Loading (50 kb)...'
(continued)
in any area designated pursuant to section 107(d) as attainment
or unclassifiable and which is not subject to an implementation
plan which meets the requirements of this part.
[42 U.S.C. 7477]
PERIOD BEFORE PLAN APPROVAL
Sec. 168. (a) Until such time as an applicable implementation
plan is ineffect for any area, which plan meets the requirements
of this part to prevent significant deterioration of air quality
with respect to any air pollutant, applicable regulations under
this Act prior to enactment of this part shall remain in effect
to prevent significant deterioration of air quality in any such
area for any such pollutant except as otherwise provided in
subsection (b).
(b) If any regulation in effect prior to enactment of this part
to prevent significant deterioration of air quality would be
inconsistent with the requirements of section 162(a), section
163(b) or section 164(a), then such regulations shall be deemed
amended so as to conform with such requirements. In the case of a
facility on which construction was commenced (in accordance with
this definition of "commenced" in section 169(2)) after June 1,
1975, and prior to the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1977, the review and permitting of such facility shall be in
accordance with the regulations for the prevention of significant
deterioration in effect prior to the enactment of the Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1977.
[42 U.S.C. 7478]
DEFINITIONS
Sec. 169. For purposes of this part -
(1) The term "major emitting facility" means any of the fol-
lowing stationary sources of air pollutants which emit, or have
the potential to emit, one hundred tons per year or more of any
air pollutant from the following types of stationary sources:
fossil-fuel fired steam electric plants of more than two
hundred and fifty million British thermal units per hour heat
input, coal cleaning plants (thermal dryers), kraft pulp mills,
Portland Cement plants, primary zinc smelters, iron and steel
mill plants, primary aluminum ore reduction plants, primary
copper smelters, municipal incinerators capable of charging
more than fifty tons of refuse per day, hydrofluoric, sulfuric,
and nitric acid plants, petroleum refineries, lime plants,
phosphate
rock processing plants, coke oven batteries, sulfur recovery
plants, carbon black plants (furnace process) primary lead
143
smelters, fuel conversion plants, sintering plants, secondary
metal production facilities, chemical process plants, fossil-
fuel boilers of more than two hundred and fifty million British
thermal units per hour heat input, petroleum storage and
transfer facilities with a capacity exceeding three hundred
thousand barrels, taconite ore processing facilities, glass
fiber processing plants, charcoal production facilities. Such
term also includes any other source with the potential to emit
two hundred and fifty tons per year or more of any air pollut-
ant. This term shall not include new or modified facilities
which are nonprofit health or education institutions which have
been exempted by the State.
(2)(A) The term "commenced" as applied to construction of
a major emitting facility means that the owner or operator
has obtained all necessary preconstruction approvals or
permits required by Federal, State, or local air pollution
emissions and air quality laws or regulations and either has
(i) begun, or caused to begin, a continuous program of
physical on-site construction of the facility or (ii)
entered into binding agreements or contractual obligations,
which cannot be canceled or modified without substantial
loss to the owner or operator, to undertake a program of
construction of the facility to be completed within a
reasonable time.
(B) The term "necessary preconstruction approvals or
permits" means those permits or approvals required by the
permitting authority as a precondition to undertaking any
activity under clauses (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph.
(C) The term "construction" when used in connection with
any source or facility, includes the modification (as
defined in section 111(a)) of any source or facility.
(3) The term "best available control technology" means an
emission limitation based on the maximum degree of reduction
of each pollutant subject to regulation under this Act
emitted from or which results from any major emitting
facility, which the permitting authority, on a case-by-case
basis, taking into account energy, environmental, and
economic impacts and other costs, determines is achievable
for such facility through application of production
processes and available methods, systems, and techniques,
including fuel cleaning, clean fuels, or treatment or
innovative fuel combustion techniques for control of each
such pollutant. In no event shall application of "best
available control technology" result in emissions of any
pollutants which will exceed the emissions allowed by any
applicable standard established pursuant to section 111 or
112 of this Act. Emissions from any source utilizing clean
fuels, or any other means, to comply with this paragraph
shall not be allowed to increase above levels that would
have been required under
this paragraph as it existed prior to enactment of the Clean
Air Act Amendments of 1990.
(4) The term "baseline concentration" means, with respect
to a pollutant, the ambient concentration levels which exist
at the time of the first application for a permit in an area
subject to this part, based on air quality data available in
the Environmental Protection Agency or a State air pollution
144
control agency and on such monitoring data as the permit
applicant is required to submit. Such ambient concentration
levels shall take into account all projected emissions in,
or which may affect, such area from any major emitting
facility on which construction commenced prior to January 6,
1975, but which has not begun operation by the date of the
baseline air quality concentration determination. Emissions
of sulfur oxides and particulate matter from any major
emitting facility on which construction commenced after
January 6, 1975, shall not be included in the baseline and
shall be counted against the maximum allowable increases in
pollutant concentrations established under this part.
[42 U.S.C. 7479]
SUBPART 2
VISIBILITY PROTECTION FOR FEDERAL CLASS I AREAS
Sec. 169A. (a)(1) Congress hereby declares as a national goal
the prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing,
impairment of visibility in mandatory class I Federal areas which
impairment results from manmade air pollution.
(2) Not later than six months after the date of the enactment
of this section, the Secretary of the Interior in consultation
with other Federal land managers shall review all mandatory class
I Federal areas and identify those where visibility is an
important value of the area. From time to time the Secretary of
the Interior may revise such identifications. Not later than one
year after such date of enactment, the Administrator shall, after
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, promulgate a
list of mandatory class I Federal areas in which he determines
visibility is an important value.
(3) Not later than eighteen months after the date of enactment
of this section, the Administrator shall complete a study and
report to Congress on available methods for implementing the
national goal set forth in paragraph (1). Such report shall
include recommendations for -
(A) methods for identifying, characterizing, determining,
quantifying, and measuring visibility impairment in Federal
areas referred to in paragraph (1), and
(B) modeling techniques (or other methods) for determining
the extent to which manmade air pollution may reasonably be
anticipated to cause or contribute to such impairment, and
(C) methods for preventing and remedying such manmade air
pollution and resulting visibility impairment.
Such report shall also identify the classes or categories of
sources and the types of air pollutants which, alone or in
conjunction with other sources or pollutants, may reasonably be
anticipated to cause or contribute significantly to impairment of
visibility.
(4) Not later than twenty-four months after the date of
enactment of this section, and after notice and public hearing,
the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to assure (A)
reasonable progress toward meeting the national goal specified in
paragraph (1), and (B) compliance with the requirements of this
section.
145
(b) Regulations under subsection (a)(4) shall -
(1) provide guidelines to the States, taking into account
the recommendations under subsection (a)(3) on appropriate
techniques and methods for implementing this section (as
provided in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of such subsection
(a)(3)), and
(2) require each applicable implementation plan for a
State in which any area listed by the Administrator under
subsection (a)(2) is located (or for a State the emissions
from which may reasonably be anticipated to cause or
contribute to any impairment of visibility in any such area)
to contain such emission limits, schedules of compliance and
other measures as may be necessary to make reasonable
progress toward meeting the national goal specified in
subsection (a), including -
(A) except as otherwise provided pursuant to subsec-
tion (c), a requirement that each major stationary
source which is in existence on the date of enactment
of this section, but which has not been in operation
for more than fifteen years as of such date, and which,
as determined by the State (or the Administrator in the
case of a plan promulgated under section 110(c)) emits
any air pollutant which may reasonably be anticipated
to cause or contribute to any impairment of visibility
in any such area, shall procure, install, and operate,
as expeditiously as practicable (and maintain
thereafter) the best available retrofit technology, as
determined by the State (or the Administrator in the
case of a plan promulgated under section 110(c)) for
controlling emissions from such source for the purpose
of eliminating or reducing any such impairment, and
(B) a long-term (ten to fifteen years) strategy for
making reasonable progress toward meeting the national
goal specified in subsection (a).
In the case of a fossil-fuel fired generating powerplant having a
total generating capacity in excess of 750 megawatts, the
emission limitations required under this paragraph shall be
determined pursuant to guidelines, promulgated by the
Administrator under paragraph (1).
(c)(1) The Administrator may, by rule, after notice and
opportunity for public hearing, exempt any major stationary
source from the requirement of subsection (b)(2)(A), upon his
determination that such source does not or will not, by itself or
in combination with other sources, emit any air pollutant which
may reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to a
significant impairment of visibility in any mandatory class I
Federal area.
(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not be applicable to
any fossil-fuel fired powerplant with total design capacity of
750 megawatts or more, unless the owner or operator of any such
plant
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Administrator that such
powerplant is located at such distance from all areas listed by
the Administrator under subsection (a)(2) that such powerplant
does not or will not, by itself or in combination with other
sources, emit any air pollutant which may reasonably be
anticipated to cause or contribute to significant impairment of
visibility in any such area.
146
(3) An exemption under this subsection shall be effective only
upon concurrence by the appropriate Federal land manager or
managers with the Administrator's determination under this
subsection.
(d) Before holding the public hearing on the proposed revision
of an applicable implementation plan to meet the requirements of
this section, the State (or the Administrator, in the case of a
plan promulgated under section 110(c)) shall consult in person
with the appropriate Federal land manager or managers and shall
include a summary of the conclusions and recommendations of the
Federal land managers in the notice to the public.
(e) In promulgating regulations under this section, the
Administrator shall not require the use of any automatic or
uniform buffer zone or zones.
(f) For purposes of section 304(a)(2), the meeting of the
national goal specified in subsection (a)(1) by any specific date
or dates shall not be considered a "nondiscretionary duty" of the
Administrator.
(g) For the purpose of this section -
(1) in determining reasonable progress there shall be
taken into consideration the costs of compliance, the time
necessary for compliance, and the energy and nonair quality
environmental impacts of compliance, and the remaining
useful life of any existing source subject to such
requirements;
(2) in determining best available retrofit technology the
State (or the Administrator in determining emission limita-
tions which reflect such technology) shall take into consid-
eration the costs of compliance, the energy and nonair
quality environmental impacts of compliance, any existing
pollution control technology in use at the source, the
remaining useful life of the source, and the degree of
improvement in visibility which may reasonably be
anticipated to result from the use of such technology;
(3) the term "manmade air pollution" means air pollution
which results directly or indirectly from human activities;
(4) the term "as expeditiously as practicable" means as
expeditiously as practicable but in no event later than five
years after the date of approval of a plan revision under
this section (or the date of promulgation of such a plan
revision in the case of action by the Administrator under
section 110(c) for purposes of this section);
(5) the term "mandatory class I Federal areas" means
Federal areas which may not be designated as other than
class I under this part;
(6) the terms "visibility impairment" and "impairment of
visibility" shall include reduction in visual range and
atmospheric discoloration; and
(7) the term "major stationary source" means the following
types of stationary sources with the potential to emit 250
tons or more of any pollutant; fossil-fuel fired steam
electric plants of more than 250 million British thermal
units per hour heat input, coal cleaning plants (thermal
dryers), kraft pulp mills, Portland Cement plants, primary
zinc smelters, iron and steel mill plants, primary aluminum
147
ore reduction plants, primary copper smelters, municipal
incinerators capable of charging more than 250 tons of
refuse per day, hydrofluoric, sulfuric, and nitric acid
plants, petroleum refineries, lime plants, phosphate rock
processing plants, coke oven batteries, sulfur recovery
plants, carbon black plants (furnace process), primary lead
smelters, fuel conversion plants, sintering plants,
secondary metal production facilities, chemical process
plants, fossil-fuel boilers of more than 250 million British
thermal units per hour heat input, petroleum storage and
transfer facilities with a capacity exceeding 300,000
barrels, taconite ore processing facilities, glass fiber
processing plants, charcoal production facilities.
[42 U.S.C. 7491]
SEC. 169B. VISIBILITY.
(a) Studies.- (1) The Administrator, in conjunction with the
National Park Service and other appropriate Federal agencies,
shall conduct research to identify and evaluate sources and
source regions of both visibility impairment and regions that
provide predominantly clean air in class I areas. A total of
$8,000,000 per year for 5 years is authorized to be appropriated
for the Environmental Protection Agency and the other Federal
agencies to conduct this research. The research shall include -
(A) expansion of current visibility related monitoring in
class I areas;
(B) assessment of current sources of visibility impairing
pollution and clean air corridors;
(C) adaptation of regional air quality models for the
assessment of visibility;
(D) studies of atmospheric chemistry and physics of
visibility.
(2) Based on the findings available from the research required
in subsection (a)(1) as well as other available scientific and
technical data, studies, and other available information pertain-
ing to visibility source-receptor relationships, the
Administrator shall conduct an assessment and evaluation that
identifies, to the extent possible, sources and source regions of
visibility impairment including natural sources as well as source
regions of clear air for class I areas. The Administrator shall
produce interim findings from this study within 3 years after
enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
(b) Impacts of Other Provisions.- Within 24 months after en-
actment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the
Administrator shall conduct an assessment of the progress and
improvements in visibility in class I areas that are likely to
result from the implementation of the provisions of the Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990 other than the provisions of this section.
Every 5 years thereafter the Administrator shall conduct an
assessment of
actual progress and improvement in visibility in class I areas.
The Administrator shall prepare a written report on each assess-
ment and transmit copies of these reports to the appropriate
committees of Congress.
(c) Establishment of Visibility Transport Regions and Commis-
sions.-
148
(1) Authority to establish visibility transport regions.-
Whenever, upon the Administrator's motion or by petition
from the Governors of at least two affected States, the
Administrator has reason to believe that the current or
projected interstate transport of air pollutants from one or
more States contributes significantly to visibility
impairment in class I areas located in the affected States,
the Administrator may establish a transport region for such
pollutants that includes such States. The Administrator,
upon the Administrator's own motion or upon petition from
the Governor of any affected State, or upon the
recommendations of a transport commission established under
subsection (b) of this section may -
(A) add any State or portion of a State to a visibility
transport region when the Administrator determines that
the interstate transport of air pollutants from such State
significantly contributes to visibility impairment in a
class I area located within the transport region, or
(B) remove any State or portion of a State from the
region whenever the Administrator has reason to believe
that the control of emissions in that State or portion of
the State pursuant to this section will not significantly
contribute to the protection or enhancement of visibility
in any class I area in the region.
(2) Visibility transport commissions.- Whenever the
Administrator establishes a transport region under
subsection (c)(1), the Administrator shall establish a
transport commission comprised of (as a minimum) each of the
following members:
(A) the Governor of each State in the Visibility
Transport Region, or the Governor's designee;
(B) The Administrator or the Administrator's designee;
and
(C) A representative of each Federal agency charged
with the direct management of each class I area or areas
within the Visibility Transport Region.
(3) All representatives of the Federal Government shall be
ex officio members.
(4) The visibility transport commissions shall be exempt
from the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(5 U.S.C. Appendix 2, Section 1).
(d) Duties of Visibility Transport Commissions.- A Visibility
Transport Commission -
(1) shall assess the scientific and technical data,
studies, and other currently available information,
including studies conducted pursuant to subsection (a)(1),
pertaining to adverse impacts on visibility from potential
or projected growth in emissions from sources located in the
Visibility Transport Region; and
(2) shall, within 4 years of establishment, issue a report
to the Administrator recommending what measures, if any,
should be taken under the Clean Air Act to remedy such
adverse impacts. The report required by this subsection
shall address at least the following measures:
149
(A) the establishment of clean air corridors, in which
additional restrictions on increases in emissions may be
appropriate to protect visibility in affected class I
areas;
(B) the imposition of the requirements of part D of
this title affecting the construction of new major
stationary sources or major modifications to existing
sources in such clean air corridors specifically including
the alternative siting analysis provisions of section
173(a)(5); and
(C) the promulgation of regulations under section 169A
to address long range strategies for addressing regional
haze which impairs visibility in affected class I areas.
(e) Duties of the Administrator.- (1) The Administrator shall,
taking into account the studies pursuant to subsection (a)(1) and
the reports pursuant to subsection (d)(2) and any other relevant
information, within eighteen months of receipt of the report
referred to in subsection (d)(2) of this section, carry out the
Administrator's regulatory responsibilities under section 169A,
including criteria for measuring "reasonable progress" toward the
national goal.
(2) Any regulations promulgated under section 169A of this
title pursuant to this subsection shall require affected States
to revise within 12 months their implementation plans under
section 110 of this title to contain such emission limits,
schedules of compliance, and other measures as may be necessary
to carry out regulations promulgated pursuant to this subsection.
(f) Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission.- The Adminis-
trator pursuant to subsection (c)(1) shall, within 12 months,
establish a visibility transport commission for the region
affecting the visibility of the Grand Canyon National Park.
[42 U.S.C. 7492]
PART D - PLAN REQUIREMENTS FOR NONATTAINMENT AREAS 1
SUBPART 1 - NONATTAINMENT AREAS IN GENERAL
Sec. 171. Definitions.
Sec. 172. Nonattainment plan provisions [in general].
Sec. 173. Permit requirements.
Sec. 174. Planning procedures.
[Sec. 175A. Maintenance plans.]1
Sec. 175. Environmental Protection Agency grants.
Sec. 176. Limitations on certain Federal assistance.
[Sec. 176A. Interstate transport commissions.]1
Sec. 177. New motor vehicle emission standards in nonattainment
areas.
Sec. 178. Guidance documents.
[Sec. 179. Sanctions and consequences of failure to attain.]1
[Sec. 179B. International border areas.]1
DEFINITIONS
Sec. 171. For the purpose of this part -
(1) Reasonable further progress.- The term "reasonable
further progress" means such annual incremental reductions in
emissions of the relevant air pollutant as are required by this
part or may reasonably be required by the Administrator for the
purpose of ensuring attainment of the applicable national
ambient air quality standard by the applicable date.
150
(2) Nonattainment area.- The term "nonattainment area"
means, for any air pollutant, an area which is designated
"nonattainment" with respect to that pollutant within the
meaning of section 107(d).
(3) The term "lowest achievable emission rate" means for any
source, that rate of emissions which reflects -
(A) the most stringent emission limitation which is
contained in the implementation plan of any State for such
class or category of source, unless the owner or operator
of the proposed source demonstrates that such limitations
are not achievable, or
(B) the most stringent emission limitation which is
achieved in practice by such class or category of source,
whichever is more stringent.
In no event shall the application of this term permit a
proposed new or modified source to emit any pollutant in excess
of the amount allowable under applicable new source standards
of performance.
(4) The terms "modifications" and "modified" mean the same
as the term "modification" as used in section 111(a)(4) of this
Act.
[42 U.S.C. 7501]
SEC. 172. NONATTAINMENT PLAN PROVISIONS IN GENERAL.
(a) Classifications and Attainment Dates.-
(1) Classifications.- (A) On or after the date the Admin-
istrator promulgates the designation of an area as a nonat-
tainment area pursuant to section 107(d) with respect to any
national ambient air quality standard (or any revised stan-
dard, including a revision of any standard in effect on the
date of the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990), the Administrator may classify the area for the
purpose of applying an attainment date pursuant to paragraph
(2), and for other purposes. In determining the appropriate
classifi-cation, if any, for a nonattainment area, the
Administrator may consider such factors as the severity of
nonattainment in such area and the availability and
feasibility of the pollu-tion control measures that the
Administrator believes may be necessary to provide for
attainment of such standard in such area.
(B) The Administrator shall publish a notice in the
Federal Register announcing each classification under
subparagraph (A), except the Administrator shall provide an
opportunity
for at least 30 days for written comment. Such classifica-
tion shall not be subject to the provisions of sections 553
through 557 of title 5 of the United States Code (concerning
notice and comment) and shall not be subject to judicial
review until the Administrator takes final action under
subsection (k) or (l) of section 110 (concerning action on
plan submissions) or section 179 (concerning sanctions) with
respect to any plan submissions required by virtue of such
classification.
(C) This paragraph shall not apply with respect to nonat-
tainment areas for which classifications are specifically
provided under other provisions of this part.
151
(2) Attainment dates for nonattainment areas.- (A) The
attainment date for an area designated nonattainment with
respect to a national primary ambient air quality standard
shall be the date by which attainment can be achieved as
expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 5 years from
the date such area was designated nonattainment under
section 107(d), except that the Administrator may extend the
attainment date to the extent the Administrator determines
appropriate, for a period no greater than 10 years from the
date of designation as nonattainment, considering the
severity of nonattainment and the availability and
feasibility of pollution control measures.
(B) The attainment date for an area designated nonattain-
ment with respect to a secondary national ambient air
quality standard shall be the date by which attainment can
be achieved as expeditiously as practicable after the date
such area was designated nonattainment under section 107(d).
(C) Upon application by any State, the Administrator may
extend for 1 additional year (hereinafter referred to as the
"Extension Year") the attainment date determined by the
Administrator under subparagraph (A) or (B) if -
(i) the State has complied with all requirements and
commitments pertaining to the area in the applicable
implementation plan, and
(ii) in accordance with guidance published by the
Administrator, no more than a minimal number of exceed-
ances of the relevant national ambient air quality
standard has occurred in the area in the year preceding
the Extension Year.
No more than 2 one-year extensions may be issued under this
subparagraph for a single nonattainment area.
(D) This paragraph shall not apply with respect to
nonattainment areas for which attainment dates are specifically
provided under other provisions of this part.
(b) Schedule for Plan Submissions.- At the time the Administra-
tor promulgates the designation of an area as nonattainment with
respect to a national ambient air quality standard under section
107(d), the Administrator shall establish a schedule according to
which the State containing such area shall submit a plan or plan
revision (including the plan items) meeting the applicable re-
quirements of subsection (c) and section 110(a)(2). Such schedule
shall at a minimum, include a date or dates, extending no later
than 3 years from the date of the nonattainment designation, for
the submission of a plan or plan revision (including the plan
items) meeting the applicable requirements of subsection (c) and
section 110(a)(2).
(c) Nonattainment Plan Provisions.- The plan provisions
(including plan items) required to be submitted under this part
shall comply with each of the following:
(1) In general.- Such plan provisions shall provide for
the implementation of all reasonably available control
measures as expeditiously as practicable (including such
reductions in emissions from existing sources in the area as
may be obtained through the adoption, at a minimum, of
reasonably available control technology) and shall provide
152
for attainment of the national primary ambient air quality
standards.
(2) RFP.- Such plan provisions shall require reasonable
further progress.
(3) Inventory.- Such plan provisions shall include a
comprehensive, accurate, current inventory of actual emis-
sions from all sources of the relevant pollutant or pollut-
ants in such area, including such periodic revisions as the
Administrator may determine necessary to assure that the
requirements of this part are met.
(4) Identification and quantification.- Such plan provi-
sions shall expressly identify and quantify the emissions,
if any, of any such pollutant or pollutants which will be
allowed, in accordance with section 173(a)(1)(B), from the
construction and operation of major new or modified station-
ary sources in each such area. The plan shall demonstrate to
the satisfaction of the Administrator that the emissions
quantified for this purpose will be consistent with the
achievement of reasonable further progress and will not
interfere with attainment of the applicable national ambient
air quality standard by the applicable attainment date.
(5) Permits for new and modified major stationary
sources.- Such plan provisions shall require permits for the
construction and operation of new or modified major
stationary sources anywhere in the nonattainment area, in
accordance with section 173.
(6) Other measures.- Such plan provisions shall include
enforceable emission limitations, and such other control
measures, means or techniques (including economic incentives
such as fees, marketable permits, and auctions of emission
rights), as well as schedules and timetables for compliance,
as may be necessary or appropriate to provide for attainment
of such standard in such area by the applicable attainment
date specified in this part.
(7) Compliance with section 110( a ) (2).- Such plan
provisions shall also meet the applicable provisions of
section 110(a)(2).
(8) Equivalent techniques.- Upon application by any State,
the Administrator may allow the use of equivalent modeling,
emission inventory, and planning procedures, unless the
Administrator determines that the proposed techniques are,
in
the aggregate, less effective than the methods specified by
the Administrator.
(9) Contingency measures.- Such plan shall provide for the
implementation of specific measures to be undertaken if the
area fails to make reasonable further progress, or to attain
the national primary ambient air quality standard by the
attainment date applicable under this part. Such measures
shall be included in the plan revision as contingency
measures to take effect in any such case without further
action by the State or the Administrator.
(d) Plan Revisions Required in Response to Finding of Plan
Inadequacy.- Any plan revision for a nonattainment area which is
required to be submitted in response to a finding by the Adminis-
153
trator pursuant to section 110(k)(5) (relating to calls for plan
revisions) must correct the plan deficiency (or deficiencies)
specified by the Administrator and meet all other applicable plan
requirements of section 110 and this part. The Administrator may
reasonably adjust the dates otherwise applicable under such
requirements to such revision (except for attainment dates that
have not yet elapsed), to the extent necessary to achieve a
consistent application of such requirements. In order to facili-
tate submittal by the States of adequate and approvable plans
consistent with the applicable requirements of this Act, the
Administrator shall, as appropriate and from time to time, issue
written guidelines, interpretations, and information to the
States which shall be available to the public, taking into
consideration any such guidelines, interpretations, or
information provided before the date of the enactment of the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
(e) Future Modification of Standard.- If the Administrator
relaxes a national primary ambient air quality standard after the
date of the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,
the Administrator shall, within 12 months after the relaxation,
promulgate requirements applicable to all areas which have not
attained that standard as of the date of such relaxation. Such
requirements shall provide for controls which are not less
stringent than the controls applicable to areas designated
nonattainment before such relaxation.
[42 U.S.C. 7502]
SEC. 173. PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.- The permit program required by section
172(b)(6) shall provide that permits to construct and operate may
be issued if -
(1) in accordance with regulations issued by the Adminis-
trator for the determination of baseline emissions in a
manner consistent with the assumptions underlying the
applicable implementation plan approved under section 110
and this part, the permitting agency determines that -
(A) by the time the source is to commence operation,
sufficient offsetting emissions reductions have been
ob-tained, such that total allowable emissions from
existing sources in the region, from new or modified
sources which are not major emitting facilities, and
from the proposed source will be sufficiently less than
total emissions from existing sources (as determined in
accordance with the regulations under this paragraph)
prior to the application for such permit to construct
or modify so as to represent (when considered together
with the plan provisions required under section 172)
reasonable further progress (as defined in section
171); or
(B) in the case of a new or modified major stationary
source which is located in a zone (within the
nonattainment area) identified by the Administrator, in
consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, as a zone to which economic development
should be targeted, that emissions of such pollutant
resulting from the proposed new or modified major
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stationary source will not cause or contribute to
emissions levels which exceed the allowance permitted
for such pollutant for such area from new or modified
major stationary sources under section 172(c);
(2) the proposed source is required to comply with the
lowest achievable emission rate;
(3) the owner or operator of the proposed new or modified
source has demonstrated that all major stationary sources
owned or operated by such person (or by any entity control-
ling, controlled by, or under common control with such
person) in such State are subject to emission limitations
and are in compliance, or on a schedule for compliance, with
all applicable emission limitations and standards under this
Act;
(4) the Administrator has not determined that the applica-
ble implementation plan is not being adequately implemented
for the nonattainment area in which the proposed source is
to be constructed or modified in accordance with the
requirements of this part; and
(5) an analysis of alternative sites, sizes, production
processes, and environmental control techniques for such
proposed source demonstrates that benefits of the proposed
source significantly outweigh the environmental and social
costs imposed as a result of its location, construction, or
modification.
Any emission reductions required as a precondition of the
issuance of a permit under paragraph (1) shall be federally
enforceable before such permit may be issued.
(b) Prohibition on Use of Old Growth Allowances.- Any growth
allowance included in an applicable implementation plan to meet
the requirements of section 172(b)(5) (as in effect immediately
before the date of the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1990) shall not be valid for use in any area that received or
receives a notice under section 110(a)(2)(H)(ii) (as in effect
immediately before the date of the enactment of the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990) or under section 110(k)(1) that its
applicable implementation plan containing such allowance is
substantially inadequate.
(c) Offsets.- (1) The owner or operator of a new or modified
major stationary source may comply with any offset requirement
in effect under this part for increased emissions of any air
pollutant only by obtaining emission reductions of such air
pollutant from the same source or other sources in the same
nonattainment area, except that the State may allow the owner or
operator of a source to obtain such emission reductions in
another nonattainment area if (A) the other area has an equal or
higher nonattainment classification than the area in which the
source is located and (B) emissions from such other area
contribute to a violation of the national ambient air quality
standard in the nonattainment area in which the source is
located. Such emission reductions shall be, by the time a new or
modified source commences operation, in effect and enforceable
and shall assure that the total tonnage of increased emissions of
the air pollutant from the new or modified source shall be offset
by an equal or greater reduction, as applicable, in the actual
155
emissions of such air pollutant from the same or other sources in
the area.
(2) Emission reductions otherwise required by this Act shall
not be creditable as emissions reductions for purposes of any
such offset requirement. Incidental emission reductions which are
not otherwise required by this Act shall be creditable as
emission reductions for such purposes if such emission reductions
meet the requirements of paragraph (1).
(d) Control Technology Information.- The State shall provide
that control technology information from permits issued under
this section will be promptly submitted to the Administrator for
purposes of making such information available through the
RACT/BACT/LAER clearinghouse to other States and to the general
public.
(e) Rocket Engines or Motors.- The permitting authority of a
State shall allow a source to offset by alternative or innovative
means emission increases from rocket engine and motor firing, and
cleaning related to such firing, at an existing or modified major
source that tests rocket engines or motors under the following
conditions:
(1) Any modification proposed is solely for the purpose of
expanding the testing of rocket engines or motors at an
existing source that is permitted to test such engines on
the date of enactment of this subsection.
(2) The source demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
permitting authority of the State that it has used all
reasonable means to obtain and utilize offsets, as
determined on an annual basis, for the emissions increases
beyond allowable levels, that all available offsets are
being used, and that sufficient offsets are not available to
the source.
(3) The source has obtained a written finding from the
Department of Defense, Department of Transportation,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration or other
appropriate Federal agency, that the testing of rocket
motors or engines at the facility is required for a program
essential to the national security.
(4) The source will comply with an alternative measure,
im-posed by the permitting authority, designed to offset any
emission increases beyond permitted levels not directly
offset by the source. In lieu of imposing any alternative
offset measures, the permitting authority may impose an
emissions fee to be paid to such authority of a State which
shall be an amount no greater than 1.5 times the average
cost of stationary source control measures adopted in that
area during the previous 3 years. The permitting authority
shall utilize the fees in a manner that maximizes the
emissions reductions in that area.
[42 U.S.C. 7503]
SEC. 174. PLANNING PROCEDURES.
(a) In General.- For any ozone, carbon monoxide, or PM-10
nonattainment area, the State containing such area and elected
officials of affected local governments shall, before the date
required for submittal of the inventory described under sections
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182(a)(1) and 187(a)(1), jointly review and update as necessary
the planning procedures adopted pursuant to this subsection as in
effect immediately before the date of the enactment of the Clean
Air Act Amendments of 1990, or develop new planning procedures
pursuant to this subsection, as appropriate. In preparing such
procedures the State and local elected officials shall determine
which elements of a revised implementation plan will be
developed, adopted, and implemented (through means including
enforcement) by the State and which by local governments or
regional agencies, or any combination of local governments,
regional agencies, or the State. The implementation plan required
by this part shall be prepared by an organization certified by
the State, in consultation with elected officials of local
governments and in accordance with the determination under the
second sentence of this subsection. Such organization shall
include elected officials of local governments in the affected
area, and representatives of the State air quality planning
agency, the State transportation planning agency, the
metropolitan planning organization designated to conduct the
continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning
process for the area under section 134 of title 23, United States
Code, the organization responsible for the air quality
maintenance planning process under regulations implementing this
Act, and any other organization with responsibilities for
developing, submitting, or implementing the plan required by this
part. Such organization may be one that carried out these
functions before the date of the enactment of the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990.
(b) Coordination.- The preparation of implementation plan
provisions and subsequent plan revisions under the continuing
transportation-air quality planning process described in section
108(e) shall be coordinated with the continuing, cooperative and
comprehensive transportation planning process required under
section 134 of title 23, United States Code, and such planning
processes shall take into account the requirements of this part.
(c) Joint Planning.- In the case of a nonattainment area that
is included within more than one State, the affected States may
jointly, through interstate compact or otherwise, undertake and
implement all or part of the planning procedures described in
this section.
[42 U.S.C. 7504]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS
Sec. 175. (a) The Administrator shall make grants to any
organization oflocal elected officials with transportation or air
quality maintenance planning responsibilities recognized by the
State under section 174(a) for payment of the reasonable costs of
developing a plan revision under this part.
(b) The amount granted to any organization under subsection (a)
shall be 100 percent of any additional costs of developing a plan
revision under this part for the first two fiscal years following
receipt of the grant under this paragraph, and shall supplement
any funds available under Federal law to such organization for
transportation or air quality maintenance planning. Grants under
this section shall not be used for construction.
158
[42 U.S.C. 7505]
SEC. 175A. MAINTENANCE PLANS.
(a) Plan Revision.- Each State which submits a request under
section 107(d) for redesignation of a nonattainment area for any
air pollutant as an area which has attained the national primary
ambient air quality standard for that air pollutant shall also
submit a revision of the applicable State implementation plan to
provide for the maintenance of the national primary ambient air
quality standard for such air pollutant in the area concerned for
at least 10 yearsafter the redesignation. The plan shall contain (continued)