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ACTION:

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA
Analysis
Final rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency EPA is approving a state implementation plan SIP revision submitted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection WVDEP on behalf of the State of West Virginia WV. This revision pertains to West Virginias plan for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard NAAQS for the West Virginia portion of the HuntingtonAshland, WV-KY area Huntington Area, comprising Cabell and Wayne Counties. The EPA is approving these revisions to the West Virginia SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act CAA.

SUMMARY:

On September 15, 2006 71 FR 54421, effective October 16, 2006, EPA
approved a redesignation request and maintenance plan from WVDEP for the Huntington Area. Per CAA section 175Ab, at the end of the eighth year after the effective date of the redesignation, the state must also submit a second maintenance plan to ensure ongoing maintenance of the standard for an additional 10 years, and in South Coast Air Quality Management District v. EPA,1 the D.C. Circuit held that this requirement cannot be waived for areas, like the Huntington Area, that had been redesignated to attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS prior to revocation and that were designated DATES: This final rule is effective on attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
April 2, 2021.
CAA section 175A sets forth the criteria ADDRESSES: EPA has established a for adequate maintenance plans. In docket for this action under Docket ID
addition, EPA has published Number EPAR03OAR20200196. All longstanding guidance that provides documents in the docket are listed on further insight on the content of an the https www.regulations.gov approvable maintenance plan, website. Although listed in the index, explaining that a maintenance plan some information is not publicly should address five elements: 1 An available, e.g., confidential business attainment emissions inventory; 2 a information CBI or other information maintenance demonstration; 3 a whose disclosure is restricted by statute. commitment for continued air quality Certain other material, such as monitoring; 4 a process for verification copyrighted material, is not placed on of continued attainment; and 5 a the internet and will be publicly contingency plan.2 WVDEPs December 10, 2019 SIP submittal fulfills West available only in hard copy form.
Virginias obligation to submit a second Publicly available docket materials are maintenance plan and addresses each of available through https
the five necessary elements.
www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
As discussed in the June 29, 2020
INFORMATION CONTACT section for NPRM, consistent with longstanding additional availability information.
EPAs guidance,3 areas that meet certain criteria may be eligible to submit a FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
limited maintenance plan LMP to Keila M. Pagan-Incle, Planning &
satisfy one of the requirements of CAA
Implementation Branch 3AD30, Air &
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental section 175A. Specifically, states may meet CAA section 175As requirements Protection Agency, Region III, 1650
Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to provide for maintenance by demonstrating that the areas design 19103. The telephone number is 215
value 4 are well below the NAAQS and 8142926. Ms. Pagan-Incle can also be reached via electronic mail at pagan1 882 F.3d 1138 D.C. Cir. 2018.
incle.keila@epa.gov.
2 Procedures for Processing Requests to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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I. Background On June 29, 2020 85 FR 38825, EPA
published a notice of proposed rulemaking NPRM for the State of West Virginia. In the NPRM, EPA
proposed approval of West Virginias plan for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS through October 16, 2026, in accordance with CAA section 175A. The formal SIP revision was submitted by WVDEP on December 10, 2019.

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Redesignate Areas to Attainment, Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992 Calcagni Memo.
3 See Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable Ozone Nonattainment Areas from Sally L. Shaver, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards OAQPS, dated November 16, 1994;
Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable CO Nonattainment Areas from Joseph Paisie, OAQPS, dated October 6, 1995; and Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas from Lydia Wegman, OAQPS, dated August 9, 2001.
4 The ozone design value for a monitoring site is the 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations.
The design value for an ozone nonattainment area
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that it has had historical stability attaining the NAAQS. EPA evaluated WVDEPs December 10, 2019 submittal for consistency with all applicable EPA
guidance and CAA requirements. EPA
found that the submittal met CAA
section 175A and all CAA requirements, and proposed approval of the LMP for the Huntington Area, comprising Cabell and Wayne Counties as a revision to the West Virginia SIP. The effect of this action makes certain commitments related to the maintenance of the 1997
8-hour ozone NAAQS federally enforceable as part of the West Virginia SIP.
Other specific requirements of WVDEPs December 10, 2019 submittal and the rationale for EPAs proposed action are explained in the NPRM and will not be restated here.
III. EPAs Response to Comments Received EPA received four sets of relevant comments on the June 29, 2020 NPRM.
Comments 2 and 3 raised concerns about EPAs reliance on the Air Quality Modeling Technical Support Document TSD and are summarized and addressed together under Comment 2.
All comments received are in the docket for this rulemaking action. A summary of the comments and EPAs responses are provided herein.
Comment 1: The commenter contends that the LMP should not be approved because it is not based on the the best available science. The commenter asserts that the second maintenance plan does not provide information regarding the prevention and reduction of future impacts of oil and gas development activity, and does not take into consideration impacts of installation of oil and gas pipelines in the area. Additionally, the commenter asserts that the LMP does not have adequate funding to cover the costs and does not comply with other provisions of state policy that make it impossible for it to meet the EPA standards.
Further, the commenter claims that the second maintenance plan failed to consider potential emissions from oil and gas pipelines including spills and releases, and these emissions need to be included and mitigated.
Response 1: Commenter contends that EPAs proposed approval of West Virginias second maintenance plan is not based on the best available science, but provides no support for its contention. EPA disagrees with the commenter that West Virginias second maintenance plan is not based on the is the highest design value of any monitoring site in the area.

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