Air Plan Approval; Approval of Missouri Air Quality Implementation Plans; Revisions to St. Louis 2008 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Missouri on November 12, 2019, revising the maintenance plan demonstrating continued maintenance of the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), the 1979 1-Hour and 1997 8-Hour ozone standards in the St. Louis area. This revision demonstrates that the St. Louis area no longer needs to rely on the vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) program and the use of Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) for continued maintenance throughout the maintenance period for the 2008 8-Hour ozone NAAQS, the 1979 1-Hour ozone NAAQS and 1997 8-Hour ozone NAAQS. The EPA has determined that this revision meets the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES:

This final rule is effective on November 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0360. All documents in the docket are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available through https://www.regulations.gov or please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven Brown, Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number (913) 551-7718; email address: brown.steven@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. What is being addressed in this document?

II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

III. What Action is the EPA taking?

IV. Statutory and executive order reviews

I. What is being addressed in this document?

The EPA is taking final action to approve SIP revisions submitted by the State of Missouri on November 12, 2019, revising the 2008 8-hour ozone maintenance plan previously approved on September 20, 2018 (83 FR 47572). This SIP revision demonstrates continued maintenance of the 2008 8-Hour ozone NAAQS, the 1979 1-Hour ozone NAAQS and 1997 8-Hour ozone NAAQS in the St. Louis area through the future year of 2030. The maintenance area boundary includes the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. Louis along with the City of St. Louis.

Since the 2008 ozone standard is more stringent than the 1979 and 1997 ozone standards, and the boundary area for all three designations are identical, we are approving this SIP revision to also replace the previously approved maintenance plans under those older standards.

Through this final action, the EPA is approving this maintenance plan into Missouri's SIP pursuant to the CAA section 175A as a replacement to the maintenance plans previously approved by EPA on October 2, 2018 (83 FR 38033), May 12, 2003 (68 FR 25413), and February 20, 2015 (80 FR 9207).

On May 12, 2003, EPA published a final rule stating the St. Louis area attained the 1979 1-hour ozone standard, redesignated the area to attainment, and approved the State's plan for maintaining the 1-hour ozone NAAQS (68 FR 25413).

On February 20, 2015, EPA issued a final rulemaking approving the State of Missouri's request to redesignate the Missouri portion of the St. Louis nonattainment area to attainment and their demonstration for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS through the ten-year maintenance period (2025) (80 FR 9207).

This SIP revision we are acting on in this final action, removes the reliance on the St. Louis Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) program, and Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) for continued maintenance of the 2008, 1979 and 1997 standard. To support this revision, Missouri utilized EPA's 2014 Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES2014b) emission modeling system to project revised mobile source emissions by removing emissions reductions related to I/M and RFG throughout the maintenance period to the future year of 2030.

EPA is approving this revised maintenance plan based on information provided in the emissions projections, modeling results, and an evaluation of quality assured air monitoring data submitted as part of this revision and in a previously reviewed analysis as part of the St. Louis Nonattainment Area 2008 8-hour Ozone NAAQS Redesignation rulemaking on September 20, 2018 (83 FR 47572). Current and future projections of air quality and emissions data for this revision demonstrates maintenance for the 2008, 1979 and 1997 ozone NAAQS.

This revision only affects maintenance for the 2008, 1979 and 1997 ozone standards, only removes the reliance upon the I/M program and RFG programs and meets the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

The full text of the plan revisions including Missouri's technical demonstration can be found in the State's submission, which is included in the docket for this action. The EPA solicited comments on these proposed revision to Missouri's SIP published on July 30, 2021 (86 FR 40977), and received one individual's comment in favor of approval. Therefore, the EPA is finalizing the approval of these revisions to the SIP.

II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

The State's submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The State provided public notice on this SIP revision from July 29, 2019 through September 13, 2019 and received one comment from the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, one comment from Abel Realty, and thirteen comments from EPA. After receiving comments, the State revised the SIP prior to submitting the plan to EPA. In addition, as explained above and in more detail in the Missouri submittal document, which is part of the docket, the revision meets the substantive SIP requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and implementing regulations.

III. What Action is the EPA taking?

The EPA is taking final action to approve a SIP revision submitted by the State of Missouri on November 12, 2019, revising the 2008 8-hour ozone maintenance plan. EPA has determined that this revision does not interfere with attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS or with any other CAA requirement.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:

• Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);

• Does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. );

• Is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. );

• Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
• Does not have federalism implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
• Is not an economically significant regulatory action based on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not involve technical standards; and
• Does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).

Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 29, 2021. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements (see section 307(b)(2)).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• Incorporation by reference
• Ozone

For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52 as set forth below:

PART 52—APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart AA—Missouri

2. In § 52.1320, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding the entry “(79)” in numerical order to read as follows: