Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for the Pittsburgh Ozone Nonattainment Area

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA034-4014, PA035-4015; FRL-5418-9]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;

Pennsylvania; Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for the

Pittsburgh Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to disapprove a redesignation request for the

Pittsburgh ozone nonattainment area and a State Implementation Plan

(SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This

revision consists of a maintenance plan for the Pittsburgh ozone

nonattainment area. The intended effect of this action is to propose

disapproval of the redesignation request and its associated maintenance

plan because the area violated the National Ambient Air Quality

Standard for ozone (the ozone NAAQS) and is not eligible for

redesignation. This action is being taken under sections 107 and 110 of

the Clean Air Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 8, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Marcia L. Spink, Associate

Director, Air Programs, Mailcode 3AT00, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19107. Copies of the documents relevant to this action are available

for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air,

Radiation, and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107 and

the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air

Quality, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria A. Pino, (215) 597-9337, at the

EPA Region III office, or via e-mail at [email protected].

While information may be requested via e-mail, comments must be

submitted in writing to the above Region III address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 12, 1993, the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania formally submitted a redesignation request for the

Pittsburgh ozone nonattainment area. At the same time, the Commonwealth

submitted a maintenance plan for the Pittsburgh area as a SIP revision.

The maintenance plan

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was subsequently amended on January 13, 1994 and, again, on May 12,

1995. During the 1995 ozone season, the Pittsburgh area violated the

ozone NAAQS, making the area ineligible for redesignation. Therefore,

EPA is proposing to disapprove the redesignation request and its

associated maintenance plan.

Background

Under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the Clean Air Act (the Act), the

following five criteria must be met for an ozone nonattainment area to

be redesignated to attainment:

1. The area must meet the ozone NAAQS.

2. The area must meet applicable requirements of section 110 and

Part D.

3. The area must have a fully approved SIP under section 110(k) of

the Act.

4. The area must show that its experienced improvement in air

equality is due to permanent and enforceable measures.

5. The area must have a fully approved maintenance plan under

section 175A of the Act, including contingency measure.

The NAAQS for ozone is structured in terms of expected exceedances.

An exceedance is said to occur when a monitoring site records a

measurement above the ozone standard, 0.12 parts per million (ppm). In

order for a monitoring site to meet the NAAQS, the average expected

number of exceedances at the site must be less than or equal to one per

year in a three-year period (i.e. three or less expected exceedances in

a three-year period). An area is considered to be meeting the NAAQS if

all locations in that area meet the NAAQS. If one monitor in an area

does not meet the NAAQS, the entire area is designated nonattainment.

The Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley area (Pittsburgh area), which includes

Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and

Westmoreland Counties, is designated nonattainment for ozone and is

classified as moderate (56 FR 56694). Monitored air quality data

recorded in the Pittsburgh area met the ozone NAAQS from 1990-1992 and

continued to meet the NAAQS through 1994. The Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania submitted an ozone maintenance SIP and redesignation

request on November 12, 1993, and subsequently amended the maintenance

plan on January 13, 1994 and May 12, 1995.

EPA Evaluation

During the 1995 ozone season, ambient air quality monitors in the

Pittsburgh area recorded 17 exceedances of the ozone standard. Two

monitors in the Pittsburgh area recorded violations of the ozone NAAQS

(i.e. four or more exceedances of the ozone standard). One monitor

recorded seven exceedances. Another monitor recorded four. The air

quality data has been quality assured in accordance with established

procedures. Thus, the Pittsburgh area no longer meets the first

criteria for redesignation, its air quality monitoring data does not

meet the ozone NAAQS. Therefore, the area is not eligible for

redesignation.

The maintenance plan SIP revision's demonstration of maintenance of

the ozone NAAQS is based on a level of ozone precursor emissions

thought to be able to provide maintenance of the NAAQS. The violations

of the ozone NAAQS that occurred in 1995 show that the underlying basis

for the plan's maintenance demonstration is no longer valid. Therefore,

the maintenance plan is not approvable.

A more detailed evaluation of Pennsylvania's redesignation request

and maintenance plan for the Pittsburgh area can be found in the

Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared by EPA for this rulemaking

action. The TSD and other materials related to this action are

available for public inspection at the EPA Regional office listed in

the ADDRESSES section of this document.

EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this

document or on other relevant matters. These comments will be

considered before taking final action. Interested parties may

participate in the Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written

comments to the EPA Regional office listed in the ADDRESSES section of

this document.

Proposed Action

Because the Pittsburgh area is not eligible for redesignation, EPA

is proposing to disapprove Pennsylvania's request for redesignation of

the Pittsburgh area and the accompanying maintenance plan, which was

originally submitted on November 12, 1993, and amended on January 13,

1994 and May 12, 1995.

Upon final disapproval of the maintenance plan, the Pittsburgh area

will no longer be able to demonstrate conformity to the submitted

maintenance plan pursuant to the transportation conformity requirements

in 40 CFR Part 51, Sec. 51.448(i). Since the submitted maintenance plan

budget will no longer apply for transportation conformity purposes, the

build/no-build and less-than-90 tests will apply.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or

allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for

revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to

the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light

of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in

relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA

must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of

any proposed or final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.

Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a

significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small

entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises,

and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than

50,000.

EPA's denial of the state's redesignation request under section

107(d)(3)(E) of the Act does not affect any existing requirements

applicable to small entities nor does it impose new requirements. The

area retains its current designation status and will continue to be

subject to the same statutory requirements. To the extent that the area

must adopt regulations, based on its nonattainment status, EPA will

review the effect of those actions on small entities at the time the

State submits those regulations. Therefore, I certify that the

disapproval of the redesignation request will not affect a substantial

number of small entities.

This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature

by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the

Federal Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by a

July 10, 1995 memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator for

Air and Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has

exempted this regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.

The Regional Administrator's decision to approve or disapprove

Pennsylvania's redesignation request for the Pittsburgh ozone

nonattainment area and the associated maintenance plan will be based on

whether they meet the requirements of section 110(a)(2) (A)-(K) and

part D of the Clean Air Act, as amended, and EPA regulations in 40 CFR

Part 51.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone.

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Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Dated: January 22, 1996.

W. Michael McCabe,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 96-2717 Filed 2-6-96; 8:45 am]

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