40 CFR Part 58 - AMBIENT AIR QUALITY SURVEILLANCE

This action finalizes revisions to the minimum monitoring requirements for near-road nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) monitoring by removing the existing requirements for near-road NO 2 monitoring stations in Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) having populations between 500,000 and 1,000,000 persons, that are due by January 1, 2017.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise the minimum monitoring requirements for near-road nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) monitoring by removing the existing requirements for near-road NO 2 monitoring stations in Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) having populations between 500,000 and 1,000,000 persons, that are due by January 1, 2017. Current near-road NO 2 monitoring data indicate air quality levels in the near-road environment are well below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the oxides of nitrogen. In light of this information, and due to the relationship between population, traffic, and expected NO 2 concentrations in the near-road environment, it is anticipated that measured near-road NO 2 concentrations in relatively smaller CBSAs ( e.g., CBSAs with populations less than 1,000,000 persons) would exhibit similar, and more likely, lower concentrations, than what is being measured in larger urban areas.

This action promulgates revisions to ambient air monitoring requirements for criteria pollutants. These revisions include adding and harmonizing definitions; clarifying annual monitoring network plan public notice requirements; revising network design requirements; system modifications and operating schedules; clarifying data certification, data submittal and archiving procedures; reorganizing and clarifying quality assurance requirements; and revising certain network design criteria for non-source oriented lead monitoring. These revisions also address other issues in the Ambient Air Quality Surveillance Requirements, to help reduce the compliance burden of monitoring agencies operating ambient monitoring networks.

Based on its review of the air quality criteria for ozone (O 3 ) and related photochemical oxidants and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for O 3, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising the primary and secondary NAAQS for O 3 to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively. The EPA is revising the levels of both standards to 0.070 parts per million (ppm), and retaining their indicators (O 3 ), forms (fourth-highest daily maximum, averaged across three consecutive years) and averaging times (eight hours). The EPA is making corresponding revisions in data handling conventions for O 3 and changes to the Air Quality Index (AQI); revising regulations for the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program to add a transition provision for certain applications; and establishing exceptional events schedules and providing information related to implementing the revised standards. The EPA is also revising the O 3 monitoring seasons, the Federal Reference Method (FRM) for monitoring O 3 in the ambient air, Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) analyzer performance requirements, and the Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) network. Along with exceptional events schedules related to implementing the revised O 3 standards, the EPA is applying this same schedule approach to other future new or revised NAAQS and removing obsolete regulatory language for expired exceptional events deadlines. The EPA is making minor changes to the procedures and time periods for evaluating potential FRMs and equivalent methods, including making the requirements for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) consistent with the requirements for O 3, and removing an obsolete requirement for the annual submission of Product Manufacturing Checklists by manufacturers of FRMs and FEMs for monitors of fine and coarse particulate matter. For a more detailed summary, see the Executive Summary below.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing three public hearings for the proposed rule titled, “National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone,” that was published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2014. The hearings will be held in Washington, DC, Arlington, Texas, and Sacramento, California. Based on its review of the air quality criteria for ozone (O 3 ) and related photochemical oxidants and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for O 3, the EPA proposes to make revisions to the primary and secondary NAAQS for O 3 to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively. The EPA is proposing to revise the primary standard to a level within the range of 0.065 to 0.070 parts per million (ppm), and to revise the secondary standard to within the range of 0.065 to 0.070 ppm, which air quality analyses indicate would provide air quality, in terms of 3-year average W126 index values, at or below a range of 13-17 ppm-hours. The EPA proposes to make corresponding revisions in data handling conventions for O 3 and conforming changes to the Air Quality Index; to revise regulations for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration program to add a transition provision for certain applications; and to propose schedules and convey information related to implementing any revised standards. The EPA is proposing changes to the O 3 monitoring seasons, the Federal Reference Method (FRM) for monitoring O 3 in the ambient air, Federal Equivalent Method procedures for testing, and the Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations network. Along with proposing exceptional event schedules related to implementing any revised O 3 standards, the EPA is proposing to apply this same schedule approach to other future revised NAAQS and to remove obsolete regulatory language for expired exceptional event deadlines. The EPA is proposing to make minor changes to the procedures and time periods for evaluating potential FRMs and equivalent methods (including making the requirements for nitrogen dioxide consistent with the requirements for O 3 ) and to remove an obsolete requirement for the annual submission of documentation by manufacturers of certain particulate matter monitors.

Based on its review of the air quality criteria for ozone (O 3 ) and related photochemical oxidants and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for O 3, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to make revisions to the primary and secondary NAAQS for O 3 to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively. The EPA is proposing to revise the primary standard to a level within the range of 0.065 to 0.070 parts per million (ppm), and to revise the secondary standard to within the range of 0.065 to 0.070 ppm, which air quality analyses indicate would provide air quality, in terms of 3-year average W126 index values, at or below a range of 13-17 ppm-hours. The EPA proposes to make corresponding revisions in data handling conventions for O 3 and conforming changes to the Air Quality Index (AQI); to revise regulations for the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program to add a transition provision for certain applications; and to propose schedules and convey information related to implementing any revised standards. The EPA is proposing changes to the O 3 monitoring seasons, the Federal Reference Method (FRM) for monitoring O 3 in the ambient air, Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) procedures for testing, and the Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) network. Along with proposing exceptional event schedules related to implementing any revised O 3 standards, the EPA is proposing to apply this same schedule approach to other future revised NAAQS and to remove obsolete regulatory language for expired exceptional event deadlines. The EPA is proposing to make minor changes to the procedures and time periods for evaluating potential FRMs and equivalent methods (including making the requirements for nitrogen dioxide consistent with the requirements for O 3 ) and to remove an obsolete requirement for the annual submission of documentation by manufacturers of certain particulate matter monitors. For additional information, see the Executive Summary, section I.A.

This action proposes revisions to ambient air monitoring requirements for criteria pollutants to provide clarifications to existing requirements to reduce the compliance burden of monitoring agencies operating ambient networks. This proposal focuses on reorganizing and clarifying quality assurance requirements, simplifying and reducing data reporting and certification requirements, clarifying the annual monitoring network plan public notice requirements, revising certain network design criteria for nonsource lead monitoring, and addressing other issues in part 58 Ambient Air Quality Surveillance Requirements.

The EPA is finalizing revisions to the deadlines established in the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) for the near-road component of the NO 2 monitoring network in order to implement a phased deployment approach. This approach will create a series of deadlines that will make the near-road NO 2 network operational between January 1, 2014, and January 1, 2017. The EPA is also finalizing revisions to the approval authority for annual monitoring network plans for NO 2 monitoring.

Based on its review of the air quality criteria and the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM), the EPA is making revisions to the suite of standards for PM to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare and to make corresponding revisions to the data handling conventions for PM and to the ambient air monitoring, reporting, and network design requirements. The EPA also is making revisions to the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting program with respect to the NAAQS revisions. With regard to primary (health-based) standards for fine particles (generally referring to particles less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (μm) in diameter, PM 2.5 ), the EPA is revising the annual PM 2.5 standard by lowering the level to 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m 3 ) so as to provide increased protection against health effects associated with long- and short-term exposures (including premature mortality, increased hospital admissions and emergency department visits, and development of chronic respiratory disease), and to retain the 24-hour PM 2.5 standard at a level of 35 μg/m 3 . The EPA is revising the Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM 2.5 to be consistent with the revised primary PM 2.5 standards. With regard to the primary standard for particles generally less than or equal to 10 µm in diameter (PM 10 ), the EPA is retaining the current 24-hour PM 10 standard to continue to provide protection against effects associated with short-term exposure to thoracic coarse particles (i.e., PM 10-2.5 ). With regard to the secondary (welfare-based) PM standards, the EPA is generally retaining the current suite of secondary standards (i.e., 24-hour and annual PM 2.5 standards and a 24-hour PM 10 standard). Non-visibility welfare effects are addressed by this suite of secondary standards, and PM-related visibility impairment is addressed by the secondary 24-hour PM 2.5 standard.

The EPA is proposing to revise the deadlines established in the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) for the near-road component of the NO 2 monitoring network and to implement a phased deployment approach. This approach would create a series of deadlines that would make the near-road NO 2 network operational between January 1, 2014, and January 1, 2017. The EPA is also proposing to revise the approval authority for annual monitoring network plans for NO 2 monitoring.

The EPA is announcing two public hearings for the proposed rule titled, “National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter,” that is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on June 29, 2012. The hearings will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Sacramento, California. In this rulemaking, the EPA is proposing to make revisions to the primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively, and to make corresponding revisions to the data handling conventions for PM and ambient air monitoring, reporting, and network design requirements. The EPA is proposing changes to the Air Quality Index (AQI) to be consistent with the proposed primary standards. In addition, the EPA is proposing revisions to the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting program with respect to the proposed NAAQS revisions.