Ozone Implementation Rule: Proposed Rule Preamble on Implementing the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard, 68 Fed. Reg. 32,802 (June 2, 2003)

The document outlines EPA's proposed options for implementing the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), focusing on the legal tension between Subpart 1 and Subpart 2 of Part D of the Clean Air Act. The EPA's preferred approach seeks to maximize flexibility for states by applying the more stringent Subpart 2 requirements only to areas failing both the 1-hour and 8-hour standards, while placing 'gap' areas under the more lenient Subpart 1. The proposal includes options for nonattainment area classifications, attainment deadlines, the revocation of the 1-hour standard, and new source review (NSR) flexibilities, including a 'Clean Air Development Community' concept.

• The EPA's preferred implementation strategy is to apply Subpart 2 requirements only to areas in nonattainment of both the 8-hour and 1-hour ozone NAAQS, while applying Subpart 1 to all other areas.
• Under Classification Option 1, the EPA extrapolated design values and attainment dates for the 8-hour standard, ranging from 'Marginal' (0.085-0.092 ppm; 3 years to attain) to 'Extreme' (> 0.187 ppm; 20 years to attain).
• The EPA proposes an 'incentive feature' allowing an area to be classified at a lower level than its monitored ozone concentrations suggest if it can model attainment within the deadline of the next lowest classification.
• Early Action Compacts (EACs) offer certain areas attaining the 1-hour standard but failing the 8-hour standard a deferral of their nonattainment designation until 2008, provided they take voluntary early steps toward attainment.
• The EPA prefers 'Revocation Option 1', which would completely revoke the 1-hour standard and its associated designations and classifications one year after the 8-hour NAAQS designations become effective.
• The EPA proposed a 'transitional program' for New Source Review (NSR) for eligible Subpart 1 areas that can demonstrate attainment within three years, allowing a major source emissions threshold of 100 tons per year and the use of BACT instead of LAER.
• The EPA introduced the 'Clean Air Development Community' (CADC) concept to provide NSR flexibilities to areas that reduce air emissions through changes in development patterns.

APA

Weeks, A. (2003). Ozone Implementation Rule: Proposed Rule Preamble on Implementing the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard, 68 Fed. Reg. 32,802 (June 2, 2003). Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/21093037/Final_03_imp.memo_.6.3.03.pdf

Chicago

Weeks, Ann. Ozone Implementation Rule: Proposed Rule Preamble on Implementing the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard, 68 Fed. Reg. 32,802 (June 2, 2003). Clean Air Task Force, 2003. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/21093037/Final_03_imp.memo_.6.3.03.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Weeks |first1=Ann |title=Ozone Implementation Rule: Proposed Rule Preamble on Implementing the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard, 68 Fed. Reg. 32,802 (June 2, 2003) |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=3 June 2003 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/21093037/Final_03_imp.memo_.6.3.03.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{weeks2003ozone, author = {Weeks, Ann}, title = {{Ozone Implementation Rule: Proposed Rule Preamble on Implementing the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard, 68 Fed. Reg. 32,802 (June 2, 2003)}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2003}, month = jun, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/21093037/Final_03_imp.memo_.6.3.03.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }