the District of Columbia on March 20, 

2024, and concurred on by the EPA on 

July 17, 2024. The proposed attainment 

determination and CDD are based upon 

the EPA’s concurrence on the 

exceptional events demonstration. This 

action is being taken under the CAA. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before December 16, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03– 

OAR–2022–0987 at 

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

talley.david@epa.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. For either manner of 

submission, the EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

confidential business information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian 

Neiswinter, Planning & Implementation 

Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation 

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region III, 1600 John F 

Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone 

number is (215) 814–2011. Mr. 

Neiswinter can also be reached via 

electronic mail at neiswinter.ian@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed determination is based upon 

quality-assured, quality-controlled, and 

certified ambient air monitoring data 

from 2021 to 2023 available in the EPA’s 

Air Quality System (AQS) database. 


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I I 

I I 
90250 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

1The Washington Area consists of the following 

counties/cities: Calvert County, Charles County, 

Frederick County, Montgomery County, and Prince 

George’s County in Maryland; Alexandria city, 

Arlington County, Fairfax County, Fairfax city, Falls 

Church city, Loudoun County, Manassas Park city, 

Manassas city, Prince William County in Virginia; 

and all of the District of Columbia. See 40 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) 81.309, 81.321, and 

81.347. 

2See 83 FR 10376 (March 9, 2018) and 40 CFR 

51.1303(a). 

3See 87 FR 60897 (November 7, 2022). 

4The EPA initially noted this violation based on 

preliminary data, which was later certified. 

5See www.regulations.gov/search/ 

docket?filter=EPA-R03-OAR-2022-0987. 

6Under CAA section 319(b), an exceptional event 

means an event that: (i) affects air quality; (ii) is not 

reasonably controllable or preventable; (iii) is an 

event caused by human activity that is unlikely to 

recur at a particular location or a natural event; and 

(iv) is determined by the EPA under the process 

established in regulations promulgated by the EPA 

in accordance with section 319(b)(2) to be an 

exceptional event. For the purposes of section 

319(b), an exceptional event does not include: (i) 

stagnation of air masses or meteorological 

inversions; (ii) a meteorological event involving 

high temperatures or lack of precipitation; or (iii) 

air pollution relating to source noncompliance. 

7 40 CFR 50.14(b)(4). 

8As described in the EPA’s letter titled ‘‘DOEE_

WF_O3_Exceptional_Events_Letter RA’’, provided 

in the docket of this action, DOEE requested 

Neither this proposed attainment 

determination nor CDD redesignates the 

Washington Area to attainment for the 

2015 ozone NAAQS. The Area remains 

designated nonattainment until such 

time as DC, MD, and VA submit a 

request for redesignation pursuant to 

107(d)(3) of the CAA and the EPA 

determines that the area meets the CAA 

requirements for redesignation to 

attainment and takes action to 

redesignate the Area. 

I. Background 

On October 26, 2015 (80 FR 65292), 

the EPA promulgated a revised primary 

and secondary ozone NAAQS to provide 

requisite increased protection of public 

health and welfare, respectively. In that 

action, the EPA strengthened both 

standards from 0.075 parts per million 

(ppm) to 0.070 ppm and retained the 

indicator (ozone), averaging time (8- 

hour), and form (annual fourth-highest 

daily maximum, averaged over three 

years) of the existing standards. 

Effective August 3, 2018 (83 FR 25776, 

June 4, 2018), the EPA designated 52 

areas throughout the country as 

nonattainment for the 2015 ozone 

NAAQS, including the Washington 

Area,1 which was classified as a 

Marginal nonattainment area. This 

designation was based on qualityassured, quality-controlled, and 

certified air quality monitoring data 

from calendar years 2014 to 2016. The 

EPA established the attainment date for 

Marginal 2015 ozone NAAQS 

nonattainment areas as 3 years from the 

effective date of the final designations, 

meaning the Washington Area had an 

attainment date of August 3, 2021.2

Effective November 7, 2022 (87 FR 

60897), the EPA determined that 22 

Marginal areas or portions of areas 

failed to attain the standard by the 

applicable Marginal attainment date, 

including the Washington Area. In that 

action, the EPA reclassified the 

Washington Area as Moderate 

nonattainment for the 2015 ozone 

NAAQS because it failed to attain the 

standard by the attainment date of 

August 3, 2021. That designation was 

based on quality-assured, qualitycontrolled, and certified ambient air 

monitoring data from calendar years 

2018 to 2020. In that same action, the 

EPA established the Moderate 

attainment date as August 3, 2024.3

On February 1, 2023 (88 FR 6688), the 

EPA proposed a CDD for the 

Washington Area based on qualityassured, quality-controlled, and 

certified ambient air quality monitoring 

data showing the Area attained the 2015 

ozone NAAQS based on 2019 to 2021 

data. The EPA did not finalize that 

action due to a monitored violation of 

the 2015 ozone NAAQS prior to final 

approval.4 On March 20, 2024, the 

Department of Energy and Environment 

(DOEE) on behalf of DC submitted an 

exceptional events (EE) demonstration 

to show that the ozone concentration 

recorded at the McMillan monitor (AQS 

Site ID #110010043) on June 29, 2023, 

was influenced by wildfires. The EPA 

concurred on this request on July 17, 

2024. The EPA’s Exceptional Events 

Rule and DOEE’s exceptional events 

demonstration are discussed in more 

detail in section II of this document. Air 

monitoring data from 2021 to 2023, 

which pursuant to EPA’s concurrence 

on the DOEE demonstration now 

excludes the June 29, 2023, exceptional 

events influenced monitor day, 

indicates that the Washington Area has 

attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the 

attainment date of August 3, 2024. In 

light of this supplemental information 

that shows continued attainment in the 

time following the 2023 CDD proposal, 

the EPA is also re-proposing a CDD for 

the area. The EPA is including this 

proposed rulemaking in the same docket 

as the February 1, 2023 proposed CDD 

for the Washington Area.5

II. Exceptional Events Demonstration 

Congress has recognized that it may 

not be appropriate for the EPA to use 

certain monitoring data collected by the 

ambient air quality monitoring network 

and maintained in the EPA’s AQS 

database in certain regulatory 

determinations. Thus, in 2005, Congress 

provided the statutory authority for the 

exclusion of data influenced by 

‘‘exceptional events’’ meeting specific 

criteria by adding section 319(b) to the 

CAA and granted the EPA with the 

authority to propose regulations to 

review and manage air quality 

monitoring data influenced by 

exceptional events.6

On March 22, 2007 (72 FR 13560), the 

EPA promulgated the 2007 Exceptional 

Events Rule in order to implement this 

2005 CAA amendment. The 2007 

Exceptional Events Rule created a 

regulatory process codified at 40 CFR 

parts 50 and 51 (§§ 50.1, 50.14, and 

51.930). These regulatory sections, 

which superseded the EPA’s previous 

guidance on handling data influenced 

by exceptional events, contain 

definitions, procedural requirements, 

requirements for air agency 

demonstrations, criteria for the EPA’s 

approval of the exclusion of eventaffected air quality data from the data 

set used for regulation decisions, and 

requirements for air agencies to take 

appropriate and reasonable actions to 

protect public health from exceedances 

and violations of the NAAQS. On 

October 3, 2016 (81 FR 68216), the EPA 

promulgated a comprehensive revision 

to the 2007 Exceptional Events Rule. 

The 2016 Exceptional Events Rule 

revision included the requirement that, 

if a State demonstrates to the 

Administrator’s satisfaction that 

emissions from a wildfire smoke event 

cause a specific air pollution 

concentration in excess of the NAAQS 

at a particular air quality monitoring 

location and otherwise satisfies the 

requirements of 40 CFR 50.14, the EPA 

must exclude that data from use in 

determinations of exceedances and 

violations.7

The CAA provides for the exclusion 

of air quality monitoring data from 

design value (DV) calculations when 

there are NAAQS exceedances caused 

by events, such as wildfires, that meet 

the criteria for an exceptional event 

identified in the EPA’s Exceptional 

Events Rule at 40 CFR 50.1, 50.14, and 

51.930. For the purposes of this 

proposed action, on March 20, 2024, 

DOEE on behalf of DC submitted an 

exceptional events demonstration to 

show that the maximum daily 8-hour 

average ozone concentration recorded at 

the McMillan monitor (AQS Site ID 

#110010043) on June 29, 2023, was 

influenced by Canadian wildfires. The 

EPA concurred on this request on July 

17, 2024.8


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exclusion of data associated with exceptional 

events claims for ozone data on June 1–2, 2023, and 

June 29, 2023. The EPA concurred on the June 29, 

2023, McMillan monitor day and deferred action on 

the remainder due to a lack of regulatory 

significance. 

9A design value is a statistic used to compare 

data collected at an ambient air quality monitoring 

site to the applicable NAAQS to determine 

compliance with the standard. The DV for the 2015 

ozone NAAQS is the 3-year average of the annual 

fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average 

ozone concentration. The DV is calculated for each 

air quality monitor in an area, and the DV for an 

area is the highest DV among the individual 

monitoring sites located in the area. 10The rounding convention in 40 CFR part 50, 

appendix U, dictates that concentrations shall be 

reported in ‘‘ppm’’ to the third decimal place, with 

additional digits to the right being truncated. Thus, 

a computed 3-year average ozone concentration of 

0.071 ppm is greater than 0.070 ppm and would 

exceed the standard, but a DV of 0.0709 is truncated 

to 0.070 and attains the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 11See 40 CFR 51.1300(b), which refers to 40 CFR 

part 50, appendix U. 12See 40 CFR 51.1300(j), which refers to 40 CFR 

part 58, appendix D, section 4.1, table D–3. 

13The EPA maintains the AQS, a database that 

contains ambient air pollution data collected by the 

EPA, State, local, and Tribal air pollution control 

agencies. The AQS also contains meteorological 

data, descriptive information about each monitoring 

station (including its geographic location and its 

operator) and data quality assurance/quality control 

information. The AQS data is used to: (1) assess air 

quality, (2) assist in attainment/non-attainment 

designations, (3) evaluate State implementation 

plans for non-attainment areas, (4) perform 

modeling for permit review analysis, and (5) 

prepare reports for Congress as mandated by the 

CAA. See www.epa.gov/aqs. 

14As noted, the ozone season is defined for each 

State or portion of a State at 40 CFR part 58, 

appendix D, section 4.1, table D–3. The ozone 

season for DC, MD, and VA runs annually from 

March 1st to October 31st. 

15 57 FR 13498, 13564 (April 16, 1992). 

16See Memorandum from John S. Seitz, Director, 

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, 

entitled ‘‘Reasonable Further Progress, Attainment 

Demonstration, and Related Requirements for 

Ozone Nonattainment areas Meeting the Ozone 

National Ambient Air Quality Standard,’’ dated 

May 10, 1995 (1995 John S. Seitz Memo). Further 

description of the EPA’s Clean Data Policy can be 

found in the ‘‘Final Rule to Implement the 8-hour 

Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard— 

Phase 2’’ (referred to as the Phase 2 Final Rule) (70 

FR 71612, November 29, 2005). The Tenth, Seventh, 

and Ninth Circuit U.S. District Courts have upheld 

the EPA rulemakings applying the Clean Data 

Policy. See Sierra Club v. EPA, 99 F. 3d 1551 (10th 

Cir. 1996); Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F. 3d 537 (7th 

Cir. 2004); Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. EPA, 

No. 04–73032 (9th Cir., June 28, 2005) 

memorandum opinion. 

The EPA found that DOEE’s 

demonstration met the Exceptional 

Events Rule criteria and determined that 

wildfire smoke events had regulatory 

significance for purposes of calculating 

the Area’s most recent design value to 

make a determination of attainment by 

the attainment date and a CDD for the 

2015 ozone NAAQS. As such, the EPA 

proposes to take final regulatory action 

on the concurred date, as an exceptional 

event to be removed from the dataset 

used for regulatory purposes. The 

rationale of the EPA’s exceptional 

events proposal is detailed in the 

docket. For this proposed action, the 

EPA will rely on the calculated design 

values that exclude the event-influenced 

data for the purpose of demonstrating 

attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 

Further details on DOEE’s analyses and 

the EPA’s concurrence, including the 

exceptional events initial notification, 

exceptional events demonstration, and 

the EPA’s response to the initial 

notification can be found in the docket 

for this regulatory action. 

While the EPA has concurred with 

DOEE’s request to exclude eventinfluenced air quality monitoring data 

from regulatory decisions, these 

regulatory actions require the EPA to 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment on the claimed exceptional 

events and all supporting data prior to 

the EPA taking final agency action. This 

proposed action provides the public 

with an opportunity to comment on the 

claimed exceptional events, all 

supporting documents, and the EPA’s 

concurrence with DOEE’s request. 

III. Determination of Attainment by the 

Attainment Date and Clean Data 

Determination 

A. Determination of Attainment by the 

Attainment Date 

Sections 179(c)(1) and 181(b)(2)(A) of 

the CAA require the EPA to determine 

whether an ozone nonattainment area 

attained the ozone standard by the 

applicable attainment date. The EPA is 

required to issue this determination 

within six months of the attainment 

date. Because the ozone NAAQS is a 

concentration-based standard, a 

determination of attainment is based on 

a nonattainment area’s DV as of the 

attainment date.9 Under the EPA 

regulations at 40 CFR 50.19(b) and 40 

CFR part 50, appendix U, the 2015 

ozone NAAQS is attained when the 3- 

year average of the annual fourth 

highest daily maximum 8-hour average 

ambient air quality ozone concentration 

(i.e., DV) does not exceed 0.070 ppm at 

each monitor site within the 

nonattainment area.10 Because the DV is 

based on the three most recent, 

complete calendar years of data, 

attainment must occur no later than the 

year prior to the attainment date. 

Notably, the 2015 ozone DVs are based 

solely on ozone season data.11 Ozone 

season is defined for each State or 

portion of a State at 40 CFR part 58, 

appendix D, section 4.1, table D–3. The 

ozone season for DC, MD, and VA runs 

annually from March 1st to October 

31st.12

As such, the EPA’s proposed 

determination for the Area is based 

upon the complete, quality-assured, 

quality-controlled, and certified ozone 

monitoring data from calendar years 

2021, 2022, and 2023. The EPA’s 

determination of attainment is based 

upon data that have been collected and 

quality-assured in accordance with 40 

CFR part 58 and recorded in the EPA’s 

AQS database.13 Ambient air quality 

monitoring data for the 3-year period 

preceding the year of the attainment 

date must meet the data completeness 

requirements in appendix U, section 

4(b). These completeness requirements 

are met for the 3-year period at a 

monitoring site if daily maximum 8- 

hour average concentrations of ozone 

are available for at least 90 percent of 

the days within the ozone monitoring 

season, on average, for the 3-year 

period, and no single year has less than 

75 percent data completeness.14

As detailed in section III.C of this 

document, the EPA has evaluated the 

relevant data and determined that the 

Washington Area attained the 2015 

Ozone NAAQS by the Moderate area 

attainment date of August 3, 2024, based 

on the area’s 2021–2023 DV. Notably, a 

determination of attainment by the 

attainment date does not constitute 

formal redesignation to attainment as 

provided for under CAA section 

107(d)(3). Redesignations to attainment 

require, among other things, that the 

States responsible for ensuring 

attainment and maintenance of the 

NAAQS have met the applicable 

requirements under CAA section 110 

and part D, and to submit to the EPA for 

approval a maintenance plan to ensure 

continued attainment of the standard for 

10 years following redesignation, as 

provided under CAA section 175A. 

B. Clean Data Policy and Clean Data 

Determinations 

Following the enactment of the CAA 

Amendments of 1990, the EPA 

discussed its interpretation of the 

requirements for implementing the 

NAAQS in the ‘‘General Preamble for 

the Implementation of title I of the CAA 

Amendments of 1990’’ (General 

Preamble).15 In 1995, based on the 

interpretation of CAA sections 171, 172, 

and 182 in the General Preamble, the 

EPA set forth what has become known 

as its ‘‘Clean Data Policy’’ for the 1-hour 

ozone NAAQS.16 Under the Clean Data 

Policy, for a nonattainment area that can 

demonstrate attainment of the standard 

before implementing CAA 

nonattainment measures, the EPA 

interprets the requirements of the CAA 

that are specifically designed to help an 


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17 1995 John S. Seitz memo. 18See 40 CFR 50.19(b) and 40 CFR part 50, 

appendix U. 19See 40 CFR 51.1300(b), which refers to 40 CFR 

part 50, appendix U. 20See 40 CFR 51.1300(j), which refers to 40 CFR 

part 58, appendix D, section 4.1, table D–3. 

21 DOEE notified the EPA via email, included in 

the docket of this action, that the Takoma 

Recreation Center monitoring operations would be 

temporarily halted during the station’s repair. 

22 DOEE notified the EPA via email, included in 

the docket of this action, that the Takoma 

Recreation Center monitoring operations would be 

temporarily halted due to the burglary incident. 

DOEE also noted of the temporary halt of operation 

in Footnote 1 on Pg. 23 of DOEE’s 2024 Annual 

Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan, included in 

the docket of this action. 

area achieve attainment, including 

attainment demonstrations, 

implementation of reasonably available 

control measures (RACM), reasonable 

further progress (RFP) demonstrations, 

emissions limitations and control 

measures as necessary to provide for 

attainment, and contingency measures, 

to be suspended for so long as air 

quality continues to meet the 

standard.17

The EPA may issue a CDD under the 

EPA’s Clean Data Policy when a 

nonattainment area is attaining the 2015 

ozone NAAQS based on the most recent 

available data. The EPA will determine 

whether the area has attained the 2015 

ozone NAAQS based on available 

information, including air quality 

monitoring data for the affected area. If 

the CDD is made final, then certain 

attainment plan requirements for the 

area are suspended for so long as the 

area continues to attain the NAAQS. 

Furthermore, the suspension of the 

obligation to submit an attainment plan 

is only appropriate where the area 

remains in attainment of the NAAQS. A 

CDD under the Clean Data Policy does 

not serve to alter the area’s 

nonattainment designation. The EPA 

will not take final action on the CDD for 

the Washington Area if the design value 

of a monitoring site within the Area 

violates the 2015 ozone NAAQS prior to 

final approval of the CDD. CDDs are not 

redesignations to attainment. As noted 

above, for the EPA to redesignate an 

area to attainment the State must 

submit, and the EPA must approve, a 

redesignation request for the area that 

meets the requirements of CAA section 

107(d)(3). 

C. Analysis of 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 EPA’s 

AQS database for the Washington Area 

from 2021 through 2023. That data is 

detailed in tables 1 through 3 of this 

document. On the basis of that review, 

the EPA has concluded that the 

Washington Area attained the 2015 

ozone NAAQS by the applicable 

attainment date (August 3, 2024) based 

on quality-assured, quality-controlled, 

and certified ozone data from 2021 to 

2023. Prior DVs from the monitoring 

periods 2019–2021 and 2020–2022 

further support the EPA’s conclusion 

that the area attained the 2015 ozone 

NAAQS. 

As stated previously, under the EPA’s 

regulations, the 2015 ozone NAAQS 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 

0.070 ppm.18 When calculating the DV, 

digits to the right of the third decimal 

place are truncated.19 When the DV is 

less than or equal to 0.070 ppm at each 

monitor within the area, then the area 

is meeting the 2015 ozone NAAQS. As 

noted above, the 2015 ozone DVs are 

based solely on ozone season data, 

which runs annually from March 1st to 

October 31st for DC, MD, and VA.20

The data completeness requirement in 

40 CFR part 50, appendix U, is met 

when the average percentage of days 

with valid ambient monitoring data is 

greater than 90% and no single year is 

less than 75% data complete. The 

Washington Area has complete data for 

the years 2019 to 2023, as shown in 

table 1 in this document, except for the 

Takoma Recreation Center monitor 

(AQS Site ID #110010050). 

Due to building repairs, the Takoma 

Recreation Center monitoring operations 

were temporarily halted from April 28 

to October 7, 2022. During this 

timeframe, the DC Department of Parks 

and Recreation began repairing the 

Takoma Recreation Center station’s roof, 

forcing the site’s closure.21 Operations 

were disrupted again from April 5 to 

September 14, 2023, due to a burglary 

incident.22 Unidentified individuals 

broke into the station, broke several 

windows, and took the data logger and 

the computer monitor. Building security 

has been enhanced since the most 

recent incident, and station operations 

and data collection have resumed. 

The Takoma Recreation Center 

monitoring site (AQS ID #110010050) 

had a valid attaining design value in 

2019–2021 of 0.066 ppm. The Takoma 

Recreation Center monitoring site has 

attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS 

standard of 0.070 ppm since 2016. 

Based on the monitoring history for this 

site and other sites in the Area, the EPA 

reasonably concludes that the Takoma 

Recreation Center monitoring site would 

not have exceeded the 2015 ozone 

NAAQS standard for the 2020–2022 or 

2021–2023 DVs. For each monitor site 

in the area, except for the Takoma 

Recreation Center, the average 

completeness data percentage from 

2019–2021, 2020–2022 and 2021–2023 

is greater than 90% and no single 

monitor year is below 75% complete. 

TABLE 1—COMPLETENESS DATA PERCENTAGE (%) FROM 2019 TO 2023 FOR THE WASHINGTON AREA

Location AQS site ID 2019 2020 2021 2019–2021 

Average 2022 2020–2022 Average 2023 2021–2023 Average 

District of Columbia ............... 110010041 100 98 98 99 95 97 98 97 

District of Columbia ............... 110010043 98 99 99 99 98 99 96 98 

District of Columbia ............... 110010050 100 97 99 99 * 29 * 75 * 23 * 50 

Calvert, MD ........................... 240090011 93 96 90 93 97 94 96 94 

Charles, MD .......................... 240170010 90 96 98 95 100 98 98 99 

Frederick, MD ........................ 240210037 99 94 98 97 96 96 94 96 

Montgomery, MD ................... 240313001 96 97 98 97 98 98 99 98 

Prince George’s, MD ............. 240330030 96 97 95 96 89 94 96 93 

Prince George’s, MD ............. 240338003 95 95 98 96 97 97 97 97 

Prince George’s, MD ............. 240339991 93 92 96 94 92 93 93 94 

Arlington, VA ......................... 510130020 99 99 100 99 99 99 99 99 

Fairfax, VA ............................ 510590030 98 98 99 98 98 98 98 98 

Loudoun, VA ......................... 511071005 90 99 100 96 100 100 97 99 

Prince William, VA ................ 511530009 100 99 96 98 100 98 100 99 

* This data is below the data completeness requirement in 40 CFR part 50, appendix U. 


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23Further details on DOEE’s exceptional events 

analysis and the EPA’s concurrence on the 

demonstration can be found in the docket for this 

regulatory action. 

Table 2 in this document shows the 

fourth-highest maximum 8-hour average 

ozone concentrations for the 

Washington Area monitors in each of 

the years 2019 to 2023. Table 3 in this 

document shows the ozone DV for these 

same monitors based on the average of 

the fourth-highest maximum 8-hour 

average ozone concentrations for the 

2019–2021, 2020–2022, and 2021–2023 

3-year periods. 

TABLE 2—FOURTH-HIGHEST 8-HOUR OZONE AVERAGE CONCENTRATIONS (ppm) IN THE WASHINGTON AREA IN EACH

YEAR FROM 2019 TO 2023 

Location AQS site ID 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 

District of Columbia .................................. 110010041 0.062 0.054 0.064 0.059 0.058 

District of Columbia .................................. 110010043 0.071 0.063 0.072 0.066 0.072 

District of Columbia .................................. 110010050 0.067 0.063 0.069 * 0.051 * 0.046 

Calvert, MD .............................................. 240090011 0.058 0.054 0.062 0.058 0.066 

Charles, MD ............................................. 240170010 0.061 0.052 0.066 0.061 0.069 

Frederick, MD .......................................... 240210037 0.065 0.063 0.067 0.061 0.074 

Montgomery, MD ..................................... 240313001 0.062 0.059 0.068 0.063 0.068 

Prince George’s, MD ............................... 240330030 0.071 0.064 0.066 0.061 0.070 

Prince George’s, MD ............................... 240338003 0.065 0.060 0.070 0.064 0.073 

Prince George’s, MD ............................... 240339991 0.075 0.065 0.071 0.065 0.072 

Arlington, VA ............................................ 510130020 0.068 0.062 0.070 0.061 0.071 

Fairfax, VA ............................................... 510590030 0.070 0.057 0.068 0.062 0.073 

Loudoun, VA ............................................ 511071005 0.060 0.060 0.066 0.061 0.067 

Prince William, VA ................................... 511530009 0.060 0.057 0.062 0.058 0.070 

* This data is shown in EPA’s AQS as incomplete. 

TABLE 3—OZONE DESIGN VALUES (ppm) FOR THE WASHINGTON AREA

Location AQS site ID 2019–2021 2020–2022 2021–2023 

District of Columbia ......................................................................................... 110010041 0.060 0.059 0.060 

District of Columbia ......................................................................................... 110010043 0.068 0.067 0.070 

District of Columbia ......................................................................................... 110010050 0.066 * 0.061 * 0.055 

Calvert, MD ...................................................................................................... 240090011 0.058 0.058 0.062 

Charles, MD ..................................................................................................... 240170010 0.059 0.059 0.065 

Frederick, MD .................................................................................................. 240210037 0.065 0.063 0.067 

Montgomery, MD ............................................................................................. 240313001 0.063 0.063 0.066 

Prince George’s, MD ....................................................................................... 240330030 0.067 0.063 0.065 

Prince George’s, MD ....................................................................................... 240338003 0.065 0.064 0.069 

Prince George’s, MD ....................................................................................... 240339991 0.070 0.067 0.069 

Arlington, VA .................................................................................................... 510130020 0.066 0.064 0.067 

Fairfax, VA ....................................................................................................... 510590030 0.065 0.062 0.067 

Loudoun, VA .................................................................................................... 511071005 0.062 0.062 0.064 

Prince William, VA ........................................................................................... 511530009 0.059 0.059 0.063 

* This data is shown in the EPA’s AQS as incomplete. 

The EPA’s review of these data 

indicates that the 2021–2023 DV at each 

of the Washington Area’s monitors that 

has valid 2021–2023 data met the 

attainment standard of 0.070 ppm, 

excluding the exceptional event 

impacted monitoring day summarized 

in section II of this document.23 As a 

result, the EPA is able to determine that 

the Washington Area met the 2015 8- 

hour ozone standard by the applicable 

attainment date of August 3, 2024, and 

meets the requirements under the Clean 

Data Policy for a CDD. Prior ozone data 

from the 2019–2021 and 2020–2022 

monitoring periods further supports the 

EPA’s conclusion that the Area attained 

the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 

IV. Proposed Action 

The EPA is proposing to determine 

that the Washington moderate ozone 

nonattainment area has attained the 

2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS by the 

attainment date of August 3, 2024. This 

proposed determination is based upon 

complete, quality-assured, qualitycontrolled, and certified ambient air 

monitoring data that show the 

Washington Area has monitored 

attainment of the 2015 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS for the 2021–2023 monitoring 

period, including an evaluation of an 

exceptional events demonstration. If 

finalized, this action will address the 

EPA’s obligation under CAA sections 

179(c) and 181(b)(2) to determine 

whether the Washington Area attained 

the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the August 

3, 2024 attainment date. 

The EPA is also re-proposing to 

determine that the Area has clean data, 

consistent with Agency policy described 

above. As provided in 40 CFR 51.1318, 

if the EPA finalizes this CDD, it would 

suspend the requirements for such area 

to submit attainment demonstrations, 

associated RACM, RFP plans, and 

contingency measures under CAA 

section 172(c)(9), and any other 

planning State implementation plan 

revision related to attainment of the 

2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for this 

Area, for so long as the Area continues 

to attain the standard. Finalizing either 

the attainment determination or CDD 

does not constitute a redesignation of 

the Washington Area to attainment for 

the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS under 

CAA section 107(d)(3). This action also 

does not involve approving any 

maintenance plan for the Washington 

Area and does not determine that the 

Washington Area has met all the 

requirements for redesignation under 

the CAA, including that the attainment 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
90254 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

24Comments received on the 2023 Proposal are 

contained in the same docket as the current 

proposal: Docket ID No. EPA–R03–OAR–2022– 

0987. 

be due to permanent and enforceable 

measures. Therefore, the designation 

status of the Washington Area will 

remain nonattainment for the 2015 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS until such time as 

DC, MD, and VA submit a request for 

redesignation pursuant to 107(d)(3) of 

the CAA and the EPA determines that 

the area meets the CAA requirements for 

redesignation to attainment and takes 

action to redesignate the area. 

The EPA also proposes to take final 

agency action on an exceptional events 

request submitted by DC on March 20, 

2024, and concurred on by the EPA on 

July 17, 2024. 

The EPA is soliciting public 

comments on the issues discussed in 

this document. These comments will be 

considered before taking final action. 

The EPA previously received comments 

on the 2023 CDD Proposal (88 FR 6688, 

February 1, 2023). In re-proposing the 

CDD, the EPA will consider all 

comments received on the 2023 CDD 

Proposal as the Agency moves forward 

with the current rulemaking. 

Accordingly, commenters need not 

submit duplicate comments on the 

current proposal.24 However, the EPA 

welcomes comments providing 

additional information not previously 

submitted to the Agency. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This rulemaking proposes to make an 

attainment determination based on air 

quality data and would, if finalized, 

result in the suspension of certain 

Federal requirements and would not 

impose any additional requirements. 

For that reason, this proposed action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• 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 (Pub. L. 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); and 

• Is not subject to 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 CAA. 

Executive Order 12898 (Federal 

Actions to Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

February 16, 1994) directs Federal 

agencies to identify and address 

‘‘disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects’’ 

of their actions on minority populations 

and low-income populations to the 

greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law. The EPA defines 

environmental justice (EJ) as ‘‘the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement 

of all people regardless of race, color, 

national origin, or income with respect 

to the development, implementation, 

and enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and policies.’’ The EPA 

further defines the term fair treatment to 

mean that ‘‘no group of people should 

bear a disproportionate burden of 

environmental harms and risks, 

including those resulting from the 

negative environmental consequences of 

industrial, governmental, and 

commercial operations or programs and 

policies.’’ 

The EPA did not perform an EJ 

analysis and did not consider EJ in this 

action. Due to the nature of the action 

being taken here, this action is expected 

to have a neutral to positive impact on 

the air quality of the affected area. 

Consideration of EJ is not required as 

part of this action, and there is no 

information in the record inconsistent 

with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of 

achieving environmental justice for 

people of color, low-income population, 

and Indigenous peoples. 

In addition, this action for the 

Washington Area does not have Tribal 

implications as specified by Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000), because this action is not 

approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the Washington Area, and the 

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, Incorporation by 

reference, Ozone, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Adam Ortiz, 

Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26423 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Defense Acquisition Regulations 

System 

48 CFR Parts 212, 213, 217, 239, and 

252 

[Docket DARS–2024–0034] 

RIN 0750–AK23 

Defense Federal Acquisition 

Regulation Supplement: Disclosure of 

Information Regarding Foreign 

Obligations (DFARS Case 2018–D064) 

AGENCY: Defense Acquisition 

Regulations System, Department of 

Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: DoD is proposing to amend 

the Defense Federal Acquisition 

Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to 

implement a section of the National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2019, which prohibits DoD from 

acquiring products, services, or systems 

relating to information or operational 

technology, cybersecurity, industrial 

control systems, or weapon systems 

through a contract unless the offeror or 

contractor provides disclosures related 

to sharing source code and computer 

code with foreign governments. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule 

should be submitted in writing to the 

address shown below on or before 

January 14, 2025, to be considered in 

the formation of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by DFARS Case 2018–D064, 

using either of the following methods: 

Æ Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Search for 

DFARS Case 2018–D064. Select 

‘‘Comment’’ and follow the instructions 

to submit a comment. Please include 

‘‘DFARS Case 2018–D064’’ on any 

attached documents. 

Æ Email: osd.dfars@mail.mil. Include 

DFARS Case 2018–D064 in the subject 

line of the message. 

Comments received generally will be 

posted without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. To 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS