[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 7, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30046-30048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13925]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[FRL-5217-3]
Clean Air Act Reclassification; Arizona-Phoenix Nonattainment
Area; PM-10
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: In this action EPA proposes to find that the Phoenix
metropolitan PM-10 nonattainment area has not attained the PM-10
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by the Clean Air Act
(CAA) mandated attainment date for moderate nonattainment areas.
Section 188(c)(1) of the Act established an attainment date of no later
than December 31, 1994 for areas classified as moderate nonattainment
areas under section 107(d)(4)(B) of the CAA. This proposed finding is
based on monitored air quality data for the PM-10 NAAQS during the
years 1992-94. If EPA takes final action on this proposed finding, the
Phoenix Planning Area (PPA) will be reclassified by operation of law as
a serious nonattainment area for PM-10 under section 188(b)(2)(A) of
the CAA.
DATES: Comments on this proposed finding must be received in writing by
July 7, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Robert Pallarino, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, Air and Toxics Division, Air
Planning Branch, Plans Development Section (A-2-2), 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, California 94105.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert S. Pallarino, U.S. EPA, Region
9, Air and Toxics Division, Air Planning Branch, Plans Development
Section (A-2-2), 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105,
(415) 744-1212.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
A. CAA Requirements and EPA Actions Concerning Designation and
Classification
On November 15, 1990, the date of enactment of the 1990 Clean Air
Act Amendments, PM-10 areas meeting the qualifications of section
107(d)(4)(B) of the Act were designated nonattainment by operation of
law. Once an area is designated nonattainment, section 188 of the Act
outlines the process for classification of the area and establishes the
area's attainment date. Pursuant to section 188(a), all PM-10
nonattainment areas were initially classified as moderate by operation
of law upon designation as nonattainment. These nonattainment
designations and moderate area classifications were codified in 40 CFR
part 81 in a Federal Register document published on November 6, 1991
(56 FR 56694).
States containing areas which were designated as moderate
nonattainment by operation of law under section 107(d)(4)(B) were to
develop and submit state implementation plans (SIPs) to provide for the
attainment of the PM-10 NAAQS. Pursuant to section 189(a)(2), those SIP
revisions were to be submitted to EPA by November 15, 1991.
B. Reclassification as Serious Nonattainment
EPA has the responsibility, pursuant to sections 179(c) and
188(b)(2) of the Act, of determining within 6 months of the applicable
attainment date, whether PM-10 nonattainment areas have attained the
NAAQS. Section 179(c)(1) of the Act provides that these determinations
are to be based upon an area's ``air quality as of the attainment
[[Page 30047]] date'', and section 188(b)(2) is consistent with this
requirement. EPA makes the determinations of whether an area's air
quality is meeting the PM-10 NAAQS based upon air quality data gathered
at monitoring sites in the nonattainment area and entered into the
Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS). These data are reviewed
to determine the area's air quality status in accordance with EPA
guidance at 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K.
Pursuant to Appendix K, attainment of the annual PM-10 standard is
achieved when the annual arithmetic mean PM-10 concentration is equal
to or less than 50 g/m\3\. Attainment of the 24 hour standard
is determined by calculating the expected number of exceedances of the
150 g/m\3\ limit per year. The 24 hour standard is attained
when the expected number of exceedances is 1.0 or less. A total of 3
consecutive years of clean air quality data is generally necessary to
show attainment of the 24 hour and annual standards for PM-10. A
complete year of air quality data, as referred to in 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix K, is comprised of all 4 calendar quarters with each quarter
containing data from at least 75 percent of the scheduled sampling
days.
Under section 188(b)(2)(A) a moderate PM-10 nonattainment area must
be reclassified as serious by operation of law after the statutory
attainment date if the Administrator finds that the area has failed to
attain the NAAQS. Pursuant to section 188(b)(2)(B) of the Act, EPA must
publish a document in the Federal Register identifying those areas that
failed to attain the standard and the resulting reclassifications.
II. Today's Action
EPA is, by today's action, proposing to find that the PPA did not
attain the PM-10 NAAQS by the required attainment date of December 31,
1994. As discussed below, this proposed finding is based upon air
quality data which revealed violations of the PM-10 NAAQS during 1992-
1994.
A. Ambient Air Monitoring Data
The following table lists each of the monitoring sites in the PPA
where the 24 hour PM-10 NAAQS has been exceeded during 1992-1994:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 hour
Monitoring site concentration Date
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4732 S. Central, PX................... 171 g/ 11/20/92
m\3\
4732 S. Central, PX................... 158 g/ 12/2/92
m\3\
1475 E. Pecos, CHAN................... 156 g/ 11/20/92
m\3\
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The two monitoring sites in the PPA that recorded exceedances of
the PM-10 NAAQS operate on a one in six day sampling schedule.
Generally, if PM-10 sampling is scheduled less than every day, EPA
requires the adjustment of observed exceedances to account for
incomplete sampling. The method for adjusting the observed exceedances
is described in 40 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, section 3.1. In the case of
the Phoenix site, two exceedances of the 24 hour NAAQS were observed in
1992. After adjusting for incomplete sampling, the number of
exceedances of the NAAQS in 1992 at this site was 13.1. In the case of
the Chandler site, one exceedance of the 24 hour NAAQS was observed in
1992. After adjusting for incomplete sampling, the number of
exceedances of the NAAQS in 1992 at this site was 11.5.
According to 40 CFR part 50, the 24 hour NAAQS is attained when the
expected number of days per calendar year with a 24 hour average
concentration above 150 g/m\3\ is equal to or less than one.
In the simplest case, the number of expected exceedances at a site is
determined by recording the number of exceedances in each calendar year
and then averaging them over the past three calendar years. Therefore
from 1992-1994, the number of expected exceedances at the Phoenix and
Chandler monitoring sites were 4.4 and 3.8, respectively. These
exceedances cause both the Phoenix site and the Chandler site to be in
violation of the 24 hour PM-10 NAAQS.
In addition to violations of the 24 hour NAAQS, the annual standard
has not been attained at one monitoring site. The East Pecos site in
Chandler had an annual average of 55 g/m\3\, based on the
monitoring data collected during 1992-1994.
B. SIP Requirements for Serious Areas
PM-10 nonattainment areas reclassified as serious under section
188(b)(2) of the CAA are required to submit, within 18 months of the
area's reclassification, SIP revisions providing for the implementation
of best available control measures (BACM) no later than four years from
the date of reclassification. The SIP also must contain a demonstration
that the implementation of BACM will provide for attainment of the PM-
10 NAAQS no later than December 31, 2001. EPA has provided specific
guidance on developing serious area PM-10 SIP revisions in an addendum
to the General Preamble to Title I of the Clean Air Act. See 59 FR
41998 (August 16, 1994).
III. Request for Public Comment
The EPA is requesting comment on all aspects of today's proposal.
As indicated at the outset of this notice, EPA will consider any
comments received by July 7, 1995.
IV. Executive Order (EO) 12866
Under E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993), EPA is required to
determine whether regulatory actions are significant and therefore
should be subject to OMB review, economic analysis, and the
requirements of the Executive Order. The Executive Order defines a
``significant regulatory action'' as one that is likely to result in a
rule that may meet at least one of the four criteria identified in
section 3(f), including, under paragraph (1), that the rule may ``have
an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely
affect, in a material way, the economy, a sector of the economy,
productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or
safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities.''
The Agency has determined that the finding of failure to attain
proposed today would result in none of the effects identified in
section 3(f). Under section 188(b)(2) of the CAA, findings of failure
to attain and reclassification of nonattainment areas are based upon
air quality considerations and must occur by operation of law in light
of certain air quality conditions. They do not, in-and-of-themselves,
impose any new requirements on any sectors of the economy. In addition,
because the statutory requirements are clearly defined with respect to
the differently classified areas, and because those requirements are
automatically triggered by classifications that, in turn, are triggered
by air quality values, findings of failure to attain and
reclassification cannot be said to impose a materially adverse impact
on State, local, or tribal governments or communities.
V. Regulatory Flexibility
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.
As discussed in section IV of this notice, findings of failure to
attain and [[Page 30048]] reclassification of nonattainment areas under
section 188(b)(2) of the CAA do not in-and-of-themselves create any new
requirements. Therefore, I certify that today's proposed action does
not have a significant impact on small entities.
VI. Unfunded Mandates
Under sections 202, 203 and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Unfunded Mandates Act), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA
must assess whether various actions undertaken in association with
proposed or final regulations include a Federal mandate that may result
in estimated costs of $100 million or more to the private sector, or to
State, local or tribal governments in the aggregate.
EPA believes, as discussed earlier in section IV of this notice,
that the proposed finding of failure to attain and reclassification of
the Phoenix Planning Area are factual determinations based upon air
quality considerations and must occur by operation of law and, hence,
do not impose any federal intergovernmental mandate, as defined in
section 101 of the Unfunded Mandates Act.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Particulate matter.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: May 25, 1995.
David P. Howekamp,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-13925 Filed 6-6-95; 8:45 am]
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