Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0744-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Proposed Approval of the Jersey County, Illinois 1997 Ozone Second Maintenance Plan (St. Louis)
Posted Date: 2023-03-14T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15629-15635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05175]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0744; FRL-10682-01-R5]

Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Second Maintenance Plan for 1997 
Ozone NAAQS; Jersey County Portion of St. Louis Missouri-Illinois Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve, as a revision to the Illinois State Implementation Plan (SIP), 
the state's plan for maintaining the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) through 2032 in the St. Louis, MO-
IL area. The original St. Louis nonattainment area for the 1997 ozone 
standard included Jersey, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties in 
Illinois and Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis Counties 
and St. Louis City in Missouri. The SIP submitted by the Illinois 
Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) on August 24, 2022, addresses 
the second maintenance plan required for Jersey County, Illinois.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2022-0744 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: Kathleen D'Agostino, Environmental 
Scientist, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs 
Branch (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-1767, 
[email protected]. The EPA Region 5 office is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays 
and facility closures due to COVID-19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

I. Summary of EPA's Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve, as a revision to the Illinois SIP, an 
updated 1997 ozone NAAQS maintenance plan for Jersey County in the St. 
Louis, MO-IL area. The maintenance plan is designed to keep the St, 
Louis area in attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS through 2032.

II. Background

    Ground-level ozone is formed when oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) react in the 
presence of sunlight. These two pollutants are referred to as ozone 
precursors. Scientific evidence indicates that adverse public health 
effects occur following exposure to ozone.
    In 1979, under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA 
established primary and secondary NAAQS for ozone at 0.12 parts per 
million (ppm), averaged over a 1-hour period. See 44 FR 8202 (February 
8, 1979). On July 18, 1997, EPA revised the primary and secondary NAAQS 
for ozone to set the acceptable level of ozone in the ambient air at 
0.08 ppm, averaged over an 8-hour period. See 62 FR 38856 (July 18, 
1997).\1\ EPA set the 8-hour ozone NAAQS based on scientific evidence 
demonstrating that ozone causes adverse health effects at lower 
concentrations and over longer periods of time than was understood when 
the pre-existing 1-hour ozone NAAQS was set.
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    \1\ In March 2008, EPA completed another review of the primary 
and secondary ozone standards and tightened them further by lowering 
the level for both to 0.075 ppm. 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008). 
Additionally, in October 2015, EPA completed a review of the primary 
and secondary ozone standards and tightened them by lowering the 
level for both to 0.70 ppm. 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015).
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    Following promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, EPA is required 
by the CAA to designate areas throughout the nation as attaining or not 
attaining the NAAQS. On April 15, 2004 (69 FR 23857), EPA designated 
the St. Louis area as nonattainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, and the 
designations became effective on June 15, 2004. Under the CAA, states 
are also required to adopt and submit SIPs to implement, maintain, and 
enforce the NAAQS in designated nonattainment areas and throughout the 
state.
    When a nonattainment area has three years of complete, certified 
air quality data that have been determined to attain the 1997 ozone 
NAAQS, and the area has met other required criteria described in 
section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA, the

[[Page 15630]]

state can submit to EPA a request to be redesignated to attainment, 
referred to as a ``maintenance area''.\2\ One of the criteria for 
redesignation is to have an approved maintenance plan under CAA section 
175A. The maintenance plan must demonstrate that the area will continue 
to maintain the standard for the period extending 10 years after 
redesignation, and it must contain such additional measures as 
necessary to ensure maintenance and such contingency provisions as 
necessary to assure that violations of the standard will be promptly 
corrected. At the end of the eighth year after the effective date of 
the redesignation, the state must also submit a second maintenance plan 
to ensure ongoing maintenance of the standard for an additional ten 
years. See CAA section 175A.
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    \2\ Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA sets out the requirements 
for redesignation. They include attainment of the NAAQS, full 
approval of the SIP under section 110(k) of the CAA, determination 
that improvement in air quality is a result of permanent and 
enforceable reductions in emissions, demonstration that the state 
has met all applicable section 110 and part D requirements, and a 
fully approved maintenance plan under CAA section 175A.
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    EPA has published long-standing guidance for states on developing 
maintenance plans.\3\ The Calcagni Memorandum provides that states may 
generally demonstrate maintenance by either performing air quality 
modeling to show that the future mix of sources and emission rates will 
not cause a violation of the NAAQS or by showing that future emissions 
of a pollutant and its precursors will not exceed the level of 
emissions during a year when the area was attaining the NAAQS (i.e., 
attainment year inventory). See Calcagni Memorandum at 9.
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    \3\ ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to 
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality 
Management Division, September 4, 1992 (the ``Calcagni 
Memorandum'').
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    On May 26, 2010, IEPA submitted to EPA a request to redesignate the 
Illinois portion of the St. Louis area to attainment for the 1997 ozone 
NAAQS.\4\ This submittal included, as a revision to the Illinois SIP, a 
plan to provide for maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in the St. 
Louis area through 2025. EPA approved the maintenance plan for the 
Illinois portion of the St. Louis area and redesignated the area to 
attainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS on June 12, 2012 (77 FR 34819).
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    \4\ IEPA supplemented this submittal on September 16, 2011.
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    Under CAA section 175A(b), states must submit a revision to the 
first maintenance plan eight years after redesignation to provide for 
maintenance of the NAAQS for ten additional years following the end of 
the first 10-year period. EPA's final implementation rule for the 2008 
ozone NAAQS revoked the 1997 ozone NAAQS and stated that one 
consequence of revocation was that areas that had been redesignated to 
attainment (i.e., maintenance areas) for the 1997 standard no longer 
needed to submit second 10-year maintenance plans under CAA section 
175A(b).\5\ However, in South Coast Air Quality Management District v. 
EPA \6\ (South Coast II), the D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's interpretation 
that, because of the revocation of the 1997 ozone standard, second 
maintenance plans were not required for ``orphan maintenance areas,'' 
i.e., areas that had been redesignated to attainment for the 1997 NAAQS 
and were designated attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Thus, states 
with these ``orphan maintenance areas'' under the 1997 ozone NAAQS must 
submit maintenance plans for the second maintenance period.
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    \5\ See 80 FR 12315 (March 6, 2015).
    \6\ 882 F.3d 1138 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
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    When areas were designated under the 2008 ozone NAAQS, Jersey 
County, Illinois was not included in the St. Louis, MO-IL nonattainment 
area. Therefore, Jersey County is considered an orphan maintenance area 
requiring a second maintenance plan. Accordingly, on August 24, 2022, 
IEPA submitted a second maintenance plan for Jersey County that shows 
that the St. Louis area is expected to remain in attainment of the 1997 
ozone NAAQS through 2032, i.e., through the end of the full 20-year 
maintenance period.

III. EPA's Evaluation of the Illinois SIP Submittal

A. Second Maintenance Plan

    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 emission 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.
    On August 24, 2022, IEPA submitted, as a SIP revision, a plan to 
provide for maintenance of the 1997 ozone standard in the St. Louis 
area through 2032, more than 20 years after the effective date of the 
redesignation to attainment. As discussed below, EPA proposes to find 
that IEPA's second maintenance plan includes the necessary components 
and to approve the maintenance plan as a revision to the Illinois SIP.
1. Attainment Inventory
    The CAA section 175A maintenance plan approved by EPA for the first 
10-year period included an attainment inventory for the St. Louis area 
that reflected typical summer day VOC and NOX emissions in 
2008. In addition, because the St. Louis area continued to monitor 
attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in 2014, 2014 is an appropriate year 
to use for an attainment year inventory. IEPA is using the State's 
previously compiled 2014 summer day emissions inventory as the basis 
for the attainment inventory presented in Tables 1 and 2, below. Data 
compiled for this inventory were submitted to EPA and used in the EPA 
2014 version 7.0 modeling platform.\7\ These data are derived from the 
2014 National Emissions Inventory version 2.
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    \7\ The inventory documentation for this modeling platform can 
be found here: https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-modeling/2014-version-70-platform.

[[Page 15631]]

                Table 1--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day VOC Emissions for Attainment Year 2014
                                                [Tons/day (tpd)]
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             County                    Point           Area           On-road         Nonroad          Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illinois:
    Jersey......................            0.03            1.22            0.52            2.10            3.87
    Madison.....................            7.52            9.41            4.85            3.86           25.64
    Monroe......................            0.10            1.72            0.63            1.03            3.48
    St. Clair...................            1.76            7.93            4.63            2.58           16.90
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................            9.41           20.28           10.63            9.57           49.89
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Missouri:
    Franklin....................            2.08            5.80            2.57            2.91           13.36
    Jefferson...................            1.91            5.44            4.65            2.72           14.72
    St. Charles.................            4.12           11.50            7.75            5.25           28.62
    St. Louis City..............            2.88           11.19            4.23            2.92           21.22
    St. Louis...................            2.87           35.88           73.21           19.61          131.57
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................           13.86           69.81           92.41           33.41          209.49
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Area total..........           23.27           90.09          103.04           42.98          259.38
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                Table 2--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day NOX Emissions for Attainment Year 2014
                                                      [tpd]
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             County                    Point           Area           On-road         Nonroad          Total
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Illinois:
    Jersey......................            0.00            0.09            1.08            2.87            4.04
    Madison.....................           21.39            0.83           13.05            9.29           44.56
    Monroe......................            0.48            0.15            1.62            8.01           10.26
    St. Clair...................            1.42            0.55           12.27            7.32           21.56
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................           23.29            1.62           28.22           27.49           80.42
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Missouri:
    Franklin....................           21.13            0.46            8.00            5.24           34.83
    Jefferson...................           17.96            0.42           12.87            3.04           34.29
    St. Charles.................           21.05            0.89           19.68            7.40           49.02
    St. Louis City..............            4.78            0.93           10.92            5.23           21.86
    St. Louis...................           16.79            3.76          118.61           17.53          156.69
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................           81.71            6.47          170.08           38.44          296.69
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Area total..........          105.00            8.09          198.30           65.93          377.11
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2. Maintenance Demonstration
    IEPA is demonstrating maintenance through 2032 by showing that 
future emissions of VOC and NOX for the St. Louis area 
remain at or below attainment year emission levels. 2032 is an 
appropriate maintenance year because it is 10 years beyond the first 
10-year maintenance period. Jersey County point and area source 
emissions were projected to 2032 from the U.S. EPA 2011 version 6.3 
modeling platform.\8\ The relevant inventory scenario names are 
``2014fd'' and ``2028el.'' The 2028 scenario was used to support past 
air quality modeling to support the regional haze program. Since this 
data set only grew emissions to 2028, IEPA assumed that emissions would 
keep growing at the same rate out to 2032. Jersey County on-road mobile 
source emissions for 2013 were calculated using MOVES 2014a using the 
same inputs for 2014. The vehicle population and vehicle miles traveled 
were grown from 2014 to 2032 using a growth rate of 1.5% per year.\9\ 
Jersey County nonroad mobile source emissions, not including aircraft, 
commercial marine vessels, and locomotives, were calculated using MOVES 
2014a. Emissions for aircraft, commercial marine vessels, and 
locomotives were grown 2% per year.
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    \8\ The inventory documentation for this platform can be found 
here: https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-modeling/2011-version-63-platform.
    \9\ MOVES 2014a was the current mobile model when Illinois 
developed the second maintenance plan and posted it for public 
comment in June 2019.
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    For the other counties in the St. Louis area, the emissions for 
2032 were assumed to be the same as the 2030 emissions identified in 
the document ``Maintenance Plan for the Illinois Portion of the Metro-
East St. Louis Ozone Nonattainment Area for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone 
Standard (AQPSTR 16-05),'' which was submitted as part of the 
redesignation submittal for the St. Louis area under the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS. As emissions have been shown to be decreasing, this is a 
conservative assumption. Emissions for point and area source sectors, 
as well as nonroad mobile categories not calculated by the MOVES model, 
were projected to 2030 using data from EPA's Air Emissions Modeling 
platform (2011v6.2) inventories for years 2011, 2017 and 2025. On-road 
and nonroad mobile source emissions were calculated for 2020 and 2030 
using the MOVES2014a model.

[[Page 15632]]

    The 2032 summer day emissions inventory for the St. Louis area is 
summarized in Tables 3 and 4, below. Table 5 documents changes in VOC 
and NOX emissions in both Jersey County and the entire St. 
Louis area between 2014 and 2032.

               Table 3--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day VOC Emissions for Maintenance Year 2032
                                                      [tpd]
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             County                    Point           Area           On-road         Nonroad          Total
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Illinois:
    Jersey......................            0.03            1.18            0.18            0.49            1.88
    Madison.....................            6.75            8.90            1.79            2.64           20.08
    Monroe......................            0.09            1.66            0.25            0.51            2.51
    St. Clair...................            1.69            7.49            1.72            1.40           12.84
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        Total...................            8.56           19.23            3.94            5.58           37.31
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Missouri:
    Franklin....................            2.52            3.36            2.40            3.31           11.59
    Jefferson...................            1.63            7.48            4.24            3.12           16.47
    St. Charles.................            3.34           11.21            6.73            6.23           27.51
    St. Louis City..............            3.59           12.04            4.46            3.38           23.47
    St. Louis...................            3.50           38.68           20.17           22.99           85.34
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        Total...................           14.58           72.77           38.00           39.03          164.38
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Area total..........           23.14           92.00           41.94           44.61          201.69
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               Table 4--St. Louis Area Typical Summer Day NOX Emissions for Maintenance Year 2032
                                                      [tpd]
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             County                    Point           Area           On-road         Nonroad          Total
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Illinois:
    Jersey......................            0.00            0.09            0.27            2.86            3.22
    Madison.....................           14.57            0.82            1.79            4.30           15.11
    Monroe......................            0.93            0.15            0.25            3.56            4.22
    St. Clair...................            1.43            0.54            1.72            3.45            8.73
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................           16.93           18.14            4.03           14.17           31.28
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Missouri:
    Franklin....................           30.92            2.20            3.22            1.97           38.31
    Jefferson...................           27.72            0.88            2.73            2.32           33.65
    St. Charles.................            8.87            1.81            4.34            5.88           20.90
    St. Louis City..............            3.82            2.70            2.18            2.80           11.50
    St. Louis...................           21.75            5.44           13.10           16.93           57.22
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        Total...................           93.08           13.03           25.57           29.90          161.58
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Area total..........          110.01           14.63           32.55           44.07          201.26
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  Table 5--Change in Typical Summer Day VOC and NOX Emissions in Jersey County and in the Entire St. Louis Area
                                              Between 2014 and 2032
                                                      [tpd]
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                                                    VOC                                     NOX
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Source category                                    Net change                              Net change
                                     2014        2032       (2014-2032)      2014        2032       (2014-2032)
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Jersey County:
    Point.......................        0.03        0.03            0.00        0.00        0.00            0.00
    Area........................        1.22        1.18           -0.04        0.09        0.09            0.00
    On-road.....................        0.52        0.18           -0.34        1.08        0.27           -0.81
    Nonroad.....................        2.10        0.49           -1.61        2.87        2.86           -0.01
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................        3.87        1.88           -1.99        4.04        3.22           -0.82
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Entire Area:
    Point.......................       23.27       23.14           -0.13      105.00      110.01            5.01
    Area........................       90.09       92.00            1.91        8.09       14.63            6.54
    On-road.....................      103.04       41.94          -61.10      198.30       32.55         -165.75

[[Page 15633]]

 
    Nonroad.....................       42.98       44.61            1.63       65.93       44.07          -21.86
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................      259.38      201.69          -57.69      377.11      201.26         -175.85
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    In summary, the maintenance demonstration for Jersey County shows 
maintenance of the 1997 ozone standard by providing emissions 
information to support the demonstration that future emissions of 
NOX and VOC will remain at or below 2014 emission levels in 
both Jersey County and the entire St. Louis area when taking into 
account both future source growth and implementation of future 
controls. Table 5 shows VOC and NOX emissions in Jersey 
County are projected to decrease by 1.99 tpd and 0.82 tpd, 
respectively, between 2014 and 2032. Similarly, VOC and NOX 
emissions in in the entire area are projected to decrease by 57.69 tpd 
and 175.85 tpd, respectively, between 2014 and 2032.
3. Continued Air Quality Monitoring
    In its submittal, IEPA commits to continue monitoring ozone levels 
according to an EPA approved monitoring plan, as required to ensure 
maintenance of the ozone NAAQS. Should changes in the location of an 
ozone monitor become necessary, IEPA commits to work with EPA to ensure 
the adequacy of the monitoring network. IEPA remains obligated to meet 
monitoring requirements and continues to quality assure monitoring data 
in accordance with 40 CFR part 58, and to enter all data into the Air 
Quality System in accordance with Federal guidelines.
4. Verification of Continued Attainment
    IEPA has the legal authority to enforce and implement the 
requirements of the maintenance plan for the St. Louis area. This 
includes the authority to adopt, implement, and enforce any subsequent 
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 the area's emissions inventory. IEPA will continue to operate 
an approved ozone monitoring network in the St. Louis area. There are 
no plans to discontinue operation of, relocate, or otherwise change the 
existing ozone monitoring network other than through revisions in the 
network approved by EPA.
    In addition, to track future levels of emissions, IEPA will 
continue to develop and submit to EPA updated emission inventories for 
all source categories 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 on December 17, 2008 (73 FR 76539). 
IEPA will also continue to implement the annual emissions reporting 
rule contained in 35 Illinois Administrative Code Part 254.
5. Contingency Plan
    Section 175A of the CAA requires that the state adopt a maintenance 
plan, as a SIP revision, that includes such contingency measures as EPA 
deems necessary to ensure 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. See 
Calcagni Memorandum at 12-13.
    As required by section 175A of the CAA, Illinois has adopted a 
contingency plan for the St. Louis area to address possible future 
ozone air quality problems. The contingency plan adopted by Illinois 
has two levels of response, a Level I response and a Level II response.
    In IEPA's plan, a Level I response will be triggered when either an 
annual fourth high monitored value of 0.084 ppm or higher is monitored 
within the maintenance area, or the NOX or VOC emissions 
inventories in the Illinois portion of the area increase more than 5% 
above the levels included in the 2014 emissions inventories. A Level I 
response will consist of Illinois evaluating air quality or determining 
if adverse emissions trends are likely to continue. Illinois will 
determine what and where controls may be required as well as the level 
of emissions reductions needed to avoid a violation of the NAAQS. The 
study must be completed within 9 months, with adoption of necessary 
control measures within 18 months of the determination.
    In IEPA's plan, a Level II response is triggered by a violation of 
the ozone NAAQS at any monitoring site in the St. Louis area. In the 
event that a Level II response is triggered, within 6 months, IEPA will 
conduct an analysis to determine appropriate measures to address the 
cause of the violation. Selected measures will be implemented within 18 
months of the violation.
    IEPA included the following list of potential contingency measures 
in its maintenance plan:
    1. NOX reasonably available control technology;
    2. National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants risk 
and technology review: petroleum refineries 40 CFR part 63, subparts CC 
and UUU;
    3. New Source Performance Standards--petroleum refineries 40 CFR 
part 60, subpart Ja;
    4. Conversion of coal-fired Electric Generating Units to natural 
gas and from baseload units to intermittent units;
    5. Broader geographic applicability of existing measures;
    6. Oil and gas sector emissions guidelines;
    7. Implementation of OTC model rules for above ground storage 
tanks;

[[Page 15634]]

    8. Continued phasing in of 2017 light-duty vehicle Green House Gas 
(GHG) and corporate average fuel economy standards;
    9. Tier 3 vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards;
    10. Mobile source air toxics rule;
    11. High-enhanced Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance (On-
Board Diagnostic II);
    12. Federal railroad/locomotive standards;
    13. Federal commercial marine vessel engine standards;
    14. Heavy-duty vehicle GHG rules;
    15. Regulations on the sale of aftermarket catalytic converters;
    16. Standards and limitations for organic material emissions for 
area sources (consumer and commercial products and architectural and 
industrial maintenance coatings rule);
    17. Current California commercial and consumer products--aerosol 
adhesive coatings, dual purpose air freshener/disinfectants, etc.
    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 Illinois' maintenance plan adequately 
addresses the five basic components of a maintenance plan: an 
attainment emission inventory, a maintenance demonstration, a 
commitment for continued air quality monitoring, a process for 
verification of continued attainment, and a contingency plan. Thus, EPA 
proposes to find that the maintenance plan SIP revision submitted by 
IEPA for the St. Louis area meets the requirements of section 175A of 
the CAA.

B. Transportation Conformity

    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the CAA. 
Conformity to a SIP means that transportation activities will not 
produce new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or 
delay timely attainment of the NAAQS (CAA section 176(c)(1)(B)). EPA's 
conformity rule at 40 CFR part 93 requires that transportation plans, 
programs, and projects conform to SIPs and establish the criteria and 
procedures for determining whether they conform. The conformity rule 
generally requires a demonstration that emissions from the Regional 
Transportation Plan and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) 
are consistent with the motor vehicle emissions budget (Budget) 
contained in the control strategy SIP revision or maintenance plan (40 
CFR 93.101, 93.118, and 93.124). A Budget is defined as ``that portion 
of the total allowable emissions defined in the submitted or approved 
control strategy implementation plan revision or maintenance plan for a 
certain date for the purpose of meeting reasonable further progress 
milestones or demonstrating attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS, for 
any criteria pollutant or its precursors, allocated to highway and 
transit vehicle use and emissions'' (40 CFR 93.101).
    However, the South Coast II court decision upheld EPA's revocation 
of the 1997 ozone NAAQS, which was effective on April 6, 2015. EPA's 
current transportation conformity regulation requires a regional 
emissions analysis only during the time period beginning one year after 
a nonattainment designation for a particular NAAQS until the effective 
date of revocation of that NAAQS (40 CFR 93.109(c)). Therefore, 
pursuant to the conformity regulation, a regional emissions analysis 
using Budgets is not required for conformity determinations for the 
1997 ozone NAAQS because that NAAQS has been revoked (80 FR 12264). As 
no regional emissions analysis is required for the St. Louis area for 
the 1997 ozone NAAQS, transportation conformity for the 1997 ozone 
NAAQS can be demonstrated for transportation plans and TIPs by showing 
that the remaining criteria contained in Table 1 in 40 CFR 93.109, and 
40 CFR 93.108 have been met. As noted previously, EPA is proposing to 
find that the projected emissions inventory is consistent with 
maintenance of the 1997 ozone standard.

IV. What action is EPA taking?

    Under sections 110(k) and 175A of the CAA and for the reasons set 
forth above, and based on IEPA's representations and commitments set 
forth above, EPA is proposing to approve the Jersey County second 
maintenance plan for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, submitted by IEPA on August 
24, 2022, as a revision to the Illinois SIP. The second maintenance 
plan is designed to keep the St. Louis area in attainment of the 1997 
ozone NAAQS through 2032.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; 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, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, 
Volatile organic compounds.

[[Page 15635]]

    Dated: March 9, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2023-05175 Filed 3-13-23; 8:45 am]
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