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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 116 / Monday, June 21, 2021 / Proposed Rules based on 20102012 monitoring data. 81
FR 26697 May 4, 2016. EPA
simultaneously issued a SIP Call for the affected states within the nonattainment area to address the 1997 84 ppb 8-hour ozone standard. The SIP revisions submitted by New Jersey and New York address the requirements of the May 4, 2016 SIP Call. The EPAs review of this material indicates that ambient air quality monitors within the NY-NJ-CT
Nonattainment area are attaining the 1997 ozone NAAQS.
In the 2008 ozone NAAQS SIP
Requirements rule, the EPA revoked the 1997 ozone NAAQS for all purposes and established anti-backsliding requirements for that NAAQS, which include submittal of an attainment demonstration. See 80 FR 12296 March 6, 2015.3 The EPA retained a listing of the designated areas for the revoked 1997 NAAQS in 40 CFR part 81, for identifying anti-backsliding requirements that may apply to those areas. Accordingly, in an area designated nonattainment for the 2008
ozone NAAQS and nonattainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, as is the case with the NY-NJ-CT nonattainment area, New Jersey and New York were obligated to implement the applicable requirements set forth in 40 CFR
51.1100o, including the requirement to submit an attainment demonstration.
III. What is the EPA proposing to approve?

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New Jersey submitted a SIP revision to the EPA on January 2, 2018 and New York submitted a SIP revision to the EPA on November 13, 2017, these submittals addressed, among other things, the ozone attainment demonstrations for the revoked 1997 8hour ozone standard for their respective portions of the NY-NJ-CT area satisfying the May 4, 2016 SIP call.
This proposed action addresses New Jerseys demonstration of attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard for the New Jersey portion of the NY-NJ-CT
area, submitted on January 2, 2018 and New Yorks demonstration of attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard for the New York portion of the NY-NJ-CT
area, submitted on November 13, 2017.4
3 In South Coast Air Quality Management District v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit vacated a number of provisions in the 2008 Ozone SIP Requirements Rule, but that decision did not affect the rules antibacksliding requirement to submit an attainment demonstration for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. South Coast Air Quality Management District v. EPA, No.
151115 D.C. Cir. February 16, 2018.
4 The EPA is not acting on any other portion of the submittals in this proposed action.

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IV. What is the EPAs basis for proposing to approve the 1997
attainment demonstration analysis?
A. Air Quality Data and Attainment Determinations Under the regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the 1997 ozone NAAQS is attained at a monitoring site when the three-year average of the annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ambient air quality ozone concentration is less than or equal to 0.08 ppm. This threeyear average is referred to as the design value. When the design value is less than or equal to 0.08 ppm at each ambient air quality monitoring site within a nonattainment area, then the area is deemed to be meeting the 1997
standard. According to 40 CFR part 50, Appendix I, the number of significant figures in the level of the standard dictates the rounding convention for comparing the computed 3-year average annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8hour average ozone concentration with the level of the standard. The third decimal place of the computed value is rounded, with values equal to or greater than 5 rounding up. Thus, a computed 3-year average ozone concentration of 0.085 ppm is the lowest value that is greater than 0.08 ppm.
The EPA has reviewed the 8-hour ozone ambient air quality monitoring data for the 20142016 monitoring period for the NY-NJ-CT area, referenced in New Jerseys and New Yorks submittals, as recorded in the EPAs Air Quality System AQS
database. Air quality monitoring data from each year for 20142016 has been certified by Connecticut, New Jersey and New York in accordance with 40
CFR 58.15, and AQS reflects this. Based on that review, the EPA has concluded that the NY-NJ-CT area has a 20142016
design value of 0.083 ppm 5 and is in attainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS.
Certified data for 2017, 2018 and 2019
in the NY-NJ-CT area and the subsequent design values for 2015
2017, 20162018 and 20172019 are consistent with continued attainment.6
5 The regulations at 40 CFR part 50, Appendix I
specify that the design value shall be based on three consecutive, complete calendar years of air quality monitoring data. This requirement is met for the three-year period at a monitoring site if daily maximum 8-hour average concentrations are available for at least 90%, on average, of the days during the designated ozone monitoring season, with a minimum data completeness in any one year of at least 75% of the designated sampling days.
These thresholds have been met for the ambient air quality monitoring data reviewed by EPA.
6 The design values are available on the EPAs website at: www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-qualitydesign-valuesreport. The 20152017 DV is 0.083
ppm, the 20162018 DV is 0.082 ppm and the 20172019 DV is 0.082 ppm.

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The EPA has a continuing obligation to review the air quality data each year to determine whether areas are meeting the NAAQS and will continue to conduct that review in the future after data is complete, quality-assured, certified and submitted to the EPA.
As previously discussed, the EPA
rescinded the CDD on May 4, 2016
based on the fact that the area was no longer attaining the standard, and issued a SIP Call for a new attainment demonstration for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the NY-NJ-CT area.
The EPA determined that the submission of a Moderate nonattainment area attainment plan for the more stringent 2008 ozone NAAQS
would satisfy the SIP Call for the NYNJ-CT area in relation to the 1997 ozone standard. Both New Jersey and New York submitted a combined attainment demonstration analysis for the 1997 and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
B. Components of the Modeled Attainment Demonstrations Section 110a2k of the Act requires states to prepare air quality modeling to demonstrate how they will meet ambient air quality standards. The SIP must demonstrate that the measures, rules, and regulations contained in it are adequate to provide for the timely attainment and maintenance of the national standard.
See 40 CFR 51.112a. The EPA
determined that states must use photochemical grid modeling, or any other analytical method determined by the Administrator to be at least as effective, to demonstrate attainment of the ozone health-based standard in areas classified as Moderate or above, and to do so by the required attainment date.
See 40 CFR 51.908c. The EPA requires an attainment demonstration using air quality modeling that meets the EPAs guidelines. The model analysis can be supplemented by a weight of evidence analysis in which the state can use a variety of information to enhance the conclusions reached by the photochemical model analysis. In the case of New Jerseys and New Yorks submittals for their portions of the NYNJ-CT area, the weight of evidence also included monitoring evidence that the area design value is attaining the 1997
standard. The EPA has determined that the photochemical grid modeling conducted by the States is consistent with the EPAs guidelines and the model performed acceptably. See 40
CFR 51.908c.
C. The EPAs Evaluation In their attainment demonstrations, New Jersey and New York included
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