44522 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

1On October 1, 2015, EPA strengthened the 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS to 0.070 ppm. See 80 FR 65292 

(October 16, 2015). This rulemaking addresses the 

2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and does not address 

the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2017–0149; FRL–9968–00– 

Region 3] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; 

Maryland; 2011 Base Year Inventory 

for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard for the 

Maryland Portion of the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City 

Nonattainment Area 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking direct final 

action to approve the 2011 base year 

inventory for the Maryland portion of 

the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic 

City marginal nonattainment area for the 

2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air 

quality standard (NAAQS). The State of 

Maryland submitted the emission 

inventory, which included the ozone 

precursors, nitrogen oxides (NOX) and 

volatile organic compounds (VOC), as 

well as several other pollutants, through 

the Maryland Department of the 

Environment (MDE) to meet the 

nonattainment requirements for 

marginal ozone nonattainment areas for 

the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is 

approving the 2011 base year emissions 

inventory for the 2008 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS as a revision to the Maryland 

State Implementation Plan (SIP) as the 

inventory for NOX and VOC is in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA). 

DATES: This rule is effective on 

November 24, 2017 without further 

notice, unless EPA receives adverse 

written comment by October 25, 2017. 

If EPA receives such comments, it will 

publish a timely withdrawal of the 

direct final rule in the Federal Register 

and inform the public that the rule will 

not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03– 

OAR–2017–0149 at https://

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

stahl.cynthia@epa.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. For either manner of 

submission, EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

confidential business information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. EPA will generally not consider 

comments or comment contents located 

outside of the primary submission (i.e. 

on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 

system). For additional submission 

methods, please contact the person 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the 

full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

Calcinore, (215) 814–2043, or by email 

at calcinore.sara@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Ground level ozone is formed when 

NOX and VOC react in the presence of 

sunlight. NOX and VOC are referred to 

as ozone precursors and are emitted by 

many types of pollution sources, 

including motor vehicles, power plants, 

industrial facilities, and area wide 

sources, such as consumer products and 

lawn and garden equipment. Scientific 

evidence indicates that adverse public 

health effects occur following exposure 

to ozone. These effects are more 

pronounced in children and adults with 

lung disease. Breathing air containing 

ozone can reduce lung function and 

inflame airways, which can increase 

respiratory symptoms and aggravate 

asthma or other lung diseases. In 

response to this scientific evidence, EPA 

promulgated the first ozone NAAQS in 

1979, the 0.12 part per million (ppm) 1- 

hour ozone NAAQS. See 44 FR 8202 

(February 8, 1979). EPA had previously 

promulgated a NAAQS for total 

photochemical oxidants. 

On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a 

revised ozone NAAQS of 0.08 ppm, 

averaged over eight hours. 62 FR 38855. 

This 8-hour ozone NAAQS was 

determined to be more protective of 

public health than the previous 1979 1- 

hour ozone NAAQS. In 2008, EPA 

revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS from 

0.08 to 0.075 ppm. See 73 FR 16436 

(March 27, 2008).1

On May 21, 2012, the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City area was 

designated as marginal nonattainment 

for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 77 

FR 30088. The designation of the 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 

area as marginal nonattainment was 

effective July 20, 2012. The 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 

nonattainment area is comprised of 

Cecil County in Maryland, as well as 

counties in Delaware, New Jersey, and 

Pennsylvania. Under section 172(c)(3) of 

the CAA, Maryland is required to 

submit a comprehensive, accurate, and 

current inventory of actual emissions 

from all sources of the relevant 

pollutants, i.e. the ozone precursors 

NOX and VOC, in its marginal 

nonattainment area, i.e., the Maryland 

portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City nonattainment area. 

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA 

Analysis 

Under CAA section 172(c)(3), states 

are required to submit a comprehensive, 

accurate, and current inventory of actual 

emissions from all sources (point, 

nonpoint, nonroad, and onroad) of the 

relevant pollutant or pollutants in the 

nonattainment area. CAA section 

182(a)(1) requires that areas designated 

as nonattainment and classified as 

marginal submit an inventory of all 

sources of ozone precursors no later 

than 2 years after the effective date of 

designation. EPA’s guidance for 

emissions inventory development calls 

for actual emissions to be used in the 

base year inventory. The state must 

report annual emissions as well as 

‘‘summer day emissions.’’ As defined in 

40 CFR 51.900(v), ‘‘summer day 

emissions’’ means, ‘‘an average day’s 

emissions for a typical summer work 

weekday. The state will select the 

particular month(s) in summer and the 

day(s) in the work week to be 

represented.’’ 

On January 19, 2017, MDE submitted 

a formal revision (SIP #16–15) to its SIP. 

The SIP revision consists of the 2011 

base year inventory for the Maryland 

portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City nonattainment area for the 

2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. MDE 

selected 2011 as its base year for SIP 

planning purposes, as recommended in 

EPA’s final rule, ‘‘Implementation of the 

2008 National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards for Ozone: State 

Implementation Plan Requirements.’’ 

See 80 FR 12263 (March 6, 2015). MDE’s 

2011 base year inventory includes 

emissions estimates covering the general 

source categories of stationary point, 

area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, onroad 

mobile, and Marine-Air-Rail (M–A–R). 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 44523 

2The actual annual emissions and typical 

summer day emissions were summarized by MDE 

in Table 1–1: 2011 Base Year SIP Emission 

Inventory Summary. A discrepancy was found 

between the area annual emissions reported for 

PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1–1 and the area annual 

emissions reported for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 4– 

1: 2011 Base Year SIP Area Source Emission 

Inventories and the Nonpoint Annual data table 

under Appendix C Area/Nonpoint Sources. Since 

the anthropogenic totals in Table 1–1 correspond to 

the annual emissions values, the anthropogenic 

totals for PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1–1 were also 

affected by the discrepancy. In a correction letter, 

MDE confirmed that the area annual emissions for 

PM2.5 and NH3 in Table 1–1 are 456.50 tpy for PM2.5

and 477.15 tpy for NH3. MDE also confirmed that 

the corresponding anthropogenic totals for PM2.5

and NH3 are 625.04 tpy and 530.10 tpy. MDE has 

submitted a corrected version of page 3 of the 2011 

base year inventory to reflect the necessary 

corrections to Table 1–1. The corrected version as 

well as the correction letter are included in the 

docket for this rulemaking even though the CAA at 

sections 172 and 182 only require an inventory of 

ozone precursors. See July 20, 2017 letter from 

Brian Hug, Program Manager, Maryland Department 

of the Environment to Cecil Rodrigues, Acting 

Regional Administrator, EPA Region III, Subject: 

SIP #16–15 ‘‘2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory 

for the Maryland Portion of the PhiladelphiaAtlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD 2008 Ozone NAAQS 

Nonattainment Area (Cecil County, MD)’’ Minor 

Corrections. 

In its 2011 base year inventory, MDE 

reported actual annual emissions and 

typical summer day emissions for the 

months of May through September for 

NOX, VOC, and carbon monoxide (CO). 

Although MDE also reported annual 

emissions for fine particulate matter 

(PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and 

ammonia (NH3) and typical summer day 

emissions for CO, in this approval of the 

2011 base year emissions inventory for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA is 

approving only relevant ozone 

precursors, which are VOC and NOX.2

Table 1 summarizes the 2011 VOC 

and NOX emission inventory by source 

sector for Maryland’s marginal 

nonattainment area. Annual emissions 

are given in tons per year (tpy) and 

summer weekday emissions are given 

by tons per day (tpd). 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2011 EMISSIONS OF OZONE PRECURSORS FOR THE PHILADELPHIA-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY

NONATTAINMENT AREA

Source sector 

Summer weekday 

(tpd) 

Annual 

(tpy) 

VOC NOX VOC NOX

Point ................................................................................................................. 0.301 2.63 64.91 76.19 

Area ................................................................................................................. 2.863 0.31 937.78 242.02 

Nonroad ........................................................................................................... 5.127 2.01 1,054.93 529.02 

Onroad ............................................................................................................. 2.29 7.50 791.98 2,730.44 

M–A–R ............................................................................................................. 0.030 0.46 11.03 167.97 

Anthropogenic Subtotal ................................................................................... 10.61 12.90 2,860.63 3,745.63 

Point sources are large, stationary, 

and identifiable sources of emissions 

that release pollutants into the 

atmosphere. Maryland obtained its 

point source data from the MDE Air and 

Radiation Management Administration 

(ARMA) point source emissions 

inventory. ARMA identifies and 

inventories stationary sources for the 

point source emissions inventory 

through inspections, investigations, 

permitting, and equipment registrations. 

Area sources, also known as nonpoint 

sources, are sources of pollution that are 

small and numerous and have not been 

inventoried as specific point or mobile 

sources. To inventory these sources, 

they are grouped so that emissions can 

be estimated collectively using one 

methodology. Examples include 

residential heating emissions and 

emissions from consumer solvents. MDE 

calculated nonpoint emissions for the 

Maryland portion of the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City 

nonattainment area by multiplying 

emissions factors specific for each 

source category with some known 

indicator of collective activity for each 

source category, such as population or 

employment data. 

Nonroad sources are mobile sources 

other than onroad vehicles, including 

aircraft, locomotives, construction and 

agricultural equipment, and marine 

vessels. Emissions from different source 

categories are calculated using various 

methodologies. MDE relied on EPA’s 

nonroad emissions calculations from the 

National Mobile Inventory Model 

(NMIM—April 5, 2009). Onroad or 

highway sources are vehicles, such as 

cars, trucks, and buses, which are 

operated on public roadways. MDE 

estimated onroad emissions using EPA’s 

Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator 

(MOVES) model, version 2010a, and 

appropriate activity levels, such as 

vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates 

developed from vehicle count data 

maintained by the State Highway 

Administration (SHA) of the Maryland 

Department of Transportation (MDOT). 

M-A-R sources include marine vessels, 

airports, and railroad locomotives. MDE 

estimated M-A-R emissions using data 

from surveyed sources or state and 

federal reporting agencies. 

EPA reviewed Maryland’s 2011 base 

year emission inventory’s results, 

procedures, and methodologies for the 

Maryland portion of the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City 

nonattainment area and found them to 

be acceptable and approvable for 

sections 110, 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of 

the CAA. EPA’s review and analysis is 

detailed in a Technical Support 

Document (TSD) prepared for this 

rulemaking. The TSD is available online 

at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID 

No. EPA–R03–OAR–2017–0149. 

III. Final Action 

EPA is approving the Maryland 

January 19, 2017 SIP revision as meeting 

requirements for a base year inventory 

for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for 

the Maryland portion of the 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 

nonattainment area because the 

inventory for ozone precursors was 

prepared in accordance with 

requirements in sections 110, 172(c)(3) 

and 182(a)(1) of the CAA and its 

implementing regulations including 40 

CFR 51.915. EPA is publishing this rule 

without prior proposal because EPA 

views this as a noncontroversial 

amendment and anticipates no adverse 

comment. However, in the ‘‘Proposed 

Rules’’ section of this Federal Register, 

EPA is publishing a separate document 

that will serve as the proposal to 

approve the SIP revision if adverse 

comments are filed. This rule will be 

effective on November 24, 2017 without 

further notice unless EPA receives 

adverse comment by October 25, 2017. 

If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA 

will publish a timely withdrawal in the 

Federal Register informing the public 

that the rule will not take effect. EPA 

will address all public comments in a 

subsequent final rule based on the 


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44524 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a 

second comment period on this action. 

Any parties interested in commenting 

must do so at this time. 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. General Requirements 

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 Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

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

January 21, 2011); 

• does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• does not have federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA; 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). 

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. 

B. Submission to Congress and the 

Comptroller General 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides 

that before a rule may take effect, the 

agency promulgating the rule must 

submit a rule report, which includes a 

copy of the rule, to each House of the 

Congress and to the Comptroller General 

of the United States. EPA will submit a 

report containing this action and other 

required information to the U.S. Senate, 

the U.S. House of Representatives, and 

the Comptroller General of the United 

States prior to publication of the rule in 

the Federal Register. A major rule 

cannot take effect until 60 days after it 

is published in the Federal Register. 

This action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as 

defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

C. Petitions for Judicial Review 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, 

petitions for judicial review of this 

action must be filed in the United States 

Court of Appeals for the appropriate 

circuit by November 24, 2017. Filing a 

petition for reconsideration by the 

Administrator of this final rule does not 

affect the finality of this action for the 

purposes of judicial review nor does it 

extend the time within which a petition 

for judicial review may be filed, and 

shall not postpone the effectiveness of 

such rule or action. Parties with 

objections to this direct final rule are 

encouraged to file a comment in 

response to the parallel notice of 

proposed rulemaking for this action 

published in the proposed rules section 

of this Federal Register, rather than file 

an immediate petition for judicial 

review of this direct final rule, so that 

EPA can withdraw this direct final rule 

and address the comment in the 

proposed rulemaking action. 

This action approving Maryland’s 

2011 base year inventory for the 2008 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS for the Maryland 

portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City nonattainment area may 

not be challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements. (See section 

307(b)(2).) 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

Dated: September 8, 2017. 

Cecil Rodrigues, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III. 

40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart V—Maryland 

■ 2. In § 52.1070, the table in paragraph 

(e) is amended by adding an entry for 

‘‘2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 

8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard’’ at the end of the table 

to read as follows: 

§ 52.1070 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

Name of non-regulatory SIP revision Applicable geographic area State submittal 

date EPA approval date Additional explanation 

*******

2011 Base Year Inventory for the 2008 8- 

Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD 

2008 ozone nonattainment area.

01/19/2017 09/25/2017, [Insert 

Federal Register 

citation].

§ 52.1075(q). 

■ 3. Section 52.1075 is amended by 

adding paragraph (q) to read as follows: 

§ 52.1075 Base year emissions inventory. 

* * * * * 

(q) EPA approves, as a revision to the 

Maryland state implementation plan the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 44525 

1These non-EGUs are defined in the NOX SIP Call 

as stationary, fossil fuel-fired boilers, combustion 

turbines, or combined cycle systems with a 

maximum design heat input greater than 250 

million British thermal units per hour (MMBtu/hr). 

2 In October 1998, EPA finalized the ‘‘Finding of 

Significant Contribution and Rulemaking for 

Certain States in the Ozone Transport Assessment 

Group Region for Purposes of Reducing Regional 

Transport of Ozone’’—commonly called the NOX

SIP Call. See 63 FR 57356 (October 27, 1998). 

3North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir. 

2008). 

4North Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3d 1176 (D.C. Cir. 

2008). 

2011 base year emissions inventory for 

the Maryland portion of the 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 

marginal nonattainment area for the 

2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air 

quality standards submitted by the 

Maryland Department of the 

Environment on January 19, 2017, as 

amended July 20, 2017. The 2011 base 

year emissions inventory includes 

emissions estimates that cover the 

general source categories of stationary 

point, area (nonpoint), nonroad mobile, 

onroad mobile, and Marine-Air-Rail (M– 

A–R). The inventory included actual 

annual emissions and typical summer 

day emissions for the months of May 

through September for the ozone 

precursors, VOC and NOX. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20324 Filed 9–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2016–0574; FRL–9968–15– 

Region 3] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; West 

Virginia; Removal of Clean Air 

Interstate Rule Trading Programs 

Replaced by Cross-State Air Pollution 

Rule Trading Programs 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking direct final 

action to approve two state 

implementation plan (SIP) revisions 

submitted by the State of West Virginia. 

These revisions pertain to two West 

Virginia regulations that established 

trading programs under the Clean Air 

Interstate Rule (CAIR). The EPAadministered trading programs under 

CAIR were discontinued on December 

31, 2014 upon the implementation of 

the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule 

(CSAPR), which was promulgated by 

EPA to replace CAIR. CSAPR 

established federal implementation 

plans (FIPs) for 23 states, including 

West Virginia. The submitted SIP 

revisions request removal of regulations 

that implemented the CAIR annual 

nitrogen oxide (NOX) and annual sulfur 

dioxide (SO2) trading programs from the 

West Virginia SIP (as CSAPR has 

supplanted CAIR). West Virginia’s SIP 

revision submittal requesting removal of 

a regulation that implemented the CAIR 

ozone season trading program will be 

addressed in a separate action. EPA is 

approving these SIP revisions in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA). 

DATES: This rule is effective on 

December 26, 2017 without further 

notice, unless EPA receives adverse 

written comment by October 25, 2017. 

If EPA receives such comments, it will 

publish a timely withdrawal of the 

direct final rule in the Federal Register 

and inform the public that the rule will 

not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03– 

OAR–2016–0574 at https://

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

stahl.cynthia@epa.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. For either manner of 

submission, EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

confidential business information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. EPA will generally not consider 

comments or comment contents located 

outside of the primary submission (i.e. 

on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 

system). For additional submission 

methods, please contact the person 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the 

full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marilyn Powers, (215) 814–2308, or by 

email at powers.marilyn@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

13, 2016, the State of West Virginia, 

through the West Virginia Department 

of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), 

submitted three SIP revisions requesting 

EPA remove from its SIP three 

regulations that implemented the CAIR 

(70 FR 25162, May 12, 2005) trading 

programs: Regulation 45CSR39—Control 

of Annual Nitrogen Oxides Emissions, 

Regulation 45CSR40—Control of Ozone 

Season Nitrogen Oxides Emissions, and 

Regulation 45CSR41—Control of 

Annual Sulfur Dioxide Emissions. This 

action pertains to the two submittals 

that remove 45CSR39 and 45CSR41, the 

CAIR annual NOX and annual SO2

trading programs, respectively, from the 

West Virginia SIP. The submittal 

pertaining to removal of the CAIR ozone 

season NOX trading program is not a 

part of this action and will be addressed 

in a separate action. 

I. Background 

In 2005, EPA promulgated CAIR (70 

FR 25162, May 12, 2005) to address 

transported emissions that significantly 

contributed to downwind states’ 

nonattainment and interfered with 

maintenance of the 1997 ozone and fine 

particulate matter (PM2.5) national 

ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). 

CAIR required 28 states, including West 

Virginia, to reduce emissions of NOX

and SO2, precursors to the formation of 

ambient ozone and PM2.5. Under CAIR, 

EPA established federal implementation 

plans (FIPs) comprised of separate cap 

and trade programs for annual NOX, 

ozone season NOX, and annual SO2. 

States could comply with the 

requirements of CAIR by remaining on 

the FIP, which applied only to electric 

generating units (EGUs), or by 

submitting a CAIR SIP revision that 

included as trading sources EGUs and 

certain non-EGUs 1 that formerly traded 

in the NOX Budget Trading Program 

under the NOX SIP Call.2 West Virginia 

submitted, and EPA approved, a CAIR 

SIP revision that included EGUs and 

certain non-EGUs as part of the State’s 

regulation for the CAIR ozone season 

trading program as well as EGUs in the 

CAIR annual trading program for NOX

and SO2. See 74 FR 38536 (August 4, 

2009). 

The United States Court of Appeals 

for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. 

Circuit) initially vacated CAIR in 2008,3

but ultimately remanded the rule to EPA 

without vacatur to preserve the 

environmental benefits provided by 

CAIR.4 The ruling allowed CAIR to 

remain in effect temporarily until a 

replacement rule consistent with the 

Court’s opinion was developed. While 

EPA worked on developing a 

replacement rule, the CAIR program 

continued as planned with the NOX

annual and ozone season programs 


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