Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Wisconsin; The Milwaukee-Racine and Sheboygan Areas; Determination of Attainment of the 1997 8-Hour Ozone Standard

EPA is making determinations under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that the Milwaukee-Racine and Sheboygan, Wisconsin areas have attained the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The Milwaukee-Racine area includes Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington, Waukesha, and Kenosha Counties. The Sheboygan area includes Sheboygan County. The determinations are based on complete, quality- assured and certified ambient air monitoring data that show that the areas have monitored attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard for the 2006-2008 and 2007-2009 monitoring periods. Quality assured data available for 2010 indicate that the areas continue to monitor attainment. As a result of these determinations, the requirements for these areas to submit attainment demonstrations and associated reasonably available control measures (RACM), reasonable further progress plans (RFP), contingency measures, and other State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions related to attainment of the standard are suspended for as long as the areas continue to attain the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. These determinations also suspend the requirement for EPA to promulgate attainment demonstration, RFP, and any other attainment-related Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) for these areas. EPA published proposed and direct final approvals of this request on December 15, 2010. We received an adverse comment on our proposed rulemaking, which is addressed below. As a result, EPA withdrew the direct final approval on January 28, 2011.