Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0083-1933
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2004-09-15T04:00Z

1Section
182(
b)(
3)
specifies
that
EPA
would
approve
any
request
from
a
State
to
reclassify
to
a
higher
classification.
Technical
Support
Document
for
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties,
MD
September
2004
1.0
Summary
The
EPA
designated
this
area
as
moderate
on
April
15,
2004
due
to
8­
hour
ozone
values
(
design
value
is
95
ppb).
On
July
15,
2004
the
Maryland
Department
of
the
Environment
submitted
a
request
to
reclassify
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties
from
moderate
to
marginal
ozone
nonattainment.

2.0
Introduction
This
section
describes
the
statutory
provisions
and
EPA
guidance
regarding
reclassification
of
ozone
nonattainment
areas.
Sections
181(
a)(
4)
and
182(
b)(
3)
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
provide
that
areas
may
be
reclassified
under
certain
circumstances.
This
technical
support
document
addresses
the
provisions
of
section
181(
a)(
4)
and
a
specific
request
for
reclassifications
received
by
the
State
of
Indiana.
The
EPA
has
not
received
any
requests
for
reclassification
under
section
182(
b)(
3)
for
the
8­
hour
ozone
standard.
1
Under
section
181(
a)(
4),
an
ozone
nonattainment
area
may
be
reclassified
"
if
an
area
classified
under
paragraph
(
1)
(
Table
1)
would
have
been
classified
in
another
category
if
the
design
value
in
the
area
were
5
percent
greater
or
5
percent
less
than
the
level
on
which
such
classification
was
based."
In
the
April
30,
2004
notice,
we
indicated
that
an
area
with
a
moderate
design
value
of
96
ppb
(
or
less)
would
be
eligible
to
request
a
bump
down
because
five
percent
less
than
96
ppb
is
91
ppb,
a
marginal
design
value.

The
EPA
previously
described
criteria
to
implement
the
section
181(
a)(
4)
provisions
in
a
final
rule
designating
and
classifying
areas
published
on
November
6,
1991
(
56
FR
56698).
As
stated
in
that
notice,
the
provisions
of
section
181(
a)(
4)
set
out
general
criteria
and
grant
the
Administrator
broad
discretion
in
making
or
determining
not
to
make,
a
reclassification.
As
part
of
the
1991
action,
EPA
developed
more
specific
criteria
to
evaluate
whether
it
is
appropriate
to
reclassify
a
particular
area.
The
EPA
also
described
these
criteria
in
the
April
30,
2004
final
rule.
The
general
and
specific
criteria
are
as
follows:

General:
The
EPA
may
consider
the
number
of
exceedances
of
the
national
primary
ambient
air
quality
standard
for
ozone
in
the
area,
the
level
of
pollution
transport
between
the
area
and
other
affected
areas,
including
both
intrastate
and
interstate
transport,
and
the
mix
of
sources
and
air
pollutants
in
the
area.

Request
by
State:
The
EPA
does
not
intend
to
exercise
its
authority
to
bump
down
areas
on
EPA's
own
initiative.
Rather,
EPA
intends
to
rely
on
the
State
to
submit
a
request
for
a
bump
down.
A
Tribe
may
also
submit
such
a
request
and,
in
the
case
of
a
multi­
state
nonattainment
area,
all
affected
States
must
submit
the
reclassification
request.

Discontinuity:
A
five
percent
reclassification
must
not
result
in
an
illogical
or
excessive
discontinuity
relative
to
surrounding
areas.
In
particular,
in
light
of
the
areawide
nature
of
ozone
formation,
a
reclassification
should
not
create
a
"
donut
hole"
where
an
area
of
one
classification
is
surrounded
by
areas
of
higher
classification.

Attainment:
Evidence
should
be
available
that
the
proposed
area
would
be
able
to
attain
by
the
earlier
date
specified
by
the
lower
classification
in
the
case
of
a
bump
down.

Emissions
reductions:
Evidence
should
be
available
that
the
area
would
be
very
likely
to
achieve
the
appropriate
total
percent
emission
reduction
necessary
in
order
to
attain
in
the
shorter
time
period
for
a
bump
down.

Trends:
Near­
and
long­
term
trends
in
emissions
and
air
quality
should
support
a
reclassification.
Historical
air
quality
data
should
indicate
substantial
air
quality
improvement
for
a
bump
down.
Growth
projections
and
emission
trends
should
support
a
bump
down.
In
addition,
we
will
consider
whether
vehicle
miles
traveled
and
other
indicators
of
emissions
are
increasing
at
higher
than
normal
rates.

Years
of
data:
For
the
8­
hour
ozone
standard,
the
2001­
2003
period
is
central
to
determining
classification.
Data
from
2004
may
be
used
to
corroborate
a
bump
down
request
but
should
not
be
the
sole
foundation
for
the
bump
down
request.

Limitations
on
Bump
Downs
An
area
may
only
be
reclassified
to
the
next
lower
classification.
An
area
cannot
present
data
from
other
years
as
justification
to
be
reclassified
to
an
even
lower
classification.
In
addition,
section
181(
a)(
4)
does
not
permit
moving
areas
from
subpart
2
into
subpart
1.
In
1991,
EPA
approved
reclassifications
when
the
area
met
the
first
requirement
(
a
request
by
the
State
to
EPA)
and
at
least
some
of
the
other
criteria
and
did
not
violate
any
of
the
criteria
(
emissions,
reductions,
trends,
etc.).
In
our
April
30,
2004
final
rule
on
designations
and
classifications,
we
stated
our
intention
to
use
this
method
and
these
criteria
once
again
to
evaluate
reclassification
requests
under
section
181(
a)(
4),
with
minor
changes
described
in
that
notice.
In
that
notice
we
also
described
how
we
applied
these
criteria
in
1991.
For
additional
information,
see
section
5,
"
Areas
requesting
a
5%
downshift
per
§
181(
a)(
4)
and
EPA's
response
to
those
requests,"
of
the
Technical
Support
Document,
October
1991,
for
the
1991
rule.
[
Docket
A­
90­
42A.]

The
EPA
is
not
basing
this
reclassification
determination
on
consideration
of
whether
the
nonattainment
area
being
reclassified
does
or
does
not
cause
any
pollution
transport.
The
EPA
is
presently
addressing
ozone
pollution
transport
issues
throughout
the
eastern
part
of
the
United
States
under
other
Clean
Air
Act
provisions.
Specifically,
EPA
has
proposed
a
determination
that
emissions
from
certain
states
contribute
significantly
to
downwind
nonattainment
for
ozone
under
CAA
section
110(
a)(
2)(
D)
through
the
Clean
Air
Interstate
Rule
(
CAIR).
The
CAIR
proposal,
published
in
a
Federal
Register
notice
dated
January
30,
2004,
would
require
upwind
States
to
eliminate
emissions
that
contribute
significantly
to
nonattainment
in
downwind
States.
69
Fed.
Reg.
454566.
The
EPA
previously
issued
the
NOx
SIP
call
(
63
FR
57356)
to
address
interstate
ozone
transport.
In
the
event
of
any
intrastate
transport
issue,
states
have
the
obligation
to
develop
attainment
SIPs
for
each
area
that
show
timely
attainment,
and
can
address
any
intrastate
transport
issues
in
that
context.

The
April
30,
2004
notice
invited
States
to
submit
the
reclassification
requests
within
30
days
of
the
effective
date
of
the
designations
and
classifications.
The
effective
date
was
June
15
which
means
that
reclassification
requests
were
to
be
submitted
by
July
15,
2004.
This
relatively
short
time
frame
is
necessary
because
section
181(
a)(
4)
only
authorizes
the
Administrator
to
make
such
reclassifications
within
90
days
after
the
initial
classification,
September
15,
2004.

3.0
Background
Kent/
Queen
Anne's,
MD
were
designated
moderate
nonattainment
under
the
8
hour
ozone
standard
on
April
30,
2004.
All
of
these
areas
have
2003
ozone
design
values
that
are
within
5%
of
the
91
ppb
marginal
classification
threshold.
Kent/
Queen
Anne's
design
value
is
95
ppb.
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties,
MD
are
located
on
Maryland's
eastern
shore.
4.0
Reclassification
Request
by
State
In
addition
to
the
design
value
being
within
5%
of
the
marginal
classification,
Maryland
states
there
are
numerous
other
compelling
statistics
that
point
to
these
two
counties
being
more
of
a
marginal
nonattainment
area
than
a
moderate
nonattainment
area.
The
counties'
attainment
of
the
1­
hr
standard,
ozone
violation
statistics,
pollution
transport
arguments,
the
mix
of
sources
and
air
pollutants
in
the
area,
emission
reductions
over
time,
and
trends
in
demographics
were
all
reviewed
during
the
development
of
this
reclassification
request.

5.0
EPA
Review
of
Reclassification
Request
5.1
Request
by
State
On
July
15,
2004,
the
Maryland
Department
of
the
Environment
(
MDE)
submitted
a
request
to
EPA
to
bump­
down
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's,
MD
from
moderate
to
marginal
ozone
nonattainment.

5.2
Discontinuity
Reclassification
of
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties
will
not
create
a
discontinuity
since
there
would
be
no
area
of
one
classification
surrounded
by
areas
of
a
higher
classification.
All
of
the
other
counties
immediately
bordering
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties
are
either
designated
as
attainment
or
moderate
nonattainment.

5.3
Attainment
The
MDE
believes
that
early
attainment
of
the
8­
hr
Ozone
Standard
is
possible
based
on
the
following
factors:
reduced
transport
emissions,
monitoring
trends
showing
an
improvement
in
air
quality,
the
recent
attainment
of
the
1­
hr
ozone
standard
in
these
two
counties,
and
the
proposed
benefits
of
recent
EPA
modeling
(
CAIR)
show
attainment
of
the
standard
in
the
2010
timeframe.

MDE
submitted
a
modeling
study
that
was
performed
as
part
of
an
earlier
effort
related
to
the
Early
Action
Compact
(
EAC)
program.
This
modeling
was
performed
in
accordance
with
EPA
guidance.
Initially,
however,
Maryland
had
applied
the
relative
reduction
factor
(
RRF)
to
the
wrong
ozone
design
value
year.
This
was
remedied
by
applying
the
RRF
to
the
larger
of
the
2000
or
2003
ozone
design
value.
When
this
correction
was
made,
a
value
of
82.3
ppb
was
obtained,
demonstrating
that
these
counties
should
attain
the
ozone
standard
by
2007.

The
EPA's
January
2004
CAIR
modeling
projects
nonattainment
for
Kent
County,
MD
in
the
2010
attainment
year
(
86
ppb).
Because
EPA
guidance
indicates
that
smaller
scale
modeling
is
generally
more
appropriate
for
attainment
demonstrations,
EPA
believes
that
the
local
scale
air
quality
modeling
(
EAC
modeling)
which
projects
attainment
in
2007
should
carry
more
weight.
In
summary,
both
modeling
analyses
indicate
air
quality
will
be
improving
over
the
next
several
years
and
EPA
believes
the
EAC
modeling
analysis
strongly
indicates
the
area
will
attain
the
ozone
standard
by
2007.

5.4
Emission
Reductions
Reductions
made
under
the
1­
hr
ozone
standard,
including
the
installation
of
SCR
due
to
the
NOx
SIP
Call,
the
new
mobile
diesel
rules,
and
early
reduction
progress
for
the
8­
hour
ozone
standard
will
all
assist
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties
in
attaining
the
new
standard.
Lacking
any
large
emission
sources,
the
MDE
believes
that
the
main
culprit
in
bad
air
quality
for
these
two
counties
is
transport
primarily
from
the
west
and
south.
MDE
believes
the
timing
of
the
NOx
SIP
Call
implementation
and
the
Federal
mobile
rules
will
show
substantial
benefits.

The
emissions
trend
is
expected
to
decrease
due
to
the
implementation
of
various
regional
rules,
including
the
NOx
SIP
Call
and
regional
rules
contained
in
1­
hour
ozone
attainment
plans
in
the
Baltimore
and
Washington
D.
C.
area.
In
addition,
because
the
state
of
Maryland
is
located
in
the
statutorilyestablished
Ozone
Transport
Region
(
OTR),
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties
have
been
implementing
several
moderate
nonattainment
area
level
emission.
Moderate
area
OTR
controls
include
RACT,
NSR,
and
Stage
II
comparable
measures.
Queen
Anne's
county,
being
part
of
the
1990
Baltimore
Metropolitan
Statistical
Area
(
MSA)
was
also
required
under
the
OTR
requirements,
to
implement
a
high
enhanced
I/
M
program
and
has
been
doing
so.

5.5
Trends
Monitoring
trends
for
the
1­
hr
ozone
standard
show
that
the
total
number
of
violations
in
Millington
are
decreasing
with
time.
MDE
expects
these
improvements
in
monitored
values
to
continue
with
time
allowing
an
earlier
attainment
of
the
new
standard.

From
the
8
hour
ozone
designations
analysis,
the
population
growth
(
from
1990
to
2001)
and
VMT
growth
in
these
two
Maryland
counties
is
low
relative
to
other
Region
III
counties.

The
17­
year
ozone
air
quality
trends
in
Kent
county
(
Queen
Anne's
does
not
have
an
ozone
monitor)
are
relatively
flat.
The
last
two
years
of
complete
data,
however,
may
mark
the
beginning
of
at
least
a
short
term
air
quality
trend
downward.
The
4th
highest
values
for
ozone
from
2002
and
2003
are
103
and
86
ppb,
respectively.
Further,
it
can
be
expected
that
ozone
values
will
decline
due
to
the
implementation
of
national
and
regional
rules
relative
to
ozone
levels
in
recent
years.

5.6
Years
of
Data
Maryland
has
appropriately
evaluated
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
counties
based
on
the
2003
ozone
design
value,
which
uses
ozone
data
from
2001,
2002
and
2003.
The
2003
ozone
design
value
for
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
counties
is
95
ppb.

5.7
Additional
Information
The
VOC
emissions
in
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
counties
from
the
1999
NEI
are
7,349
TPY.
The
NOx
emissions
in
these
counties
are
3,293
TPY.
There
are
no
power
plants
in
these
counties.
There
has
been
no
study
of
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
specific
transport
contribution.
Given
these
counties'
low
emissions
and
the
fact
that
they
are
already
subject
to
moderate
area
controls
due
to
their
membership
in
the
OTR,
further
emission
reductions
in
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
counties
due
to
being
designated
moderate
nonattainment
are
unlikely
to
help
reduce
downwind
ozone
levels.

The
high
level
of
emissions
control
achieved
in
these
rural
counties
already
is
a
major
factor
to
MDE
in
requesting
the
bump
down.
Very
few,
if
any,
cost­
effective
controls
remain
available
in
these
rural
and
economically
fragile
counties.
Most
of
the
Severe
Nonattainment
area
controls
being
applied
to
the
Washington
and
Baltimore
regions
were
adopted
statewide
in
Maryland,
meaning
that
while
these
two
rural
counties
were
classified
as
marginal
most
of
their
control
requirements
mirrored
a
severe
nonattainment
area.

5.8
Conclusions
The
following
factors
support
the
request
for
reclassification
to
marginal
for
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties:
the
design
value
of
95
ppb
meets
our
criteria
to
qualify
for
consideration
of
bump
down,
local
modeling
provides
strong
evidence
that
the
area
will
attain
by
2007,
additional
reductions
from
regional
and
national
regulations
should
lower
ambient
ozone
values.

5.9
EPA
Action
The
request
meets
certain
criteria
EPA
established
(
request,
discontinuity,
emission
reductions,
attainment,
and
data)
and
does
not
violate
any
of
the
criteria
(
trends).
Therefore,
EPA
is
approving
the
reclassification
request
for
Kent
and
Queen
Anne's
Counties.

6.0
Additional
Information
Additional
information
regarding
the
bump
down
request
for
this
area
is
contained
in
the
docket
for
this
action.
This
information
includes
the
State
request,
supporting
documents,
and
other
necessary
material.