[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48439-48442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23205]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[AD-FRL-5297-9]
Clean Air Act Reclassification; Pennsylvania--Liberty Borough
Nonattainment Area; PM-10
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to find that the Liberty Borough,
Pennsylvania nonattainment area has not attained national ambient air
quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter of nominal aerodynamic
diameter smaller than 10 micrometers (PM-10) by the Clean Air Act (the
Act) mandated attainment date for moderate nonattainment areas. The Act
established an attainment date of no later than December 31, 1994 for
areas classified as moderate nonattainment areas. This proposed finding
is based on monitored air quality data for the PM-10 NAAQS during the
years 1992-94. EPA is soliciting public comment on all relevant matters
associated with this proposed action, including comment as to whether
there are any mitigating facts or extenuating circumstances that it
should consider in its review of the monitoring data used to propose to
find that the area has not achieved the
[[Page 48440]]
NAAQS. All comments and information submitted, in writing, at the
address and within the time frame specified below will be fully
considered by EPA in determining its final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 19, 1995.
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
at the Allegheny County Health Department, Bureau of Environmental
Quality, Division of Air Quality, 301 39th Street, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania 15201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Casey, U.S. EPA Region III,
(215) 597-2746.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
A. Health and Welfare Effects of Particulate Matter
Based on studies of human populations exposed to high
concentrations of particles (at times in the presence of SO2) and
laboratory studies of animals and humans, there are major human health
concerns associated with particulate matter. These include deleterious
effects on breathing and respiratory systems, aggravation of existing
respiratory and cardiovascular disease, alterations in the body's
immune systems against foreign materials, damage to lung tissue,
carcinogenesis, and premature death. The major subgroups of the
population that appear to be most sensitive to the effects of
particulate matter include individuals with chronic obstructive
pulmonary or cardiovascular disease, those with influenza, asthmatics,
the elderly, and children. Particulate matter also soils and damages
materials, and fine particles are a major cause of visibility
impairment in the United States.\1\
\1\Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter (External Review
Draft), EPA-600/AP-95/001a-c, April 1995 (NTIS #: PB95-22-1727, -
1735, -1743).
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B. Clean Air Act Requirements Concerning Designation and Classification
On November 15, 1990, the date of enactment of the 1990 Clean Air
Act Amendments, PM-10 areas meeting the criteria 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 on November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56694).
C. Clean Air Act's Requirements for Moderate PM-10 Nonattainment Areas
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. Those SIPs were to include the adoption
and implementation of PM-10 reduction requirements which constitute
reasonably available control measures, (RACM), including reasonably
available control technology (RACT). Pursuant to section 189(a)(2) of
the Act, those SIP revisions were to be submitted to EPA by November
15, 1991. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania submitted this SIP revision
(developed and adopted by the Allegheny County Health Department) on
January 11, 1994. On April 11, 1995 (60 FR 18385), in a rulemaking
separate from today's action, EPA proposed approval of the
Commonwealth's SIP revision for the Liberty Borough moderate PM-10
nonattainment area. EPA received numerous comments on its proposed
action, some in support and some in opposition, and has yet to take
final action on that SIP revision.
D. Reclassification to 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
date'', and section 188(b)(2) is consistent with this requirement. EPA
makes the determination 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 40 CFR Part 50, Appendix
K.
Pursuant to Appendix K, attainment of the annual PM-10 standard is
achieved when the expected annual arithmetic mean PM-10 concentration
is equal to or less than 50 micrograms per cubic meter (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 non-
violating 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 defined 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.2
\2\ EPA is currently under court order to review the NAAQS for
particulate matter (American Lung Association v. Browner, No. 93-643
D. Ariz., October 6, 1994).
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Under section 188(b)(2)(A), a moderate PM-10 nonattainment area is
reclassified as serious by operation of law if the Administrator finds
that the area has failed to attain the NAAQS by the statutory
attainment date. Pursuant to section 188(b)(2)(B) of the Act, EPA must
publish a notice in the Federal Register identifying those areas that
failed to attain the standard and the resulting reclassifications. EPA
is fulfilling its responsibility for this requirement via the federal
rulemaking process initiated by today's action.
E. Clean Air Act's Requirements for Serious PM-10 Nonattainment Areas
PM-10 nonattainment areas reclassified as serious under section
188(b)(2) of the Act are required to submit, within 18 months of the
area's reclassification, SIP revisions providing for, among other
things, the adoption and implementation of best available control
measures (BACM), including best available control technology (BACT),
for PM-10 and PM-10 precursors no later than four years from the date
of reclassification. The SIP also must contain a demonstration that its
implementation 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). These requirements are in
[[Page 48441]]
addition to the moderate PM-10 nonattainment area requirements for
RACT/RACM.
II. Rationale for EPA's Proposed Action
By today's action, EPA is proposing to find that the Liberty
Borough area 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. If EPA takes final action on this proposed
finding, the Liberty Borough nonattainment area (comprised of the City
of Clairton and the Boroughs of Liberty, Lincoln, Glassport, and Port
Vue) located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania) will be reclassified by
operation of law as a serious nonattainment area for PM-10 under
section 188(b)(2)(A) of the Act.
A. Ambient Air Monitoring Data
Table 1 lists each of the monitoring sites in the Liberty Borough
area where the 24-hour PM-10 NAAQS has been exceeded during 1992-1994
and the concentration, in micrograms per cubic meter, on the day of the
exceedance.
Table 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lincoln Lincoln Liberty
(high-volume (continuous (high-volume
Year and date sampler) sampler) sampler)
(g/ (g/ (g/
m\3\) m\3\) m\3\)
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1992:
1/28...................... ............ ............ 175
12/15..................... 186 ............ ............
1993:
5/10...................... 167 ............ ............
11/23..................... 223 195 ............
1994:
2/19...................... 163 ............ ............
3/7....................... 157 ............ ............
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The monitors in the nonattainment area that recorded exceedances of
the PM-10 NAAQS have operated on varying sampling schedules with
varying data capture rates. EPA requires the adjustment of observed
exceedances to account for incomplete data pursuant to 40 CFR Part 50
Appendix K. In the case of the Lincoln high-volume sampler, five
exceedances of the 24-hour NAAQS were observed from 1992 through
1994.3 Before adjusting for incomplete sampling, the number of
exceedances per year for the three year period would be 1.7. After
adjusting for incomplete sampling, the number of expected exceedances
of the NAAQS at this site during the three year period was 2.2.
\3\The Lincoln high volume sampler began operation in the Fall
of 1992.
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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/m3 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, accounting for incomplete data, and then averaging them over the
past three calendar years. Therefore from 1992-1994, the number of
expected exceedances at the Lincoln high-volume sampler is 2.2. This
estimation of expected exceedances indicates that the Lincoln site had
not attained the 24-hour PM-10 NAAQS during 1992-1994.
Only one exceedance of the annual NAAQS has been recorded in the
Liberty Borough area from 1992-1994. (The Lincoln high-volume sampler
recorded a weighted-average concentration of 52.5 g/m\3\ in
1994.) No station in the Liberty Borough area recorded an annual
average concentration, averaged (as prescribed in Appendix K) from
1992-1994, which exceeded the annual NAAQS.
III. Proposed Action
By today's action, EPA is proposing to find that the Liberty
Borough area did not attain the PM-10 NAAQS by December 31, 1994. As
discussed above, this proposed finding is based upon air quality data
which revealed violations of the PM-10 NAAQS during 1992-1994. If EPA
takes final action on this proposed finding, the Liberty Borough
nonattainment area will be reclassified by operation of law as a
serious nonattainment area for PM-10 under section 188(b)(2)(A) of the
Act.
IV. Request for Public Comment
EPA is requesting comment on all aspects of today's proposal,
including, but not limited to: The PM-10 control requirements adopted
to date by the County and the timing and status of their
implementation, the compliance status and history of the sources
subject to the PM-10 control requirements, the efforts made to date to
meet the requirements, air quality data and trends as they relate to
implementation of the control requirements, and weather system
occurrances (meteorology). EPA is also soliciting comment as to whether
there are any mitigating facts or extenuating circumstances that it
should consider in its review of the monitoring data used to propose to
find that the area has not achieved the NAAQS, including any relevant
comparison of the data collected from the ambient monitors. EPA is
soliciting comment as to the relevancy of such information in
determining whether the area has achieved the NAAQS.
As indicated earlier in this notice, EPA will consider any comments
received, in writing, by October 19, 1995.
V. Executive Order (E.O.) 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 Act, 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.
VI. 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.
[[Page 48442]]
As discussed in section V of this notice, findings of failure to
attain and reclassification of nonattainment areas under section
188(b)(2) of the Act 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.
VII. 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 V of this notice,
that the proposed finding of failure to attain and reclassification of
the Liberty Borough nonattainment 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: September 11, 1995.
W. Michael McCabe,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 95-23205 Filed 9-18-95; 8:45 am]
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