Agenda - 10-30-2002 - 1 (AOG) - Laserfiche WebLink

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t Protocol for Early Action Compacts Designed to Achieve and Maintain the 8-Hour Ozone Standard Purpose of the Compact Early voluntary 8-hour air quality plans can be developed through a Compact between Local, State and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials for areas that are in attainment (including no monitored violations) of the 1-hour ozone standard but approach or monitor exceedances of the 8-hour standard. These early action plans will include all necessary elements of a comprehensive air quality plan, but will be tailored to local needs and driven by local decisions. The Early Action Compact is designed to develop and implement control strategies, account for growth, and achieve and maintain the 8-bour ozone standard. This approach will offer a more expeditious time line for achieving emission reductions than the EPA's expected 8- hour implementation rulemaking, while providing "fail-safe" provisions for the area to revert to the traditional State Implementation Plan (SIP) process if specific milestones are not met. The principles of the tri-party Early Action Compact to be executed by Local, State and the EPA officials are: • Early planning, implementation, and emission reductions leading to expeditious and early attainment and maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard; • Local control of the measures to be employed, with broad based public input; • State support to ensure technical integrity of the early action plan; • Formal incorporation of the early action plan into the SIP; • Deferral of the effective date of nonattainment designation and related requirements so long as all Compact terms and milestones are met; and • Safeguards to return areas to traditional SIP requirements should Compact terms and/or milestones be unfulfilled, with appropriate credit given for emission reduction measures implemented. Compact Requirements The Compact will address the following components: A. Milestones and Rewrting o In order to facilitate self-evaluation and communication with the EPA, the State and stakeholders, the Early Action Compact must include clearly measurable milestones for the development and implementation of the plan. Local areas will assess and report their progress against milestones in a regular, public process, at least every six months. Milestones will include, at a minimum: - Completion of emissions inventories and modeling; - Adoption of control strategies that demonstrate attainment; - Completion and adoption of the early action SIP revision; - Attainment not later than December 31, 2007; - Post-attainment demonstration and plan updates as outlined in Section E; o In the absence of achieving milestones, including attaining the 8-hour ozone standard on or before December 31, 2007, the area will be deemed in violation of the Compact and will be subject to the full planning requirements under applicable Clean Air Act (CAA) standard SIP processes including requirements defined as part of the