I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4309
To amend the Clean Air Act to provide needed flexibility to States regarding 
the designation of certain counties as nonattainment areas for ozone 
under the 8-hour ozone standard, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 6, 2004
Mr. HILL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Clean Air Act to provide needed flexibility 
to States regarding the designation of certain counties 
as nonattainment areas for ozone under the 8-hour ozone 
standard, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. REDESIGNATION OF TRANSITIONAL AREAS 
FOR 8-HOUR OZONE STANDARD. 
Section 107(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7407(d)) is amended by adding the following new subpara-
graph at the end of paragraph (3):
‘‘(G) In addition to the authority to redes-
ignate areas under other provisions of this 
paragraph, the Administrator shall redesignate 
as transitional any area that has been des-
ignated as nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone 
national primary or secondary ambient air qual-
ity standard if—
‘‘(i) the area consists of a single coun-
ty; 
‘‘(ii) the county does not qualify as a 
rural transport area under section 182(h) 
solely by reason of the presence of an adja-
cent standard metropolitan statistical area 
or consolidated metropolitan statistical 
area; 
‘‘(iii) the county is not in the ozone 
transport region established under section 
184(a); 
‘‘(iv) the Governor of the State in 
which the county is located, after consulta-
tion with the State air pollution control 
agency (as defined in section 302(b)), pro-
vides to the Administrator a demonstration 
that ozone control measures in effect for 
such county will provide that such stand-
ard will be attained in such county on or 
before the date on which State implemen-
tation plan provisions are required to be 
submitted for the attainment and mainte-
nance of such standard in the nonattain-
ment area; and 
‘‘(v) the Governor of the State in 
which the county is located, after consulta-
tion with the State air pollution control 
agency (as defined in section 302(b)), 
makes a binding commitment to the Ad-
ministrator that—
‘‘(I) the air pollution control 
agency will (in addition to any other 
analysis required under other provi-
sions of this Act) make a determina-
tion regarding the lowest achievable 
emission rate (LAER) that would 
have applied to each major stationary 
source constructed or modified in the 
county concerned after the date of the 
redesignation of the county under this 
subparagraph if such redesignation 
had not taken place; and
‘‘(II) the air pollution control 
agency will obtain emission offsets in 
accordance with section 110(q)(2) for 
ozone and ozone precursors emitted 
from each source referred to in sub-
clause (I) if the county fails to attain 
the 8-hour ozone national primary or 
secondary ambient air quality stand-
ard on or before the date on which 
State implementation plan provisions 
are required to be submitted as pro-
vided in clause (iv). 
The Administrator shall make such redesigna-
tion effective within 30 days after receiving 
such notice from the Governor.’’. 
SEC. 2. STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS FOR TRANSI-
TIONAL AREAS. 
Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 77410) 
is amended by adding the following new subsection at the 
end thereof: 
‘‘(q) TRANSITIONAL AREAS.—
‘‘(1) SUBTITLE C.—Each county redesignated 
as transitional pursuant to section 107(d)(1)(G) 
shall be treated as an attainment or unclassifiable
area for purposes of the prevention of significant de-
terioration provisions of part C of this title. 
‘‘(2) FAILURE TO ATTAIN.—No later than 3 
years after the redesignation of a county as transi-
tional pursuant to subparagraph (G) of section 
107(d)(1), the Administrator shall determine wheth-
er the county has attained the 8-hour national pri-
mary and secondary standards for ozone. If the Ad-
ministrator determines that a county has not at-
tained such standards—
‘‘(A) the county shall be redesignated as 
nonattainment within 1 year of the determina-
tion and the State shall be required to submit, 
within 2 years of such redesignation as non-
attainment, a State implementation plan revi-
sion for such county satisfying the provisions of 
part D of this title; and 
‘‘(B) such plan revision shall require, in 
addition to requirements applicable under other 
provisions of this Act, that the State air pollu-
tion control agency will provide offsets (for peri-
ods after the redesignation of the county) in ac-
cordance with paragraph (3) for emissions of 
ozone and ozone precursors from each major 
stationary source constructed or modified in the
county after the date of the redesignation of the 
county as transitional under such subparagraph 
(G). 
‘‘(3) AMOUNT AND LOCATION OF OFFSETS.—
The offsets required under subparagraph (B) of 
paragraph (2) for each major stationary source may 
be obtained from sources in proximity to the area, 
in accordance with applicable guidance published by 
the Administrator. Such offsets shall be equivalent 
in amount to the difference between the following: 
‘‘(A) The emissions from the major sta-
tionary source concerned. 
‘‘(B) The maximum emissions that would 
have been emitted from that source under the 
applicable requirments of this Act (including 
new source review) if the county had not been 
redesignated as a transitional area under sec-
tion 107(d)(1)(G) for purposes of the 8-hour 
national primary and secondary standards for 
ozone.’’.
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