Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0008-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Proposed approval of the Door County 2015 8-Hour Ozone Redesignation and Maintenance Plan
Posted Date: 2022-03-03T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12020-12033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04319]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0008; FRL-9609-01-R5]

Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Redesignation of the Revised Door 
County (Partial) Area to Attainment of the 2015 Ozone NAAQS

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to find 
that the revised Door County (partial) nonattainment area in Wisconsin 
is attaining the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS or standard) and to act in accordance with a request from the 
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to redesignate the 
area to attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, because the request meets 
the statutory requirements for redesignation under the Clean Air Act 
(CAA). Wisconsin submitted this request on January 5, 2022. EPA is also 
proposing to approve, as a revision to the Wisconsin State 
Implementation Plan (SIP), the emissions inventory for the area and the 
State's plan for maintaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS through 2035 in the 
area. Finally, EPA is proposing to approve Wisconsin's 2030 and 2035 
volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) 
Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (budgets) for this area and initiating 
the adequacy review process for these budgets.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 4, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2022-0008 at https://www.regulations.gov or via email to 
[email protected]. 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 https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenny Liljegren, Physical Scientist, 
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6832, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is EPA proposing?
II. What is the background for these actions?
III. What are the criteria for redesignation?
IV. What is EPA's analysis of Wisconsin's redesignation request?
    A. Has the area attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS?
    B. Has Wisconsin met all applicable requirements of section 110 
and part D of the CAA for the area, and does Wisconsin have a fully 
approved SIP for the area under section 110(k) of the CAA?
    C. Are the air quality improvements in the area due to permanent 
and enforceable emission reductions?
    D. Does Wisconsin have a fully approvable ozone maintenance plan 
for the area?
V. Has the state adopted approvable motor vehicle emission budgets?
VI. Proposed actions
VII. Statutory and executive order reviews

I. What is EPA proposing?

    EPA is proposing to determine that the revised Door County 
(partial) nonattainment area in Wisconsin (the area) is attaining the 
2015 ozone NAAQS, based on quality-assured and early \1\ certified 
monitoring data for 2019-2021, and that this area has met the 
requirements for redesignation under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. 
EPA is thus proposing to change the legal designation of the area from 
nonattainment to attainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA is also 
proposing to approve, as a revision to the Wisconsin SIP, the emissions 
inventory for this area and the State's maintenance plan (such approval 
being one of the CAA criteria for redesignation to attainment status) 
for the area. The maintenance plan is designed to keep the area in 
attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS through 2035. Finally, EPA is 
proposing to approve the newly-established 2030 and 2035 budgets for 
the area.
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    \1\ Annual monitoring data is typically certified by May 1 of 
the following year. In this case Wisconsin has early-certified the 
2021 ozone data for the area prior to the May 1, 2022, deadline.
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II. What is the background for these actions?

    Ground-level ozone is detrimental to human health. On October 1, 
2015, EPA promulgated a revised health-based 8-hour ozone NAAQS of 
0.070 parts per million (ppm). See 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015). 
Under EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the 2015 ozone NAAQS is 
attained in an area when the 3-year average of the annual fourth 
highest daily maximum 8-hour average concentration is equal to or less 
than 0.070 ppm, when truncated after the thousandth decimal place, at 
all the ozone monitoring sites in the area. See 40 CFR 50.19 and 
appendix U to 40 CFR part 50.
    Upon promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, section 107(d)(1)(B) 
of the CAA requires EPA to designate as nonattainment any areas that 
are violating the NAAQS, based on the most

[[Page 12021]]

recent three years of quality assured ozone monitoring data. This 
portion of the area was designated as a Marginal nonattainment area and 
as a Rural Transport Area (RTA) \2\ for the 2015 ozone NAAQS on June 
14, 2021 (86 FR 31438, effective July 14, 2021) based on 2014-2016 
data.\3\ EPA is also proposing approval of the emission inventory and 
the motor vehicle emissions budgets (budgets) for the area.
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    \2\ EPA designated the area as a Rural Transport Area (RTA), 
which means EPA determined that the NOX and VOC emissions 
from sources within the area do not make a significant contribution 
to ozone concentrations in the area itself or in other areas.
    \3\ On December 22, 2017, EPA announced an anticipated 2015 
ozone NAAQS nonattainment area designation for the portion of Door 
County Wisconsin north of the Sturgeon Bay Canal (including Newport 
State Park). On June 4, 2018 (83 FR 25776) (effective August 3, 
2018), EPA, consistent with information provided by Wisconsin, 
finalized designation of a smaller than anticipated nonattainment 
area limited only to the Newport State Park boundary. On June 10, 
2020 (85 FR 35377), based on the area's satisfaction of CAA 
requirements, EPA finalized redesignation to attainment for the 
Newport State Park area. On June 14, 2021 (86 FR 31438, effective 
July 14, 2021) as part of its review of certain area designations 
for the 2015 ozone standards in response to a July 2020, remand 
issued by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (the D.C. Circuit), EPA 
designated as nonattainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS the portion of 
Door County north of the Sturgeon Bay canal (excluding the recently 
redesignated Newport State Park). This portion of Door County north 
of the Sturgeon Bay Canal (excluding Newport State Park) is known as 
the ``Revised Door County'' nonattainment area (or area) and is the 
subject of this redesignation proposal notice.
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III. What are the criteria for redesignation?

    Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA allows redesignation of an area to 
attainment of the NAAQS provided that: (1) The Administrator (EPA) 
determines that the area has attained the NAAQS; (2) the Administrator 
has fully approved the applicable 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 
reductions in emissions resulting from implementation of the applicable 
SIP, applicable Federal air pollutant control regulations, and other 
permanent and enforceable emission reductions; (4) the Administrator 
has fully approved a maintenance plan for the area as meeting the 
requirements of section 175A of the CAA; and (5) the state containing 
the area has met all requirements applicable to the area for the 
purposes of redesignation under section 110 and part D of the CAA.

IV. What is EPA's analysis of Wisconsin's redesignation request?

A. Has the area attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS?

    For redesignation of a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA 
requires EPA to determine that the area has attained the applicable 
NAAQS (CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(i)). An area is attaining the 2015 
ozone NAAQS if it meets the 2015 ozone NAAQS, as determined in 
accordance with 40 CFR 50.19 and appendix U of part 50, based on three 
complete, consecutive calendar years of quality-assured air quality 
data for all monitoring sites in the area. To attain the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS, the 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-
hour average ozone concentrations (ozone design values) at each monitor 
must not exceed 0.070 ppm. The air quality data must be collected and 
quality-assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and recorded in EPA's 
Air Quality System (AQS). Ambient air quality monitoring data for the 
3-year period must also meet data completeness requirements. An ozone 
design value is valid if daily maximum 8-hour average concentrations 
are available for at least 90% of the days within the ozone monitoring 
seasons,\4\ on average, for the 3-year period, with a minimum data 
completeness of 75% during the ozone monitoring season of any year 
during the 3-year period. See section 4 of appendix U to 40 CFR part 
50.
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    \4\ The ozone season is defined by state in 40 CFR 58 appendix 
D. The ozone season for Wisconsin is March 1-October 15. See 80 FR 
65292, 65466-67 (October 26, 2015).
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    EPA has reviewed the available ozone monitoring data for the 2019-
2021 period. These data have been quality assured, are recorded in the 
AQS, and have been early certified. These data demonstrate that the 
area is attaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The annual fourth-highest 8-
hour ozone concentration and the 3-year average of these concentrations 
(monitoring site ozone design value) for the area monitoring site are 
summarized in Table 1.

Table 1--Annual Fourth High Daily Maximum 8-Hour Ozone Concentration and 3-Year Average of the Fourth High Daily
                                Maximum 8-Hour Ozone Concentrations for the Area
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                                                                                    Fourth high      2019-2021
             County                   Monitor          Year         % Observed         (ppm)       average (ppm)
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Door............................     55-029-0004            2019              97           0.066           0.070
                                                            2020              98           0.075
                                                            2021              99           0.070
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    The area's 3-year ozone design value for 2019-2021 is 0.070 ppm, 
which meets the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Therefore, in this action, EPA 
proposes to determine that the area is attaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
    EPA will not take final action to determine that the area is 
attaining the NAAQS nor to approve the redesignation of this area if 
the design value of the monitoring site in the area violates the NAAQS 
prior to final approval of the redesignation. As discussed in section 
IV.D.3. below, Wisconsin has committed to continue monitoring ozone in 
this area to verify maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS.

B. Has Wisconsin met all applicable requirements of section 110 and 
part D of the CAA for the area, and does Wisconsin have a fully 
approved SIP for the area under section 110(k) of the CAA?

    For redesignation of an area from nonattainment to attainment of a 
NAAQS, the CAA requires EPA to determine that the state has met all 
applicable requirements under section 110 and part D of title I of the 
CAA (see section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) of the CAA) and that the state has a 
fully approved SIP under section 110(k) of the CAA (see section 
107(d)(3)(E)(ii) of the CAA). EPA finds that Wisconsin has met all 
applicable SIP requirements, for purposes of redesignation, under 
section 110 and part D of title I of the CAA (requirements specific to 
nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS). Additionally, EPA finds 
that all applicable requirements of the Wisconsin SIP for the area have 
been fully approved under section 110(k) of the CAA. In making these

[[Page 12022]]

determinations, EPA ascertained which requirements are applicable for 
purposes of redesignation, and whether the required Wisconsin SIP 
elements are fully approved under section 110(k) and part D of the CAA. 
As discussed more fully below, SIPs must be fully approved only with 
respect to these applicable requirements of the CAA.
    The Calcagni memorandum \5\ describes EPA's interpretation of which 
requirements are ``applicable'' for purposes of redesignation under 
section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. Under this interpretation, a 
requirement is not ``applicable'' unless it was due prior to the 
state's submittal of a complete redesignation request for the area. See 
also the Shapiro memorandum \6\ and 60 FR 12459, 12465-66 (March 7, 
1995) (redesignation of Detroit-Ann Arbor, Michigan to attainment of 
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS). Applicable requirements of the CAA that come 
due subsequent to the state's submittal of a complete request remain 
applicable until a redesignation to attainment is approved but are not 
required as a prerequisite to redesignation. See section 175A(c) of the 
CAA. Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004). See also 68 FR 
25424, 25427 (May 12, 2003) (redesignation of the St. Louis/East St. 
Louis area to attainment of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS).
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    \5\ ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to 
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality 
Management Division, September 4, 1992 (the ``Calcagni 
memorandum'').
    \6\ ``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 (``the Shapiro memorandum'').
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1. Wisconsin Has Met All Applicable Requirements of Section 110 and 
Part D of the CAA Applicable to the Area for Purposes of Redesignation
a. Section 110 General Requirements for Implementation Plans
    Section 110(a)(2) of the CAA outlines the general requirements for 
a SIP. Section 110(a)(2) provides that the SIP 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 
prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) and part D new source 
review (NSR) permit programs; (5) include provisions 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, Clean Air 
Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). 
However, like many of the 110(a)(2) requirements, the section 
110(a)(2)(D) SIP requirements are not linked with a particular area's 
ozone designation and classification. EPA concludes that the SIP 
requirements linked with the area's ozone 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 of redesignation. See 65 FR 37890 (June 15, 2000), 66 FR 50399 
(October 19, 2001), 68 FR 25418, 25426-27 (May 13, 2003).
    In addition, EPA believes that other section 110 elements that are 
neither connected with nonattainment plan submissions nor linked with 
an area's ozone attainment status are not applicable requirements for 
purposes of redesignation. The area will still be subject to these 
requirements after the area is redesignated to attainment of the 2015 
ozone NAAQS. The section 110 and part D requirements that are linked 
with a particular area's designation and classification are the 
relevant measures to evaluate in reviewing a redesignation request. 
This approach is consistent with EPA's existing policy on applicability 
(i.e., for redesignations) of conformity requirements, 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 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 of 
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 Wisconsin's SIP and concluded that it meets the 
general SIP requirements under section 110 of the CAA, to the extent 
those requirements are applicable for purposes of redesignation.\7\
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    \7\ On September 14, 2018, Wisconsin submitted a SIP to meet the 
requirements of section 110 for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The 
requirements of section 110(a)(2), however, are statewide 
requirements that are not linked to the 2015 ozone NAAQS 
nonattainment status of the area. Therefore, EPA concludes that 
these infrastructure requirements are not applicable requirements 
for purposes of review of the State's 2015 ozone NAAQS redesignation 
request.
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b. Part D Requirements
    Section 172(c) of the CAA sets forth the basic requirements of air 
quality plans for states with nonattainment areas that are required to 
submit them pursuant to section 172(b). Subpart 2 of part D, which 
includes section 182 of the CAA, establishes specific requirements for 
ozone nonattainment areas depending on the areas' nonattainment 
classifications.
    The area was classified as Marginal under subpart 2 for the 2015 
ozone NAAQS. Therefore, the area is subject to the subpart 1 
requirements contained in section 172(c) and section 176. Similarly, 
the area is subject to the subpart 2 requirements contained in section 
182(a) (Marginal nonattainment area requirements). A thorough 
discussion of the requirements contained in section 172(c) and 182 can 
be found in the General Preamble for Implementation of Title I (57 FR 
13498).
i. Subpart 1 Section 172 Requirements
    CAA Section 172(b) requires states to submit SIPs meeting the 
requirements of section 172(c) no later than three years from the date 
of the nonattainment designation. For the area, the SIP provisions 
required under CAA section 172 were due August 3, 2021.
    EPA previously approved Wisconsin's nonattainment NSR program on 
January 18, 1995 (60 FR 3538), and proposed an updated approval on 
January 19, 2022 (87 FR 2719). However, notwithstanding this approval, 
because PSD requirements will apply after redesignation, EPA has 
determined that areas being redesignated need not

[[Page 12023]]

comply with the requirement that an NSR program be approved prior to 
redesignation, provided that the area demonstrates maintenance of the 
NAAQS without part D NSR. A more detailed rationale for this view is 
described in the Nichols memorandum.\8\ See rulemakings for Detroit, 
Michigan (60 FR 12467-12468, March 7, 1995); Cleveland-Akron-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). Wisconsin's PSD program will become effective in 
the area upon redesignation to attainment. EPA approved Wisconsin's PSD 
program on October 6, 2014 (79 FR 60064) and February 7, 2017 (82 FR 
9515).
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    \8\ ``Part D New Source Review Requirements for Areas Requesting 
Redesignation to Attainment'' Memorandum from Mary Nichols, 
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, October 14, 1994 
(``the Nichols memorandum'').
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ii. Section 176 Conformity Requirements
    Section 176(c) of the CAA requires states to establish criteria and 
procedures to ensure that federally supported or funded projects 
conform to the air quality planning goals in the applicable SIP. The 
requirement to determine conformity applies to transportation plans, 
programs and projects that are developed, funded or approved under 
title 23 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) and the Federal Transit Act 
(transportation conformity), as well as to all other federally 
supported or funded projects (general conformity). State transportation 
conformity SIP revisions must be consistent with Federal conformity 
regulations relating to consultation, enforcement and enforceability 
that EPA promulgated pursuant to its authority under the CAA.
    EPA interprets the conformity SIP requirements \9\ 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 conformity rules have 
not been approved. See Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426 (6th Cir. 2001) 
(upholding this interpretation); see also 60 FR 62748 (December 7, 
1995) (redesignation of Tampa, Florida). Nonetheless, Wisconsin has an 
approved conformity SIP for the Door County area. See 79 FR 10995 
(February 27, 2014).
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    \9\ CAA 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 SIPs requiring the development of budgets, 
such as control strategy SIPs and maintenance plans.
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iii. Inventory Requirement
    CAA sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1), 42 U.S.C. 7502(c)(3) and 
7511a(a)(1), require states to develop and submit, as SIP revisions, 
emission inventories for all areas designated as nonattainment for any 
NAAQS, including the ozone NAAQS. An emission inventory for ozone is an 
estimation of actual emissions of air pollutants that contribute to the 
formation of ozone in an area. Ozone is a gas that is formed by the 
reaction of VOC and NOX in the atmosphere in the presence of 
sunlight (VOC and NOX are referred to as ozone precursors). 
Therefore, an emission inventory for ozone focuses on the emissions of 
VOC and NOX. VOC is emitted by many types of pollution 
sources, including power plants, industrial sources, on-road and 
nonroad mobile sources, smaller stationary sources, collectively 
referred to as area sources, and biogenic sources. NOX is 
primarily emitted by combustion sources, both stationary and mobile.
    Emission inventories provide emissions data for a variety of air 
quality planning tasks, including establishing baseline emission levels 
(anthropogenic [manmade] emissions associated with ozone standard 
violations), calculating emission reduction targets needed to attain 
the NAAQS and to achieve reasonable further progress (RFP) toward 
attainment of the ozone standard (not required in the area considered 
here), determining emission inputs for ozone air quality modeling 
analyses, and tracking emissions over time to determine progress toward 
achieving air quality and emission reduction goals. As stated above, 
the CAA requires the states to submit emission inventories for areas 
designated as nonattainment for ozone. For the 2015 ozone NAAQS, EPA 
specifies that states submit ozone season day emission estimates for an 
inventory calendar year to be consistent with the baseline year for RFP 
plan as required by 40 CFR 51.1310(b). For the RFP baseline year for 
the 2015 ozone NAAQS under 40 CFR 51.1310(b), states may use a calendar 
year for the most recently available complete triennial (3-year cycle) 
emissions inventory (40 CFR 51, subpart A) preceding the year of the 
area's effective date of designation as a nonattainment area. (83 FR 
63034-63035, December 6, 2018). States are required to submit estimates 
of VOC and NOX emissions for four general classes of 
anthropogenic sources: Stationary point sources; area sources; on-road 
mobile sources; and nonroad mobile sources.
    WDNR provided documentation of a 2014 NOX and VOC base 
year emissions inventory requirement for the area. WDNR selected 2014 
because this was one of the three years of ozone data indicating a 
violation of the ozone standard that were used to designate the areas 
as nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 83 FR 25778, 25779. Tables 2 
and 3 summarize the 2014 NOX and VOC emissions for the area 
in tons of emissions per ozone season day.
    EPA has reviewed WDNR's requested SIP revision for consistency with 
sections 172(c)(3) CAA and 182(a)(1) of the CAA and with EPA's emission 
inventory requirements. In particular, EPA has reviewed the techniques 
used by WDNR to derive and quality assure the emission estimates. EPA 
has also considered whether Wisconsin has provided the public with the 
opportunity to review and comment on the development of the emission 
estimates, whether Wisconsin has confirmed that source facility 
emission statements are required for the 2015 ozone standard, and 
whether the State has addressed all public comments. WDNR documented 
the procedures used to estimate the emissions for each of the major 
source types including running the latest version of the Motor Vehicle 
Emission Simulator model (MOVES3.0.2) for the on-road and nonroad 
emissions. The documentation of the emission estimation procedures is 
thorough and is adequate for EPA to determine that Wisconsin followed 
acceptable procedures to estimate the emissions. Accordingly, we 
conclude that Wisconsin has developed inventories of NOX and 
VOC emissions that are comprehensive and complete.
iv. Subpart 2 Section 182(a) Requirements
    Section 182(a)(1) requires states to submit a comprehensive, 
accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from sources of VOC 
and NOX emitted within the boundaries of the ozone 
nonattainment area within two years of designation. The emissions 
inventory for the area, which was due August 3, 2020, is included in 
WDNR's recent redesignation request. EPA's analysis of the inventory is 
included above, and EPA proposes approval of this inventory as 
satisfying the 182(a)(1) inventory requirement.
    Under section 182(a)(2)(A), states with ozone nonattainment areas 
that were designated prior to the enactment of the 1990 CAA amendments 
were required to submit, within six months of classification, all rules 
and corrections

[[Page 12024]]

to existing VOC reasonably available control technology (RACT) rules 
that were required under section 172(b)(3) prior to the 1990 CAA 
amendments. The area is not subject to the section 182(a)(2) RACT ``fix 
up'' requirement for the 2015 ozone NAAQS because it was designated as 
nonattainment for this standard after the enactment of the 1990 CAA 
amendments and, in any case, Wisconsin complied with this requirement 
for the larger Door County area under the prior 1-hour ozone NAAQS. See 
59 FR 41709 (August 15, 1994) and 60 FR 20643 (April 27, 1995).
    Section 182(a)(2)(B) requires each state with a Marginal ozone 
nonattainment area that implemented or was required to implement a 
vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program prior to the 1990 CAA 
amendments to submit a SIP revision for an I/M program no less 
stringent than that required prior to the 1990 CAA amendments or that 
was already in the SIP at the time of the CAA amendments, whichever is 
more stringent. For the purposes of the 2015 ozone NAAQS and the 
consideration of Wisconsin's redesignation request for this standard, 
the area is not subject to the section 182(a)(2)(B) requirement because 
the area was not required to have an I/M program prior to Nov. 15, 
1990.
    Section 182(a)(2)(C), under the heading ``Corrections to the State 
Implementation Plans--Permit Programs'' contains a requirement for 
states to submit NSR SIP revisions to meet the requirements of CAA 
sections 172(c)(5) and 173 within two years after the date of enactment 
of the 1990 CAA Amendments. For the purposes of the 2015 ozone NAAQS 
and the consideration of Wisconsin's redesignation request for this 
standard, the area is not subject to the section 182(a)(2)(C) 
requirement because as mentioned previously EPA has determined that 
areas being redesignated need not comply with the requirement that an 
NSR program be approved prior to redesignation, provided that the area 
demonstrates maintenance of the NAAQS without part D NSR.
    Section 182(a)(4) specifies the emission offset ratio for Marginal 
areas but does not establish a SIP submission deadline. EPA's December 
6, 2018 implementation rule for the 2015 ozone NAAQS clarifies that 
nonattainment NSR permit program requirements applicable to the 2015 
NAAQS are due three years from the effective date of the nonattainment 
designation. See 83 FR 62998, 63001. This approach is based on the 
provision in CAA section 172(b) requiring the submission of plans or 
plan revisions ``no later than 3 years from the date of the 
nonattainment designation.''
    EPA proposed approval on January 19, 2022 (87 FR 2719) of 
Wisconsin's nonattainment NSR SIP revision to address the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS in this area. In addition, EPA approved Wisconsin's PSD program 
on October 6, 2014 (79 FR 60064) and February 7, 2017 (82 FR 9515). The 
State's PSD program will become effective in the area upon 
redesignation to attainment.
    Section 182(a)(3) requires states to submit periodic emission 
inventories and a revision to the SIP to require the owners or 
operators of stationary sources to annually submit emission statements 
documenting actual VOC and NOX emissions. As discussed below 
in section IV.D.4. of this proposed rule, Wisconsin will continue to 
update its emissions inventory at least once every three years. The 
emission statement requirement for the area was due August 3, 2020. EPA 
proposed on February 1, 2022 (87 FR 5438) to find that Wisconsin has 
satisfied the emissions statement requirement for Wisconsin 
nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Upon final rule, EPA 
would then affirm that EPA finds that the area has satisfied all 
applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation under section 110 
and part D of title I of the CAA.
2. The Area has a Fully Approved SIP for Purposes of Redesignation 
Under Section 110(k) of the CAA
    At various times, Wisconsin has adopted and submitted, and EPA has 
approved, provisions addressing the various SIP elements applicable for 
the ozone NAAQS. As discussed above, EPA has fully approved the 
Wisconsin SIP for the area under section 110(k) for all requirements 
applicable for purposes of redesignation under the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 
EPA may rely on prior SIP approvals in approving a redesignation 
request (see the Calcagni memorandum at page 3; Southwestern 
Pennsylvania Growth Alliance v. Browner, 144 F.3d 984, 989-990 (6th 
Cir. 1998); Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426), plus any additional measures it 
may approve in conjunction with a redesignation action (see 68 FR 25426 
(May 12, 2003) and citations therein).

C. Are the air quality improvements in the area due to permanent and 
enforceable emission reductions?

    To redesignate an area from nonattainment to attainment, section 
107(d)(3)(E)(iii) of the CAA requires EPA to determine that the air 
quality improvement in the area is due to permanent and enforceable 
reductions in emissions resulting from the implementation of the SIP 
and applicable Federal air pollution control regulations and other 
permanent and enforceable emission reductions. EPA proposes to 
determine that Wisconsin has demonstrated that the observed ozone air 
quality improvement in the area is due to permanent and enforceable 
reductions in VOC and NOX emissions resulting from State 
measures adopted into the SIP and Federal measures.
    In making this demonstration, the State has calculated the change 
in emissions between 2014 and 2019 in the area. Wisconsin also looked 
at ozone precursor emissions from the three major metro areas upwind of 
the area. For every metro area there was a net reduction in emissions 
(Tables 2-6). The reduction in emissions and the corresponding 
improvement in air quality over this time period can be attributed to 
Federal regulatory control measures (listed below) that Wisconsin and 
upwind states have implemented in recent years.\10\ In addition, 
Wisconsin provided an analysis to demonstrate the improvement in air 
quality was not due to unusually favorable meteorology. More details 
and EPA's assessment of this analysis are provided in Section 3 
Meteorology. Based on the information summarized below, EPA proposes to 
find that Wisconsin has adequately demonstrated that the improvement in 
air quality is due to permanent and enforceable emissions reductions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ EPA designated the area as a Rural Transport Area (RTA), 
which means EPA determined that the NOX and VOC emissions 
from sources within the area do not make a significant contribution 
to ozone concentrations in the area itself, or in other areas. 
Therefore, it is reasonable to find that the permanent and 
enforceable precursor emissions reductions required for 
redesignation must be from areas outside the area within Wisconsin's 
control. The permanent and enforceable emissions reductions detailed 
in Wisconsin's redesignation request and discussed in this proposed 
action represent statewide reductions from Wisconsin and 
specifically from Wisconsin's Green Bay metropolitan area and 
Wisconsin's Milwaukee metropolitan area, both of which are upwind of 
the area, and which, therefore, have the potential to impact ozone 
levels in the area. Additionally, permanent and enforceable 
reductions from Chicago, a multi-state metropolitan area upwind of 
the area, are listed. The Chicago metropolitan area generally 
consists of portions of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. For its 
upwind emissions reduction analysis for the Chicago metropolitan 
area, Wisconsin included: Cook, Dekalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, 
Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, 
Porter and Newton Counties in Indiana, and Kenosha County, 
Wisconsin.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 12025]]

1. Permanent and Enforceable Emission Controls Implemented
a. Regional NOX Controls
    CAIR/CSAPR. Under the ``good neighbor provision'' of CAA section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), states are required to address interstate transport 
of air pollution. Specifically, the good neighbor provision provides 
that each state's SIP must contain provisions prohibiting emissions 
from within that state which will contribute significantly to 
nonattainment of the NAAQS, or interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS, 
in any other state.
    On May 12, 2005, EPA published CAIR, which required eastern states, 
including Wisconsin, to prohibit emissions consistent with annual and 
ozone season NOX budgets and annual sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) budgets (70 FR 25152). CAIR addressed the good 
neighbor provision for the 1997 ozone NAAQS and 1997 fine particulate 
matter (PM2.5) NAAQS and was designed to mitigate the impact 
of transported NOX emissions, a precursor of both ozone and 
PM2.5, as well as transported SO2 emissions, 
another precursor of PM2.5. The D.C. Circuit remanded CAIR 
to EPA for replacement in 2008. North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896, 
modified, 550 F.3d 1176 (2008). While EPA worked on developing a 
replacement rule, implementation of the CAIR program continued as 
planned with the NOX annual and ozone season programs 
beginning in 2009 and the SO2 annual program beginning in 
2010.
    On August 8, 2011 (76 FR 48208), acting on the D.C. Circuit's 
remand, EPA published CSAPR to replace CAIR and to address the good 
neighbor provision for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, the 1997 PM2.5 
NAAQS, and the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS.\11\ Through Federal 
Implementation Plans (FIPs), CSAPR required electric generating units 
(EGUs) in eastern states, including Wisconsin, to meet annual and ozone 
season NOX budgets and annual SO2 budgets 
implemented through new trading programs. After delays caused by 
litigation, EPA started implementing the CSAPR trading programs in 
2015, simultaneously discontinuing administration of the CAIR trading 
programs. On October 26, 2016, EPA published the CSAPR Update, which 
established, starting in 2017, a new ozone season NOX 
trading program for EGUs in eastern states, including Wisconsin, to 
address the good neighbor provision for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (81 FR 
74504). The CSAPR Update is projected to result in a 20% reduction in 
ozone season NOX emissions from EGUs in the eastern United 
States, a reduction of 80,000 tons in 2017 compared to 2015 levels. On 
April 30, 2021, EPA published the Revised CSAPR Update, which fully 
resolved the obligations of eastern states, including Illinois and 
Indiana (which are upwind of the area), under the good neighbor 
provision for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (82 FR 23054). The Revised CSAPR 
Update is estimated to reduce ozone season NOX emissions 
from EGUs by 17,000 tons beginning in 2021, compared to emissions 
without the rule. The reduction in NOX emissions from the 
implementation of CAIR and then CSAPR occurred during the attainment 
years, and additional emission reductions will occur throughout the 
maintenance period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ In a December 27, 2011, rulemaking, EPA included Wisconsin 
in the ozone season NOX program, addressing the 1997 
ozone NAAQS (76 FR 80760).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. 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 3 Emission Standards for Vehicles and Gasoline Sulfur 
Standards. On April 28, 2014 (79 FR 23414), EPA promulgated Tier 3 
motor vehicle emission and fuel standards to reduce both tailpipe and 
evaporative emissions and to further reduce the sulfur content in 
fuels. The rule was phased in between 2017 and 2025. Tier 3 sets new 
tailpipe standards for the sum of VOC and NOX and for 
particulate matter (PM). The VOC and NOX tailpipe standards 
for light-duty vehicles represent approximately an 80% reduction from 
previous fleet average and a 70% reduction in per-vehicle PM standards. 
Heavy-duty tailpipe standards represent about a 60% reduction in both 
fleet average VOC and NOX and per-vehicle PM standards. The 
evaporative emissions requirements in the rule are projected to result 
in approximately a 50% reduction from previous standards and apply to 
all light-duty and on-road gasoline-powered heavy-duty vehicles. 
Finally, the rule lowered the sulfur content of gasoline to an annual 
average of 10 ppm starting in January 2017. As projected by these 
estimates and demonstrated in the on-road emission modeling for the 
area, some of these emission reductions occurred by the attainment 
years and additional emission reductions will occur throughout the 
maintenance period, as older vehicles are replaced with newer, 
compliant model years.
    Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Rules. In July 2000, EPA issued a rule for 
on-road heavy-duty diesel engines that includes standards limiting the 
sulfur content of diesel fuel. Emissions standards for NOX, 
VOC and PM were phased in between model years 2007 and 2010. In 
addition, the rule reduced the highway diesel fuel sulfur content to 15 
ppm by 2007, leading to additional reductions in combustion 
NOX and VOC emissions. EPA has estimated future year 
emission reductions due to implementation of this rule. Nationally, EPA 
estimated that 2015 NOX and VOC emissions would decrease by 
1,260,000 tons and 54,000 tons, respectively. Nationally, EPA estimated 
that by 2030 NOX and VOC emissions will decrease by 
2,570,000 tons and 115,000 tons, respectively. As projected by these 
estimates and demonstrated in the on-road emission modeling for the 
area, some of these emission reductions occurred during the attainment 
years and additional emission reductions will occur throughout the 
maintenance period, as older vehicles are replaced with newer, 
compliant model years.
    Nonroad Diesel Rule. On June 29, 2004 (69 FR 38958), EPA issued a 
rule adopting emissions standards for nonroad diesel engines and sulfur 
reductions in nonroad diesel fuel. This rule applies to diesel engines 
used primarily in construction, agricultural, and industrial 
applications. Emission standards are phased in for 2008 through 2015 
model years based on engine size. The sulfur limits for nonroad diesel 
fuels were phased in from 2007 through 2012. EPA estimates that when 
fully implemented, compliance with this rule will cut NOX 
emissions from these nonroad diesel engines by approximately 90%. As 
projected by these estimates and demonstrated in the nonroad emission 
modeling for the area, some of these emission reductions occurred 
during the attainment years and additional emission reductions will 
occur throughout the maintenance period.
    Nonroad Spark-Ignition Engines and Recreational Engine Standards. 
On November 8, 2002 (67 FR 68242), EPA adopted emission standards for 
large spark-ignition engines such as those used in forklifts and 
airport ground-service equipment; recreational vehicles such as off-
highway motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and snowmobiles; and 
recreational marine diesel engines. These emission standards are phased 
in from model year 2004 through 2012. When fully implemented, EPA 
estimates an overall 72% reduction in VOC

[[Page 12026]]

emissions from these engines and an 80% reduction in NOX 
emissions. As projected by these estimates and demonstrated in the 
nonroad emission modeling for the area, some of these emission 
reductions occurred by the attainment years and additional emission 
reductions will occur throughout the maintenance period.
    Category 3 Marine Diesel Engine Standards. On April 30, 2010 (75 FR 
22896) EPA issued emission standards for marine compression-ignition 
engines at or above 30 liters per cylinder. Tier 2 emission standards 
have applied beginning in 2011 and are expected to result in a 15 to 
25% reduction in NOX emissions from these engines. Final 
Tier 3 emission standards have applied beginning in 2016 and are 
expected to result in approximately an 80% reduction in NOX 
from these engines. As projected by these estimates and demonstrated in 
the nonroad emission modeling for the area, some of these emission 
reductions occurred during the attainment years and additional emission 
reductions will occur throughout the maintenance period.
2. Emission Reductions
    Wisconsin calculated the change in emissions between 2014 and 2019 
in the area and three major metro areas upwind of the area. For every 
metro area there was a net reduction in emissions (Tables 2-6). The 
reduction in emissions and the corresponding improvement in air quality 
over this time period can be attributed to the Federal regulatory 
control measures (listed above). Wisconsin is using a 2014 emissions 
inventory as the nonattainment year. This is appropriate because it was 
one of the years used to designate the area as nonattainment. Wisconsin 
is using 2019 as the attainment year, which is appropriate because it 
is one of the years in the 2019-2021 period used to demonstrate 
attainment.
    As mentioned previously, EPA designated the area as an RTA. 
Therefore, the permanent and enforceable precursor emissions reductions 
required for redesignation must be inclusive of areas outside the RTA 
within Wisconsin's control. The permanent and enforceable emissions 
reductions discussed in this proposed action represent statewide 
reductions from Wisconsin and specifically from Wisconsin's Green Bay 
metropolitan area \12\ and Wisconsin's Milwaukee metropolitan area,\13\ 
both of which are upwind of the area and in line with general wind 
patterns on exceedance days,\14\ and which, therefore, have the 
potential to impact ozone levels in the area. Additionally, permanent 
and enforceable reductions from Chicago, a multi-state metropolitan 
area \15\ upwind of the area, are listed. In developing the emissions 
inventory information for these upwind metropolitan areas for the year 
2014, Wisconsin generally used the 2014 National Emissions Inventory 
(NEI) version 2 and the 2014 National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) for 
point, area, on-road, and nonroad sources. For 2019 emissions, 
Wisconsin interpolated between the 2016 and 2023 emissions of EPA's 
2016 version 1 emissions modeling platform. On-road and nonroad 
emissions in Door County were modeled using MOVES3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ For its upwind emissions reduction analysis for the Green 
Bay metropolitan area, Wisconsin included Brown County, WI.
    \13\ For its upwind emissions reduction analysis for the 
Milwaukee metropolitan area, Wisconsin included: Ozaukee, Racine, 
Waukesha and Washington Counties in Wisconsin.
    \14\ See the Technical Support Document for Wisconsin for the 
2015 Ozone NAAQS for Counties Remanded to EPA at https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-05/documents/wi_tsd_remand_final.pdf.
    \15\ The Chicago metropolitan area generally consists of 
portions of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. For its upwind 
emissions reduction analysis for the Chicago metropolitan area, 
Wisconsin included: Cook, Dekalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, 
Lake McHenry and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Porter and 
Newton Counties in Indiana, and Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The emissions data that Wisconsin used were available in units of 
tons per year. Wisconsin expects summer day emissions to be slightly 
higher relative to the rest of the year due to increases in vehicle 
miles traveled (VMT) and nonroad activity. Therefore, Wisconsin 
calculated tons per summer day (tpsd) by dividing annual emissions for 
mobile source sectors by 330 rather than 365 days to avoid 
underestimating mobile source sector emissions. For the purpose of 
estimating regional emissions trends from areas upwind of the 
nonattainment area, Wisconsin assumed point and area source facilities 
operate steadily over 365 days each year. Therefore, Wisconsin 
estimated 2014 and 2019 summer day emissions by dividing the annual 
emissions for the point and area sectors by 365 days. EPA proposes to 
find Wisconsin's methods to be reasonable given Wisconsin's assumptions 
regarding emissions activity from the various source sectors.
    Using the inventories described above, Wisconsin documents changes 
in VOC and NOX emissions from 2014 to 2019 for the area as 
well as for the upwind metropolitan areas described above, including 
the Green Bay area, the Milwaukee area, and the Chicago area. Emissions 
data are shown in Tables 2 through 6. As shown in Table 6, overall 
NOX and VOC emissions declined between 2014 and 2019.

                            Table 2--NOX Emissions for Nonattainment Year 2014 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.00            0.20            3.32            0.87            4.39
Green Bay area..................           15.57            2.63            4.05           11.20           33.45
Milwaukee area..................           21.06           17.87           28.19           57.74          124.86
Chicago area....................          156.24           96.68          158.24          311.75          722.91
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            Table 3--VOC Emissions for Nonattainment Year 2014 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.21            0.74            3.38            0.29            4.62
Green Bay area..................            4.27            8.71            2.91            6.31           22.20
Milwaukee area..................            9.40           50.40           18.77           31.07          109.64
Chicago area....................           50.20          240.36           91.62          170.29          552.47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 12027]]

                             Table 4--NOX Emissions for Attainment Year 2019 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.00            0.20            2.99            0.61            3.80
Green Bay area..................            6.30            2.60            2.58            6.49           17.97
Milwaukee area..................           17.39           17.66           16.49           29.15           80.69
Chicago area....................          117.05           95.23          131.72          171.02          515.02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                             Table 5--VOC Emissions for Attainment Year 2019 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.13            0.74            2.28            0.22            3.37
Green Bay area..................            4.54            9.01            1.64            3.78           18.97
Milwaukee area..................            9.41           50.81           11.51           16.42           88.15
Chicago area....................           47.73          242.83           68.78           99.75          459.09
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                          Table 6--Change in NOX and VOC Emissions Between 2014 and 2019 (tpsd)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                NOX                                             VOC
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                            Net change                                      Net change
                                                               2014            2019         (2014-2019)        2014            2019         (2014-2019)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Door County (partial)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...................................................            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.21            0.13            0.08
Area....................................................            0.20            0.20            0.00            0.74            0.74            0.00
Nonroad.................................................            3.32            2.99            0.33            3.38            2.28            1.10
On-road.................................................            0.87            0.61            0.26            0.29            0.22            0.07
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................            4.39            3.80            0.59            4.62            3.37            1.25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Green Bay Area (Brown County only)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...................................................           15.57            6.30            9.27            4.28            4.54           -0.26
Area....................................................            2.63            2.60            0.03            8.71            9.01           -0.30
Nonroad.................................................            4.05            2.58            1.47            2.91            1.64            1.27
On-road.................................................           11.20            6.49            4.71            6.31            3.78            2.53
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................           33.45           17.97           15.48           22.21           18.97            3.24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Milwaukee Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...................................................           21.06           17.39            3.67            9.40            9.41           -0.01
Area....................................................           17.87           17.66            0.21           50.40           50.81           -0.41
Nonroad.................................................           28.19           16.49           11.70           18.77           11.51            7.26
On-road.................................................           57.74           29.15           28.59           31.07           16.42           14.65
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................          124.86           98.07           26.79          109.64           97.57           12.07
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Chicago Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...................................................          156.24          117.05           39.19           50.20           47.73            2.47
Area....................................................           96.68           95.23            1.45          240.36          242.83           -2.47
Nonroad.................................................          158.24          131.72           26.52           91.62           68.78           22.84
On-road.................................................          311.75          171.02          140.73          170.29           99.75           70.54
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................          722.92          632.06           90.86          552.47          506.84           45.63
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Meteorology
    Wisconsin included an analysis to further support its demonstration 
that the improvement in air quality between the year violations 
occurred and the year attainment was achieved is due to permanent and 
enforceable emission reductions and not unusually favorable 
meteorology. Ozone formation is a complex process with atmospheric 
chemical reactions involving NOX and VOC precursor species. 
Summertime ozone formation tends to be positively correlated with 
temperature and can be influenced by other meteorological factors such 
as wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation. Wisconsin examined 
the factors influencing high ozone at the Door County monitor from 
2005-2020, isolated days with meteorological factors favorable to ozone 
detected at Door County from 2005-2020 and plotted the temporal trend 
in ozone on these days during this time period from 2005-2020. 
Wisconsin's analysis grouped days with similar meteorology which 
normalizes the influence of meteorological variability on the 
underlying trend in ozone concentrations. Therefore, the remaining 
trend in ozone concentrations can be inferred to be due to trends in

[[Page 12028]]

non-meteorological predictors, such as reductions in precursor 
emissions. As such, Wisconsin's analysis suggests that the observed 
long-term decreases in ozone concentrations including the more recent 
nonattainment to attainment year ozone concentrations are due to the 
permanent and enforceable reductions in ozone precursor emissions 
discussed earlier, rather than from meteorological factors. EPA finds 
the analysis to be a useful tool here in showing that air quality was 
not due to unusually favorable meteorology. Therefore, EPA finds that 
Wisconsin has shown that the air quality improvements in the area are 
due to permanent and enforceable emissions reductions and not unusually 
favorable meteorology.

D. Does Wisconsin have a fully approvable ozone maintenance plan for 
the area?

    As one of the criteria for redesignation to attainment section 
107(d)(3)(E)(iv) of the CAA requires EPA to determine that the area has 
a fully approved maintenance plan pursuant to section 175A of the CAA. 
Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the 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 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 for an 
additional 10 years beyond the initial 10-year maintenance period. To 
address the possibility of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance 
plan must contain contingency measures, as EPA deems necessary, to 
assure prompt correction of the future NAAQS violation.
    The Calcagni memorandum provides further guidance on the content of 
a maintenance plan, explaining that a maintenance plan should address 
five elements: (1) An attainment emissions inventory; (2) a maintenance 
demonstration; (3) a commitment for continued air quality monitoring; 
(4) a process for verification of continued attainment; and (5) a 
contingency plan. In conjunction with its request to redesignate the 
area to attainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, Wisconsin submitted a SIP 
revision to provide for maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS through 
2035, more than 10 years after the expected effective date of the 
redesignation to attainment. As discussed below, EPA proposes to find 
that Wisconsin's ozone maintenance plan includes the necessary 
components and to approve the maintenance plan as a revision of the 
Wisconsin SIP.
1. Attainment Inventory
    EPA is proposing to determine that the area has attained the 2015 
ozone NAAQS based on monitoring data for the period of 2019-2021. 
Wisconsin selected 2019 as the attainment emissions inventory year to 
establish attainment emission levels for VOC and NOX. 
Attainment emissions inventories identify the levels of emissions in 
the nonattainment area that are sufficient to attain the NAAQS. As 
mentioned previously, EPA designated the area as an RTA. As such, 
Wisconsin included an attainment emissions inventory for the 
nonattainment area and additionally provided information about 
attainment year emissions for upwind metropolitan areas that have the 
potential to influence ozone levels in the RTA. The derivation of the 
attainment year emissions for these areas is discussed above in section 
IV.C.2. of this proposed rule. The attainment level emissions, by 
source category, are summarized in Tables 4 and 5, above.
2. Has the state documented maintenance of the ozone standard in the 
area?
    Wisconsin has demonstrated maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS 
through 2035 by projecting that current and future emissions of VOC and 
NOX for the area remain at or below attainment year emission 
levels and, additionally, that upwind areas within Wisconsin's control 
having the potential to influence ozone levels in the area, including 
the Green Bay metropolitan area, the Milwaukee metropolitan area, and 
the Chicago metropolitan area, a portion of which is within Wisconsin, 
remain at or below attainment year emission levels. A maintenance 
demonstration need not be based on modeling. See Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 
426 (6th Cir. 2001), Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F. 3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004). 
See also 66 FR 53094, 53099-53100 (October 19, 2001), 68 FR 25413, 
25430-25432 (May 12, 2003).
    Wisconsin is using emissions inventories for the years 2030 and 
2035 to demonstrate maintenance. 2035 is more than 10 years after the 
expected effective date of the redesignation to attainment, and 2030 
was selected to demonstrate that emissions are not expected to spike in 
the interim between the attainment year and the final maintenance year. 
The emissions inventories were developed as described below.
    Wisconsin generally used EPA's 2016 Emissions Modeling Platform, 
Version 1, which includes base year 2016 emissions and emissions 
projections for the years 2023 and 2028. Wisconsin estimated 2030 and 
2035 emissions by linearly extrapolating EPA's 2023 and 2028 emissions 
projections. Wisconsin used the same methodology to convert annual tons 
to tpsd for the 2030 and 2035 emissions projections as it used for the 
2014 and 2019 inventory estimates. Thus, Wisconsin derived 2030 and 
2035 summer day emissions by dividing the annual emissions for the 
point and area sectors by 365 days and the mobile sectors by 330. 
Interim and future year emissions estimates are shown in Tables 7 
through 11 below. Specifically for Door County, Wisconsin ran MOVES3 
for on-road emissions in both 2030 and 2035 for Door County.

                         Table 7--NOX Emissions for Interim Maintenance Year 2030 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.00            0.19            2.18            0.30            2.67
Green Bay area..................            5.61            2.56            1.48            1.86           11.51
Milwaukee area..................           17.90           17.11           13.31           10.17           58.49
Chicago area....................          101.84           89.52          113.96           69.03          374.35
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Table 8--VOC Emissions for Interim Maintenance Year 2030 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.18            0.74            1.37            0.13            2.42

[[Page 12029]]

 
Green Bay area..................            4.55            9.38            1.41            1.97           17.31
Milwaukee area..................            9.75           51.43           10.82            8.68           80.68
Chicago area....................           46.45          249.38           66.68           49.96          412.47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                             Table 9--NOX Emissions for Maintenance Year 2035 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.00            0.19            2.16            0.26            2.61
Green Bay area..................            5.64            2.54            1.00            0.46            9.64
Milwaukee area..................           17.78           16.89           12.58            4.94           52.19
Chicago area....................          102.13           86.83          110.87           40.91          340.74
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            Table 10--VOC Emissions for Maintenance Year 2035 (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Area                     Point           Area           Nonroad         On-road          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Door County (partial)...........            0.18            0.75            1.28            0.12            2.33
Green Bay area..................            4.56            9.54            1.35            1.43           16.88
Milwaukee area..................            9.73           51.70           10.79            6.20           78.42
Chicago area....................           46.23          252.30           67.68           33.82          400.03
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                             Table 11--Change in NOX and VOC Emissions Between 2019 and 2035 (tpsd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                NOX                                                             VOC
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                    Net Change                                                      Net Change
                                                                       2019            2030            2035         (2019-2035)        2019            2030            2035         (2019-2035)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Door County (partial)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...........................................................            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.13            0.18            0.18           -0.05
Area............................................................            0.20            0.19            0.19            0.01            0.74            0.74            0.75           -0.01
Nonroad.........................................................            2.99            2.18            2.16            0.83            2.28            1.37            1.28            1.00
On-road.........................................................            0.61            0.30            0.26            0.35            0.22            0.13            0.12            0.10
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................            3.80            2.67            2.61            1.19            3.37            2.42            2.33            1.04
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Green Bay Area (Brown County only)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...........................................................            6.30            5.61            5.64            0.66            4.54            4.55            4.56           -0.02
Area............................................................            2.60            2.56            2.54            0.06            9.01            9.38            9.54           -0.53
Nonroad.........................................................            2.58            1.48            1.00            1.58            1.64            1.41            1.35            0.29
On-road.........................................................            6.49            1.86            0.46            6.03            3.78            1.97            1.43            2.35
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           17.97           11.51            9.64            8.33           18.97           17.31           16.88            2.09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Milwaukee Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...........................................................           17.39           17.90           17.78           -0.39            9.41            9.75            9.73           -0.32
Area............................................................           17.66           17.11           16.89            0.77           50.81           51.43           51.70           -0.89
Nonroad.........................................................           16.49           13.31           12.58            3.91           11.51           10.82           10.79            0.72
On-road.........................................................           29.15           10.17            4.94           24.21           16.42            8.68            6.20           10.22
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           80.69           58.49           52.19           28.50           88.15           80.68           78.42            9.73
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Chicago Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...........................................................          117.05          101.84          102.13           14.92           47.73           46.45           46.23            1.50
Area............................................................           95.23           89.52           86.83            8.40          242.83          249.38          252.30           -9.47
Nonroad.........................................................          131.72          113.96          110.87           20.85           68.78           66.68           67.68            1.10
On-road.........................................................          171.02           69.03           40.91          130.11           99.75           49.96           33.82           65.93
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................          515.02          374.35          340.74          174.28          459.09          412.47          400.03           59.06
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In summary, Wisconsin's maintenance demonstration for the area 
shows maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS by providing emissions 
information to support the demonstration that future emissions of 
NOX and VOC will remain at or below 2019 emission levels 
when taking into account both future source growth and implementation 
of future controls. Table 11 shows NOX and VOC emissions are 
projected to decrease between 2019 and 2035.
    In addition, EPA has recently conducted updated air quality 
modeling of the contiguous United States, projecting ozone 
concentrations at all air quality monitors in 2023, 2026, and

[[Page 12030]]

2032.\16\ That modeling incorporates the most recent updates to 
emissions inventories, including on-the-books emissions reductions, and 
meteorology. This modeling indicates that EPA does not project Door 
County to be in nonattainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, nor does the 
Agency expect the area to struggle with maintenance, in those modeled 
future years. We propose to find that EPA's ozone transport air quality 
modeling further supports Wisconsin's demonstration that the Door 
County area will continue to maintain the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ Available at https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-modeling/2016v2-platform.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Continued Air Quality Monitoring
    Wisconsin has committed to continue to operate the ozone monitor 
listed in Table 1 above. Wisconsin has committed to consult with EPA 
prior to making changes to the existing monitoring network should 
changes become necessary in the future. Wisconsin remains obligated to 
meet monitoring requirements and to continue to quality assure 
monitoring data in accordance with 40 CFR part 58, and to enter all 
data into the AQS in accordance with Federal guidelines.
4. Verification of Continued Attainment
    Wisconsin has confirmed that it has the legal authority to enforce 
and implement the requirements of the maintenance plan for the area. 
This includes the authority to adopt, implement, and enforce any 
subsequent statewide and/or area-specific emission control measures 
determined to be necessary to correct future ozone attainment problems.
    Verification of continued attainment is accomplished through 
operation of the ambient ozone monitoring network and the periodic 
update of relevant emissions inventories. Wisconsin will continue to 
operate the current ozone monitor in Door County. There are no plans to 
discontinue operation, relocate, or otherwise change the existing ozone 
monitoring network other than through revisions in the network approved 
by the EPA.
    To track future levels of emissions, Wisconsin will continue to 
develop and submit to EPA updated emission inventories for the area and 
upwind areas in Wisconsin at least once every three years, consistent 
with the requirements of 40 CFR part 51, subpart A, and in 40 CFR 
51.122. The Consolidated Emissions Reporting Rule (CERR) was 
promulgated by EPA on June 10, 2002 (67 FR 39602). The CERR was 
replaced by the Annual Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR) on 
December 17, 2008 (73 FR 76539). The most recent triennial inventory 
for Wisconsin was compiled for 2017, and 2020 is in progress. Point 
source facilities covered by Wisconsin's emission statement rule, 
Chapter NR 438 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, will continue to 
submit VOC and NOX emissions on an annual basis.
5. What is the contingency plan for the area?
    Section 175A of the CAA requires the state to adopt a maintenance 
plan, as a SIP revision, that includes such contingency measures as EPA 
deems necessary to assure that the state will promptly correct a 
violation of the NAAQS that occurs after redesignation of the area to 
attainment of the NAAQS. The maintenance plan must identify: The 
contingency measures to be considered and, if needed for maintenance, 
adopted and implemented; a schedule and procedure for adoption and 
implementation; 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 considered, adopted, and 
implemented. The maintenance plan must include a commitment that the 
state will implement all measures with respect to the control of the 
pollutant that were contained in the SIP before redesignation of the 
area to attainment in accordance with section 175A(d) of the CAA.
    As required by section 175A of the CAA, Wisconsin has adopted a 
maintenance plan for the area to address possible future ozone air 
quality problems. The maintenance plan adopted by Wisconsin has two 
levels of response, a warning level response and an action level 
response.
    In Wisconsin's plan, a warning level response will be triggered 
when an annual fourth high monitored value of 0.070 ppm or higher is 
monitored within the maintenance area. A warning level response will 
consist of Wisconsin conducting a study to determine whether the ozone 
value indicates a trend toward higher ozone values and whether 
emissions appear to be increasing. The study will evaluate whether the 
trend, if any, is likely to continue and, if so, the control measures 
necessary to reverse the trend. The study will be completed no later 
than May 1st of the year after the ozone season in which the exceedance 
is detected.
    In Wisconsin's plan, a violation of the 2015 ozone NAAQS within the 
maintenance area triggers an action level response. When an action 
level response is triggered, Wisconsin will determine what additional 
control measures are needed to ensure future attainment of the 2015 
ozone NAAQS. Control measures selected will be adopted and implemented 
within 18 months from the close of the ozone season that prompted the 
action level. Wisconsin may also consider if significant new 
regulations not currently included as part of the maintenance 
provisions will be implemented in a timely manner and would thus 
constitute an adequate contingency measure response.
    Wisconsin included the following list of potential contingency 
measures in its maintenance plan:

    1. Anti-idling control program for mobile sources, targeting 
diesel vehicles;
    2. Diesel exhaust retrofits;
    3. Traffic flow improvements;
    4. Park and ride facilities;
    5. Rideshare/carpool program; and
    6. Expansion of the vehicle emissions testing program.

    To qualify as a contingency measure, emissions reductions from that 
measure must not be factored into the emissions projections used in the 
maintenance plan.
    EPA has concluded that Wisconsin's maintenance plan adequately 
addresses the five basic components of a maintenance plan: Attainment 
inventory, maintenance demonstration, monitoring network, verification 
of continued attainment, and a contingency plan. In addition, as 
required by section 175A(b) of the CAA, Wisconsin has committed to 
submit to EPA an updated ozone maintenance plan eight years after 
redesignation of the area to cover an additional ten years beyond the 
initial 10-year maintenance period. Thus, EPA finds that the 
maintenance plan SIP revision submitted by Wisconsin for the area meets 
the requirements of section 175A of the CAA and EPA proposes to approve 
it as a revision to the Wisconsin SIP.

V. Has the state adopted approvable motor vehicle emission budgets?

A. Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets

    Under section 176(c) of the CAA, new transportation plans, 
programs, or projects that receive Federal funding or support, 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 or contribute to new air 
quality violations, worsen existing air quality problems, or delay 
timely attainment of the NAAQS or any

[[Page 12031]]

required interim emission reductions or other milestones. Regulations 
at 40 CFR part 93 set forth EPA policy, criteria, and procedures for 
demonstrating and assuring conformity of transportation activities to a 
SIP. Transportation conformity is a requirement for nonattainment and 
maintenance areas. (See 40 CFR 93.102(b).) Maintenance areas are areas 
that were previously nonattainment for a particular NAAQS, but that 
have been redesignated to attainment and are required to develop a CAA 
section 175A maintenance plan for the NAAQS.
    Under the CAA, states are required to submit, at various times, 
control strategy SIPs for nonattainment areas and maintenance plans for 
areas seeking redesignations to attainment of the ozone standard and 
maintenance areas. See the SIP requirements for the 2015 ozone NAAQS in 
EPA's December 6, 2018 implementation rule (83 FR 62998). These control 
strategy SIPs (including reasonable further progress plans and 
attainment plans) and maintenance plans must include budgets for 
criteria pollutants, including ozone, and their precursor pollutants 
(VOC and NOX for ozone) to address pollution from on-road 
transportation sources. The budgets are the portion of the total 
allowable emissions that are allocated to highway and transit vehicle 
use that, together with emissions from other sources in the area, will 
provide for attainment or maintenance. See 40 CFR 93.101.
    Under 40 CFR part 93, a budget for an area seeking a redesignation 
to attainment must be established, at minimum, for the last year of the 
maintenance plan. A state may adopt budgets for other years as well. 
The budgets serve as a ceiling on emissions from an area's planned 
transportation system. The budgets concept is further explained in the 
preamble to the November 24, 1993, Transportation Conformity Rule (58 
FR 62188). The preamble also describes how to establish the budgets in 
the SIP and how to revise the budgets, if needed, subsequent to 
initially establishing budgets in the SIP.

B. What is the status of EPA's adequacy determination for the proposed 
VOC and NOX budgets for the area?

    When reviewing submitted control strategy SIPs or maintenance plans 
containing budgets, EPA must affirmatively find that the budgets 
contained therein are adequate for use in determining transportation 
conformity. Once EPA affirmatively finds that the submitted budgets are 
adequate for transportation purposes, the budgets must be used by state 
and Federal agencies in determining whether transportation plans, 
transportation improvement programs and, in the case of isolated rural 
areas, proposed transportation projects conform to the SIP as required 
by section 176(c) of the CAA.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ The transportation conformity rule defines isolated rural 
nonattainment and maintenance areas as areas that do not contain or 
are not part of any metropolitan planning area as designated under 
the transportation planning regulations. Isolated rural areas do not 
have Federally required metropolitan transportation plans or TIPs 
and do not have projects that are part of the emissions analysis of 
any MPO's metropolitan transportation plan or TIP. Projects in such 
areas are instead included in statewide transportation improvement 
programs. These areas are not donut areas. (See 40 CFR 93.101.) Door 
County is an isolated rural area for transportation conformity 
purposes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA's substantive criteria for determining adequacy of a budgets 
are set out in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). The process for determining 
adequacy consists of three basic steps: Public notification of a SIP 
submission; provision for a public comment period; and EPA's adequacy 
determination. EPA adopted regulations to codify the adequacy process 
in the Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the ``New 8-Hour 
Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and 
Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing Areas; Transportation Conformity 
Rule Amendments--Response to Court Decision and Additional Rule 
Change,'' on July 1, 2004 (69 FR 40004).
    As discussed earlier, Wisconsin's maintenance plan includes 
NOX and VOC budgets for the area for 2035 and 2030, the last 
year of the maintenance period and an interim year, respectively. EPA 
has reviewed Wisconsin's VOC and NOX budgets for the area 
and, in this action, is proposing to approve them. We are also starting 
the adequacy review process for these budgets. Wisconsin's January 5, 
2022 maintenance plan SIP submission, including the VOC and 
NOX budgets for the area, is available for public comment 
via this proposed rulemaking. The submitted maintenance plan, which 
includes the budgets, was endorsed by the Governor's designee and was 
subject to a state public hearing. The budgets were developed as part 
of an interagency consultation process which includes Federal, state, 
and local agencies. The budgets were clearly identified and precisely 
quantified using the following methodology. To accurately identify 
future on-road emissions, WDNR grew VMT from 2019 using growth rates 
provided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for two general 
classes of vehicles (automobiles and trucks). After growing the VMT for 
these two general classes, WDNR allocated the VMT to vehicle sub-
classes based on the MOVES3 default VMT splits by vehicle class for 
Door County for 2030 and 2035. To account for additional driving during 
the summer, WDNR developed adjustment factors using data averaged over 
a 10-year period to convert the annual VMT (divided by 365) to ozone 
season weekday VMT. These budgets, when considered together with all 
other emissions sources, are consistent with maintenance of the 2015 
ozone NAAQS.

                                                          Table 12--Budgets for the Area (tpsd)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Attainment
                                           year 2019 on-  2030 estimated    2030 mobile                   2035 estimated    2035 mobile
                                               road           on-road      safety margin   2030 budgets       on-road      safety margin   2035 budgets
                                             emissions       emissions    allocation (%)                     emissions    allocation (%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.....................................          0.2235          0.1173              15          0.1349          0.1003              15          0.1153
NOX.....................................          0.6141          0.2604              15          0.2995          0.2248              15          0.2586
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in Table 12, the 2030 and 2035 budgets exceed the 
estimated 2030 and 2035 on-road sector emissions. To accommodate future 
variations in VMT in the area, Wisconsin allocated a portion of the 
safety margin (described further below) to the mobile sector.\18\ 
Wisconsin has demonstrated that with mobile source emissions at or 
below 0.1349 TPSD and 0.1153 TPSD of VOC and 0.2995 TPSD and 0.2586 
TPSD of NOX in 2030 and 2035, respectively,

[[Page 12032]]

including partial allocation of the safety margin, emissions are 
projected to remain under attainment year emission levels. EPA is 
proposing to approve the budgets for use to determine transportation 
conformity in the area, because EPA has determined that the area can 
maintain attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS for the relevant 
maintenance period with mobile source emissions at the levels of the 
budgets in conjunction with the levels of the projected emissions 
inventories for the upwind areas discussed above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ Allocation of a safety margin to an area's motor vehicle 
emissions budgets is provided for by the transportation conformity 
rule. (See 40 CFR 93.124(a).)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. What is a safety margin?

    A ``safety margin'' is the amount by which the total projected 
emissions from all sources of a given pollutant are less than the total 
emissions that would satisfy the applicable requirement for 
maintenance. 40 CFR 93.101. As noted in Table 11, the emissions in the 
area are projected to have safety margins of 0.35 TPSD for 
NOX and 0.10 TPSD for VOC in 2035 (the difference between 
the attainment year, 2019, emissions and the projected 2035 emissions 
for all sources in the area). Similarly, there is a safety margin of 
0.31 TPSD for NOX and 0.09 TPSD for VOC in 2030. Even if 
emissions exceeded projected levels by the full amount of the safety 
margin, the area would still demonstrate maintenance since emission 
levels would equal those in the attainment year.
    As shown in Table 12 above, Wisconsin is allocating a portion of 
that safety margin to the on-road mobile source sector. Specifically, 
in 2030, Wisconsin is allocating 15% or 0.0176 TPSD and 0.0391 TPSD of 
the VOC and NOX safety margins, respectively. In 2035, 
Wisconsin is allocating 15% or 0.0150 TPSD and 0.0338 TPSD of the VOC 
and NOX safety margins, respectively. Wisconsin is not 
requesting allocation to the budgets of the entire available safety 
margins reflected in the demonstration of maintenance. In fact, the 
amount allocated to the budgets represents only a small portion of the 
2030 and 2035 safety margins. Therefore, even though the state is 
requesting budgets that exceed the projected on-road mobile source 
emissions for 2030 and 2035 contained in the demonstration of 
maintenance, the permissible level of on-road mobile source emissions 
that can be considered for transportation conformity purposes is well 
within the safety margins of the ozone maintenance demonstration. Once 
allocated to on-road mobile sources, these safety margins will not be 
available for use by other sources. Further, the area is an RTA. 
Therefore, in addition to the budgets, the estimated upwind emissions 
reductions throughout the maintenance period, which are described 
above, are also important for maintaining the 2015 ozone NAAQS in the 
area throughout the 10-year maintenance period.

VI. Proposed Actions

    EPA is proposing to change the legal designation of the revised 
Door County (partial) area from nonattainment to attainment for the 
2015 ozone NAAQS. Additionally, EPA is proposing approval of the 
emissions inventory for this area, which is a prerequisite to 
finalizing the redesignation. EPA is also proposing to approve, as a 
revision to the Wisconsin SIP, the State's maintenance plan for the 
area. The maintenance plan is designed to keep the area in attainment 
of the 2015 ozone NAAQS through 2035. Finally, EPA is proposing to 
approve the newly established 2030 and 2035 budgets for the area and 
initiating the adequacy process for these budgets.

VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the 
accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under section 107(d)(3)(E) 
are actions that affect the status of a geographical area and do not 
impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those 
imposed by state law. A redesignation to attainment does not in and of 
itself create any new requirements, but rather results in the 
applicability of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have 
been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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, the proposed actions to approve Wisconsin's SIP 
Submissions merely approve state law as meeting Federal requirements 
and do not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For these reasons, 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified by 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because 
redesignation is an action that affects the status of a geographical 
area and does not impose any new regulatory requirements on tribes, 
impact any existing sources of air pollution on tribal lands, nor 
impair the maintenance of ozone national ambient air quality standards 
in tribal lands.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, 
Volatile organic compounds.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

[[Page 12033]]

    Dated: February 24, 2022.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2022-04319 Filed 3-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P