People near a busy road deserve an explanation of what is known about the air, not reassurance borrowed from a population category. EPA's December 30, 2016 rule removes a scheduled near-road nitrogen dioxide monitoring requirement for Core Based Statistical Areas with at least 500,000 but fewer than 1,000,000 people. It took effect that day; January 1 is this retrospective's coverage date. [2016-31645]

The earlier May proposal makes the agency's reasoning visible. Based on available near-road readings and relationships among population, traffic and pollution, EPA anticipated similar or more likely lower concentrations in smaller areas. It also acknowledged that vehicle mix, congestion, terrain and weather affect measurements. The dataset developed unevenly as monitoring sites began operating at different times, and the proposal's 2015 analysis was incomplete. [2016-11507]

The ethical question is how to communicate an informed expectation without presenting it as a measurement for each neighborhood. The final action removes the installation duty that had been due January 1, 2017; it does not itself show that a station closed. Area-wide and susceptible or vulnerable-population monitoring remain separate, unchanged requirements rather than interchangeable substitutes for every roadside observation. [2016-31645][2016-11507]

Responsible stewardship includes attention to the work of collecting data and to the people whose conditions that data is meant to describe. These sources establish EPA's decision and rationale, not a finding that every road is harmless. They are two stages of one agency proceeding, not independent safety confirmations. Preserving that boundary allows discussion of monitoring resources without dismissing the limits of the evidence. [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