Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0292-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Redesignation of Certain Unclassifiable Areas for the 2010 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard
Posted Date: 2020-09-02T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 2, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54517-54523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17548]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0292; FRL-10013-35-OAR]

Redesignation of Certain Unclassifiable Areas for the 2010 1-Hour 
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
redesignate certain unclassifiable areas designated during the EPA's 
Round 2 air quality designations for the 2010 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide 
(SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). 
Specifically, the EPA believes that it now has sufficient information 
to determine that certain unclassifiable areas in Missouri, Nebraska, 
Ohio, and Texas are attaining the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary 
NAAQS, and, therefore, is proposing to redesignate these areas to 
attainment/unclassifiable for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary 
NAAQS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 2, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2020-00292, at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to our 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. The 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, 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.
    The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket Center and Reading 
Room for public visitors, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk 
of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to 
provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. We 
encourage the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ as there may be a delay in processing mail and 
faxes. Hand deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled 
appointment only. For further information and updates on the EPA Docket 
Center services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Send information identified as CBI only to the following address: 
Tiffany Purifoy, OAQPS Document Control Officer, U.S. EPA, Office of 
Air Quality Planning and Standards, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Mail Code 
C404-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2020-0292. There will be a delay in confirming receipt of CBI 
packages, because the EPA-RTP office is closed to reduce the risk of 
transmitting COVID-19. Due to the office closure, the EPA is also 
requesting that parties notify the OAQPS Document Control Officer via 
telephone at (919) 541-0878 or email at purifoy.tiffany@epa.gov when 
mailing information identified as CBI.
    The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area 
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond 
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this 
action, please contact Ashley Keas, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, C539-04, Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27709, by email at keas.ashley@epa.gov, or Gobeail 
McKinley, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Air 
Quality Policy Division, C539-04, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, by 
email at mckinley.gobeail@epa.gov. The following EPA contacts can 
answer questions regarding areas in a particular EPA Regional office:

                                        U.S. EPA Regional Office Contacts
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         Regional office             Affected state          Contact           Telephone             Email
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Region V........................  Ohio...............  Mary Portanova....     (312) 353-5954  portanova.mary@epa.gov.
Region VI.......................  Texas..............  Robert Imhoff.....     (214) 665-7262  imhoff.robert@epa.gov.
Region VII......................  Missouri, Nebraska.  Will Stone........     (913) 551-7714  stone.william@epa.gov.
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    The information can also be reviewed online at https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations and also in the public docket for these 
SO2 redesignations at https://www.regulations.gov under 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0292.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or 
``our'' means the EPA.

I. Background

    The Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) establishes a process for air 
quality management through the establishment and implementation of the 
NAAQS.

[[Page 54518]]

After the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, the EPA is required 
to designate all areas of the country, pursuant to section 107(d)(1)-
(2) of the CAA. For the 2010 SO2 primary NAAQS, designations 
are based on the EPA's application of the nationwide analytical 
approach to, and technical assessment of, the weight of evidence for 
each area, including but not limited to available air quality 
monitoring data and air quality modeling results. In advance of 
designating the areas that are the subject of this proposed 
redesignation, the EPA issued updated designations guidance through a 
March 20, 2015, memorandum from Stephen D. Page, Director, U.S. EPA, 
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, to Air Division 
Directors, U.S. EPA Regions 1-10 titled, ``Updated Guidance for Area 
Designations for the 2010 Primary Sulfur Dioxide National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard,'' which contains the factors the EPA evaluated in 
determining the appropriate designations and associated boundaries, 
including: (1) Air quality characterization via ambient monitoring or 
dispersion modeling results; (2) emissions-related data; (3) 
meteorology; (4) geography and topography; and (5) jurisdictional 
boundaries. The guidance also references the EPA's non-binding 
Monitoring Technical Assistance Document (Monitoring TAD) that existed 
at that time.\1\
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    \1\ The version of the EPA's ``SO2 NAAQS Designations 
Source-Oriented Monitoring Technical Assistance Document'' 
(Monitoring TAD) available at the time of the Round 2 designations 
action was released in December 2013. The current version of the 
Monitoring TAD was released in February 2016 and superseded the 
version released in December 2013.
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    The EPA completed the first set of initial area designations for 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS in 2013 (Round 1). Pursuant to a 
March 2, 2015, consent decree and court-ordered schedule, the EPA 
finalized a second set of initial area designations for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS in 2016 (Round 2). The March 2, 2015, consent 
decree identified the following emissions criteria such that the EPA 
must designate, in Round 2, an area surrounding any stationary source 
which had (a) annual emissions in 2012 exceeding 16,000 tons of 
SO2, or (b) both an annual average emissions rate of at 
least 0.45 pounds of SO2 per one million British thermal 
units (lbs SO2/mmBTU), according to the EPA's Clean Air 
Markets Division Database, and annual emissions of at least 2,600 tons 
of SO2 in 2012. Areas in Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and 
Texas, each contained one source that met these Round 2 criteria. The 
EPA evaluated each area, using the five factors identified previously, 
during the Round 2 designations. Specifically, as discussed further in 
Section III of this document, the Franklin County area in Missouri 
contains the Labadie Energy Center; the Lancaster County area in 
Nebraska contains Sheldon Station; the Gallia County area in Ohio 
contains the Gavin Plant; and the Milam County area in Texas contains 
the Sandow Plant.
    The March 20, 2015, guidance also specified the designation 
category definitions to be used in the Round 2 designations. 
Specifically, the EPA defined: A ``nonattainment'' area as an area that 
the EPA has determined violates the 2010 SO2 NAAQS based on 
the most recent 3 years of ambient air quality monitoring data or an 
appropriate modeling analysis, or that the EPA has determined 
contributes to a violation in a nearby area; an ``attainment'' area as 
an area that the EPA has determined meets the 2010 SO2 NAAQS 
and does not contribute to a violation of the NAAQS in a nearby area 
based on either: (a) the most recent 3 years of ambient air quality 
monitoring data from a monitoring network in an area that is sufficient 
to be compared to the NAAQS per the EPA interpretations in the 
Monitoring TAD, or (b) an appropriate modeling analysis. As discussed 
further in Section III of this document, the EPA was unable to 
determine whether the areas in Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas that 
are the subject of this action, met the definition of a nonattainment 
area or the definition of an attainment area based on the available 
information at the time of the Round 2 designations. As a result, the 
EPA designated each of these four areas as unclassifiable in the Round 
2 designations published on July 12, 2016, and December 13, 2016.\2\
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    \2\ See actions published on July 12, 2016 (81 FR 45039) and 
December 13, 2016 (81 FR 89870).
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    Detailed rationale, analyses, and other information supporting our 
initial designation for these four areas can be found in the intended 
and final Round 2 designations' technical support documents for 
Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas, respectively. These Round 2 
documents, along with all other supporting materials for the initial 
2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS designations for these areas, 
can be found on the EPA's SO2 designations website.\3\ 
Specific technical support documents (TSDs) for the covered states are 
referenced and linked in later sections of this notice.
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    \3\ https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations.
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II. What are the criteria for redesignating an area from unclassifiable 
to attainment/unclassifiable?

    CAA Section 107(d)(3)(A) provides that the Administrator may notify 
the Governor of any state that the designation of an area should be 
revised ``on the basis of air quality data, planning and control 
considerations, or any other air quality-related considerations the 
Administrator deems appropriate.'' \4\ The Act further provides in 
section 107(d)(3)(D) that even if the Administrator has not notified a 
state Governor that a designation should be revised, the Governor of 
any state may, on the Governor's own motion, submit a request to revise 
the designation of any area, and the Administrator must approve or deny 
the request. In keeping with CAA section 107(d)(3)(A), areas that are 
redesignated to attainment/unclassifiable \5\ must meet the 
requirements for attainment areas and thus must meet the relevant 
NAAQS. In addition, the area must not contribute to ambient air quality 
in a nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. See the definitions for 
nonattainment area, attainment area, and unclassifiable area in CAA 
section 107(d)(1)(A)(i)-(iii).
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    \4\ While CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) also lists specific 
requirements for redesignations, those requirements only apply to 
redesignations of nonattainment areas to attainment and, therefore, 
are not applicable in the context of a redesignation of an area from 
unclassifiable to attainment/unclassifiable.
    \5\ Historically, the EPA has designated most areas that do not 
meet the definition of nonattainment as ``unclassifiable/
attainment.'' The EPA has reversed the order of the label to be 
``attainment/unclassifiable'' to better convey the definition of the 
designation category and so that the category is more easily 
distinguished from the separate unclassifiable category. See 83 FR 
1098 (January 9, 2018) and 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018). The EPA 
reserves the ``attainment'' category for when the EPA redesignates a 
nonattainment area that has attained the relevant NAAQS and has an 
approved maintenance plan.
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    In its designations under the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, the EPA 
has generally defined an attainment/unclassifiable area as an area that 
meets the NAAQS and does not contribute to ambient air quality in a 
nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. We are proposing to find that 
these specific areas now meet this definition of attainment/
unclassifiable based on the available valid monitoring data in each 
area that demonstrates attainment, i.e., no violations of and not 
contributing to a nearby area that is not meeting the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS. The EPA finds this information sufficient for the 
purposes of redesignating an area from unclassifiable to attainment/
unclassifiable, similar to initial

[[Page 54519]]

designations, where the inquiry is also whether the area is factually 
attaining the NAAQS, based on actual and current air quality data. Such 
redesignations are functionally similar to initial designations and are 
not subject to CAA section 107(d)(3)(E), which, amongst other things, 
requires attainment to be due to permanent and enforceable measures and 
which requires a demonstration that the area will maintain the NAAQS 
for 10 years.
    For the areas in Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas, those states have 
submitted formal requests \6\ to the EPA to redesignate those areas 
from unclassifiable to attainment/unclassifiable.\7\ Therefore, the EPA 
is proposing in this action to approve those requests and redesignate 
the areas based on the available monitoring data in those areas. For 
the area in Missouri, for which the EPA has not received a formal 
request to redesignate the area, the EPA is concurrently notifying the 
Governor of its recommendation that the area be redesignated to 
attainment/unclassifiable per CAA section 107(d)(3)(A), based on the 
currently available information that demonstrates attainment of the 
2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.\8\ The EPA is issuing this proposal 
concurrently with notification to the state in anticipation of the 
statutory timeframe provided under CAA section 107(d)(3)(B) and (C).
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    \6\ These redesignation requests are included in the docket for 
this action.
    \7\ Ohio's April 27, 2020, letter requested that the Gallia 
County area be designated attainment/unclassifiable as part of the 
EPA's Round 4 designation process. As the Gallia County area was 
already designated unclassifiable in Round 2, the EPA is treating 
Ohio's April 27, 2020, letter as a redesignation request pursuant to 
CAA section 107(d)(3)(D).
    \8\ On June 26, 2020, the Missouri Department of Natural 
Resources posted a redesignation request for the Franklin County 
area on its website for public comment as part of the state's public 
process. Missouri expects to submit the request to the EPA in the 
coming months.
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III. What is the EPA's rationale for proposing to redesignate these 
areas?

    As previously mentioned, the EPA designated each of these areas as 
unclassifiable in the Round 2 designations published on July 12, 2016 
(intended designations) and December 13, 2016 (final designations). As 
discussed in this section, information available for each of these 
areas at the time of the Round 2 designations was inconclusive and 
therefore the EPA was unable to make a determination of the area's 
attainment status. For each of these areas, the states selected the 
monitoring pathway for purposes of air quality characterization 
pursuant to the EPA's SO2 Data Requirements Rule (DRR) (80 
FR 51052, August 21, 2015). For each of these areas, the state either 
identified existing SO2 monitors and/or installed and began 
operating new monitors in accordance with the DRR.\9\ These monitors 
now have complete 3-year design values for the 2017-2019 period. 
Specifically, each area now has at least one monitor with a complete, 
valid 3-year design value that is attaining the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS.
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    \9\ Analyses used to support the siting of these monitors are 
discussed in each state's 2016 or 2017 annual monitoring network 
plans.
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A. Franklin and St. Charles Counties, Missouri

    The Franklin County area contains a stationary source, the Ameren 
Labadie Energy Center (Labadie), that met the Round 2 criteria, 
discussed in Section I of this document, requiring the EPA to designate 
this area in 2016, under the March 2, 2015, court-ordered schedule. In 
its September 25, 2015, submission, regarding the second round of 
designations, Missouri recommended that the area surrounding Labadie be 
designated as unclassifiable. After review of all available information 
at that time, including modeling provided by the state, Ameren, and 
Sierra Club with differing results and uncertainties, the EPA was 
unable to determine the area's attainment status. Therefore, the EPA 
designated portions of Franklin and St. Charles Counties as 
unclassifiable in Round 2 of designations for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 primary NAAQS.10 11
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    \10\ For more information on the EPA's Round 2 designations, 
see: https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations For the intended and final 
TSDs specific to Missouri, see: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/mo-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-07/documents/r7_mo_final_designation_tsd_07012016.pdf.
    \11\ On September 8, 2016, Sierra Club submitted a petition for 
reconsideration of the final unclassifiable designation of the 
Franklin County area. In a January 18, 2017, letter, the EPA 
responded to Sierra Club's petition for reconsideration, stating 
that the EPA intended to initiate a new rulemaking process to be 
concluded by December 31, 2020, in which the Agency would evaluate 
the monitoring data for the area anticipated to be newly available 
at that time. Sierra Club also filed a petition for judicial review 
of the Round 2 designations that included this area; that litigation 
is currently in abeyance in the D.C. Circuit. Finalizing this 
proposed action would constitute the evaluation contemplated by the 
EPA's January 18, 2017, letter. This letter is available on our 
website here: https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/reconsideration-requests-areas-illinois-missouri-and-ohio.
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    Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air 
quality in the area around Labadie, Missouri identified existing 
monitors and installed additional monitors around Labadie and began 
collecting data at these monitors by January 1, 2017.\12\
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    \12\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor 
placement are contained in the state's 2016 annual monitoring 
network plan.
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    As part of this proposed action, the EPA considered design values 
for air quality monitors in Franklin and St. Charles Counties, in the 
Labadie area, by assessing the most recent 3 consecutive years (i.e., 
2017-2019) of quality-assured, certified ambient air quality data in 
the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) using data from Federal Reference 
Method (FRM) and Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) monitors that are 
sited and operated in accordance with 40 CFR parts 50 and 58.\13\ 
Procedures for using monitored air quality data to determine whether a 
violation has occurred are given in 40 CFR part 50 Appendix T, as 
revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS rulemaking. The 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS is met when the design value is 75 parts per 
billion (ppb) or less. Whenever several monitors are located in an 
area, the design value for the area is determined by the monitor with 
the highest valid design value. Table 1 contains the 2017-2019 design 
values for the monitors in this area. The monitor with the highest 
design value is the North site (Site ID: 29-183-9004). Although one of 
the monitors in this area, the Valley site (Site ID: 29-071-9001), does 
not have a valid design value for this period, the remaining three 
monitors all have valid design values and are all attaining the NAAQS. 
Therefore, data collected at these monitors indicate that this area is 
in attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.
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    \13\ SO2 air quality data are available from the 
EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data. 
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.

[[Page 54520]]

                       Table 1--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Values for the Franklin County Area
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                                                     2017 99th       2018 99th       2019 99th       2017-2019
       AQS site ID            Monitor location      percentile      percentile      percentile     design value
                           (latitude, longitude)       (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)
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29-071-9001 *............  Valley (38.572522, -               25              38              21              28
                            90.796911).
29-071-9002..............  Southwest (38.52814, -             22              20              30              24
                            90.86326).
29-183-9002..............  Northwest (38.581799,              21              17              19              19
                            -90.865528).
29-183-9004..............  North (38.595607, -                30              22              36              29
                            90.830618).
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* This monitor does not have a valid design value, but all remaining monitors in the area do have valid design
  values that are below the level of the NAAQS.

    Under the EPA's authority to undertake a redesignation action \14\ 
under CAA section 107(d)(3)(A), and reviewing all available 
information, we are proposing to find that the 3 years of monitored 
ambient SO2 data from the existing and new monitors 
adequately characterize the SO2 air quality in Franklin and 
St. Charles Counties and demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS in the same area. Specifically, the data from 
these monitors indicate there are no violations in this area. 
Additionally, there is no evidence of monitored or modeled violations 
in the surrounding counties \15\ such that the source is not 
contributing to any nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. The EPA 
is, therefore, proposing to redesignate the portions of Franklin and 
St. Charles Counties in Missouri that were designated as unclassifiable 
in July 2016, to attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently 
available information that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS.
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    \14\ On June 26, 2020, the Missouri Department of Natural 
Resources posted a redesignation request for the Franklin County 
area on its website for public comment as part of the state's public 
process. Missouri expects to submit the request to the EPA in the 
coming months.
    \15\ While a portion of neighboring Jefferson County is 
currently designated as nonattainment for the 2010 SO2 
NAAQS, the EPA determined in a final action published on September 
13, 2017, that this area is now attaining the NAAQS per the EPA's 
clean data policy. See 82 FR 42945.
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B. Lancaster County, Nebraska

    The Lancaster County area contains a stationary source, the 
Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD) Sheldon Station (Sheldon), that 
met the Round 2 criteria, discussed in Section I of this document, 
requiring the EPA to designate this area in 2016, under the March 2, 
2015, court-ordered schedule. In its September 18, 2015, submission 
regarding the second round of designations, Nebraska recommended that 
the area surrounding Sheldon be designated as unclassifiable. After 
review of all available information at that time, including modeling 
results from the state and Sierra Club with differing results and 
uncertainties, the EPA was unable to determine the area's attainment 
status and designated Lancaster County as unclassifiable in Round 2 of 
designations for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS.\16\
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    \16\ For more information on the EPA's Round 2 designations, see 
https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations. For the intended and final 
TSDs specific to Nebraska, see https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/ne-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-07/documents/r7_ne_final_designation_tsd_06302016.pdf.
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    Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air 
quality in the area around Sheldon, Nebraska installed a new monitor 
near the source to begin collecting data at this monitor by January 1, 
2017.\17\
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    \17\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor 
placement are contained in the state's 2016 annual monitoring 
network plan.
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    On May 6, 2020, Nebraska submitted a letter \18\ to the EPA 
requesting that the entirety of Lancaster County, containing Sheldon 
Station, be redesignated to attainment/unclassifiable based on the 
newly available monitoring information, which demonstrates attainment 
of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. To evaluate Nebraska's 
redesignation request, the EPA considered the design value for the air 
quality monitor in Lancaster County, in the Sheldon area, by assessing 
the most recent 3 consecutive years (i.e., 2017-2019) of quality-
assured, certified ambient air quality data in the EPA AQS using data 
from FRM and FEM monitors that are sited and operated in accordance 
with 40 CFR parts 50 and 58.\19\ Procedures for using monitored air 
quality data to determine whether a violation has occurred are given in 
40 CFR part 50 Appendix T, as revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS 
rulemaking. As noted previously, the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS 
is met when the design value is 75 ppb or less. Table 2 contains the 
2017-2019 design value for this area. Data collected at this monitor 
indicate that this area is in attainment of the NAAQS.
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    \18\ This letter is included in the docket for this action.
    \19\ SO2 air quality data are available from the 
EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data. 
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.

                       Table 2--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Value for the Lancaster County Area
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                                                     2017 99th       2018 99th       2019 99th       2017-2019
       AQS site ID            Monitor location      percentile      percentile      percentile     design value
                           (latitude, longitude)       (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)
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31-109-0025..............  SW 42nd Street                     44              10              33              29
                            (40.554760, -
                            96.780350).
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    After reviewing Nebraska's request under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D) 
and all available information, we are proposing to find that the 3 
years of monitored ambient SO2 data from the new monitor 
adequately characterize the SO2 air quality in Lancaster 
County and demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 
NAAQS in the same area. Specifically, the data from this monitor 
indicate there are no violations in this area. Additionally, there is 
no evidence of monitored or modeled violations in the surrounding 
counties such that the source is not contributing to any nearby

[[Page 54521]]

area that does not meet the NAAQS. The EPA is therefore proposing to 
approve Nebraska's redesignation request and proposing to redesignate 
the entirety of Lancaster County that was designated as unclassifiable 
in July 2016, to attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently 
available information that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS.

C. Gallia and Meigs Counties, Ohio

    The Gallia County area contains a stationary source, the General 
James M. Gavin power plant (Gavin plant), that met the Round 2 
criteria, discussed in Section I of this document, requiring the EPA to 
designate this area in 2016, under the March 2, 2015, court-ordered 
schedule. In its September 16, 2015, submission, regarding the second 
round of designations, Ohio recommended that the area surrounding the 
Gavin plant be designated as attainment based on a modeling 
demonstration. After review of all available information at that time, 
including modeling provided by both the state and Sierra Club with 
differing results and uncertainties, the EPA was unable to determine 
the area's attainment status. Therefore, the EPA designated the 
entirety of Gallia County and a portion of Meigs County as 
unclassifiable in Round 2 of the designations for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 primary NAAQS.20 21
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    \20\ For more information on EPA's Round 2 designations, see 
https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations For the intended and final 
TSDs specific to Ohio, see https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/oh-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-07/documents/r5_oh_final_designation_tsd_06302016.pdf.
    \21\ On January 6, 2017, Sierra Club submitted a petition for 
reconsideration of the final unclassifiable designation of the 
Gallia County area. In a January 18, 2017, letter, the EPA responded 
to Sierra Club's petition for reconsideration, stating that the EPA 
intended to initiate a new rulemaking process to be concluded by 
December 31, 2020, in which the Agency would evaluate the monitoring 
data for the area anticipated to be newly available at that time. 
Finalizing this proposed action would constitute the evaluation 
contemplated by the EPA's January 18, 2017, letter. This letter is 
available on our website https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/reconsideration-requests-areas-illinois-missouri-and-ohio.
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    Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air 
quality in the area around the Gavin plant and another nearby power 
plant,\22\ Ohio installed four monitors in Gallia County, Ohio and 
Mason County, West Virginia, to begin collecting data at these monitors 
by January 1, 2017.\23\
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    \22\ Kyger Creek Station is approximately 2.5 kilometers 
southwest of the Gavin plant and was also a source required to be 
characterized under the EPA's SO2 Data Requirements Rule.
    \23\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor 
placement are contained in the state's 2016 and 2017 annual 
monitoring network plans.
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    On April 27, 2020, Ohio submitted a letter \24\ to the EPA 
requesting that the entirety of Gallia County and the unclassifiable 
portion of Meigs County be redesignated to attainment/unclassifiable 
based on monitoring information demonstrating attainment. To evaluate 
Ohio's redesignation request, the EPA considered the design values for 
the air quality monitors in Gallia County, Ohio and Mason County, West 
Virginia, in the Gallia County area, by assessing the most recent 3 
consecutive years (i.e., 2017-2019) of quality-assured, certified 
ambient air quality data in the EPA AQS using data from FRM and FEM 
monitors that are sited and operated in accordance with 40 CFR parts 50 
and 58.\25\ Procedures for using monitored air quality data to 
determine whether a violation has occurred are given in 40 CFR part 50 
Appendix T, as revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS rulemaking. 
Whenever multiple monitors are located in an area, the design value for 
the area is determined by the monitor with the highest valid design 
value. Table 3 contains the 2017-2019 design values for the Gallia 
County area. Data collected at these monitors indicate that this area 
attains the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS set at 75 ppb.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ This letter is included in the docket for this action. As 
discussed in Section II of this document, the EPA is treating Ohio's 
April 27, 2020, letter as a request for redesignation under CAA 
section 107(d)(3)(D).
    \25\ SO2 air quality data are available from EPA's 
website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data. 
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.

                        Table 3--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Values for the Gallia County Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     2017 99th       2018 99th       2019 99th       2017-2019
       AQS site ID            Monitor location      percentile      percentile      percentile     design value
                           (latitude, longitude)       (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39-053-0005..............  Ridge monitor 583                  34              38              54              42
                            Honeysuckle Dr.
                            (38.89495, -
                            82.14893).
39-053-0004..............  Cheshire school                    27              41              54              41
                            monitor Watson Grove
                            Rd. (38.95018, -
                            82.12211).
39-053-0006..............  Guiding Hand monitor               38              28              54              40
                            323 SR 7 North
                            (38.949450, -
                            82.110400).
54-053-0001..............  Lakin monitor Mason                35              57              61              51
                            County, WV
                            (38.95649, -
                            82.08866).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After reviewing Ohio's request under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D) and 
all available information, we are proposing to find that the 3 years of 
monitored ambient SO2 data from the four new monitors 
adequately characterize the SO2 air quality in Gallia and 
Meigs Counties and demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS in the same area. Specifically, the data from 
these monitors indicate there are no violations in this area. 
Additionally, there is no evidence of monitored or modeled violations 
in the surrounding counties such that the source is not contributing to 
any nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. The EPA is therefore 
proposing to approve Ohio's redesignation request and proposing to 
redesignate the entirety of Gallia County and the portion of Meigs 
County, that were designated as unclassifiable in July 2016, to 
attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently available information 
that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.

D. Milam County, Texas

    The Milam County area contains a stationary source, the Luminant 
Generation Company's Sandow 5 Generating Plant (Sandow plant), that met 
the Round 2 criteria, discussed in Section I of this document, 
requiring the EPA to designate this area in 2016, under the March 2, 
2015, court-ordered schedule. In its September 18, 2015, submission, 
regarding Round 2 of designations, Texas noted that it was not able to 
model all the sources impacted in that round of designations and 
therefore did not provide a technical analysis for the Milam County 
area nor did the state provide an updated recommendation for this area

[[Page 54522]]

but rather reiterated its previous recommendation for areas without 
existing monitors to be designated as unclassifiable/attainment. After 
review of all available information at that time, the EPA was unable to 
determine the area's attainment status based on the lack of information 
and designated the entirety of Milam County, Texas, as unclassifiable 
in Round 2 of designations for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary 
NAAQS.\26\
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    \26\ For more information on EPA's Round 2 designations, see 
https://www.epa.gov/sulfur-dioxide-designations/epa-completes-second-round-sulfur-dioxide-designations. For the intended and final 
TSDs specific to Texas, see https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/tx-epa-tsd-r2.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-11/documents/texas_4_deferred_luminant_tsd_final_docket.pdf
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    Pursuant to requirements under the DRR to characterize the air 
quality in the area around Sandow, Texas installed a new monitor near 
Sandow to begin collecting data at this monitor by January 1, 2017.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ More details on the analyses used to support the monitor 
placement are contained in the state's 2016 annual monitoring 
network plan.
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    On June 26, 2020, Texas submitted a letter \28\ to the EPA 
requesting that the entirety of Milam County be redesignated to 
attainment/unclassifiable based on the newly available monitoring 
information which demonstrates attainment. To evaluate Texas' 
redesignation request, the EPA considered the design value for the air 
quality monitor in Milam County, in the Sandow area, by assessing the 
most recent 3 consecutive years (i.e., 2017-2019) of quality-assured, 
certified ambient air quality data in the EPA AQS using data from FRM 
and FEM monitors that are sited and operated in accordance with 40 CFR 
parts 50 and 58.\29\ Procedures for using monitored air quality data to 
determine whether a violation has occurred are given in 40 CFR part 50 
Appendix T, as revised in the 2010 SO2 NAAQS rulemaking. The 
2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS is met when the design value is 75 ppb 
or less. Table 4 contains the 2017-2019 design value for this area. 
Data collected at this monitor indicate that this area is in attainment 
of the NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \28\ This letter is included in the docket for this action.
    \29\ SO2 air quality data are available from EPA's 
website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data. 
SO2 air quality design values are available at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.

                         Table 4--2010 SO2 NAAQS Design Values for the Milam County Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     2017 99th       2018 99th       2019 99th       2017-2019
       AQS site ID            Monitor location      percentile      percentile      percentile     design value
                           (latitude, longitude)       (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)           (ppb)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
48-331-1075..............  3990 John D Harper                 37               4               2              14
                            Road (30.569534, -
                            97.076294).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Texas' redesignation request to the EPA also indicated that the 
Sandow plant permanently ceased operations in January 2018. The EPA 
independently confirmed the plant is no longer permitted to 
operate.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ In a letter dated February 14, 2018, from Luminant to the 
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Luminant requested 
to void Sandow permits 4980, PSDTX28, PSDTX28M1, 16684, 39718, 
45425, 72521, 97146, and 125855. The remaining permits (NSR Permit 
5473, PBR 87631, PBR 94625 and Standard Permit 108271) are material 
handling permits maintained while closure activities are completed, 
such as coal piles, silos, and conveyors. In a letter dated July 19, 
2018, from the TCEQ to Luminant, TCEQ verified the air quality 
federal operating permit O54 for the Sandow plant was voided. These 
letters are included in the docket for this action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After reviewing Texas' request under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D) and 
all available information, we are proposing to find that the 3 years of 
monitored ambient SO2 data from the new monitor adequately 
characterize the SO2 air quality in Milam County and 
demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS in the 
same area. Specifically, the data from this monitor indicate there are 
no violations in this area. Additionally, there is no evidence of 
monitored or modeled violations in the surrounding counties such that 
the source is not contributing to any nearby area that does not meet 
the NAAQS. The EPA is therefore proposing to approve Texas' 
redesignation request and proposing to redesignate the entirety of 
Milam County, that was designated as unclassifiable in December 2016, 
to attainment/unclassifiable based on the currently available 
information that demonstrates attainment of the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS.

IV. Proposed Action

    The EPA is proposing to redesignate to attainment/unclassifiable 
the unclassifiable portions of Franklin and St. Charles Counties in 
Missouri; the entirety of Lancaster County in Nebraska; the entirety of 
Gallia County and the unclassifiable portion of Meigs County in Ohio; 
and the entirety of Milam County in Texas. Additionally, the EPA is 
proposing to approve requests for redesignation from the states of 
Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas. For the area in Missouri, the EPA is 
initiating this redesignation action under the authority of CAA section 
107(d)(3)(A). As discussed in prior sections, this proposed action is 
based on the currently available monitoring data for these areas that 
demonstrate attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS. 
If finalized, this redesignation action and approval of the 
redesignation requests would change the legal designation for these 
listed areas, found at 40 CFR part 81, from unclassifiable to 
attainment/unclassifiable for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary 
NAAQS.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under CAA section 107(d)(3), redesignation of an area to 
attainment/unclassifiable is an action that affects the status of a 
geographical area and does not impose any additional regulatory 
requirements on sources beyond those imposed by state law. A 
redesignation to attainment/unclassifiable does not in and of itself 
create any new requirements. Accordingly, this proposed action merely 
proposes to redesignate an area to attainment/unclassifiable and does 
not impose additional requirements. For that reason, this proposed 
action:
     Is exempt from 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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because it is exempt under Executive Order 
12866;
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 
601 et seq.);

[[Page 54523]]

     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);
     Is not subject because it does not have Federalism 
implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999);
     Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997) because it does not establish an environmental standard 
intended to mitigate health or safety risks;
     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 this action does not involve technical standards;
     Will not have disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 
16, 1994); and
     Does not have Tribal implications as specified by 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000) because no tribal 
lands are located within the areas covered in this action and the 
redesignation does not create new requirements. The EPA notes this 
proposed action will not impose substantial direct costs on Tribal 
governments or preempt Tribal law.

Anne Austin,
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2020-17548 Filed 9-1-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P