Proposed State Implementation Plan (SIP) Revision for the Attainment and Maintenance of the One-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Update to Meeting the Requirements of the Alternative Ozone Attainment Demonstration Policy-Additional Emission Reduction Commitment and Transportation Conformity Budgets

A public hearing is scheduled on the DEP's proposal on March 7, 2000 at 10:00 a.m. at:

The War Memorial Building, Exhibition Room on the lower level
West Lafayette and Barracks Streets
Trenton, New Jersey.

Written comments relevant to the proposal may be submitted until close of business March 10,  2000, to:

Michael Marotta, Esq.
DEP Docket No. 04-00-01
NJDEP - Office of Legal Affairs
P.O. Box 402
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0402
FAX number: 609-984-3488 (copies sent by FAX should be followed with a copy sent by mail).

BACKGROUND
Ozone, a major constituent in smog, is produced by complex chemical reactions when its precursors, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) react in the presence of sunlight in the lower atmosphere (troposphere). The chemical reactions that create ozone take place while the pollutants are being blown through the air by wind, or otherwise transported. Elevated levels of ozone are a threat to public health.

The federal Clean Air Act requires that states with areas which are classified as being in "serious"or worse, nonattainment for ozone, provide a demonstration of attainment of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) by the applicable attainment date. In New Jersey's case, this affects eighteen (18) of New Jersey's twenty-one (21) counties with an attainment date of 2005 for most of southern New Jersey (6 counties) and 2007 for northern New Jersey (12 counties). On August 31, 1998, New Jersey provided a demonstration of attainment for the 1-hour averaged ozone NAAQS to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

On December 16, 1999, the USEPA proposed (64 Federal Register 70380) to approve the State's demonstration of attainment, provided the State address a number of conditions. This proposed SIP revision provides an update to the demonstration of attainment to meet the USEPA's conditions. One of the conditions is a commitment to achieve New Jersey's fair share of an additional level of emission reductions that were identified by the USEPA as necessary for attainment of the ozone NAAQS in the two multi-state ozone nonattainment areas that include New Jersey counties. To assist in meeting the emission reductions, the USEPA is allowing the states to take credit for the emission reductions from the recently-promulgated federal Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Standard / Low Sulfur Gasoline Program.

After credit is taken for the Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Standard / Low Sulfur Gasoline Program, the USEPA estimates an additional emission reduction of 85 tons per day of VOC and 7 tons per day of NOx for the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island nonattainment areas, and 62 tons per day VOC and 3.4 tons per day NOx for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton nonattainment area will be needed. Proportioning these additional emission reductions from the multi-state nonattainment areas to New Jersey in accordance with its 1990 emission contribution to the nonattainment area, New Jersey would need to achieve about a 57 ton per day VOC and 5 ton per day NOx reduction. To some extent, additional NOx reductions can substitute for VOC reductions consistent with the Clean Air Act and USEPA Guidelines. A SIP Revision(s) incorporating programs to meet these reductions must be submitted to the USEPA by October 31, 2001.

The State is seeking comment on this proposed SIP revision. It is particularly interested in information regarding control measures that might be employed to meet the USEPA-identified emission shortfalls. The State is working with other states, including those in the Ozone Transport Commission, to try to develop measures which could be implemented on a regional basis. Potential emission source categories or measures that are currently under consideration are included in the following list.

• Ancillary benefits from energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, including systems benefit charges, i.e., fees on customer electricity bills designed to fund such programs
• Ancillary benefits from initiatives in New Jersey's Draft Climate Action Plan, including additional landfill controls
• Electric generation performance standards
• Cleaner motor-vehicle fuels, including diesel fuel
• Consumer products
• Distributed diesel electric generators
• Industrial and commercial products and practices, including architectural and industrial maintenance coatings, gasoline dispensing containers, industrial adhesives, autobody refinishing practices and solvent cleaning practices
• Non-road vehicles and equipment, including marine vessels, and engines
• Aircraft and airport equipment
• State programs, e.g., incentives and procurements to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean electric power generation, and
• Natural gas pipeline venting and compressor station controls

The above list is in a preliminary stage of development. Therefore, it may change, that is, the Department may add or delete potential categories as information is gathered. Thus any of the items listed above may or may not be one of the source categories included in the SIP submission due to the USEPA by October, 2001.

This SIP revision also provides a revised transportation conformity budget for the attainment years of 2005 and 2007 incorporating the predicted benefits from the federal Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Standard / Low Sulfur Gasoline program for those years. Additionally, since the emissions benefit of the federal Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Standard / Low Sulfur Gasoline Program will increase beyond this attainment years, the SIP revision proposes to reserve a portion of the incremental benefit from the Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Standard / Low Sulfur Gasoline Program for air quality-related purposes beyond the attainment year. Further, this SIP revision contains a series of other commitments required by the USEPA. These commitments include a commitment to update the transportation conformity budgets within one year after the MOBILE6 motor vehicle emissions model becomes available for SIP use and a modification to the State's previous commitment date for a midcourse review from 2002 to 2003.