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February 02, 2010 |
USEPA Proposes Revised NO2 Standards
On January 22, 2010, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA") posted a Final Rule containing revisions to its National Ambient Air Quality Standards ("NAAQS") for nitrogen dioxide ("NO2"). These revisions will take effect 60 days after publication of the Final Rule in the Federal Register, which has not yet occurred. USEPA proposed these revisions on June 22, 2009, and the proposal was the subject of a prior alert which can be found here. Prior to the adoption of these revisions, both the primary (to protect health) and the secondary (to protect public welfare, i.e., the environment) standards for NO2 were solely based on an annual average and set at 53 parts per billion ("ppb"). With this final rulemaking, USEPA has decided to retain these annual standards. All areas of the country currently meet the annual NO2 NAAQS, with the annual average NO2 concentration in the U.S. ranging from approximately 10 to 20 ppb. In addition to the annual standard, the final revisions to the NO2 NAAQS strengthen the primary standard by setting a 1-hour NO2 standard at the level of 100 ppb (USEPA had originally considered a level between 80 and 100 ppb). This standard is based on the 3-year average of the 98th percentile (USEPA originally proposed using the 99th percentile) of annual distribution of daily maximum 1-hour average concentrations. USEPA has stated that it does not intend for these changes to affect the secondary NO2 standard and will be considering changes to the secondary standard in a separate review. Additionally, the Final Rule contains new requirements for expansion of the NO2 monitoring network in urban areas. The revised NO2 air quality monitoring network consists of the following:
USEPA estimates the revisions will require approximately 126 (compared to 165 under the original proposal) additional NO2 monitoring sites near major roads in 102 urban areas (142 under original proposal) and 53 new monitoring sites (52 under original proposal) to assess community-wide levels in urban areas. USEPA is requiring the states to have these new monitors operational by January 1, 2013. USEPA expects to designate areas as attainment or nonattainment by January 2012 using the current community-wide monitoring network. Based on the current numbers, Cook County, Illinois is the only area in the country that will be designated as nonattainment under the new hourly standard, with a 1-hour average of 116 ppb. For information on other areas, the list of counties with the highest average 1-hour 98th percentile NO2 levels for 2006-2008 can be found here. It is important to note that USEPA expects these values to substantially increase once the new monitoring network is implemented. USEPA intends to re-designate areas based on the air quality data from the new monitoring network in 2016 or 2017. The full text of the Final Rule, which has not yet been published in the Federal Register, can be found here. Additionally, USEPA's fact sheet on the final revisions is located here. Finally, for detailed information on the changes to the monitoring requirements, the map of urban areas for NO2 monitoring can be found here, and the list of NO2 monitoring requirements by urban area can be found here. RECENT ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLICATIONS
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