114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4775 

AN ACT 

To facilitate efficient State implementation of ground-level 

ozone standards, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ozone Standards Im3 plementation Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FACILITATING STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF EXIST5 ING OZONE STANDARDS. 

6 (a) DESIGNATIONS.— 

7 (1) DESIGNATION SUBMISSION.—Not later than 

8 October 26, 2024, notwithstanding the deadline 

9 specified in paragraph (1)(A) of section 107(d) of 

10 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407(d)), the Gov11 ernor of each State shall designate in accordance 

12 with such section 107(d) all areas (or portions there13 of) of the Governor’s State as attainment, nonattain14 ment, or unclassifiable with respect to the 2015 

15 ozone standards. 

16 (2) DESIGNATION PROMULGATION.—Not later 

17 than October 26, 2025, notwithstanding the deadline 

18 specified in paragraph (1)(B) of section 107(d) of 

19 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407(d)), the Adminis20 trator shall promulgate final designations under 

21 such section 107(d) for all areas in all States with 

22 respect to the 2015 ozone standards, including any 

23 modifications to the designations submitted under 

24 paragraph (1). 

25 (3) STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.—Not 

26 later than October 26, 2026, notwithstanding the 
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1 deadline specified in section 110(a)(1) of the Clean 

2 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(1)), each State shall 

3 submit the plan required by such section 110(a)(1) 

4 for the 2015 ozone standards. 

5 (b) CERTAIN PRECONSTRUCTION PERMITS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The 2015 ozone standards 

7 shall not apply to the review and disposition of a 

8 preconstruction permit application if— 

9 (A) the Administrator or the State, local, 

10 or tribal permitting authority, as applicable, de11 termines the application to be complete on or 

12 before the date of promulgation of the final des13 ignation of the area involved under subsection 

14 (a)(2); or 

15 (B) the Administrator or the State, local, 

16 or tribal permitting authority, as applicable, 

17 publishes a public notice of a preliminary deter18 mination or draft permit for the application be19 fore the date that is 60 days after the date of 

20 promulgation of the final designation of the 

21 area involved under subsection (a)(2). 

22 (2) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

23 this section shall be construed to— 

24 (A) eliminate the obligation of a 

25 preconstruction permit applicant to install best 
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1 available control technology and lowest achiev2 able emission rate technology, as applicable; or 

3 (B) limit the authority of a State, local, or 

4 tribal permitting authority to impose more 

5 stringent emissions requirements pursuant to 

6 State, local, or tribal law than national ambient 

7 air quality standards. 

8 SEC. 3. FACILITATING STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF NA9 TIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS. 

10 (a) TIMELINE FOR REVIEW OF NATIONAL AMBIENT

11 AIR QUALITY STANDARDS.— 

12 (1) TEN-YEAR CYCLE FOR ALL CRITERIA AIR

13 POLLUTANTS.—Paragraphs (1) and (2)(B) of sec14 tion 109(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 7409(d)) are amended by striking ‘‘five-year inter16 vals’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘10-year 

17 intervals’’. 

18 (2) CYCLE FOR NEXT REVIEW OF OZONE CRI19 TERIA AND STANDARDS.—Notwithstanding section 

20 109(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409(d)), 

21 the Administrator shall not— 

22 (A) complete, before October 26, 2025, any 

23 review of the criteria for ozone published under 

24 section 108 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7408) or 

25 the national ambient air quality standard for 
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1 ozone promulgated under section 109 of such 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 7409); or 

3 (B) propose, before such date, any revi4 sions to such criteria or standard. 

5 (b) CONSIDERATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL FEASI6 BILITY.—Section 109(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 7409(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after the first 

8 sentence the following: ‘‘If the Administrator, in consulta9 tion with the independent scientific review committee ap10 pointed under subsection (d), finds that a range of levels 

11 of air quality for an air pollutant are requisite to protect 

12 public health with an adequate margin of safety, as de13 scribed in the preceding sentence, the Administrator may 

14 consider, as a secondary consideration, likely technological 

15 feasibility in establishing and revising the national pri16 mary ambient air quality standard for such pollutant.’’. 

17 (c) CONSIDERATION OF ADVERSE PUBLIC HEALTH, 

18 WELFARE, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, OR ENERGY EFFECTS.— 

19 Section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 7409(d)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(D) Prior to establishing or revising a national am23 bient air quality standard, the Administrator shall re24 quest, and such committee shall provide, advice under sub25 paragraph (C)(iv) regarding any adverse public health, 
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1 welfare, social, economic, or energy effects which may re2 sult from various strategies for attainment and mainte3 nance of such national ambient air quality standard.’’. 

4 (d) TIMELY ISSUANCE OF IMPLEMENTING REGULA5 TIONS AND GUIDANCE.—Section 109 of the Clean Air Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 7409) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(e) TIMELY ISSUANCE OF IMPLEMENTING REGULA9 TIONS AND GUIDANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In publishing any final rule 

11 establishing or revising a national ambient air qual12 ity standard, the Administrator shall, as the Admin13 istrator determines necessary to assist States, per14 mitting authorities, and permit applicants, concur15 rently publish regulations and guidance for imple16 menting the standard, including information relating 

17 to submission and consideration of a preconstruction 

18 permit application under the new or revised stand19 ard. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY OF STANDARD TO

21 PRECONSTRUCTION PERMITTING.—If the Adminis22 trator fails to publish final regulations and guidance 

23 that include information relating to submission and 

24 consideration of a preconstruction permit application 

25 under a new or revised national ambient air quality 
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1 standard concurrently with such standard, then such 

2 standard shall not apply to the review and disposi3 tion of a preconstruction permit application until the 

4 Administrator has published such final regulations 

5 and guidance. 

6 ‘‘(3) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) Nothing in this subsection shall be 

8 construed to preclude the Administrator from 

9 issuing regulations and guidance to assist 

10 States, permitting authorities, and permit appli11 cants in implementing a national ambient air 

12 quality standard subsequent to publishing regu13 lations and guidance for such standard under 

14 paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this subsection shall be 

16 construed to eliminate the obligation of a 

17 preconstruction permit applicant to install best 

18 available control technology and lowest achiev19 able emission rate technology, as applicable. 

20 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this subsection shall be 

21 construed to limit the authority of a State, 

22 local, or tribal permitting authority to impose 

23 more stringent emissions requirements pursu24 ant to State, local, or tribal law than national 

25 ambient air quality standards. 
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1 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

2 ‘‘(A) The term ‘best available control tech3 nology’ has the meaning given to that term in 

4 section 169(3). 

5 ‘‘(B) The term ‘lowest achievable emission 

6 rate’ has the meaning given to that term in sec7 tion 171(3). 

8 ‘‘(C) The term ‘preconstruction permit’— 

9 ‘‘(i) means a permit that is required 

10 under this title for the construction or 

11 modification of a stationary source; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) includes any such permit issued 

13 by the Environmental Protection Agency 

14 or a State, local, or tribal permitting au15 thority.’’. 

16 (e) CONTINGENCY MEASURES FOR EXTREME OZONE

17 NONATTAINMENT AREAS.—Section 172(c)(9) of the Clean 

18 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7502(c)(9)) is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding 

20 sentences and any other provision of this Act, such meas21 ures shall not be required for any nonattainment area for 

22 ozone classified as an Extreme Area.’’. 

23 (f) PLAN SUBMISSIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR

24 OZONE NONATTAINMENT AREAS.—Section 182 of the 

25 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7511a) is amended— 
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1 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii)(III), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and economic feasibility’’ after ‘‘technological 

3 achievability’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii), by inserting 

5 ‘‘and economic feasibility’’ after ‘‘technological 

6 achievability’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding 

8 paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘The provisions of clause 

10 (ii) of subsection (c)(2)(B) (relating to reduc11 tions of less than 3 percent), the provisions of 

12 paragaphs’’ and inserting ‘‘The provisions of 

13 paragraphs’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘, and the provisions of 

15 clause (ii) of subsection (b)(1)(A) (relating to 

16 reductions of less than 15 percent)’’; and 

17 (4) in paragraph (5) of subsection (e), by strik18 ing ‘‘, if the State demonstrates to the satisfaction 

19 of the Administrator that—’’ and all that follows 

20 through the end of the paragraph and inserting a 

21 period. 

22 (g) PLAN REVISIONS FOR MILESTONES FOR PARTIC23 ULATE MATTER NONATTAINMENT AREAS.—Section 

24 189(c)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7513a(c)(1)) 

25 is amended by inserting ‘‘, which take into account techno-
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1 logical achievability and economic feasibility,’’ before ‘‘and 

2 which demonstrate reasonable further progress’’. 

3 (h) EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS.—Section 319(b)(1)(B) 

4 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7619(b)(1)(B)) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in clause (i)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘(i) stagnation of air 

8 masses or’’ and inserting ‘‘(i)(I) ordinarily oc9 curring stagnation of air masses or (II)’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

11 (2) by striking clause (ii); and 

12 (3) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (ii). 

13 (i) REPORT ON EMISSIONS EMANATING FROM OUT14 SIDE THE UNITED STATES.—Not later than 24 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, 

16 in consultation with States, shall submit to the Congress 

17 a report on— 

18 (1) the extent to which foreign sources of air 

19 pollution, including emissions from sources located 

20 outside North America, impact— 

21 (A) designations of areas (or portions 

22 thereof) as nonattainment, attainment, or 

23 unclassifiable under section 107(d) of the Clean 

24 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407(d)); and 
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1 (B) attainment and maintenance of na2 tional ambient air quality standards; 

3 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency’s pro4 cedures and timelines for disposing of petitions sub5 mitted pursuant to section 179B(b) of the Clean Air 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 7509a(b)); 

7 (3) the total number of petitions received by the 

8 Agency pursuant to such section 179B(b), and for 

9 each such petition the date initially submitted and 

10 the date of final disposition by the Agency; and 

11 (4) whether the Administrator recommends any 

12 statutory changes to facilitate the more efficient re13 view and disposition of petitions submitted pursuant 

14 to such section 179B(b). 

15 (j) STUDY ON OZONE FORMATION.— 

16 (1) STUDY.—The Administrator, in consulta17 tion with States and the National Oceanic and At18 mospheric Administration, shall conduct a study on 

19 the atmospheric formation of ozone and effective 

20 control strategies, including— 

21 (A) the relative contribution of man-made 

22 and naturally occurring nitrogen oxides, volatile 

23 organic compounds, and other pollutants in 

24 ozone formation in urban and rural areas, in-
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1 cluding during wildfires, and the most cost-ef2 fective control strategies to reduce ozone; and 

3 (B) the science of wintertime ozone forma4 tion, including photochemical modeling of win5 tertime ozone formation, and approaches to 

6 cost-effectively reduce wintertime ozone levels. 

7 (2) PEER REVIEW.—The Administrator shall 

8 have the study peer reviewed by an independent 

9 panel of experts in accordance with the requirements 

10 applicable to a highly influential scientific assess11 ment. 

12 (3) REPORT.—The Administrator shall submit 

13 to Congress a report describing the results of the 

14 study, including the findings of the peer review 

15 panel. 

16 (4) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Ad17 ministrator shall incorporate the results of the 

18 study, including the findings of the peer review 

19 panel, into any Federal rules and guidance imple20 menting the 2015 ozone standards. 

21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency. 
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1 (2) BEST AVAILABLE CONTROL TECH2 NOLOGY.—The term ‘‘best available control tech3 nology’’ has the meaning given to that term in sec4 tion 169(3) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 7479(3)). 

6 (3) HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL SCIENTIFIC ASSESS7 MENT.—The term ‘‘highly influential scientific as8 sessment’’ means a highly influential scientific as9 sessment as defined in the publication of the Office 

10 of Management and Budget entitled ‘‘Final Informa11 tion Quality Bulletin for Peer Review’’ (70 Fed. 

12 Reg. 2664 (January 14, 2005)). 

13 (4) LOWEST ACHIEVABLE EMISSION RATE.— 

14 The term ‘‘lowest achievable emission rate’’ has the 

15 meaning given to that term in section 171(3) of the 

16 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7501(3)). 

17 (5) NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STAND18 ARD.—The term ‘‘national ambient air quality 

19 standard’’ means a national ambient air quality 

20 standard promulgated under section 109 of the 

21 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409). 

22 (6) PRECONSTRUCTION PERMIT.—The term 

23 ‘‘preconstruction permit’’— 

24 (A) means a permit that is required under 

25 title I of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 
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1 seq.) for the construction or modification of a 

2 stationary source; and 

3 (B) includes any such permit issued by the 

4 Environmental Protection Agency or a State, 

5 local, or tribal permitting authority. 

6 (7) 2015 OZONE STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘2015 

7 ozone standards’’ means the national ambient air 

8 quality standards for ozone published in the Federal 

9 Register on October 26, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 65292). 

10 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

11 No additional funds are authorized to be appro12 priated to carry out the requirements of this Act and the 

13 amendments made by this Act. Such requirements shall 

14 be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 8, 2016. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4775 

AN ACT 

To facilitate efficient State implementation of 

poses. ground-level ozone standards, and for other pur-