Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Extension of Attainment Date for the Atlanta, GA 1997 8-Hour Ozone Moderate Nonattainment Area

EPA is taking final action to approve a request from the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Environmental Protection Division (EPD), to grant a one-year extension of the attainment date for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the Atlanta, Georgia Area (hereafter referred to as the "Atlanta Area"). This request was sent to EPA via letter from EPD on June 9, 2010. The Atlanta Area consists of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton Counties in Georgia. In today's action, EPA is finalizing a determination that the State of Georgia has met the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements to obtain a one-year extension to its attainment date for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Atlanta Area. As a result, EPA is approving a one-year extension of the 1997 8- hour ozone moderate attainment date for the Atlanta Area. Specifically, EPA (through this final action) is extending the Atlanta Area's attainment date from June 15, 2010, to June 15, 2011.