[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 7, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19408-19412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07005]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0151; FRL-10007-67-Region 9]


Finding of Failure To Attain the 1987 24-Hour PM10 Standard; 
Reclassification as Serious Nonattainment; Pinal County, Arizona

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
determine that the West Pinal County, Arizona nonattainment area did 
not attain the 1987 24-hour national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS or ``standard'') for particulate matter with a diameter of ten 
micrometers or smaller (PM10) by December 31, 2018, the 
statutory attainment date for the nonattainment area. This proposal is 
based on the EPA's calculation of the PM10 design value for 
the nonattainment area over the 2016-2018 period, using complete, 
quality-assured, and certified PM10 monitoring data. If the 
EPA makes a final determination that West Pinal County has failed to 
attain the PM10 NAAQS by its attainment date, then Clean Air 
Act (CAA) section 188(b)(2) requires that the nonattainment area be 
reclassified to Serious by operation of law. Within 18 months from the 
effective date of a reclassification to Serious, the State must submit 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions that comply with the 
statutory and regulatory requirements for Serious PM10 
nonattainment areas.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 7, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2020-0151 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: Jerry Wamsley, EPA Region IX, (415) 
947-4111, [email protected].

[[Page 19409]]


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

Table of Contents

I. Background and Regulatory Context
II. Criteria for Determining That an Area Has Attained the 1987 24-
Hour PM10 NAAQS
III. The EPA's Proposed Action and Associated Rationale
    A. Data Completeness, Network Review, and Certification of Data
    B. Finding of Failure to Attain the PM10 NAAQS
IV. Summary of Our Proposed Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Regulatory Context

    The EPA sets the NAAQS for certain ambient air pollutants at levels 
required to protect public health and welfare. Particulate matter with 
an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal ten micrometers 
(microns), or PM10, is one of the ambient air pollutants for 
which the EPA has established health-based standards, and we have 
promulgated and revised the PM10 NAAQS several times.
    The EPA revised the NAAQS for particulate matter on July 1, 1987, 
replacing standards for total suspended particulates (TSP, particulate 
less than 30 microns in diameter) with new standards applying only to 
particulate matter up to 10 microns in diameter.\1\ In 1987, the EPA 
established two PM10 NAAQS, an annual standard and a 24-hour 
standard. An area attains the 24-hour PM10 standard of 150 
micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) when the expected number of 
days per calendar year with a 24-hour concentration exceeding the 
standard (referred to as an ``exceedance'') over a three-year period, 
is equal to or less than one.\2\ The annual PM10 standard 
was revoked on October 17, 2006.\3\
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    \1\ 52 FR 24634 (July 1, 1987).
    \2\ An exceedance is defined as a daily value that is above the 
level of the 24-hour standard, 150 [mu]g/m\3\, after rounding to the 
nearest 10 [mu]g/m\3\ (i.e., values ending in five or greater are to 
be rounded up). Consequently, a recorded value of 154 [mu]g/m\3\ 
would not be an exceedance because it would be rounded to 150 [mu]g/
m\3\; whereas, a recorded value of 155 [mu]g/m\3\ would be an 
exceedance because it would be rounded to 160 [mu]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR 
part 50.6 and 40 CFR 50 Appendix K, section 1.0.
    \3\ 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006).
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    On May 31, 2012, the EPA designated a portion of state lands in 
Pinal County, Arizona (``West Pinal County'') as nonattainment for the 
1987 p.m.10 NAAQS based on 2006-2008 data.\4\ As a result of 
the nonattainment designation, West Pinal County was classified as a 
``Moderate'' PM10 nonattainment area.
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    \4\ 77 FR 32024 (May 31, 2012). The boundaries for the West 
Pinal County nonattainment area are described in 40 CFR 81.303.
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    For a PM10 nonattainment area classified as Moderate 
under the CAA, section 188(c) of the CAA states that the Moderate area 
attainment date is ``as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 
the end of the sixth calendar year after the area's designation as 
nonattainment.'' Consequently, the applicable attainment date for West 
Pinal County, designated nonattainment in 2012, was December 31, 2018. 
CAA section 188(b)(2) requires the EPA to determine whether any 
PM10 nonattainment area classified as Moderate attained the 
24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the area's attainment date and 
requires the EPA to make such a determination within six months after 
that date. If the EPA determines that a Moderate area has not attained 
the NAAQS by the relevant attainment date, then the area shall be 
reclassified as a Serious area by operation of law. As discussed 
previously, the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS is met when the 
expected number of exceedances averaged over a three-year period is 
equal to or less than one at each monitoring site within the 
nonattainment area.

II. Criteria for Determining That an Area Has Attained the 1987 24-Hour 
PM10 NAAQS

    Generally, the EPA's determination of whether an area's air quality 
meets the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS is based on three years of 
complete, quality-assured data that has been gathered at established 
state and local air monitoring stations (SLAMS) in a nonattainment area 
and entered into the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database.\5\ Data 
from ambient air monitors operated by state or local agencies in 
compliance with the EPA monitoring requirements must be submitted to 
AQS. Monitoring agencies certify annually that these data are accurate 
to the best of their knowledge. Accordingly, the EPA relies primarily 
on data in AQS when determining the attainment status of nonattainment 
areas.
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    \5\ AQS is the EPA's national repository of ambient air quality 
data.
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    Ambient air quality data must generally meet data completeness 
requirements for each year under consideration. The completeness 
requirements are met when at least 75 percent of the scheduled sampling 
days for each quarter have valid data.\6\ The data requirements for 
showing that a monitor has failed an attainment test, and thus recorded 
a violation of the PM10 standard, are less stringent and the 
75 percent data capture requirement does not apply provided there is 
sufficient data to unambiguously establish nonattainment of the 
standard.\7\
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    \6\ 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 2.3.
    \7\ 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 2.3(a).
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III. The EPA's Proposed Action and Associated Rationale

    This proposed action is pursuant to the EPA's statutory obligation, 
under CAA section 188(b)(2), to determine whether the West Pinal County 
nonattainment area has attained the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS 
by its December 31, 2018 attainment date. As discussed in Section II, a 
nonattainment area's ambient data must meet several criteria if the EPA 
is to determine that the nonattainment area has met the 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS. These criteria include complete, quality-assured 
and certified data collected from a valid ambient air quality 
monitoring network and a design value calculated from the ambient data 
to be less than the applicable NAAQS.

A. Data Completeness, Network Review, and Certification of Data

    In accordance with 40 CFR part 50, Appendices J and K, a finding of 
attainment of the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS must generally be 
based upon complete, quality-assured data gathered at monitoring sites 
in the nonattainment area and entered in the AQS. For the 24-hour 
PM10 standard, Appendix K provides that all data produced by 
SLAMS and other sites submitted to the EPA in accordance with the part 
58 requirements be used for evaluating attainment.\8\
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    \8\ 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 2.3(a).
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    The PM10 ambient air quality monitoring data collected 
within the West Pinal County nonattainment area for the 2016-2018 
three-year period must meet data completeness criteria, or otherwise 
unambiguously establish nonattainment according to 40 CFR part 50, 
Appendix K, section 2.3. The ambient air quality monitoring data 
completeness requirements are met when quarterly data capture rates for 
all four quarters in a calendar year over a three-year period are at 
least 75 percent. For the purposes of this proposal, we reviewed the 
data for the 2016-2018 period for completeness and determined that the 
PM10 data met the completeness criterion for all 12 quarters 
at PM10 monitoring sites in the West Pinal County 
nonattainment area.\9\
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    \9\ AQS Design Value Report, dated March 5, 2020, included 
within our docket. Also, refer to Table 1 below and its endnotes for 
additional information concerning the Eloy and Maricopa monitoring 
sites.

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[[Page 19410]]

    The EPA's determination as to whether an area has attained the 
PM10 NAAQS pursuant to CAA section 188(b)(2) is based on 
monitored ambient air quality data. The validity of this determination 
of attainment depends in part on whether the monitoring network 
adequately measures ambient PM10 levels in the nonattainment 
area. The Pinal County Air Quality Control District (``Pinal County'') 
is the governmental agency with the authority and responsibilities 
under the State's laws for collecting ambient air quality data for the 
West Pinal County nonattainment area. Pinal County submits annual 
monitoring network plans to the EPA. These plans discuss the status of 
the ambient air monitoring network, as required under 40 CFR part 58. 
The EPA reviews these annual network plans for compliance with the 
applicable reporting requirements in 40 CFR 58.10. With respect to 
PM10, the EPA has found that the annual network plans 
submitted by Pinal County meet the applicable requirements under 40 CFR 
part 58.\10\ Furthermore, we concluded from our 2019 Technical Systems 
Audit of Pinal County's ambient air quality monitoring program that the 
ambient air monitoring network currently meets or exceeds the 
requirements for the minimum number of monitoring sites designated as 
SLAMS for PM10 in the West Pinal County nonattainment 
area.\11\ Pinal County certifies annually that the data it submits to 
AQS are quality-assured and has done so for each year relevant to our 
determination of attainment, 2016-2018.\12\
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    \10\ We have included in our docket the correspondence 
transmitting our annual network reviews, e.g., correspondence dated 
October 30, 2018, from Gwen Yoshimura, Manager, Air Quality Analysis 
Office, EPA Region IX, to Michael Sundblom, Director, Pinal County 
Air Quality Control District.
    \11\ We have included in our docket the correspondence 
concerning the most recent audit; see correspondence dated September 
24, 2019, from Elizabeth J. Adams, Director, Air and Radiation 
Division, EPA Region IX, to Michael Sundblom, Director, Pinal County 
Air Quality Control District.
    \12\ We have included in our docket Pinal County's annual data 
certifications for 2016, 2017 and 2018, e.g., correspondence dated 
April 25, 2019, from Josh DeZeeuw, Air Quality Manager, Pinal County 
Air Quality Control District, to Gwen Yoshimura, Manager, Air 
Quality Analysis Office, EPA Region IX. Annual data certification 
requirements can be found at 40 CFR 58.15.
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B. Finding of Failure To Attain the PM10 NAAQS

    As discussed previously, the EPA's evaluation of whether the West 
Pinal County nonattainment area has met the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS is based on our review of the monitoring data, 
the adequacy of the PM10 monitoring network in the 
nonattainment area, and the reliability of the data collected by the 
network. The PM10 standard is attained when the expected 
number of exceedances, averaged over a three-year period, is less than 
or equal to one. The expected number of exceedances averaged over a 
three-year period at any given monitor is known as the PM10 
design value for that site. The PM10 design value for the 
nonattainment area is the highest design value from a monitor within 
that area. Three consecutive years of air quality data are required to 
show attainment of the PM10 standard.
    Table 1 provides the 2018 PM10 design values for all 
regulatory monitoring sites measuring PM10 within the West 
Pinal County nonattainment area, expressed as a single value 
representing the average expected exceedances over the three-year 
period, 2016-2018.\13\ The PM10 data show that the design 
values at multiple monitoring sites are greater than 1.0 estimated 
annual average exceedances of the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS. 
Consequently, the EPA proposes to determine, based upon three years of 
complete, quality-assured and certified data from 2016-2018, that the 
West Pinal County nonattainment area did not attain the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of December 31, 
2018.
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    \13\ A design value is calculated using a specific methodology 
from monitored air quality data and is used to compare an area's air 
quality to a NAAQS. The methodologies for calculating expected 
exceedances for the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS are found in 40 
CFR part 50, Appendix K, Section 2.1(a).

  Table 1--2018 Design Values for the 1987 24-Hour PM10 NAAQS at Air Quality Monitoring Sites in the West Pinal
                               County Nonattainment Area, Based on 2016-2018 Data
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                     Monitoring site                            AQS identification number         Design value
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Casa Grande Downtown.....................................                       04-021-0001-3                4.1
Coolidge \a\.............................................                       04-021-3004-1                2.0
Stanfield................................................                       04-021-3008-3               14.3
Combs....................................................                       04-021-3009-3                2.0
Pinal County Housing.....................................                       04-021-3011-3                7.4
Eloy \b\.................................................         04-021-3014-3/04-021-3014-1                6.0
Hidden Valley............................................                       04-021-3015-3               32.8
Maricopa 1405/Maricopa \c\...............................         04-021-3016-3/04-021-3010-3                3.4
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Source: EPA AQS Design Value Report, dated March 5, 2020. Table 1 includes only data from monitoring sites in
  the nonattainment area. Additional information can be found in the EPA AQS Violation Day Count Report, dated
  March 18, 2020, and included in our docket.
\a\ The AQS Design Value Report contains design values for two monitors at the Coolidge monitoring site. The
  second monitor (04-021-3004-2) is a collocated quality assurance monitor and is not used for comparison to the
  NAAQS.
\b\ The EPA manually calculated the design value for the Eloy monitoring site by combining data from a manual
  monitor (04-021-3014-1) with data from a continuous monitor (04-021-3014-3) that replaced the manual monitor
  in early 2016. The monitors are reflected separately in the AQS Design Value Report. We have provided this
  combined design value in the EPA 2018 PM10 Design Value Report, available from the EPA Air Trends website at
  https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values and in our docket via an Excel spreadsheet.
\c\ Pinal County relocated the Maricopa site (04-021-3010) to the Maricopa 1405 site (04-021-2016) in January
  2017. The EPA approved this relocation; consequently, the data from both sites are combined to form one
  continuous record for calculating a design value. See correspondence from Gwen Yoshimura, Acting Manager, Air
  Quality Analysis Office, EPA Region IX, to Michael Sundblom, Director, Pinal County Air Quality Control
  District, dated December 15, 2016. The monitors are reflected separately, however, in the AQS Design Value
  Report. We have provided this combined design value in the EPA 2018 PM10 Design Value Report, available from
  the EPA Air Trends website at https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values and in our docket via
  an Excel spreadsheet.

    If the EPA determines that a Moderate nonattainment area has failed 
to attain the PM10 NAAQS by its applicable attainment date, 
then CAA section 188(b)(2) provides that the area shall be reclassified 
as a Serious area by

[[Page 19411]]

operation of law. Accordingly, if the EPA takes final action on our 
proposed determination that the West Pinal County Moderate area failed 
to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by December 31, 2018, 
the area will be reclassified to Serious. The EPA is taking comment on 
this proposed finding of failure to attain and reclassification of the 
West Pinal County PM10 nonattainment area from Moderate to 
Serious.

IV. Summary of Our Proposed Action

    In accordance with section 188(b)(2) of the CAA, the EPA is 
proposing to determine that the West Pinal County Moderate 
nonattainment area did not attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 
NAAQS by its applicable attainment date of December 31, 2018. Our 
proposed determination that West Pinal County failed to attain the 
PM10 NAAQS is based on complete, quality-assured, and 
certified PM10 monitoring data for the appropriate three-
year period, 2016-2018. We are soliciting comment on this proposed 
finding that the West Pinal County Moderate nonattainment area failed 
to attain the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS.
    If we finalize our action as proposed, West Pinal County will be 
reclassified as a Serious PM10 nonattainment area by 
operation of law and will be subject to all applicable Serious area 
attainment planning and nonattainment New Source Review requirements. 
This includes the requirement to submit a Serious area air quality plan 
within 18 months of the effective date of our final rule, per section 
189(b)(2) of the CAA. This Serious area air quality plan must 
demonstrate attainment of the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by December 
31, 2022, ten years after the area's designation to nonattainment, per 
section 188(c)(2) of the CAA.
    We will accept comments from the public on these proposals for the 
next 30 days. The deadline and instructions for submission of comments 
are provided in the DATES and ADDRESSES sections at the beginning of 
this preamble.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review, and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This action is not a significant regulatory action under the terms 
of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and Executive 
Order 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), and therefore was not 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

B. Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulations and Controlling 
Regulatory Costs

    This action is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action 
because it is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 
12866.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) 
because it does not contain any information collection activities.

D. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    I certify that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612. This action will not impose 
any requirements on small entities. This proposed action, if finalized, 
would require the state to adopt and submit SIP revisions to satisfy 
the statutory requirements that apply to Serious areas and would not 
itself directly regulate any small entities. We continue to be 
interested in the potential impacts of the proposed rule on small 
entities and welcome comments on issues related to such impacts.

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This action does not contain any unfunded mandate of $100 million 
or more and does not significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) (2 
U.S.C. 1531- 1538). This action itself imposes no enforceable duty on 
any state, local, or tribal governments, or the private sector. This 
action proposes to determine that the West Pinal County nonattainment 
area failed to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by its 
applicable attainment date, which would trigger reclassification as a 
Serious nonattainment area and existing statutory timeframes for the 
state to submit SIP revisions. Such a reclassification in and of itself 
does not impose any federal intergovernmental mandate.

F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will 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). The 
requirement to submit SIP revisions to meet the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS is imposed by the CAA. This proposed rule does 
not alter the distribution of power and responsibilities established in 
the CAA. Thus, Executive Order 13132 does not apply to this action. In 
the spirit of Executive Order 13132 and consistent with EPA policy to 
promote communications between the EPA and state and local governments, 
the EPA specifically solicits comments on this proposed action from 
state and local officials.

G. Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13175. No areas of Indian country are located within 
the West Pinal County PM10 nonattainment area. Therefore, no 
tribal areas are implicated in the area that the EPA is proposing to 
find failed to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the 
applicable attainment date. The CAA and the Tribal Authority Rule 
establish the relationship of the federal government and tribes in 
developing plans to attain the NAAQS, and this rule does nothing to 
modify that relationship. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to 
this action.

H. Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks

    The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 
1997) as applying only to those regulatory actions that concern 
environmental health or safety risks that the EPA has reason to believe 
may disproportionately affect children, per the definition of ``covered 
regulatory action'' in section 2-202 of the Executive Order. This 
proposed action is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because the 
effect of this proposed action, if finalized, would be to reclassify 
the West Pinal County nonattainment area as Serious nonattainment for 
the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS, which would trigger additional 
Serious area planning requirements under the CAA. This proposed action 
does not establish an environmental standard intended to mitigate 
health or safety risks.

[[Page 19412]]

I. Executive Order 13211, Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This proposed rule is not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001) because it 
is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

J. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    This action is not subject to the requirements of Section 12(d) of 
the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 
272 note) because it does not involve technical standards.

K. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Population

    Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, Feb. 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 has determined that this 
action will not have disproportionately high and adverse human health 
or environmental effects on minority or low-income populations because 
it does not affect the level of protection provided to human health or 
the environment. The effect of this proposed action, if finalized, 
would be to reclassify the West Pinal County nonattainment area as 
Serious nonattainment for the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS, which 
would trigger additional Serious area planning requirements under the 
CAA.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Particulate 
matter, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: March 30, 2020.
John Busterud,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2020-07005 Filed 4-6-20; 8:45 am]
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