[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45191-45192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20722]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2017-0411; FRL-9968-38-Region 9]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Enhanced 
Monitoring; California

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted 
by the State of California on November 10, 1993. This SIP revision 
concerns the establishment of a Photochemical Assessment Monitoring 
System (PAMS) network in six ozone nonattainment areas within 
California. The EPA is taking this action under the Clean Air Act based 
on the conclusion that all applicable statutory and regulatory 
requirements related to PAMS SIP revisions have been met.

DATES: This rule is effective October 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR-2017-0411. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed on 
the Web site, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available through http://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information.

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 the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On August 2, 2017 (82 FR 35922), we proposed to approve a SIP 
revision submitted by the State of California on November 10, 1993. 
Herein, we refer to our proposed action on August 2, 2017, as the 
``proposed rule.''
    In our proposed rule, we provided a discussion of the regulatory 
context leading to the SIP revision submitted by California on November 
10, 1993. In short, the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''), as amended in 
1990, required the EPA to designate as nonattainment, and to classify 
as Marginal, Moderate, Serious, Severe or Extreme, any ozone areas that 
were still designated nonattainment under the 1977 Act Amendments, and 
any other areas violating the 1-hour ozone standard, generally based on 
air quality monitoring data from the 1987 through 1989 period.\1\ 
Within California, we classified six ozone nonattainment areas as 
Serious, Severe, or Extreme: Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin (``South 
Coast''), Sacramento Metro, San Diego County, San Joaquin Valley, 
Southeast Desert Modified Air Quality Management Area (``Southeast 
Desert'') and Ventura County.\2\ Such areas were subject to many 
requirements, including those related to enhanced monitoring in CAA 
section 182(c)(1).
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    \1\ See section 107(d)(4) of the Act. See also 56 FR 56694, 
November 6, 1991.
    \2\ See 56 FR 56694, November 6, 1991.
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    CAA section 182(c)(1) of the CAA required the EPA to promulgate 
rules for enhanced monitoring of ozone, oxides of nitrogen, and 
volatile organic compounds to obtain more comprehensive and 
representative data on ozone air pollution in areas designated 
nonattainment and classified as Serious, Severe or Extreme. The EPA's 
final PAMS regulation was promulgated on February 12, 1993 (58 FR 
8452). Section 182(c)(1) also required states to submit SIP revisions 
providing for enhanced monitoring for such areas consistent with the 
PAMS regulation.
    On November 10, 1993, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) 
submitted to the EPA a SIP revision for PAMS networks in California 
(``California PAMS SIP revision''). The California PAMS SIP revision 
consists of PAMS commitments from five California air districts with 
jurisdiction within the six relevant ozone nonattainment areas: The 
South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) (for South Coast and 
Southeast Desert areas); Sacramento Metro AQMD (for the Sacramento 
Metro area); San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) 
(for the San Diego County area); San Joaquin Valley Unified APCD (for 
the San Joaquin Valley area), and Ventura County APCD (for the Ventura 
County area), as well as CARB Executive Orders approving the 
commitments, and public process documentation. The California PAMS SIP 
revision is intended to meet the requirements of section 182(c)(1) of 
the Act and to comply with the PAMS regulation, codified at 40 CFR part 
58, as promulgated on February 12, 1993.
    In our proposed rule, we identified the criteria we used to review 
the California PAMS SIP revision submittal and provided our evaluation 
and rationale for proposed approval. We determined that California's 
PAMS SIP revision meets all applicable requirements: (1) By first 
committing to, and then by implementing, PAMS networks as required in 
40 CFR part 58; and (2) by providing the public with an opportunity to 
inspect the proposed

[[Page 45192]]

network description during the public review process for the proposed 
SIP revision prior to forwarding the adopted version to CARB for 
approval and submittal to the EPA as a revision to the California SIP. 
As such, in our proposed rule, we proposed to approve the California 
PAMS SIP revision submitted by CARB on November 10, 1993, as part of 
the California SIP.
    Please see our proposed rule for additional background information 
and a more detailed evaluation of the SIP revision and explanation of 
our basis for approval.

II. Public Comments

    The EPA's proposed action on August 2, 2017, provided a 30-day 
public comment period ending on September 1, 2017. We received no 
comments on our proposed action.

III. Final Action

    Under CAA section 110(k)(3) and for the reasons set forth in our 
proposed rule and summarized above, the EPA is taking final action to 
approve the California PAMS SIP revision submitted on November 10, 
1993, for the following six ozone nonattainment areas in California: 
South Coast, Sacramento Metro, San Diego County, San Joaquin Valley, 
Southeast Desert, and Ventura County. We are taking this final action 
based on our conclusion that the California PAMS SIP revision meets all 
applicable requirements for enhanced ambient pollutant concentration 
monitoring under CAA section 182(c)(1) and our PAMS regulation.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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, the EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely approves a state plan 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 Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     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 the 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe 
has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 
Indian country, the action does not have tribal implications and will 
not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt 
tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 
9, 2000).
    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. The 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 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 November 27, 2017. 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 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: September 15, 2017.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    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)(495) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (495) The following plan was submitted on November 10, 1993 by the 
Governor's designee.
    (i) [Reserved]
    (ii) Additional material.
    (A) California Air Resources Board.
    (1) Letter and attachments from James D. Boyd, Executive Officer, 
California Air Resources Board, to Felicia Marcus, Regional 
Administrator, EPA Region IX, November 10, 1993.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2017-20722 Filed 9-27-17; 8:45 am]
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