The economic mechanism in EPA's roadside nitrogen dioxide decision is allocation of monitoring work, not a new price on pollution. Its December 30, 2016 final rule removes the January 1 installation requirement for Core Based Statistical Areas with at least 500,000 but fewer than 1,000,000 people. The rule was effective December 30; this New Year account examines that preceding action. [2016-31645]

The May proposal explains why EPA questioned the additional phase. Available near-road data were below the relevant national standards, including in larger areas, and the agency linked higher populations with traffic and expected concentrations. It anticipated similar or more likely lower concentrations in smaller areas. The argument concerned the value of extending required monitoring, rather than a demonstrated reduction in local pollution. [2016-11507]

There is an information trade-off behind that rationale. The proposal acknowledged influences including vehicle mix, congestion, road design, terrain and weather; monitoring sites also had differing start dates and incomplete datasets. Population can guide a network decision without supplying a direct reading for every location. Those limitations matter when assessing what an additional monitor might reveal, not just the work of operating it. [2016-11507]

The final rule leaves other network responsibilities intact, including area-wide and susceptible or vulnerable-population monitoring, and retains near-road requirements for areas of at least one million people. It does not prove that stations closed or quantify realized savings for a particular agency. Proposal and final rule trace one EPA decision chain. Any stronger claim that resources were optimally allocated would require evidence beyond the design of this rule. [2016-31645][2016-11507]

Source documents

  1. Revision to the Near-road NO2 Minimum Monitoring Requirementshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-12-30/html/2016-31645.htm
  2. Revision to the Near-Road NO2 Minimum Monitoring Requirementshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-05-16/html/2016-11507.htm