[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 92 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29045-29046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09748]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 50 and 51
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0313; FRL-9812-01-OAR]
Identifying Additional Areas Subject to Mitigation Plan
Requirements Under the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule: Notice of
Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notification of availability.
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SUMMARY: Notification is hereby given that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has finalized a list of additional areas subject to the
mitigation plan requirements found in the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule.
This list is included within this document and is available on the
Agency's website and in the electronic docket for this action. The EPA
is separately notifying states with areas newly subject to these
requirements. These notification letters are also available on the
Agency's website and in the electronic docket for this action.
DATES: May 12, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this
notice, please contact, Gobeail McKinley, U.S. EPA, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, C539-04,
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-5246, email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. General Information
Where can I get information related to this action?
Docket: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0313. All documents in the docket are
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in
the index, some information may not be publicly available, e.g.,
Confidential Business Information or other information whose disclosure
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. Publicly available docket materials are available
electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.
Agency website: A list of the additional areas subject to
mitigation plans is found on the website that contains information
related to exceptional events at: https://www.epa.gov/air-quality-analysis/treatment-air-quality-data-influenced-exceptional-events-homepage-exceptional.
II. What is the purpose of this action?
In keeping with the EPA's mission to protect public health and
consistent with the principles included at the Clean Air Act section
319(b)(3)(A), the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule (Rule) promulgated new
regulations requiring states to develop mitigation plans for areas with
historically documented or known seasonal exceptional events. Using air
quality monitoring data contained within the Air Quality System (AQS)
for the period January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2015, the EPA
initially identified 29 areas required to submit mitigation plans
within 2 years of the effective date of the Rule.\1\
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\1\ 81 FR 68272, Table 6--Areas Subject to the Mitigation
Requirements in 40 CFR 51.930(b), October 3, 2016.
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Further, the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule states that as areas
become subject to the mitigation plan requirements, the Administrator
will notify the states in writing. However, the Rule did not establish
a specific process for providing notice to states with areas newly
identified as being subject to mitigation plan requirements. This
action establishes a process for providing that notice and fulfills our
obligation to identify additional areas with recurring events of the
same type and pollutant. Table 1 contains a list of the newly
identified areas subject to mitigation requirements. Generally, areas
subject to the mitigation requirements have experienced three events or
three seasons of events of the same type and pollutant in a 3-year
period. For purposes of this analysis and notification, the EPA
evaluated rolling 3-year periods for January 1, 2016, through December
31, 2020. A detailed description of the process the EPA followed to
identify these areas and a summary of required components of a
mitigation plan are included in a background document placed in the
docket for this rulemaking titled, ``Additional Areas Subject to
Mitigation Plan Requirements in 40 CFR 51.930(b).''
Within 2 years of being notified that they are subject to the
mitigation plan provisions within the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule, air
agencies responsible for ensuring air quality for the areas identified
in Table 1 shall submit mitigation plans to the applicable EPA Regional
Administrator. Consistent with the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule, after
this 2-year timeframe, if an air agency has not submitted the required
mitigation plan, the EPA will not concur with an air agency's request
to exclude data that have been influenced by an event of the type that
is the subject of a required mitigation plan. An air agency may submit
a mitigation plan in advance of, or as part of, an exceptional events
demonstration submission of the same event type and pollutant as the
focus of the mitigation plan.
The discussion of the mitigation plan components is included in the
preamble to the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule \2\ and 40 CFR
51.930(b)(2) identifies the required components for each mitigation
plan. A discussion of mitigation plan components is also included in
the background document placed in the docket for this rulemaking.
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\2\ 81 FR 68273, October 3, 2016.
Table 1--Additional Areas Subject to the Mitigation Requirements in 40 CFR 51.930(b) \a\
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County/
Pollutant AQS flag \b\ AQS flag State nonattainment
description area boundary
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Ozone........................ RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... NV.................. Washoe.
Ozone........................ RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... CA.................. Tehama (Tuscan
Buttes).
Ozone........................ RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... CA.................. Ventura.
[[Page 29046]]
PM10......................... RJ................... High Winds....... CA.................. Ventura.
PM10......................... RJ................... High Winds....... WY.................. Campbell.
PM10......................... RJ................... High Winds....... WY.................. Sweetwater.
PM10......................... RJ................... High Winds....... NM.................. Bernalillo.
PM10......................... RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... CA.................. Santa Barbara.
PM10......................... RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... CA.................. San Joaquin
Valley.
PM2.5........................ RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... CA.................. Butte.
PM2.5........................ RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... CA.................. San Joaquin
Valley.
PM2.5........................ RT................... Wildfire-U.S..... CA.................. South Coast.
PM2.5........................ RH................... Fireworks........ CA.................. San Joaquin
Valley.
PM2.5........................ RH................... Fireworks........ CA.................. South Coast.
PM2.5........................ RJ................... High Winds....... CA.................. San Joaquin
Valley.
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\a\ The EPA identified these counties using data submitted through the Exceptional Events Submission and
Tracking System, EPA's AQS, and other sources for the January 1, 2016-December 31, 2020, timeframe. The EPA
used these data to identify areas with three events or event seasons within a 3-year period.
\b\ The complete list of AQS qualifier codes and descriptions is available at https://www.epa.gov/aqs/aqs-code-list list.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2022-09748 Filed 5-11-22; 8:45 am]
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