Houston Ozone – Past, Present, and Future? AWMA-Central Texas Chapter July 19 th , 2018 spiritenv.com
Ozone – Past, Present, and Future? Items for today’s discussion: • 2015 Ozone Standard • 2008 Ozone Standard Both standards are 8-Hour Ozone Standards spiritenv.com 2
Ozone – Past, Present, and Future? What is an 8-Hour Ozone Standard? It’s the 3 -year average, of the annual 4 th highest daily maximum 8-hour concentration, measured at each monitoring site. spiritenv.com 3
Ozone – Past, Present, and Future? Monitoring Site, What Monitoring Site? Many areas of the country have ambient air monitors that look for ozone. Most areas have multiple monitors. To show compliance with the standard, the 3-year average of the annual 4 th highest daily maximum 8-hour concentration must be equal to or less than the standard at each monitor . spiritenv.com 4
Ozone – Past, Present, and Future? What happens if an area does not meet the standard? • The area is designated a “nonattainment area” • State Implementation Plan (“SIP”) rules are developed to get the area back into compliance (attainment) with the standard • New Major Sources, and Major Modifications of Existing Major Sources, must apply: • Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (“LAER”) controls, and • Offsets for a projects emission increase spiritenv.com 5
Ozone – Past, Present, and Future? Background Information: • Existing Ozone Standards • 2015 Standard – Set at 70 ppb • 2008 Standard – Set at 75 ppb spiritenv.com 6
2015 Ozone Standard spiritenv.com 7
2015 Ozone Standard Timeline: • October 1, 2015: EPA reduced the ozone NAAQS from 75 ppb (2008 standard) to 70 ppb (2015 standard). • October 1, 2016: States submitted their recommendations for proposed ozone designations to the EPA, based on 2013-2015 data. • June 28, 2017: EPA published notice extending the deadline for promulgating designations under the 2015 ozone standard. spiritenv.com 8
2015 Ozone Standard • August 10, 2017: After being sued by a coalition of 15 states and the District of Columbia, EPA withdraws the extension for promulgating designations under the 2015 ozone standard. • October 1, 2017: EPA date to finalize designations submitted by the states, based on 2014-2016 data. • October 2, 2017: EPA misses the deadline to promulgate designations under the 2015 ozone standard. spiritenv.com 9
2015 Ozone Standard • October 3, 2017: EARTHJUSTICE files a “Notice of Intent to Sue” for EPA’s failure to designate under the 2015 ozone standard. • November 16, 2017: EPA publishes a Final Rule (Round 1) designating “attainment and unclassifiable” areas under the 2015 ozone standard. (Effective January 16, 2018) • January 5, 2018: EPA publishes a “Notice of Availability and Public Comment” document, which contains EPA’s responses to State Designation Recommendations for the 2015 Ozone Standard. spiritenv.com 10
2015 Ozone Standard • April 30, 2018: EPA Issues a notification that they will publish Final Rule (Round 2) designating “nonattainment” areas under the 2015 ozone standard. • June 4, 2018: EPA publishes the Final Rule (Round 2) designating “nonattainment” areas under the 2015 ozone standard. (Effective August 3, 2018) • July 17, 2018: EPA (Pre-Publication Document) Finalizes Designations and Classifications for the eight county San Antonio metropolitan area. • Bexar County – Marginal Nonattainment • Remaining Seven Counties – Attainment/Unclassifiable spiritenv.com 11
2015 Ozone Standard 2015 Ozone Standard Classification Ranges Classification Concentration Range Marginal 71 ppb to 81 ppb* Moderate 81 ppb to 93 ppb* Serious 93 ppb to 105 ppb* Severe - 15 105 ppb to 111 ppb* Severe - 17 111 ppb to 163 ppb* ≥ 163 ppb Extreme * But not Including: Example – 71 ppb up to but not including 81 ppb spiritenv.com 12
Texas Existing and Proposed Ozone Nonattainment Areas spiritenv.com 13
Existing 2008 Ozone Standard Texas Existing 2008 Ozone Standard Nonattainment Areas (Both areas are classified as “Moderate” nonattainment): • Houston-Galveston- Brazoria (“HGB”) • Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller counties • Dallas- Fort Worth (“DFW”) • Collin, Callas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise counties spiritenv.com 14
Existing 2008 Ozone Standard Existing 8-Hour Nonattainment Area(s) – 2008 Ozone Standard (75 ppb) spiritenv.com 15
2015 Ozone Standard Proposed 2015 Ozone Standard Nonattainment Areas In addition to the existing DFW and HGB Nonattainment Areas… New Counties Include: • Hood County • Bexar County • El Paso County (with exception of tribal lands*) * Ysleta Del Sur Reservation or Trust Lands spiritenv.com 16
2015 Proposed (Using 2013 – 2015 Data) Existing 8-Hour Nonattainment Area(s) – 2008 Ozone Standard (75 ppb) Proposed 8-Hour Nonattainment Area(s) – 2015 Ozone Standard (70 ppb) In addition to existing 2008 area Includes New Counties Hood, Bexar, El Paso spiritenv.com 17
2015 EPA Final (Using 2014 – 2016 Data) Existing 8-Hour Nonattainment Area(s) – 2008 Ozone Standard (75 ppb) EPA Intended 8-Hour Nonattainment Area(s) – 2015 Ozone Standard (70 ppb) Includes – Modified Version of the Existing 2008 areas + Bexar County Does Not Include – Hood, El Paso Counties spiritenv.com 18
2015 Ozone Standard EPA’s Final Houston- Texas Texas Updated Galveston- Recommended Recommended Nonattainment Brazoria Nonattainment Nonattainment Counties (HGB) Counties Counties Brazoria Brazoria Brazoria Chambers Chambers Chambers Fort Bend Fort Bend Fort Bend Galveston Galveston Galveston Harris Harris Harris Liberty Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Waller spiritenv.com 19
2015 Ozone Standard Where Do We Stand ? Final Classifications: • HGB – Marginal As an FYI…. • DFW – Marginal • Bexar County - Marginal spiritenv.com 20
2015 Ozone Standard Nonattainment NSR Levels and Requirements For Marginal and Moderate Ozone Classifications Note: Major Source, Netting Trigger Levels, Major Modifications, and Offset Ratios start becoming much more stringent for “Serious” nonattainment classifications and above. spiritenv.com 21
2008 Ozone Standard spiritenv.com 22
2008 Ozone Standard Current Status: 2008 Ozone Standard • Texas: • HGB – Moderate Nonattainment • DFW – Moderate Nonattainment spiritenv.com 23
2008 Ozone Standard Moderate Classifications – Attainment Date: July 2018 If a Moderate nonattainment area fails to attain the standard, is there an “extension possibility”? – YES spiritenv.com 24
2008 Ozone Standard One (1) year extension if: The area’s 4 th highest daily maximum 8-Hour average is at, or below the level of the standard (75 ppb) during the year preceding the extension year. In this case, the “extension year” would be 2018, the preceding year for comparison is 2017. spiritenv.com 25
2008 Ozone Standard So, Where Do We Stand? HGB – Currently Not Attaining • Not expected to be eligible for an extension • 2017 already shows concentrations above the standard (75 ppb) DFW – Currently Not Attaining • Not expected to be eligible for an extension • 2017 already shows concentrations above the standard (75 ppb) spiritenv.com 26
2008 Ozone Standard Extension Example – HGB Bump-Up Note: The next classification following a Bump- Up is “Serious ” spiritenv.com 27
2008 Ozone Standard spiritenv.com 28
2008 Ozone Standard The BIG Question? What’s going to happen with the 2008 ozone standard? Will it be revoked and replaced by the 2015 ozone standard? spiritenv.com 29
2008 Ozone Standard There are three (3) generally accepted paths of possibility: 1) The 2008 Standard is revoked in its entirety 2) The 2008 Standard is revoked, but the NSR provisions are left in place (this is what EPA did with the 1997 ozone standard) 3) The 2008 Standard remains in effect spiritenv.com 30
In Summary spiritenv.com 31
Questions? spiritenv.com 32
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