Ozone | Virginia DEQ

The Clean Air Act (CAA) is a federal law that provides for the protection of human health and the environment. The original Clean Air Act was passed in 1963, and the 1970 version of the law resulted in the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which was charged with setting and enforcing ambient air quality standards. The law was amended in 1977, and most recently in 1990. Most of the activities of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Division come from mandates of the Clean Air Act, and are overseen by the EPA.

The CAA lists six air pollutants that are commonly found in the air throughout the United States. These pollutants can injure humans by causing respiratory and cardiovascular problems and can harm the environment by impairing visibility, and causing damage to animals, crops, vegetation and buildings. EPA has developed health-based criteria for these pollutants through scientific studies. The six "criteria” pollutants are:

carbon monoxide
sulfur dioxide
nitrogen dioxide
ozone
particulate matter
lead

EPA has established regulations setting permissible levels of these pollutants in the air called National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). After EPA sets a new NAAQS or revises an existing standard for any criteria pollutant, the CAA requires EPA to determine if areas in the country meet the new standards.

attainment areas - the air quality in a geographic area meets or is cleaner than the national standard
nonattainment areas - areas that don't meet the national standard
maintenance area - an area that has formerly been designated nonattainment, but is now recognized by EPA as meeting the NAAQS. A maintenance area must have an approved “maintenance plan” to meet and maintain air quality standards.
unclassifiable - EPA is not able to determine an area's status after evaluating the available information

Typically, an area is declared nonattainment based on data collected at one or more ambient air monitoring sites within the area. However, sometimes the nonattainment designation can be made based on the use of air quality models that use monitoring data from other areas. In Virginia, nonattainment areas are designated for ozone.

The CAA requires that nonattainment areas of the Commonwealth for ozone or fine particulate matter (PM2.5) must form lead planning organizations (LPOs). The purpose of a LPO in a nonattainment area is to assist in:

examining baseline emissions levels to determine necessary control strategies,
examining transportation needs for future growth, and if necessary,
creating plans for EPA review and approval to bring the area into attainment with the air quality standards.

The extent of the planning requirements depends on the classification of the nonattainment area and the severity of the air pollution problem.

LPO members are:

elected officials from the localities in the nonattainment area and
representatives of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT),
representatives of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transport (VDRPT), and
the metropolitan planning organizations within the nonattainment area.

Other people, such as private citizens and representatives of industry, military installations, and environmental groups may also participate in the LPOs in an advisory capacity.

EPA is responsible for designating nonattainment and attainment/maintenance areas for the Commonwealth. Nonattainment and maintenance areas generally correspond to VOC and NOX emissions control areas. Virginia implements additional federal nonattainment and maintenance requirements within these control areas.

DEQ has established LPOs for three areas:

The Metropolitan Richmond Air Quality Committee (MRAQC)
The George Washington Air Quality Committee (GWAQC)
The Hampton Roads Air Quality Committee (HRAQC)

Additionally, DEQ has established a northern Virginia delegation to participate in the the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee

To demonstrate how it plans to achieve federal air quality standards, Virginia must draft a “State Implementation Plan,” or SIP. This plan lists specific actions that the Commonwealth will undertake to improve and maintain acceptable air quality, and a time frame for accomplishing these goals.

A design value is a statistic that describes the air quality status of a given area relative to the level of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Design values are typically used to classify nonattainment areas, assess progress towards meeting the NAAQS, and develop control strategies. Design values are expressed as concentrations in the ambient air and are calculated according to regulatory specifications to determine the highest monitored concentration in an attainment or non-attainment area.

Metropolitan Richmond air Quality Committee

For both the 2015 ozone NAAQS and the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA originally designated the Metropolitan Richmond (Richmond-Petersburg) area, consisting of the Counties of Prince George, Hanover, Charles City, Henrico, and Chesterfield, and the Cities of Colonial Heights, Petersburg, Richmond, and Hopewell, as attaining each standard. EPA designated the Richmond-Petersburg area as nonattainment with a classification of moderate for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. Air quality improved, and the Richmond-Petersburg area developed and submitted a redesignation request and maintenance plan for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. EPA published final approval for the Richmond-Petersburg 1997 ozone NAAQS redesignation request and maintenance plan in the Federal Register on June 1, 2007.

George Washington Air Quality Committee

Hampton Roads Air Quality Committee

For both the 2015 ozone NAAQS and the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA originally designated the Hampton Roads area, consisting of the Counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, and York, and the Cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, as attainment. EPA designated the Hampton Roads area as nonattainment with a classification of marginal for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. Air quality subsequently improved, and the Hampton Roads area developed and submitted a redesignation request and maintenance plan for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. EPA published final approval for the Hampton Roads 1997 ozone NAAQS redesignation request and maintenance plan in the Federal Register on June 1, 2007.

Shenandoah National Park Information

For both the 2015 ozone NAAQS and the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA originally designated the portions of Page County and Madison County located in the Shenandoah National Park as attaining each standard. EPA designated this portion of the Shenandoah National Park as nonattainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. Subsequent years' monitoring data demonstrated air quality improvement in the Shenandoah National Park, and therefore DEQ applied for redesignation of this area to attainment status for the 1997 8-hour ozone air quality standard. This plan was created in conjunction with the National Park Service. EPA published final approval of the Shenandoah National Park redesignation for the 1997 ozone NAAQS on January 3, 2006.

Metropolitan Washington Information

This area consists of northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and southern Maryland; therefore, the LPO for this area contains representatives from all three jurisdictions as well as members representing each state’s transportation and air quality agencies.

For the 2015 ozone NAAQS, EPA designated the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area as nonattainment with a classification of marginal on June 4, 2018. This area includes nine jurisdictions in Virginia: Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, the City of Alexandria, City of Fairfax, the City of Falls Church, the City of Manassas, and the City of Manassas Park. Based on timelines within the Clean Air Act, this area must submit a base year emissions inventory for the 2015 ozone NAAQS in 2020.

EPA had originally designated the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, including northern Virginia, as nonattainment with a classification of marginal for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Air quality improved such that the area submitted a redesignation request and maintenance plan for this standard. EPA issued final approval of this SIP submittal on April 15, 2019 (84FR15108).

EPA had also designated the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, including northern Virginia, as a nonattainment area with a classification of moderate for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. The area developed and submitted an attainment plan for the 1997 ozone NAAQS along with a base year inventory to satisfy Clean Air Act requirements. EPA issued final approval of the 1997 ozone NAAQS plan of the plan on April 10, 2015.

For the 1997 PM 2.5 NAAQS, EPA designated the Metropolitan Washington, D. C. area, including northern Virginia, as a nonattainment area. Air quality improved, and the area developed and submitted a redesignation request and maintenance plan for the 1997 PM 2.5 NAAQS. EPA issued final approval of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS redesignation on October 6, 2014, redesignating the area to attainment/maintenance for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. For the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS and the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS, EPA designated the Washington, D.C. area as attaining the standard. All other areas within Virginia were also designated attainment for these standards, and therefore the Clean Air Act required no further revisions to Virginia's state implementation plan for these PM2.5 NAAQS.

Fredericksburg Information

For both the 2015 ozone NAAQS and the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EPA originally designated the Fredericksburg area, consisting of the Counties of Stafford and Spotsylvania and the City of Fredericksburg, as attaining each standard. For the 1997 ozone NAAQS, EPA designated the Fredericksburg area as nonattainment with a classification of moderate. Air quality improved, and the Fredericksburg area developed and submitted a redesignation request and maintenance plan for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. EPA published final approval of the Fredericksburg area 1997 ozone NAAQS redesignation December 23, 2005.

Ozone Standard Designation Recommendations for Virginia

On November 21, 2011, the DEQ Director submitted updated air quality designation recommendations for Virginia for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These recommendations denote the status of areas in the Commonwealth that are or are not in compliance with the new standard based on direct monitoring and/or indirect evidence. In summary, one area was identified by the DEQ as not meeting the new standard. This area is:

Northern Virginia (Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, City of Alexandria, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church, City of Manassas, and City of Manassas Park)

On December 9, 2011, EPA notified Virginia that it intended to support Virginia’s recommended nonattainment area designations and boundaries. EPA published final designations on May 21, 2012. EPA designated Northern Virginia as part of the Washington DC-MD-VA area, as a marginal nonattainment area based on its air quality data. EPA designated all other portions of Virginia as attainment/unclassifiable for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

On February 7, 2012, EPA proposed a rule that would take a necessary step to implement the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The final rule was published on March 6, 2015; additional information regarding the 2008 ozone NAAQS can be found on EPA's website.

The Washington DC-MD-VA area's air quality improved such that the area now complies with the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Virginia, in conjunction with the other states, created and submitted a redesignation request and maintenance plan for the area. EPA published proposed approval of this plan on August 8, 2018.

On October 1, 2015, the EPA adopted a new more stringent 8-hour ozone standard that is set at 0.070 parts per million (or 70 parts per billion). The final rule for the 2015 ozone NAAQS was published on October 26, 2015. State recommendations on area designations for this new standard were due to the EPA by October 1, 2016. Virginia's recommendations noted that all areas of the Commonwealth complied with the 2015 ozone NAAQS with the exception of Northern Virginia.

The U.S. EPA published final designations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS on June 4, 2018. All areas of the Commonwealth were designated attainment/unclassifiable except Northern Virginia, which EPA designated as a marginal nonattainment area.

Additional information on the 2015 ozone standard can be found on EPA's website.