Air Plan Approval; West Virginia; 2006 24-Hour Fine Particulate Matter Limited Maintenance Plans for the Charleston Area and the West Virginia Portion of the Steubenville-Weirton Area

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0381; EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0380; FRL-9822-01-R3]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Approval; West Virginia; 2006 24-Hour Fine Particulate Matter Limited Maintenance Plans for the Charleston Area and the West Virginia Portion of the Steubenville-Weirton Area</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), two limited maintenance plans (LMPs) submitted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), on behalf of the State of West Virginia. The LMPs are revisions to West Virginia's state implementation plan (SIP) and address the Charleston, West Virginia area (Charleston Area) and the West Virginia portion of the Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-West Virginia area (West Virginia portion of the Steubenville-Weirton Area). EPA is proposing to approve the Charleston Area LMP and the West Virginia portion of the Steubenville-Weirton Area LMP because they provide for the maintenance of the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) through the end of the second 10-year maintenance periods. In addition, EPA is initiating the process to find the LMPs adequate for transportation conformity purposes. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Written comments must be received on or before April 26, 2024. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0381 (Charleston Area) or EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0380 (West Virginia portion of the Steubenville-Weirton Area) at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov,</E> or via email to <E T="03">goold.megan@epa.gov.</E> For comments submitted at <E T="03">Regulations.gov</E> , follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from <E T="03">Regulations.gov</E> . For either manner of submission, 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 ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <E T="03">www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Ellen Schmitt, Planning & Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1600 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-5787. Ms. Schmitt can also be reached via electronic mail at <E T="03">schmitt.ellen@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> On March 29, 2022, WVDEP submitted to EPA two revisions to the State's SIP. Both revisions are second 10-year maintenance LMPs for the 2006 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS; one revision focuses on the Charleston Area and the other on the West Virginia portion of the Steubenville-Weirton Area. The Charleston Area includes Kanawha County and Putnam County in West Virginia. The Steubenville-Weirton (Ohio-West Virginia) Area is comprised of Brooke County and Hancock County in West Virginia and Jefferson County in Ohio. <E T="03">See</E> 40 CFR 81.336 (Ohio) and 40 CFR 81.349 (West Virginia). This action is expected to ensure that the State of West Virginia meets CAA requirements. There is no information on the record indicating that this action is expected to have disproportionately high or adverse human health or environmental effects on a particular group of people. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> A. The PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> B. Designation of PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS Nonattainment Areas and Subsequent Actions </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Limited Maintenance Plans</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Review of SIP Submissions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Qualifying for the Limited Maintenance Plan Option</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Attainment Emissions Inventories</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Air Quality Monitoring Network</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Verification of Continued Attainment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Contingency Provisions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Transportation Conformity</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. General Conformity</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Proposed Actions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2"> A. The PM <E T="54">2.5</E> NAAQS </HD> Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA has established NAAQS for certain pervasive air pollutants (referred to as “criteria pollutants”) and conducts periodic reviews of the NAAQS to determine whether they should be revised or whether new NAAQS should be established. EPA sets the NAAQS for criteria pollutants at levels required to protect public health and welfare. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> EPA's particulate matter standards address particles with diameters that are generally two and half micrometers or smaller (fine particulate matter or PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ) and particles with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers or smaller (PM <E T="52">10</E> ). PM <E T="52">2.5</E> is one of the ambient pollutants for which EPA has established health-based standards. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  For a given air pollutant, “primary” national ambient air quality standards are those determined by EPA as requisite to protect the public health. “Secondary” standards are those determined by EPA as requisite to protect the public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the presence of such air pollutant in the ambient air. CAA section 109(b). </FTNT> Fine particulate matter contributes to effects that are harmful to human health and the environment, including premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, decreased lung function, visibility impairment, and damage to vegetation and ecosystems. Individuals particularly sensitive to PM <E T="52">2.5</E> exposure include older adults, people with heart and lung disease, and children. <E T="03">See</E> 78 FR 3086 at 3088 (January 15, 2013). PM <E T="52">2.5</E> can be emitted directly into the atmosphere as a solid or liquid particle (primary PM <E T="52">2.5</E> or direct PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ) or can be formed in the atmosphere (secondary PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ) as a result of various chemical reactions among precursor pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NO <E T="52">X</E> ), sulfur dioxide (SO <E T="52">2</E> ), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ammonia (NH <E T="52">3</E> ). <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  EPA, Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, No. EPA/600/P-99/002aF and EPA/600/P-99/002bF, October 2004. </FTNT> On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38652), EPA revised the NAAQS for particulate matter to add new standards for PM <E T="52">2.5</E> . The Agency established primary and secondary annual and 24-hour standards for PM <E T="52">2.5</E> . The annual standard was set at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m <SU>3</SU> ) based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM <E T="52">2.5</E> concentrations, and the 24-hour (daily) standard was set at 65 μg/m <SU>3</SU> based on the 3-year average of the annual 98th percentile values of 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> concentrations at each population-oriented monitor within an area. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  The primary and secondary standards were set at the same level for both the 24-hour and the annual PM <E T="52">2.5</E> standards. </FTNT> On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the annual average NAAQS at 15.0 μg/m <SU>3</SU> but lowered the level of the 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS to 35 μg/m <SU>3</SU> based on a 3-year average of the annual 98th percentile values of 24-hour concentrations. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the primary and secondary 2006 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS are attained when the annual arithmetic mean concentration, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, appendix N, is less than or equal to 35 µg/m <SU>3</SU> at all relevant monitoring sites in the subject area, averaged over a 3-year period. </FTNT> On December 14, 2012, EPA promulgated the 2012 PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS, including lowering the annual standard to 12.0 μg/m <SU>3</SU> based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM <E T="52">2.5</E> concentrations. EPA maintained the 24-hour standard of 35 μg/m <SU>3</SU> based on a 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations. <E T="03">See</E> 78 FR 3086 (January 15, 2013). <HD SOURCE="HD2"> B. Designation of PM <E T="54">2.5</E> NAAQS Nonattainment Areas and Subsequent Actions </HD> Following promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, EPA is required by CAA section 107(d) to designate areas throughout ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 55k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━