1438 Proposed designation recommendations for the 2015 ozone standards; public meetings

Proposed Designation Recommendations for the 2015 Ozone Standards; Public Meetings

[46 Pa.B. 5162]
[Saturday, August 20, 2016]

 Ground-level ozone concentrations above the Federal health-based standard are a serious threat to human health. Ozone also causes damage to crops, forests and wildlife. On October 1, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated revised primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone, which were published at 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015). The revised primary ozone NAAQS of 70 parts per billion (ppb) will provide increased protection of public health when compared to the 2008 primary NAAQS of 75 ppb. The revised secondary 8-hour ozone NAAQS of 70 ppb is also expected to provide increased protection of forests, crop yield, plants and wildlife when compared to the 2008 secondary 8-hour NAAQS of 75 ppb.

 In accordance with section 107(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C.A. § 7407(d)(1)), the governor of each state must now submit designation recommendations to the EPA by October 1, 2016, within 1 year of the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS for any pollutant under section 109 of the CAA (42 U.S.C.A. § 7409). The Commonwealth's designation recommendations for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS are based on air quality monitoring data for 2013—2015, demographic information and other criteria, as recommended by the EPA in its February 25, 2016, memorandum pertaining to ''Area Designations for the 2015 Revised Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards.'' The EPA expects to make final designations by October 1, 2017.

 The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is seeking public input on the proposed designation recommendations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Based on air quality, demographic information and political boundary factors, the Department is proposing to recommend that:

 • Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties be designated as a multicounty nonattainment area.

 • Indiana County be designated as a single county nonattainment area.

 • Lebanon County be designated as a single county nonattainment area.

 • Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties be designated as a multicounty interstate nonattainment area.

 The Department is proposing to recommend that the remainder of this Commonwealth be designated as unclassifiable/attainment as described in the EPA guidance.

 This proposal is available on the Department's web site at http://www.dep.pa.gov/ or through the following list of contact persons. The Department will hold public informational meetings as follows:

August 24, 2016	August 25, 2016	August 26, 2016
11 a.m.	11 a.m.	11 a.m.
Juniata River Room	Waterfront A	Delaware River Room
909 Elmerton Avenue	500 Waterfront Drive	2 East Main Street
Harrisburg, PA	Pittsburgh, PA	Norristown, PA

 For more information on the public meetings, contact Roma Monteiro at [phone] or [e-mail]. Persons with disabilities who wish to attend a meeting and require an auxiliary aid, service or other accommodation to participate in the proceeding should also contact Roma Monteiro. TDD users may contact the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at [phone] to discuss how the Department can best accommodate their needs.

 The Department must receive all comments on or by Friday, September 2, 2016. Electronic comments should be submitted using the Department's eComment site at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment. Written comments can be submitted by e-mail to [e-mail] or by mail to the Policy Office, Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063.

PATRICK McDONNELL, 
Acting Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 16-1438. Filed for public inspection August 19, 2016, 9:00 a.m.]