Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2017 / Proposed Rules 50851 

1 ‘‘Clean Data Policy for the Fine Particle National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards,’’ Memorandum 

from Stephen D. Page, December 14, 2004. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 3212 Emergency Flotation Section. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 16, 

2017. 

James A. Grigg, 

Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23200 Filed 11–1–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2017–0479; FRL–9968–42– 

Region 3] 

Air Quality Plans; Pennsylvania; 

Lebanon County 2012 Fine Particulate 

Matter Standard Determination of 

Attainment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to determine 

that the Lebanon County, Pennsylvania 

nonattainment area (the Lebanon 

County Area) has attained the 2012 

annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) 

national ambient air quality standards 

(NAAQS). This proposed determination 

of attainment, also known as a clean 

data determination, is based on quality 

assured and certified ambient air quality 

data for the 2014–2016 monitoring 

period. If finalized, the effect of this 

determination of attainment would be to 

suspend certain planning requirements 

for the area, including the requirement 

to submit an attainment demonstration 

and associated reasonably available 

control measures (RACM), a reasonable 

further progress (RFP) plan, and 

contingency measures. These 

requirements would be suspended for as 

long as the area continues to meet the 

2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. However, 

this proposed action is not a 

redesignation to attainment for the area. 

This action is being taken under the 

Clean Air Act (CAA). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before December 4, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03– 

OAR–2017–0479 at http://

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: 

Maria A. Pino, (215) 814–2181, or by 

email at pino.maria@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On December 14, 2012, EPA 

promulgated a revised primary annual 

PM2.5 NAAQS to provide increased 

protection of public health from fine 

particle pollution (the 2012 PM2.5

NAAQS). See 78 FR 3086 (January 15, 

2013). In that action, EPA strengthened 

the primary annual PM2.5 standard, 

lowering the level from 15.0 micrograms 

per cubic meter (mg/m3) to 12.0 mg/m3. 

The 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS is attained 

when the 3-year average of the annual 

arithmetic means does not exceed 12.0 

mg/m3. See 40 CFR 50.18. On December 

18, 2014 (80 FR 2206), EPA made 

designation determinations, as required 

by CAA section 107(d)(1), for the 2012 

PM2.5 NAAQS. In that action, EPA 

designated the Lebanon County Area as 

moderate nonattainment for the 2012 

annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 

81.339. 

Under EPA’s longstanding Clean Data 

Policy,1 which was codified in EPA’s 

Clean Air Fine Particulate 

Implementation Rule (72 FR 20586, 

April 25, 2007), EPA may issue a 

determination of attainment after notice 

and comment rulemaking determining 

that a specific area is attaining the 

relevant standard. See 40 CFR 51.1004. 

The effect of a clean data determination 

is to suspend the requirement for the 

area to submit an attainment 

demonstration, RACM, RFP plan, 

contingency measures, and any other 

planning State Implementation Plans 

(SIPs) related to attainment for as long 

as the area continues to attain the 

standard. 

In EPA’s Fine Particulate Matter 

National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards: State Implementation Plan 

Requirements (81 FR 58010, August 24, 

2016), EPA reaffirmed the Clean Data 

Policy at 40 CFR 51.1015. The rule 

states that, upon a determination by 

EPA that a moderate PM2.5

nonattainment area has attained the 

PM2.5 NAAQS, the requirements for the 

state to submit an attainment 

demonstration, RACM (including 

reasonably available control technology 

(RACT) for stationary sources), RFP, 

quantitative milestones and quantitative 

milestone reports, and contingency 

measures for the area shall be 

suspended until such time as: (1) The 

area is redesignated to attainment, after 

which such requirements are 

permanently discharged; or, (2) EPA 

determines that the area has re-violated 

the PM2.5 NAAQS, at which time the 

state shall submit such attainment plan 

elements for the moderate 

nonattainment area by a future date to 

be determined by EPA and announced 

through publication in the Federal 

Register at the time EPA determines the 

area is violating the PM2.5 NAAQS. See 

40 CFR 51.1015. 

II. EPA’s Evaluation 

Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 

50, § 50.18 and appendix N, the annual 

primary PM2.5 standard is met when the 

3-year average of PM2.5 annual mean 

mass concentrations for each eligible 

monitoring site is less than or equal to 

12 mg/m3. Three years of valid annual 

means are required to produce a valid 

annual PM2.5 NAAQS design value. A 

year meets data completeness 

requirements when quarterly data 

capture rates for all four quarters are at 

least 75 percent (%) from eligible 

monitoring sites. See 40 CFR part 50, 

appendix N. 

By letter dated May 17, 2017, 

Pennsylvania certified its 2016 ambient 

air quality monitoring data. EPA issued 

final 2014–2016 design values on July 

27, 2017. There is one PM2.5 monitor in 

the Lebanon County Area. Table 1 

shows the Lebanon County Area design 

value for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS 

for the years 2014–2016 at the Lebanon 

County monitor. 

Consistent with the requirements 

contained in 40 CFR part 50, EPA has 

reviewed the PM2.5 ambient air quality 

monitoring data for the 2014–2016 


nlaroche on DSK9F9SC42PROD with PROPOSALS
50852 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

monitoring period for the Lebanon 

County Area, as recorded in EPA’s Air 

Quality System (AQS) database. This 

data can be found at http://

www.regulations.gov in the docket for 

this action, Docket ID No. EPA–R03– 

OAR–2017–0479. As shown in Table 1, 

the data indicate a declining trend in 

PM2.5 levels, with annual means 

decreasing steadily from 2014 to 2016. 

As shown in Table 2, all but one 

quarter in 2014–2016 is complete, 

reporting data capture rates of at least 

75%. The second quarter in 2015 had a 

data capture rate of 70%. However, EPA 

can calculate a valid design value for a 

monitor that doesn’t meet the 75% 

capture rate each quarter, as long as 

there is at least 50% data capture in 

each quarter. In that case, EPA can 

perform a data substitution test, known 

as the maximum quarter test, pursuant 

to 40 CFR part 50, appendix N, section 

4.1(c)(ii). EPA routinely performs this 

test for monitors with deficient quarters 

(i.e., those with less than 75% but at 

least 50% data capture). EPA first 

identifies the highest reported daily 

value for that quarter, looking at that 

same quarter for all three years used to 

calculate the design value. EPA 

substitutes the highest reported daily 

PM2.5 value for that quarter for all 

missing daily data in the deficient 

quarter to make that quarter 100% 

complete. Then, EPA calculates a test 

design value (TDV) for the three-year 

period. If that recalculated annual PM2.5

design value is less than or equal to the 

level of the standard, then the annual 

PM2.5 design value passes the test and 

is valid, and the annual PM2.5 NAAQS 

is deemed to have been met in that 

3-year period. 

In this case, the second quarter in 

2015 was deficient. The monitor 

recorded 64 out of the 91 possible daily 

values in that quarter, which included 

April, May, and June of 2015. Therefore, 

EPA looked at data recorded at the 

Lebanon monitor in the second quarters 

of 2014, 2015, and 2016, and identified 

the highest daily value, which was 30.5 

mg/m3. EPA substituted that value 27 

times to account for the 27 missing daily 

values in 2017 and calculated a TDV of 

11.7 mg/m3 which is lower than the level 

of the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. Therefore, 

the Lebanon County monitor passed the 

maximum quarter test, and has a valid 

design value for the 2014–2016 

monitoring period. The certified annual 

design value for 2014–2016 is 11.2 

mg/m3, which is below the 2012 annual 

primary PM2.5 standard of 12 mg/m3. 

Therefore, the Lebanon County Area has 

attained the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS 

in accordance with the requirements in 

40 CFR part 50, § 50.18 and 

appendix N. 

TABLE 1—2014–2016 ANNUAL PM2.5 VALUES FOR LEBANON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Monitor ID 

Annual mean (μg/m3) Complete quarters 2014–2016 

Certified 

annual 

design value 

(μg/m3) 

2014 2015 2016 2014 2015 2016 

420750100 ................... 12.73 11.15 9.72 4 3 4 11.2 

TABLE 2—DATA CAPTURE RATES (%) AND CREDITABLE SAMPLES BY QUARTER (Q) 

2014 2015 2016 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

Creditable Samples .......... 89 89 90 84 90 64 76 85 91 91 91 92 

Capture Rate .................... 99 98 98 91 100 70 83 92 100 100 99 100 

III. Proposed Action 

EPA is proposing to determine that 

the Lebanon County Area has attained 

the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. As 

provided in 40 CFR 51.1015, 

finalization of this determination 

suspends the requirements for this area 

to submit an attainment demonstration, 

associated RACM, RFP plan, 

contingency measures, and any other 

planning SIP requirements related to the 

attainment of the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS, so 

long as this area continues to meet the 

standard. This determination of 

attainment does not constitute a 

redesignation to attainment. The 

Lebanon County Area will remain 

designated nonattainment for the 2012 

annual PM2.5 NAAQS until such time as 

EPA determines that the area meets the 

CAA requirements for redesignation to 

attainment, including an approved 

maintenance plan, pursuant to sections 

107 and 175A of the CAA. 

EPA is soliciting public comments on 

the issues discussed in this document. 

These comments will be considered 

before taking final action. 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This rulemaking action proposes to 

make a determination of attainment of 

the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based on air 

quality and, if finalized, would not 

impose additional requirements. For 

that reason, this proposed determination 

of attainment: 

• 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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2017 / Proposed Rules 50853 

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 proposed rule to 

determine that the Lebanon County 

Area attained the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS 

does not have tribal implications, as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because 

this proposed determination of 

attainment does not apply in Indian 

country located in the states and 

because EPA notes that it will not 

impose substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Particulate matter, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

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

Dated: October 19, 2017. 

Cosmo Servidio, 

Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23568 Filed 11–1–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2017–0323; FRL–9970–16– 

Region 5] 

Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Volatile 

Organic Compounds Definition 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a 

state submission as a revision to the 

Illinois state implementation plan (SIP) 

for ozone. The revision, submitted on 

May 30, 2017, incorporates changes to 

the Illinois Administrative Code 

definition of volatile organic material, 

otherwise known as volatile organic 

compounds (VOC). The revision 

removes recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements related to the use of tbutyl acetate (also known as tertiary 

butyl acetate) as a VOC, and is in 

response to an EPA rulemaking that 

occurred in 2016. Illinois also added 

information to provide clarity to the list 

of compounds excluded from the 

definition of VOC. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 4, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2017–0323 at http://

www.regulations.gov or via email to 

blakley.pamela@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: 

Charles Hatten, Environmental 

Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air 

Programs Branch (AR–18J), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886–6031, 

hatten.charles@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Final Rules section of this issue of the 

Federal Register, EPA is approving the 

Illinois’s SIP submittal as a direct final 

rule without prior proposal because the 

Agency views this as a noncontroversial 

submittal and anticipates no adverse 

comments. A detailed rationale for the 

approval is set forth in the direct final 

rule. If no adverse comments are 

received in response to this rule, no 

further activity is contemplated. If EPA 

receives adverse comments, the direct 

final rule will be withdrawn and all 

public comments received will be 

addressed in a subsequent final rule 

based on this proposed rule. EPA will 

not institute a second comment period. 

Any parties interested in commenting 

on this action should do so at this time. 

Please note that if EPA receives adverse 

comment on an amendment, paragraph, 

or section of this rule, and if that 

provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 

as final those provisions of the rule that 

are not the subject of an adverse 

comment. For additional information, 

see the direct final rule which is located 

in the Rules section of this issue of the 

Federal Register. 

Dated: October 17, 2017. 

Robert A. Kaplan, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23706 Filed 11–1–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2007–1092; FRL–9969–65– 

Region 5] 

Air Plan Approval; Michigan Minor New 

Source Review 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of the 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is reopening the comment 

period for a proposed Clean Air Act rule 

published August 15, 2017. Multiple 

commenters requested additional time 

to provide comments; therefore, EPA is 

reopening the comment period for 30 

days. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 4, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2007–1092 at http://

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

damico.genvieve@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 


nlaroche on DSK9F9SC42PROD with PROPOSALS