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Contact EPA Pacific Southwest Air Program

Pacific Southwest, Region 9

Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations

Air Actions, California

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

San Francisco Bay Area Ozone Actions

Air Quality Actions in the San Francisco Bay Area

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  • April 2004: Finding that the San Francisco Bay Area has attained the 1-hour Ozone Standard, Approval of Elements of the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan, and Interim Final Determination to Stay and Defer the Imposition of Offset and Highway Sanctions
  • October 2003: Proposed Finding that the San Francisco Bay Area has Attained the 1-Hour Ozone Standard and Proposed Determination Regarding Applicability of Certain Clean Air Act Requirements
  • July 2003: Proposed Approval of the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan / Interim Final Determination that Deficiencies in the 1999 Plan Are Corrected
  • February 2002: Determination of Adequacy of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan
  • November 2001: Public Comment Period on Determination of Adequacy of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan
  • August 2001:Finalized Partial Approval/Partial Disapproval of the 1999 Ozone Attainment Plan / Finding of Failure to Attain the November 15, 2000 Deadline to Attain the 1-hour Ozone Standard
  • March 2001: Proposed Partial Approval/Partial Disapproval of 1999 Ozone Attainment Plan / Finding of Failure to Attain the 1-hour Ozone Standard
  • August 1999: State Submits Bay Area Ozone Attainment Plan
  • July 1998: Redesignation of the Bay Area to Ozone Nonattainment

April 2004: Finding that the San Francisco Bay Area has attained the 1-hour Ozone Standard, Approval of Elements of the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan, and Interim Final Determination to Stay and Defer the Imposition of Offset and Highway Sanctions

April 1, 2004: EPA signed two Federal Register notices regarding San Francisco Bay Area (Bay Area) air quality. In one notice, EPA finalized the determination that the Bay Area has attained the federal 1-hour ozone standard and finalized the approval of certain elements of the Bay Area’s 2001 ozone attainment plan. In the same notice, EPA has also determined that the Clean Air Act requirements for reasonable further progress, attainment demonstration, and contingency measures are not applicable to the Bay Area for so long as the area continues to attain the 1-hour ozone standard. In the other notice, based the previous findings, EPA extended the stay of the offset sanctions and will continue the deferral of highway sanctions, which were imposed as a result of EPA's earlier disapproval of elements of the Bay Area's 1999 ozone attainment plan.

Contact Information
Ginger Vagenas (vagenas.ginger@epa.gov)
Office of Air Planning
EPA Region 9
(415) 972-3694

October 2003: Proposed Finding that the San Francisco Bay Area has Attained the 1-Hour Ozone Standard and Proposed Determination Regarding Applicability of Certain Clean Air Act Requirements

October 23, 2003: EPA signed a rulemaking proposing to determine that the San Francisco Bay Area has attained the 1-hour ozone air quality standard by the deadline required by the Clean Air Act (CAA). Based on this proposal, EPA is also proposing to determine that the CAA’s requirements for reasonable further progress, attainment demonstration, and contingency provisions are not applicable to the area for so long as the Bay Area continues to attain the 1-hour ozone standard.

Contact Information
Ginger Vagenas (vagenas.ginger@epa.gov)
Office of Air Planning
EPA Region 9
(415) 972-3694

July 2003: Proposed Approval of the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan /
Interim Final Determination that Deficiencies in the 1999 Ozone Attainment Plan Are Corrected

September 30, 2001: EPA published a Federal Register notice finalizing its approval of certain components of the 1999 Plan and disapproval of other components of the 1999 Plan. The disapproval started a sanctions clock that expired on April 22, 2003, resulting in the imposition of 2:1 offset sanctions in the Bay Area.

On July 7, 2003, EPA signed a rulemaking proposing to approve the San Francisco Bay Area 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan (2001 Plan). EPA also made an interim final determination that the 2001 Plan corrects deficiencies identified in the 1999 Plan. As a result of this determination, the offset sanction has been stayed while EPA considers whether to issue a final full approval. If EPA issues a final full approval action, sanctions would be terminated. If EPA disapproves the 2001 Plan on the basis that one or more of the disapproved components is still insufficient, the offset sanction will be reapplied at that time.

Contact Information
Ginger Vagenas (vagenas.ginger@epa.gov)
Office of Air Planning
EPA Region 9
(415) 972-3694

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February 2002: Determination of Adequacy of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan

February 14, 2002: EPA notified the California Air Resources Board that, after evaluating public comments and completing an analysis, that the motor vehicle emissions budgets submitted with the Bay Area’s 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan were determined adequate for transportation conformity purposes.

Determining budget adequacy is a process for evaluating whether the motor vehicle emissions budgets in a submitted State Implementation Plan (SIP) are adequate for use in transportation conformity determinations. A budget adequacy determination is not a formal action on the submitted plan, but rather a preliminary finding that the budgets will not interfere with attainment. Once a budget has been determined to be adequate, the emission levels must not be exceeded in any regional transportation plan or transportation improvement program.

The finding of adequacy was published in the Federal Register; the budgets became effective 15 days after publication.

November 2001: Public Comment Period on Determination of Adequacy of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan

November 9, 2001: EPA announced a 30-day public comment opportunity on the determination of adequacy of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in the 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan. On December 7, 2001, EPA extended the public comment period for an additional 30 days. Comments were accepted until January 7, 2002.

August 2001: Finalized Partial Approval/Partial Disapproval of the 1999 Ozone Attainment Plan / Finding of Failure to Attain the November 15, 2000 Deadline to Attain the 1-hour Ozone Standard

August 28, 2001: EPA finalized its March 30, 2001 proposal approving parts and disapproving parts of the 1999 San Francisco Bay Area Ozone Attainment Plan, and found that the Bay Area failed to meet its November 15, 2000 deadline to attain the national 1-hour ozone standard.

March 2001: Proposed Partial Approval/Partial Disapproval of 1999 Ozone Attainment Plan / Finding of Failure to Attain

March 21, 2001: EPA signed a rulemaking proposing to approve parts and disapprove parts of the 1999 Bay Area Ozone Attainment Plan due to continuing smog violations in the 2000 attainment year. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on March 30, 2001.

August, 1999: State Submits Bay Area Ozone Attainment Plan

August 12, 1999: San Francisco Bay Area 1999 Ozone Attainment Plan was submitted to EPA by the California Air Resources Board on behalf of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

July, 1998: Redesignation of the Bay Area to Ozone Nonattainment

July 1998: EPA formally declared that the Bay Area's air was not meeting the federal health standard for ozone. EPA set an attainment deadline of November 15, 2000, and required the state and local air quality planning agencies to come up with a strategy to meet that deadline.

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