Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS

10222

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Proposed Rules
down-slope drainage is likely to impact the SSRA due to forecasted wind direction. Forecasts are produced 6 days a week by ODF during the prescribed fire season and provide instructions for burners to prevent smoke impacts such as wind-direction related limitations on burning near SSRAs. Oregons stated main goal of burn instructions is to move smoke up and away from ground levels, which is why individual burn plan instructions are customized for the burn area and are subject to changes based on forecast meteorology and field conditions. ODF also communicates directly with individual burn bosses about fires planned near SSRAs.
The 2019 Submittals SIP revisions do not increase prescribed fire authorization levels. The 2019
Submittal also retains the five program elements in Oregons currently approved SIP: 1 Taking actions to minimize smoke emissions, 2 burning only during appropriate weather conditions in order to avoid smoke impacts in urban areas, 3 encouraging use of alternatives to fire, including a comprehensive reference manual of alternatives to prescribed fire, 4
requiring permits be obtained prior to burning, and 5 including a burn authorization process that involves the issuance of smoke management forecasts and burning instructions.3
Oregons 2019 Submittal includes additional controls and contingencies to protect against impacts on air quality from prescribed burning to nonattainment areas, maintenance areas, and areas at risk for becoming nonattainment. The 2019 Submittal provisions call for consideration of all particulate matter PM emissions in the air when planning for prescribed burns whereas the current federally approved requirements only consider the PM
emissions attributable to prescribed fires. The 2019 Submittal adds a definition for a smoke incident and re-defines a smoke intrusion in order to establish sub-NAAQS intrusion thresholds and a burn approval target not to exceed approximately 75% of the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The 2019 SIP
Submittal also establishes a NAAQS
protective criterion for burn approvals through use of a one-hour threshold even though there is no NAAQS onehour limit. The one-hour intrusion level, set at 70 mg/m3, and a 24-hour intrusion level set at 26 mg/m3 level consultation with DEQ under OAR 6290480140, due to past history of smoke incidents, density of population or other special legal status related to visibility such as the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area.
3 EPA finalized the 2012 proposed approval on August 22, 2012, 77 FR 50611.

VerDate Sep<11>2014

18:27 Feb 18, 2021

Jkt 253001

OAR 6290480005 27 are designed to protect the NAAQS PM2.5. These criteria collectively enable ODF to dictate necessary modifications to burn volume or tonnage, or to withhold approval to burn considering weather conditions. Considered as a whole, the revisions contained in the 2019
Submittal strengthen the currently SIPapproved smoke management requirements.
Other notable modifications to the States Smoke Management SIP include a process for developing community response plans and exemption requests, updates to Special Protection Zone 4
SPZ requirements that provide extra smoke management protection during winter months to communities with histories of exceeding federal air quality standards, and allowing the use of polyyethylene sheeting on burn piles to facilitate rapid ignition and combustion of burn piles.
III. Evaluation of Oregons SIP
Submittals Approvals to revisions of SIPs are subject to the requirements of CAA
section 110l. Under CAA section 110l, the Administrator may not approve a SIP revision if the revision would interfere with any applicable requirements concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or any other applicable requirement of the Act.
The 2019 Submittal contains a weight of evidence analysis 5 focused primarily on particulate matter impacts of the SMP revisions, as well as the implications of the revisions to the SMP
on other NAAQS pollutants. The most relevant pollutants for this analysis are PM2.5, PM10, and ozone due to the nature of prescribed fire emissions and because EPA recently revised the PM2.5
and Ozone NAAQS resulting in more stringent standards 78 FR 3085, January 15, 2013, and 80 FR 65292, October 26, 2015. EPA expects that attainment and maintenance related to criteria pollutants other than PM and ozone are unlikely to be impacted by the States prescribed burning program. In addition, there are no nonattainment areas for ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, or lead in Oregon, nor has Oregon submitted any changes to regulatory limits in its 4 Special Protection Zones have been established around certain communities requiring additional protection from particulates such as nonattainment or maintenance. Maps identifying these areas are identified in maps located within Department Directive 141601, which is included in the docket. See OAR 6290480135 for details on requirements for these areas.
5 A copy of the study is included in the Docket materials for this action. See: Oregon SMP 110
Discussion.

PO 00000

Frm 00012

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

smoke management SIP provisions for these pollutants.
Prescribed burning does not generally occur in Oregon in summer months, the season when ozone values are expected to be the highest due to increased temperature and solar radiation, because those months generally have unfavorable smoke dispersion conditions 6 and fire safety concerns.
For these reasons, we are proposing to find that attainment and maintenance of the Ozone NAAQS are unlikely to be affected by the provision submitted for approval.
We are also proposing to find that attainment and maintenance of the PM
NAAQS are unlikely to be affected by the provisions in the 2019 Submittal for reasons discussed below. There are currently three PM nonattainment areas in Oregon: Klamath Falls for 2006 PM2.5
and Oakridge for the 2006 PM2.5 and 1987 PM10 NAAQS. Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date and a Clean Data Determinations were published by EPA for these areas.7 All areas in Oregon fall far below the PM10
standard of 150 mg/m3 and are attaining the PM10 NAAQS. As discussed in the proposed findings of attainment for Klamath Falls 81 FR 36176, June 6, 2016 and Oakridge 82 FR 52686, November 14, 2017, residential wood combustion RWC in the cold, winter months during atmospheric inversions is the most significant source of PM2.5
emissions responsible for elevated particulate matter in these areas. RWC
emissions from certified and noncertified wood stoves, fireplaces, and pellet stoves are the most significant source of PM2.5 emissions. In the Oakridge area, RWC accounts for about 86% of the base year direct PM2.5
emissions and 84% of the projected emissions on worst case winter days.
The primary control strategy for these areas is reducing emissions from residential wood combustion through a program to change-out uncertified woodstoves and an episodic woodstove curtailment program. The curtailment program restricts wood burning on Red advisory days. Red days are generally declared when PM2.5
concentration is expected to be 25mg/m3
approx. 72% of the NAAQS or higher.
Oregon established SPZs around Klamath Falls and Oakridge to provide additional protection from smoke in these areas. The Oregon Smoke Management Plan designates SPZs to 6 See Section 2.6 of Oregon SMP 110 Discussion, which is included in the docket for this action.
7 Klamath Falls 2006 PM , 81 FR 36176, 6/6/
2.5
2016; and Oakridge 2006 PM2.5, 85 FR 5537, 2/8/2018; Oakridge 1987 p.m.10, 66 FR 38947, 7/26/2001.

E:FRFM19FEP1.SGM

19FEP1