2016 Ventura County AQMP
The Ventura County Air Pollution Control Board adopted the 2016 Ventura County Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) on Feb. 14, 2017. The 2016 AQMP presents Ventura County’s strategy (including related mandated elements) to attain the 2008 federal 8-hour ozone standard by 2020, as required by the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and applicable U.S. EPA clean air regulations.
Photochemical air quality modeling and related analyses, including a Weight of Evidence assessment conducted for the 2016 AQMP, indicate that Ventura County will attain the 2008 federal 8-hour ozone standard by 2020 using local, state, and federal clean air programs. Similarly, the required Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) demonstration shows that Ventura County will achieve the required annual incremental emissions reductions for the purpose of ensuring attainment by the attainment year.
The 2016 AQMP was prepared to satisfy federal Clean Air Act planning requirements for areas designated as serious federal 8-hour ozone nonattainment. These requirements include, but are not limited to, updated air quality information emissions inventory, local and state air pollutant control measures, new emission forecasts and projections, a new federal conformity budget for transportation projects, a reasonable further progress demonstration for precursors of ozone (reactive organic gases and nitrogen oxides), a demonstration that Ventura County will attain the 2008 federal 8-hour ozone standard, and contingency measures.
Nonattainment New Source Review State Implementation Plan Submittal
Ventura County was classified as “Serious” nonattainment for the 2008 eight-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Effective Aug. 3, 2018, Ventura County was classified as “Serious” nonattainment for the 2015 eight-hour ozone NAAQS.
The federal Nonattainment New Source Review (NSR) program is a preconstruction review permit program that applies to new major stationary sources or major modifications at existing major sources located in a nonattainment area. The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that areas classified as moderate nonattainment or higher must demonstrate emissions offsets for new or modified major stationary sources under the state’s nonattainment NSR program. Requirements are more stringent for each higher ozone nonattainment classification.
The nonattainment NSR requirements for the 2008 ozone standard, set forth in Section 182(c) of the CAA for “serious” nonattainment areas, have already been satisfied by the district’s existing NSR rules as shown in the Compliance Demonstration available below.
The specific nonattainment NSR requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS are located in 40 CFR § 51.160–165. EPA’s rule “Implementation of the 2008 NAAQS for Ozone State Implementation Plan Requirements,” 80 FR 12,264 (March 6, 2015) explained that, for each nonattainment area, a nonattainment NSR plan or plan revision was due no later than 36 months after the effective date of area designations for the 2008 standards (i.e., July 20, 2015). Based on prior experience, district staff assumed that the existence of a U.S. EPA-approved NSR rule for a serious area satisfied this requirement. On Feb. 3, 2017, in response to a lawsuit, the EPA found that 15 states and the District of Columbia failed to submit SIP submittals in a timely manner to satisfy various requirements of the 2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS, including a nonattainment NSR SIP revision for Ventura County. The EPA determined that the district needed to submit a SIP revision certifying that the current SIP-approved nonattainment NSR program meets the requirements for the implementation of the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
District Rule 26, New Source Review, contains provisions that are more stringent than required by federal Clean Air Act to satisfy the provisions of SB 288, the "Protect California Air Act of 2003." This state legislation was signed into law on Sept. 22, 2003, with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2004. This law, developed in response to concerns regarding changes to federal NSR regulations, places restrictions on changes that California air pollution control districts can make to their local NSR rules. In general, the legislation prohibits air districts from revising their NSR rules to be less stringent than they were on Dec. 30, 2002. On that date, the district’s NSR rules were set to comply with the federal “severe” classification level requirements, as the district had been classified as a “severe” nonattainment area for the 1979 one-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard.
As District Rule 26, New Source Review, has been approved by the EPA for a “serious” nonattainment area and contains provisions to satisfy the requirements for a “severe” nonattainment area, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control Board certified staff’s Nonattainment NSR Compliance Demonstration on July 31, 2018.
2007 Ventura County AQMP
The 2007 Ventura County Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) adopted by the Ventura County Air Pollution Control Board on May 13, 2008, presents the district’s strategy for attaining the federal 8-hour ozone standard as required by the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The 2007 AQMP also presents the district’s Triennial Assessment and Plan Update required by the California Clean Air Act of 1988.
The 2007 AQMP contains a demonstration through photochemical modeling and weight of evidence analyses showing that Ventura County will attain the federal 8-hour ozone standard by June 15, 2013, the deadline for serious 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas.
The 2007 AQMP also contains: a Reasonable Further Progress demonstration, a Motor Vehicle Conformity Budget, emissions inventory and forecasts, and a local control strategy containing several new and “further-study” emission control measures. The new control measures are proposed revisions to existing district rules that staff has found practicable for Ventura County pursuant to the separate every-feasible-measure requirement of the California Clean Air Act. The 2007 AQMP also incorporates CARB’s State Strategy to achieve the additional emission reductions needed for all areas of the state, including Ventura County, to attain the federal 8-hour ozone standard.