[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 6, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50805-50808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-19798]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[CA-034-FIN; FRL-7256-1]


Clean Air Act Redesignation and Reclassification, Searles Valley 
Nonattainment Area; Designation of Coso Junction, Indian Wells Valley, 
and Trona Nonattainment Areas; California; Determination of Attainment 
of the PM-10 Standards for the Coso Junction Area; Particulate Matter 
of 10 microns or less (PM-10)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is changing the boundaries of the Searles Valley, 
California moderate PM-10 nonattainment area (NA) by dividing that area 
into three new, separate moderate NAs: Coso Junction, Indian Wells 
Valley, and Trona. EPA is also finding that the Trona NA has attained 
the 24-hour and annual PM-10 national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS) by the Clean Air Act (CAA) mandated attainment date for 
moderate nonattainment areas.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 5, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You can inspect a copy of the docket for this action at 
EPA's Region IX office during normal business hours. See address below. 
This document and the proposal for this final rule are also available 
as electronic files on EPA's Region 9 Web page at www.epa.gov/region09/air.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Irwin, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 9, Air Division, Planning Office (AIR-2), 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105, (415) 947-4116, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. Nonattainment Area Boundary Changes

    On November 15, 1990, the date of enactment of the 1990 Clean Air 
Act Amendments, pursuant to CAA sections 107(d)(4)(B) and 188(a) 
respectively, the Searles Valley planning area was designated 
nonattainment and classified as moderate by operation of law. See 40 
CFR 81.305. The Searles Valley NA is situated at the southeastern end 
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and includes portions of Inyo, Kern and 
San Bernardino Counties. The boundaries of the NA are defined by United 
States

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Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Unit 18090205, an area of 
approximately 2000 square miles. Id.
    Under section 107(d)(3)(D), the Governor of any state, on the 
Governor's own motion, is authorized to submit to the Administrator a 
revised designation \1\*COM019* of any nonattainment area or portions 
thereof within the State. On May 4, 2001, the California Air Resources 
Board (CARB) submitted to EPA a request under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D) 
to revise the boundaries for the Searles Valley NA by dividing the area 
into three separate PM-10 nonattainment areas, Coso Junction, Indian 
Wells Valley and Trona, to be separated along the Inyo, Kern, and San 
Bernardino County lines within the Searles Valley NA.
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    \1\ Boundary changes are an inherent part of a designation or 
redesignation of an area under the CAA. See CAA section 
107(d)(1)(B)(ii).
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    In determining whether to approve or deny a state's request for a 
revision to the designation of an area under section 107(d)(3)(D), EPA 
uses the same factors Congress directed EPA to consider when the Agency 
initiates a revision to a designation of an area on its own motion 
under section 107(d)(3)(A). These factors include air quality data, 
planning and control considerations, or any other air quality-related 
considerations the Administrator deems appropriate.

B. Determinations of Attainment/Nonattainment

    States containing areas such as Searles Valley which were 
designated as moderate nonattainment by operation of law under section 
107(d)(4)(B) were required to develop and submit state implementation 
plans (SIPs) to provide for the attainment of the PM-10 NAAQS by no 
later than December 31, 1994.
    EPA has the responsibility, pursuant to sections 179(c) and 
188(b)(2) of the Act, of determining within 6 months of the applicable 
attainment date whether PM-10 nonattainment areas have attained the 
NAAQS. Section 179(c)(1) of the Act provides that these determinations 
are to be based upon an area's ``air quality as of the attainment 
date'' and section 188(b)(2) is consistent with this requirement. A 
total of 3 consecutive years of clean air quality data are generally 
necessary to show attainment of the 24-hour and annual standards for 
PM-10. Because the attainment deadline for the Searles Valley was 
December 31, 1994, for purposes of the attainment finding, EPA is using 
monitoring data from 1992-1994.
    EPA makes the determinations of whether an area's air quality is 
meeting the PM-10 NAAQS based upon air quality data gathered at 
monitoring sites in the nonattainment area. These data are reviewed to 
determine the area's air quality status in accordance with EPA guidance 
at 40 CFR part 50, appendix K. Pursuant to appendix K, attainment of 
the annual PM-10 standard is achieved when the annual arithmetic mean 
PM-10 concentration is equal to or less than 50 [mu]g/m3. Attainment of 
the 24-hour standard is determined by calculating the expected number 
of exceedances of the 150 [mu]g/m3 limit per year. The 24-hour standard 
is attained when the expected number of exceedances is 1.0 or less.

II. EPA's Proposed Actions

    On June 13, 2001, EPA proposed to divide, pursuant to CAA section 
107(D)(3)(d), the Searles Valley PM-10 NA into three separate, newly 
created NAs: Coso Junction, Indian Wells Valley and Trona. 66 FR 31873. 
EPA proposed that the Coso Junction NA boundaries would consist of the 
portion of Inyo County contained within USGS Hydrologic Unit 
18090205; the proposed Indian Wells Valley NA boundaries would 
include the portion of Kern County contained within USGS Hydrologic 
Unit 18090205; and the proposed Trona NA boundaries would 
include the portion of San Bernardino County contained within USGS 
Hydrologic Unit 18090205. The combination of these three 
proposed NAs would comprise the same area included in the Searles 
Valley NA as set forth in 40 CFR 81.305. EPA's rationale for the 
boundary revisions is discussed in detail in the proposed rule. See 66 
FR 31873, 31874-31875.
    In addition, EPA proposed to find, pursuant to CAA sections 179(c) 
and 188(b)(2), that the proposed Trona NA had attained the 24-hour and 
annual PM-10 standards by the moderate area attainment deadline, 
December 31, 1994.\2\ This proposed finding was based on air quality 
data showing that the Trona area has not recorded any exceedances of 
the 24-hour and annual PM-10 NAAQS for the 1992-1994 period. See 66 FR 
31873, 31875-31877.
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    \2\ On June 13, 2001, EPA also proposed to find that the 
proposed Indian Wells and Coso Junction NAs have not attained the 
24-hour and annual PM-10 NAAQS by December 31, 1994. Today's final 
rule addresses only the finding concerning the Trona NA. EPA intends 
to take additional action with respect to the Indian Wells and Coso 
NAs in future rulemakings.
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    EPA received comment letters on its June 13, 2001 proposed actions 
from the Kern County Air Pollution Control District, the Department of 
the Navy and CARB. Both the Navy and CARB supported changing the 
boundaries of the Searles Valley NA to create three new nonattainment 
areas and the attainment finding for the Trona area. EPA received no 
negative comments on these proposed actions.\3\
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    \3\ EPA received a number of comments on its proposed 
nonattainment findings for the proposed Indian Wells and Coso 
Junction NAs. The Agency will address these comments in any future 
rulemakings regarding these proposals.
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III. Today's Action

    In today's final action, EPA is dividing the Searles Valley NA into 
three, newly created NAs: Coso Junction, Indian Wells Valley and Trona. 
EPA is also finding that the newly created Trona moderate NA attained 
the 24-hour and annual PM-10 NAAQS by the CAA mandated deadline of 
December 31, 1994.

IV. Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget.
    The splitting of the Searles Valley NA into three new, separate NAs 
with a moderate classification will not impose any new requirements on 
any sectors of the economy because the area is already classified as 
moderate. Moreover, under the CAA, a determination that the Trona area 
has attained the PM-10 national ambient air quality standards is based 
on an objective review of measured air quality. As such, the 
nonattainment area split and the attainment determination do not impose 
any new requirements on any sectors of the economy and do not have any 
adverse impact on State, local, or tribal governments or communities.
    Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
    These actions do not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly 
or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4) because the division of 
the Searles Valley NA into three, new and separate NAs with a moderate 
classification and the determination of attainment for the new Trona 
area will not impose any new requirements on any sectors of the 
economy. For the same reason, this rule also does not have a 
substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the 
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on 
the

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distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). For these same reasons, these actions will 
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, 
as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). 
These actions are also not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997), because they are not economically significant. 
Finally, for these same reasons, the requirements of section 12(d) of 
the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 
272 note) do not apply.
    As required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, 
February 7, 1996), in issuing these actions, EPA has taken the 
necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize 
potential litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for affected 
conduct. EPA has complied with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 
15, 1988) by examining the takings implications of the rule in 
accordance with the ``Attorney General's Supplemental Guidelines for 
the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued 
under the executive order. These actions do not impose an information 
collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 7, 2002. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial 
review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for Judicial 
review may be file, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such 
rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings 
to enforce its requirements. See section 307(b)(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Dated: July 25, 2002.
Keith Takata,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 81 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 81--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.


    2. In Sec. 81.305 the ``California-PM-10'' table is amended as 
follows:
    a. By adding ``Coso Junction planning area'' as a designated area 
immediately under the entry ``Inyo County;
    b. By revising the entry ``San Bernardino, Inyo and Kern 
Counties'';
    c. By adding ``Indian Wells Valley planning area'' as a designated 
area immediately under the entry ``Fresno, Kern, Kings, Tulare, San 
Joaquin, Stanislaus, Madera Counties.''


Sec. 81.305  California.

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                                                                    California--PM-10
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                                                              Designation                                               Classification
         Designated area          ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Date                             Type                             Date                      Type
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Inyo County
    Coso Junction planning area..  September 5, 2002..............  Nonattainment..................  September 5, 2002..............  Moderate.
        That portion of Inyo       ...............................  ...............................  ...............................  ..................
         County contained within
         Hydrologic Unit 18090205
 
                               *              *              *              *              *              *              *
San Bernardino County
    San Bernardino (part):
        Excluding that portion
         located in the Trona
         planning area, and
        Excluding that area in
         the South Coast Air
         Basin
    Trona planning area: That      September 5, 2002..............  Nonattainment..................  September 5, 2002..............  ..................
     portion of San Bernardino
     County contained within
     Hydrolagic Unit 18090285.
 
                               *              *              *              *              *              *              *
Fresno, Kern, Kings, Tulare, San
 Joaquin, Medera Counties:
    Indian Wells Valley Planning   September 5, 2002..............  Nonattainment..................  September 5, 2002..............  Moderate
     area.
        That portions of Kern
         County contained with
         Hyrdologic Unit 18090205.
 
                               *              *              *              *              *              *              *
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[FR Doc. 02-19798 Filed 8-5-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P