Title
HEARING - Air Quality Management District (AQMD) recommending the Board, acting as the AQMD Board of Directors:
1) Adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 226-2024, approving the State Implementation Plan Revision for the 2008 and 2015 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards for the Sacramento Federal Nonattainment Area - Proposed Contingency Measures and Reasoned Justification (SIP Revision); and
2) Direct staff to forward the SIP Revision to the California Air Resources Board for transmittal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a revision to the State Implementation Plan.
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The El Dorado County Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is located within the Sacramento Federal Nonattainment Area (SFNA), which is designated as a severe nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and a serious nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour NAAQS. However, the SFNA air districts requested a voluntary reclassification to severe nonattainment, as recent ambient air quality data and modeling conducted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) indicate that additional time is needed to meet the required standard. The attainment year for the SFNA is 2024 for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard and 2032 for the 2015 8-hour ozone standard, with milestone dates for the 2015 standard set for 2026 and 2029.
The Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that nonattainment areas develop State Implementation Plans (SIPs), outlining strategies to meet the NAAQS through emission reductions. Sections 172(c)(9) and 182(c)(9) of the CAA require these plans for ozone nonattainment areas classified as serious or higher to include contingency measures.
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published a final disapproval for the SFNA’s 2008 8-hour ozone SIP because the SIP did not include contingency measures that would be triggered if the region failed to attain the 2008 standard.
AQMD...
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