[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64206-64209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25284]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R04-OAR-2019-0374; FRL-10002-48-Region 4]


Air Quality Designation; FL; Redesignation of the Duval County 
Ozone Unclassifiable Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On June 19, 2019, the State of Florida, through the Florida 
Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), submitted a request for 
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesignate the 
Jacksonville, Florida ozone unclassifiable area (hereinafter referred 
to as the ``Duval County Area'' or ``Area'') to attainment for the 2015 
primary and secondary 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS). EPA now has sufficient data to determine that the 
Duval County Area is in attainment of the 2015 primary and secondary 8-
hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is approving the State's request and

[[Page 64207]]

redesignating the Area to attainment/unclassifiable for the 2015 
primary and secondary 8-hour ozone NAAQS based upon valid, quality-
assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data showing that the 
Area is in compliance with the 2015 primary and secondary 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS.

DATES: This rule will be effective December 23, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2019-0374. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information may not be publicly available, i.e., 
Confidential Business Information 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 either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the 
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madolyn Sanchez, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and 
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Ms. Sanchez can be 
reached by telephone at (404) 562-9644 or via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On October 1, 2015, EPA revised the primary and secondary 8-hour 
NAAQS for ozone to a level of 70 parts per billion (ppb), based on a 3-
year average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour ozone 
concentrations. See 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015). EPA established the 
standards based on significant evidence and numerous health studies 
demonstrating that serious health effects are associated with exposures 
to ground-level ozone.
    The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new 
or revised NAAQS is contained in section 107(d)(1) of the CAA. On June 
4, 2018 (83 FR 25776), EPA published a final rule designating certain 
areas across the country, including the Duval Area, as nonattainment, 
unclassifiable, or attainment/unclassifiable for the 2015 primary and 
secondary 8-hour ozone NAAQS based primarily upon air quality 
monitoring data from monitors for calendar years 2014-
2016.1 2 EPA designated Duval County as unclassifiable for 
the 2015 primary and secondary 8-hour ozone NAAQS because the monitors 
in the Duval County Area had incomplete data for the 2014-2016 
timeframe.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ This action, combined with final rules published on November 
16, 2017 (82 FR 54232) and July 25, 2018 (83 FR 35136), completed 
the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS designations for all areas.
    \2\ Several states chose to submit early certified air quality 
data for their areas. For those areas, EPA based the final 
designation decisions on air quality data from 2015-2017. Florida 
did not submit early certified air quality data. In the NPRM, EPA 
inadvertently stated that the Agency designated the Area 
unclassifiable based on 2015-2017 data.
    \3\ EPA used the category ``unclassifiable'' for areas in which 
EPA could not determine, based upon available information, whether 
or not the NAAQS was being met and/or EPA had not determined the 
area to be contributing to nearby violations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On June 19, 2019, Florida submitted a request for EPA to 
redesignate the Duval County Area to attainment/unclassifiable for the 
2015 primary and secondary 8-hour ozone NAAQS based upon valid, 
quality-assured, and certified ambient air monitoring data from 2016-
2018 showing that the Area is in compliance with the 2015 primary and 
secondary 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\4\ In a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) published on August 14, 2019 (84 FR 40351), EPA proposed to 
approve the State's redesignation request. The details of Florida's 
submittal and the rationale for EPA's actions are further explained in 
the NPRM. Comments on the NPRM were due on or before September 13, 
2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Although Florida requested redesignation of the Area to 
``attainment,'' EPA is redesignating the area to ``attainment/
unclassifiable'' because, as noted in the proposal, EPA reserves the 
``attainment'' category for when EPA redesignates a nonattainment 
area that has attained the relevant NAAQS and has an approved 
maintenance plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Response to Comments

    EPA received one set of adverse comments on its proposal action. 
These comments, from an anonymous commenter, are provided in the docket 
for this final rulemaking. Below is a summary of the comments and EPA's 
responses.
    Comment 1: The Commenter contends that EPA does not have the 
authority to redesignate any area, including the Duval County Area, to 
``attainment/unclassifiable'' because the Agency must use one of the 
three options (i.e., attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable) 
listed for designations in CAA section 107(d)(1)(A).
    Response 1: EPA disagrees with the Commenter. The Agency's use of 
the label ``attainment/unclassifiable'' rather than ``attainment'' when 
designating an area or redesignating an unclassifiable area that now 
has data demonstrating attainment of the relevant NAAQS has no legal or 
practical significance. An area classified as attainment/unclassifiable 
meets Congress's definition of an attainment area under CAA section 
107(d)(1)(A)(ii), and the legal status and applicable regulatory 
framework are the same regardless of whether the area is labeled solely 
as ``attainment.''
    EPA has a longstanding practice of designating most areas that meet 
a NAAQS as ``unclassifiable/attainment,'' or more recently, 
``attainment/unclassifiable'' for that standard. This category includes 
areas that have air quality monitoring data meeting the NAAQS and areas 
that do not have monitors and for which EPA has no evidence that the 
areas may be violating the NAAQS or contributing to a nearby violation. 
EPA recently reversed the order of the label to ``attainment/
unclassifiable'' because it better conveys the definition of the 
designation category and is more easily distinguished from the separate 
``unclassifiable'' category. See, e.g., 83 FR 25776, 25778 (June 4, 
2018). EPA uses the ``unclassifiable'' category for areas where EPA 
could not determine, based upon available information, whether the 
NAAQS was being met and/or EPA had not determined the area to be 
contributing to nearby violations. EPA reserves the ``attainment'' 
category for instances when EPA redesignates a nonattainment area that 
has attained the relevant NAAQS.
    Comment 2: The Commenter asserts that EPA cannot redesignate any 
area to attainment without demonstrating that the area meets the 
requirements of CAA section 107(d)(3)(E). By not addressing these 
requirements for the Duval Area, the Commenter claims that the Agency 
failed to address the required elements for a redesignation to 
attainment and effectively granted itself an extension of the initial 
designation process.
    Response 2: EPA disagrees with the Commenter. As noted in the NPRM, 
Congress expressly limited the redesignation criteria in CAA section 
107(d)(3)(E) to redesignations of nonattainment areas to attainment, 
and therefore, these criteria are not applicable to redesignations of

[[Page 64208]]

unclassifiable areas to attainment/unclassifiable.\5\ Furthermore, a 
redesignation under section 107(d)(3) is not and cannot be an extension 
of the initial designations process because an area must first be 
designated under a separate legal process pursuant to section 107(d)(1) 
before it can be redesignated. Extensions of the designations process 
are governed by section 107(d)(1)(B) which allows for a one-year 
extension in the event that the EPA Administrator has insufficient 
information to promulgate the designations. EPA can designate an area 
as ``unclassifiable'' regardless of whether it extends the designations 
period. EPA designated the Duval Area as ``unclassifiable'' pursuant to 
section 107(d)(1) on June 4, 2018, due to incomplete air quality 
monitoring data from 2014-2016. Complete, quality-assured, and 
certified data now exist for the 2016-2018 time period, and these data 
show that the Area is attaining the standard. The State submitted a 
redesignation request under section 107(d)(3)(A) based on these data, 
and EPA is approving that request because it meets the CAA requirements 
for a redesignation from unclassifiable to attainment/unclassifiable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The redesignation criteria listed in section 107(d)(3)(E) 
are preceded by the phrase ``[t]he Administrator may not promulgate 
a redesignation of a nonattainment area (or portion thereof) to 
attainment unless. . .'' (emphasis added).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Florida's redesignation request and redesignating 
the Duval County Area from unclassifiable to attainment/unclassifiable 
for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment/
unclassifiable is an action that affects the status of a geographical 
area and does not impose any additional regulatory requirements on 
sources beyond those imposed by state law. A redesignation to 
attainment/unclassifiable does not in and of itself create any new 
requirements. Accordingly, this action merely redesignates an area to 
attainment/unclassifiable and does not impose additional requirements. 
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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because it is not a significant regulatory 
action 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 CAA; and
     Will not have disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 
16, 1994).
    This final redesignation action is not approved to apply to any 
Indian reservation land or in any other area where 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 as specified 
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 
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 January 21, 2020. 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 81

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

    Dated: November 13, 2019.
Mary S. Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.


    40 CFR part 81 is amended as follows:

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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


0
2. In Sec.  81.310, the table entitled ``Florida--2015 8-Hour Ozone 
NAAQS (Primary and Secondary)'' is amended by revising the entry for 
``Jacksonville, FL'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.310  Florida.

* * * * *

[[Page 64209]]



                                        Florida--2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
                                             [Primary and secondary]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Designation                           Classification
        Designated area 1        -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Date 2               Type                Date                Type
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacksonville, FL................  December 23, 2019.  Attainment/         ..................  ..................
                                                       Unclassifiable.
    Duval County................
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the
  boundaries of any area of Indian country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the
  larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation area is not a determination
  that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is August 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted.

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2019-25284 Filed 11-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P