Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 5 - STATE AIR POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 160 - Regulation for General Conformity › Part I - General Definitions › Section 9VAC5-160-20 - Terms defined

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
"Administrator" means the Administrator of EPA or an
					 authorized representative.
"Affected federal land manager" means the federal agency or
					 the federal official charged with direct responsibility for management of an
					 area designated as class I under the federal Clean Air Act, and located within
					 100 kilometers of the proposed federal action.
"Ambient air" means that portion of the atmosphere,
					 external to buildings, to which the general public has access.
"Applicability analysis" means the process of determining
					 if the federal action shall be supported by a conformity determination.
"Applicable implementation plan" means the portion or
					 portions of the state implementation plan, or the most recent revision thereof,
					 which has been approved under § 110(k) of the federal Clean Air Act, or a
					 federal implementation plan promulgated under § 110(c) of the federal
					 Clean Air Act, or promulgated or approved pursuant to regulations promulgated
					 under § 301(d) of the federal Clean Air Act and which implements the
					 relevant requirements of the federal Clean Air Act.
"Areawide air quality modeling analysis" means an
					 assessment on a scale that includes the entire nonattainment area or
					 maintenance area using an air quality dispersion model or photochemical grid
					 model to determine the effects of emissions on air quality, for example, an
					 assessment using EPA's community multi-scale air quality (CMAQ) modeling
					 system.
"Board" means the State Air Pollution Control Board or its
					 designated representative.
"Cause or contribute to a new violation" means a federal
					 action that:
1. Causes a new violation
				  of a national ambient air quality standard at a location in a nonattainment or
				  maintenance area which would otherwise not be in violation of the standard
				  during the future period in question if the federal action were not taken;
				  or
2. Contributes, in conjunction
				  with other reasonably foreseeable actions, to a new violation of a national
				  ambient air quality standard at a location in a nonattainment or maintenance
				  area in a manner that would increase the frequency or severity of the new
				  violation.
"Caused by" means, as used in the terms "direct emissions"
					 and "indirect emissions," emissions that would not otherwise occur in the
					 absence of the federal action.
"Confidential business information" or "CBI" means
					 information that has been determined by a federal agency, in accordance with
					 its applicable regulations, to be a trade secret, or commercial or financial
					 information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential and is exempt
					 from required disclosure under the federal Freedom of Information Act ( 5 USC
					 § 552(b)(4) ).
"Conformity determination" means the evaluation (made after
					 an applicability analysis is completed) that a federal action conforms to the
					 applicable implementation plan and meets the requirements of this
					 regulation.
"Conformity evaluation" means the entire process from the
					 applicability analysis through the conformity determination that is used to
					 demonstrate that the federal action conforms to the requirements of this
					 regulation.
"Consultation" means that one party confers with another
					 identified party, provides all information to that party needed for meaningful
					 input, and, prior to taking any action, considers the views of that party and
					 responds to those views in a timely, substantive, written manner prior to any
					 final decision on the action. The views and written response shall be made part
					 of the record of any decision or action.
"Continuing program responsibility" means a federal agency
					 has responsibility for emissions caused by (i) actions it takes itself; or (ii)
					 actions of nonfederal entities that the federal agency, in exercising its
					 normal programs and authorities, approves, funds, licenses, or permits,
					 provided the agency can impose conditions on any portion of the action that
					 could affect the emissions.
"Continuous program to implement" means that the federal
					 agency has started the action identified in the plan and does not stop the
					 actions for more than an 18-month period, unless it can demonstrate that such a
					 stoppage was included in the original plan.
"Control" means the ability to regulate the emissions from
					 the action. The ability to regulate may be demonstrated directly, such as
					 through the use of emission control equipment, or indirectly, such as through
					 the implementation of regulations or conditions on the nature of the activity
					 that may be established in permits or approvals or by the design of the action.
					 An example of control includes the ability of a federal agency to control the
					 level of vehicle emissions by controlling the size of a parking facility and
					 setting requirements for employee trip reductions.
"Criteria pollutant" means any pollutant for which there is
					 established a national ambient air quality standard in 40 CFR Part 50.
"Department" means any employee or other representative of
					 the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, as designated by the
					 director.
"Direct emissions" means those emissions of a criteria
					 pollutant or its precursors that are caused or initiated by the federal action
					 and originate in a nonattainment or maintenance area and occur at the same time
					 and place as the action and are reasonably foreseeable.
"Director" means the Director of the Virginia Department of
					 Environmental Quality.
"Emergency" means, in the context of
					 9VAC5-160-30, a situation where
					 extremely quick action on the part of federal agencies involved is needed and
					 where the timing of the federal activities makes it impractical to meet the
					 requirements of this regulation, such as natural disasters like hurricanes or
					 earthquakes, civil disturbances such as terrorist acts, and military
					 mobilizations.
"Emergency" means, in the context of
					 9VAC5-160-40, a situation that
					 immediately and unreasonably affects, or has the potential to immediately and
					 unreasonably affect, public health, safety or welfare; the health of animal or
					 plant life; or property, whether used for recreational, commercial, industrial,
					 agricultural or other reasonable use.
"Emissions budgets" means those portions of the total
					 allowable emissions defined in the applicable implementation plan for a certain
					 date for the purpose of meeting reasonable further progress milestones or
					 attainment or maintenance demonstrations, for any criteria pollutant or its
					 precursors, specifically allocated by the applicable implementation plan to
					 mobile sources, to any stationary source or class of stationary sources, to any
					 federal action or any class of action, to any class of area sources, or to any
					 subcategory of the emissions inventory. The allocation system shall be specific
					 enough to assure meeting the criteria of § 176(c)(1)(B) of the federal
					 Clean Air Act. An emissions budget may be expressed in terms of an annual
					 period, a daily period, or other period established in the applicable
					 implementation plan.
"Emissions inventory" means a listing of information on the
					 location, type of source, type and quantity of pollutant emitted as well as
					 other parameters of the emissions.
"Emissions offsets" means, for the purposes of
					 9VAC5-160-160, emissions reductions
					 which are quantifiable, consistent with the applicable implementation plan
					 attainment and reasonable future progress demonstrations, surplus to reductions
					 required by, and credited to, other applicable implementation plan provisions,
					 enforceable under both state and federal law, and permanent within the
					 timeframe specified by that program. Emissions reductions intended to be
					 achieved as emissions offsets under this regulation shall be monitored and
					 enforced in a manner equivalent to that under the new source review
					 program.
"EPA" means the U.S. Environmental Protection
					 Agency.
"Facility" means something that is built, installed, or
					 established to serve a particular purpose; includes, but is not limited to,
					 buildings, installations, public works, businesses, commercial and industrial
					 plants, shops and stores, heating and power plants, apparatus, processes,
					 operations, structures, and equipment of all types.
"Federal action" means any activity engaged in by a federal
					 agency, or any activity that a federal agency supports in any way, provides
					 financial assistance for, licenses, permits, or approves, other than activities
					 related to transportation plans, programs, and projects developed, funded, or
					 approved under Title 23 USC or the Federal Transit Act ( 49 USC § 5301 et
					 seq.). Where the federal action is a permit, license, or other approval for
					 some aspect of a nonfederal undertaking, the relevant action is the part,
					 portion, or phase that the nonfederal undertaking that requires the federal
					 permit, license, or approval.
"Federal agency" means a department, agency, or
					 instrumentality of the federal government.
"Federal Clean Air Act" means Chapter 85 (§ 7401 et
					 seq.) of Title 42 of the United States Code.
"Increase the frequency or severity of any existing
					 violation of any standard in any area" means to cause a nonattainment area to
					 exceed a standard more often, or to cause a violation at a greater
					 concentration than previously existed or would otherwise exist during the
					 future period in question, if the project were not implemented.
"Indirect emissions" means those emissions of a criteria
					 pollutant or its precursors:
1. That
				  are caused or initiated by the federal action and originate in the same
				  nonattainment or maintenance area, but occur at a different time or place as
				  the action;
2. That are reasonably
				  foreseeable;
3. That the agency can
				  practically control; and
4. For
				  which the agency has a continuing program responsibility.
For the purposes of this definition, even if a federal
					 licensing, rulemaking, or other approving action is a required initial step for
					 a subsequent activity that causes emissions, such initial steps do not mean
					 that a federal agency can practically control any resulting emissions.
"Lead planning organization" means the organization
					 certified by the state as being responsible for the preparation of control
					 strategy implementation plan revisions for nonattainment areas under § 174
					 of the federal Clean Air Act. The organization includes elected officials of
					 local governments in the affected nonattainment area, and representatives of
					 the department, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the metropolitan
					 planning organizations for the affected area, and other agencies and
					 organizations that have responsibilities for developing, submitting or
					 implementing any of the plan revisions. It is the forum for cooperative air
					 quality planning decision-making.
"Local air quality modeling analysis" means assessment of
					 localized impacts on a scale smaller than the entire nonattainment or
					 maintenance area, including, for example, congested roadways on a federal
					 facility that uses an air quality dispersion model (e.g., Industrial Source
					 Complex Model or Emission and Dispersion Model System) to determine the effects
					 of emissions on air quality.
"Maintenance area" means an area that was designated as
					 nonattainment and has been redesignated in 40 CFR Part 81 to attainment,
					 meeting the provisions of § 107(d)(3)(E) of the federal Clean Air Act and
					 has a maintenance plan approved under § 175A of the federal Clean Air
					 Act.
"Maintenance plan" means a revision to the applicable
					 implementation plan, meeting the requirements of § 175A of the federal
					 Clean Air Act.
"Metropolitan planning organization" means the policy board
					 of an organization created as a result of the designation process in 23 USC
					 § 134(d).
"Milestone" means as defined in §§ 182(g) and
					 189(c)(1) of the federal Clean Air Act. A milestone consists of an emissions
					 level and the date on which it is required to be achieved.
"Mitigation measure" means any method of reducing emissions
					 of the pollutant or its precursor taken at the location of the federal action
					 and used to reduce the impact of the emissions of that pollutant caused by the
					 action.
"National ambient air quality standards" means those
					 standards established pursuant to § 109 of the federal Clean Air
					 Act.
"NEPA" means the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
					 as amended ( 42 USC § 4321 et seq.)
"New source review (NSR) program" means a preconstruction
					 review and permit program (i) for regulated air pollutants from new stationary
					 sources or projects (physical changes or changes in the method of operation),
					 (ii) established to implement the requirements of §§ 110 (a)(2)(C),
					 112 (relating to permits for hazardous air pollutants), 165 (relating to
					 permits in prevention of significant deterioration areas), and 173 (relating to
					 permits in nonattainment areas) of the federal Clean Air Act and associated
					 regulations, and (iii) Article 7 (9VAC5-80-1400 et
					 seq.), Article 8 (9VAC5-80-1605 et seq.) and Article
					 9 (9VAC5-80-2000 et seq.) of Part II
					 of 9VAC5-80 (Permits for Stationary Sources) of the Regulations for the Control
					 and Abatement of Air Pollution.
"Nonattainment area" means any geographic region of the
					 United States which has been designated as nonattainment under § 107 of
					 the federal Clean Air Act for any pollutant for which a national ambient air
					 quality standard exists.
"PM10" means particulate matter with
					 an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers as
					 measured by the applicable reference method or an equivalent method.
"Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
					 association, a governmental body, a municipal corporation, or any other legal
					 entity.
"Precursors of a criteria pollutant" means:
1. For ozone,
a. Nitrogen oxides, unless an area is
				  exempted from nitrogen oxides requirements under § 182(f) of the federal
				  Clean Air Act, and
b. Volatile
				  organic compounds.
2.
				  For PM10, those pollutants described in the
				  PM10 nonattainment area applicable implementation plan
				  as significant contributors to the PM10
				  levels.
3. For
				  PM2.5, (i) sulfur dioxide in all
				  PM2.5 nonattainment and maintenance areas, (ii) nitrogen
				  oxides in all PM2.5 nonattainment and maintenance areas
				  unless both the department and EPA determine that it is not a significant
				  precursor, and (iii) volatile organic compounds and ammonia only in
				  PM2.5 nonattainment or maintenance areas where either
				  the department or EPA determines that they are significant precursors.
"Reasonably foreseeable emissions" means projected future
					 direct and indirect emissions that are identified at the time the conformity
					 determination is made; the location of such emissions is known; and the
					 emissions are quantifiable, as described and documented by the federal agency
					 based on its own information and after reviewing any information presented to
					 the federal agency.
"Regional water or wastewater projects" means construction,
					 operation, and maintenance of water or wastewater conveyances, water or
					 wastewater treatment facilities, and water storage reservoirs which affect a
					 large portion of a nonattainment or maintenance area.
"Restricted information" means information that is
					 privileged or that is otherwise protected from disclosure pursuant to
					 applicable statutes, executive orders, or regulations. Such information
					 includes, but is not limited to, classified national security information,
					 protected critical infrastructure information, sensitive security information,
					 and proprietary business information.
"Source" means any one or combination of the following:
					 buildings, structures, facilities, installations, articles, machines,
					 equipment, landcraft, watercraft, aircraft, or other contrivances which
					 contribute, or may contribute, either directly or indirectly to air pollution.
					 Any activity by any person that contributes, or may contribute, either directly
					 or indirectly to air pollution, including, but not limited to, open burning,
					 generation of fugitive dust or emissions, and cleaning with abrasives or
					 chemicals.
"Take or start the federal action" means the date that the
					 federal agency signs or approves the permit, license, grant, or contract or
					 otherwise physically begins the federal action that requires a conformity
					 evaluation under this chapter.
"Total of direct and indirect emissions" means the sum of
					 direct and indirect emissions increases and decreases caused by the federal
					 action, that is, the "net" emissions considering all direct and indirect
					 emissions. Any emissions decreases used to reduce the total shall have already
					 occurred or shall be enforceable under state and federal law. The portion of
					 emissions which are exempt or presumed to conform under
					 9VAC5-160-30 are not included in
					 the "total of direct and indirect emissions," except as provided in
					 9VAC5-160-30 M. The "total of
					 direct and indirect emissions" includes emissions of criteria pollutants and
					 emissions of precursors of criteria pollutants. Segmentation of projects for
					 conformity analyses when emissions are reasonably foreseeable is
					 prohibited.
"Virginia Air Pollution Control Law" means Chapter 13
					 (§ 10.1-1300 et seq.) of Title 10.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Welfare" means that language referring to effects on
					 welfare includes, but is not limited to, effects on soils, water, crops,
					 vegetation, human-made materials, animals, wildlife, weather, visibility and
					 climate, damage to and deterioration of property, and hazards to
					 transportation, as well as effects on economic values and on personal comfort
					 and well-being.