West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

oxides of sulfur (SOx) and reactive organic gases (ROG). The designation of attainment/nonattainmentareas for the new PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone standards will occur in the future. Thestate Air Resources Board has recommended to the USEPA that most of the Mojave Desert AirBasin be classified as federal ozone nonattainment areas under the new 8 hour standard.The CAA and the California Clean Air Act contain the primary provisions relating to airquality. Among the most important provisions are the sections relating to the establishment ofthe National and State Ambient Air Quality Standards, nonattainment areas, the development ofstate implementation plans (SIP), prevention of significant deterioration (PSD), air toxics andfederal conformity. The USEPA and the California Air Resources Control Board have issuedrules to implement the federal and California Clean Air Acts.The federal and state Clean Air Acts regulate certain forms of pollution under three maincategories. These are criteria pollutants, air toxics and global warming and ozone-depletinggases. There is also regulation of a more general category of emissions that reduce visibility.These come under the titles of regional haze, prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) andvisibility reducing particulates (VRP).The definitions used in determining whether or not an area meets air quality standards arefound in the federal and state Clean Air Acts and their associated ambient air quality standards.Criteria pollutants are defined as those pollutants for which the federal and state governmenthave established ambient air quality standards, or criteria, for concentrations in order to protectpublic health. Under the federal Clean Air Act, the USEPA has established National AmbientAir Quality Standards (NAAQS) for seven criteria pollutants (ozone, respirable particulatematter (PM 10 ), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead andsulfur dioxide). These standards are used to classify all areas as to whether they are inattainment, in nonattainment or are unclassified for any of the NAAQS. California hasestablished California Ambient Air Quality Standards for the same federal criteria pollutants plusan additional 3 pollutants (visibility reducing particulates, sulfates and hydrogen sulfide). TheAmbient Air Quality Standards for California are stricter than the federal standards (see Table 3-7).Chapter 3 3-46