Final Rule

Federal Register

The EPA is designating 13 Early Action Compact (EAC) Areas as attainment for the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The EAC areas agreed to reduce ground-level ozone pollution earlier than the Clean Air Act (CAA) required and to demonstrate attainment with the 8-hour ozone NAAQS by December 31, 2007. The States in which these 13 areas are located have submitted quality-assured data
indicating that the areas are in attainment for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS based on ambient air monitoring data from 2005, 2006 and 2007.

In addition, consistent with EPA's implementing regulations, the 1-hour ozone NAAQS will no longer apply in each of these areas one year after the effective date of the designation. We are modifying the 8 hour ozone NAAQS tables in the regulations to reflect the attainment designation for the 13 EAC areas and the 1-hour ozone NAAQS tables in the regulations to reflect that the 1-hour standard will no longer apply in these areas as of April 15, 2009. Additionally, we are modifying the 8-hour and 1-hour ozone NAAQS tables in the regulations to reflect the nonattainment designation for the Denver EAC area, which became effective November 20, 2007 and to reflect that the 1-hour standard will no longer apply in that area as of November 20, 2008. States covered by this rule (see the rulemaking for specific county information) include North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee/Georgia and Texas.