EPA’s Revisions to Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards (PM NAAQS) Air Quality Committee Meeting January 9, 2013 Sushma Masemore, PE Planning Section Chief

2012 PM NAAQS Final rule signed Dec. 14, 2012 To be published in the Federal Register soon In response to lawsuits filed by the American Lung Association, National Parks Conservation Association, and several states Also in response to 2009 court ordered remand of primary and secondary annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) standards 2

PM 2.5 Primary (Health) Standards Existing  1997 annual standard 15 μ g/m 3  2006 daily standard 35 μ g/m Final  Strengthen annual standard to 12 μ g/m 3  Retain daily standard at 35 μ g/m 3 3 μg/m 3 = micrograms per cubic meter

How will it affect NC? Annual PM2.5 Design Values All monitors meet the revised annual standard 12 μg/m 3 All monitors meet the daily standard 35 μg/m Daily PM2.5 Design Values

National Outlook Nationally, 66 counties don’t currently meet 12 μg/m 3 PM2.5 annual standard. Source: air quality data as of July 15, 2012,

PM10 Primary (Health) Standards Existing  1987 daily standard 150 μ g/m Final  Retains daily standard at 150 μ g/m 3  All areas in NC meet the standard

PM2.5 and PM10 Secondary (Welfare) Standards 2012 Final  Retaining existing secondary standards  Annual PM μ g/m 3  Daily PM μ g/m 3  Daily PM10 – 150 μ g/m 3 EPA concluded that current secondary daily PM2.5 standard is appropriate to protect visibility in urban areas. No impact to NC based on current data 7

Revisions to Air Quality Index (AQI) EPA’s color-coded tool for informing public about air quality Converts ambient concentrations to a number on a scale of 0 to 500 Effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register 8 AQI CategoryIndex ValuesPrevious Breakpoints (1999 AQI) ( μ g/m3, daily average) Revised Breakpoints ( μ g/m3, daily average) Good0 – – 12.0 Moderate51-100> – 35.4 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups >40 – – 55.4 Unhealthy > 65 – – Very Unhealthy201 – 300> 150 – – Hazardous301 – 400> 250 – – – 500> 350 – – 500

Permitting Impacts Final rule allows grandfathering of pre- construction permit applications if:  Application deemed complete by Dec. 14, 2012  Public notice for draft permit or preliminary determination issued prior to effective date of the standard Grandfathered applications will still have to comply with the 2006 PM2.5 standards EPA to provide modeling guidance 9

Ambient Monitoring Impacts Establish near-roadway PM2.5 monitors  Population of 1 million or more  Co-located with existing nitrogen dioxide or carbon monoxide monitors  Monitors in Charlotte and Raleigh by Jan  Possibly Durham and Greensboro by Jan Data will not be available in time to make initial attainment and nonattainment designations. 10

Designation & Implementation Schedule Dec – states recommend areas to be designated attainment or nonattainment Dec – EPA makes final designations 2018 (3 yrs after designations) – states submit implementation plans 2020 (<5 yrs after designations) – states must meet the standards 11

Questions? Sushma Masemore  (919)  12