[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 80 (Thursday, April 25, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17365-17368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08308]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0176; FRL-9992-65-Region 9]
Air Plan Approval; California; South Coast Air Quality Management
District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a revision to the South Coast Air Quality Management District
(SCAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP).
This revision concerns emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX)
from on-road heavy-duty vehicles. We are proposing to approve a local
measure to reduce NOX emissions from these emission sources
under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on
this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by May 28, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2019-0176 at https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted at
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio,
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written
comment is considered the official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public
comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and
general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rynda Kay, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 947-4118, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What measure did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of this measure?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted measure?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the measure?
B. Does the measure meet the evaluation criteria?
C. Proposed action and request for public comment
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What measure did the State submit?
Table 1 lists the measure addressed by this proposal with the date
that it was adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). We
refer to this measure as the ``South Coast Incentive Measure.''
[[Page 17366]]
Table 1--Submitted Measure
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Agency Resolution No. Measure title Adopted Submitted
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CARB............................... 18-3 South Coast On-Road Heavy- 03/22/18 05/04/18
Duty Vehicle Incentive
Measure.
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On November 4, 2018, the submittal for the South Coast Incentive
Measure was deemed by operation of law to meet the completeness
criteria in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix V, which must be met before formal
EPA review.
B. Are there other versions of this measure?
There are no previous versions of the South Coast Incentive Measure
in the SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted measure?
Emissions of NOX contribute to ground-level ozone, smog
and particular matter, which harm human health and the environment. The
CAA generally requires states to submit control measures to reduce
NOX emissions in ozone nonattainment areas.
On July 18, 1997, the EPA revised the national ambient air quality
standard (NAAQS or ``standards'') for ozone to establish an 8-hour
ozone standard of 0.08 parts per million (ppm).\1\ Effective June 15,
2004, the EPA designated and classified the Los Angeles-South Coast Air
Basin (``South Coast'') as a Severe nonattainment area for the 1997
ozone NAAQS.\2\ On May 5, 2010, EPA reclassified the South Coast as an
Extreme area for the 1997 ozone NAAQS with an attainment date of June
15, 2024.\3\ The EPA has previously approved various SIP revisions
submitted by California to provide for expeditious attainment of the
1997 ozone NAAQS in the South Coast and to meet other applicable
planning requirements in the Clean Air Act.\4\ The South Coast is also
designated and classified as an Extreme nonattainment area for the 1-
hour ozone NAAQS promulgated in 1979, the revised 8-hour ozone NAAQS
promulgated in 2008, and the revised 8-hour ozone NAAQS promulgated in
2015.\5\
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\1\ 62 FR 38856 (July 18, 1997).
\2\ 40 CFR 81.305, 69 FR 23858, 23888-89 (April 30, 2004).
\3\ 75 FR 24409 (May 5, 2010).
\4\ See, e.g., 77 FR 12674 (March 1, 2012), 79 FR 52539
(September 3, 2014).
\5\ 40 CFR 81.305, 77 FR 30088 (May 21, 2012), and 83 FR 25776
(June 4, 2018).
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On April 27, 2017, CARB submitted the ``Final 2016 Air Quality
Management Plan,'' March 2017 (``2016 AQMP'') and the ``Revised
Proposed 2016 State Strategy for the State Implementation Plan,'' March
7, 2017 (``State SIP Strategy''), which contain, inter alia, a revised
attainment demonstration and revised commitments to achieve specific
amounts of emission reductions by 2023 for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. The
2016 AQMP also contains an attainment demonstration and commitments to
achieve specific amounts of emission reductions by 2031 for the 2008
ozone NAAQS, in addition to revised attainment plan components for the
1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS. The purpose of the South Coast Incentive
Measure is to satisfy a portion of the State's emission reduction
commitments for the 1997 ozone NAAQS.
The South Coast Incentive Measure is a set of enforceable
commitments by CARB to, among other things, monitor the SCAQMD's
implementation of 1,300 on-road heavy-duty compression ignition truck
repower and replacement projects during the 2019-2022 timeframe in the
South Coast in accordance with specified portions of the Carl Moyer
Program Guidelines, 2017 Revisions, approved April 27, 2017 (``2017
Carl Moyer Guidelines''). These program requirements ensure, among
other things, that older, dirtier truck engines currently in operation
in the South Coast will be replaced with less-polluting engines.
The South Coast Incentive Measure obligates CARB to achieve
specific amounts of NOX emission reductions through
implementation of the program by a specific year, to submit annual
reports to the EPA beginning on March 31, 2020, detailing its
implementation of the program and the projected emission reductions,
and to adopt and submit substitute measures by specific dates if the
EPA determines that the program will not achieve the necessary emission
reductions by the applicable implementation deadline.
We are proposing to approve the South Coast Incentive Measure into
the California SIP and to make the obligations stated therein
enforceable by the EPA and by citizens under the CAA. The State relies
on the measure to achieve 1 ton per day of NOX emission
reductions in 2023 for purposes of meeting the requirements for
attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS. We intend to evaluate California's
submitted ozone attainment plans for South Coast through subsequent
notice-and-comment rulemaking actions, as appropriate. The EPA's
technical support document (TSD) has more information about this
measure.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the measure?
Generally, SIP control measures must be enforceable (see CAA
section 110(a)(2)), must not interfere with applicable requirements
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress or other CAA
requirements (see CAA section 110(l)), and must not modify certain SIP
control requirements in nonattainment areas without ensuring equivalent
or greater emissions reductions (see CAA section 193).
The CAA explicitly provides for the use of economic incentive
programs (EIPs) as one tool for states to use to achieve attainment of
the NAAQS.\6\ EIPs use market-based strategies to encourage the
reduction of emissions from stationary, area, and mobile sources in an
efficient manner. EPA has promulgated regulations for statutory EIPs
required under section 182(g) of the Act and has issued guidance for
discretionary EIPs.\7\
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\6\ See, e.g., CAA sections 110(a)(2)(A), 172(c)(6), and
183(e)(4).
\7\ 59 FR 16690 (April 7, 1994), codified at 40 CFR part 51,
subpart U and EPA, ``Improving Air Quality with Economic Incentive
Programs,'' January 2001 (``2001 EIP Guidance''). A ``discretionary
economic incentive program'' is ``any EIP submitted to the EPA as an
implementation plan revision for purposes other than to comply with
the statutory requirements of sections 182(g)(3), 182(g)(5),
187(d)(3), or 187(g) of the Act.'' 40 CFR 51.491.
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The EPA's guidance documents addressing EIPs and other
nontraditional programs provide for some flexibility in meeting
established SIP requirements for enforceability and quantification of
emission reductions, provided the State takes clear responsibility for
ensuring that the emission reductions necessary to meet applicable CAA
requirements are achieved. Accordingly, the EPA has consistently stated
that nontraditional emission reduction measures submitted to satisfy
SIP requirements under the Act must be accompanied by appropriate
``enforceable commitments'' from the State to monitor emission
reductions achieved and to rectify
[[Page 17367]]
shortfalls in a timely manner.\8\ The EPA has also consistently stated
that, where a state intends to rely on a nontraditional program to
satisfy CAA requirements, the state must demonstrate that the program
achieves emission reductions that are quantifiable, surplus,
enforceable, and permanent.\9\
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\8\ See, e.g., EPA, ``Guidance on Incorporating Voluntary Mobile
Source Emission Reduction Programs in State Implementation Plans
(SIPs),'' Richard D. Wilson, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air
and Radiation, October 24, 1997 (``1997 VMEP''), 4-5.
\9\ See, e.g., 2001 EIP Guidance, section 4.1.
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Guidance documents that we use to evaluate discretionary EIPs and
other nontraditional emission reduction programs include the following:
``Guidance on Incorporating Voluntary Mobile Source
Emission Reduction Programs in State Implementation Plans (SIPs),''
Richard D. Wilson, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and
Radiation, October 24, 1997 (``1997 VMEP'').
``Improving Air Quality with Economic Incentive Programs''
January 2001 (EPA-452/R-01-001) (``2001 EIP Guidance'').
``Incorporating Emerging and Voluntary Measure in a State
Implementation Plan (SIP),'' Stephen D. Page, OAQPS, October 4, 2004
(``2004 Emerging and Voluntary Measures Guidance'').
``Guidance on Incorporating Bundled Measures in a State
Implementation Plan,'' Stephen D. Page, OAQPS, and Margo Oge, OTAQ,
August 16, 2005 (``2005 Bundled Measures Guidance'').
``Diesel Retrofits: Quantifying and Using Their Emission
Benefits in SIPs and Conformity: Guidance for State and Local Air and
Transportation Agencies,'' February 2014 (EPA-420-B-14-007) (``2014
Diesel Retrofits Guidance'').
B. Does the measure meet the evaluation criteria?
The South Coast Incentive Measure contains clear, mandatory
obligations that are enforceable against CARB and ensure that
information about the emission reductions achieved through the program
will be readily available to the public through CARB's submission of
annual reports to the EPA. Our approval of the South Coast Incentive
Measure would make these obligations enforceable by the EPA and by
citizens under the CAA. The South Coast Incentive Measure obligates the
State to implement a program that achieves quantifiable, surplus,
permanent, and enforceable NOX emission reductions and does
not alter any existing SIP requirements. Our approval of this measure
would strengthen the SIP and would not interfere with applicable
requirements concerning attainment and reasonable further progress or
other CAA requirements, consistent with the requirements of CAA section
110(l). Section 193 of the CAA does not apply to this action because
this measure does not modify any SIP control requirement that was in
effect before November 15, 1990.
We are proposing to find that the South Coast Incentive Measure
satisfies CAA requirements for enforceability, SIP revisions, and
nontraditional emission reduction programs as interpreted in EPA
guidance documents. The TSD contains more information on our evaluation
of this measure.
C. Proposed Action and Request for Public Comment
The EPA proposes to fully approve the submitted measure under CAA
section 110(k)(3) based on a conclusion that the measure satisfies all
applicable requirements. We will accept comments from the public on
this proposal until May 28, 2019. If we take final action to approve
the submitted measure, our final action will incorporate this measure
into the federally enforceable SIP.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference the CARB measure described in Table 1 of this preamble. The
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials available
through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region IX Office (please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this preamble for more information).
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 proposed action merely proposes to approve state law
as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this
proposed 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);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866;
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 disproportionate human health or environmental effects with
practical, appropriate, 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 rule 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).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
[[Page 17368]]
Dated: April 4, 2019.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2019-08308 Filed 4-24-19; 8:45 am]
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