[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17008-17011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06292]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0221; FRL-9598-02-R9]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California; 
Correcting Amendments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: On August 28, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
issued a final rule titled ``Revisions to the California State 
Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District.'' 
That publication inadvertently omitted regulatory text rescinding four 
previously approved rules for the Antelope Valley Air Quality 
Management District portion of the California State Implementation Plan 
(SIP). On September 20, 2016, the EPA issued a final rule titled 
``Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, Department of Pesticide 
Regulations.'' That publication listed the wrong EPA approval dates and 
Federal Register citations for certain rules. The EPA is taking direct 
final action to correct these errors.

DATES: This rule is effective on May 24, 2022 without further notice 
unless the EPA receives adverse comments by April 25, 2022. If we 
receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will 
not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0221 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 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.

[[Page 17009]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Gong, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3073 or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'', 
``us'' or ``our'' are used, we mean the EPA. Information is organized 
as follows:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. What the EPA Is Doing in This Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    Each State has a SIP containing the control measures and strategies 
used to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS). The SIP is extensive, containing such elements as air 
pollution control regulations, emission inventories, monitoring 
networks, attainment demonstrations, and enforcement mechanisms.
    Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''), the states are 
responsible for adopting and submitted SIPs and SIP revisions to 
implement, maintain and enforce the NAAQS and to meet other related 
requirements under the CAA and the EPA's implementing regulations. The 
EPA is responsible for taking action to approve, disapprove or 
conditionally approve, in whole or in part, SIPs and SIP revisions that 
have been adopted by the states and submitted to the EPA. The EPA 
reviews such SIPs and SIP revisions for compliance with all applicable 
requirements of the CAA and the EPA's implementing regulations.

A. Addition of Regulatory Text Rescinding Certain Rules Applicable 
Within the Antelope Valley Portion of California SIP

    Formed in 1997, the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District 
(AQMD) administers air quality management programs in the Mojave Desert 
portion of Los Angeles County that is referred to as ``Antelope 
Valley.'' The Antelope Valley AQMD portion of the California SIP 
includes rules adopted by various air pollution control agencies that 
had jurisdiction over stationary sources in Antelope Valley since 1972, 
including the Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District (APCD), 
the Southern California APCD, the South Coast Air Quality Management 
District (AQMD), and the Antelope Valley AQMD.
    On August 28, 2009 (74 FR 44294), the EPA took direct final action 
to approve Antelope Valley AQMD Rule 1173 (``Fugitive Emissions of 
Volatile Organic Compounds'') and to approve the rescission of four 
rules originally adopted by the South Coast AQMD and carried forward as 
part of the SIP for Antelope Valley when the Antelope Valley AQMD was 
established: Rule 465 (``Vacuum Producing Devices or Systems''), Rule 
466 (``Pumps and Compressors''), Rule 466.1 (``Valves and Flanges'') 
and Rule 467 (``Pressure Relief Devices'').\1\
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    \1\ The EPA approved South Coast AQMD Rule 465, adopted on 
December 7, 1990, at 57 FR 35758 (August 11, 1992). The EPA approved 
South Coast AQMD Rule 466, adopted on October 7, 1983, at 52 FR 1627 
(January 15, 1987). The EPA approved South Coast AQMD Rule 466.1, 
adopted on May 2, 1980, at 47 FR 29668 (July 8, 1982). The EPA 
approved South Coast AQMD Rule 467, adopted on March 5, 1982, at 48 
FR 52054 (November 16, 1983).
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    In our 2009 direct final rule, we added regulatory text for the 
approval of Antelope Valley AQMD Rule 1173 but inadvertently failed to 
include regulatory text to remove South Coast AQMD Rules 465, 466, 
466.1 and 467 from the applicable SIP for Antelope Valley. Through this 
direct final rule, we are correcting the error by adding regulatory 
text to codify the rescission of South Coast AQMD Rules 465, 466, 466.1 
and 467 as applicable to the Antelope Valley AQMD.

B. Correction of EPA Approval Dates and Federal Register Citations for 
Certain Rules Adopted by the California Department of Pesticide 
Regulation

    On September 20, 2016 (81 FR 64350), the EPA took final action to 
approve certain rules adopted by the California Department of Pesticide 
Regulation (DPR) for the California SIP. In our final rule, we 
inadvertently cited the corresponding proposed rule (81 FR 6481, 
February 8, 2016) as the citation and date for approval for some of the 
rules, namely, California Code of Regulations (CCR), title 3, sections 
6452, 6452.2, 6558, 6577 and 6864. Through this direct final rule, we 
are correcting the EPA approval dates and Federal Register citations 
for these DPR rules in the table of 40 CFR 52.220a(c) that lists EPA-
approved state statutes and regulations.

II. What the EPA Is Doing in This Action

    Section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''), as amended 
in 1990, provides that, whenever the EPA determines that the EPA's 
action approving, disapproving, or promulgating any plan or plan 
revision (or part thereof), area designation, redesignation, 
classification or reclassification was in error, the EPA may in the 
same manner as the approval, disapproval, or promulgation revise such 
action as appropriate without requiring any further submission from the 
state. Such determination and the basis thereof must be provided to the 
state and the public. We interpret this provision to authorize the EPA 
to make corrections to a promulgated regulation when it is shown to our 
satisfaction (or we discover) that (1) we clearly erred by failing to 
consider or by inappropriately considering information made available 
to the EPA at the time of the promulgation, or the information made 
available at the time of promulgation is subsequently demonstrated to 
have been clearly inadequate, and (2) other information persuasively 
supports a change in the regulation. See 57 FR 56762, at 56763 
(November 30, 1992) (correcting designations, boundaries, and 
classifications of ozone, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and lead 
areas).
    In this action, pursuant to CAA section 110(k)(6), we are 
correcting the August 28, 2009 direct final rule by adding regulatory 
text that was inadvertently omitted and that removes rules for which we 
approved rescissions from the Antelope Valley AQMD portion of the 
California SIP. We are also correcting incorrect EPA approval dates and 
Federal Register citations for certain DPR rules that we approved in a 
September 20, 2016 final rule.
    We do not think anyone will object to this approval, so we are 
finalizing it without proposing it in advance. However, in the Proposed 
Rules section of this Federal Register, we are simultaneously proposing 
the same error corrections. If we receive adverse comments by April 25, 
2022, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register to 
notify the public that the direct final error correction will not take 
effect and we will address the comments in a subsequent final action 
based on the proposal. If we do not receive timely adverse comments, 
the direct final error correction will be effective without further 
notice on May 24, 2022. This will incorporate these rules into the 
federally enforceable SIP.
    Please note that if the EPA receives adverse comment on an 
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may 
be severed from the remainder of the rule, the EPA may adopt as final 
those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse 
comment.

[[Page 17010]]

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this action, the EPA is finalizing the deletion of certain rules 
that were previously incorporated by reference in the applicable 
California SIP. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA 
is deleting certain South Coast AQMD rules that were applicable in the 
Antelope Valley AQMD, as described in the amendments to 40 CFR 52.220 
as set out below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, 
incorporation by reference documents generally available electronically 
through www.regulations.gov and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA 
office (see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more 
information).

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    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 corrects errors in previous rulemakings 
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 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, this 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).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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).

C. 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 February 8, 2016. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final 
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel 
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the Proposed 
Rules section of this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that the EPA 
can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the 
proposed rulemaking. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 20, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
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)(79)(iv)(C), 
(c)(125)(ii)(E), (c)(166)(i)(A)(2), (c)(166)(i)(B), (c)(166)(ii), 
(c)(184)(i)(B)(13), and (c)(184)(ii) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
* * * * *
    (79) * * *
    (iv) * * *
    (C) Previously approved on July 8, 1982 in paragraph (c)(79)(iv)(B) 
and now deleted without replacement for implementation in the Antelope 
Valley Air Quality Management District, Rule 466.1.
* * * * *
    (125) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (E) Previously approved on November 16, 1983 in paragraph 
(c)(125)(ii)(D) and now deleted without replacement for implementation 
in the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, Rule 467.
* * * * *
    (166) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *

[[Page 17011]]

    (2) Previously approved on January 15, 1987 in paragraph 
(c)(166)(i)(A)(1) and now deleted without replacement for 
implementation in the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, 
Rule 466.
    (B) [Reserved]
    (ii) [Reserved]
* * * * *
    (184) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) * * *
    (13) Previously approved on August 11, 1992 in paragraph 
(c)(184)(i)(B)(2) and now deleted without replacement for 
implementation in the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, 
Rule 465.
* * * * *
    (ii) [Reserved]
* * * * *

0
3. Section 52.220a in paragraph (c), table 1 is amended by revising the 
entries for ``6452'', ``6452.2'', ``6558'', ``6577'' and ``6864'' to 
read as follows:


Sec.  52.220a  Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                            Table 1--EPA-Approved Statutes and State Regulations \1\
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                                                         State                                   Additional
       State citation            Title/subject      effective date    EPA approval date         explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
6452.......................  Reduced Volatile            11/1/2013  81 FR 64350, 9/20/     Amends previous
                              Organic Compound                       2016.                  version of rule
                              Emissions Field                                               approved at 77 FR
                              Fumigation Methods.                                           65294 (October 26,
                                                                                            2012). Amended rule
                                                                                            adopted by the
                                                                                            California
                                                                                            Department of
                                                                                            Pesticide Regulation
                                                                                            on May 23, 2013.
                                                                                            Submitted on
                                                                                            February 4, 2015.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
6452.2.....................  Volatile Organic            11/1/2013  81 FR 64350, 9/20/     Amends previous
                              Compound Emission                      2016.                  version of rule
                              Limits.                                                       approved at 77 FR
                                                                                            65294 (October 26,
                                                                                            2012). Amended rule
                                                                                            adopted by the
                                                                                            California
                                                                                            Department of
                                                                                            Pesticide Regulation
                                                                                            on May 23, 2013.
                                                                                            Submitted on
                                                                                            February 4, 2015.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
6558.......................  Recommendations for         11/1/2013  81 FR 64350, 9/20/     Adopted by the
                              Use of Nonfumigants                    2016.                  California
                              in the San Joaquin                                            Department of
                              Valley Ozone                                                  Pesticide Regulation
                              Nonattainment Area.                                           on May 23, 2013.
                                                                                            Submitted on
                                                                                            February 4, 2015.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
6577.......................  Sales of Nonfumigants       11/1/2013  81 FR 64350, 9/20/     Adopted by the
                              for Use in the San                     2016.                  California
                              Joaquin Valley Ozone                                          Department of
                              Nonattainment Area.                                           Pesticide Regulation
                                                                                            on May 23, 2013.
                                                                                            Submitted on
                                                                                            February 4, 2015.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
6864.......................  Criteria for                11/1/2013  81 FR 64350, 9/20/     Adopted by the
                              Identifying                            2016.                  California
                              Pesticides as Toxic                                           Department of
                              Air Contaminants.                                             Pesticide Regulation
                                                                                            on May 23, 2013.
                                                                                            Submitted on
                                                                                            February 4, 2015.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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\1\ Table 1 lists EPA-approved California statutes and regulations incorporated by reference in the applicable
  SIP. Table 2 of paragraph (c) lists approved California test procedures, test methods and specifications that
  are cited in certain regulations listed in table 1. Approved California statutes that are nonregulatory or
  quasi-regulatory are listed in paragraph (e).

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-06292 Filed 3-24-22; 8:45 am]
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