[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 206 (Thursday, October 28, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59643-59646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23377]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0368; FRL-8716-02-R9]
Air Plan Approval; Nevada; Revisions to Clark County Ozone
Maintenance Plan
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 State of Nevada's state
implementation plan (SIP) for Clark County. The revision consists of an
update to certain elements of the maintenance plan for the Clark County
air quality planning area for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient
air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards''), including certain
emissions inventories and motor vehicle emissions budgets. The EPA is
approving the SIP revision because the Clark County ozone maintenance
plan, as revised, continues to provide for maintenance of the 1997
ozone NAAQS and will not interfere with attainment or reasonable
further progress of the other NAAQS, and the motor vehicle emissions
budgets meet the applicable transportation conformity requirements.
DATES: This rule will be effective on November 29, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0368. 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 or other information whose disclosure
is restricted by statute. Certain other materials, 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: Karina O'Connor, Air Planning Office
(AIR-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105;
By phone: (775) 434-8176 or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
II. Public Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
On August 9, 2021 (86 FR 43461), under section 110(k) of the Clean
Air Act (``Act'' or CAA), the EPA proposed to approve a SIP revision
titled ``Revision to Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the 1997 Ozone
NAAQS, Clark County, Nevada'' (August 2020) (herein referred to as the
``2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision''), submitted by the Nevada
Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) on September 30, 2020.\1\
The 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision updates certain elements of
the maintenance plan for Clark County for the 1997 ozone NAAQS,
including certain emissions inventories and the motor vehicle emissions
budgets (``budgets'' or MVEBs). The 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan
Revision was prepared in response to the EPA's conditional approval of
the ``Revision to Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in Ozone
Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan: Clark County, Nevada''
(October 2018) (herein referred to as the ``2018 Ozone Maintenance Plan
Revision'').\2\ The
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2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision revises certain budgets from the
2018 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision to prevent interference with
reasonable further progress or attainment of the 2008 and 2015 ozone
NAAQS.\3\
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\1\ NDEP submitted the 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision
electronically on September 30, 2020, as an attachment to a
transmittal letter dated September 25, 2020.
\2\ 84 FR 44699 (August 27, 2019).
\3\ The 2018 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision includes revisions
to the attainment inventory, the maintenance demonstration, and
budgets in the ``Ozone Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan,
Clark County, Nevada (March 2011)'' (herein referred to as the
``2011 Ozone Maintenance Plan'') to reflect updated emissions
models, vehicle mix and speed data, and transportation activity
projections.
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As noted above, the 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision includes
certain updated emissions inventories. In our August 9, 2021 proposed
rule, we describe our evaluation of the updated inventories and
conclude that, based on our review of the methods, assumptions, and
data sources, the Clark County Department of Environment and
Sustainability's estimates for 2017 and 2022 for the various source
categories are based on the best available emissions models and data
sources, and thus provide a reasonable basis upon which to evaluate
whether the area will continue to maintain the 1997 ozone NAAQS through
2022 and whether the revised budgets for 2022 in the 2020 Ozone
Maintenance Plan Revision would interfere with reasonable further
progress (RFP) or attainment of the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS.\4\
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\4\ See 86 FR 43464-43466 (August 9, 2021 proposed rule).
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In our August 9, 2021 proposed rule, we also describe our review of
the revised budgets for year 2022 in the 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan
Revision and conclude that they are consistent with the revised
maintenance demonstration from the 2018 Ozone Maintenance Plan
Revision; are based on control measures that have already been adopted
and implemented; and meet all other applicable statutory and regulatory
requirements including the adequacy criteria in 40 CFR 93.1118(e)(4)
and (5).\5\
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\5\ See 86 FR 43466-43467 (August 9, 2021 proposed rule).
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Lastly, in our August 9, 2021 proposed rule, we describe our review
the 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision for possible interference with
RFP or attainment with respect to the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS in
Clark County. In short, because the updated emissions inventories of
ozone precursor emissions for 2022, including the revised budgets and
related safety margins, would be less than the corresponding emissions
inventories for year 2017, we conclude in our proposed rule that the
2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision would not interfere with RFP or
attainment for the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS in Clark County and thus
would be consistent with the requirements for SIP revisions under CAA
section 110(l).\6\
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\6\ See 86 FR 43467-43468 (August 9, 2021 proposed rule).
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For more information on the background for this action, including a
description of the ozone NAAQS, the ozone area designations for Clark
County, the 2011 Ozone Maintenance Plan and 2018 Ozone Maintenance Plan
Revision, and the rationale for approval of the 2020 Ozone Maintenance
Plan Revision, please see our August 9, 2021 proposed rule.
II. Public Comments
The public comment period for the EPA's August 9, 2021 proposed
rule closed on September 8, 2021. The EPA did not receive any public
comments.
III. Final Action
For the reasons discussed in our August 9, 2021 proposed rule and
summarized herein, the EPA is taking final action under CAA section
110(k)(3) to approve the 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision submitted
by NDEP on September 30, 2020, as a revision to the Clark County
portion of the Nevada SIP. We are approving the 2020 Ozone Maintenance
Plan Revision because we find that the 2011 Ozone Maintenance Plan, as
revised by the 2018 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision, and as further
revised by the 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision, continues to
provide for maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS and will not interfere
with RFP or attainment of the other NAAQS in Clark County.
In approving the 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision, the EPA is
also finding adequate and approving the updated budgets for oxides of
nitrogen (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) for 2022
for the 1997 ozone NAAQS (shown in Table 1) based on our conclusion
that the updated budgets meet the applicable transportation conformity
and other CAA requirements.
Table 1--Clark County Year 2022 Ozone Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets
[County-wide, average summer weekday, tpd]
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2020 Ozone
maintenance plan
Year revision
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NOX VOC
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2022................................................ 32.16 23.92
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Source: 2020 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision, Table 3-1.
The revised budgets in Table 1 replace Clark County's existing
budgets for the plan horizon year (2022) for the 1997 ozone NAAQS from
the 2018 Ozone Maintenance Plan Revision.\7\ The Regional
Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and U.S. Department of
Transportation must use the revised budgets for future transportation
conformity determinations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS until motor vehicle
emissions budgets for that ozone NAAQS are found adequate or are
approved.\8\
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\7\ 40 CFR 93.118(f)(2)(iii).
\8\ As noted in the proposed rule, through this action, we are
removing the conditional approval regulatory text found at 40 CFR
52.1475(a).
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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 action merely approves a state plan 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
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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. The Las Vegas Tribe of
Paiute Indians of the Las Vegas Indian Colony has areas of Indian
country geographically located within the Clark County 1997 ozone
maintenance area. In those areas of Indian country, the action 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 27, 2021. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule 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 regulations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 20, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX.
Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended
as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
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1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart DD--Nevada
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2. Section 52.1470 is amended in the table in paragraph (e) by adding
an entry for ``Revision to Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the 1997
Ozone NAAQS, Clark County, Nevada (August 2020)'' after the entry for
``Revision to Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in Ozone Redesignation
Request and Maintenance Plan: Clark County, Nevada (October 2018)'' to
read as follows:
Sec. 52.1470 Identification of plan.
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(e) * * *
EPA-Approved Nevada Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
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Applicable
Name of SIP provision geographic or State EPA approval date Explanation
nonattainment area submittal date
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Air Quality Implementation Plan for the State of Nevada \1\
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Revision to Motor Vehicle Clark County, 9/30/20 [INSERT Federal Submitted by NDEP
Emissions Budgets for the 1997 Nevada: That Register electronically on
Ozone NAAQS, Clark County, portion of Clark CITATION], 10/28/ September 30,
Nevada (August 2020). County that lies 21. 2020, as an
in hydrogeographic attachment to a
areas 164A, 164B, letter dated
165, 166, 167, September 25,
212, 213, 214, 2020. Approval of
216, 217, and 218, the 2020 Ozone
but excluding the Maintenance Plan
Moapa River Indian Revision removes
Reservation and the condition
the Fort Mohave placed on the
Indian Reservation. approval of the
2018 Ozone
Maintenance Plan
Revision.
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\1\ The organization of this table generally follows from the organization of the State of Nevada's original
1972 SIP, which was divided into 12 sections. Nonattainment and maintenance plans, among other types of plans,
are listed under Section 5 (Control Strategy). Lead SIPs and Small Business Stationary Source Technical and
Environmental Compliance Assistance SIPs are listed after Section 12 followed by nonregulatory or quasi-
regulatory statutory provisions approved into the SIP. Regulatory statutory provisions are listed in 40 CFR
52.1470(c).
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Sec. 52.1475 [Removed and Reserved]
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3. Section 52.1475 is removed and reserved.
[FR Doc. 2021-23377 Filed 10-27-21; 8:45 am]
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