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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 18, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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. The 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 https www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hunt, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth AvenueSuite 155, Seattle, WA 98101, at 206 5530256, or hunt.jeff@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document whenever we, us, or our is used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents I. Background A. What action is the EPA proposing?
B. Washingtons Air Quality With Respect to the Federal National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter 1. Washington Ozone Attainment Status 2. Washington Fine Particulate Matter Attainment Status C. Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Standards D. California LEV Program E. Washington LEV Program II. Summary of the September 2019
Washington LEV SIP Revision III. The EPAs Proposed Action IV. Incorporation by Reference V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
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A. What action is the EPA proposing?
The EPA is proposing to approve a SIP revision submitted by Washington on September 30, 2019 requesting inclusion of the states adopted and implemented California LEV standards as part of the Washington SIP. None of Washingtons LEV rules are currently in the SIP. Under section 177 of the CAA, states with plan provisions approved under CAA part D such attainment or maintenance plans for ozone and particulate matter described below and other criteria in section 177 are met, may adopt Californias standards in lieu of otherwise applicable federal new motor vehicle emission standards.

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Washingtons LEV rules are applicable to subject, new motor vehicles sold or titled in Washington beginning with model year 2009.
Subject vehicles include passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty passenger vehicles.1 Washington first adopted California LEV standards as state regulation, Chapter 173423
Washington Administrative Code WAC, in 2005 effective with the sale and titling of new vehicles beginning in model year 2009. Washington did not submit a request to the EPA to incorporate the program as a SIP
revision at the time. However, to strengthen the SIP particularly with respect to ozone control, Washington formally submitted the states LEV
program regulations to the EPA on September 30, 2019 for approval and inclusion in the SIP. Further detail on Washingtons LEV program is provided in section I.E. of this preamble. We are proposing to approve Washingtons SIP
revision because it will update the SIP
with the current Washington LEV rules, and because such LEV rules satisfy the criteria under section 177 of the CAA.
B. Washingtons Air Quality With Respect to the Federal National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter 1. Washington Ozone Attainment Status The CAA, as amended in 1990, requires the EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAAQS for ambient air pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment. The EPA establishes NAAQS for six principal air pollutants, or criteria pollutants, which include:
Ozone, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide SO2. The CAA establishes two types of NAAQS. Primary standards provide public health protection, including protecting the health of sensitive populations such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly.
Secondary standards protect public welfare, including protection against decreased visibility and damage to animals, crops, vegetation, and buildings. The CAA also requires the EPA to periodically review the standards to ensure that they provide adequate health and environmental protection, and to update those standards as necessary.
1 Effective June 11, 2020, the Washington State Legislature modified the LEV program to include all medium duty vehicles beginning with model year 2025 and adopted Californias zero emission vehicle standards. See Revised Code of Washington 70A.30.010. However, these recent statutory changes are not part of the 2019 rule package submitted for approval at this time.

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Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by photochemical reactions between ozone precursor pollutants, including volatile organic compounds VOCs and nitrogen oxides NOX in the presence of sunlight. In order to reduce ozone concentrations in the ambient air, the CAA directs areas designated as nonattainment to apply controls on VOC
and NOX emission sources to reduce the formation of ozone.
On November 6, 1991 56 FR 56694, the EPA designated the PortlandVancouver area and the Seattle-Tacoma area as marginal nonattainment under the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS. For the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, attainment is defined when the expected number of days per calendar year, with maximum hourly average concentration greater than 0.12 parts per million ppm is equal to or less than 1. The EPA
approved the states CAA section 175A
maintenance plan for the PortlandVancouver area and redesignated the area to attainment on May 19, 1997 62
FR 27204. Similarly, the EPA approved the states CAA section 175A
maintenance plan for the SeattleTacoma area and redesignated the area to attainment on September 26, 1996 61
FR 50438. The EPA later revoked the 1hour ozone NAAQS effective June 15, 2005 70 FR 44470.
The EPA did not designate any nonattainment areas in Washington for subsequent updates to the ozone NAAQS, specifically designations for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS 84 FR
23857, April 30, 2004, the 2008
revision to the 8-hour ozone NAAQS 77
FR 30088, May 21, 2012, and the 2015
revision to the 8-hour ozone NAAQS 82
FR 54232, November 16, 2017. While there were no new ozone nonattainment areas designated in the state, Washington generally adopts pro-active measures to prevent nonattainment.
2. Washington Fine Particulate Matter Attainment Status Fine particulate matter PM2.5 can be emitted directly or formed secondarily in the atmosphere. The main precursors of secondary PM2.5 are SO2, NOX, ammonia, and VOCs. Sulfates are a type of secondary particle formed from SO2
emissions of power plants and industrial facilities. Nitrates, another common type of secondary particle, are formed from NOX emissions of power plants, automobiles, and other combustion sources.
On July 18, 1997, the EPA
promulgated the first air quality standards for PM2.5 62 FR 38652. The EPA promulgated primary and secondary annual standards at a level of 15 micrograms per cubic meter mg/m3,
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