2010-14892. Determination of Attainment for PM10

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Direct final rule.

SUMMARY:

EPA has determined that the Sandpoint nonattainment area in Idaho attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to a nominal ten micrometers (PM₁₀).

DATES:

This action is effective on August 23, 2010, without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 22, 2010. If EPA receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2010-0294, by any of the following methods:

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: [e-mail].
• Mail: Steve Body, EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste and Toxics (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle WA, 98101. Attention: Steve Body, Office of Air, Waste and Toxics, AWT—107. Such deliveries are only accepted during normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2010-0294. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification.

EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal business hours at the Office of Air, Waste and Toxics, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steve Body at telephone number: [phone], e-mail address: [e-mail], or the above EPA, Region 10 address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document wherever “we”, “us” or “our” are used, we mean EPA. Information is organized as follows:

Table of Contents

I. Background

A. PM₁₀ NAAQS

B. Designation and Classification of PM₁₀ Nonattainment Areas

C. How does EPA make attainment determinations?

D. What is the attainment date for the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area?

E. What PM₁₀ planning has occurred for the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area?

II. EPA's Analysis

A. What does the air quality data show as of the December 31, 1996 Attainment date?

B. Does more recent air quality data also show attainment?

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

A. PM₁₀ NAAQS

The NAAQS are levels for certain ambient air pollutants set by EPA to protect public health and welfare. PM₁₀, or particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers, is among the ambient air pollutants for which EPA has established health-based standards. On July 1, 1987 (52 FR 24634), EPA promulgated two primary standards for PM₁₀: a 24-hour standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) and an annual PM₁₀ standard of 50 μg/m³. EPA also promulgated secondary PM₁₀ standards that were identical to the primary standards.

Effective December 18, 2006, EPA revoked the annual PM₁₀ standard but retained the 24-hour PM₁₀ standard. 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006). The 24-hour PM₁₀ standard is attained when the expected number of days per calendar year with a 24-hour concentration in excess of the standard, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, appendix K, is equal to or less than one.^[1] 40 CFR 50.6 and 40 CFR part 50, appendix K.

B. Designation and Classification of PM₁₀ Nonattainment Areas

Areas meeting the requirements of section 107(d)(4)(B) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) were designated nonattainment for PM₁₀ by operation of law and classified “moderate” upon enactment of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. See generally 42 U.S.C. 7407(d)(4)(B). These areas included all former Group I PM₁₀ planning areas identified in 52 FR 29383 (August 7, 1987), as further clarified in 55 FR 45799 (October 31, 1990), and any other areas violating the NAAQS for PM₁₀ prior to January 1, 1989. A Federal Register notice announcing the areas designated nonattainment for PM₁₀ upon enactment of the 1990 Amendments, known as “initial” PM₁₀ nonattainment areas, was published on March 15, 1991 (56 FR 11101) and a subsequent Federal Register document correcting the description of some of these areas was published on August 8, 1991 (56 FR 37654). The Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area was one of these initial moderate PM₁₀ nonattainment areas.

All initial moderate PM₁₀ nonattainment areas had the same applicable attainment date of December 31, 1994. Section 188(d) provides the Administrator the authority to grant up to two one-year extensions to the attainment date provided certain requirements are met. States containing initial moderate PM₁₀ nonattainment areas were required to develop and submit to EPA by November 15, 1991, a state implementation plan (SIP) revision providing implementation of reasonably available control measures (RACM), including reasonably available control technology (RACT), and a demonstration of whether attainment of the PM₁₀ NAAQS by the December 31, 1994 attainment date was practicable. See section 189(a).

C. How does EPA make attainment determinations?

All PM₁₀ nonattainment areas are initially classified “moderate” by operation of law when they are designated nonattainment. See section 188(a). Section 188(b)(2) of the Act requires EPA to determine within six months of the applicable attainment date whether, based on air quality data, PM₁₀ nonattainment areas attained the PM₁₀ NAAQS by that date. Generally, EPA determines whether an area's air quality is meeting the PM₁₀ NAAQS based upon complete, quality-assured data gathered at established state and local air monitoring stations (SLAMS) and national air monitoring stations (NAMS) in the nonattainment areas and entered into the EPA Air Quality System (AQS). Data from air monitors operated by State/local/tribal agencies in compliance with EPA monitoring requirements must be submitted to AQS. EPA relies primarily on data in AQS when determining the attainment status of an area. See 40 CFR 50.6; 40 CFR part 50, appendix J; 40 CFR part 53; 40 CFR part 58, appendix A. EPA will also consider air quality data from other air monitoring stations in the nonattainment area provided that the stations meet the Federal monitoring requirements for SLAMS, including the quality assurance and quality control criteria in 40 CFR part 58, appendix A. 40 CFR 58.14 (2006) and 58.20 (2007); ^[2] 71 FR 61236, 61242 (October 17, 2006). All valid data are reviewed to determine the area's air quality status in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, appendix K.

Attainment of the 24-hour PM₁₀ standard is determined by calculating the expected number of exceedances of the standard in a year. The 24-hour standard is attained when the expected exceedances averaged over a three-year period is less than or equal to one. Generally, three consecutive years of air quality data are required to show attainment of the 24-hour PM₁₀ standard. See 40 CFR part 50 and appendix K.^[3]

D. What is the attainment date for the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area?

The original attainment date for the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area was December 31, 1994. The attainment date was later extended to December 31, 1995, and then to December 31, 1996, under the authority of section 188(d) of the Act. See 61 FR 20730 (May 8, 1996) (first one-year extension); 61 FR 66602 (December 18, 1996) (second one-year extension).

E. What PM₁₀ planning has occurred for the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area?

After the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area was designated nonattainment for PM₁₀, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), began in the early 1990s to prepare the technical elements needed to bring the area into attainment and meet the planning requirements of title I of the CAA. Based on these technical products IDEQ developed and implemented control measures on PM₁₀ sources in the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area. The State submitted these control measures to EPA on August 16, 1996, as a moderate PM₁₀ nonattainment SIP revision under section 189(a) of the Act. The control measures submitted by the State include a comprehensive residential wood combustion program, controls on fugitive road dust and emission limitations on industrial sources. EPA took final action to approve the State's moderate PM₁₀ SIP on June 26, 2002. See 67 FR 43006.

II. EPA's Analysis

A. What does the air quality data show as of the December 31, 1996 attainment date?

The State of Idaho operated a PM₁₀ SLAMS monitoring site in the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area at the Sandpoint Post Office until October 2001. A new site was established in Sandpoint in November 2001 at 310 South Division Street. This site continued operation through March 2009. In March 2009 the site was moved to 1601 Ontario Street in Sandpoint. All three sites meet Federal siting requirements and are appropriate for monitoring the area's compliance with the PM₁₀ NAAQS. (See EPA's letters approving Idaho's annual network review.)

Based on a review of air quality data during the three-year period ending with the December 31, 1996 attainment date, one 24 hour PM₁₀ concentration, reported on January 26, 1994, exceeded the level of the 24 hour NAAQS, but this single exceedance did not cause a violation of the 24 hour NAAQS for the calendar years 1994-1996. The expected exceedance rate for the Sandpoint area for 1994-1996 is 0.7 days per year. This is less than the expected exceedance rate of the 24 hour NAAQS of 1.0 and demonstrates attainment of the 24-hour PM₁₀. EPA has therefore determined that the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area attained the PM₁₀ NAAQS by the extended attainment date of December 31, 1996.

B. Does more recent air quality data also show attainment?

Although the attainment date for the Sandpoint PM₁₀ nonattainment area is December 31, 1996, EPA has also reviewed the air quality data collected at the State monitoring sites in the Sandpoint area from January 1997 through December 2009. The data continue to show attainment of the 24 hour PM₁₀ NAAQS during this period. The monitoring site at the Post Office reported no exceedances of the 24 hour NAAQS from 1997 until it was discontinued in 2001. The new monitoring site at 310 South Division Street, which began monitoring in 2001, likewise reported no exceedances of the 24 hour NAAQS from 2001 through 2009.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

This action proposes to make a determination based on air quality data, and would, if finalized, not result in the imposition of any additional Federal requirements. For that reason, this proposed action:

• Is not a “significant regulatory action” subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
• Does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• 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);
• Does not have Federalism implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
• Is not an economically significant regulatory action based on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 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 application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the CAA; and
• Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because it does not apply in Indian country located in the State, and will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

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 August 23, 2010. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• Intergovernmental relations
• Particulate matter
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

Dated: May 28, 2010.

Dennis J. McLerran,

Regional Administrator, EPA Region 10.

Footnotes

1.  An exceedance is defined as a daily value that is above the level of the 24-hour standard (150 μg/m3. ) after rounding to the nearest 10 μg/m3. (i.e. values ending in 5 or greater are to be rounded up). Thus, a recorded value of 154 μg/m3. would not be an exceedance since it would be rounded to 150μ/m3. whereas a recorded value of 155 μg/m3. would be an exceedance since it would be rounded to 160 μ/m3. . See 40 CFR part 50, appendix K, section 1.0.

2.  EPA promulgated amendments to the ambient air monitoring regulations in 40 CFR parts 53 and 58 on October 17, 2006. See 71 FR 61236. The requirements for Special Purpose Monitors were revised and moved from 40 CFR 58.14 to 40 CFR 58.20.

3.  Because the annual PM₁₀ standard was revoked effective December 18, 2006, see 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006), this notice discusses only attainment of the 24-hour PM₁₀ standard.