Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

Please find attached exhibits 40-59 for the Center for Biological Diversity's comment regarding EPA's "Draft Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the Ozone NAAQS." The Center's comment and additional exhibits was submitted in a separate comment due to regulations.gov's limitation on quantity of file uploads. Tracking Number Given by Regulation.gov for the Center's Comment: l3u-v669-jocg

Please find the Center for Biological Diversity's comment on the Draft PA for the Reconsideration of Ozone NAAQS as an attached file. Exhibits are attached in this and the following comments. There are 62 exhibits total.

Please find attached exhibits 60-62 for the Center for Biological Diversity's comment regarding EPA's "Draft Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the Ozone NAAQS." The Center's comment and additional exhibits was submitted in a separate comment due to regulations.gov's limitation on quantity of file uploads. Tracking Number Given by Regulation.gov for the Center's Comment: l3u-v669-jocg

Please find attached exhibits 20-39 for the Center for Biological Diversity's comment regarding EPA's "Draft Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the Ozone NAAQS." The Center's comment and additional exhibits was submitted in a separate comment due to regulations.gov's limitation on quantity of file uploads. Tracking Number Given by Regulation.gov for the Center's Comment: l3u-v669-jocg

Please see attached comments from the Center for Biological Diversity along with exhibits 1 - 20. I will submit the rest of the exhibits seperately.

Attached please find exhibits 21-28 of the Center for Biological Diversity's comments.

Please find attached exhibits 29 - 42 of the comments of the Center for Biological Diversity

Please see attached files from the Center for Biological Diversity regarding the release of the draft Polity Assessment for the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

On behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and its million members and supports who are adversely impacted by ozone, I am writing to comment on the draft Integrated Review Plan. The EPA has a mandatory duty to consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act with regard to EPA's review of the air quality criteria and national ambient air quality standards for photochemical oxidants including ozone. The draft Integrated Review Plan does not include such consultations. Furthermore, EPA must meet its affirmative duty under ESA Section 7(a)(1) to help listed species and critical habitat through this NAAQS review and revision process. Therefore, EPA must revise the Integrated Review Plan to include ESA Section 7 consultation with US FWS and NMFS and addressing EPA's Section 7(a)(1) duty. In conducting this consultation, it is important for EPA to consider ozone impacts to habitat of listed species, as well as direct impacts to species. For example, the Mexican Spotted Owl is listed as a threatened species under the ESA. Its habitat includes ponderosa pine. See e.g. https://www.nps.gov/articles/mexican-spotted-owl.htm. Ponderosa pines are a sensitive species when it comes to damage from ozone. Therefore, EPA must consider whether setting an ozone standard may affect Mexican spotted owl by damaging ponderosa pines which provide habitat to Mexican spotted owls. There are other listed species which depend on ponderosa pines. The most notable species of concern in Colorados ponderosa pine ecological system is the federally threatened Pawnee montane skipper butterfly (Hesperia leonardus montana). This species occurs only in ponderosa pine systems with an understory of blue grama grass (the skippers host plant). In Colorado, Graces warbler is only known from ponderosa pine stands in southwestern Colorado, and the Mexican Spotted Owl is at the northern end of its range in south central Colorado. https://cnhp.colostate.edu/ecological-systems-ponderosa-pine/ Furthermore, EPA must consider co-benefits of ozone reduction which would come from a more protective ozone NAAQS. For example, a more protective ozone NAAQS would lead to the co-benefit of reduces nitrogen oxides, mercury, fine particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions. This would come from a variety of mechanisms. For example, a more protective ozone NAAQS would drive increased use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) on coal-fired power plants. SCR, in additional reducing NOx emission, also reduce mercury emissions. Reduced mercury emissions would benefit a wide variety of listed species and their habitat, including but not limited to Colorado pikeminnow, ridgeback sucker, Florida panther, and western Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Attached, are various documents to help EPA begin planning for its consultation with FWS and NMFS. Among other species, the attachments identify the Indiana bat and rock gnome lichen as listed species adversely impacted by ozone. EPA should also review Impacts of Coal-Fired Power Plants on Fish, Wildlife, and their habitats, Biological Services Program, FWS/OBS-78/29 March 1978, PB 283 658. Sincerely, Robert Ukeiley Senior Attorney - Environmental Health Center for Biological Diversity 1536 Wynkoop St., Ste. 421 Denver, CO 80202 (720) 496-8568 rukeiley@biologicaldiversity.org