[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 96 (Thursday, May 20, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27346-27349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10512]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0296; FRL-10023-64-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin

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 South Coast Air Quality Management District 
(SCAQMD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation 
Plan (SIP). We are also proposing to determine that the submitted SIP 
revision fulfills the District's and the State's commitment to adopt 
and submit a specific enforceable contingency measure to address Clean 
Air Act (CAA) requirements for the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and 
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. We are taking comments on this 
proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 21, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2021-0296 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

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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. If you need assistance in a language other than 
English or if you are a person with disabilities who needs a reasonable 
accommodation at no cost to you, please contact the person identified 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ginger Vagenas, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3964 or by 
email at [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 revisions?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. 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 date 
that it was amended by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB, or ``State''). Subsequent to the 
submittal of SCAQMD Rule 445, the District and CARB excluded 
subdivision (k), ``Penalties,'' from the SIP submission.\1\
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    \1\ Letter dated April 9, 2021, from Sarah Rees, Ph.D., Deputy 
Executive Officer, SCAQMD, to Richard Corey, Executive Officer, CARB 
and Elizabeth Adams, Air and Radiation Division Director, EPA Region 
IX, Subject: ``Request to Exclude Subdivision Rule 445(k) 
[Penalties] From the SIP Revision,'' and letter dated April 26, 
2021, from Michael T. Benjamin, Division Chief, Air Quality Planning 
and Science Division, CARB, to Elizabeth Adams, Air and Radiation 
Division Director, EPA Region IX.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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        Local agency            Rule No.            Rule              Amended                 Submitted
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SCAQMD.....................             445  Wood-Burning        October 27, 2020.  October 29, 2020.
                                              Devices, (except
                                              paragraph (k),
                                              penalties).
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    On April 29, 2021, the submittal for SCAQMD Rule 445 became 
complete by operation of law under CAA section 110(k)(1)(B).

B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    We approved an earlier version of Rule 445 into the SIP on 
September 26, 2013.\2\ On June 5, 2020, the SCAQMD adopted revisions to 
the SIP-approved version of Rule 445 to add provisions addressing the 
contingency measure requirement in CAA section 172(c)(9) for 
PM2.5. CARB submitted Rule 445, as amended June 5, 2020, to 
the EPA on October 21, 2020.\3\ The District subsequently adopted 
additional revisions to Rule 445 and CARB submitted the rule, as 
amended October 27, 2020, to the EPA on October 29, 2020.\4\ The 
October 27, 2020 version of Rule 445 contains additional ozone-related 
provisions in paragraph (g) and supersedes Rule 445, as amended June 5, 
2020. We are proposing to approve Rule 445, as amended October 27, 
2020, except for the ozone-related provision in paragraph (g), which we 
are not acting on at this time, and the penalty provision in paragraph 
(k) of the rule, which the District and CARB have excluded from the SIP 
submission. If we take final action to approve all other portions of 
Rule 445, as amended October 27, 2020, these portions of the rule will 
replace the previously approved version of Rule 445 in the SIP.
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    \2\ 78 FR 59249.
    \3\ Rule 445, as amended June 5, 2020, is included in the docket 
for this rulemaking.
    \4\ Rule 445, as amended October 27, 2020, is included in the 
docket for this rulemaking.
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C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?

    On November 9, 2020, the EPA approved portions of California's SIP 
submission to address the CAA's Moderate area requirements for the 2012 
PM2.5 NAAQS in the South Coast nonattainment area (``2016 
PM2.5 Plan'') and, as part of this action, conditionally 
approved the contingency measure element of the 2016 PM2.5 
Plan as meeting the requirements of CAA section 172(c)(9) and 40 CFR 
51.1014 for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS and the 2012 
PM2.5 NAAQS.\5\ Our conditional approval was based on 
commitments from SCAQMD and CARB to develop, adopt, and submit specific 
revisions to Rule 445 to meet the attainment contingency measure 
requirement for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS and the reasonable 
further progress (RFP) contingency measure requirement for the 2012 
PM2.5 NAAQS in the South Coast by the earliest of certain 
specified dates. The District adopted the identified revisions to Rule 
445 on June 5, 2020, and retained them unchanged in the October 27, 
2020 version of the rule. CARB's submission of Rule 445, as amended 
October 27, 2020, for incorporation into the SIP fulfills the State's 
and District's commitments that had provided the basis for the EPA's 
conditional approval of the contingency measure element of the 2016 
PM2.5 Plan, thus enabling the EPA to convert the conditional 
approval into a full approval. Our proposed rulemaking on the 2016 
PM2.5 Plan contains a detailed discussion of our rationale 
for conditionally approving the contingency measure element of this 
plan.\6\
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    \5\ 85 FR 71264.
    \6\ 85 FR 40026 (July 2, 2020).
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    The District's October 27, 2020 revisions to Rule 445 include a new 
contingency measure provision in paragraph (g) to be implemented upon a 
failure to meet an RFP requirement for an applicable ozone NAAQS or a 
failure to attain an applicable ozone NAAQS. We are not acting on 
paragraph (g) of Rule 445 at this time and will evaluate this provision 
for compliance with applicable CAA requirements in a subsequent 
rulemaking.
    Finally, as part of our November 9, 2020 final action on the 2016 
PM2.5 Plan, the EPA also reclassified the South Coast to 
Serious nonattainment for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. This 
action triggered requirements for the State to submit, among other plan 
components, provisions to implement best available

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control measures (BACM), including best available control technology 
(BACT), to the EPA no later than June 9, 2022.\7\ We are not evaluating 
Rule 445 for compliance with BACM requirements at this time and will 
address the BACM requirements that apply to the South Coast area in 
subsequent rulemakings.
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    \7\ Id. at 71268.
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II. The EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?

    Rules in the SIP must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)), 
must not interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment 
and RFP or other CAA requirements (see CAA section 110(l)), and must 
not modify certain SIP control requirements in nonattainment areas 
without ensuring equivalent or greater emissions reductions (see CAA 
section 193).
    Additionally, we are evaluating Rule 445 to determine whether it 
fulfills the commitments made by the District and the State to submit a 
revised rule meeting the requirements of CAA section 172(c)(9) and the 
regulatory provisions of 40 CFR 51.1014 for contingency measures. 
Specifically, the District committed (1) to modify Rule 445 to lower 
the wood burning curtailment threshold upon any of the four EPA 
determinations (i.e., ``findings of failure'') listed in 40 CFR 
51.1014(a), and (2) to submit the revised rule to the EPA within one 
year of the EPA's final action conditionally approving the contingency 
measure element of the 2016 PM2.5 Plan or within 60 days of 
a determination by the EPA that the South Coast area failed to attain 
the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date, 
which ever occurred sooner.\8\ Additionally, CARB committed to submit 
the revised District rule to the EPA as a SIP revision by the earlier 
of these two dates.\9\
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    \8\ 85 FR 71264, 71265 (November 9, 2020). For a detailed 
discussion of the basis for our conditional approval, see 85 FR 
40026, 40049-40050 (July 2, 2020).
    \9\ 85 FR 71264, 71265.
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B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    Rule 445, as amended October 27, 2020, is enforceable and adds new, 
lower mandatory wood-burning curtailment provisions in section (f) to 
be implemented as contingency measures upon a determination by the EPA 
that any of the four ``findings of failure'' listed under 40 CFR 
51.1014(a) has occurred. These new provisions and related revisions 
strengthen the SIP and do not interfere with applicable requirements 
concerning attainment and RFP or other CAA requirements.
    In addition, the SIP submittal fulfills the District's and the 
State's commitment to adopt and submit a specific enforceable 
contingency measure to address the requirements of CAA section 
172(c)(9) and 40 CFR 51.1014 for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 
NAAQS and the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. CARB submitted the 
revised rule to the EPA on October 29, 2020, within 60 days of the 
EPA's September 16, 2020 finding that the South Coast area had failed 
to attain the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS by the applicable attainment 
date.\10\
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    \10\ 85 FR 57733 (September 16, 2020).
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C. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to 
fully approve all but paragraphs (g) and (k) of Rule 445, as amended 
October 27, 2020, based on our conclusion that the rule fulfills CAA 
requirements for enforceability and SIP revisions. The EPA also 
proposes to convert our conditional approval of the contingency measure 
element of the 2016 PM2.5 Plan, as found in 40 CFR 
52.248(k), to a full approval. We are not acting on paragraphs (g) and 
(k) of Rule 445 and are not evaluating the rule for compliance with 
BACM requirements at this time. We will accept comments from the public 
on this proposal until June 21, 2021. If we take final action to 
approve the submitted rule, our final action will incorporate this 
rule, except for paragraphs (g) and (k), into the federally enforceable 
SIP.

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 all but paragraphs (g) and (k) of the SCAQMD rule described 
in Table 1 of this preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to 
make, these materials available through https://www.regulations.gov and 
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).

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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

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

    Dated: May 11, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2021-10512 Filed 5-19-21; 8:45 am]
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