[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37756-37760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12827]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0151; FRL-10010-56-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: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action 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 action 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. With this final determination that West Pinal County 
has failed to attain the PM10 NAAQS by its attainment date, 
the 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 this 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: This rule will be effective on July 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0151. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, 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 https://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Wamsley, EPA Region IX, (415) 
947-4111, [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Summary of the Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Summary of the Proposed Action

    On April 7, 2020, the EPA proposed to determine that the West Pinal 
County nonattainment area failed to attain the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS by December 31, 2018, the statutory attainment 
date for the area.\1\ For a PM10 nonattainment area 
classified as Moderate under the CAA, such as the West Pinal County 
area, section 188(c) of the CAA states that the area's 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.
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    \1\ 85 FR 19408 (April 7, 2020).
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    Our proposed determination that the West Pinal County area failed 
to attain the PM10 NAAQS was based on complete, quality-
assured, and certified PM10 monitoring data for the 
appropriate three-year period, 2016-2018. As discussed in our proposal, 
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'', averaged over a three-year period is 
equal to or less than one.
    In our proposal, the EPA's evaluation of whether the West Pinal 
County nonattainment area has met the 1987 24-hour PM10 
NAAQS was 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 that 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.
    We reviewed 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.\2\ The PM10 data showed 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 proposed 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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    \2\ 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).
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    In our proposal to determine that the West Pinal County area did 
not attain the NAAQS by the relevant attainment date, the EPA noted 
that the consequence of our determination is that the West Pinal County 
area 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.

[[Page 37757]]

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The public comment period on the proposed rule opened on April 7, 
2020, the date of its publication in the Federal Register, and closed 
on May 7, 2020. During this period, the EPA received one comment letter 
submitted by the Sierra Club and The Arizona Center for Law in the 
Public Interest (ACLIPI). The Sierra Club and ACLIPI comment letter 
expressed support for our proposal and suggested that the EPA take our 
final action without delay. A copy of this comment letter is included 
in the docket for this final action.

III. Final Action

    In accordance with section 188(b)(2) of the CAA, the EPA is taking 
final action 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 
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.
    As a result of our determination of failure to attain the 1987 24-
hour PM10 NAAQS by its applicable attainment date, West 
Pinal County is reclassified as a Serious PM10 nonattainment 
area by operation of law and is subject to all applicable Serious area 
attainment planning and nonattainment New Source Review requirements, 
in accordance with section 188(b)(2) of the CAA. 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.

IV. 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 action requires 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 determines that the West Pinal County nonattainment area failed 
to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by its applicable 
attainment date, triggering 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 final 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 solicited comments on our prior 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 has determined to 
have 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 
action is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because the effect of 
this action is to reclassify the West Pinal County nonattainment area 
as Serious nonattainment for the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS 
triggering additional Serious area planning requirements under the CAA. 
This action does not establish an environmental standard intended to 
mitigate health or safety risks.

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

    This final 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

[[Page 37758]]

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 final action is to reclassify the 
West Pinal County nonattainment area as Serious nonattainment for the 
1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS triggering additional Serious area 
planning requirements under the CAA.

L. Congressional Review Act (CRA)

    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).

M. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 August 24, 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, does not 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, Intergovernmental 
relations, National parks, Particulate matter, Wilderness areas.

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

    Dated: June 8, 2020.
John Busterud,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
    Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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.  81.303 amend in the table ``Arizona-PM-10'' by revising the 
entry under Pinal County (part) for ``West Pinal'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.303  Arizona.

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                                                 Arizona--PM-10
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                                                      Designation                       Classification
             Designated area             -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Date              Type              Date              Type
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Pinal County (part):
    West Pinal..........................          7/2/12  Nonattainment.....         7/24/20  Serious.
        1. Commencing at a point which
         is the intersection of the
         western line of Range 2 East,
         Gila and Salt River Baseline
         and Meridian, and the northern
         line of Township 4 South, which
         is the point of beginning:
        2. Thence, proceed easterly
         along the northern line of
         Township 4 South to a point
         where the northern line of
         Township 4 South intersects the
         western line of Range 7 East;
        3. Thence, northerly along the
         western line of Range 7 East to
         a point where the western line
         of Range 7 East intersects the
         northern line of Township 3
         South;
        4. Thence, easterly along the
         northern line of Township 3
         South to a point where the
         northern line of Township 3
         South intersects the western
         line of Range 8 East;
        5. Thence, northerly along the
         western line of Range 8 East to
         a point where the western line
         of Range 8 East intersects the
         northern line of Township 1
         South;
        6. Thence, easterly along the
         northern line of Township 1
         South to a point where the
         northern line of Township 1
         South intersects the eastern
         line of Range 8 East;
        7. Thence southerly along the
         eastern line of Range 8 East to
         a point where the eastern line
         of Range 8 East intersects the
         Northern line of Township 3
         South;

[[Page 37759]]

 
        8. Thence easterly along the
         northern line of Township 3
         South to a point where the
         northern line of Township 3
         South intersects the eastern
         line of Range 9 East;
        9. Thence southerly along the
         eastern line of Range 9 east to
         a point where the eastern line
         of Range 9 East intersects the
         northern line of Township 4
         South;
        10. Thence easterly along the
         northern line of Township 4
         South to a point where the
         northern line of Township 4
         South intersects the eastern
         line of Range 10 East;
        11. Thence southerly along the
         eastern line of Range 10 East
         to a point where the eastern
         line of Range 10 East
         intersects the southern line of
         Township 5 South;
        12. Thence westerly along the
         southern line of Township 5
         South to a point where the
         southern line of Township 5
         South intersects the eastern
         line of Range 8 East;
        13. Thence southerly along the
         eastern line of Range 8 East to
         a point where the eastern line
         of Range 8 East intersects the
         northern line of Township 8
         South;
        14. Thence easterly along the
         northern line of Township 8
         South to a point where the
         northern line of Township 8
         South intersects the eastern
         line of Range 9 East;
        15. Thence southerly along the
         eastern line of Range 9 east to
         a point where the eastern line
         of Range 9 East intersects the
         northern line of Township 9
         South;
        16. Thence easterly along the
         northern line of Township 9
         South to a point where the
         northern line of Township 9
         South intersects the eastern
         line of Range 10 East;
        17. Thence southerly along the
         eastern line of Range 10 East
         to a point where the eastern
         line of Range 10 East
         intersects the southern line of
         Township 9 South;
        18. Thence westerly along the
         southern line of Township 9
         South to a point where the
         southern line of Township 9
         South intersects the western
         line of Range 7 East;
        19. Thence northerly along the
         western line of Range 7 East to
         a point where the western line
         of Range 7 East intersects the
         southern line of Township 8
         South;
        20. Thence westerly along the
         southern line of Township 8
         South to a point where the
         southern line of Township 8
         South intersects the western
         line of Range 6 East;
        21. Thence northerly along the
         western line of Range 6 East to
         a point where the western line
         of Range 6 East intersects the
         southern line of Township 7
         South;
        22. Thence, westerly along the
         southern line of Township 7
         South to a point where the
         southern line of Township 7
         South intersects the quarter
         section line common to the
         southwestern southwest quarter
         section and the southeastern
         southwest quarter section of
         section 34, Range 3 East and
         Township 7 South;
        23. Thence, northerly along the
         along the quarter section line
         common to the southwestern
         southwest quarter section and
         the southeastern southwest
         quarter section of sections 34,
         27, 22, and 15, Range 3 East
         and Township 7 South, to a
         point where the quarter section
         line common to the southwestern
         southwest quarter section and
         the southeastern southwest
         quarter section of sections 34,
         27, 22, and 15, Range 3 East
         and Township 7 South,
         intersects the northern line of
         section 15, Range 3 East and
         Township 7 South;
        24. Thence, westerly along the
         northern line of sections 15,
         16, 17, and 18, Range 3 East
         and Township 7 South, and the
         northern line of sections 13,
         14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, Range 2
         East and Township 7 South, to a
         point where the northern line
         of sections 15, 16, 17, and 18,
         Range 3 East and Township 7
         South, and the northern line of
         sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
         and 18, Range 2 East and
         Township 7 South, intersect the
         western line of Range 2 East,
         which is the common boundary
         between Maricopa and Pinal
         Counties, as described in
         Arizona Revised Statutes
         sections 11-109 and 11-113;
        25. Thence, northerly along the
         western line of Range 2 East to
         the point of beginning which is
         the point where the western
         line of Range 2 East intersects
         the northern line of Township 4
         South;

[[Page 37760]]

 
        26. Except that portion of the
         area defined by paragraphs 1
         through 25 above that lies
         within the Ak-Chin Indian
         Reservation, Gila River Indian
         Reservation, and the Tohono
         O'odham Nation's Florence
         Village and San Lucy Farms.
 
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[FR Doc. 2020-12827 Filed 6-23-20; 8:45 am]
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