[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24714-24716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11567]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0390; FRL-9978-59-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval and Air Quality Designation; KY; Redesignation 
of the Kentucky Portion of the Louisville Unclassifiable Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On May 4, 2018, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the 
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division for Air Quality 
(KDAQ), submitted a request for the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) to redesignate the portion of Kentucky that is within the bi-
state Louisville, KY-IN fine particulate matter (PM2.5) 
unclassifiable area (hereinafter referred to as the ``bi-state 
Louisville Area'' or ``Area'') to unclassifiable/attainment for the 
2012 primary annual PM2.5 national ambient air quality 
standard (NAAQS). The bi-state Louisville Area consists of Jefferson 
County and a portion of Bullitt County in Kentucky as well as Clark and 
Floyd Counties in Indiana. EPA now has sufficient data to determine 
that the bi-state Louisville Area is in attainment of the 2012 primary 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Therefore, EPA is proposing to approve 
Kentucky's request and redesignate the Area to unclassifiable/
attainment for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS based 
upon complete, quality-assured, and certified ambient air monitoring 
data showing that the PM2.5 monitors in the bi-state 
Louisville Area are in compliance with the 2012 primary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 29, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2017-0390 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: Madolyn Sanchez, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, in the 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. Madolyn Sanchez may be reached by phone at (404) 562-9644 
or via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) establishes a process for air 
quality management through the establishment and implementation of the 
NAAQS. After the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, EPA is 
required to designate areas, pursuant to section 107(d)(1) of the CAA, 
as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable. On December 14, 2012, 
EPA revised the primary annual NAAQS for PM2.5 at a level of 
12 micrograms per cubic meter

[[Page 24715]]

([mu]g/m\3\), based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5 
concentrations. See 78 FR 3085 (January 15, 2013). EPA established the 
standard based on significant evidence and numerous health studies 
demonstrating that serious health effects are associated with exposures 
to particulate matter.
    The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new 
or revised NAAQS is contained in section 107(d)(1) of the CAA. On 
December 18, 2014, EPA designated the majority of areas across the 
country as nonattainment, unclassifiable/attainment, or unclassifiable 
\1\ for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based upon air quality 
monitoring data from monitors for calendar years 2011-2013. See 80 FR 
2206 (January 15, 2015). EPA's January 15, 2015, rulemaking also 
described a process by which EPA would evaluate any complete, quality-
assured, certified air quality monitoring data from 2014 that a state 
submitted for consideration before February 27, 2015. EPA stated that 
it would evaluate whether, with the inclusion of certified 2014 data, 
the 3-year design value for 2012-2014 suggests that a change in the 
initial designation would be appropriate for an area. If EPA agreed 
that a change in the initial designation would be appropriate, EPA 
would withdraw the designation announced in the January 15, 2015, 
document for such area before the effective date and issue another 
designation reflecting the inclusion of 2014 data.
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    \1\ For the initial PM area designations in 2014 (for the 2012 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS), EPA used a designation category of 
``unclassifiable/attainment'' for areas that had monitors showing 
attainment of the standard and were not contributing to nearby 
violations and for areas that did not have monitors but for which 
EPA had reason to believe were likely attaining the standard and not 
contributing to nearby violations. EPA used the category 
``unclassifiable'' for areas in which EPA could not determine, based 
upon available information, whether or not the NAAQS was being met 
and/or EPA had not determined the area to be contributing to nearby 
violations. EPA reserves the ``attainment'' category for when EPA 
redesignates a nonattainment area that has attained the relevant 
NAAQS and has an approved maintenance plan.
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    In a follow-up designation action published on April 7, 2015 (80 FR 
18535), EPA designated five areas as unclassifiable/attainment in 
Georgia, including two neighboring counties in the bordering states of 
Alabama and South Carolina, that were initially deferred in EPA's 
January 15, 2015, rulemaking. In the same action, EPA changed the 
designations for one area in Ohio, two areas in Pennsylvania, and one 
bi-state area with portions in Kentucky and Ohio from nonattainment to 
unclassifiable/attainment. The bi-state Louisville Area was changed 
from nonattainment to unclassifiable.
    EPA initially designated the bi-state Louisville Area as 
nonattainment in its January 15, 2015, rulemaking based on ambient air 
quality data collected from 2011-2013. In that time period, a monitor 
in Clark County, Indiana, showed a violation of the 2012 
PM2.5 NAAQS. Per its policy, EPA explained that it would 
change the designation for the Area if data showed that the monitor in 
Clark County, Indiana, met the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS for the 
design value period 2012-2014, and Indiana elected to early certify 
2014 ambient air quality data. Indiana submitted complete, quality-
assured, and certified 2014 data from the ambient air quality monitor 
in Clark County, Indiana, by the prescribed deadline of February 27, 
2015, showing that the monitor was attaining the NAAQS. However, as 
noted in the final technical support document (TSD) for the Area 
included in the docket for the January 15, 2015, rulemaking,\2\ EPA 
explained that because air quality data in the Jefferson County, 
Kentucky portion of the Area were invalid due to issues with the 
collection and analysis of PM2.5 filter-based samples, EPA 
could only change the designation to unclassifiable. Therefore, EPA 
changed the designation of the Area from nonattainment to 
unclassifiable in the action published on April 15, 2015.
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    \2\ Available in the January 15, 2015, rulemaking docket as 
document number EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0918-0322.
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II. What are the criteria for redesignating an area from unclassifiable 
to unclassifiable/attainment?

    Section 107(d)(3) of the CAA provides the framework for changing 
the area designations for any NAAQS pollutants. Section 107(d)(3)(A) 
provides that the Administrator may notify the Governor of any state 
that the designation of an area should be revised ``on the basis of air 
quality data, planning and control considerations, or any other air 
quality-related considerations the Administrator deems appropriate.'' 
The Act further provides in section 107(d)(3)(D) that even if the 
Administrator has not notified a state Governor that a designation 
should be revised, the Governor of any state may, on the Governor's own 
motion, submit a request to revise the designation of any area, and the 
Administrator must approve or deny the request.
    When approving or denying a request to redesignate an area, EPA 
bases its decision on the air quality data for the area as well as the 
considerations under section 107(d)(3)(A).\3\ In keeping with section 
107(d)(1)(A), areas that are redesignated to unclassifiable/attainment 
must meet the requirements for attainment areas and thus must meet the 
relevant NAAQS. In addition, the area must not contribute to ambient 
air quality in a nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. The relevant 
monitoring data must be collected and quality-assured in accordance 
with 40 CFR part 58 and recorded in the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) 
database. The designated monitors generally should have remained at the 
same location for the duration of the monitoring period.\4\
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    \3\ While CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) also lists specific 
requirements for redesignations, those requirements only apply to 
redesignations of nonattainment areas to attainment and therefore 
are not applicable in the context of a redesignation of an area from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment.
    \4\ See Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, EPA Air Quality 
Management Division, entitled ``Procedures for Processing Requests 
to Redesignate Areas to Attainment'' (September 4, 1992).
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III. What is EPA's rationale for proposing to redesignate the area?

    In order to redesignate the Area from unclassifiable to 
unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 
NAAQS, the 3-year average of annual arithmetic mean concentrations 
(i.e., design value) over the most recent 3-year period must be less 
than or equal to 12.0 [micro]g/m\3\ at all monitoring sites in the Area 
over the full 3-year period, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR 
50.18 and Appendix N of Part 50. EPA reviewed PM2.5 
monitoring data from monitoring stations in the bi-state Louisville 
Area for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the 3-year 
period from 2014-2016. These data have been quality-assured, certified, 
and recorded in AQS by Kentucky and Indiana, and the monitoring 
locations have not changed during the monitoring period. As summarized 
in Table 1, the design values for all monitors in the Area for the 
2014-2016 period are below the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 
NAAQS.

  Table 1--2012 Annual PM2.5 Design Values for Monitors in the Bi-State
                      Louisville Area for 2014-2016
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              2014-2016
                                                                design
                    County                       Monitoring     value
                                                    site      ([mu]g/m3)
 
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Clark County, IN..............................    180190006         10.6
                                                  180190008          8.7
Floyd County, IN..............................    180431004          9.3

[[Page 24716]]

 
Jefferson County, KY..........................    211110043         10.4
                                                  211110051         10.3
                                                  211110067          9.5
                                                  211110075         10.4
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    Because the 3-year design values, based on complete, quality-
assured data, demonstrate that the Area meets the 2012 primary annual 
PM2.5 standard, EPA is proposing to redesignate the Kentucky 
portion of the Louisville Area from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment for this NAAQS.\5\
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    \5\ The State of Indiana has not yet submitted a redesignation 
request for its portion of the Louisville Area.
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IV. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's May 4, 2018, request to 
redesignate the Kentucky portion of the bi-state Louisville Area from 
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 primary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. If finalized, approval of the redesignation 
request would change the legal designation, found at 40 CFR part 81, of 
the portion of Bullitt County located in the Area and Jefferson County, 
Kentucky, from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to unclassifiable/
attainment is an action that affects the status of a geographical area 
and does not impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources 
beyond those imposed by state law. A redesignation to unclassifiable/
attainment does not in and of itself create any new requirements. 
Accordingly, this proposed action merely proposes to redesignate an 
area to unclassifiable/attainment and does not impose additional 
requirements. For that reason, this proposed action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because redesignations are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA; and
     Will not have disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 
16, 1994).
    The proposed action 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 in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control.

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

    Dated: May 15, 2018.
Onis ``Trey'' Glenn, III,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2018-11567 Filed 5-29-18; 8:45 am]
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