
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 86664-86673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28821]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R04-OAR-2016-0361; FRL-9955-80-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval and Designation of Areas; KY; Redesignation of 
the Campbell County, 2010 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area to 
Attainment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve two separate but related submissions (one of which includes 
multiple components) provided by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through 
the Kentucky Division of Air Quality (KDAQ), in relation to attainment 
of the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS) for the Kentucky portion of the Campbell-
Clermont, Kentucky-Ohio 2010 1-hour SO2 nonattainment area 
(hereafter referred to as the ``Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area'' or 
``Area''). On March 31, 2015, KDAQ submitted a request for EPA to 
determine that the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area attained the 2010 1-
hour SO2 NAAQS per EPA's ``Clean Data Policy.'' 
Subsequently, on February 22, 2016, KDAQ submitted a request for EPA to 
redesignate the Campbell County portion of Kentucky that is within the 
Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area to attainment for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS, and to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision containing a maintenance plan, base year inventory, and 
reasonably available control measures (RACM) determination for the 
Kentucky portion of the Area. EPA is proposing to approve the 
Commonwealth's RACM determination and incorporate it into the SIP; to 
approve the base year emissions inventory for the Kentucky portion of 
the Area and incorporate it into the SIP; to approve the Commonwealth's 
request for a clean data determination; to approve the Commonwealth's 
plan for maintaining attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS 
and incorporate it into the SIP; and to redesignate the Kentucky 
portion of the Area to attainment for the 2010 1-hour SO2 
NAAQS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2016-0361 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. EPA may publish any comment 
received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Scofield of the Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. Mr. Scofield may be reached by phone at (404) 562-9034 or 
via electronic mail at scofield.steve@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. What are the actions EPA is proposing to take?
II. What is the background for EPA's proposed actions?
III. What are the criteria for redesignation?
IV. Why is EPA proposing these actions?
V. What is EPA's analysis of the redesignation request and SIP 
revisions?
VI. What is the effect of EPA's proposed actions?
VII. Proposed Actions
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What are the actions EPA is proposing to take?

    EPA is proposing to take the following five separate but related 
actions regarding Kentucky's aforementioned requests and SIP 
submission: (1) To approve Kentucky's RACM determination for the 
Kentucky portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area pursuant to Clean 
Air Act (CAA or Act) section 172(c)(1) and incorporate it into the SIP; 
(2) to approve the base year emissions inventory for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS for the Kentucky portion of the Area pursuant to 
CAA section 172(c)(3) and incorporate it into the SIP; (3) to approve 
the Commonwealth's March 31, 2015, request for EPA to determine that 
the Area attained the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS per EPA's 
``Clean Data Policy;'' (4) to approve Kentucky's plan for maintaining 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS (maintenance plan) in the Area and 
incorporate it into the SIP; and (5) to redesignate the Kentucky 
portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area to attainment for the 2010 
1-hour SO2 NAAQS. The Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area consists 
of a portion of Campbell County in Kentucky and a portion of Clermont 
County in Ohio.\1\ These proposed actions are summarized below

[[Page 86665]]

and described in greater detail throughout this notice of proposed 
rulemaking.
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    \1\ The Kentucky portion of the Area emits less than nine tons 
of total SO2 emissions per year, but it contains the 
SO2 monitor that violated the SO2 standard in 
2011. The Ohio portion of the Area contains the Walter C. Beckjord 
power plant (Beckjord Facility) which shut down in 2014.
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    Based on the 1-hour SO2 nonattainment designation for 
the Area, Kentucky was required to develop a nonattainment SIP revision 
addressing certain CAA requirements. Among other things, the 
Commonwealth was required to submit a SIP revision addressing RACM and 
base year inventory requirements pursuant to CAA section 172(c)(1) and 
section 172(c)(3), respectively, for its portion of the Area. Although 
EPA does not believe that section 172(c)(1) RACM must be approved into 
a SIP prior to redesignation of an area to attainment once that area is 
attaining the NAAQS, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's RACM 
determination into its SIP pursuant to a recent decision by the United 
States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Sixth Circuit), as 
discussed in Section V.A, below. EPA is also proposing to approve 
Kentucky's 2011 base year inventory as satisfying section 172(c)(3) 
requirements.
    On November 21, 2016, EPA published its final approval of the 
redesignation request and maintenance plan for the Ohio portion of the 
Area. See 81 FR 83158. As part of that final action, EPA determined 
that the entire Area has attained the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. 
Based on EPA's final determination of attainment, EPA is proposing to 
approve Kentucky's March 31, 2015, request for EPA to determine that 
the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area has attained the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS per EPA's ``Clean Data Policy.'' Under the Clean 
Data Policy, a determination that an area is attaining the NAAQS 
suspends the obligations to submit an attainment demonstration and 
associated RACM, RFP plans, contingency measures, and certain other 
planning-related requirements until EPA redesignates the Area to 
attainment (at which time the requirements no longer apply) or EPA 
determines that the Area violates the standard.\2\
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    \2\ Following enactment of the CAA Amendments of 1990, EPA 
promulgated its interpretation of the requirements for implementing 
the NAAQS in the general preamble for the Implementation of Title I 
of the CAA Amendments of 1990 (General Preamble) 57 FR 13498, 13564 
(April 16, 1992). In 1995, based on the interpretation of CAA 
sections 171 and 172, and section 182 in the General Preamble, EPA 
set forth what has become known as its ``Clean Data Policy'' for the 
1-hour ozone NAAQS. See Memorandum from John S. Seitz, Director, 
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, ``RFP, Attainment 
Demonstration, and Related Requirements for Ozone Nonattainment 
Areas Meeting the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'' (May 
10, 1995). Since 1995, EPA has applied its interpretation under the 
Clean Data Policy in many rulemakings, suspending certain 
attainment-related planning requirements for individual areas, based 
on a determination of attainment and that interpretation has been 
upheld by federal courts.
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    EPA is also proposing to approve Kentucky's maintenance plan for 
its portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area as meeting the 
requirements of section 175A (such approval being one of the CAA 
criteria for redesignation to attainment status) and incorporate it 
into the SIP. The maintenance plan is designed to keep the Area in 
attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS through 2027.
    EPA also proposes to determine that the Kentucky portion of the 
Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area has met the requirements for 
redesignation under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. Accordingly, in 
this action, EPA is proposing to approve a request to change the legal 
designation of the portion of Campbell County, Kentucky, within the 
Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area, as found at 40 CFR part 81, from 
nonattainment to attainment for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.
    In summary, this proposed rulemaking is in response to Kentucky's 
March 31, 2015, submittal requesting a clean data determination and to 
Kentucky's February 22, 2016, redesignation request and associated SIP 
submission that address the necessary elements described in section 
107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA for redesignation of the Kentucky portion of 
the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area to attainment for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS.

II. What is the background for EPA's proposed actions?

    On June 2, 2010, EPA revised the primary SO2 NAAQS, 
establishing a new 1-hour SO2 standard of 75 parts per 
billion (ppb). See 75 FR 35520 (June 22, 2010). Under EPA's regulations 
at 40 CFR part 50, the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS is met at a 
monitoring site when the 3-year average of the annual 99th percentile 
of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations is less than or equal to 75 ppb 
(based on the rounding convention in 40 CFR part 50, appendix T). See 
40 CFR 50.17. Ambient air quality monitoring data for the 3-year period 
must meet a data completeness requirement. A year meets data 
completeness requirements when all four quarters are complete, and a 
quarter is complete when at least 75 percent of the sampling days for 
each quarter have complete data. A sampling day has complete data if 75 
percent of the hourly concentration values, including state-flagged 
data affected by exceptional events which have been approved for 
exclusion by the Administrator, are reported.\3\
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    \3\ 40 CFR part 50, appendix T, section 3(b).
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    Upon promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, the CAA requires EPA 
to designate as nonattainment any area that does not meet (or that 
contributes to ambient air quality in a nearby area that does not meet) 
the NAAQS. At the time EPA conducted the initial round of designations 
for the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS, Campbell County 
contained an SO2 monitor which registered violations of the 
standard based on the three most recent years of complete, quality 
assured, and certified ambient air quality data. Using 2009-2011 
ambient air quality data, EPA designated the Area as nonattainment for 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS on August 5, 2013 (78 FR 47191), 
which became effective on October 4, 2013. This nonattainment 
designation established an attainment date five years after the October 
4, 2013, effective date for areas designated as nonattainment for the 
2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. Therefore, the Campbell-Clermont, KY-
OH Area's attainment date is October 4, 2018. KDAQ was also required to 
submit a SIP to EPA that meets the requirements of CAA sections 172(c) 
and 191-192 within 18 months following the October 4, 2013, effective 
date of designation (i.e., April 4, 2015).
    As mentioned above, on March 31, 2015, KDAQ submitted a request for 
EPA to determine that the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area has attained 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS per EPA's ``Clean Data Policy.'' 
Subsequently, on February 22, 2016, KDAQ submitted to EPA a request for 
redesignation of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area to attainment and a 
SIP revision containing a maintenance plan for the Kentucky portion of 
the Area.

III. What are the criteria for redesignation?

    The CAA provides the requirements for redesignating a nonattainment 
area to attainment. Specifically, section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA 
allows for redesignation provided that the following criteria are met: 
(1) The Administrator determines that the area has attained the 
applicable NAAQS; (2) the Administrator has fully approved the 
applicable implementation plan for the area under section 110(k); (3) 
the Administrator determines that the improvement in air quality is due 
to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from 
implementation of the applicable SIP and applicable federal air 
pollutant

[[Page 86666]]

control regulations, and other permanent and enforceable reductions; 
(4) the Administrator has fully approved a maintenance plan for the 
area as meeting the requirements of section 175A; and (5) the state 
containing such area has met all requirements applicable to the area 
for purposes of redesignation under section 110 and part D of the CAA.
    On April 16, 1992 (57 FR 13498), EPA provided guidance on 
redesignation in the General Preamble for the Implementation of title I 
of the CAA Amendments of 1990 and supplemented this guidance on April 
28, 1992 (57 FR 18070). EPA has provided further guidance on processing 
redesignation requests in several guidance documents. For the purposes 
of this proposed action, EPA will be referencing three of these 
documents: (1) The September 4, 1992, memorandum from John Calcagni 
titled ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to 
Attainment'' (hereinafter referred to as the ``Calcagni Memo''); (2) 
the October 14, 1994, memorandum from Mary D. Nichols titled ``Part D 
New Source Review (Part D NSR) Requirements for Areas Requesting 
Redesignation to Attainment'' (hereinafter referred to as the ``Nichols 
Memo''); and (3) the April 23, 2014 memorandum from Stephen D. Page 
titled ``Guidance for 1-Hour SO2 Nonattainment Area SIP 
Submissions'' (hereinafter referred to as ``2010 SO2 
Nonattainment Area Guidance'').

IV. Why is EPA proposing these actions?

    On March 31, 2015, KDAQ submitted a request for EPA to determine 
that the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area has attained the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS per EPA's ``Clean Data Policy.'' Subsequently, on 
February 22, 2016, KDAQ requested that EPA redesignate the Kentucky 
portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area to attainment for the 2010 
1-hour SO2 NAAQS. On November 21, 2016, EPA determined that 
the entire Area has attained the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS as 
part of its final action redesignating the Ohio portion of the Area. 
EPA's evaluation indicates that the Kentucky portion of the Campbell-
Clermont, KY-OH Area meets the requirements for redesignation as set 
forth in section 107(d)(3)(E), including the maintenance plan 
requirements under section 175A of the CAA. As a result, EPA is 
proposing to take the five related actions summarized in section I of 
this notice.

V. What is EPA's analysis of the redesignation request and SIP 
revisions?

    As stated above, in accordance with the CAA, EPA proposes to: (1) 
Approve Kentucky's Subpart 1 RACM determination for the Kentucky 
portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area and incorporate it into 
the SIP; (2) approve the base year emissions inventory for the 2010 
SO2 NAAQS for the Kentucky portion of the Area and 
incorporate it into the SIP; (3) approve Kentucky's March 31, 2015, 
request for a clean data determination; (4) approve the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS maintenance plan for the Kentucky portion of the 
Area and incorporate it into the SIP; and (5) redesignate the Kentucky 
portion of the Area to attainment for the 2010 1-hour SO2 
NAAQS.

A. RACM Determination

1. Relationship Between Subpart 1 RACM and the Redesignation Criteria
    EPA does not believe that Subpart 1 nonattainment planning 
requirements designed to provide for attainment, including RACM, are 
``applicable'' for purposes of CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) once an 
area is attaining the NAAQS and, therefore, does not believe that these 
planning requirements must be approved into the SIP before EPA can 
redesignate an area to attainment. See, e.g., 57 FR 13498, 13564 (April 
16, 1992); Calcagni Memo. However, the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion 
in Sierra Club v. EPA, 793 F.3d 656 (6th Cir. 2015), that is 
inconsistent with this longstanding interpretation regarding section 
107(d)(3)(E)(ii). In its decision, the Court vacated EPA's 
redesignation of the Indiana and Ohio portions of the Cincinnati-
Hamilton nonattainment area to attainment for the 1997 Fine Particulate 
Matter (PM2.5) NAAQS because EPA had not yet approved 
Subpart 1 RACM for the Cincinnati Area into the Indiana and Ohio SIPs. 
The Court concluded that ``a State seeking redesignation `shall provide 
for the implementation' of RACM/RACT [reasonably available control 
technology], even if those measures are not strictly necessary to 
demonstrate attainment with the PM2.5 NAAQS. If the State 
has not done so, EPA cannot `fully approve' the area's SIP, and 
redesignation to attainment status is improper.'' Sierra Club, 793 F.3d 
at 670.
    EPA is bound by the Sixth Circuit's decision in Sierra Club v. EPA 
within the Court's jurisdiction.\4\ Although EPA continues to believe 
that Subpart 1 RACM is not an applicable requirement under section 
107(d)(3)(E) for an area that has already attained the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's RACM 
determination into the SIP pursuant to the Court's decision.\5\
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    \4\ The states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee are 
located within the Sixth Circuit's jurisdiction.
    \5\ The EPA Region 4 Regional Administrator signed a memorandum 
on July 20, 2015, seeking concurrence from the Director of EPA's Air 
Quality Policy Division (AQPD) in the Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards to act inconsistent with EPA's interpretation of CAA 
sections 107(d)(3)(E) and 172(c)(1) when taking action on pending 
and future redesignation requests in Kentucky and Tennessee because 
the Region is bound by the Sixth Circuit's decision in Sierra Club 
v. EPA. The AQPD Director issued her concurrence on July 22, 2015. 
This memorandum is not required to satisfy EPA's regional 
consistency regulations. See 40 CFR 56.5(b)(1); 81 FR 51102 (August 
3, 2016).
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2. Subpart 1 RACM Requirements
    Subpart 1 requires that each attainment plan ``provide for the 
implementation of all reasonably available control measures as 
expeditiously as practicable (including such reductions in emissions 
from the existing sources in the area as may be obtained through the 
adoption, at a minimum, of reasonably available control technology), 
and shall provide for attainment of the national primary ambient air 
quality standards.'' See CAA section 172(c)(1). EPA has consistently 
interpreted this provision to require only implementation of potential 
RACM measures that could advance attainment.\6\ Thus, when an area is 
already attaining the standard, no additional RACM measures are 
required. EPA's interpretation that Subpart 1 requires only the 
implementation of RACM measures that would advance attainment was 
upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit \7\ 
and by the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.\8\
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    \6\ This interpretation was adopted in the General Preamble, see 
57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992), and has been upheld as applied to the 
Clean Data Policy, as well as to nonattainment SIP submissions. See 
NRDC v. EPA, 571 F.3d 1245 (D.C. Cir. 2009); Sierra Club v. EPA, 294 
F.3d 155 (D.C. Cir. 2002).
    \7\ Sierra Club v. EPA, 314 F.3d 735, 743-745 (5th Cir. 2002).
    \8\ Sierra Club v. EPA, 294 F.3d 155, 162-163 (D.C. Cir. 2002); 
NRDC v. EPA, 571 F.3d 1245, 1252 (D.C. Cir. 2009).
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3. Proposed Action on RACM Based on Attainment of the NAAQS
    In its February 22, 2016, SIP revision, Kentucky determined that no 
additional control measures are necessary in the Area to satisfy the 
section 172(c)(1)

[[Page 86667]]

RACM requirement. EPA is proposing to approve this determination on the 
basis that the Area has attained the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS 
and, therefore, no emission reduction measures are necessary to satisfy 
Subpart 1 RACM. As noted above, EPA has determined that the Area has 
attained the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS and is proposing to 
determine that the Area continues to attain the standard. See 81 FR 
47144. Because the Area is attaining the standard, there are no 
emissions controls that could advance the attainment date; thus, no 
emissions controls are necessary to satisfy Subpart 1 RACM.
4. Proposed Action on RACM Based on the Commonwealth's Analysis
    Additionally, Kentucky's Subpart 1 RACM determination is approvable 
on the basis that the SIP revision demonstrates that no additional 
reasonably available controls would have advanced the attainment date. 
In Kentucky's RACM analysis, the Commonwealth notes that the only large 
point source of SO2 emissions in the Area--the Walter C. 
Beckjord power plant--was permanently shut down and removed from 
service in 2014. The Beckjord Facility has been demonstrated to be the 
primary SO2 source that caused the monitored exceedances, 
and since the closure of the Beckjord Facility, there has been a 
significant monitored improvement in SO2 air quality (see 
Table 2 in section V.C, below). The closure results in a reduction of 
90,835 tons per year (tpy) based on the Facility's 2011 emissions 
(representing emissions from the time period for which the design value 
for the Area was above the NAAQS) and a reduction of 32,602 tpy based 
on the Facility's 2014 emissions (representing emissions from a time 
period for which the design value was below the NAAQS) (see Tables 3-5 
in section V.C, below). Because the only large point source of 
SO2 emissions in the Area is permanently shut down and 
because total point source SO2 emissions in the Kentucky 
portion of the Area were only approximately 0.8 tons per year in 2011, 
the Commonwealth concludes that there are no potential emission 
reduction measures that would advance attainment by one year or more. 
EPA has reviewed the RACM portion of Kentucky's February 22, 2016, SIP 
revision and preliminarily agrees with the Commonwealth's determination 
that it was not necessary to adopt or implement additional 
SO2 control measures in the Area to satisfy section 
172(c)(1).

B. Emission Inventory

    Section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires states to submit a 
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from 
all sources of the relevant pollutant or pollutants in each 
nonattainment area. This inventory can be submitted for a year that 
contributed to the three-year design value used for the original 
nonattainment designation and should be consistent with the emissions 
inventory data requirements in 40 CFR part 51, subpart A.
    Kentucky submitted a base year emissions inventory for 2011 to 
satisfy section 172(c)(3). This base year is one of the three years of 
ambient data used to designate the Area as a nonattainment area and 
therefore represents emissions associated with nonattainment 
conditions. The emissions inventory is based on data developed and 
submitted by Kentucky to EPA's 2011 National Emissions Inventory (NEI), 
and it contains data elements consistent with the detail required by 40 
CFR part 51, subpart A. Kentucky's base year emissions inventory for 
its portion of the Area provides 2011 emissions data for SO2 
for the following general source categories: electric generating unit 
(EGU) point, non-EGU point, area, non-road mobile, and on-road mobile. 
All base year emissions data are taken from the NEI with the exception 
of point source emissions which were obtained from Kentucky's Emission 
Inventory database and mobile emissions which were generated by the 
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI). 
Projections were developed for each sector as follows:
     Area source emissions were compiled from the 2011 NEI and 
projections were developed by Kentucky. Kentucky developed its 
inventory according to the current EPA emissions inventory guidance for 
area sources.
     Mobile source emissions were calculated from MOVES2014b-
produced emission factors. As performed by OKI, mobile source emission 
projections are based on the EPA MOVES model. The analysis is described 
in more detail in Appendix E of Kentucky's February 22, 2016, SIP 
submission. Kentucky developed its inventory according to the current 
EPA emissions inventory guidance for on-road mobile sources using MOVES 
version 2014.
     Non-EGU point source information was compiled from 
Kentucky's 2011 Emissions Inventory Database, while Ohio's EGU point 
source information was compiled from the 2011 data in the CAMD 
database. Projections were developed by Kentucky as described in 
Appendix C of Kentucky's February 22, 2016, SIP submission.
     Non-road emissions were compiled from the 2011 NEI and 
projections were developed by Kentucky.
     Biogenic emissions are negligible and are not included in 
these summaries.
    A detailed discussion of the inventory development is located in 
Appendices C and E to Kentucky's February 22, 2016, SIP submittal which 
is provided in the docket for this proposed action. Table 1, below, 
provides a summary of the base year emissions inventory.

                          Table 1--2011 Emissions Inventory for the Kentucky Portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area (tpy)
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                      County                           EGU point      Non-EGU point   Non-road mobile        Area        On-road mobile       Total
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Campbell County...................................               0             0.78             0.20             6.03             1.55             8.56
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    For the reasons discussed above, EPA has preliminarily determined 
that Kentucky's 2011 base year emissions inventory meets the 
requirements under CAA section 172(c)(3). Approval of Kentucky's 
redesignation request is contingent upon EPA's final approval of the 
base year emissions inventory for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.

C. Redesignation Request and Maintenance Demonstration

    The five redesignation criteria provided under CAA section 
107(d)(3)(E) are discussed in greater detail for the Area in the 
following paragraphs.
Criteria (1)--The Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area Has Attained the 2010 
1-Hour SO2 NAAQS
    For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA 
requires EPA to determine that the area has attained the applicable 
NAAQS (CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(i)). The two primary methods for 
evaluating ambient air

[[Page 86668]]

quality impacted by SO2 emissions are through dispersion 
modeling and air quality monitoring. For SO2, an area may in 
some circumstances be considered to be attaining the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS if it meets the NAAQS as determined in accordance 
with 40 CFR 50.17 and Appendix T of part 50, based on three complete, 
consecutive calendar years of quality-assured air quality monitoring 
data. To attain the NAAQS based on monitoring, the 3-year average of 
the annual 99th percentile (fourth highest value) of 1-hour daily 
maximum concentrations measured at each monitor within an area must be 
less than or equal to 75 parts per billion (ppb). The data must be 
collected and quality-assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and 
recorded in the EPA Air Quality System (AQS).
    As discussed in EPA's 2010 SO2 Nonattainment Area 
Guidance, two components are needed to support an attainment 
determination: (1) A review of representative air quality monitoring 
data, and (2) a further analysis, generally requiring air quality 
modeling, to demonstrate that the entire area is attaining the 
standard, based on current actual emissions or the fully implemented 
control strategy. In EPA's action redesignating the Ohio portion of the 
Area, EPA determined that the Area has attained the 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS based on these two components. For EPA's full 
analysis underlying its final attainment determination, see 81 FR 
47144, 47145-47 (July 20, 2016). As part of that analysis, EPA reviewed 
2012-2015 SO2 monitoring data from the monitoring station in 
the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area for the 2010 1-hour SO2 
NAAQS and preliminary data for 2016. The 2012-2015 data have been 
quality-assured, are recorded in Aerometric Information Retrieval 
System (AIRS-AQS), and the 3-year design values for 2012-2014 and 2013-
2015 are below the NAAQS. The fourth-highest 1-hour SO2 
values at each monitor for 2012-2015, and the 3-year averages of these 
values (i.e., design values), are summarized in Table 2, below.

                                       Table 2--Design Value Concentrations for the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area
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                                                              4th Highest 1-hour sulfur dioxide value  (ppb)               3-Year design values  (ppb)
             Location                    Site      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          2012             2013             2014             2015          2012-2014        2013-2015
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Campbell County, KY..............     21-037-3002               85               71               61               18               72               50
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    Preliminary monitoring data for the Area for 2016 does not indicate 
a violation of the NAAQS.\9\ EPA will not take final action to approve 
the redesignation if the 3-year design value exceeds the NAAQS prior to 
EPA finalizing the redesignation. As discussed in more detail below, 
the Commonwealth has committed to continue monitoring in this Area in 
accordance with 40 CFR part 58.
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    \9\ This preliminary data is available at EPA's air data Web 
site: http://aqsdr1.epa.gov/aqsweb/aqstmp/airdata/download_files.html#Daily.
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Criteria (2)--Kentucky Has a Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) 
for the Kentucky Portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area; and 
Criteria (5)--Kentucky Has Met All Applicable Requirements Under 
Section 110 and Part D of Title I of the CAA
    For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA 
requires EPA to determine that the state has met all applicable 
requirements under section 110 and part D of title I of the CAA (CAA 
section 107(d)(3)(E)(v)) and that the state has a fully approved SIP 
under section 110(k) for the area (CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii)). EPA 
proposes to find that Kentucky has met all applicable SIP requirements 
for the Kentucky portion of the Area under section 110 of the CAA 
(general SIP requirements) for purposes of redesignation. Additionally, 
EPA proposes to find that the Kentucky SIP satisfies the criterion that 
it meets applicable SIP requirements for purposes of redesignation 
under part D of title I of the CAA in accordance with section 
107(d)(3)(E)(v). Further, EPA proposes to determine that the SIP is 
fully approved with respect to all requirements applicable for purposes 
of redesignation in accordance with section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii). In making 
these determinations, EPA ascertained which requirements are applicable 
to the Area and, if applicable, that they are fully approved under 
section 110(k). SIPs must be fully approved only with respect to 
requirements that were applicable prior to submittal of the complete 
redesignation request.
a. The Kentucky Portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area Has Met 
All Applicable Requirements Under Section 110 and Part D of the CAA
    General SIP requirements. General SIP elements and requirements are 
delineated in section 110(a)(2) of title I, part A of the CAA. These 
requirements include, but are not limited to, the following: Submittal 
of a SIP that has been adopted by the state after reasonable public 
notice and hearing; provisions for establishment and operation of 
appropriate procedures needed to monitor ambient air quality; 
implementation of a source permit program; provisions for the 
implementation of part C requirements (Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD)) and provisions for the implementation of part D 
requirements (NSR permit programs); provisions for air pollution 
modeling; and provisions for public and local agency participation in 
planning and emission control rule development.
    Section 110(a)(2)(D) requires that SIPs contain certain measures to 
prevent sources in a state from significantly contributing to air 
quality problems in another state. To implement this provision, EPA has 
required certain states to establish programs to address the interstate 
transport of air pollutants. The section 110(a)(2)(D) requirements for 
a state are not linked with a particular nonattainment area's 
designation and classification in that state. EPA believes that the 
requirements linked with a particular nonattainment area's designation 
and classifications are the relevant measures to evaluate in reviewing 
a redesignation request. The transport SIP submittal requirements, 
where applicable, continue to apply to a state regardless of the 
designation of any one particular area in the state. Thus, EPA does not 
believe that the CAA's interstate transport requirements should be 
construed to be applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation.
    In addition, EPA believes that other section 110(a)(2) elements 
that are neither connected with nonattainment plan submissions nor 
linked with an area's attainment status are not applicable requirements 
for purposes of redesignation. The area will still be subject to these 
requirements after the

[[Page 86669]]

area is redesignated. The section 110(a)(2) and part D requirements 
which are linked with a particular area's designation and 
classification are the relevant measures to evaluate in reviewing a 
redesignation request. This approach is consistent with EPA's existing 
policy on applicability (i.e., for redesignations) of conformity and 
oxygenated fuels requirements, as well as with section 184 ozone 
transport requirements. See Reading, Pennsylvania, proposed and final 
rulemakings (61 FR 53174-53176, October 10, 1996), (62 FR 24826, May 7, 
2008); Cleveland-Akron-Loraine, Ohio, final rulemaking (61 FR 20458, 
May 7, 1996); and Tampa, Florida, final rulemaking at (60 FR 62748, 
December 7, 1995). See also the discussion on this issue in the 
Cincinnati, Ohio, redesignation (65 FR 37890, June 19, 2000), and in 
the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, redesignation (66 FR 50399, October 19, 
2001).
    EPA has reviewed Kentucky's SIP and has concluded that it meets the 
general SIP requirements under section 110(a)(2) of the CAA to the 
extent they are applicable for purposes of redesignation. These 
requirements are statewide requirements that are not linked to the 
SO2 nonattainment status of the Area. Therefore, EPA 
believes that these SIP elements are not applicable requirements for 
purposes of review of Kentucky's SO2 redesignation request.
    Title I, Part D, applicable SIP requirements. Subpart 1 of part D, 
comprised of CAA sections 171-179B, sets forth the basic nonattainment 
requirements applicable to all nonattainment areas, and subpart 5 of 
part D, which includes section 191 and 192 of the CAA, establishes 
additional plan deadline and attainment date requirements for 
SO2, nitrogen dioxide, and lead nonattainment areas. A 
thorough discussion of the requirements contained in sections 172(c) 
can be found in the General Preamble for Implementation of Title I (57 
FR 13498).
    Subpart 1 Section 172 Requirements. Under section 172, states with 
nonattainment areas must submit plans providing for timely attainment 
and meeting a variety of other requirements. As discussed in section 
V.A, above, EPA's longstanding interpretation of the attainment-related 
nonattainment planning requirements of section 172 is that once an area 
is attaining the NAAQS, those requirements are not ``applicable'' for 
purposes of CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) and therefore need not be 
approved into the SIP before EPA can redesignate the area. In the 1992 
General Preamble for Implementation of Title I, EPA set forth its 
interpretation of applicable requirements for purposes of evaluating 
redesignation requests when an area is attaining a standard. See 57 FR 
13498, 13564 (April 16, 1992). EPA noted that the requirements for RFP 
and other measures designed to provide for attainment do not apply in 
evaluating redesignation requests because those nonattainment planning 
requirements ``have no meaning'' for an area that has already attained 
the standard. Id. This interpretation was also set forth in the 
Calcagni Memo. EPA's understanding of section 172 also forms the basis 
of its Clean Data Policy, articulated with regard to the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS in the 2010 SO2 NAA Guidance, which 
suspends a state's obligation to submit most of the attainment planning 
requirements that would otherwise apply, including an attainment 
demonstration and planning SIPs to provide for RFP, RACM, and 
contingency measures under section 172(c)(9). However, as discussed 
above, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's RACM determination into 
the SIP in response to the Sixth Circuit's decision that section 
172(c)(1) RACM is an applicable requirement under 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) and 
must be approved into the SIP before EPA can redesignate an area that 
is subject to section 172(c)(1) requirements.
    Because attainment has been reached in the Area, the section 
172(c)(2) requirement that nonattainment plans contain provisions 
promoting reasonable further progress toward attainment is not relevant 
for purposes of redesignation. In addition, because the Area has 
attained the standard and is no longer subject to a RFP requirement, 
the requirement to submit the section 172(c)(9) contingency measures is 
not applicable for purposes of redesignation. Section 172(c)(6) 
requires the SIP to contain control measures necessary to provide for 
attainment of the NAAQS. Because attainment has been reached, no 
additional measures are needed to provide for attainment.
    Section 172(c)(3) requires submission and approval of a 
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions. As 
noted above, Kentucky submitted a 2011 base year emissions inventory 
for the Kentucky portion of the Area, and EPA is proposing to approve 
that inventory as satisfying the requirements of section 172(c)(3). 
Kentucky's section 172(c)(3) inventory must be approved before EPA can 
take final action to approve the Commonwealth's redesignation request 
for the Kentucky portion of the Area.
    Section 172(c)(4) requires the identification and quantification of 
allowable emissions for major new and modified stationary sources to be 
allowed in an area, and section 172(c)(5) requires source permits for 
the construction and operation of new and modified major stationary 
sources anywhere in the nonattainment area. EPA has determined that, 
since PSD requirements will apply after redesignation, areas being 
redesignated need not comply with the requirement that a NSR program be 
approved prior to redesignation, provided that the area demonstrates 
maintenance of the NAAQS without part D NSR. A more detailed rationale 
for this view is described in the Nichols Memo. Kentucky has 
demonstrated that the Area will be able to maintain the NAAQS without 
part D NSR in effect, and therefore Kentucky need not have fully 
approved part D NSR programs prior to approval of the redesignation 
request. Kentucky's PSD program will become effective in Campbell 
County upon redesignation to attainment.
    Section 172(c)(7) requires the SIP to meet the applicable 
provisions of section 110(a)(2). As noted above, EPA believes the 
Kentucky SIP meets the requirements of section 110(a)(2) applicable for 
purposes of redesignation.
    Section 176 Conformity Requirements. Section 176(c) of the CAA 
requires states to establish criteria and procedures to ensure that 
federally supported or funded projects conform to the air quality 
planning goals in the applicable SIP. The requirement to determine 
conformity applies to transportation plans, programs, and projects that 
are developed, funded, or approved under title 23 of the United States 
Code (U.S.C.) and the Federal Transit Act (transportation conformity) 
as well as to all other federally supported or funded projects (general 
conformity). State transportation conformity SIP revisions must be 
consistent with federal conformity regulations relating to 
consultation, enforcement, and enforceability that EPA promulgated 
pursuant to its authority under the CAA.
    EPA believes that it is reasonable to interpret the conformity SIP 
requirements \10\ as not applying for purposes of evaluating the 
redesignation request under section 107(d) because

[[Page 86670]]

state conformity rules are still required after redesignation and 
federal conformity rules apply where state rules have not been 
approved. See Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426 (upholding this interpretation) 
(6th Cir. 2001); See 60 FR 62748 (December 7, 1995). Furthermore, due 
to the relatively small, and decreasing, amounts of sulfur in gasoline 
and on-road diesel fuel, the EPA's transportation conformity rules 
provide that they do not apply to SO2 unless either the EPA 
Regional Administrator or the director of the state air agency has 
found that transportation-related emissions of SO2 as a 
precursor are a significant contributor to a fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) nonattainment problem, or if the SIP has established 
an approved or adequate budget for such emissions as part of the RFP, 
attainment, or maintenance strategy. See 40 CFR 93.102(b)(1), (2)(v); 
2010 SO2 Nonattainment Area Guidance. Neither of these 
conditions have been met; therefore, the EPA's transportation 
conformity rules do not apply to SO2 for the Area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ CAA Section 176(c)(4)(E) requires states to submit 
revisions to their SIPs to reflect certain federal criteria and 
procedures for determining transportation conformity. Transportation 
conformity SIPs are different from the motor vehicle emission 
budgets that are established in control strategy SIPs and 
maintenance plans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For these reasons, EPA proposes to find that Kentucky has satisfied 
all applicable requirements for purposes of redesignation of the 
Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area under section 110 and part D of title I 
of the CAA.
b. The Kentucky Portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area Has a 
Fully Approved Applicable SIP Under Section 110(k) of the CAA
    EPA has fully approved the Commonwealth's SIP for the Kentucky 
portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area under section 110(k) of 
the CAA for all requirements applicable for purposes of this proposed 
redesignation with the exception of the Subpart 1 RACM and emissions 
inventory requirements. In today's proposed action, EPA is proposing to 
approve the Commonwealth's Subpart 1 RACM determination and the Subpart 
1 emissions inventory for the Kentucky portion of the Area into the 
Kentucky SIP.
    As indicated above, EPA believes that the section 110 elements that 
are neither connected with nonattainment plan submissions nor linked to 
an area's nonattainment status are not applicable requirements for 
purposes of redesignation. If EPA finalizes approval of the 
Commonwealth's Subpart 1 RACM determination and Subpart 1 emissions 
inventory, EPA has approved all part D requirements applicable under 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS, as identified above, for purposes 
of this proposed redesignation pursuant to the Sixth Circuit's 
decision.
Criteria (3)--The Air Quality Improvement in the Campbell-Clermont, KY-
OH Area Is Due to Permanent and Enforceable Reductions in Emissions 
Resulting From Implementation of the SIP and Applicable Federal Air 
Pollution Control Regulations and Other Permanent and Enforceable 
Reductions
    For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA 
requires EPA to determine that the air quality improvement in the area 
is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting 
from implementation of the SIP, applicable Federal air pollution 
control regulations, and other permanent and enforceable reductions 
(CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii)). EPA has preliminarily determined that 
Kentucky has demonstrated that the observed air quality improvement in 
the Area is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions 
primarily resulting from the permanent shutdown of the Beckjord 
Facility.
    When EPA designated the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area as a 
nonattainment area for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS, EPA 
determined that operations at the Beckjord Facility were the primary 
cause of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS violations in the Area. 
See 78 FR 47191.\11\ As mentioned above, operations at the Beckjord 
Facility ceased in 2014. Specifically, its six coal-fired EGUs were 
permanently shut down and removed from service by October 1, 2014, and 
its four oil-fired EGUs were permanently shut down and removed from 
service by the end of 2014.\12\ These units are no longer authorized to 
operate by the state of Ohio and cannot restart without new air 
permits. The shutdown reduced SO2 emissions in the Area by 
approximately 90,835 tpy (based on 2011 emissions) and resulted in a 
significant improvement in SO2 air quality. There are no 
other large point sources of SO2 emissions located in the 
Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See Final Technical Support Document, July 2013, Kentucky 
First Round of Nonattainment Area Designations for the 2010 
SO2 Primary NAAQS, Prepared by EPA Region 4. Available in 
Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0233.
    \12\ The letters from Duke Energy notifying Ohio of the 
shutdowns are located in the appendices to Kentucky's February 22, 
2016 redesignation request and SIP submittal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because the Beckjord Facility which was the primary SO2 
emissions source that caused the monitored exceedances is permanently 
shut down, and cannot reopen without applying for a new operating 
permit, EPA proposes to find that the improvement in air quality in the 
Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area is due to permanent and enforceable 
reductions in SO2 emissions.
Criteria (4)--The Kentucky Portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area 
Has a Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Pursuant to Section 175A of the 
CAA
    For redesignating a nonattainment area to attainment, the CAA 
requires EPA to determine that the area has a fully approved 
maintenance plan pursuant to section 175A of the CAA. See CAA section 
107(d)(3)(E)(iv). In conjunction with its request to redesignate the 
Kentucky portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area to attainment for 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS, KDAQ submitted a SIP revision to 
provide for the maintenance of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS for 
at least 10 years after the effective date of redesignation to 
attainment. EPA is proposing to determine that this maintenance plan 
meets the requirements for approval under section 175A of the CAA.
a. What is required in a maintenance plan?
    Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance 
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment. 
Under section 175A, the plan must demonstrate continued attainment of 
the applicable NAAQS for at least 10 years after the Administrator 
approves a redesignation to attainment. Eight years after the 
redesignation, the state must submit a revised maintenance plan 
demonstrating that attainment will continue to be maintained for the 10 
years following the initial 10-year period. To address the possibility 
of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must contain 
contingency measures as EPA deems necessary to assure prompt correction 
of any future 2010 1-hour SO2 violations. The Calcagni 
Memorandum provides further guidance on the content of a maintenance 
plan, explaining that a maintenance plan should address five 
requirements: the attainment emissions inventory, maintenance 
demonstration, monitoring, verification of continued attainment, and a 
contingency plan. As is discussed more fully below, EPA is proposing to 
determine that Kentucky's maintenance plan includes all the necessary 
components and is thus proposing to approve it as a revision to the 
Kentucky SIP.
b. Attainment Emissions Inventory
    On November 21, 2016, EPA determined that the Campbell-Clermont, 
KY-OH Area has attained the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS based on 
quality-

[[Page 86671]]

assured monitoring data for the 3-year period from 2013-2015. Kentucky 
began development of the attainment inventory by first generating a 
baseline emissions inventory for the Commonwealth's portion of the 
Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area. The Commonwealth selected 2011 as the 
base year and 2014 as the attainment emissions inventory year for 
developing a comprehensive emissions inventory for SO2. To 
evaluate maintenance through 2027 and satisfy the 10-year interval 
required in CAA section 175A, Kentucky prepared projected emissions 
inventories for 2017-2027. The emissions inventories are composed of 
the following general source categories: EGU point, non-EGU point, 
area, non-road mobile, and on-road mobile. The emissions inventories 
were developed consistent with EPA guidance and are summarized in 
Tables 3 through 5 of the following subsection discussing the 
maintenance demonstration. For additional information regarding 
inventory development, please see section V.B., above, and Appendices C 
and E to Kentucky's February 22, 2016, SIP submittal.
c. Maintenance Demonstration
    Maintenance of the SO2 standard is demonstrated either 
by showing that future emissions will not exceed the level of the 
attainment emissions inventory year or by modeling to show that the 
future mix of sources and emission rates will not cause a violation of 
the NAAQS. KDAQ determined that a modeling analysis of maximum 
concentration location was not warranted given the unique circumstances 
of this specific redesignation request. Therefore, Kentucky compared 
the final year of the maintenance plan (2027) to the attainment 
emissions inventory year (2014) and compared interim years to the 
attainment emissions inventory year to demonstrate continued 
maintenance of the 2010 1-hour SO2 standard. See Tables 3 
through 6, below. After the shutdown of the Beckjord Facility in 2014, 
there are no significant point sources of SO2 emissions 
located in the Area.

 Table 3--Kentucky Portion SO2 Emission Inventory Totals for Base Year 2011, Attainment 2014, Projected 2017 & 2022, 2020 Interim, and 2027 Maintenance
                                                                          (tpy)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               2014                                                            2027
                         Sector                              2011 Base      Attainment    2017 Projected   2020 Interim   2022 Projected    Maintenance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EGU Point...............................................               0               0               0               0               0               0
Non-EGU.................................................            0.78            0.78            0.79            0.79            0.78            0.78
Non-road................................................            0.20            0.20            0.20            0.20            0.20            0.20
Area....................................................            6.03            6.04            6.06            6.08            6.03            6.02
On-road.................................................            1.55            1.51            1.44            1.40            1.37            1.26
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................            8.56            8.53            8.49            8.47            8.38            8.26
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Table 4--Ohio Portion SO2 Emission Inventory Totals for Base Year 2011, Attainment 2014, Projected 2017 & 2022, Interim 2020, and 2027 Maintenance (tpy)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               2014                                                            2027
                         Sector                              2011 Base      Attainment    2017 Projected   2020 Interim   2022 Projected    Maintenance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EGU Point...............................................       90,834.50       32,602.44               0               0               0               0
Non-EGU.................................................               0               0               0               0               0               0
Non-road................................................            0.17            0.18            0.18            0.18            0.18            0.19
Area....................................................            7.51            7.63            7.75            7.88            7.86            8.00
On-road.................................................            0.34            0.33            0.32            0.31            0.30            0.28
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................       90,842.52       32,610.58            8.25            8.37            8.34            8.47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Table 5--Combined Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area SO2 Emission Inventory Totals for Base Year 2011, Attainment 2014, Projected 2017 & 2022, Interim 2020,
                                                               and 2027 Maintenance (tpy)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               2014                                                            2027
                           SO2                               2011 Base      Attainment    2017 Projected   2020 Interim   2022 Projected    Maintenance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ohio Portion............................................       90,842.52       32,610.58            8.25            8.37            8.34            8.47
Kentucky Portion........................................            8.56            8.53            8.49            8.47            8.38            8.26
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Combined SO2 Total..................................       90,851.08       32,619.11           16.74           16.84           16.72           16.73
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


             Table 6--Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area Comparison of 2014 Attainment Year and 2020 and 2027 Projected Emission Estimates (tpy)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        2020 Projected        2027        2027 Projected
                                                                     2014 Attainment    2020 Interim       decrease       Maintenance        decrease
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SO2................................................................       32,619.11            16.84       -32,602.27            16.73       -32.602.38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 86672]]

    As shown in the tables above, the closure of the Beckjord Facility 
in 2014 resulted in a reduction of 90,835 tpy based on the Facility's 
2011 emissions and a reduction of 32,602 tpy based on the Facility's 
2014 emissions. After the shutdown, total SO2 emissions in 
the Area remain relatively constant through 2027. Therefore, EPA is 
proposing to determine that the maintenance plan demonstrates continued 
maintenance through 2027.
d. Monitoring Network
    There is one SO2 monitor located within the Kentucky 
portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area, and the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 nonattainment designation was based on data collected 
from 2009-2011 at this monitor. There are no SO2 monitors 
located in Clermont County, Ohio. The Kentucky monitor is operated by 
the KDAQ's, Florence Regional office. In its maintenance plan, Kentucky 
has committed to continue operation of the monitor in the Kentucky 
portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area in compliance with 40 CFR 
part 58 and has thus addressed the requirement for monitoring. KDAQ's 
monitoring network plan was submitted on July 1, 2015, and approved by 
EPA on October 28, 2015.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ Kentucky's approved monitoring network plan can be accessed 
at www.regulations.gov using Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-2014-0426.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

e. Verification of Continued Attainment
    The Commonwealth of Kentucky, through KDAQ, has the legal authority 
to enforce and implement the maintenance plan for the Kentucky portion 
of the Area. This includes the authority to adopt, implement, and 
enforce any subsequent emissions control contingency measures 
determined to be necessary to correct future SO2 attainment 
problems. The Commonwealth has committed to track the progress of the 
maintenance plan by updating its emissions inventory at least once 
every three years and comparing these updated inventories to the 2011 
base year and the 2027 projected maintenance year inventories to assess 
emission trends, as necessary, and to assure continued compliance with 
the standard.
    Additionally, monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements 
are incorporated into permits to ensure ongoing compliance. Kentucky 
has an active enforcement program to address violations discovered by 
the field office. For all of the reasons discussed above, EPA is 
proposing to find that Kentucky's maintenance plan meets the 
``Verification of Continued Attainment'' requirement.
f. Contingency Measures in the Maintenance Plan
    Section 175A of the CAA requires that a maintenance plan include 
such contingency measures as EPA deems necessary to assure that the 
state will promptly correct a violation of the NAAQS that occurs after 
redesignation. The maintenance plan should identify the contingency 
measures to be adopted, a schedule and procedure for adoption and 
implementation, and a time limit for action by the state.\14\ A state 
should also identify specific indicators to be used to determine when 
the contingency measures need to be implemented. The maintenance plan 
must include a requirement that a state will implement all measures 
with respect to control of the pollutant that were contained in the SIP 
before redesignation of the area to attainment in accordance with 
section 175A(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ In cases where attainment revolves around compliance of a 
single source or a small set of sources with emissions limits shown 
to provide for attainment, the EPA interprets ``contingency 
measures'' to mean that the state agency has a comprehensive program 
to identify sources of violations of the SO2 NAAQS and to 
undertake aggressive follow-up for compliance and enforcement, 
including expedited procedures for establishing enforceable consent 
agreement pending the adoption of revised SIPs. See 2010 
SO2 Nonattainment Area Guidance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Kentucky will rely on enforcing the applicable requirements in 
source permits. All measures in the permits and the SIP are being 
implemented prior to redesignation of the Area to attainment. In the 
event that a monitored exceedance of the SO2 NAAQS occurs in 
the future, the Commonwealth will expeditiously investigate and perform 
culpability analyses to determine the source that caused the exceedance 
and/or violation, and enforce any SIP or permit limit that is violated. 
Enforcement and compliance programs exist in the Commonwealth to 
identify sources of violations of the NAAQS and to follow-up for 
compliance and enforcement.
    Further, if all sources are found to be in compliance with 
applicable SIP and permit emission limits, the Commonwealth will 
perform the necessary analysis to determine the cause of the 
exceedance, and determine what additional control measures are 
necessary to impose on the Area's stationary sources to continue to 
maintain attainment of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.
    The Commonwealth will inform any affected stationary sources of 
SO2 of the potential need for additional control measures. 
If there is an exceedance of the NAAQS for SO2, it will 
notify the stationary source(s) that the potential exists for a NAAQS 
violation.
    Within six months, the source(s) must submit a detailed plan of 
action specifying additional control measures to be implemented no 
later than 18 months after the notification. The additional control 
measures will be submitted to EPA for approval and incorporation into 
the SIP. Kentucky noted that, since the only source in the 
nonattainment area has shut down, it is not possible at this time to 
develop specific contingency measures until the cause of the elevated 
concentrations is known. EPA is proposing to find that Kentucky's 
maintenance plan meets the requirement for contingency measures.
    EPA preliminarily concludes that the maintenance plan adequately 
addresses the five basic components of a maintenance plan: The 
attainment emissions inventory, maintenance demonstration, monitoring, 
verification of continued attainment, and a contingency plan. 
Therefore, EPA proposes that the maintenance plan SIP revision 
submitted by Kentucky for the Commonwealth's portion of the Area meets 
the requirements of section 175A of the CAA and is approvable.

VI. What is the effect of EPA's proposed actions?

    EPA's proposed actions establish the basis upon which EPA may take 
final action on the issues being proposed for approval today. Approval 
of Kentucky's redesignation request would change the legal designation 
of the portion of Campbell County that is within the Campbell-Clermont, 
KY-OH Area, as found at 40 CFR part 81, from nonattainment to 
attainment for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. Approval of 
Kentucky's associated SIP revision would also incorporate a plan for 
maintaining the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS in the Campbell-
Clermont, KY-OH Area through 2027 into the SIP as well as the State's 
section 172(c)(1) RACM determination. This maintenance plan includes an 
emissions inventory that satisfies the requirements of section 
172(c)(3) and contingency measures to remedy any future violations of 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.

VII. Proposed Actions

    EPA is taking five separate but related actions regarding 
Kentucky's request for a clean data determination, the redesignation 
request, and the SIP revision associated with the redesignation request 
for the Kentucky

[[Page 86673]]

portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area.
    First, EPA is proposing to determine that the Commonwealth's 
Subpart 1 RACM determination for the Area meets the requirements of CAA 
section 172(c)(1) and to incorporate this RACM determination into the 
SIP.
    Second, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's 2011 base year 
emissions inventory for the Kentucky portion of the Campbell-Clermont, 
KY-OH Area as meeting the requirements of 172(c)(3) and to incorporate 
this inventory into the SIP.
    Third, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's March 31, 2015, 
request for the EPA to make a clean data determination for the Area.
    Fourth, EPA is proposing to approve the maintenance plan for the 
Kentucky portion of the Area into the SIP. The maintenance plan 
demonstrates that the Area will continue to maintain the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS through 2027.
    Finally, contingent upon EPA's final approval for Kentucky's RACM 
analysis pursuant to section 172(c)(1) and the Commonwealth's base year 
inventory pursuant to section 172(c)(3), EPA is proposing to determine 
that the Kentucky portion of the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area has met 
the criteria under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) for redesignation from 
nonattainment to attainment for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. 
On this basis, EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's redesignation 
request for the Kentucky portion of the Area.
    If finalized, approval of the redesignation request would change 
the official designation of the portion of Campbell County that is 
within the Campbell-Clermont, KY-OH Area, as found at 40 CFR part 81, 
from nonattainment to attainment for the 2010 1-hour SO2 
NAAQS.

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the 
accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under section 107(d)(3)(E) 
are actions that affect the status of a geographical area and do not 
impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those 
imposed by state law. A redesignation to attainment does not in and of 
itself create any new requirements, but rather results in the 
applicability of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have 
been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, the Administrator is 
required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions 
of the Act and applicable Federal regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 
40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to 
approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 
Accordingly, these proposed actions merely propose to approve state law 
as meeting Federal requirements and do not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For this reason, these 
proposed actions:
     Are not significant regulatory actions subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Do not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Are 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.);
     Do not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4);
     Do not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Are not economically significant regulatory actions based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Are not significant regulatory actions subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Are 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
     Will not have disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 
16, 1994).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does 
not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Sulfur dioxide, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: November 21, 2016.
Heather McTeer Toney,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2016-28821 Filed 11-30-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


