[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 202 (Friday, October 22, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58592-58593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22884]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0272; FRL-8897-02-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; South Coast Air Quality Management 
District; Stationary Source Permits

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a revision to the South Coast Air Quality Management 
District (SCAQMD or ``the District'') portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). We are finalizing approval of a revision 
governing issuance of permits for stationary sources, including review 
and permitting of major sources and major modifications under part D of 
title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act''). Specifically, the 
revision pertains to SCAQMD Rule 1325 ``Federal PM2.5 New 
Source Review Program.''

DATES: This rule is effective on November 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0272. 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 the 
disclosure of which 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. 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: Laura Yannayon, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3534 or by 
email at [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On September 20, 2019,\1\ the EPA proposed to approve the following 
rule into the California SIP. Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this 
final action 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'').
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    \1\ 84 FR 49492.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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                 Rule No.                               Rule Title                  Amended         Submitted
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1325......................................  Federal PM2.5 New Source Review           1/4/2019          4/24/19
                                             Program.
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    The SIP previously contained a version of Rule 1325 ``Federal 
PM2.5 New Source Review Program,'' approved into the SIP on 
November 30, 2018.\2\ The EPA's final approval of the rule identified 
above in Table 1 has the effect of entirely superseding our prior 
approval of the same rule in the current SIP-approved program.
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    \2\ 83 FR 61551.
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    Our proposed action contains more information on the rule and our 
evaluation.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, we received one non-germane comment and one adverse 
comment. The full text of both comments is available in the docket for 
this rulemaking. Below, we summarize the adverse comment and our 
response.
    Comment: The commenter stated that the definition of Volatile 
Organic Compounds (VOC) as referenced in Rule 1325 does not comport 
with the definition in 40 CFR 51.100. The definition of VOC in Rule 
1325 points to the term as it is defined in SIP-approved SCAQMD Rule 
102, which defines VOC as ``any volatile organic compound of carbon, 
excluding methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, 
metallic carbides or carbonates, ammonium carbonate, and exempt 
compounds.'' The list of ``exempt compounds'' in Rule 102 has not been 
updated since 2004 and thus is out of compliance with the federal 
definition.
    Response: Since the publication of our proposed action to approve 
Rule 1325, the SCAQMD amended Rule 102 on January 10, 2020 and the 
California Air Resources Board submitted the amended version of SCAQMD 
Rule 102 to the EPA for incorporation into the SIP on September 16, 
2020. On July 9, 2021,\3\ the EPA took final action to approve amended 
SCAQMD Rule 102 into the SIP based, in part, on our determination that 
the amended definition is consistent with the federal definition in 40 
CFR 51.100. The EPA's approval of SCAQMD Rule 102 corrected the 
deficiency identified by the commenter. Accordingly, the EPA is 
finalizing our action on SCAQMD Rule 1325 as proposed.
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    \3\ 86 FR 36227.
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III. EPA Action

    As explained above, the SCAQMD and the EPA have taken all steps 
necessary to address the deficiency identified by the commenter. We 
find that SCAQMD Rule 1325 fulfills all relevant CAA requirements. As 
authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is fully approving 
Rule 1325 into the SCAQMD portion of the California SIP. The January 4, 
2019 version of Rule 1325 will replace the previously approved version 
of the rule in the SIP.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the rule 
listed in Table 1 of this preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these materials available

[[Page 58593]]

electronically 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).

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Additional information about these statutes and Executive orders 
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders.
    Under the CAA, 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 CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law as meeting federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. 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);
     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
     Does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority 
to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects, using practicable 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).
    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).
    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 December 21, 2021. 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 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 
Oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: October 14, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended 
as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for Part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(509)(i)(A)(2) and 
(c)(564) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (509) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) Previously approved on November 30, 2018 in paragraph 
(c)(509)(A)(1) of this section and now deleted with replacement in 
paragraph (c)(564)(i)(A)(1), Rule 1325.
* * * * *
    (564) New and amended regulations for the following APCDs were 
submitted on April 24, 2019 by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by Reference.
    (A) South Coast Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 1325, ``Federal PM2.5 New Source Review 
Program'' amended on January 4, 2019.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (B) [Reserved]
    (ii) [Reserved]


Sec.  52.248  [Amended]

0
3. Section 52.248 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (f).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-22884 Filed 10-21-21; 8:45 am]
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