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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 23-1042

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Proposed State Implementation Plan Revision; Attainment Demonstration and Base Year Inventory for the Philadelphia, PA Nonattainment Area for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard; Public Hearing

[53 Pa.B. 4502]
[Saturday, August 5, 2023]

 The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is seeking public comment on a proposed State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision which demonstrates how the Philadelphia Area, which is the Commonwealth's part of the larger multi-state Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City nonattainment area, will attain the 2015 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Ozone. The Philadelphia Area includes all of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.

 On October 26, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated a revised primary and secondary Ozone NAAQS of 70 parts per billion, which went into effect on August 3, 2018 (80 FR 65292). On June 4, 2018, the EPA designated the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Area as ''marginal'' nonattainment, including the Philadelphia Area for the 2015 8-hour Ozone NAAQS (83 FR 25776). Short-term exposure to ozone has been linked to adverse respiratory conditions in humans.

 On October 7, 2022, the EPA finalized the Determination of Attainment by the Attainment Date, which determined whether certain areas have achieved levels of ground-level ozone pollution that met the 2015 health-based air quality standards for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS by the attainment date, August 3, 2021 (87 FR 60897). The EPA's action determined that the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Area failed to attain the 2015 Ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date and reclassified the area from ''marginal'' to ''moderate'' nonattainment (87 FR 60898). This nonattainment area, including the Philadelphia Area, is now required to attain the 8-hour ozone standard by August 3, 2024 (87 FR 60903). The Department must develop revisions to the Commonwealth's SIP to demonstrate how the area will attain the 2015 ozone standard by the required date. Furthermore, the nonattainment area is required to demonstrate attainment of the standard by the end of the last full ozone season prior to the listed attainment date, August 3, 2024, which is the end of the 2023 ozone season.

 Attainment demonstrations for the 2015 8-hour Ozone NAAQS were due January 1, 2023. This attainment demonstration contains an analysis of air quality, required emission inventories, a description of control strategies, contingency measures and conceptual modeling for the Philadelphia nonattainment area.

 This proposed SIP revision is for the Commonwealth portion of the ''moderate'' Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE Nonattainment Area and will be submitted by the Department to the EPA when final.

 The proposed SIP revision is available on the Department's web site at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment.

 The Department will provide the opportunity for a public hearing to receive comments on this proposed SIP revision on September 6, 2023, at 1 p.m. at the Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street, Norristown, PA  19401. Persons wishing to present testimony should contact Amanda Rodriguez at P.O. Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105, (717) 787-7677 or amarodrigu@pa.gov no less than 24 hours in advance of the public hearing to reserve a time. Witnesses will be limited to 10 minutes and should provide two written copies of their comments.

 Persons with a disability who wish to attend a hearing and require an auxiliary aid, service or other accommodation to participate in the proceeding should contact Amanda Rodriguez at amarodrigu@pa.gov or (717) 787-7677. TDD users may contact the Pennsylvania Hamilton Relay Service at (800) 654-5984 to discuss how the Department can best accommodate their needs.

 The Department must receive comments no later than Thursday, September 7, 2023. Commentators are encouraged to submit comments using the Department's eComment system at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment or by e-mail to ecomment@pa.gov. Written comments may be submitted to the Policy Office, Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063. Use ''Philadelphia 2015 Ozone'' as the subject line in written communication.

RICHARD NEGRIN, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 23-1042. Filed for public inspection August 4, 2023, 9:00 a.m.]


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