Air Quality and Sustainability (A State Perspective)

1. Air Quality and Sustainability(A State Perspective) 2008 Midwest Transportation Planning Conference Shawn M. SealsSenior Environmental ManagerIDEM June 4 - 6, 2008 Iowa City, Iowa

2. What Are the Current Air Quality Standards? • July 1997, U.S. EPA issued air quality standards for ozone and fine particles. • These standards are meant to be protective of sensitive populations which include children, people with respiratory illnesses or heart or lung disease, and seniors. • These current standards are: • For Ozone - 85 parts per billion measured over • an 8-hour period • For Fine Particles (PM2.5): • Annual Standard: 15 µg/m3 • Daily Standard: 35 µg/m3 • Both standards are determined by a three year average.

3. Revised Ozone Standard • March 12, 2008 U.S. EPA published a revision to the 8-hour ozone standard • Air Quality Index (AQI) was also revised to reflect the change in the health standard • Why revise the Ozone Standard? • To provide increased and more targeted protection of public health • Estimated health benefits valued between $2 and $19 billion a year by preventing cases of bronchitis, asthma and emergency room visits. • Current Ozone StandardRevised Ozone Standard • 0.085 ppm 0.075 ppm • (85 ppb) (75 ppb)

4. Indiana Ozone Nonattainment AreasA Current PictureAt the conclusion of 2007 Ozone Season

5. Revised Ozone Standard At 0.075 ppm Designations will likely be made in 2010 based on 2007-2009 data

6. Revised PM 2.5 Standard • September 21, 2006 U.S. EPA published a revision to the daily • particulate matter standard • Why revise the Daily PM 2.5 standard? • To provide increased and more targeted protection of public health related to fine particles and visibility impairment • Estimated health benefits valued between $9 and $75 billion a year by reducing premature death, heart attacks and hospital visits for people with heart and lung disease • Old PM 2.5 Standard:Revised PM 2.5 Standard: • Annual Standard: 15 µg/m3 Same • 24 Hour (Daily) Standard: 65 µg/m3 Decreased to 35 µg/m3

7. Final EPA PM 2.5 Nonattainment Designations for Indiana Effective date: April 5, 2005

8. What Does the Revised 24-hour PM 2.5 Standard Mean for Indiana? 2005 - 2007 Design Values for Revised 24-hour PM 2.5 Standard

9. Overview: Clean Air Act (CAA) Requirements • A region that does not meet the standard is federally designated as a nonattainment area • The CAA sets a basic schedule for nonattainment areas to achieve the standards, and in some cases, requirements to meet the standards • States must submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) to U.S. EPA detailing steps that will be taken to bring the region into compliance with the standard

10. What Happens Before the Designation Process? • When new standards are enacted, the state uses air quality modeling to project monitor values into the future • Based on these values, the state identifies what areas are likely to be designated nonattainment of the new standard • The state then begins a proactive program to educate stakeholders in these areas about the new standards and how they will effect the area • Local participants in these programs typically include: • Elected officials • Media • Chamber of Commerce • Metropolitan Planning Organization • Other interested parties

11. Order of Events Leading up to Designations • State makes recommendations to U.S. EPA • U.S. EPA evaluates state recommendations • U.S. EPA makes proposed designations (~August 2008) • State responds to these proposed designations within 120 days of receipt • U.S. EPA makes final designations (December 2008 or 2009) • Effective date usually within 90 days • Transportation Conformity required one (1) year after effective date • SIP due three (3) years after effective date • Area must attain within five (5) years after effective date

12. What is a “SIP”? The Clean Air Act requires states to develop a State Implementation Plan (SIP) which details steps necessary to achieve the standard, including: • Emission controls • Permit requirements • Transportation Plans • State Rules • Modeling

13. What is an Attainment Plan (SIP)? • Demonstrates that air quality is on target to meet the health based standard by: • Showing relative decline in ambient air quality (monitor values) over the years • Showing relative decline in emissions inventory (point, area, nonroad, onroad) values over the years • Photochemical modeling that demonstrates the area will meet the health based standard by attainment date and beyond • Typically IDEM, U.S. EPA and/or LADCO photochemical modeling

14. What does Redesignation Mean? • Ambient air quality meets the health based standard (based on monitor values over a three-year period) • Both monitor and emission inventory trends show relative decline over the years • New and current permitted sources in the area do not have to have emission offsets in order to expand or grow their business • An approved maintenance plan is in place to ensure the area remains in compliance with the standard

15. What is a Maintenance Plan • A determination that the area has attained the standard based on ambient air quality data • Photochemical modeling further demonstrates that area will continue to attain standard • Motor Vehicle Emissions Budget (Transportation Conformity) • Warning/Action level triggers/responses • Contingency measures

16. Transportation Conformity andState Implementation Plans Required by the Clean Air Act, Transportation Conformity is a check-and-balance system between air quality and the transportation sector. More specifically: The Clean Air Act (CAA) sets out specific requirements to ensure that no federal actions interfere with a regional air quality attainment demonstration. Section 176 of the CAA identifies limitations of federal assistance and defines conformity as conforming to the intent of the applicable SIP. In order to conform to a SIPs purpose, the action must not: cause or contribute to new violations of any pollutant standard; increase the frequency or severity of any existing violations; interfere with timely attainment or maintenance of any pollutant standard; delay emission reduction milestones; or, contradict SIP requirements.

17. Transportation Conformity andState Implementation Plans The Transportation Conformity process is accomplished through consultation with the following entities: • Local Metropolitan Planning Organization • Responsible for running travel demand model to identify vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for all transportation projects for given years • This VMT is then multiplied by an emissions factor generated from U.S. EPA’s MOBILE6 model • The products of these calculations are the estimated emissions for selected analysis years

18. Transportation Conformity andState Implementation Plans • State Air Quality Agency • Has regulatory requirement to include a motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB or Budget) in attainment SIPs as well as redesignation and maintenance plan requests • This Budget is established in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, including at a minimum the MPO, IDEM, INDOT, Federal Highway Administration and U.S. EPA. • This Budget is then included in the attainment SIP or redesignation and maintenance plan request and becomes the maximum allowable total emissions from the transportation sector for the Budget year. • To accommodate the wide array of assumptions used in the modeling process, a margin of safety and/or cushion is applied to the Budget. • Transportation projects identified as nonexempt (traditionally added capacity projects) must demonstrate conformity to the approved SIP Budget.

19. Transportation Conformity andState Implementation Plans • State Department of Transportation • Responsible for running statewide travel demand model to identify vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for all transportation projects for given years. • This VMT is sometimes used by local MPOs in combination with MOBILE6 to determine projected emissions for selected analysis years. • Responsible for travel demand and MOBILE6 modeling outside of those areas covered by an MPO.

20. Transportation Conformity andState Implementation Plans • Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) • Responsible for issuing conformity “findings”, which shows that the area has successfully demonstrated that all transportation sector projects “conform” to the approved SIP Budget. • After FHWA issues the conformity finding, these transportation projects are then able to proceed. • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) • Responsible for reviewing and approving SIP Budget (adequacy finding) as well as full attainment SIP and redesignation and maintenance plan requests. • Once the SIP Budget and SIP are approved by U.S. EPA, this document and all that it contains (including the SIP Budget) are federally enforceable.

21. Clean Air is Everyone’s Responsibility THANK YOU!