[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 27, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44801-44804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18432]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0240; FRL-9998-84-Region 9]
Extreme Area Submission Requirements, Coachella Valley
Nonattainment Area; California Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently granted a
request by the State of California to voluntarily reclassify the
Coachella Valley nonattainment area from ``Severe-15'' to ``Extreme''
for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards
(NAAQS) under section 182(b)(3) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). In this
action, the EPA is proposing a schedule for the State to submit an
Extreme ozone nonattainment area plan and revised title V and new
source review (NSR) rules. The EPA is proposing deadlines for submittal
of those state implementation plan (SIP) revisions and for
implementation of the related control requirements. Under the EPA's
proposed schedule, California would be required to submit these
elements no later than July 10, 2020 (12 months from the effective date
of the area's reclassification). We are also clarifying some language
related to tribal areas that was included in our reclassification rule.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by September 26, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2019-0240 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: Tom Kelly, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 972-3856 or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Proposed Action and Public Comment
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
This action concerns SIP revisions for the Coachella Valley portion
of Riverside County, California (``Coachella Valley''), upon the area's
reclassification to Extreme nonattainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. The
Coachella Valley is overseen by the South Coast Air Quality Management
District (``District'').
Effective June 15, 2004, we classified the Coachella Valley as
``Serious'' nonattainment for the 1997 ozone NAAQS.\1\ Our
classification of Coachella Valley as a Serious ozone nonattainment
area established a requirement that the area attain the 1997 ozone
NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than eight years
from designation, i.e., June 15, 2012. On November 28, 2007, the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) voluntarily
[[Page 44802]]
requested that the EPA reclassify the Coachella Valley from Serious to
Severe-15. The EPA granted the voluntary reclassification, effective
June 4, 2010, establishing a new Severe-15 attainment date of not later
than June 15, 2019.\2\ On June 11, 2019, CARB submitted a request that
the EPA reclassify the Coachella Valley from Severe-15 to Extreme for
the 1997 ozone NAAQS. The EPA granted CARB's request for
reclassification in a separate action, effective July 10, 2019.\3\ As
explained in the notice for that action, the EPA's reclassification to
Extreme nonattainment applies only to the portions of the Coachella
Valley subject to the State's jurisdiction, and the EPA did not
reclassify any areas of Indian country within the boundaries of the
nonattainment area.\4\
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\1\ 69 FR 23858 (April 30, 2004).
\2\ 75 FR 24409 (May 5, 2010). Under CAA section 181(b)(3), the
EPA must approve a state's request for voluntary reclassification to
a higher ozone nonattainment classification.
\3\ 84 FR 32841 (July 10, 2019).
\4\ Id.
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The EPA's reclassification notice recognized a recent decision of
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit, South Coast Air Quality Management District v. EPA, 882 F.3d
1138 (D.C. Cir. 2018) (``South Coast II''), as it relates to the EPA's
obligations for a revoked NAAQS. As described in that notice, the EPA
revoked the 1997 ozone NAAQS in 2015, and the Court in South Coast II
held that the EPA's obligation to reclassify areas failing to meet an
attainment date is an anti-backsliding control applicable to the
revoked 1997 NAAQS. The notice stated that although the Court did not
address voluntary reclassifications requested by states, such
reclassifications are consistent with the general scheme for
implementing CAA emissions controls to achieve attainment and serve to
clarify an area's anti-backsliding obligations with respect to the
revoked 1997 NAAQS.\5\ This proposal clarifies the anti-backsliding
obligations for the Coachella Valley by establishing a schedule for the
State to submit the plan elements for an Extreme area.
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\5\ Id.
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II. Proposed Action and Public Comment
In this action, we are proposing to require the State to submit SIP
revisions to address the requirements resulting from the EPA's
reclassification of the Coachella Valley to Extreme nonattainment for
the 1997 ozone NAAQS by no later than July 10, 2020, one year from the
effective date of the reclassification. The State's submittal must
include an Extreme area plan that addresses the requirements of CAA
section 182(e) as well as revisions to the NSR and title V rules
applicable to the area. In this proposed action, we are also clarifying
one aspect of our July 10, 2019 rule related to Indian country of the
Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians.
A. Extreme Area Plan Requirements
Under CAA section 182(e), an attainment plan for an Extreme area
must include the elements required for a Severe area as well as
additional plan elements for an Extreme area.\6\ Where applicable, the
plan elements should reflect the reduction of the major source
threshold under 182(e) from 25 tons per year for a Severe area to 10
tons per year for an Extreme area. The requirements for an Extreme area
plan include, but are not limited to: (1) An attainment demonstration;
(2) a reasonable further progress (RFP) demonstration showing ozone
precursor reductions of at least 3 percent per year until the
attainment date; \7\ (3) additional reasonably available control
technology (RACT) rules to address sources subject to the lower Extreme
area major source threshold; (4) use of clean fuels or advanced control
technology for boilers as described at CAA section 182(e)(3); and (5)
contingency measures.
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\6\ CAA section 182(e) specifically excludes certain Severe area
requirements from the Extreme area requirements, e.g., CAA section
182(c)(6), (7), and (8).
\7\ CAA section 182(e) does not allow the state to use the
provision at CAA section 182(c)(2)(B)(ii) that allows RFP reductions
of less than 3 percent per year based on additional demonstrations.
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For the Coachella Valley, the District and State will need to
submit a plan that includes all elements required under CAA section
182(e), and that demonstrates attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS as
expeditiously as practicable but no later than June 15, 2024. The plan
should identify adopted measures sufficient to make the required RFP
and attainment demonstrations for the area.\8\
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\8\ CAA section 182(e)(5) allows the EPA to approve an Extreme
area attainment demonstration based on anticipated development of
new control techniques or improvement of existing control
technologies. This option requires a state to demonstrate that
provisions based on these new techniques or improvements are not
necessary to meet emission reductions required within the first 10
years after an area's designation as Extreme, and to submit, at
least three years before implementation of the proposed provisions
relying on new technology, contingency measures to be implemented in
case the anticipated technologies do not achieve the planned
reductions. Based on the shorter timeline to attainment (roughly 5
years from reclassification), use of CAA section 182(e)(5) is not
appropriate in this instance.
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For areas initially designated Extreme, the CAA provides 4 years
from the date of designation to submit the required SIP elements to the
EPA. The statutory deadline for SIP submissions for areas initially
designated as Extreme for the 1997 ozone NAAQS passed in June 2008.
Under its general CAA section 301(a) authority, the EPA is establishing
a new deadline of July 10, 2020, i.e., 12 months from the effective
date of reclassification, for the State to submit SIP revisions
addressing the Extreme area requirements for the Coachella Valley. This
timeframe is consistent with how the EPA has handled establishing SIP
submission deadlines under CAA section 182(i) for ozone areas
reclassified by operation of law under CAA section 181(b)(2).\9\ The
EPA has also considered that for pollutants other than ozone, the Clean
Air Act provides twelve months for states to submit revised attainment
demonstration SIP submissions when an area fails to attain by its
attainment date.\10\ This timeframe generally allows for the time
necessary for states and local air districts to finish reviews of
available control measures, adopt revisions to necessary attainment
strategies, address other SIP requirements and complete the public
notice process necessary to adopt and submit timely SIP revisions.
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\9\ See, e.g., 75 FR 79302 (Dec. 20, 2010) (Dallas-Ft. Worth,
Texas, reclassification to Serious for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS);
69 FR 16483 (March 30, 2004) (Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas,
reclassification to Serious for the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS); 68 FR
4836 (Jan. 30, 2003) (St. Louis, Missouri, reclassification to
Serious for the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS).
\10\ See CAA section 179(d)(1) (providing 12 months for a state
to submit a new attainment demonstration after a determination that
the area failed to attain by its attainment date).
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The RACT controls for an area classified as Extreme for the 1997
ozone NAAQS should be implemented before the ozone season of the
classification's attainment year, i.e., the ozone season immediately
preceding the maximum attainment date. For the Coachella Valley, which
has a year-round ozone season and a June 15, 2024 Extreme area
attainment date, RACT controls must be implemented by January 1, 2023.
B. NSR and Title V Program Revisions
In addition to the required plan revisions discussed in section
II.A of this notice, the State must submit, by July 10, 2020, revised
District NSR rules for the Coachella Valley that reflect the Extreme
area definitions for new major sources and modifications, and to
increase the offset ratios for these sources and modifications
consistent with CAA section 182(e)(1) and (2). Under CAA section
182(e)(1), the volatile organic compound and oxides
[[Page 44803]]
of nitrogen offset ratios for major sources and modifications in an
Extreme nonattainment area must be at least 1.5 to 1, or at least 1.2
to 1 if the plan requires all existing major sources in the
nonattainment area to use best available control technology. Under CAA
section 182(e)(2), any change at a major stationary source that results
in an increase in emissions from any discrete operation, unit, or other
pollutant emitting activity at the source is generally considered a
modification, subject to additional provisions for emissions increases
offset through internal reductions and for equipment that is installed
to comply with CAA requirements. The District must also make any
changes in its title V operating permits program for the Coachella
Valley necessary to reflect the change in the major source threshold
from 25 tons per year for Severe areas to 10 tons per year for Extreme
areas. The rationale for the EPA's deadline of July 10, 2020 is
discussed in Section II.A.
C. Clarification of Indian Country in the Coachella Valley
Reclassification
Our July 10, 2019 rule approving the State's request to reclassify
the Coachella Valley to Extreme for the 1997 ozone NAAQS applied only
to areas under state jurisdiction and did not change the nonattainment
classification for any areas subject to tribal jurisdiction. Our rule
identified tribes located within the Coachella Valley and indicated
that Indian country under the jurisdiction of these tribes would remain
classified as Severe-15, including land under the jurisdiction of the
Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians. However, the rule did not mention
that the reservation lands of the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians
includes lands located in both the Coachella Valley and the South Coast
ozone nonattainment (``South Coast'') areas. The portion of the Santa
Rosa Reservation located in the South Coast is classified as Extreme
nonattainment.\11\ In this proposal, we reiterate that our
reclassification did not change the nonattainment classification of any
areas of Indian country and clarify that references to Indian country
of the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians in our reclassification rule
apply only to the portions of the Santa Rosa Reservation located within
the Coachella Valley. The portion of the reservation lands of the Santa
Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians located within the South Coast
nonattainment area remains classified as Extreme for the 1997 ozone
NAAQS. The portion of the reservation lands of the Santa Rosa Band of
Cahuilla Indians located within the Coachella Valley nonattainment area
remains classified as Serious for the 1997 ozone NAAQS.
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\11\ See 75 FR 24409, 24416 (May 5, 2010).
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We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until
September 26, 2019.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), this proposed action is not a
``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget. Because the statutory
requirements are clearly defined with respect to the differently
classified areas, and because those requirements are automatically
triggered by classification, the timing of the submittal of the Extreme
area requirements does not impose a materially adverse impact under
Executive Order 12866. For these reasons, this proposed action is also
not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations
That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001). Furthermore, this action is not an Executive
Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory action because
this action is not significant under Executive Order 12866.
In addition, I certify that this proposed 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.). This
proposed action 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), because the EPA is seeking
comment solely on the timing of submittal requirements.
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000) requires the
EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful and timely
input by tribal officials in the development of regulatory policies
that have tribal implications.'' ``Policies that have tribal
implications'' is defined in the Executive Order to include regulations
that have ``substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on
the relationship between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
government and Indian tribes.'' The reclassification does not apply to
tribal areas, and the proposed rule would not impose a burden on Indian
reservation lands or other areas where the EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction within the Coachella Valley,
and thus, this proposed 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.
This proposed action also does not have federalism implications
because it does 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). This proposed action does not alter the relationship,
or the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the
Clean Air Act.
This proposed rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045,
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because the EPA interprets
Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those regulatory actions that
concern health or safety risks, such that the analysis required under
section 5-501 of the Executive Order has the potential to influence the
regulation.
As this proposal would set a deadline for the submittal of CAA
required plans and information, 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. This proposed rule does not impose an
information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) establishes
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision
directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and
permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission
by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high
and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs
policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income
populations in the United States. The EPA believes that this action,
which addresses the timing for the submittal of Extreme area ozone
planning requirements, does not have disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental health effects on minority
populations, low-income populations and/or indigenous
[[Page 44804]]
peoples, as specified in Executive Order 12898.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Incorporation by reference, Ozone.
Dated: August 14, 2019.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2019-18432 Filed 8-26-19; 8:45 am]
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