[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 3, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45485-45489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19061]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-R09-OAR-2010-0590; FRL-9184-6]
Determination of Attainment for PM10 for the Las Vegas Valley
Nonattainment Area, NV
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA has determined that the Las Vegas Valley nonattainment
area in Nevada attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less
than or equal to a nominal ten micrometers (PM10) by the
applicable attainment date (December 31, 2006), and that the Las Vegas
Valley nonattainment area is currently attaining the standard.
DATES: This action is effective on October 4, 2010 without further
notice,
[[Page 45486]]
unless EPA receives adverse comment by September 2, 2010. If EPA
receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2010-0590, by one of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the on-line instructions.
2. E-mail: [email protected].
3. Mail or Deliver: Wienke Tax, Air Planning Office, EPA Region IX,
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Information that you consider CBI or otherwise protected should be
clearly identified as such and should not be submitted through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. http://www.regulations.gov is an
``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not know your identity or
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the public comment. If
you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses.
Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted
material), and some may not be publicly available in either location
(e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wienke Tax at telephone number: (415)
947-4192, e-mail address: [email protected], or the above EPA, Region
IX address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'',
``us'' or ``our'' are used, we mean EPA. Information is organized as
follows:
Table of Contents
I. Background
A. PM10 NAAQS
B. Designation and Classification of PM10
Nonattainment Areas
C. How does EPA make attainment determinations?
D. What is the attainment date for the Las Vegas Valley
PM10 nonattainment area?
E. What PM10 planning has occurred for the Las Vegas
Valley PM10 nonattainment area?
II. EPA's Analysis
A. What does the air quality data show as of the December 31,
2006 attainment date?
B. Does more recent air quality data also show attainment?
III. EPA's Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
A. PM10 NAAQS
The NAAQS are levels for certain ambient air pollutants set by EPA
to protect public health and welfare. PM10, or particulate
matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10
micrometers, is among the ambient air pollutants for which EPA has
established health-based standards. On July 1, 1987 (52 FR 24634), EPA
promulgated two primary standards for PM10: A 24-hour
standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) and an annual
PM10 standard of 50 [mu]g/m\3\. EPA also promulgated
secondary PM10 standards that were identical to the primary
standards.
Effective December 18, 2006, EPA revoked the annual PM10
standard but retained the 24-hour PM10 standard. 71 FR 61144
(October 17, 2006). The 24-hour PM10 standard is attained
when the expected number of days per calendar year with a 24-hour
concentration in excess of the standard (referred to herein as
``exceedance''), as determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50,
appendix K, is equal to or less than one.\1\ 40 CFR 50.6 and 40 CFR
part 50, appendix K.
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\1\ An exceedance is defined as a daily value that is above the
level of the 24-hour standard (150 [mu]g/m\3\) after rounding to the
nearest 10 [mu]g/m\3\ (i.e., values ending in 5 or greater are to be
rounded up). Thus, a recorded value of 154 [mu]g/m\3\ would not be
an exceedance since it would be rounded to 150 [mu]g/m\3\ whereas a
recorded value of 155 [mu]g/m\3\ would be an exceedance since it
would be rounded to 160 [mu]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR part 50, appendix K,
section 1.0.
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B. Designation and Classification of PM10 Nonattainment Areas
Areas meeting the requirements of section 107(d)(4)(B) of the Clean
Air Act (CAA or the Act) were designated nonattainment for
PM10 by operation of law and classified ``moderate'' upon
enactment of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. See generally 42 U.S.C.
7407(d)(4)(B). These areas included all former Group I PM10
planning areas identified in 52 FR 29383 (August 7, 1987), as further
clarified in 55 FR 45799 (October 31, 1990), and any other areas
violating the NAAQS for PM10 prior to January 1, 1989. A
Federal Register notice announcing the areas designated nonattainment
for PM10 upon enactment of the 1990 Amendments, known as
``initial'' PM10 nonattainment areas, was published on March
15, 1991 (56 FR 11101) and a subsequent Federal Register document
correcting the description of some of these areas was published on
August 8, 1991 (56 FR 37654). The Las Vegas Valley \2\ was one of these
initial moderate PM10 nonattainment areas.
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\2\ Specifically, the Las Vegas Valley PM10
nonattainment area is defined by reference to State hydrographic
area 212. See 40 CFR 81.329. The Las Vegas Valley
encompasses roughly 1,500 square miles within Clark County and
includes the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson.
Roughly two million people reside in Clark County, mostly within Las
Vegas Valley. NDEP is the state agency under state law that is
responsible for SIP matters for the State of Nevada. Within Clark
County, the Clark County Board of Commissioners, acting through the
Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management (DAQEM), is
empowered under state law to develop air quality plans and to
regulate stationary sources within the county with the exception of
certain types of power plants, which lie exclusively within the
jurisdiction of NDEP.
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All initial moderate PM10 nonattainment areas had the
same applicable attainment date of December 31, 1994. States containing
initial moderate PM10 nonattainment areas were required to
develop and submit to EPA by November 15, 1991, a state implementation
plan (SIP) revision providing for implementation of reasonably
available control measures (RACM) for the control of PM10,
and either a demonstration that the plan would provide for attainment
by the applicable attainment date (December 31, 1994) or a
demonstration that attainment by such date was impracticable. See CAA
section 189(a).
A moderate PM10 area could subsequently be reclassified
as ``serious'' either before the applicable moderate area attainment
date if EPA determines the area cannot ``practicably'' attain the
PM10 NAAQS by this attainment date, or
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following the passage of the applicable moderate area attainment date
if EPA determines that the area has failed to attain the standard.
Effective February 8, 1993, EPA determined that Las Vegas Valley could
not ``practicably'' attain the PM10 NAAQS by December 31,
1994 (i.e., the applicable attainment date for initial moderate
PM10 nonattainment areas), and reclassified the area as
``serious.'' See 58 FR 3334 (January 8, 1993). Reclassification of Las
Vegas Valley to ``serious'' triggered deadlines for additional SIP
revisions and established a new applicable attainment date of (no later
than) December 31, 2001. See CAA section 188(c)(2).
Section 188(e) of the Act authorizes EPA to extend the applicable
attainment date for serious PM10 nonattainment areas under
certain circumstances. In 2004, EPA approved the PM10
attainment plan for Las Vegas Valley and granted the State of Nevada's
request to extend the applicable attainment date from December 31, 2001
to December 31, 2006. See 69 FR 32273 (June 9, 2004).
C. How does EPA make attainment determinations?
Section 188(b)(2) of the Act requires EPA to determine within six
months of the applicable attainment date whether, based on air quality
data, PM10 nonattainment areas attained the PM10
NAAQS by that date. Generally, EPA determines whether an area's air
quality is meeting the PM10 NAAQS based upon complete
(minimum of 75 percent of scheduled PM10 samples recorded),
quality-assured data gathered at established state and local air
monitoring stations (SLAMS) and national air monitoring stations (NAMS)
in the nonattainment area and entered into the EPA Air Quality System
(AQS) database. Data from air monitors operated by State/local/tribal
agencies in compliance with EPA monitoring requirements must be
submitted to AQS. EPA relies primarily on data in AQS when determining
the attainment status of an area. See 40 CFR 50.6; 40 CFR part 50,
appendix J; 40 CFR part 53; 40 CFR part 58, appendix A. EPA will also
consider air quality data from other air monitoring stations in the
nonattainment area provided that the stations meet the Federal
monitoring requirements for SLAMS, including the quality assurance and
quality control criteria in 40 CFR part 58, appendix A. 40 CFR 58.14
(2006) and 58.20 (2007); \3\ 71 FR 61236, 61242 (October 17, 2006). All
valid data are reviewed to determine the area's air quality status in
accordance with 40 CFR part 50, appendix K.
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\3\ EPA promulgated amendments to the ambient air monitoring
regulations in 40 CFR parts 53 and 58 on October 17, 2006. See 71 FR
61236. The requirements for Special Purpose Monitors were revised
and moved from 40 CFR 58.14 to 40 CFR 58.20.
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Attainment of the 24-hour PM10 standard is determined by
calculating the expected number of exceedances of the standard in a
year. The 24-hour standard is attained when the expected number of
exceedances averaged over a three-year period is less than or equal to
one at each monitoring site within the nonattainment area. Generally,
three consecutive years of air quality data are required to show
attainment of the 24-hour PM10 standard. See 40 CFR part 50
and appendix K.\4\
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\4\ Because the annual PM10 standard was revoked
effective December 18, 2006, see 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006),
this document discusses only attainment of the 24-hour
PM10 standard.
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D. What is the attainment date for the Las Vegas Valley PM10
nonattainment area?
As noted above, the original attainment date for the Las Vegas
Valley PM10 nonattainment area was December 31, 1994, but
was later extended, first to December 31, 2001, and later, to December
31, 2006. See 58 FR 3334 (January 8, 1993) and 69 FR 32273 (June 9,
2004).
E. What PM10 planning has occurred for the Las Vegas Valley PM10
nonattainment area?
After Las Vegas Valley was designated nonattainment for
PM10, Clark County and NDEP began in the early 1990s to
prepare the technical elements needed to bring the area into attainment
and meet the planning requirements of title I of the CAA. NDEP
submitted a moderate area PM10 plan for the Las Vegas Valley
on December 6, 1991. Based on this submittal, EPA determined on January
8, 1993, that the Las Vegas Valley could not practicably attain the
PM10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment deadline for
moderate areas (December 31, 1994, per section 188(c)(1) of the Act),
and reclassified the Las Vegas Valley as serious (58 FR 3334).
In response to the area's reclassification as a ``serious''
PM10 nonattainment area, Clark County prepared and, and NDEP
submitted, a serious area PM10 plan in 1997 that EPA
subsequently proposed to disapprove, along with the previously
submitted plan. See 65 FR 37324 (June 14, 2000). However, NDEP
submitted a revised serious area PM10 plan in July 2001,
which EPA later approved. 69 FR 32273 (June 9, 2004). Among the various
serious area SIP elements approved by EPA in 2004 are the best
available control measures (BACM) demonstration under CAA section
189(b)(1)(B), the most stringent measures (MSM) demonstration under CAA
section 188(e), and various Clark County air pollution control rules
regulating such fugitive dust sources as open areas, unpaved roads, and
construction activities.
II. EPA's Analysis
A. What does the air quality data show as of the December 31, 2006
attainment date?
Clark County DAQEM is responsible for monitoring ambient air
quality within Clark County. DAQEM submits monitoring network plan
reports to EPA on an annual basis. These reports discuss the status of
the air monitoring network, as required under 40 CFR part 58. Beginning
in 2007, EPA reviews these annual plans for compliance with the
applicable reporting requirements in 40 CFR 58.10. With respect to
PM10, we have found DAQEM's annual network plans to meet the
applicable requirements under 40 CFR part 58. See EPA letters to DAQEM
concerning DAQEM's annual network plan reports for years 2007, 2008,
and 2009. Furthermore, we concluded in our Technical System Audit
Report (February 2010) that Clark County DAQEM's ambient air monitoring
network currently meets or exceeds the requirements for the minimum
number of monitoring sites designated as SLAMS for all of the criteria
pollutants, and that all of the monitoring sites are properly located
with respect to monitoring objectives, spatial scales and other site
criteria.
Clark County DAQEM currently operates nine PM10 SLAMS
monitoring sites within Las Vegas Valley: Craig Road (North Las Vegas),
Green Valley (Henderson), J.D. Smith School (North Las Vegas), Joe Neal
(northwest Las Vegas), Lone Mountain (northwest Las Vegas), Orr School
(central-southeast Las Vegas), Paul Meyer Park (southwest Las Vegas),
Palo Verde School (west Las Vegas), Sunrise Acres School (central Las
Vegas), and Walter Johnson (west Las Vegas). All nine sites monitor
PM10 concentrations on a continuous basis using Beta
Attenuation Monitors (BAMs). See Clark County DAQEM's Annual Network
Plan Report (June 2010). Most of the sites are sited to provide
PM10 concentration data at a
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neighborhood scale \5\ for the purpose of determining population
exposure. The Craig Road site, however, is intended to capture the
highest PM10 concentrations in Las Vegas Valley (i.e., at
the neighborhood scale), and Green Valley and Palo Verde are intended
to represent middle scale \6\ conditions.
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\5\ In this context, ``neighborhood scale'' refers to conditions
throughout some reasonably homogeneous urban sub-region with
dimensions of a few kilometers. See 40 CFR part 58, appendix D,
section 4.6.
\6\ In this context, ``middle scale'' refers to conditions
characteristic of areas from 100 meters to several kilometers.
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In Table 1, below, we present a summary of AQS data collected at
the nine PM10 sites currently in operation, as well as two
sites (City Center in Las Vegas and Southeast Valley in Henderson),
which have closed since 2006, and two sites (East Sahara in central Las
Vegas and Walter Johnson in west Las Vegas), which no longer monitor
PM10. As shown in Table 1, only one PM10
exceedance was measured at any of the monitoring sites over the 2004-
2006 period.
Table 1--Summary of Las Vegas Valley PM10 Monitoring Data, 2004-2006
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Highest 24-hour PM10 concentration ([mu]g/m \3\) Expected
------------------------------------------------------ exceedances per
Monitoring site year
2004 2005 2006 -----------------
2004-2006
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City Center \*\......................... 84 70 95 0.0
Craig Road.............................. 151 149 157 0.4
East Sahara \*\......................... 89 99 93 0.0
Green Valley............................ 84 79 97 0.0
J.D. Smith.............................. 122 144 136 0.0
Joe Neal................................ 135 124 122 0.0
Lone Mountain........................... 58 55 82 0.0
Orr..................................... 88 75 94 0.0
Paul Meyer.............................. 86 70 100 0.0
Palo Verde.............................. 65 46 69 0.0
Southeast Valley \*\.................... 119 84 77 0.0
Sunrise Acres........................... 72 120 113 0.0
Walter Johnson \*\...................... 64 56 106 0.0
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PM10NAAQS = 150 [mu]g/m\3\. Exceedances shown in bold type.
\*\ Site is no longer in operation or is no longer monitoring PM10
Based on a review of air quality data during the three-year period
ending with the December 31, 2006 attainment date (and summarized above
in table 1), we find that the expected number of exceedances per year
for Las Vegas Valley for 2004-2006 is 0.4 days per year (based on the
Craig Road monitoring site, the only one measuring an exceedance). This
is less than an annual expected exceedance rate for the 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS of 1.0 and represents attainment of the standard.
EPA has therefore determined that the Las Vegas Valley PM10
nonattainment area attained the PM10 NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date of December 31, 2006.
B. Does more recent air quality data also show attainment?
Although the attainment date for the Las Vegas Valley
PM10 nonattainment area is December 31, 2006, EPA has also
reviewed the air quality data collected at Clark County DAQEM's
PM10 monitoring sites in Las Vegas Valley from January 2007
through the first quarter of 2010. During this period, the only
exceedances of the 150 [mu]g/m\3\ 24-hour standard occurred at the
Craig Road site, which monitored 24-hour concentrations of 203 and 168
[mu]g/m\3\ in 2008, but given the continuous nature of PM10
monitoring at the site, the annual expected exceedance rate, averaged
over three years, has not exceeded 1.0. Thus, the data continue to show
attainment of the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS in Las Vegas Valley
since the end of 2006.
III. EPA's Final Action
Under section 188(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act, and based on
complete, quality-assured data, we find that the Las Vegas Valley
PM10 nonattainment area attained the 24-hour PM10
NAAQS by the applicable attainment date (December 31, 2006). We also
find that the Las Vegas Valley nonattainment area is currently
attaining the PM10 standard. This action is not a
redesignation to attainment under CAA section 107(d)(3) because we have
not yet approved a maintenance plan as meeting the requirements of
section 175A of the CAA or determined that the area has met the other
CAA requirements for redesignation. The PM10 classification
and designation status in 40 CFR part 81 will remain serious
nonattainment for Las Vegas Valley until such time as the State of
Nevada meets the CAA requirements for redesignation of the valley to
attainment.
We are publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial action and anticipates no
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document
that will serve as the proposal should adverse comments be filed. This
action will be effective October 4, 2010, without further notice unless
the EPA receives relevant adverse comments by September 2, 2010.
If we receive such comments, then we will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. We will not
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting
should so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is
advised that this rule will be effective on October 4, 2010 and no
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This action merely makes a determination based on air quality data
and does not impose any additional
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Federal requirements. For that reason, this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
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
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000),
because it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 4, 2010. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness
of such rule or action. Parties with objections to this direct final
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed
rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an
immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so
that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in
the proposed rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2)).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Particulate matter, Wilderness areas.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: July 21, 2010.
Keith Takata,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2010-19061 Filed 8-2-10; 8:45 am]
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