Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/06/26/02-16104/approval-and-promulgation-of-implementation-plans-and-designation-of-areas-for-air-quality-planning
Timestamp: 2018-08-19 08:32:41
Document Index: 661862004

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 51', 'art 58', 'art 58', 'art 58', 'art 58', '§\u200981']

43013-43020 (8 pages)
AZ-113-0054a
FRL-7233-6
02-16104
III. Review of the Arizona State Submittal Addressing These Provisions
1. Has Payson attained the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS?
3. Does the Payson Area have a fully approved SIP under section 110(k) of the Act?
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/02-16104 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/02-16104
EPA is approving the moderate area plan and maintenance plan for the Payson area in Arizona and granting a request submitted by the State to redesignate the area from nonattainment to attainment for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM10). Elsewhere in this Federal Register, we are proposing approval and soliciting written comment on this action; if adverse written comments are received, we will withdraw the direct final rule and address the comments received in a new final rule; otherwise no further rulemaking will occur on this approval action.
Please address your comments to Dave Jesson, Air Planning Office (AIR-2), Air Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901. You may inspect and copy the rulemaking docket for this notice at the following location during normal business hours. We may charge you a reasonable fee for copying parts of the docket.
We are approving the moderate area plan and the maintenance plan for the Payson PM10 nonattainment area (“Payson”) [1] and redesignating the area to attainment for the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS.
On March 29, 2002, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) submitted the plan for the Payson PM10 nonattainment area as well as a request for redesignation of the area from nonattainment to attainment. On May 31, 2002, we found that the submittal met the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.
Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 micrometers (PM10) is the pollutant that is the subject of this action. The NAAQS are safety thresholds for certain ambient air pollutants set to protect public health and welfare. PM10 is among the ambient air pollutants for which we have established such a health-based standard.
PM10 causes adverse health effects by penetrating deep in the lung, aggravating the cardiopulmonary system. Children, the elderly, and Start Printed Page 43014people with asthma and heart conditions are the most vulnerable.
In January and February of 1991, we notified the Governors of those States which recorded violations of the PM10 standard after January 1, 1989 that EPA believed that those areas should be redesignated as nonattainment for PM10. In September 1992 we proposed that several areas be redesignated nonattainment for PM10 and took final action on December 21, 1993 (58 FR 67335). Payson was among those areas listed. The effective date of the final action redesignating this area as nonattainment for the PM10 NAAQS was January 20, 1994.
(b) The State must continue to operate an appropriate PM10 air quality monitoring network, in accordance with 40 CFR part 58, in order to verify the attainment status of the area.
(c) The control measures for the area, which were responsible for bringing the area into attainment, must be approved by EPA. EPA would also need to find that the area has adopted RACM/RACT, and make a finding that the area attained the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS. Start Printed Page 43015
As discussed below in Section III.B.1, the State has demonstrated that the LMP option is appropriate for the Payson nonattainment area.
Prior to adoption by the State, the plan received proper public notice and was the subject of a public hearing in Payson on February 19, 2002.[2]
a. Based on the past 3 years of air quality data, is the area attaining both the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS? An area has attained the 24-hour standard when the average number of expected exceedances per year is less than or equal to one, when averaged over a three-year period. (40 CFR 50.6) To make this determination, three consecutive years of complete ambient air quality data were collected in accordance with Federal requirements (40 CFR part 58, including appendices). On February 15, 2002, EPA issued a determination that the Payson area had attained the PM-10 NAAQS. 67 FR 7082.
The Payson area has one PM10 monitoring site, currently located at the Payson water treatment plant at 204 W. Aero Drive. Street. The area has attained both the annual and 24-hour PM10 NAAQS for the past 3 years; indeed, the area has not exceeded either NAAQS since 1990. Thus, the submittal demonstrates that the area has met the ambient attainment requirements for both the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS.
b. Is the State continuing to operate an appropriate PM10air quality monitoring network? Demonstrating that an area has attained the PM10 NAAQS involves submittal of ambient air quality data from an ambient air monitoring network representing peak PM10 concentrations, which should be stored in the EPA Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS). Once the area has been redesignated, the State will continue to operate an appropriate air quality monitoring network, in accordance with 40 CFR part 58, to verify the attainment status of the area. The maintenance plan contains provisions for continued operation of air quality monitors that provide such verification. ADEQ has committed to continue operating an appropriate air quality monitoring network, in Start Printed Page 43016accordance with 40 CFR part 58, to verify the attainment status of the area. This commitment satisfies the obligation to maintain an adequate monitoring program in the area.
c. Has EPA approved the control measures responsible for bringing the areas into attainment? The measures implemented in Payson beginning in 1990 and used for the attainment demonstration are listed below. These measures address the source categories responsible for the exceedances recorded in the Payson area: reentrained dust from paved and unpaved roads and wood smoke.
1. Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) installed 2 miles of curbs and gutters on Arizona State Highway 87 from the intersection of Highways 87 and 260 to Roundup Road in 1992.
2. ADOT installed 5 miles of paved shoulders on Highway 87 North and Highway 260 East when those stretches were widened to 4 lanes in 1992.
3. The Town of Payson paved 4 miles of unpaved roads that were unpaved in 1990.
4. Gila County paved nearly 18 miles of previously unpaved roads starting in 1989.
5. ADEQ implemented Arizona Administrative Code R18-2-607 that requires control of storage piles to minimize fugitive emissions.
6. In 1988, EPA implemented New Source Performance Standards for woodstoves.
Implementation of these measures helped bring the area into timely attainment of both the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS, and the measures thus meet the CAA requirement for RACM. Measures 1-4 are fully constructed and are permanent by their very nature. Measure 5 has previously been approved by EPA and remains a Federally enforceable component of the SIP. Therefore, we conclude that the submittal demonstrates that the controls responsible for bringing the area into attainment have been fully carried out or are fully approved SIP regulations.
In addition to these permanent or SIP enforceable controls, the Town of Payson implemented an ordinance requiring the paving of commercial parking facilities and the paving of unpaved roads as condition of minor land divisions. Kaibab Industries' lumber and sawmill operation closed and the facility was dismantled in June 1993, and the Lewis M. Pyle Memorial Hospital's medical waste incinerator was shutdown and removed in 1993. Smoke management plan requirements were implemented by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Arizona Department of State Lands, in cooperation with ADEQ. These supplemental strategies contributed still further PM-10 emission reductions and public health protection. Continued implementation of the measures will help ensure that the Payson area maintains the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS.
The Payson plan includes emission inventories for 1999 to show emission levels in a recent, representative year during which there were no violations of the PM10 standards. This inventory is summarized in Table IV-1, while Table IV-3 presents an inventory of industrial sources, all of which emit less than 3 tons per year of PM10. This inventory is consistent with our most recent guidance on emission inventories for nonattainment areas, and reflects the latest information available, including 2000 census data.[3] We approve the emissions inventory under CAA section 172(c)(3) as current, accurate, and complete.
The measures listed above in Section III.A.2.c. reflect effective control for an important emissions category in the Payson area: Reentrained dust from traffic on paved and unpaved roads. These measures were implemented expeditiously and have proven sufficient to prevent violations of the NAAQS over the past 10 years. We therefore conclude that the controls reflect RACM and we approve the plan as meeting the RACM provisions of CAA Section 189(a)(1)(C).
CAA Section 189(e) requires RACT provisions for gaseous precursors of PM10 except where EPA determines that such sources do not contribute significantly to PM10 levels exceeding the standard. There are no major stationary sources in the nonattainment area, and total emissions associated with all industrial sources account for only 0.93 percent of PM10 emissions in 1999. For this reason and because the historic violations of the PM10 NAAQS were the direct result of reentrained dust and wood smoke emissions in the late 1980's, no sources within the Payson area are subject to the RACT requirement, either with respect to primary or secondary PM10 emissions.
For the Payson nonattainment area, ADEQ administers the preconstruction review and permitting provisions of Arizona Administrative Code, Title 18, Chapter 2, Articles 1, 3, 4, and 5. All new major sources and modifications to existing major sources are subject to the new source review (NSR) and prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) requirements of these rules. We have not yet fully approved the State's NSR rules but, for major sources and modifications of PM10 emissions, we have delegated to Arizona the authority to administer the PSD program.
Section 172(c)(5) requires NSR permits for the construction and operation of new and modified major stationary sources anywhere in nonattainment areas. We have determined that areas being redesignated from nonattainment to attainment do not need to comply with the requirement that an NSR program be approved prior to redesignation provided that the area demonstrates maintenance of the standard without part D nonattainment NSR in effect. The rationale for this decision is described in a memorandum from Mary Nichols dated October 14, 1994 (“Part D New Source Review (part D NSR) Requirements for Areas Requesting Redesignation to Attainment”). We have determined that the ADEQ maintenance demonstration for Payson does not rely on nonattainment NSR and, therefore, the State need not have a fully approved nonattainment NSR program prior to approval of the redesignation request. The ADEQ's PSD program at 40 CFR 52.21 will become effective in the area with respect to PM-10 upon redesignation of the area to attainment, pursuant to the delegation agreement between EPA and ADEQ dated March 12, 1999.
First, the area should be attaining the NAAQS. Table III-3 of the plan summarizes quality assured ambient data showing that the Payson area has continued to meet both the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS for the period 1996-2000.
Second, the design values for the past 5 years must be at or below the margin of safety levels identified in the LMP option. The annual average PM10 design value for the area from 1996 Start Printed Page 43017through 2000 data is 26 ug/m3, and the 24-hour average design value is 88 ug/m3, both of which are below the MOS limits of 40 and 98 ug/m3, respectively.
Third, the area must meet the motor vehicle regional emissions analysis test in the LMP option. The calculated value is 28.3 ug/m3 for the annual average PM10 standard, which is less than the 40 ug/m3 MOS limit for annual, and the calculated value is 95.7 ug/m3 for the 24-hour average PM10 standard, which is less than the 98 ug/m3 MOS limit.
Therefore, the State has shown that the area qualifies for the streamlined maintenance plan provisions under the LMP option. We have concluded in Section III.A. that the plan submittal meets the moderate area plan provisions for emissions inventories, permanent and enforceable control measures, and maintenance of adequate monitoring. There is one remaining maintenance plan provision under the LMP option not previously discussed: contingency measures.
ADEQ has included 6 contingency measures in the maintenance plan (see table below entitled “Payson Area Contingency Measures”).
Payson Area Contingency Measures
Revise Arizona Administrative Code R18-2-702 B opacity limits from 40% to 20% ADEQ.
If any PM-10 industrial source operating within the maintenance area is found to be contributing to monitored readings above the LMP allowable limits, ADEQ will review existing air quality permit(s) to identify additional PM10 control measures which may be needed. If the PM10 source does not have a permit, the permitting authority will determine if an air quality permit and PM10 controls are needed ADEQ.
Continuation of Smoke Management Plan—State and Federal land managers conducting prescribed burning must register with ADEQ for proposed burning activities—Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) R-18-2-Article 15 (Forest & Range Management Burns U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Land Department, ADEQ.
The State also committed to determine whether or not violations have been recorded within 6 months of the close of each calendar year, and to review and determine the appropriate contingency measure(s) by the end of the same calendar year. Finally, the State committed to implement the selected contingency measure(s) within 1 year of determining that a violation has occurred. We conclude that these measures and commitments meet the contingency measure provision of CAA Section 175A(d).
For purposes of redesignation, the Arizona SIP was reviewed to ensure that all requirements under the Act were satisfied. The Arizona SIP was approved under section 110 of the Act as satisfying all applicable section 110 and Part D provisions. These approvals are codified in 40 CFR 52.123. We are approving the SIP with respect to the special Part D provisions for PM10 nonattainment areas (CAA sections 188-9) in Section III.A. above. Start Printed Page 43018
We are approving in today's action the moderate area and maintenance plan for the Payson Area, and confirming that the SIP meets other applicable provisions of the CAA.
The submittal shows that the improvements in air quality were not due to temporary economic downturn or unusually favorable meteorology (p. 12). On the contrary, economic growth has continued over the past 10 years since the area attained the NAAQS, and the area has experienced the full range of weather conditions in that period. As discussed above, attainment is the result of the establishment of permanent and enforceable controls on fugitive dust emissions.
We are fully approving the maintenance plan, as allowed by the LMP guidance, in Section III.B. above.
Our action on the limited maintenance plans for these areas has been announced on EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/​oms/​traq. Once there, click on the “Conformity” button, then look for “Adequacy Review of SIP Submissions for Conformity.”
We are approving the moderate area plan, and the maintenance plan for the Payson Area, and we are redesignating the area from nonattainment to attainment for the 24-hour and annual PM10 NAAQS. We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the State plan and redesignate the area if relevant adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective August 26, 2002, without further notice unless relevant adverse comments are received by July 26, 2002. If we receive such comments, this action will be withdrawn before the effective date. All public comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. We will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this action will be effective August 26, 2002.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule approves pre-existing requirements under State law and does not impose Start Printed Page 43019any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by State law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by (insert date 60 days after date of publication). Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
2. Section 52.120 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(104) to read as follows:
2. In § 81.303 the PM 10 table is amended by revising the entry for the Gila County (Part) to read as follows:
Arizona PM10
Gila County (part): August 26, 2002. Attainment
Payson: T01N, sections 1-3, 10-15, 22-27, and 34-36 of R9E; T11N, sections 1-3, 10-15, 22-27, and 34-36 of R9E; T10-11N, R10E; T10N, sections 4-9, 16-21, and 28-33 of R11E; T11N, sections 4-9, 16-21, and 28-33 of R11E
1. For the definition of the Payson nonattainment area, see 40 CFR 81.303. Payson is a city with a 2000 decennial census count of 13,620, located in Gila County, about 100 miles northeast of Phoenix.
2. In June 1995, ADEQ submitted a PM10 plan for Payson. That plan, which addressed the moderate SIP provisions, is superseded by the current submittal, which covers both moderate plan and maintenance plan provisions.
3. PM-10 Emission Inventory Requirements, EPA-450/2-93, USEPA 1993. Emissions factors were generally derived using methodologies from the Procedures Document for National Emission Inventory, Criteria Air Pollutants 1985-1999 (NEI Procedures), USEPA 2001.
[FR Doc. 02-16104 Filed 6-25-02; 8:45 am]