[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 33 (Monday, February 22, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10522-10524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02906]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0238; FRL-10015-85-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution 
Control District; Stationary Source Permits

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 San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control 
District (SJVAPCD or ``the District'') portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns the District's New 
Source Review (NSR) permitting program for new and modified sources of 
air pollution under section 110(a)(2)(C) of the Clean Air Act (CAA); 
specifically our proposal to approve Rule 2021: Experimental Research 
Operations. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow 
with a final action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 24, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2020-0238 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, 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, or if you need assistance 
in a language other than English or if you are a person with a 
disability who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, 
please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section. For the full EPA public comment policy, information 
about CBI or multimedia

[[Page 10523]]

submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please 
visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Yannayon, EPA Region IX, Air-3-
1, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 972-3534, 
[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 rule did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of this rule?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
II. The EPA's Evaluation
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
III. Proposed Action and Public Comment
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rule did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal with the dates 
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted to the EPA by 
the California Air Resources Board (CARB or ``the State'').

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Local agency                  Rule No.                Rule title           Adopted on     Submitted on
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SJVAPCD.......................  2021..................  Experimental Research           12/17/92        11/18/93
                                                         Operations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On May 18, 1994, the submittal of SJVAPCD Rule 2021 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 rule?

    There is no previous version of Rule 2021 in the SIP. SJVAPCD 
submitted Rule 2021 on November 18, 1993 as part of the District's 
revised NSR program. The District has not submitted any revised 
versions since the most recent submittal. On October 3, 2017, the 
District provided additional information in support of Rule 2021. The 
rule provides limited exemptions to the SJVAPCD's current program for 
preconstruction review and permitting of new or modified stationary 
sources under its jurisdiction.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    Rule 2021 exempts experimental research operations from Authority 
to Construct and Permit to Operate requirements as long as the facility 
meets all other rule requirements. Otherwise the source would be 
required to comply with Rule 2010--Permits Required. The District 
defines Experimental Research Operations as ``any air pollution control 
device or technology or any industrial process or technology with 
reduced emissions which is: Innovative, not in common use for a 
particular process, not readily available from a commercial supplier, 
or funded as original research by a public agency.'' The District 
determined that emissions from Experimental Research Operations 
exempted from permitting requirements pursuant to Rule 2021 will not 
adversely affect progress toward attainment or maintenance of any 
NAAQS.

II. The EPA's Evaluation

A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?

    The EPA reviewed Rule 2021 for compliance with the applicable 
requirements of section 110(a)(2)(C) and associated regulations at 40 
CFR 51.160-164. We also reviewed the rule for consistency with other 
CAA general requirements for SIP submittals, including requirements at 
section 110(a)(2)(A) regarding rule enforceability, and requirements at 
sections 110(l) and 193 for SIP revisions.
    Section 110(a)(2)(C) of the Act requires each SIP to include a 
program to regulate the modification and construction of any stationary 
source within the areas covered by the SIP as necessary to assure 
attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. The EPA's regulations at 40 
CFR 51.160-51.164 provide specific programmatic requirements to 
implement this statutory mandate.
    Section 110(a)(2)(A) of the Act requires that regulations submitted 
to the EPA for SIP approval must be clear and legally enforceable. 
Section 110(l) of the Act prohibits the EPA from approving any SIP 
revisions that would interfere with any applicable requirement 
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (RFP) or any 
other applicable requirement of the CAA. Section 193 of the Act 
prohibits the modification of a SIP-approved control requirement in 
effect before November 15, 1990 in a nonattainment area, unless the 
modification ensures equivalent or greater emission reductions of the 
relevant pollutant(s). With respect to procedures, CAA sections 110(a) 
and 110(l) require that a state conduct reasonable notice and hearing 
before adopting a SIP revision.

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?

    With respect to procedural requirements, CAA sections 110(a)(2) and 
110(l) require that revisions to a SIP be adopted by the state after 
reasonable notice and public hearing. Based on our review of the public 
process documentation included in the November 18, 1993 submittal of 
Rule 2021, we find that the SJVAPCD has provided sufficient evidence of 
public notice, opportunity for comment and a public hearing prior to 
adoption and submittal of these rules to the EPA.
    With respect to the substantive requirements found in CAA sections 
110(a)(2)(A) and (C), 110(l), 193, and 40 CFR 51.160-51.164, we 
evaluated Rule 2021 in accordance with the applicable CAA and 
regulatory requirements that apply to new source review permit 
programs. The permit exemption provided for experimental research 
operations is extremely narrow in scope, such that the emissions not 
subject to permit requirements are not expected to interfere with 
attainment or RFP. Therefore we find that Rule 2021 satisfies these 
requirements.
    Our Technical Support Document, which can be found in the docket 
for this rulemaking, contains a more detailed discussion of our 
analysis.

III. Proposed Action and Public Comment

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is proposing 
to approve the submitted rule because it fulfills all relevant CAA 
requirements. We have concluded that our approval of the submitted rule 
would comply with the relevant provisions of CAA sections 110(a)(2), 
110(l), and 193, and 40 CFR 51.160-51.164.
    If we finalize this action as proposed, our action will be codified 
through

[[Page 10524]]

revisions to 40 CFR 52.220a (Identification of plan-in part).
    We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until 
March 24, 2021.

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 rule listed in Table 1 of this preamble. The EPA has 
made, and will continue to make, this document available through 
https://www.regulations.gov and in hard copy 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);
     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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, and Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: February 5, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2021-02906 Filed 2-19-21; 8:45 am]
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