Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 6743 

Dated: January 31, 2012. 

Susan Hedman, 

Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2989 Filed 2–8–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2009–0666; FRL–9629–3] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans and Designation 

of Areas for Air Quality Planning 

Purposes; Illinois; Ozone 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

a request from Illinois to redesignate the 

Illinois portion of the Chicago-GaryLake County, Illinois-Indiana (IL-IN) 

ozone nonattainment area (the Greater 

Chicago area) to attainment of the 1997 

8-hour ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) 

because the request meets the statutory 

requirements for redesignation under 

the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area 

includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, 

McHenry, and Will Counties and 

portions of Grundy (Aux Sable and 

Goose Lake Townships) and Kendall 

(Oswego Township) Counties. The 

Illinois Environmental Protection 

Agency (IEPA) submitted this request on 

July 23, 2009, and supplemented its 

request in a submittal on September 16, 

2011. EPA is proposing to approve, as 

a revision of the Illinois State 

Implementation Plan (SIP), the State’s 

plan for maintaining the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard through 2025 in the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area. EPA is proposing to approve 2002 

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and 

Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) emission 

inventories for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area as a revision of the 

Illinois SIP because the emission 

inventories meet the requirements of 

section 182(a) of the CAA. Finally, EPA 

proposes to approve the State’s 2008 

and 2025 VOC and NOX Motor Vehicle 

Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 12, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2009–0666, by one of the 

following methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: aburano.douglas@epa.gov. 

• Fax: (312) 408–2279. 

• Mail: Douglas Aburano, Chief, 

Attainment Planning and Maintenance 

Section (AR–18J), U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson 

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 

• Hand Delivery: Douglas Aburano, 

Chief, Attainment Planning and 

Maintenance Section (AR–18J), U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 77 

West Jackson Boulevard, 18th Floor, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such deliveries 

are only accepted during the Regional 

Office’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. The 

Regional Office official hours of 

business are Monday through Friday, 

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 

Federal holidays. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R05–OAR–2009– 

0666. 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.regulations.gov, 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 information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or email. The www.regulations.gov Web 

site 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 email 

comment directly to EPA without going 

through www.regulations.gov, your 

email 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, 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 

and viruses. For additional instructions 

on submitting comments, go to section 

I of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically in 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation 

Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is 

open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, excluding 

Federal holidays. We recommend that 

you telephone Edward Doty at (312) 

886–6057 before visiting the Region 5 

office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Edward Doty, Environmental Scientist, 

Attainment Planning and Maintenance 

Section, Air Programs Branch (AR–18J), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886–6057, 

or Doty.Edward@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. This supplementary information 

section is arranged as follows: 

Table of Contents 

I. What should I consider as I prepare my 

comments for EPA? 

II. What actions is EPA proposing? 

III. What is the background for these actions? 

A. General Background 

B. What are the impacts of the December 

22, 2006, and June 8, 2007, United States 

Court of Appeals decisions regarding 

EPA’s Phase 1 Ozone Implementation 

Rule? 

1. Summary of Court Decisions 

2. Requirements Under the 8-Hour Ozone 

Standard 

3. Requirements Under the 1-Hour Ozone 

Standard 

IV. What are the criteria for redesignation? 

V. What is EPA’s analysis of the State’s ozone 

redesignation request? 

A. Has the Greater Chicago area attained 

the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS? 

B. Has the State of Illinois met all 

applicable requirements of Section 110 

and Part D of the CAA for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area, and 

does the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area have a fully approved SIP 

under Section 110(k) of the CAA? 

1. The Illinois Portion of the Greater 

Chicago Area Has Met All Applicable 

Requirements of Section 110 and Part D 

of the CAA for Purposes of 

Redesignation 

2. The Illinois Portion of the Greater 

Chicago Area Has a Fully Approved SIP 

for Purposes of Redesignation Under 

Section 110 of the CAA 

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6744 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

1Fourth-highest daily maximum 1-hour ozone 

concentration over a 3-year period at the worst-case 

monitoring site in the area. 

2Three-year averages of the annual fourth-highest 

daily maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations at the 

worst-case monitoring sites in the areas. 

3. The Illinois Portion of the Greater 

Chicago Area Has a Fully Approved SIP 

and Meets Anti-Backsliding 

Requirements Under the 1-Hour Ozone 

Standard 

C. Are the air quality improvements in the 

Greater Chicago area due to permanent 

and enforceable emission reductions? 

1. Permanent and Enforceable Controls 

Implemented 

2. Emission Reductions 

D. Does Illinois have a fully approvable 

ozone maintenance plan? 

1. Maintenance Plan Requirements 

2. Attainment Inventory 

3. Has the State documented maintenance 

of the ozone standard in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area? 

4. What is the contingency plan for the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area? 

5. Monitoring Network and Verification of 

Continued Attainment 

VI. Has the State adopted approvable motor 

vehicle emission budgets? 

VII. 2002 Emissions Inventories 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What should I consider as I prepare 

my comments for EPA? 

When submitting comments, 

remember to: 

1. Identify the rulemaking by docket 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

2. Follow directions—EPA may ask 

you to respond to specific questions or 

organize comments by referencing a 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

or section number. 

3. Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

4. Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data you used. 

5. If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

6. Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns, and suggest 

alternatives. 

7. Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

8. Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified in the proposed rule. 

II. What actions is EPA proposing? 

EPA is proposing to take several 

related actions. First, EPA is proposing 

to approve the redesignation of the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area from nonattainment to attainment 

of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA 

is also proposing to approve Illinois’ 

ozone maintenance plan for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area as a 

revision of the Illinois SIP (such 

approval being one of the CAA criteria 

for redesignation to attainment). The 

ozone maintenance plan demonstrates 

that the Greater Chicago area should 

remain in attainment of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard through 2025, and 

specifies the measures that will be taken 

in the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area to assure maintenance of 

the 1997 8-hour ozone standard in the 

Greater Chicago area. 

EPA is proposing to approve 2002 

VOC and NOX emission inventories for 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area as a revision of the Illinois 

SIP. These emission inventories satisfy 

the requirements in section 182(a)(1) of 

the CAA for comprehensive, accurate, 

and current emission inventories. 

Finally, EPA is proposing to approve 

VOC and NOX 2008 and 2025 MVEBs 

for the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area. 

III. What is the background for these 

actions? 

A. General Background 

EPA has determined that ground-level 

ozone (O3) is detrimental to human 

health. On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38856), 

EPA promulgated an 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS of 0.08 parts per million parts 

of air (0.08 ppm) (the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard). This standard is violated in 

an area when any monitor in the area 

records 8-hour ozone concentrations 

with a 3-year average of the annual 

fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour 

ozone concentrations equaling or 

exceeding 0.085 ppm. 

Ground-level ozone is generally not 

emitted directly by sources. Rather, 

emitted NOX and VOC react in the 

presence of sunlight to form groundlevel ozone, as a secondary pollutant, 

along with other secondary compounds. 

NOX and VOC are ‘‘ozone precursors.’’ 

Reduction of peak ground-level ozone 

concentrations is achieved through 

controlling VOC and NOX emissions. 

Section 107 of the CAA required EPA 

to designate as nonattainment any area 

that violated the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard. EPA promulgated 8-hour 

ozone designations and classifications 

on April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23857). The 

Greater Chicago area was designated 

and classified as a moderate 

nonattainment area for the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard. The designation and 

classification became effective on June 

15, 2004. 

The CAA contains two sets of 

provisions, subparts 1 and 2, that 

address planning and emission control 

requirements for ozone nonattainment 

areas. Both of these subparts are found 

in title I, part D of the CAA; sections 

171–179 and sections 181–185, 

respectively. Subpart 1 contains general, 

less prescriptive requirements for all 

nonattainment areas of any pollutant, 

including ozone, governed by a NAAQS. 

Subpart 2 contains additional, more 

specific requirements for certain ozone 

nonattainment areas, and applies to 

ozone nonattainment areas classified 

under section 181 of the CAA. 

Under EPA’s implementation rule for 

the 1997 8-hour ozone standard (69 FR 

23951, April 30, 2004), an area was 

classified under subpart 2 based on its 

8-hour ozone design value (i.e., the 

3-year average annual fourth-highest 

daily maximum 8-hour average ozone 

concentration at the worst-case 

monitoring site in the area or in its 

immediate downwind environs), if it 

had a 1-hour ozone design value 1 at the 

time of designation at or above 0.121 

ppm. All other areas were covered 

under subpart 1 based on their 8-hour 

ozone design values 2 (69 FR 23958). 

The Greater Chicago area was 

designated as a subpart 2 moderate 

ozone nonattainment area by EPA on 

April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23898), based on 

air quality monitoring data from 2001– 

2003 (69 FR 23898). 

40 CFR 50.10 and 40 CFR part 50, 

appendix I provide that the 8-hour 

ozone standard is attained when the 

3-year averages of the annual fourthhighest daily maximum 8-hour average 

ozone concentrations at all monitoring 

sites in the area are less than or equal 

to 0.08 ppm. The ozone data must be 

complete over the 3-year period, 

meeting the data completeness 

requirements of 40 CFR part 50, 

appendix I, section 2.3(d). 

On March 27, 2008 (73 FR 16436), 

EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour 

ozone standard of 0.075 ppm (the 2008 

8-hour ozone standard). EPA has not yet 

promulgated area designations for this 

standard. The actions addressed in this 

proposed rule relate only to the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard. 

On July 23, 2009, IEPA requested that 

EPA redesignate the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area to attainment 

for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard 

based on ozone data for the period of 

2006–2008. On September 16, 2011, 

IEPA supplemented the original 

redesignation request, submitting ozone 

data for the period of 2008–2010, 

revising the mobile source emission 

estimates using EPA’s new on-road 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 6745 

mobile source emissions model, 

MOVES, and extending the 

demonstration of maintenance through 

2025, with new MVEBs. 

B. What are the impacts of the 

December 22, 2006, and June 8, 2007, 

United States Court of Appeals 

decisions regarding EPA’s Phase 1 

Ozone Implementation Rule? 

1. Summary of Court Decisions 

On December 22, 2006, the U.S. Court 

of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit (D.C. Circuit) vacated EPA’s 

Phase 1 implementation rule for the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard (69 FR 

23591, April 30, 2004). South Coast Air 

Quality Management Dist. v. EPA, 472 

F.3d 882 (D.C. Cir. 2006). On June 8, 

2007, in response to several petitions for 

rehearing, the D.C. Circuit Court (Court) 

clarified that the Phase 1 rule was 

vacated only for those parts of the rule 

that had been successfully challenged. 

Id., Docket No. 04 1201. Therefore, 

several provisions of the Phase 1 rule 

remain effective: Provisions related to 

classifications for areas currently 

classified under subpart 2 of title I, part 

D of the CAA as 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas; 8-hour ozone 

attainment dates for these areas; and, 

the timing of emission reductions 

needed for attainment of the 8-hour 

ozone NAAQS in these areas. The June 

8, 2007, decision also left intact the 

Court’s rejection of EPA’s reasons for 

implementing the 8-hour ozone 

standard in certain nonattainment areas 

under subpart 1 in lieu of subpart 2 of 

the CAA. By limiting the vacatur, the 

Court let stand EPA’s revocation of the 

1-hour ozone standard and those antibacksliding provisions of the Phase 1 

rule that had not been successfully 

challenged. 

The June 8, 2007, decision reaffirmed 

the December 22, 2006, decision that 

EPA had failed to retain four measures 

required for 1-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas under the antibacksliding provisions of the 

regulations: (1) Part D New Source 

Review (NSR) requirements based on an 

area’s 1-hour nonattainment 

classification; (2) section 185 penalty 

fees for 1-hour severe or extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas; (3) measures to be 

implemented pursuant to section 

172(c)(9) or 182(c)(9) of the CAA, on the 

contingency of an area not making 

reasonable further progress toward 

attainment of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, 

or for failure to attain the NAAQS; and, 

(4) certain transportation conformity 

requirements for Federal actions. The 

June 8, 2007, decision clarified that the 

Court’s reference to conformity 

requirements was limited to requiring 

the continued use of 1-hour MVEBs 

until 8-hour MVEBs are available for the 

8-hour conformity determinations. 

This section sets forth EPA’s views on 

the potential effect of the Court’s rulings 

on this proposed redesignation action. 

For the reasons set forth below in 

sections III.B.2 and B.3, EPA does not 

believe that the Court’s rulings alter any 

requirements relevant to this 

redesignation action so as to preclude 

redesignation, and do not prevent EPA 

from proposing and ultimately 

finalizing this redesignation. EPA 

believes that the Court’s decisions 

impose no impediment to moving 

forward with redesignation of this area 

to attainment, because, even in light of 

the Court’s decisions, redesignation is 

appropriate under the relevant 

redesignation provisions of the CAA 

and longstanding policies regarding 

redesignation requests. 

2. Requirements Under the 8-Hour 

Ozone Standard 

With respect to the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard, the Greater Chicago area is 

classified as moderate nonattainment 

under subpart 2, part D of the CAA. The 

June 8, 2007, decision clarifies that the 

Court did not vacate the Phase 1 rule’s 

provisions with respect to 

classifications for areas under subpart 2. 

The Court’s decision, therefore, upholds 

EPA’s classifications for those areas 

classified under subpart 2 for the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard, and all 8-hour 

ozone requirements for these areas 

remain in place. 

3. Requirements Under the 1-Hour 

Ozone Standard 

In its June 8, 2007, decision, the Court 

limited its Phase 1 rule vacatur so as to 

uphold provisions of EPA’s antibacksliding requirements that were not 

successfully challenged. Therefore, an 

area must meet the anti-backsliding 

requirements which apply by virtue of 

the area’s classification for the 1-hour 

ozone standard. See 40 CFR 51.900, et 

seq.; 70 FR 30592, 30604 (May 26, 

2005). As set forth in more detail below, 

the area must address four antibacksliding provisions identified by the 

Court in its decisions. 

The anti-backsliding provisions at 40 

CFR 51.905(a)(1) prescribe 1-hour ozone 

standard requirements that continue to 

apply after revocation of the 1-hour 

ozone standard for former 1-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas. Section 

51.905(a)(1)(i) provides that: 

The area remains subject to the obligation 

to adopt and implement the applicable 

requirements as defined in section 51.900(f), 

except as provided in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of 

this section, and except as provided in 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

Section 51.900(f), as amended by 70 FR 

30592, 30604 (May 26, 2005), provides 

that: 

Applicable requirements means for an area 

that the following requirements, to the extent 

such requirements applied to the area for the 

area’s classification under section 181(a)(1) of 

the CAA for the 1-hour NAAQS at the time 

of designation for the 8-hour NAAQS, remain 

in effect: 

(1) Reasonably available control technology 

(RACT). 

(2) Inspection and maintenance programs 

(I/M). 

(3) Major source applicability cut-offs for 

purposes of RACT. 

(4) Rate of Progress (ROP) reductions. 

(5) Stage II vapor recovery. 

(6) Clean fuels fleet program under section 

183(c)(4) of the CAA. 

(7) Clean fuels for boilers under section 

182(e)(3) of the CAA. 

(8) Transportation Control Measures 

(TCMs) during heavy traffic hours as 

provided under section 182(e)(4) of the CAA. 

[Not a requirement for the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area.] 

(9) Enhanced (ambient) monitoring under 

section 182(c)(1) of the CAA. 

(10) TCMs under section 182(c)(5) of the 

CAA. 

(11) Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) 

provisions of section 182(d)(1) of the CAA. 

(12) NOX requirements under section 182(f) 

of the CAA. 

(13) Attainment demonstration or 

alternative as provided under section 

51.905(a)(1)(ii). 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.905(c), the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area is subject to the obligations set 

forth in 51.905(a) and 51.900(f). 

With regard to part D NSR 

requirements, EPA has determined that 

an area being redesignated to attainment 

need not have an approved 

nonattainment NSR program, provided 

that the state demonstrates maintenance 

of the standard in the area without part 

D NSR in effect. The rationale for this 

view is described in a memorandum 

from Mary Nichols, Assistant 

Administrator for Air and Radiation 

dated October 14, 1994, titled, ‘‘Part D 

New Source Requirements for Areas 

Requesting Redesignation to 

Attainment.’’ This policy assumes that 

the state’s Prevention of Significant 

Deterioration (PSD) program will 

become effective in the area upon 

redesignation of the area to attainment. 

Consequently, EPA concludes that an 

approved part D NSR program is not an 

applicable requirement for purposes of 

redesignation. See the more detailed 

explanations of this issue in the 

following rulemakings: Detroit, 

Michigan (60 FR 12467–12468 (March 7, 

1995); Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio 

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6746 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

(61 FR 20458, 20469–20470, May 7, 

1996); Louisville, Kentucky (66 FR 

53665, 53669, October 23, 2001); Grand 

Rapids, Michigan (61 FR 31831, 31836– 

31837, June 21, 1996). 

The conformity portion of the Court’s 

ruling does not impact the redesignation 

request for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area except to the 

extent that the Court, in its June 8, 2007, 

decision clarified that, for those areas 

with MVEBs for the 1-hour ozone 

standard, anti-backsliding requires that 

these MVEBs must be used for 8-hour 

conformity determinations until 

replaced by MVEBs for the 8-hour ozone 

standard. To meet this requirement, 

conformity determinations in such areas 

must comply with the applicable 

requirements of EPA’s conformity 

regulations at 40 CFR part 93. Note 

below that EPA is proposing to find 

adequate and approve 8-hour MVEBs 

established by Illinois’ 8-hour ozone 

maintenance plan for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area. 

Severe ozone nonattainment areas 

must meet the CAA requirement for 

section 185 source penalty fees. Since 

the Greater Chicago area was classified 

as severe nonattainment under the 

1-hour ozone standard, the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area and 

the Illinois SIP for this area are subject 

to this CAA requirement. It should be 

noted, however, that on December 30, 

2008 (73 FR 79652), EPA published a 

final rule making a determination that 

the Greater Chicago area had attained 

the 1-hour ozone standard and 

confirming that this finding of 

attainment relieved Illinois (and 

Indiana) of the obligation to adopt 

section 185 source penalty fee 

regulations for this area. 

Finally, with regard to the 

contingency measure requirements 

under sections 172(c)(9) and 182(c)9) of 

the CAA, it is noted that these 

requirements must be addressed in state 

ozone Reasonable Further Progress 

(RFP) and attainment demonstration 

plans. Illinois addressed these 

requirements in the 1-hour ozone RFP 

and attainment demonstration plans for 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area by adopting and 

implementing extra VOC and NOX

emission controls that go beyond the 

emission reductions needed for RFP and 

attainment of the 1-hour ozone 

standard. EPA approved these ozone 

control plans, including their 

contingency elements: VOC-15 percent 

RFP plan (December 18, 1997, 62 FR 

66279); post-1996 RFP plan (December 

18, 2000, 65 FR 78961); and, 1-hour 

ozone attainment demonstration and 

post-1999 RFP plan (November 13, 

2001, 66 FR 56904). Therefore, Illinois 

has met the contingency requirements of 

sections 172(c)(9) and 182(c)(9) of the 

CAA for the 1-hour ozone standard. As 

noted later in this proposed rule, Illinois 

has committed to retain and to 

implement all VOC and NOX emission 

control measures under the 1-hour 

ozone RFP and attainment plans for the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area. 

IV. What are the criteria for 

redesignation? 

The CAA provides the basic 

requirements for redesignating a 

nonattainment area to attainment. 

Specifically, section 107(d)(3)(E) of the 

CAA authorizes redesignation provided 

that: (1) The Administrator determines 

that the area has attained the applicable 

NAAQS based on current air quality 

data; (2) the Administrator has fully 

approved an applicable state 

implementation plan for the area under 

section 110(k) of the CAA; (3) the 

Administrator determines that the 

improvement in air quality is due to 

permanent and enforceable emission 

reductions resulting from 

implementation of the applicable SIP, 

Federal air pollution control 

regulations, and other permanent and 

enforceable emission reductions; (4) the 

Administrator has fully approved a 

maintenance plan for the area meeting 

the requirements of section 175A of the 

CAA; and, (5) the state has met all 

requirements applicable to the area 

under section 110 and part D of the 

CAA. 

EPA provided guidance on 

redesignations in the General Preamble 

for the Implementation of Title I of the 

CAA Amendments of 1990 on April 16, 

1992 (57 FR 13498), and supplemented 

this guidance on April 28, 1992 (57 FR 

18070). 

Two significant policy documents 

affecting the review of ozone 

redesignation requests are the following: 

(1) ‘‘Procedures for Processing Requests 

To Redesignate Areas to Attainment,’’ 

Memorandum from John Calcagni, 

Director, Air Quality Management 

Division, September 4, 1992 (the 

September 4, 1992 Calcagni 

memorandum); and, (2) ‘‘Reasonable 

Further Progress, Attainment 

Demonstration, and Related 

Requirements for Ozone Nonattainment 

Areas Meeting the Ozone National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard,’’ 

Memorandum from John S. Seitz, 

Director, Office of Air Quality Planning 

and Standards, May 10, 1995 (the May 

10, 1995 Clean Data Policy 

memorandum). Additional guidance on 

processing redesignation requests is 

included in the following documents: 

• ‘‘Maintenance Plans for 

Redesignation of Ozone and Carbon 

Monoxide Nonattainment Areas,’’ 

Memorandum from G.T. Helms, Chief 

Ozone/Carbon Monoxide Programs 

Branch, April 30, 1992; 

• ‘‘Contingency Measures for Ozone 

and Carbon Monoxide (CO) 

Redesignations,’’ Memorandum from 

G.T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon 

Monoxide Programs Branch, June 1, 

1992; 

• ‘‘State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

Actions Submitted in Response to Clean 

Air Act (Act) Deadlines,’’ Memorandum 

from John Calcagni, Director, Air 

Quality Management Division, October 

28, 1992; 

• ‘‘Technical Support Documents 

(TSDs) for Redesignation of Ozone and 

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Nonattainment 

Areas,’’ Memorandum from G.T. Helms, 

Chief, Ozone/Carbon Monoxide 

Programs Branch, August 17, 1993; 

• ‘‘State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

Requirements for Areas Submitting 

Requests for Redesignation to 

Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon 

Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS) On or After 

November 15, 1992,’’ Memorandum 

from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting 

Assistant Administrator for Air and 

Radiation, September 17, 1993; 

• ‘‘Use of Actual Emissions in 

Maintenance Demonstrations for Ozone 

and CO Nonattainment Areas,’’ 

Memorandum from D. Kent Berry, 

Acting Director, Air Quality 

Management Division, November 30, 

1993; and, 

• ‘‘Part D New Source Review (Part D 

NSR) Requirements for Areas 

Requesting Redesignation to 

Attainment,’’ Memorandum from Mary 

D. Nichols, Assistant Administrator for 

Air and Radiation, October 14, 1994. 

V. What is EPA’s analysis of the State’s 

ozone redesignation request? 

EPA is proposing to approve Illinois’ 

ozone redesignation request for the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area with a determination that the 

Greater Chicago area has attained the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard based on 

current ozone monitoring data for 2008– 

2010 and that the State of Illinois and 

the Illinois portion of this area have met 

all other applicable redesignation 

criteria for the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard under section 107(d)(3)(E) of 

the CAA. The basis for EPA’s proposed 

approval of the redesignation request is 

discussed in more detail as follows. 

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A. Has the Greater Chicago area 

attained the 1997 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS? 

An area may be considered to be 

attaining the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS 

if there are no violations of the NAAQS, 

as determined in accordance with 40 

CFR 50.10 and appendix I, based on the 

most recent 3 consecutive years of 

complete, quality-assured air quality 

monitoring data at all ozone monitoring 

sites in the area and in its nearby 

downwind environs. To attain this 

standard, the average of the annual 

fourth-high daily maximum 8-hour 

average ozone concentrations measured 

and recorded at each monitoring site 

over the most recent 3-year period (the 

monitoring site’s ozone design value) 

must not exceed 0.084 ppm. The data 

must be collected and quality-assured in 

accordance with 40 CFR part 58, and 

must be recorded in EPA’s Air Quality 

System (AQS). 

As part of the July 23, 2009, ozone 

redesignation request, IEPA summarized 

the annual fourth-high daily maximum 

8-hour ozone concentrations and the 

3-year 8-hour ozone design values for 

the period of 2006–2008 for all ozone 

monitoring sites in the Greater Chicago 

area. This ozone data summary also 

includes ozone concentration data for 

the Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site in 

Wisconsin, an ozone peak downwind 

impact site for ozone precursor 

emissions originating in the Greater 

Chicago area. The September 16, 2011, 

updated ozone redesignation request 

from Illinois also summarized the 

annual fourth-high ozone data for all 

monitoring sites for the period of 2006– 

2008. 

Table 1 summarizes the monitoring 

site-specific annual fourth-high daily 

maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations 

and 3-year ozone design values for all 

monitoring sites covered in Illinois’ 

ozone redesignation request for the 

period of 2006–2010. Note that we have 

included 2009 and 2010 ozone 

monitoring data in this summary. These 

additional data were obtained from 

EPA’s AQS. Since Illinois’ July 23, 2009, 

submittal of the ozone redisignation 

request, 2009 and 2010 ozone 

monitoring data have been quality 

assured and submitted to EPA’s AQS. 

TABLE 1—ANNUAL FOURTH-HIGH DAILY MAXIMUM 8-HOUR OZONE CONCENTRATIONS IN PARTS PER MILLION (PPM) AND

3-YEAR AVERAGES

State/County Monitoring site 

(AQS Site ID) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 

3-Year 

average 

2006– 

2008 

3-Year 

average 

2008– 

2010 

Illinois: 

Cook .......... Alsip (170310001) .............................................. 0.078 0.085 0.066 0.069 0.073 0.076 0.69 

Cook .......... Chicago—SWFP (170310032) ........................... 0.075 0.082 0.067 0.065 0.074 0.074 0.069 

Cook .......... Chicago—University of Chicago (170310064) ... 0.070 0.079 0.063 0.060 0.071 0.070 0.065 

Cook .......... Chicago—Jardine (170310072) .......................... 0.065 0.075 0.063 0.062 0.071 0.067 0.065 

Cook .......... Chicago—Commonwealth Edison (170310076) 0.075 0.080 0.066 0.067 0.068 0.073 0.067 

Cook .......... Chicago—Taft (170311003) ............................... 0.077 0.079 0.064 0.064 0.070 0.073 0.066 

Cook .......... Lemont (170311601) .......................................... 0.070 0.085 0.071 0.067 0.073 0.075 0.070 

Cook .......... Cicero (170314002) ............................................ 0.060 0.068 0.060 0.067 0.068 0.062 0.065 

Cook .......... Des Plaines (170314007) ................................... 0.065 0.078 0.057 0.050 0.064 0.066 0.057 

Cook .......... Northbrook (170314201) .................................... 0.068 0.076 0.065 0.069 0.072 0.069 0.069 

Cook .......... Evanston (170317002) ....................................... 0.072 0.080 0.058 0.064 0.067 0.070 0.063 

DuPage ...... Lisle (170436001) ............................................... 0.062 0.072 0.057 0.059 0.064 0.063 0.060 

Kane .......... Elgin (170890005) .............................................. 0.062 0.075 0.061 0.068 0.069 0.066 0.066 

Lake ........... Waukegan (170971002) ..................................... 0.071 0.081 0.063 0.057 0.074 0.071 0.065 

Lake ........... Zion (170971007) ............................................... 0.068 0.080 0.069 0.075 0.078 0.072 0.074 

McHenry .... Cary (171110001) ............................................... 0.057 0.074 0.065 0.066 0.065 0.065 0.065 

Will ............. Braidwood (171971011) ..................................... 0.068 0.071 0.060 0.063 0.065 0.066 0.063 

Indiana: 

Lake ........... Gary (180890022) .............................................. 0.073 0.085 0.062 0.058 0.064 0.073 0.061 

Lake ........... Whiting (180890030) .......................................... 0.081 0.088 0.062 0.062 0.069 0.077 0.064 

Lake ........... Hammond (180892008) ...................................... 0.075 0.077 0.068 0.065 0.069 0.073 0.067 

Porter ......... Valparaiso (181270026) ..................................... 0.071 0.080 0.061 0.064 0.061 0.070 0.062 

Wisconsin: 

Kenosha ..... Chiwaukee Prairie (550590019) ......................... 0.079 0.085 0.072 0.071 0.081 0.078 0.075 

IEPA notes that the 2006–2008 ozone 

design values for all monitoring sites are 

below the 0.084 ppm attainment level. 

We also note that the 2008–2010 ozone 

design values for all monitoring sites are 

below the 0.084 ppm attainment level. 

Therefore, the ozone monitoring data for 

the Greater Chicago area and for 

Chiwaukee Prairie in Wisconsin show 

attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard. 

IEPA commits to continue ozone 

monitoring at the Illinois monitoring 

sites in accordance with EPA-approved 

monitoring plans, as required to confirm 

maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard. Should changes in the ozone 

monitoring system become necessary, 

IEPA commits to work with the EPA to 

assure the continued adequacy of the 

ozone monitoring network in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area. 

Based on the available ozone 

monitoring data, we conclude that the 

Greater Chicago area has attained the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard, and has 

continued to attain this ozone standard 

through the most recent three years of 

quality-assured ozone monitoring data. 

B. Has State of Illinois met all 

applicable requirements of Section 110 

and Part D of the CAA for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area, and 

does the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area have a fully approved SIP 

under Section 110(k) of the CAA? 

In April 2004, the Greater Chicago 

area was designated as a moderate 

nonattainment area with a June 15, 

2010, attainment deadline for the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard. Prior to this, the 

Greater Chicago area had been 

designated as a severe nonattainment 

area with a November 15, 2007, 

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3Required VOC RACT rule revisions were also 

submitted by the IEPA on July 29, 2010 and 

September 29, 2011. 

4On October 27, 1998 (63 FR 57356), EPA issued 

a NOX SIP call requiring the District of Columbia 

and 22 States to reduce emissions of NOX in order 

to reduce the transport of ozone and ozone 

precursors. In compliance with EPA’s NOX SIP Call, 

IEPA developed rules governing the control of NOX

emissions from Electric Generating Units (EGUs), 

major non-EGU industrial boilers and turbines, and 

major cement kilns. EPA approved Illinois’ rules as 

fulfilling the requirements of the NOX SIP call on 

November 8, 2001, at 66 FR 56449 and 66 FR 56454. 

attainment deadline for the 1-hour 

ozone standard. As a result of these 

nonattainment designations, the State of 

Illinois was required to submit SIP 

revisions that meet certain ozone 

planning and emission control 

requirements of the CAA. 

The September 4, 1992, Calcagni 

memorandum confirms that a state with 

an area seeking redesignation to 

attainment has to fully adopt rules and 

meet SIP requirements that come due 

prior to the submittal of a complete 

redesignation request. See also 60 FR 

12459, 12465–66 (March 7, 1995) 

(redesignation of Detroit-Ann Arbor, 

Michigan); 68 FR 25424, 25427 (May 12, 

2003) (redesignation of St. Louis); Sierra 

Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 

2004); and, 70 FR 19895, 19900 (April 

15, 2005) (redesignation of Cincinnati). 

Furthermore, requirements of the CAA 

that come due subsequent to the state’s 

submittal of a complete redesignation 

request would continue to be applicable 

to the area until redesignation to 

attainment is approved, but are not 

required as a prerequisite for 

redesignation (see section 175A(c) of the 

CAA). If the redesignation is 

disapproved or is not completed due to 

a subsequent violation of the ozone 

standard in the area prior to final 

approval of the state’s ozone 

redeignation request, the state remains 

obligated to fulfill these CAA 

requirements. 

We are proposing to determine that 

the State of Illinois and the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area have 

met all currently applicable SIP 

requirements for purposes of 

redesignation of the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area to attainment 

of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard 

under section 110 and part D of the 

CAA. We have determined that the 

Illinois SIP, with the exception of the 

2002 base year VOC and NOX emission 

inventories and certain VOC RACT 

rules: (1) Meets all SIP requirements 

currently applicable for purposes of 

redesignation under part D of title I of 

the CAA, in accordance with section 

107(d)(3)(E)(v) of the CAA; and, (2) is 

fully approved with respect to all 

applicable requirements for purposes of 

redesignation to attainment of the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard, in accordance 

with section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) of the CAA. 

As discussed below in section VII, 

EPA is proposing to approve Illinois’ 

2002 base year VOC and NOX emission 

inventories as meeting the SIP emission 

inventory requirement of section 

182(a)(1) of the CAA. If EPA approves 

the emission inventories in a final rule, 

Illinois will have met the ozone 

precursor emission inventory 

requirements of the CAA. 

In the September 16, 2011, submittal 

the IEPA submitted VOC emission 

control regulations and other rule 

revisions needed to meet the VOC RACT 

requirements of the CAA.3 On 

November 30, 2011, EPA proposed to 

approve all of these regulations and rule 

revisions as revisions of the Illinois SIP. 

If these VOC emission control 

regulations and revised rules are 

approved through a final rulemaking 

and are incorporated into the Illinois 

SIP, Illinois will have met the CAA 

requirements for VOC RACT. 

Recognizing that the base year VOC 

and NOX emission inventories and VOC 

RACT rules must be approved on or 

before we complete final rulemaking 

approving Illinois’ ozone redesignation 

request, we determine here that, 

assuming that these approvals occur, 

Illinois will have met all applicable 

section 110 and part D SIP requirements 

of the CAA for purposes of approval of 

Illinois’ ozone redesignation request for 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area. In making this 

determination, we have ascertained 

what SIP requirements are applicable to 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area for purposes of 

redesignation. 

1. The Illinois Portion of the Greater 

Chicago Area Has Met All Applicable 

Requirements of Section 110 and Part D 

of the CAA for Purposes of 

Redesignation 

a. Section 110: General Requirements 

for Implementation Plans 

Section 110(a) of the CAA contains 

the general requirements for a SIP. 

Section 110(a)(2) provides that the SIP 

implemented by a state must have been 

adopted by the state after reasonable 

public notice and hearing, and that, 

among other things, it must: (1) Include 

enforceable emission limitations and 

other control measures, means or 

techniques necessary to meet the 

requirements of the CAA; (2) provide for 

establishment and operation of 

appropriate devices, methods, systems 

and procedures necessary to monitor 

ambient air quality; (3) provide for 

implementation of a source permit 

program to regulate the modification 

and construction of stationary sources 

within the areas covered by the plan; (4) 

include provisions for the 

implementation of part C PSD and part 

D NSR permit programs; (5) include 

criteria for stationary source emission 

control measures, monitoring, and 

reporting; (6) include provisions for air 

quality modeling; and, (7) provide for 

public and local agency participation in 

planning and emission control rule 

development. 

Section 110(a)(2)(D) of the CAA 

requires SIPs to contain measures to 

prevent sources in a state from 

significantly contributing to air quality 

problems in another state. To 

implement this provision, EPA has 

required certain states to establish 

programs to address transport of certain 

air pollutants, e.g., NOX SIP call.4

However, the section 110(a)(2)(D) SIP 

requirements are not linked with a 

particular area’s designation and 

classification. EPA concludes that the 

SIP requirements linked with an area’s 

designation and classification are the 

relevant measures to evaluate when 

reviewing a redesignation request for 

the area. The section 110(a)(2)(D) 

requirements, where applicable, 

continue to apply to a state regardless of 

the designation of any one particular 

area within the state. Thus, we believe 

these requirements are not applicable 

requirements for purposes or 

redesignation. See 65 FR 37890 (June 

15, 2000), 66 FR 50399 (October 19, 

2001), 68 FR 25418, 25426–27 (May 13, 

2003). 

Further, we believe that section 

110(a)(2) elements, other than those 

described above that are not connected 

with nonattainment plan submissions 

and that are not linked with an area’s 

attainment status are also not applicable 

requirements for purposes of 

redesignation. A state remains subject to 

these requirements regardless of an 

area’s designation and after the area is 

redesignated to attainment. We 

conclude that only the section 110 and 

part D requirements that are linked with 

an area’s designation and classification 

are the relevant measures for evaluating 

this aspect of a redesignation request. 

This approach is consistent with EPA’s 

policy on applicability of conformity 

and oxygenated fuel requirements for 

redesignation purposes, as well as with 

section 184 ozone transport 

requirements. See: Reading, 

Pennsylvania proposed and final 

rulemakings (61 FR 53174–53176, 

October 10, 1996 and 62 FR 24826, May 

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5The NSR program controls the growth and 

permitting of major source emissions in ozone 

nonattainment areas. 

6PSD requirements control the growth of new 

source emissions in areas designated as attainment 

for a NAAQS. 

7, 1997); Cleveland-Akron-Loraine, 

Ohio final rulemaking (61 FR 20458, 

May 7, 1996); and Tampa, Florida final 

rulemaking (60 FR 62748, December 7, 

1995). See also the discussion on this 

issue in the Cincinnati, Ohio ozone 

redesignation (65 FR 37890, June 19, 

2000), and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

ozone redesignation (66 FR 50399, 

October 19, 2001). 

We have reviewed the Illinois SIP and 

conclude that it meets the general SIP 

requirements under section 110 of the 

CAA applicable to the State’s request for 

redesignation. EPA has previously 

approved provisions of the Illinois SIP 

addressing section 110 elements under 

the 1-hour ozone standard (40 CFR 

52.720 and 40 CFR 52.722). Further, in 

a submittal dated December 12, 2007, 

Illinois confirmed that the State 

continues to meet the section 110(a)(2) 

infrastructure requirements for the 8- 

hour ozone standard. EPA approved 

elements of this Illinois submittal on 

July 13, 2011, at 76 FR 41075. The 

requirements of section 110(a)(2), 

however, are statewide requirements 

that are not linked to the 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment status of the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area. 

Therefore, EPA concludes that these 

infrastructure elements are not 

applicable requirements for purposes of 

review of the State’s 8-hour ozone 

redesignation request. 

b. Part D Requirements 

EPA has determined that, if EPA 

finalizes the approval of the 2002 base 

year VOC and NOX emission inventories 

and the Illinois VOC RACT rules, 

discussed below under the heading 

‘‘Subpart 2 Section 182(a) and (b) 

Requirements,’’ the Illinois SIP will 

meet the SIP requirements applicable 

for purposes of redesignation under part 

D of the CAA for the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area. Subpart 1 of 

part D, found in sections 172–176 of the 

CAA, sets forth the basic nonattainment 

area requirements applicable to all 

nonattainment areas. Subpart 2 of part 

D, which includes section 182 of the 

CAA, establishes additional, specific 

requirements for ozone nonattainment 

areas depending on an area’s ozone 

nonattainment classification. 

As noted above, the Greater Chicago 

area was classified as moderate 

nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard under subpart 2 of part 

D of the CAA. Therefore, Illinois must 

meet the requirements of subpart 1 and 

subpart 2 of part D of the CAA 

applicable for purposes of 

redesignation. The applicable subpart 1 

requirements are contained in sections 

172(c)(1)–(9) and 176 of the CAA. The 

applicable subpart 2 requirements are 

contained in sections 182(a)–(b) 

(moderate nonattainment area 

requirements) of the CAA. 

Subpart 1 Section 172 Requirements 

A thorough discussion of the 

requirements contained in section 172 

can be found in the General Preamble 

for Implementation of Title I (57 FR 

13498, April 16, 1992). 

Section 172(c)(1) requires the state 

plans for all nonattainment areas to 

provide for the implementation of 

Reasonably Available Control Measures 

(RACM), including RACT at a 

minimum, as expeditiously as 

practicable. EPA interprets this 

requirement to impose a duty on all 

states with nonattainment areas to 

consider all available control measures 

and to adopt and implement such 

measures as are reasonably available for 

implementation in the areas as 

components of the areas’ attainment 

demonstrations (the attainment 

demonstrations must address RACM). 

Because attainment of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard has been reached in the 

Greater Chicago area, no additional 

RACM measures, beyond RACT, are 

needed to provide for attainment, and 

section 172(c)(1) requirements (other 

than RACT) are no longer considered to 

be applicable as a prerequisite for 

approval of Illinois’ redesignation 

request, provided the Greater Chicago 

area continues to attain the standard 

until redesignation of the Illinois 

portion of the area occurs. See 57 FR 

13498, 13564 (April 16, 1991), 40 CFR 

51.918. 

Section 172(c)(2) requires plans for all 

nonattainment areas to provide for RFP 

toward attainment of the NAAQS. This 

requirement is not relevant to the 

Greater Chicago area for purposes of 

redesignation because the Greater 

Chicago area has monitored attainment 

of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. 

General Preamble, 57 FR 13564. In 

addition, pursuant to EPA’s 

determination of attainment of the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard for the Greater 

Chicago area, the requirement for RFP 

under section 172(c)(2), as well as the 

section 172(c)(9) contingency measure 

requirement, is suspended pursuant to 

40 CFR 51.918. 

Section 172(c)(3) requires submission 

and EPA approval of a comprehensive, 

accurate, and current inventory of actual 

emissions. This requirement is 

superseded by the emission inventory 

requirement in section 182(a)(1) of the 

CAA. See the discussion of Illinois’ 

emissions inventory for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area 

below in section VII of this proposed 

rule. 

Section 172(c)(4) requires the 

identification and quantification of 

emissions for major new and modified 

stationary sources to be allowed in an 

area, and section 172(c)(5) requires 

source permits for the construction and 

operation of new and modified major 

stationary sources in the nonattainment 

area. EPA approved the Illinois NSR 

program 5 on December 17, 1992 (57 FR 

59928), September 27, 1995 (60 FR 

49780), and May 13, 2003 (68 FR 

25504). Further, EPA has determined 

that, since PSD requirements 6 will 

apply after redesignation, an area being 

redesignated to attainment need not 

comply with the requirement that a NSR 

program be approved prior to 

redesignation, provided that the state 

demonstrates maintenance of the 

NAAQS in the area without 

implementation of part D NSR. A more 

detailed rationale for this view is 

described in a memorandum from Mary 

Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air 

and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994, 

titled ‘‘Part D New Source Review 

Requirements for Areas Requesting 

Redesignation to Attainment.’’ Illinois 

has demonstrated that the Greater 

Chicago area will be able to maintain 

the 1997 8-hour ozone standard without 

the continued implementation of the 

State’s part D NSR program. Therefore, 

EPA concludes that the State need not 

have a fully approved part D NSR 

program as an applicable requirement 

for approval of the State’s ozone 

redesignation request. The State’s PSD 

program will become effective in the 

Chicago area upon redesignation to 

attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard. See redesignation rulemakings 

for Detroit, Michigan (60 FR 12467– 

12468, March 7, 1995); ClevelandAkron-Lorain, Ohio (61 FR 20458, 

20469–20470, May 7, 1996); Louisville, 

Kentucky (66 FR 53665, October 23, 

2001); and, Grand Rapids, Michigan (61 

FR 31834–31837, June 21, 1996). 

Section 172(c)(6) requires the SIP to 

contain emission control measures 

necessary to provide for attainment of 

the standard. Because attainment has 

been reached in the Greater Chicago 

area, no additional emission control 

measures are needed to provide for 

attainment of the standard. 

Section 172(c)(7) requires the SIP to 

meet the applicable provisions of 

section 110(a)(2). As noted above, in 

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7EPA proposed, on September 24, 2009 (74 FR 

48703), to find that the Greater Chicago 

nonattainment area had attained the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard. EPA finalized this determination of 

attainment on March 12, 2010 (75 FR 12088). 

8 In moderate ozone nonattainment areas, major 

stationary sources of VOC are those that have a 

potential emit 100 tons VOC per year or more. 

section V.B.1.a, we conclude the Illinois 

SIP meets the requirements of section 

110(a)(2) applicable for purposes of 

redesignation. 

Section 176 Conformity Requirements 

Section 176(c) of the CAA requires 

States to establish criteria and 

procedures to ensure that Federallysupported or funded activities, 

including highway projects, conform to 

the air quality planning goals of the 

SIPs. The requirement to determine 

conformity applies to transportation 

plans, programs, and projects 

developed, funded, or approved under 

title 23 of the U.S. Code and the Federal 

Transit Act (transportation conformity) 

as well as to all other Federallysupported or funded projects (general 

conformity). State conformity SIP 

revisions must be consistent with 

Federal conformity regulations relating 

to consultation, enforcement, and 

enforceability, which EPA promulgated 

pursuant to CAA requirements. 

EPA thinks that it is reasonable to 

interpret the conformity SIP 

requirements as not applying for 

purposes of evaluating the redesignation 

request under section 107(d) for two 

reasons. First, the requirement to submit 

SIP revisions to comply with the 

conformity provisions of the CAA 

continues to apply to areas after 

redesignation to attainment since such 

areas would be subject to section 175A 

maintenance plans. Second, EPA’s 

Federal conformity rules require the 

performance of conformity analyses in 

the absence of Federally-approved state 

rules. Therefore, because areas are 

subject to the conformity requirements 

regardless of whether they are 

redesignated to attainment and, because 

they must implement conformity under 

Federal rules if state rules are not yet 

approved, EPA believes it is reasonable 

to view these requirements as not 

applying for purposes of evaluating a 

redesignation request. See Wall v. EPA, 

265 F.3d 426 (6th Cir. 2001), upholding 

this interpretation. See also 60 FR 

62748, 62749–62750 (December 7, 1995) 

(Tampa, Florida). 

EPA approved Illinois’ general 

conformity SIP on December 23, 1997 

(62 FR 67000). Illinois does not have a 

Federally-approved transportation 

conformity SIP. However, Illinois 

performs conformity analyses pursuant 

to EPA’s Federal conformity rules. 

Illinois has submitted on-road motor 

vehicle emission budgets for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area of 

117.23 tons VOC per ozone season 

weekday and 373.52 tons NOX per 

ozone season weekday for 2008 and 

48.13 tons VOC per ozone season 

weekday and 125.27 tons NOX per 

ozone season weekday for 2025, 

respectively. Illinois must use these 

MVEBs in any conformity determination 

that is effective on or after the effective 

date of the ozone maintenance plan 

approval. 

Subpart 2 Section 182(a) and (b) 

Requirements 

As set forth in the September 4, 1992, 

and September 17, 1993, EPA guidance 

memoranda referenced in section IV of 

this action, only those requirements 

which came due prior to Illinois’ July 

23, 2009, submittal of the request for 

redesignation of the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area must be fully 

approved into the SIP by the time EPA 

approves the redesignation of the area to 

attainment. These requirements are 

discussed below. 

Comprehensive Emissions Inventory. 

Section 182(a)(1) requires the 

submission of a comprehensive, 

accurate, current emission inventory of 

ozone precursor emissions as a revision 

of the SIP. IEPA submitted inventories 

of 2002 VOC and NOX emissions for the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area on June 21, 2006, to meet the 

requirements of section 182(a)(1). On 

September 16, 2011, IEPA 

supplemented the 2002 emissions 

inventory with updated on-road mobile 

source emission estimates based on the 

use of EPA’s MOVES model. As 

discussed below, EPA is proposing to 

approve the 2002 emission inventories 

as meeting the section 182(a)(1) 

emission inventory requirement. 

Emission Statements. Section 

182(a)(3)(B) requires a State to adopt 

provisions in the SIP to require the 

owners or operators of stationary 

sources of VOC or NOX to provide the 

state with annual statements of actual 

emissions from the sources. EPA 

approved Illinois’ emission statement 

SIP revisions on September 9, 1993 (58 

FR 47379), and May 15, 2002 (67 FR 

34614). 

Reasonable Further Progress and 

Attainment Demonstrations. On July 2, 

2007, IEPA submitted an attainment 

demonstration for the Greater Chicago 

area and an RFP plan for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area as 

required by section 182(b)(1) of the 

CAA. Because attainment has been 

reached,7 section 182(b)(1) planning 

requirements are no longer considered 

to be applicable for purposes of 

redesignation as long as the area 

continues to attain the standard. If EPA 

finalizes approval of the redesignation 

of the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area, EPA will take no further 

action on the ozone attainment 

demonstration and RFP plan submitted 

by Illinois for this area. 

VOC RACT. Section 182(b)(2) requires 

states with moderate ozone 

nonattainment areas to implement 

RACT under section 172(c)(1) with 

respect to each of the following: (1) All 

sources covered by a Control 

Technology Guideline (CTG) document 

issued between November 15, 1990, and 

the date of attainment; (2) all sources 

covered by a CTG document issued 

prior to November 15, 1990; and, (3) all 

other major non-CTG stationary 

sources.8

As required under the 1-hour ozone 

standard, Illinois submitted VOC RACT 

rules covering the second and third 

source categories above. EPA approved 

these VOC RACT rules on February 21, 

1980 (45 FR 11472), November 21, 1987 

(52 FR 45333), and September 9, 1994 

(59 FR 46562). 

EPA issued CTGs for five source 

categories in September 2006, three 

source categories in September 2007, 

and five source categories in September 

2008. States with ozone nonattainment 

areas classified as moderate and above 

were required to submit VOC RACT for 

the source categories covered by these 

CTGs within one year after the release 

of each CTG, by September 2007, 

September 2008, and September 2009, 

respectively. 

Illinois submitted a SIP revision to 

address all of the new CTGs on July 29, 

2010, September 16, 2011, and 

September 29, 2011. EPA is taking 

action on these revisions in a separate 

rulemaking action. Full approval of 

IEPA’s VOC RACT submittals is a 

prerequisite for approval of the 

redesignation of the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area to attainment 

of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. 

NOX RACT. Section 182(f) of the CAA 

establishes NOX requirements for ozone 

nonattainment areas. Section 182(f)(1) 

generally requires major sources of NOX

to be covered by the same levels of 

emission controls as required for major 

sources of VOC. Since moderate (or 

above) ozone nonattainment areas are 

required to be covered by RACT rules 

for major VOC sources, these ozone 

nonattainment areas are also required to 

have NOX RACT rules. Section 182(f)(1) 

of the CAA, however, also provides that 

the requirement for such NOX emission 

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controls does not apply (can be waived) 

in an area if the Administrator 

determines that net air quality benefits 

are greater in the absence of the NOX

emission reductions. The NOX emission 

control requirements can also be waived 

if the Administrator determines that 

additional reductions of NOX emissions 

would not contribute to attainment of 

the ozone NAAQS. 

In its July 29, 2010, submittal, IEPA 

requested a waiver from the NOX RACT 

requirements based on the fact that the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard had been 

attained in the Greater Chicago area and 

additional NOX emission reductions in 

this area are not needed to attain the 

ozone standard. Based on a clean air 

determination for this area for the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard, EPA granted 

Illinois a waiver from NOX RACT for 

this area on February 22, 2011 (76 FR 

9655). 

Stage II Vapor Recovery. Section 

182(b)(3) of the CAA requires states 

with moderate nonattainment areas to 

submit Stage II vapor recovery rules 

(requiring the capture of gasoline vapor 

at service stations during vehicle 

refueling). EPA approved Illinois’ Stage 

II vapor recovery regulations on January 

12, 1993 (58 FR 3841). Illinois has 

implemented and continues to 

implement Stage II vapor recovery rules 

in the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area. 

Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance 

(I/M). Section 182(b)(4) of the CAA and 

EPA’s final I/M regulations in 40 CFR 

part 85 require states with moderate (or 

above) ozone nonattainment areas to 

submit a fully adopted I/M programs as 

a revision of the SIP. EPA approved 

Illinois’ enhanced I/M program on 

February 22, 1999 (64 FR 8517). 

Thus, as discussed above, with EPA 

approval of the 2002 base year emission 

inventories and Illinois’ VOC RACT 

submittals, the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area will satisfy the 

requirements applicable for purposes of 

redesignation under section 110 and 

part D of the CAA. 

2. The Illinois Portion of the Greater 

Chicago Area Has a Fully Approved SIP 

for Purposes of Redesignation Under 

Section 110 of the CAA 

If EPA issues a final approval of the 

2002 base year emission inventories and 

the Illinois VOC RACT submittals, EPA 

will have fully approved the Illinois SIP 

for the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area under section 110(k) of the 

CAA for all requirements applicable for 

purposes of redesignation. EPA may rely 

on prior SIP approvals when rulemaking 

on a redesignation request (see page 3 of 

the September 4, 1992, John Calcagni 

memorandum; Southwestern 

Pennsylvania Growth Alliance v. 

Browner, 144 F.3d 984, 989–990 (6th 

Cir. 1998), Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426 

(6th Cir. 2001)) plus any additional 

measures it may approve in conjunction 

with a redesignation action. See 68 FR 

25412, 25426 (May 12, 2003). 

Since the passage of the CAA of 1970, 

Illinois has adopted and submitted, and 

EPA has fully approved, SIP provisions 

addressing various required SIP 

elements under the 1-hour ozone 

standard. In this action, EPA is 

proposing to approve Illinois’ 2002 base 

year emission inventories for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area as 

meeting the requirement of section 

182(a)(1) of the CAA. As noted above, in 

a separate rule, EPA is proposing action 

on the Illinois VOC RACT submittals. 

No SIP provisions for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area are 

currently disapproved, conditionally 

approved, or partially approved. 

3. The Illinois Portion of the Greater 

Chicago Area Has a Fully Approved SIP 

and Meets Anti-Backsliding 

Requirements Under the 1-Hour Ozone 

Standard 

The anti-backsliding provisions at 40 

CFR 51.905(a)(1) prescribe 1-hour ozone 

NAAQS requirements that continue to 

apply after the revocation of the 1-hour 

ozone NAAQS for former 1-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas. 40 CFR 

51.905(a)(1) provides that: 

The area remains subject to the obligations 

to adopt and implement the applicable 

requirements defined in 40 CFR 51.900(f), 

except as provided in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of 

this section and except as provided in 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

40 CFR 51.900(f), as amended by 70 FR 

30592, 30604 (May 26, 2005), provides 

that: 

Applicable requirements means that for an 

area that the following requirements, to the 

extent such requirements applied to the area 

for the area’s classification under section 

181(a)(1) of the CAA for the one-hour 

NAAQS at the time of designation for the 

eight-hour NAAQS, remain in effect: 

(1) RACT. 

(2) I/M. 

(3) Major source applicability cut-offs for 

purposes of RACT. 

(4) ROP reductions. 

(5) Stage II vapor recovery. 

(6) Clean fuels fleet program under section 

182(c)(4) of the CAA. 

(7) Clean fuels for boilers under section 

182(e)(3) of the CAA. 

(8) TCMs during heavy traffic hours as 

provided under section 182(e)(4) of the CAA. 

(9) Enhanced (ambient) monitoring under 

section 182(c)(1) of the CAA. 

(10) TCMs under section 182(c)(5) of the 

CAA. 

(11) VMT provisions of section 182(d)(1) of 

the CAA. 

(12) NOX requirements under section 182(f) 

of the CAA. 

(13) Attainment demonstration or 

alternative as provided under 40 CFR 

51.905(a)(1)(ii). 

In addition to applicable requirements 

listed under 40 CFR 51.900(f) and as 

discussed above, the state must also 

comply with the 1-hour anti-backsliding 

requirements discussed in the Court’s 

decisions in South Coast Air Quality 

Management Dist. v. EPA: (1) NSR 

requirements based on the area’s 1-hour 

ozone nonattainment classification; (2) 

section 185 source penalty fees; (3) 

contingency measures to be 

implemented pursuant to section 

172(c)(9) or 182(c)(9) of the CAA for 

areas not making reasonable further 

progress toward attainment of the 1- 

hour ozone NAAQS, or for failure to 

attain the 1-hour ozone NAAQS; and, 

(4) transportation conformity 

requirements for certain types of Federal 

actions. 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.905(c), the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area is subject to the obligations set 

forth in 40 CFR 51.905(a) and 40 CFR 

51.900(f). The following paragraphs 

address the 1-hour ozone SIP 

requirements applicable to the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area 

pursuant to these anti-backsliding 

requirements and those discussed in the 

Court’s decision in South Coast Air 

Quality Management Dist. v. EPA. Note 

that Illinois commits to continue to 

comply with these requirements unless 

revised through SIP revisions approved 

by EPA. 

Prior to the revocation of the 1-hour 

ozone standard on June 15, 2005, the 

Greater Chicago area was classified as a 

severe nonattainment area for the 1-hour 

ozone standard with an attainment 

deadline of November 15, 2007, and, 

therefore, was subject to ozone SIP 

requirements for severe 1-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas (sections 182(a) 

through 182(d) of the CAA). In 

reviewing Illinois’ ozone redesignation 

request for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area, we assessed 

whether the area satisfied the CAA 

requirements under the 1-hour ozone 

standard. We conclude that this area 

and the State of Illinois have satisfied 

all anti-backsliding CAA requirements 

applicable to a severe ozone 

nonattainment area by complying with 

all applicable 1-hour ozone SIP 

requirements. The following discusses 

how the applicable CAA requirements 

have been met in the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area. 

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40 CFR 51.900(f)(1) RACT 

Section 182(a)(2)(A) of the CAA 

requires RACT corrections. Section 

182(b)(2) requires RACT for each 

category of VOC sources covered by a 

CTG and for all other major sources of 

VOC within an ozone nonattainment 

area. Section 182(d) specifies 

requirements for severe ozone 

nonattainment areas, including a major 

source emissions cut-off of 25 tons per 

year. Section 182(f), as discussed above 

in section V.B.2, requires major sources 

of NOX in an ozone nonattainment area 

to be covered by emission control 

requirements equivalent to those 

required for major sources of VOC, 

unless EPA waives the NOX emission 

control requirements as provided in 

section 182(f). The section 182(f) NOX

emission control requirements include 

NOX RACT in ozone nonattainment 

areas required to implement VOC RACT 

for 1-hour ozone nonattainment areas 

classified as moderate or above. 

Under the 1-hour ozone standard, 

EPA fully approved Illinois’ VOC RACT 

regulations as SIP revisions for CTG 

sources and for major non-CTG sources 

through rulemakings on the following 

dates: February 21, 1980 (45 FR 11472); 

November 21, 1987 (52 FR 45333); and, 

September 9, 1994 (59 FR 46562). As 

noted elsewhere in this proposed rule, 

on September 16, 2011, Illinois EPA 

submitted final, adopted VOC emission 

control regulations covering CTG-source 

categories not yet addressed and 

covered by the Illinois ozone SIP. As 

noted above, on July 29, 2010, Illinois 

submitted a NOX RACT waiver request 

for the Illinois portion of the Chicago 

area. On February 22, 2011, at 76 FR 

9655, we approved Illinois’ NOX RACT 

waiver request for this area based on an 

ozone clean air determination. This 

suspended the NOX RACT requirement 

for the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area for as long the Greater 

Chicago area continues to attain the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard, and 

becomes permanent for the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard if EPA approves the 

redesignation of the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area to attainment 

of this standard. 

As noted elsewhere in this proposed 

rule, we cannot approve Illinois’ ozone 

redesignation request in a final rule 

until we can also approve all of Illinois’ 

required VOC RACT rules through a 

final rule. With these new final rule 

approvals, we can conclude that Illinois 

has met all RACT requirements under 

the 1-hour ozone standard, as well as 

the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(2) Vehicle I/M 

Through rulemaking on February 22, 

1999 (64 FR 8517), EPA fully approved 

Illinois’ vehicle I/M program as meeting 

the enhanced I/M requirements of 

section 182(c)(3) of the CAA. Therefore, 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area meets the I/M 

requirements for severe 1-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(3) Major Source Size 

Cutoff for RACT 

We have determined that Illinois’ 

VOC RACT rules for CTG source 

categories already incorporated into 

Illinois’ ozone SIP and the new CTGbased VOC RACT rules currently being 

reviewed by the EPA cover source size 

cut-offs that are well below CTGrecommended major source cut-offs for 

severe ozone nonattainment areas. In 

addition, Illinois’ major non-CTG source 

RACT rule covers all sources with the 

potential to emit VOC at or in excess of 

25 tons per year. Therefore, Illinois’ 

RACT rules meet the major source size 

cut-off requirement of section 182(d) of 

the CAA. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(4) ROP 

Sections 182(b)(1)(A) and 182(c)(2)(B) 

of the CAA establish the ROP 

requirements for ozone nonattainment 

areas. EPA has fully approved Illinois’ 

SIP revisions that demonstrate that 

Illinois achieved ROP in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area. On 

December 18, 1997, at 62 FR 66279, EPA 

approved Illinois’ plan to achieve a 15 

percent reduction in VOC emissions in 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area, as required in section 

182(b) of the CAA. On December 18, 

2000, at 65 FR 78961, EPA approved 

Illinois’ plan to achieve ROP between 

1996 and 1999 in this area, meeting the 

ROP requirements of section 182(c) of 

the CAA. Finally, on November 13, 

2001, at 66 FR 56904, EPA approved 

Illinois’ plan to achieve ROP emission 

reductions for the period of 1999 

through 2007. Therefore, Illinois has 

met all 1-hour ozone ROP requirements 

for the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(5) Stage II Gasoline 

Vapor Recovery 

On January 12, 1993 (58 FR 3841), 

EPA approved Illinois’ Stage II gasoline 

vapor recovery rules for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area as 

required by section 182(b)(3) of the 

CAA. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(6) Clean Fuel Fleet 

Program 

On March 19, 1996, at 61 FR 11139, 

EPA approved Illinois’ clean fuel fleet 

program rules as required by section 

182(c)(4) of the CAA. Therefore, the 

State of Illinois has met this CAA 

requirement under the 1-hour ozone 

standard. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(7) Clean Fuels for 

Boilers 

Section 182(e)(3) of the CAA, which 

requires clean fuels for boilers, does not 

apply to the Greater Chicago area. This 

CAA requirement only applies to 

extreme ozone nonattainment areas. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(8) Traffic Control 

Measures During Heavy Traffic Hours 

This requirement applies to areas 

subject to section 182(e)(4) of the CAA, 

which covers extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas, and, therefore, 

does not apply to the Greater Chicago 

area. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(9) Enhanced 

Ambient Monitoring 

On February 25, 1994, EPA fully 

approved Illinois’ SIP revision 

establishing an enhanced monitoring 

program for ozone in the Illinois portion 

of the Greater Chicago area. Therefore, 

Illinois has complied with the enhanced 

monitoring requirement of section 

182(c)(1) of the CAA. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(10) Transportation 

Control Measures 

Within six months of November 15, 

1990, and every three years thereafter, 

section 182(c)(5) of the CAA requires 

states to submit a demonstration that 

current aggregate vehicle mileage, 

aggregate vehicle emissions, congestion 

levels, and other relevant traffic-related 

and vehicle emissions-related factors 

(collectively ‘‘relevant parameters’’) are 

consistent with those used for the area’s 

ozone attainment demonstration for 

serious and above 1-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas. If the levels of 

relevant parameters that are projected in 

the attainment demonstration are 

exceeded, a state has 18 months to 

develop and submit a revision to the SIP 

to include TCMs to reduce mobile 

source emissions to levels consistent 

with the emission levels in the 

attainment demonstration. 

On December 26, 2000, Illinois 

submitted a SIP revision request 

consisting of an adopted emissions 

control strategy and a demonstration 

that the Greater Chicago area would 

attain the 1-hour ozone standard by 

November 15, 2007, the statutory 

attainment deadline for the area. EPA 

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9See 73 FR 79652 (December 30, 2008). 

10CAA section 176(c)(4)(E) requires states to 

submit revisions to their SIPs to reflect certain 

Federal criteria and procedures for determining 

transportation conformity. Transportation 

conformity SIPs are different from MVEBs that are 

established in control strategy SIPs and 

maintenance plans. 

approved this requested SIP revision on 

November 13, 2001 (66 FR 56904). This 

SIP revision provided base period 

mobile source information for the 

Chicago area that can be compared to 

subsequent mobile source information 

needed to demonstrate compliance with 

section 182(c)(5) of the CAA. Through 

revisions to State’s emissions inventory 

data, submitted to EPA every three 

years, Illinois has updated the mobile 

source emissions, and related mobile 

source data, in the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area on a three-year 

cycle. These updated mobile source 

emissions can be compared to those 

documented in the December 26, 2000 

Illinois submittal to show the 

downward trend in mobile source 

emissions. EPA, therefore, concludes 

that Illinois has complied with the 

requirements of section 182(c)(5), has no 

currently due section 182(c)(5) 

obligations. 

In addition, the section 182(c)(5) 

requirements are also included in those 

measures subject to EPA’s interpretation 

under EPA’s May 10, 1995, Clean Data 

Policy memorandum. That is, 

attainment of the 1-hour ozone standard 

suspends the need for the State to 

submit additional TCMs under section 

182(c)(5) of the CAA. EPA, therefore, 

concludes that, since the Greater 

Chicago area is attaining the 1-hour 

ozone standard,9 any requirement for 

submitting the section 182(c)(5) 

measures for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area is suspended. See 

also 40 CFR 51.918. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(11) Vehicle Miles 

Travelled 

Section 182(d)(1)(A) of the CAA 

requires severe ozone nonattainment 

areas to offset the growth in emissions 

attributed to growth in VMT; to select 

and implement TCMs necessary to 

comply with the periodic emission 

reduction requirements of sections 

182(b) and (c); and, to consider TCMs 

specified in section 108(f) of the CAA, 

and implement TCMs as necessary to 

demonstrate attainment with the ozone 

standard. Through rulemaking on 

September 21, 1995, at 60 FR 48896, 

EPA approved Illinois’ TCMs as meeting 

these requirements of the CAA. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(12) NOX

Requirements Under Section 182(f) 

As noted above, EPA approved a NOX

emissions control waiver for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area for 

the 1-hour ozone standard. See 61 FR 

2428, January 26, 1996. In addition, we 

have approved Illinois’ NOX emission 

control regulations, adopted in response 

to EPA’s NOX SIP call. See 66 FR 56449 

and 66 FR 56454, both published on 

November 8, 2001. 

40 CFR 51.900(f)(13) Ozone 

Attainment Demonstration 

As noted above, on November 13, 

2001, at 66 FR 56904, EPA fully 

approved Illinois’ 1-hour ozone 

attainment demonstration SIP revision 

for the Greater Chicago area. Therefore, 

Illinois has met the ozone attainment 

demonstration requirements of sections 

182(b)(1)(A) and 182(c)(2)(A) of the 

CAA for the 1-hour ozone standard. 

New Source Review 

As noted elsewhere in this proposed 

rule, EPA believes that a part D NSR 

program is not an applicable 

requirement for purposes of evaluating 

an ozone redesignation request. EPA has 

determined that states with areas being 

redesignated to attainment need not 

have an approved part D NSR program, 

provided that the states demonstrate 

maintenance of the standard without 

part D NSR programs in effect. 

Nonetheless, as also discussed above, 

the Court’s decision in South Coast Air 

Management Dist. v. EPA preserved 

1-hour part D NSR requirements as an 

anti-backsliding requirement. Section 

182(a)(2)(C) of the CAA requires states 

to adopt part D NSR permit programs 

and to correct the existing part D NSR 

permit programs to meet EPA NSR 

guidance issued prior to 1990. EPA 

approved Illinois’ NSR permit program 

as meeting EPA’s guidance and CAA 

part D NSR requirements for the 1-hour 

ozone standard, including the 

requirements in sections 182(c)(6), (c)(7) 

and (c)(8), and the source offset 

requirements in section 182(d)(2), 

through rulemakings on September 27, 

1995 (60 FR 49778). 

Regardless of how one views the part 

D NSR requirements of the CAA for 

purposes of redesignation, we 

concluded that Illinois has met the NSR 

requirements with regard to Illinois’ 

ozone redesignation request. The State 

has an approved NSR program, and the 

approval status of this NSR program is 

not relevant to Illinois’ ozone 

redesignation request. 

Section 185 Source Emission Penalty 

Fees 

On December 30, 2008 (73 FR 79652), 

EPA finalized a determination that the 

Greater Chicago area had attained the 

1-hour ozone standard based on 2005– 

2007 ozone data. Based on the 

determination of attainment, the section 

185 fee requirements no longer apply to 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area and to the State of Illinois. 

Contingency Measures 

Sections 172(c)(9) and 182(c)(9) of the 

CAA require the ozone control portion 

of SIPs to contain measures to be 

implemented in the event that any 

milestone (standard attainment date, 

rate-of-progress emission reduction 

milestone dates, etc.) in the SIP is 

missed. EPA approved Illinois’ 

contingency measures for attainment of 

the 1-hour ozone standard in the Greater 

Chicago area in our approval of the 

State’s 1-hour ozone attainment plan. 

See 66 FR 56904, November 13, 2001. 

Transportation Conformity 

The transportation conformity portion 

of the court’s ruling in South Coast Air 

Quality Management District v. EPA 

does not impact the redesignation 

request for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area because there are 

no transportation conformity 

requirements that are relevant to 

redesignation requests for any standard, 

including the requirement for a state to 

submit a transportation conformity 

SIP.10 Under longstanding EPA policy, 

EPA thinks that it is reasonable to 

interpret the conformity SIP 

requirements as not applying for 

purposes of evaluating a redesignation 

request under section 107(d) because 

State conformity rules are still required 

after redesignation and Federal 

conformity rules apply where state rules 

have not been approved. See 40 CFR 

51.390. Also see Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 

426 (6th Cir. 2001), upholding this 

interpretation, and 60 FR 62748 

(December 7, 1995) (Tampa, Florida 

ozone redesignation). 

Conclusions 

For the above reasons, EPA concludes 

that Illinois has met all applicable part 

D SIP requirements for the 1-hour ozone 

standard as addressed in the court’s and 

EPA’s anti-backsliding requirements for 

the purposes of redesignation of the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area to attainment of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard. It is again noted that the 

State of Illinois has committed in its 

maintenance plan to maintain the VOC 

and NOX emission controls already in 

place and included in Illinois’ ozone 

SIP, as approved by EPA. 

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11Since EPA has determined that the Greater 

Chicago nonattainment area has attained the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard (March 12, 2010, 75 FR 

12088), EPA concludes that it is not necessary for 

it to take action on Illinois’ ozone attainment 

demonstration. 

C. Are the air quality improvements in 

the Greater Chicago area due to 

permanent and enforceable emission 

reductions? 

EPA finds that Illinois has 

demonstrated that the observed air 

quality improvement in the Greater 

Chicago area is due to permanent and 

enforceable reductions in emissions 

resulting from the implementation of 

the Illinois and Indiana SIPs, Federal 

measures, and other State-adopted 

measures. As discussed below, Illinois 

made this demonstration by considering 

VOC and NOX emissions in the entire 

Greater Chicago area as well as emission 

reductions in upwind areas (primarily 

resulting from the implementation of 

EPA’s NOX SIP call) contributing to 

pollution transport into the Greater 

Chicago area. 

In making this demonstration, Illinois 

first determined and documented the 

changes in VOC and NOX emissions in 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area between 2002 (a standardviolation year) and 2008 (an attainment 

year). Second, the State documented the 

VOC and NOX emission controls that 

have been implemented in the Greater 

Chicago area. Illinois demonstrated that 

the reductions in emissions and the 

corresponding improvement in air 

quality over the intervening period 

(2002–2008) can be attributed to a 

number of regulatory control measures 

that the Greater Chicago area and 

upwind areas have implemented in 

recent years. 

1. Permanent and Enforceable Controls 

Implemented 

The following is a discussion of the 

permanent and enforceable emission 

control measures that have been 

implemented in the Greater Chicago 

area and in upwind areas that have 

resulted in VOC and NOX emission 

reductions subsequent to the ozone 

standard violation period (2001–2003) 

in the Greater Chicago area. 

a. Attainment Demonstration Emission 

Control Measures 

On March 18, 2009, IEPA submitted 

an ozone attainment demonstration plan 

for the Greater Chicago area to EPA. 

Even though EPA has not taken action 

on this attainment demonstration as a 

revision of the Illinois SIP,11 Illinois 

notes that the VOC and NOX emission 

controls contained in the attainment 

plan have been implemented, resulting 

in VOC and NOX emission reductions 

that have contributed to attainment of 

the 1997 8-hour ozone standard in the 

Greater Chicago area. The implemented 

emission control measures include the 

following: 

• NOX SIP call emission controls 

• New Source Performance Standards 

(NSPS), National Emission Standards 

for Hazardous Air Pollutants 

(NESHAPS), and Maximum Available 

Control Technology (MACT) standards 

for new sources 

• VOC Solvent Category Emission 

Controls: Aerosol Coatings; 

Architectural and Industrial 

Maintenance (AIM) Coatings; and 

Consumer Solvents 

• Enhanced Vehicle Inspection and 

Maintenance 

• Reformulated Gasoline 

• Federal Tier 2 Motor Vehicle 

Emission Standards and Gasoline Sulfur 

Control Requirements 

• Federal On-Highway Heavy-Duty 

Engine and Vehicle Standards, and 

Federal Highway Diesel Fuel Sulfur 

Control Requirements 

• Federal Off-Road Mobile Source 

Emission Control Programs Incorporated 

into EPA’s NONROAD Emissions 

Model, including EPA’s Nonroad Diesel 

Emissions Control Rule and Evaporative 

Large Spark Ignition and Recreational 

Vehicle Standards 

• Federal Tier 4 Nonroad Diesel 

Engine Standards and Diesel Fuel Sulfur 

Content Restrictions 

• Marine Compression-Ignition 

Engine Standards and Locomotive 

Engine Standards 

• Consent Decrees requiring emission 

controls for: Dynergy Midwest 

Generation; Conoco Phillips; CITGO; 

Exxon-Mobil; Marathon Ashland; and 

Archer Daniels Midland. 

All of these emission controls are 

permanent and are currently being 

enforced by the State or by the Federal 

government. 

b. Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) 

Since the Greater Chicago area was 

classified as a moderate nonattainment 

area for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard, 

Illinois was required to achieve a 15 

percent net reduction in VOC emissions 

in the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area between 2002 and 2008 to 

meet the RFP requirements of CAA 

section 182(b)(1)(A). These emission 

reductions were primarily achieved 

through the implementation of the 

emission controls listed above for the 

ozone attainment demonstration plan. 

These emission controls resulted in a 

15.7 percent reduction in VOC 

emissions in the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area between 2002 and 

2008, and continued to provide 

additional VOC emission controls in 

2009 and 2010. IEPA estimates that 

these VOC emission controls resulted in 

a VOC emission reduction of 210 tons 

per day between 2002 and 2008 in the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area. 

c. Reasonably Available Control 

Technology 

RACT is required for all major 

stationary sources of VOC in the Greater 

Chicago area. Since the Greater Chicago 

area was designated as a moderate 

nonattainment area for ozone under the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard, a major 

stationary source is any source that has 

a potential to emit VOC equal to or 

greater than 100 tons per year. EPA 

defines RACT as the lowest emission 

limitation that a source is capable of 

meeting by the application of control 

technology that is reasonably available 

considering technological feasibility and 

economic reasonableness (70 FR 71612, 

November 29, 2005). The sum of 

emissions from all emission units at a 

source facility determines if the source 

facility is a major source and, therefore, 

subject to RACT requirements. 

Sections 172 and 182(b)(2) of the CAA 

required implementation of VOC RACT 

for sources that are subject to CTGs that 

have been published by the EPA. In 

addition to CTG source categories, major 

VOC sources that are not covered by any 

CTG must also be covered by State 

RACT regulations. 

Illinois has adopted and implemented 

all required VOC RACT regulations with 

the exception of source categories 

covered by CTGs published in 2006, 

2007, and 2008. The State has 

documented that the implemented VOC 

RACT rules have reduced VOC 

emissions in the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area, contributing to the 

attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard in the Greater Chicago area. 

d. Additional Emission Control 

Measures 

In addition to VOC emission 

reductions resulting from the 

implementation of VOC RACT in the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area, IEPA points out that additional 

VOC emission reductions were achieved 

in this area as the result of the 

implementation of MACT and achieving 

NESHAPS for VOC sources that also 

emit toxic chemicals, and 

implementation of NSPS for new VOC 

sources. Illinois believes that all of these 

emission control requirements are more 

stringent than RACT, and, therefore, 

have resulted in additional VOC 

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12 It should be noted that Illinois’ VOC RACT 

rules generally exclude sources subject to MACT, 

NSPS, and NESHAPS from VOC RACT rules’ 

emission reduction requirements. Nonetheless, we 

agree that additional emission reduction 

requirements have further lowered VOC emissions 

in the subject area. 

reductions in the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area.12

e. Federal Emission Control Measures 

Reductions in VOC and NOX

emissions have occurred statewide and 

in upwind areas as a result of Federal 

emission control measures, with 

additional emission reductions expected 

to occur in the future. Federal emission 

control measures include the following. 

Tier 2 Emission Standards for 

Vehicles and Gasoline Sulfur Standards. 

40 CFR part 86, subpart S. These 

emission control requirements result in 

lower VOC and NOX emissions from 

new cars and light duty trucks, 

including sport utility vehicles. The 

Federal rules were phased in between 

2004 and 2009. EPA has estimated that, 

by the end of the phase-in period, the 

following vehicle NOX emission 

reductions will occur nationwide: 

Passenger cars (light duty vehicles) (77 

percent); light duty trucks, minivans, 

and sports utility vehicles (86 percent); 

and larger sports utility vehicles, vans, 

and heavier trucks (69 to 95 percent). 

VOC emission reductions are expected 

to range from 12 to 18 percent, 

depending on vehicle class, over the 

same period. Although some of these 

emission reductions occurred by the 

attainment years (2006–2008) in the 

Greater Chicago area, additional 

emission reductions will occur during 

the maintenance period for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area. For 

example, the Tier 2 emission standards 

for passenger vehicles weighing over 

8,500 pounds were not implemented 

until 2008 or later. 

Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Rule. EPA 

issued this rule in January 2001 (66 FR 

5002). This rule includes standards 

limiting the sulfur content of diesel fuel, 

which went into effect in 2004. A 

second phase took effect in 2007, which 

further reduced the highway diesel fuel 

sulfur content to 15 parts per million, 

leading to additional reductions in 

combustion NOX and VOC emissions. 

This rule is expected to achieve a 95 

percent reduction in NOX emissions 

from diesel trucks and buses. 

Non-Road Diesel Rule. EPA issued 

this rule in June 2004 (69 FR 38958), 

which applies to diesel engines used in 

industries, such as construction, 

agriculture, and mining. It is estimated 

that compliance with this rule will cut 

NOX emissions from non-road diesel 

engines by up to 90 percent. The nonroad diesel rule was fully implemented 

by 2010. 

NSPS, NESHAPS, and MACT. A 

broad range of emission sectors are 

subject to Federal NSPS, NESHAPS, and 

MACT standards with compliance 

deadlines that led to VOC emission 

reductions after 2002 and prior to 2008/ 

2009. 

f. Controls To Remain in Effect 

Illinois commits to maintain all of the 

current emission control measures for 

VOC and NOX after the Illinois portion 

of the Greater Chicago area is 

redesignated to attainment. Illinois also 

commits to submit any emission control 

revisions needed for maintenance of the 

ozone standard in the Greater Chicago 

area to the EPA as requested SIP 

revisions. Illinois has the legal authority 

and necessary resources to actively 

enforce against any violations of the 

State’s air pollution emission control 

rules. 

2. Emission Reductions 

Illinois chose 2008 (the end of the 

3-year period in which the Greater 

Chicago area first attained the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard) as the 

attainment year. IEPA compared 2002 

and 2008 VOC and NOX emissions to 

show that emission reductions have 

occurred in the area, explaining the 

ozone air quality improvement in the 

area. 

As required by sections 172(c)(3) and 

182(a)(1) of the CAA and EPA’s Phase 

2 ozone implementation rule (November 

29, 2005, at 70 FR 71612), IEPA 

prepared comprehensive VOC and NOX

emission inventories for 2002. These 

emission inventories and their 

documentation were submitted to the 

EPA in June 2006. Table 2 summarizes 

the 2002 VOC and NOX emissions by 

source category and by pollutant for the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area. For a discussion of emission 

inventory preparation methods used to 

develop these emission inventories, see 

the discussion of 2002 base year 

emission inventories below in section 

VII of this proposed rule. 

TABLE 2—TOTAL ANTHROPOGENIC VOC AND NOX EMISSIONS IN THE ILLINOIS PORTION OF THE GREATER CHICAGO AREA

IN 2002 

[Tons per ozone season weekday] 

Source category VOC NOX

Point Sources .......................................................................................................................................... 76.62 307.73 

Area Sources ........................................................................................................................................... 520.21 42.93 

On-Road Mobile Sources ........................................................................................................................ 168.06 540.13 

Off-Road Mobile Sources ........................................................................................................................ 233.77 326.65 

Total .................................................................................................................................................. 998.66 1217.44 

To demonstrate that VOC and NOX

emissions have decreased between a 

standard violation year and the 

attainment year, IEPA documented the 

VOC and NOX emissions in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area for 

2008 and compared these emissions to 

those in 2002. 

For the attainment year, point source 

emissions were compiled from 2008 

annual emission reports submitted to 

the IEPA, in compliance with the State’s 

point source emission statement 

reporting regulations, and from EPA’s 

Clean Air Markets Division emissions 

database for electric utilities. Area 

sources were projected from the 2002 

area source emissions using source typespecific growth factors. On-road mobile 

source emissions were calculated using 

EPA’s MOVES emissions model and 

vehicle miles travelled data provided by 

the Illinois Department of 

Transportation. Off-road emissions were 

calculated using EPA’s NONROAD 

emissions model. These emission 

estimation procedures are consistent 

with those used to develop the 2002 

emission inventories. Biogenic 

emissions were not included in the 2008 

emission inventories (and also not in 

the 2002 emission inventories) because 

it was assumed that these emissions are 

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13A maintenance demonstration need not be 

based on ozone modeling. See Wall v. EPA, 375 

F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004). See also 66 FR 53094, 

53099–53100 (October 19, 2001), and 68 FR 25413, 

25430–25432 (May 12, 2003). 

approximately constant over the time 

period (2002–2008) considered. 

Table 3 summarizes the 2008 VOC 

and NOX emissions in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area. 

From this table and table 2, it can be 

seen that VOC and NOX emissions have 

decreased significantly in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area 

between 2002 and 2008. IEPA concludes 

that the decrease in VOC and NOX

emissions during the 2002–2008 period 

are primarily due to the implementation 

of permanent and enforceable emission 

controls, and are the primary cause 

(along with emission reductions in the 

Indiana portion of the Greater Chicago 

area) of the ozone air quality 

improvement in the Greater Chicago 

area. We concur with the State’s 

conclusion. 

TABLE 3—TOTAL ANTHROPOGENIC

VOC AND NOX EMISSIONS IN THE

ILLINOIS PORTION OF THE GREATER

CHICAGO AREA IN 2008 

[Tons per ozone season weekday] 

Source category VOC NOX

Point Sources ... 53.27 154.50 

Area Sources .... 351.51 38.56 

On-Road Mobile 

Sources ......... 117.23 373.52 

Off-Road Mobile 

Sources ......... 265.44 330.18 

Total ........... 787.45 896.76 

One must also consider the total VOC 

and NOX emissions for the Greater 

Chicago area. EPA has consistently 

concluded that emissions from all 

portions of ozone nonattainment areas 

have the potential to contribute to ozone 

standard violations anywhere within the 

ozone nonattainment areas. Therefore, 

for the Greater Chicago area, it is 

important to also consider the changes 

in VOC and NOX emissions from the 

Indiana portion of the Greater Chicago 

area. In a March 12, 2010, proposed 

rulemaking (75 FR 12090) addressing an 

ozone redesignation request from the 

State of Indiana, we discussed the 2002, 

2006, and 2010 VOC and NOX emissions 

for Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana. 

Table 2 of that proposed rule (75 FR 

12103) lists 2002 VOC and NOX

emissions for Lake and Porter Counties, 

and table 7 of that proposed rulemaking 

(75 FR 12106) lists 2006 and 2010 VOC 

and NOX emissions for these counties. 

The 2006 and 2010 emissions may be 

interpolated to estimate the 2008 

emissions for Lake and Porter Counties. 

Adding 2002 and estimated 2008 Lake 

and Porter Counties’ emissions to those 

in tables 2 and 3 for the Illinois portion 

of the Greater Chicago area above gives 

the total 2002 and 2008 VOC and NOX

emissions for the Greater Chicago area. 

The total 2002 and 2008 VOC and NOX

emissions for the Greater Chicago area 

are listed in table 4 of this proposed 

rule. The change in emissions between 

2002 and 2008 emissions for the Greater 

Chicago area shows that VOC and NOX

emissions have significantly decreased 

in this area between 2002 and 2008. We 

conclude that these emission reductions 

have contributed to attainment of the 

ozone standard in this area. 

TABLE 4—2002 AND 2008 VOC AND

NOX EMISSIONS TOTALS IN THE

GREATER CHICAGO AREA

[Tons per ozone season/summer weekday] 

Source category VOC 2002 VOC 2008 

Point Sources ... 101.18 71.87 

Area Sources .... 555.30 382.15 

On-Road Mobile 

Sources ......... 188.06 129.65 

Off-Road Mobile 

Sources ......... 268.86 281.06 

Total VOC .. 1113.4 864.7 

NOX 2002 NOX 2008 

Point Sources ... 494.17 272.82 

Area Sources .... 48.65 45.08 

On-Road Mobile 

Sources ......... 595.13 422.89 

Off-Road Mobile 

Sources ......... 365.26 360.02 

Total NOX .. 1503.2 1100.8 

Besides the 2002–2008 reductions in 

VOC and NOX emissions in the Illinois 

and Indiana portions of the Greater 

Chicago area, IEPA also notes that 

upwind areas have lowered their VOC 

and NOX emissions during this period. 

Illinois, however, has not documented 

these emission reductions in the 

redesignation request. 

D. Does Illinois have a fully approvable 

ozone maintenance plan? 

1. Maintenance Plan Requirements 

Section 175A of the CAA sets forth 

the required elements of a maintenance 

plan for areas seeking redesignation 

from nonattainment to attainment. 

Under section 175A, the maintenance 

plan must demonstrate continued 

attainment of the applicable NAAQS for 

at least 10 years after the Administrator 

approves a redesignation to attainment. 

Eight years after the redesignation, the 

state must submit a revised maintenance 

plan which demonstrates that 

attainment of the NAAQS will continue 

to be maintained for 10 years following 

the initial 10-year maintenance period. 

To address the possibility of future 

NAAQS violations, the maintenance 

plan must contain contingency 

measures with a schedule for 

implementation, as EPA deems 

necessary, to assure prompt correction 

of any future standard violations. 

The September 4, 1992, John Calcagni 

memorandum provides additional 

guidance on the content of maintenance 

plans. The memorandum clarifies that 

an ozone maintenance plan should, at 

minimum, address the following: (1) 

The attainment VOC and NOX emission 

inventories; (2) a maintenance 

demonstration showing maintenance for 

the 10-year maintenance period; (3) a 

commitment to maintain the existing 

monitoring network; (4) factors and 

procedures to be used for verification of 

continued attainment of the NAAQS; 

and, (5) a contingency plan to prevent 

or correct future violations of the 

NAAQS. 

2. Attainment Inventory 

As noted above, 2008 is the final year 

of the 3-year period (2006–2008) in 

which all ozone monitors in the Greater 

Chicago nonattainment area recorded 

attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard. Therefore, IEPA chose 2008 as 

an attainment year. The discussion 

above describes how Illinois derived the 

2008 VOC and NOX emission 

inventories for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area. 

3. Has the State documented 

maintenance of the ozone standard in 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area? 

The maintenance plan, as revised in 

the State’s September 16, 2011, 

submittal, shows maintenance of the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard through 

2025 by showing that future (2015, 

2020, and 2025) VOC and NOX

emissions for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area remain at or below 

attainment year (2008) emission 

levels.13

Point source emissions in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area were 

projected to 2015, 2020, and 2025 using 

2002 and 2008 point source emissions 

and source category-specific growth 

factors. Area source emissions were 

similarly projected to 2015, 2020, and 

2025 using the 2002 and 2008 area 

source emissions and source categoryspecific growth factors. Area source 

category emissions, determined using 

county populations, were projected by 

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14 Illinois commits to compiling VOC and NOX

emission inventories every three years for the 

duration of the maintenance period to facilitate 

emission trends analyses. The 2006 emissions 

levels were derived as part of the three-year cycle 

of updating emission estimates. Although 2008 is 

the year used to demonstrate the emission 

reductions leading to the attainment of the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard and as the base year for the 

demonstration of maintenance of this ozone 

standard, IEPA chose the 2006 emissions levels as 

the base year for the Level I contingency emissions 

growth trigger. 2006 is part of the 2006–2008 period 

in which the Greater Chicago area first attained the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard. 

using projected growth in countyspecific populations. Off-road mobile 

source emissions were projected using 

the 2002 emissions and growth factors 

contained in EPA’s NONROAD model. 

On-road mobile source emissions were 

estimated using projected VMT levels 

and the MOVES model. The projected 

mobile source emissions assumed the 

continued use of reformulated gasoline, 

the phase-in of Tier 2 motor vehicle 

emission standards, and the operation of 

an enhanced vehicle inspection and 

maintenance program in the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area. 

Table 5 compares the VOC and NOX

emissions estimated for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area for 

2008 with those for 2015, 2020, and 

2025 by source category. The projected 

VOC and NOX emissions show that VOC 

and NOX emissions in Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area are expected to 

remain below the attainment levels 

throughout the 10-year-plus 

maintenance period. 

TABLE 5—2008 AND PROJECTED VOC AND NOX EMISSIONS IN THE ILLINOIS PORTION OF THE GREATER CHICAGO AREA

[Tons per ozone season weekday] 

Source Category VOC 2008 VOC 2015 VOC 2020 VOC 2025 

Point Sources .................................................................................. 53.27 62.02 67.63 72.79 

Area Sources ................................................................................... 351.51 363.86 385.73 406.96 

On-Road Mobile Sources ................................................................ 117.23 50.33 37.98 41.35 

Off-Road Mobile Sources ................................................................ 265.44 90.83 84.16 90.25 

Total ................................................................................... 787.45 567.04 575.50 611.85 

NOX 2008 NOX 2015 NOX 2020 NOX 2025 

Point Sources .................................................................................. 154.50 150.06 171.13 180.13 

Area Sources ................................................................................... 38.56 39.85 40.57 41.35 

On-Road Mobile Sources ................................................................ 373.52 197.14 116.69 108.93 

Off-Road Mobile Sources ................................................................ 330.18 106.36 84.34 96.70 

Total ................................................................................... 896.76 493.41 412.73 427.11 

Illinois has successfully demonstrated 

maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard between 2008 and 2025. In 

addition, VOC and NOX emissions in 

the Greater Chicago area are projected to 

decline between 2006 and 2020 (see 

table 8 in the proposed rule to 

redesignate Lake and Porter Counties, 

Indiana to attainment of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard, March 12, 2010, 75 FR 

12106). 

IEPA has demonstrated maintenance 

of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard 

during the 10-year ozone maintenance 

period for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area through projected 

VOC and NOX emissions that show that 

the emissions will remain below the 

2008 attainment levels during the 

maintenance period. 

4. What is the Contingency Plan for the 

Illinois Portion of the Greater Chicago 

Area? 

Section 175A of the CAA requires the 

maintenance plan to include such 

contingency measures as EPA deems 

necessary to assure that the state will 

promptly correct a violation of the 

NAAQS that might occur after 

redesignation. The maintenance plan 

must identify the contingency measures 

to be considered for possible adoption, 

a schedule and procedure for adoption 

and implementation of the selected 

contingency measures, and a time limit 

for action by the state. The state should 

also identify specific indicators to be 

used to determine when the 

contingency measures need to be 

adopted and implemented. The 

maintenance plan must include a 

requirement that the state will 

implement all measures with respect to 

control of pollutant(s) that were 

controlled through the SIP before the 

redesignation of the area to attainment. 

See section 175A(d) of the CAA. 

As required by section 175A of the 

CAA, Illinois has adopted a contingency 

plan to address possible future ozone air 

quality problems. The contingency plan 

has two levels of actions/responses 

depending on whether a violation of the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard is only 

threatened (Level I) or has actually 

occurred (Level II). 

A Level I response will be triggered 

whenever: (1) An annual (1-year) fourthhigh daily maximum 8-hour ozone 

concentration of 84 parts per billion 

(ppb) (0.084 ppm) is monitored at any 

site in the Greater Chicago area; or, (2) 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area’s NOX or VOC emissions 

increase more than 5 percent above the 

2006 emissions levels.14 A Level I action 

will consist of a study of whether 

adverse air quality or adverse emission 

trends are likely to continue. If so, 

Illinois will determine what and where 

emission controls will be needed to 

avoid a violation of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard. The study will be 

completed within 9 months after the 

action is triggered. If necessary, 

emission control measures will be 

adopted within 18 months of 

determination of the Level I triggering 

and implemented as expeditiously as 

practicable, taking into consideration 

the ease of implementation and the 

technical and economic feasibility of the 

selected measures. 

A Level II response will be triggered 

when a violation of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard is monitored at any 

monitoring site in the Greater Chicago 

area. If triggered, the IEPA will conduct 

a thorough study to determine the 

appropriate emission control measures 

to address the cause of the ozone 

standard violation. Analysis will be 

completed within 6 months of the 

triggering of the Level II response. 

Selected emission control measures will 

be implemented within 18 months of 

the determination of the ozone standard 

violation. 

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Adoption of any additional emission 

control measures prompted by either of 

the contingency triggers will be subject 

to the necessary administrative and 

legal processes dictated by State law. 

This process will include publication of 

public notices, public hearings, and 

other measures required by Illinois law. 

Contingency measures contained in 

the maintenance plan are those 

emission controls or other measures that 

the State chooses to adopt and 

implement in response to either of the 

contingency triggers discussed above. 

Possible contingency measures 

contained in Illinois’ contingency plan 

include, but are not limited to, the 

following: 

• Illinois’ Multi-Pollutant Program for 

electric generating units. 

• NOX RACT. 

• Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. 

• Best Available Retrofit Technology. 

• Broader geographic applicability of 

existing measures. 

• Tier 2 vehicle standards and low 

sulfur fuel. 

• High-enhanced vehicle I/M. 

• Federal railroad/locomotive 

standards. 

• Federal commercial marine vessel 

engine standards. 

• Portable fuel containers 

(replacement with low leak containers) 

• AIM Coatings 

• Commercial and consumer products 

standards 

• Aerosol coatings standards 

• Other measures to be identified. 

5. Monitoring Network and Verification 

of Continued Attainment 

In the State’s ozone redesignation 

request and maintenance plan, IEPA has 

committed to continue to monitor ozone 

levels in the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area according to an 

EPA-approved monitoring plan. Should 

changes in the locations of ozone 

monitors become necessary, IEPA 

commits to work with EPA to ensure the 

adequacy of the ozone monitoring 

network in this area. Illinois remains 

obligated to continue to quality assure 

ozone monitoring data in accordance 

with 40 CFR part 58 and to enter all 

ozone data into EPA’s Air Quality 

System in accordance with Federal 

guidelines. 

Application of Illinois’ ozone 

maintenance plan for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area and 

continued attainment of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard in the Greater Chicago 

area depend, in part, on the State’s 

efforts in tracking of ozone monitoring 

data to verify continued attainment of 

the ozone standard. IEPA’s plan for 

verifying continued attainment of the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard in the 

Greater Chicago area (Indiana is 

similarly tracking continued attainment 

of the standard in this area) consists of 

plans to continue ambient ozone 

monitoring in accordance with the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 58. IEPA 

will also continue to develop, review, 

and submit periodic emission 

inventories as required by the Federal 

Consolidated Emissions Reporting Rule 

(67 FR 19602, June 10, 2002) to track 

future levels of emissions. 

VI. Has the State adopted approvable 

motor vehicle emission budgets? 

Under the CAA, States are required to 

submit, at various times, SIP revisions, 

such as ozone attainment 

demonstrations and RFP plans, and 

ozone maintenance plans for applicable 

areas (for ozone nonattainment areas 

and for areas seeking redesignation to 

attainment of the ozone standard). 

These SIP revisions, including ozone 

maintenance plans, must create and 

document MVEBs based on on-road 

mobile source emissions allocated to 

highway and transit vehicle use that, 

together with emissions from other 

sources in the area, will provide for 

attainment and maintenance of the 

ozone NAAQS. 

Under 40 CFR part 93, a MVEB for an 

area seeking a redesignation to 

attainment is established for the last 

year of the maintenance plan (MVEBs 

may also be specified for additional 

years during the maintenance period). 

The MVEB serves as a ceiling on 

emissions that would result from an 

area’s planned transportation system. 

The MVEB concept is further explained 

in the preamble to the November 24, 

1993, transportation conformity rule (58 

FR 62188). The preamble describes how 

to establish the MVEB in the SIP and 

how to revise the MVEB if needed. 

Under section 176(c) of the CAA, new 

transportation projects, such as the 

construction of new highways, must 

‘‘conform’’ to (i.e., be consistent with) 

the SIP. Conformity to the SIP means 

that transportation activities will not 

cause new air quality violations, worsen 

existing air quality violations, or delay 

timely attainment of the NAAQS. CAA 

section 176(c)(1). If a transportation 

plan does not conform, most new 

transportation projects that would 

expand the capacity of roadways cannot 

go forward. Regulations at 40 CFR part 

93 set forth EPA policy, criteria, and 

procedures for demonstrating and 

assuring conformity of such 

transportation activities to a SIP. 

When reviewing SIP revisions 

containing MVEBs, including 

attainment strategies, rate-of-progress 

plans, and maintenance plans, EPA 

must affirmatively approve or find that 

the MVEBs are ‘‘adequate’’ for use in 

determining transportation conformity. 

Once EPA affirmatively approves or 

finds the submitted MVEBs to be 

adequate for transportation conformity 

purposes, the MVEBs must be used by 

state and Federal agencies in 

determining whether proposed 

transportation projects conform to the 

SIP as required by section 176(c) of the 

CAA. EPA’s substantive criteria for 

determining the adequacy of MVEBs are 

set out in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). 

EPA’s process for determining 

adequacy of a MVEB consists of three 

basic steps: (1) Providing public 

notification of a SIP submission; (2) 

providing the public the opportunity to 

comment on the MVEB during a public 

comment period; and, (3) making a 

finding of adequacy. The process for 

determining the adequacy of a 

submitted MVEB is codified at 40 CFR 

93.118. 

The ozone maintenance plan 

submitted by Illinois for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area, as 

revised in Illinois’ September 16, 2011, 

supplemental submittal, contains new 

VOC and NOX MVEBs for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago area for 

2008 and 2025. The availability of the 

SIP submission with MVEBs was 

announced for public comment on 

EPA’s Adequacy Web site on September 

26, 2011, at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/

stateresources/tansconf/currsips.htm, 

which provided a 30-day public 

comment period. The comment period 

for this notification ended on October 

26, 2011, and EPA received no 

comments from the public. Note, 

however, that a second mechanism is 

also provided for EPA review and 

public comment on MVEBs, as 

described in 40 CFR 93.118(f)(2). This 

mechanism provides for EPA’s review of 

the adequacy of an implementation plan 

MVEB simultaneously with its review 

and approval and disapproval of the 

implementation plan itself. In this 

action, EPA used the web notification 

discussed above to solicit public 

comments on the adequacy of Illinois’ 

MVEBs for the Illinois portion of the 

Greater Chicago area, but is taking 

comment on the approvability of the 

submitted MVEBs through this 

proposed rule. 

Illinois’ ozone maintenance plan for 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area contains VOC and NOX

MVEBs for 2008 and 2025. Any and all 

comments on the approvability of the 

MVEBs should be submitted during the 

comment period stated in the DATES

section of this notice. 

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EPA intends to approve 2008 and 

2025 MVEBs for the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area for 

transportation conformity purposes in 

the final rulemaking on Illinois’ ozone 

redesignation request. If EPA approves 

the MVEBs in the final rulemaking 

action, the new MVEBs must be used in 

future transportation conformity 

determinations for the Illinois portion of 

the Greater Chicago area. The new 

MVEBs, if approved in the final 

rulemaking, will be effective on the date 

of EPA’s final rulemaking in the Federal 

Register. For required regional emission 

analysis years that involve 2013 (the 

year after EPA is expected to approve 

the ozone maintenance plan and 

Illinois’ VOC and NOX MVEBs) or 

beyond, the applicable VOC and NOX

MVEBs for the Chicago area are defined 

in table 6. 

TABLE 6—MVEBS FOR THE ILLINOIS

PORTION OF THE GREATER CHICAGO

AREA

[Tons per ozone season weekday] 

Year VOC NOX

2008 .......................... 117.23 373.52 

2025 .......................... 48.13 125.27 

The MVEBs are the on-road mobile 

source VOC and NOX emissions for the 

Illinois portion of the Greater Chicago 

area for 2008 and 2025, including 15 

percent safety margins for 2025. The 

MVEBs are compatible with the 2008 

and 2025 on-road mobile source VOC 

and NOX emissions included in Illinois’ 

2008 and 2025 VOC and NOX emission 

inventories, as summarized above in 

table 5. The derivation of the MVEBs is 

thoroughly discussed in appendix B of 

IEPA’s April 5, 2009, ozone 

maintenance plan and in Illinois’ 

September 16, 2011, supplement to the 

ozone maintenance plan. 

EPA is proposing to approve the 

MVEBs for 2008 and 2025 as part of 

Illinois’ 1997 8-hour ozone standard 

maintenance plan. EPA has determined 

that the MVEB emission targets are 

consistent with emission control 

measures in the SIP and that the Greater 

Chicago area can maintain attainment of 

the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 

VII. 2002 Emissions Inventories 

Section 182(a)(1) of the CAA requires 

States with ozone nonattainment areas 

to submit a comprehensive, accurate, 

and current inventory of actual 

emissions (emissions of VOC and NOX) 

from all sources in the nonattainment 

areas, in accordance with guidance 

provided by the EPA. On June 21, 2006, 

IEPA submitted 2002 base year 

emissions inventories for the Illinois 

portion of the Greater Chicago 

nonattainment area. Emissions 

contained in that submittal cover the 

general source categories of point 

sources, area sources, on-road mobile 

sources, and non-road mobile sources. 

All emission summaries were 

accompanied by source-specific 

descriptions of emission calculation 

procedures and sources of input data. 

IEPA prepared the point source 

emissions using source-reported actual 

2002 emissions data for VOC and NOX. 

The emissions were adjusted for a 

typical summer day at each emissions 

unit within the source facilities. The 

annual emission reports provided ozone 

season hourly emissions and operating 

schedules that enabled the calculations 

of ozone season weekday emissions. 

Illinois used several methods to 

estimate area source activity levels and 

emissions, including applying local 

activity levels, apportioning national or 

statewide activity levels to the local 

level, and applying per capita emission 

factors considering county-specific 

populations. The documentation 

supplied in the emissions inventory 

submittal shows how the countyspecific emissions were calculated for 

each area source category. 

Non-road mobile source emissions 

were generated using EPA’s NONROAD 

model. In addition, separate emission 

estimates were developed for 

commercial marine vessels, aircraft, and 

railroads, non-road source categories not 

included in the NONROAD model. 

On-road mobile source emissions 

contained in the June 21, 2006, 

submittal were prepared by the IEPA 

using EPA’s MOBILE6 emissions model 

and daily VMT and speed estimates 

provided by the Illinois Department of 

Transportation. Note, however, that the 

2002 on-road mobile source emissions 

documented in the September 16, 2011, 

submittal were derived using the 

MOVES mobile source emissions model 

rather than MOBILE6. MOVES is the 

currently EPA-accepted model for the 

determination of on-road mobile source 

emissions. 

Illinois’ September 16, 2011, 

submittal documents 2002 emissions for 

the Illinois portion of the Greater 

Chicago area in units of tons per 

summer day. These emissions were 

modified relative to those included in 

the June 21, 2006, submittal, reflecting 

revised mobile source emissions 

calculated using MOVES (the mobile 

source emissions included in the June 

21, 2006 submittal were calculated 

using MOBILE6 mobile source emission 

factors). The 2002 emissions are 

summarized in table 2 above in section 

V.C. 

EPA is proposing to approve this 2002 

base year emissions inventory, as 

revised in the September 16, 2011, 

submittal, as meeting the requirements 

of section 182(2)(1) of the CAA. 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely approves state law as meeting 

Federal requirements and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. For that 

reason, this 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, 1993); 

• 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); 

• 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 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). 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

6760 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

1Public Law 106–181, section 716 (2000) 

(codified at 49 U.S.C. 44709(e)(3)). 

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 

40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Intergovernmental 

relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 

Volatile organic compounds. 

40 CFR Part 81 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, National parks, 

Wilderness areas. 

Dated: January 31, 2012. 

Susan Hedman, 

Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2991 Filed 2–8–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 

SAFETY BOARD 

49 CFR Parts 821 and 826 

[Docket No. NTSB–GC–2011–0001] 

Rules of Practice in Air Safety 

Proceedings; Rules Implementing the 

Equal Access to Justice Act of 1980 

AGENCY: National Transportation Safety 

Board (NTSB or Board). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The NTSB proposes various 

amendments to our regulations, which 

sets forth rules of procedure for the 

NTSB’s review of certificate actions 

taken by the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA); and rules of 

procedure concerning applications for 

fees and expenses under the Equal 

Access to Justice Act of 1980 (EAJA). 

The NTSB previously issued an advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking 

(ANPRM) and has carefully considered 

comments submitted in response to the 

ANPRM concerning these procedural 

rules. This document contains both a 

discussion of the comments and 

explanations for the changes proposed 

herein. 

DATES: Send your comments on or 

before April 9, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

identified by Docket ID Number NTSB– 

GC–2011–0001 using any of the 

following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

Mail: Send comments to NTSB Office 

of General Counsel, 490 L’Enfant Plaza 

East, SW., Washington, DC 20594–2003. 

Facsimile: Fax comments to 202–314– 

6090. 

Hand Delivery: Bring comments to 

490 L’Enfant Plaza East, SW., 6th Floor, 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For more information on the 

rulemaking process, see the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

Privacy: We will post all comments 

we receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Tochen, General Counsel, (202) 

314–6080. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background—Advance Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking 

On December 22, 2010, the NTSB 

published an ANPRM inviting public 

comments concerning the NTSB 

procedural rules codified at 49 CFR 

parts 821 and 826. 75 FR 80452. The 

NTSB specifically sought comments 

concerning the standard of review for 

emergency determinations, discovery 

and exchanges of information between 

parties, and electronic filing of 

documents in air safety enforcement 

cases before the Board. The NTSB also 

sought comments concerning outdated 

rules in 49 CFR part 826, governing 

claims brought under the EAJA. 

The ANPRM included a discussion of 

the rationale for the Board’s procedure 

for handling certain aspects of 

emergency cases. The FAA issues 

emergency orders when it determines 

the interests of aviation safety require 

that the order take effect immediately, 

and, in those cases, the certificate 

holder may not exercise certificate 

privileges during the pendency of an 

appeal with the NTSB. Section 716 of 

the Aviation Investment and Reform Act 

for the 21st Century 1 (hereinafter, ‘‘the 

Act’’) amended 49 U.S.C. 44709 by 

granting the NTSB authority to review 

such emergency determinations. The 

ANPRM sought comments concerning 

this review process. Specifically, the 

NTSB described the considerations, 

including Federal court rulings and 

comments received in response to the 

NTSB’s Interim Rule (published on July 

11, 2000 (64 FR 42637), initially 

implementing section 716 of the Act) 

resulting in the adoption, in the Final 

Rule (published on April 29, 2003 (68 

FR 22623)), of the standard of review 

found in 49 CFR 821.54(e). Section 

821.54(e) directs NTSB’s law judges to 

dispose of petitions for review of the 

FAA’s emergency determinations by 

‘‘consider[ing] whether, based on the 

acts and omissions alleged in the 

Administrator’s order, and assuming the 

truth of such factual allegations, the 

Administrator’s emergency 

determination was appropriate under 

the circumstances, in that it supports a 

finding that aviation safety would likely 

be compromised by a stay of the 

effectiveness of the order during the 

pendency of the respondent’s appeal.’’ 

75 FR at 80452–80453. The aspect of the 

standard relating to the law judges’ 

assumption of the truth of the FAA’s 

allegations of fact prompted much 

feedback from commenters. 

The ANPRM also sought comments 

pertaining to other matters. With regard 

to discovery and the parties’ exchanges 

of information, the ANPRM requested 

feedback as to whether law judges 

should routinely issue prehearing orders 

to govern discovery, and whether a 

standard sanction should apply if 

parties fail to comply with a prehearing 

order or discovery obligation. Id. at 

80453. On the subject of the electronic 

filing of documents, the ANPRM sought 

comments as to how to fashion 

electronic filing rules that could apply 

to pro se litigants, who may not have 

computer or Internet access. Finally, 

with regard to procedural rules 

applicable to applications for attorney’s 

fees and expenses under the EAJA, the 

ANPRM sought general comments 

concerning updates to outdated 

provisions in 49 CFR part 826. For 

example, the ANPRM cited 49 CFR 

826.40, which provides incorrect 

contact information for the FAA office 

overseeing the payment of fee awards 

under the EAJA. Id. at 80453–80454. 

The language of the ANPRM indicated, 

however, that the Board welcomed all 

comments relating to the procedural 

rules found in 49 CFR parts 821 and 

826. 

II. Comments Received 

The NTSB received 20 relevant 

comments in response to the ANPRM, 

which are available at http:// 

www.regulations.gov (Docket No. 

NTSB–GC–2011–0001). The Board has 

carefully reviewed and considered all 

comments it received, and greatly 

appreciates the time and thought the 

commenters devoted to providing 

detailed comments, as the comments 

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