Air Plan Approval; GA; Removal of Nonattainment Area New Source Review

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R04-OAR-2024-0626; FRL-12934-01-R4]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Approval; GA; Removal of Nonattainment Area New Source Review</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 a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Georgia through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) on June 27, 2024. The revision seeks to remove permitting requirements related to nonattainment, including nonattainment new source review (NNSR), from Georgia's SIP as obsolete, remove certain provisions related to the use of emission reduction credits (ERCs), and make other changes based upon the lack of any areas designated as nonattainment for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in Georgia. EPA is proposing to approve these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before September 23, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-2024-0626 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> . 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, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Nelsha Athauda, Multi-Air Pollutant Coordination Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 562-9360. Ms. Athauda can also be reached via electronic mail at <E T="03">Athauda.Nelsha@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> The New Source Review (NSR) program is a preconstruction permitting program that requires certain stationary sources of air pollution to obtain permits prior to beginning construction. The NSR permitting program applies to new construction and to modifications of existing sources. New construction and modifications that emit “regulated NSR pollutants” over certain thresholds are subject to major NSR requirements, while smaller emitting sources and modifications may be subject to minor NSR requirements. Major NSR permits for sources that are located in attainment or unclassifiable areas are referred to as Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits. Major NSR permits for sources located in nonattainment areas and that emit pollutants above the specified thresholds for which the area is in nonattainment are referred to as NNSR permits. A new stationary source is subject to major NSR requirements if its potential to emit (PTE) a regulated NSR pollutant exceeds certain emission thresholds. If it exceeds the applicable threshold, the NSR regulations define it as a “major stationary source.” An existing major stationary source triggers major NSR permitting requirements when it undergoes a “major modification,” which occurs when a source undertakes a physical change or change in method of operation ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> a “project”) that would result in (1) a significant emissions increase from the project, and (2) a significant net emissions increase from the source. <E T="03">See, e.g.,</E> 40 CFR 51.166(b)(2)(i), (b)(3), and (b)(51). Effective January 6, 1992, EPA designated 13 counties surrounding Atlanta, Georgia, as nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS and classified them as a “serious” nonattainment area (hereinafter referred to as the Atlanta 1-hour Ozone Area). <FTREF/> <SU>1</SU> <E T="03">See</E> 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991). Effective January 1, 2004, the Atlanta 1-hour Ozone Area was reclassified as a “severe” nonattainment area. <E T="03">See</E> 68 FR 55469 (September 26, 2003). This classification requires, among other things, that a “major source” and a “major stationary source” be defined to include certain sources that emit or have the potential to emit 25 tons or more of nitrogen oxides (NO <E T="52">X</E> ) or volatile organic compounds (VOC) and that emissions offsets apply at a ratio of at least 1.3 or 1.2:1 (depending on the criteria in CAA section 182(d)(2)). <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> EPA redesignated the Atlanta 1-hour Ozone Area to attainment for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, effective June 14, 2005. <E T="03">See</E> 70 FR 34660 (June 15, 2005). Effective June 15, 2005, EPA revoked the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. <E T="03">See</E> 69 FR 23951 (April 30, 2004) and 70 FR 44470 (August 3, 2005). <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  The Atlanta 1-hour Ozone Area consisted of the following counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale. The 1-hour ozone NAAQS was set at 0.12 parts per million (ppm) with attainment defined when the expected number of days per calendar year, with maximum hourly average concentration greater than 0.12 ppm, is equal to or less than one. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   For ozone, the offset ratio is the ratio of the total emissions reductions of NO <E T="52">X</E> or VOCs to the total increased emissions of those pollutants. </FTNT> Effective June 15, 2004, 20 counties surrounding Atlanta were designated as nonattainment and classified as a “marginal” nonattainment area for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (hereinafter referred to as the Atlanta 1997 8-hour Ozone Area). <FTREF/> <SU>3</SU> <E T="03">See</E> 69 FR 23858 (April 30, 2004). Effective April 7, 2008, the Atlanta 1997 8-hour Ozone Area was reclassified as a “moderate” nonattainment area. <E T="03">See</E> 73 FR 12013 (March 6, 2008). This classification requires, among other things, that a “major source” and a “major stationary source” be defined to include certain sources that emit or have the potential to emit 100 tons or more of NO <E T="52">X</E> or VOC and that emissions offsets apply at a ratio of at least 1.15:1. The Atlanta 1997 8-hour Ozone Area was redesignated to attainment, effective January 1, 2014. <E T="03">See</E> 78 FR 72040 (December 2, 2013). Effective April 6, 2015, EPA revoked the 1997 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS. <E T="03">See</E> 80 FR 12264 (March 6, 2015). <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  The Atlanta 1997 8-hour Ozone Area consisted of the following counties: Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton. The 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS was set at 0.08 ppm based on an annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average concentration averaged over three years. </FTNT> Effective July 20, 2012, 15 counties surrounding Atlanta were designated as nonattainment and classified as a “marginal” nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS (hereinafter referred to as the Atlanta 2008 8-hour Ozone Area). <FTREF/> <SU>4</SU> <E T="03">See</E> 77 FR 30088 (May 21, 2012). This classification requires, among other things, that a “major source” and a “major stationary source” be defined to include certain sources that emit or have the potential to emit 100 tons or more of NO <E T="52">X</E> or VOC and that emissions offsets apply at a ratio of at least 1.1:1. The Atlanta 2008 8-hour Ozone Area was redesignated to attainment, effective June 2, 2017. <E T="03">See</E> 82 FR 25523 (June 2, 2017). <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  The Atlanta 2008 8-hour Ozone Area consisted of the following counties: Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, and Rockdale. The 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS is set at 0.075 ppm based on an annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average concentration averaged over three years. </FTNT> Approximately one year later, EPA designated seven counties in and around metropolitan Atlanta as nonattainment and classified them as a “marginal” nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS (hereinafter referred to as the Atlanta 2015 8-hour Ozone Area). <FTREF/> <SU>5</SU> <E T="03">See</E> 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018). As discussed above, the “marginal” classification requires that a “major source” and a “major stationary source” be defined to include certain sources that emit or have the potential to emit 100 tons or more of NO <E T="52">X</E> or VOC and that emissions offsets apply at a ratio of at least 1.1:1. In 2022, EPA redesignated the Atlanta 2015 8-hour Ozone Area to attainment for the 2015 8-hour ozone standard. <E T="03">See</E> 87 FR 62733 (October 17, 2022). <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  The Atlanta 2015 8-hour Ozone Area consists of the following counties: Bartow, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry. The 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS is set at 0.070 ppm based on an annual fourth ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 35k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━