[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64402-64403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25182]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2013-0384; FRL-9901-77-Region 9]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California; 
South Coast; Contingency Measures for 1997 PM2.5 Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State implementation plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by California to address Clean Air Act (CAA) contingency 
measure requirements for the 1997 annual and 24-hour national ambient 
air quality standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) in the Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin (South 
Coast). Approval of this SIP revision terminates the sanctions clocks 
and a federal implementation plan (FIP) clock that were triggered by 
EPA's partial disapproval of a related SIP submission on November 5, 
2011.

DATES: This rule is effective on November 29, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may inspect the supporting information for this action, 
identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2013-0384, by one of the 
following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking portal, http://www.regulations.gov, please 
follow the online instructions; or,
    2. Visit our regional office at, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While 
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may 
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., voluminous 
records, large maps, copyrighted material), and some may not be 
publicly available in either location (e.g., Confidential Business 
Information). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an 
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed 
directly below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lo, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3959, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Summary of Proposed Action
II. Public Comment and EPA Response
III. EPA's Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Summary of Proposed Action

    On June 24, 2013 (78 FR 37741), EPA proposed to approve the ``South 
Coast Air Quality Management District Proposed Contingency Measures for 
the 2007 PM2.5 SIP'' (dated October 2011), which the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB) submitted on November 14, 2011 
and supplemented on April 24, 2013 (collectively the ``Contingency 
Measures SIP''). EPA proposed to approve the Contingency Measures SIP 
as satisfying the attainment contingency measure requirement in CAA 
section 172(c)(9) for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS and to conclude 
that the reasonable further progress (RFP) contingency measure 
requirement in CAA section 172(c)(9) for the 2012 milestone year is 
moot because the South Coast area has achieved the emission reduction 
benchmarks for the 2012 RFP year. Our June 24, 2013 proposed rule 
provides the rationale for this action.

II. Public Comment and EPA Response

    EPA provided a 30-day public comment period on our proposed action. 
The comment period ended on July 24, 2013. We received one public 
comment and respond to that comment below.
    Comment: A private citizen asserted that there has been no attempt 
to address methane outgassing and the many oil fields in the South 
Coast area. The commenter also stated that train maintenance, promotion 
of bicycles and rail, automobile and truck lane reductions, digital 
signage, outdoor wood burning and landfills are not being adequately 
addressed, that health risk assessments should be required, that there 
are cancer clusters in the area, and that ``the political handling of 
[the] air quality problem does not change the quality of life and 
health of'' South Coast area residents.
    Response: The commenter's submission contained only general 
observations and conclusions that are outside the scope of EPA's 
rulemaking action. While expressing a broad range of environmental 
concerns, the commenter failed to identify any specific issue relevant 
to EPA's proposed action on the Contingency Measures SIP, and did not 
address the basis for EPA's approval of the South Coast's contingency 
measures. To the extent the commenter intended to encourage additional 
review and evaluation of air pollution sources in the South Coast area, 
and additional potential transportation and control measures that may 
reduce air pollution, EPA encourages the commenter to participate in 
the regulatory processes carried out by the South Coast Air Quality 
Management District (SCAQMD), CARB, and other State/local agencies 
involved in the development of air quality management plans for the 
South Coast area. EPA finds no basis in the comment to change its views 
on the approvability of the specific contingency measures at issue in 
this rulemaking.

III. EPA's Final Action

    We are finalizing our proposal to conclude that the Contingency 
Measures SIP submitted by CARB on November 14, 2011, as supplemented on 
April 24, 2013, satisfies the attainment contingency measure 
requirement in CAA section 172(c)(9) for the 1997 PM2.5 
NAAQS in the South Coast nonattainment area. We therefore fully approve 
this submission into the California SIP. This final action is based in 
part on EPA's final rule approving SCAQMD Rule 444 and Rule 445, which 
was signed by Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator, Region IX, on 
August 22, 2013. See ``Revisions to Implementation Plan, South Coast 
Air Quality Management District'' Final Rule, signed August 22, 2013 
(pre-publication copy).\1\
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    \1\ EPA's proposal to approve the Contingency Measures SIP 
relied in part on a simultaneous proposal to approve Rule 444 and 
Rule 445, which we stated would provide SIP-creditable 
PM2.5 emission reductions upon final EPA approval of 
these rules into the SIP. See 78 FR at 37745-37746 and 37751, Table 
4.
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    We are also finalizing our proposal to conclude that the RFP 
contingency measure requirement in CAA section 172(c)(9) for the 2012 
milestone year is moot as applied to the South Coast because the area 
achieved its SIP-approved emission reduction benchmarks for the 2012 
RFP year.
    Today's final approval corrects deficiencies that were the basis 
for EPA's partial disapproval of the South Coast PM2.5 SIP 
on November 9, 2011 (76 FR 69928) and therefore terminates the CAA 
section 179(b) sanctions clocks triggered by that action and the 
obligation on EPA to promulgate a FIP within two years of that action.

[[Page 64403]]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve State choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, 
this action merely approves State law as meeting Federal requirements 
and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by 
State law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because it does not apply in Indian country located in the State, and 
EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal 
governments or preempt tribal law.
    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 action 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by December 30, 2013. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor 
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may 
be filed, 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 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, 
Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: September 25, 2013.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 52, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for Part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(432) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (432) The following plan was submitted on November 14, 2011, by the 
Governor's Designee.
    (i) [Reserved].
    (ii) Additional materials.
    (A) South Coast Air Quality Management District.
    (1) South Coast Air Quality Management District Proposed 
Contingency Measures for the 2007 PM2.5 SIP (dated October 
2011) (``Contingency Measures SIP''), adopted October 7, 2011.
    (2) SCAQMD Resolution No. 11-24, dated October 7, 2011, adopting 
the Contingency Measures SIP.
    (3) Letter dated April 24, 2013 from Elaine Chang, Deputy Executive 
Officer, SCAQMD, to Deborah Jordan, Director, Air Division, EPA Region 
9, Re: ``Update of the 2012 RFP Emissions and 2015 Reductions from 
Contingency Measures for the 2007 Annual PM2.5 Air Quality 
Management Plan for the South Coast Air Basin,'' including attachments.
    (B) State of California Air Resources Board.
    (1) CARB Executive Order S-11-023, dated November 14, 2011, 
adopting the Contingency Measures SIP.

[FR Doc. 2013-25182 Filed 10-28-13; 8:45 am]
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