A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program under which the Administrator shall defer the designation of an area as a nonattainment area for purposes of the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard if the area achieves and maintains certain standards under a voluntary early action compact plan, and for other purposes.

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1973 To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program under which the Administrator shall defer the des- ignation of an area as a nonattainment area for purposes of the 8- hour ozone national ambient air quality standard if the area achieves and maintains certain standards under a voluntary early action compact plan, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 25, 2019 Mr. LEE (for himself and Mr. ROMNEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency to establish a program under which the Administrator shall defer the designation of an area as a nonattainment area for purposes of the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard if the area achieves and maintains certain standards under a voluntary early action compact plan, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1973 IS (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 2 mental Protection Agency. 3 (2) EARLY ACTION COMPACT PROGRAM.—The 4 term ‘‘Early Action Compact Program’’ means the 5 program established under section 2(a). 6 (3) EPISODE.—The term ‘‘episode’’ is within 7 the meaning of the term under the Clean Air Act 8 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). 9 (4) OZONE STANDARD.—The term ‘‘ozone 10 standard’’ means the 8-hour ozone standard national 11 ambient air quality standard under the Clean Air 12 Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). 13 (5) STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The term 14 ‘‘State implementation plan’’ means a State or tribal 15 implementation plan, as those terms are used in the 16 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). 17 SEC. 2. EARLY ACTION COMPACT PROGRAM. 18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 20 establish a program, to be known as the ‘‘Early Action 21 Compact Program’’, under which State, local, and Tribal 22 governments may develop early action compact plans de- 23 signed to achieve and maintain the ozone standard. 24 (b) NOTIFICATION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1973 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to participate 1 in the Early Action Compact Program, a State, 2 local, or Tribal government shall submit to the Ad- 3 ministrator— 4 (A) on the date on which the applicable 5 State submits to the Administrator the non- 6 attainment recommendations of the State, a no- 7 tice of the intent of the State, local, or Tribal 8 government to participate in the Early Action 9 Compact Program; and 10 (B) not later than 1 year after the date on 11 which the State, local, or Tribal government 12 submits the notice under subparagraph (A), an 13 early action compact plan in accordance with 14 section 3. 15 (2) LIMITATION ON NONATTAINMENT STA- 16 TUS.—In the case of an area under the jurisdiction 17 of a State, local, or Tribal government that provides 18 a notice under paragraph (1)(A), the Administrator 19 may not designate the area as a nonattainment area 20 under section 107 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 21 7407) until after the Administrator has issued a de- 22 cision on an early action compact plan of the area 23 under section 4. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1973 IS (c) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The Early Action 1 Compact Program shall include, at a minimum, provisions 2 to ensure— 3 (1) the use of best available science; 4 (2) participation by State, local, and Tribal gov- 5 ernments through locally crafted solutions; 6 (3) the voluntary development and implementa- 7 tion by the State, local, and Tribal governments of 8 early action compact plans; 9 (4) that if a State implementation plan is re- 10 quired due to designation of an area as a nonattain- 11 ment area following the implementation of an early 12 action compact plan in accordance with this section, 13 the Administrator shall provide credit to applicable 14 State, local, or Tribal governments and industry 15 participants for actions and investments carried out 16 pursuant to the Early Action Compact Program to- 17 ward ozone attainment; and 18 (5) that, in the case of the failure of an area 19 to achieve ozone attainment, the Administrator shall 20 defer designation of the area as a nonattainment 21 area for ground-level ozone under section 107 of the 22 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407) if that area— 23 (A) is participating in the Early Action 24 Compact Program; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1973 IS (B) is an area in which an early action 1 compact plan is being implemented to improve 2 the air quality of the area. 3 SEC. 3. EARLY ACTION COMPACT PLAN REQUIREMENTS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 6, an early ac- 5 tion compact plan entered into under the Early Action 6 Compact Program shall include— 7 (1) general provisions to ensure— 8 (A) public involvement in the development 9 of the plan, including— 10 (i) public comment on a proposed 11 early action compact plan in accordance 12 with the standard State implementation 13 plan revision process as implemented by 14 the applicable State; and 15 (ii) the provision to the public of in- 16 formation, updates, awareness, and other 17 opportunities for public involvement; 18 (B) that, in the case of the failure of an 19 area to achieve ozone attainment, an area is 20 credited under the standard State implementa- 21 tion plan process for all emission reductions 22 that result from measures implemented under 23 the early action compact plan for that area; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1973 IS (C) that amendments to the early action 1 compact plan accommodate adaptive approaches 2 that reflect developing science, monitoring, and 3 control mechanisms; 4 (2) measurable milestones, including— 5 (A) completion of emissions inventories 6 and modeling using best available science and 7 Environmental Protection Agency modeling 8 guidance and tools; 9 (B) adoption of control strategies that 10 demonstrate attainment; 11 (C) if necessary, completion and adoption 12 of early action State implementation plan revi- 13 sions; 14 (D) subject to subsection (b) and section 15 6(b)(2)(B), attainment with the ozone standard 16 (including any applicable revised ozone stand- 17 ards that are finalized after the date on which 18 the early action compact plan is approved by 19 the Administrator) by not later than 10 years 20 after the date on which the Administrator ap- 21 proves the early action compact plan; and 22 (E) a post-attainment plan; 23 (3) emissions inventories that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1973 IS (A) use the most current tools available 1 and will be completed for at least 1 recent epi- 2 sode so as to support the early action compact 3 plan; and 4 (B) include— 5 (i) at least 1 recent episode reflective 6 of a typical ozone season exceedance that 7 meets the episode selection guidance of the 8 Administrator to ensure that representa- 9 tive meteorological regimes are considered; 10 (ii) baseline data to accurately meas- 11 ure ozone reductions of control measures 12 implemented through the early action com- 13 pact plan; and 14 (iii) continuing episode inventories— 15 (I) to inform appropriate control 16 measures; and 17 (II) to improve understanding of 18 emission trends and the contributors 19 to ozone production in the area; 20 (4) modeling emissions inventories— 21 (A) to develop State implementation plan 22 quality modeling episodes that— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1973 IS (i) perform within the margin of accu- 1 racy determined by the Administrator 2 based on best practices; and 3 (ii) include a base case and future 4 case on or before the date of approval by 5 the Administrator of the early action com- 6 pact plan; and 7 (B) that sufficiently account for projected 8 growth in ozone precursor emissions, particu- 9 larly from stationary, nonroad, and on-road mo- 10 bile sources; 11 (5) continuing development of episodes to rep- 12 resent a variety of situations that contribute to 13 ozone production in a manner that— 14 (A) supports the early action compact 15 plan; 16 (B) determines control strategies; 17 (C) demonstrates relative effectiveness of 18 control measures; and 19 (D) demonstrates attainment within the 20 early action compact plan period; 21 (6) the applicable Federal, State, local, and 22 Tribal control strategies that— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1973 IS (A) demonstrate attainment not later than 1 the attainment date of the early action compact 2 plan; 3 (B) are designed and implemented by the 4 community with full stakeholder participation; 5 (C) following the adoption of Federal and 6 State controls to be implemented by the attain- 7 ment date of the early action compact, identify 8 local control strategies that are— 9 (i) specific; 10 (ii) quantifiable; 11 (iii) permanent; and 12 (iv) enforceable; and 13 (D) shall be— 14 (i) incorporated by the applicable 15 State or Indian Tribe into the State imple- 16 mentation plan; and 17 (ii) submitted to the Administrator for 18 approval; and 19 (7) maintenance for growth provisions— 20 (A) to address increases in emissions at 21 least 5 years beyond the attainment date of the 22 early action compact plan to ensure the area re- 23 mains in attainment of ozone standards; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1973 IS (B) to require continuing planning proc- 1 esses, including— 2 (i) modeling updates; 3 (ii) identification of actual new point 4 sources; 5 (iii) impacts from growth; and 6 (iv) future transportation patterns 7 and the impact on ozone levels. 8 (b) EFFECT OF UPDATED OZONE STANDARDS.— 9 (1) REVISED PLANS.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which, 11 during the 10-year effective period of an early 12 action compact plan approved under this Act, 13 the Administrator finalizes a new, updated, or 14 modified ozone standard that is applicable to 15 the early action compact plan, the affected 16 State, local, or Tribal government shall submit 17 to the Administrator, by not later than 1 year 18 after the date of finalization of the new, up- 19 dated, or modified ozone standard, a revised 20 early action compact plan that incorporates ad- 21 justed milestones to meet the new, updated, or 22 modified ozone standard, in accordance with 23 paragraph (2). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1973 IS (B) FAILURE TO SUBMIT.—If an affected 1 State, local, or Tribal government fails to sub- 2 mit to the Administrator a revised early action 3 compact plan by the applicable deadline under 4 subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall with- 5 draw approval of the early action compact plan. 6 (2) DEADLINES.— 7 (A) MODIFICATION TO OZONE STANDARDS 8 DURING INITIAL 5-YEAR PERIOD.—If the Ad- 9 ministrator finalizes a new, updated, or modi- 10 fied ozone standard that is applicable to an 11 early action compact plan during the 5-year pe- 12 riod beginning on the date of approval of the 13 early action compact plan under section 4, the 14 revised early action compact plan under para- 15 graph (1) shall ensure achievement by the af- 16 fected areas of attainment during the 10-year 17 period beginning on the date of approval of the 18 original early action compact plan. 19 (B) MODIFICATION TO OZONE STANDARDS 20 DURING FINAL PERIOD.— 21 (i) DEFINITION OF FINAL PERIOD.— 22 In this subparagraph, the term ‘‘final pe- 23 riod’’, with respect to an early action com- 24 pact plan, means the period— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1973 IS (I) beginning on the date that is 1 5 years after the date of approval of 2 the early action compact plan under 3 section 4; and 4 (II) ending on the date that is 10 5 years after that date of approval. 6 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding 7 subsection (a)(2)(D), if the Administrator 8 finalizes a new, updated, or modified ozone 9 standard that is applicable to an early ac- 10 tion compact plan during the final period 11 of the early action compact plan, the re- 12 vised early action compact plan under 13 paragraph (1) shall ensure achievement by 14 the affected areas of attainment during the 15 5-year period beginning on the date of sub- 16 mission of the revised early action compact 17 plan. 18 SEC. 4. DECISIONS ON EARLY ACTION COMPACT PLANS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall issue a 20 decision on each early action compact plan or revised early 21 action compact plan submitted to the Administrator under 22 this Act by not later than 1 year after the date on which 23 the plan is submitted. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1973.IS S1973 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1973 IS (b) TYPES OF DECISIONS.—In issuing a decision 1 under this section, the Administrator shall— 2 (1) approve the early action compact plan; 3 (2) deny the early action compact plan; or 4 (3) in accordance with subsection (c), make 5 specific suggestions to modify the early action com- 6 pact plan. 7 (c) MODIFICATIONS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 9 the date on which a State, local, or Tribal govern- 10 ment receives suggestions from the Administrator 11 under subsection (b)(3), the State, l [Text truncated for display. 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