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Clean Air Act Reclassification; Spokane, Washington Carbon Monoxide Nonattainment Area
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[Federal Register: July 1, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 127)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 33879-33881] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 81 [WA 54-7127; FRL-5529-9] Clean Air Act Reclassification; Spokane, Washington Carbon Monoxide Nonattainment Area AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY: EPA proposes to find that the Spokane, Washington carbon monoxide (CO) nonattainment area has not attained the CO national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) by the Clean Air Act (CAA) mandated attainment date for moderate nonattainment areas, December 31, 1995. This proposed finding is based on EPA's review of monitored air quality data for compliance with the CO NAAQS. If EPA takes final action on this proposed finding, the Spokane CO nonattainment area will be reclassified by operation of law as a serious nonattainment area. The intended effect of such a reclassification would be to allow the State additional time to submit a new State implementation plan (SIP) providing for attainment of the CO NAAQS by no later than December 31, 2000, the CAA attainment deadline for serious CO areas. DATES: Written comments on this proposal must be received by July 31, 1996. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: Montel Livingston, SIP Manager, Office of Air Quality, M/S OAQ-107, EPA Region 10, Docket #54- 7127, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. The rulemaking docket for this notice is available for public review during normal business hours at the following location: EPA, Region 10, Office of Air Quality, M/S OAQ-107, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. Copies of the docket are also available at the Washington Department of Ecology, Attention Tami Dahlgren, Olympia, Washington 98504-7600, telephone (360) 407-6830; and at the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority, West 1101 College, Suite 403, Spokane, Washington 99201, telephone (509) 456-4727. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William M. Hedgebeth of the EPA Region 10 Office of Air Quality, (206) 553-7369. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background A. CAA Requirements and EPA Actions Concerning Designation and Classifications The CAA Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) were enacted on November 15, 1990. Under section 107(d)(1)(C) of the CAA, each carbon monoxide (CO) area designated nonattainment prior to enactment of the 1990 Amendments, such as the Spokane area, was designated nonattainment by operation of law upon enactment of the 1990 Amendments. Under section 186(a) of [[Page 33880]] the CAA, each CO area designated nonattainment under section 107(d) was also classified by operation of law as either ``moderate'' or ``serious'' depending on the severity of the area's air quality problem. CO areas with design values between 9.1 and 16.4 parts per million (ppm), such as the Spokane area, were classified as moderate. These nonattainment designations and classifications were codified in 40 CFR part 81. See 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991). States containing areas that were classified as moderate nonattainment by operation of law under section 107(d) were required to submit State implementation plans (SIPs) designed to attain the CO national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) as expeditiously as practicable but no later than December 31, 1995.<SUP>1
\1\ The moderate area SIP requirements are set forth in section 187(a) of the Act and differ depending on whether the area's design value is below or above 12.7 ppm. The Spokane area has a design value above 12.7 ppm. 40 CFR part 81.348.
B. Reclassification to a Serious Nonattainment Area
- EPA has the responsibility, pursuant to sections 179(c) and 186(b)(2) of the CAA, of determining, within six months of the applicable attainment date whether the Spokane area has attained the CO NAAQS. Under section 186(b)(2)(A), if EPA finds that the area has not attained the CO NAAQS, it is reclassified as serious by operation of law. Pursuant to section 186(b)(2)(B) of the Act, EPA must publish a notice in the Federal Register identifying areas which failed to attain the standard and therefore must be reclassified as serious by operation of law. EPA makes attainment determinations for CO nonattainment areas based upon whether an area has two years (or eight consecutive quarters) of clean air quality data.<SUP>2 Section 179(c)(1) of the CAA states that the attainment determination must be based upon an area's ``air quality as of the attainment date.'' Consequently, EPA will determine whether an area's air quality has met the CO NAAQS by December 31, 1995, based upon the most recent two years of air quality data entered into the Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS) data base.
\2\ See generally memorandum from Sally L. Shaver, Director, Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division, EPA, to Regional Air Office Directors, entitled ``Criteria for Granting Attainment Date Extensions, Making Attainment Determinations, and Determinations of Failure to Attain the NAAQS for Moderate CO Nonattainment Areas,'' October 23, 1995 (Shaver memorandum).
EPA determines a CO nonattainment area's air quality status in accordance with 40 CFR part 50.8 and EPA policy.\3\ EPA has promulgated two NAAQS for CO: an 8-hour average concentration and a 1-hour average concentration. Because there were no violations of the 1-hour standard in the Spokane area in 1994 and 1995, this notice addresses only the air quality status of the Spokane area with respect to the 8-hour standard. The 8-hour CO NAAQS requires that not more than one nonoverlapping 8-hour average per year per monitoring site can exceed 9.0 ppm (values below 9.5 are rounded down to 9.0 and they are not considered exceedances). The second exceedance of the 8-hour CO NAAQS at a given monitoring site within the same year constitutes a violation of the CO NAAQS.
\3\ See memorandum from William G. Laxton, Director Technical Support Division, entitled ``Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Design Value Calculations'', June 18, 1990. See also Shaver memorandum.
2. SIP Requirements for Serious CO Areas: CO nonattainment areas reclassified as serious under section 186(b)(2) of the CAA are required to submit, within 18 months of the area's reclassification, SIP revisions demonstrating attainment of the CO NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable but no later than December 31, 2000. The serious CO area planning requirements are set forth in section 187(b) of the CAA. EPA has issued two general guidance documents related to the planning requirements for CO SIPs. The first is the ``General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the CAAA of 1990'' that sets forth EPA's preliminary views on how the Agency intends to act on SIPs submitted under Title I of the CAA. See generally 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992) and 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992). The second general guidance document for CO SIPs issued by EPA is the ``Technical Support Document to Aid the States with the Development of Carbon Monoxide State Implementation Plans,'' July 1992. If the Spokane area is reclassified to serious, the State would have to submit a SIP revision to EPA that, in addition to the attainment demonstration, includes: (1) A forecast of vehicle miles travelled (VMT) for each year before the attainment year and provisions for annual updates of these forecasts; (2) adopted contingency measures; and (3) adopted transportation control measures and strategies to offset any growth in CO emissions from growth in VMT or number of vehicle trips. See CAA sections 187(a)(7), 187(a)(2)(A), 187(a)(3), 187(b)(2), and 187(b)(1). Upon reclassification, contingency measures in the moderate area plan for the Spokane area must be implemented. C. Attainment Date Extensions If a state does not have the two consecutive years of clean data necessary to show attainment of the NAAQS, it may apply, under section 186(a)(4) of the CAA, for a one year attainment date extension. EPA may, in its discretion, grant such an extension if the state has: (1) Complied with the requirements and commitments pertaining to the applicable implementation plan for the area, and (2) the area has measured no more than one exceedance of the CO NAAQS at any monitoring site in the nonattainment area in the year preceding the extension year. Under section 186(a)(4), EPA may grant up to two such extensions if these conditions have been met. Because the Spokane nonattainment area had four exceedances in 1995, the area does not qualify for an extension. II. This Action By today's action, EPA is proposing to find that the Spokane CO nonattainment area has failed to demonstrate attainment of the CO NAAQS by December 31, 1995. This proposed finding is based upon air quality data showing violations of the CO NAAQS during 1995. Ambient Air Monitoring Data: The following table lists the monitoring site in the Spokane CO nonattainment area where the 8-hour CO NAAQS has been exceeded during 1995, based on data validated by the Washington Department of Ecology and entered into the AIRS data base. Exceedances of 8-hour CO NAAQS for Spokane Nonattainment Area
1995 Concentration Date of exceedance