[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44387-44388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15953]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0360; FRL-9787-01-R9]


Clean Air Act Grant; Ventura County Air Pollution Control 
District; Opportunity for Public Hearing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed action; determination with request for comments and 
notice of opportunity for public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to determine that the reduction in 
expenditures of recurrent non-Federal funds for the Ventura County Air 
Pollution Control District (``VCAPCD'' or ``District'') in support of 
its continuing air program under section 105 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) 
for the calendar year 2021 are a result of non-selective reductions in 
expenditures. This determination, when final, will permit the VCAPCD to 
receive grant funding for fiscal year (FY) 2022 from the EPA under 
section 105 of the CAA.

DATES: Comments and/or requests for a public hearing must be received 
by the EPA at the address stated below on or before August 25, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0360 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 
Proprietary Business Information (PBI) or 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 (e.g., 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 PBI/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: Roberto Gutierrez, EPA Region IX, 
Grants and Program Integration Office, Air and Radiation Division, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; phone at (415) 947-4276 or 
email address at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 105 of the CAA provides grant 
funding to air pollution control agencies for the prevention and 
control of air pollution or implementation of national primary and 
secondary ambient air quality standards. In accordance with 40 CFR 
35.145(a), the Regional Administrator may provide air pollution control 
agencies up to three-fifths of the approved costs of implementing 
programs for the prevention and control of air pollution. CAA Section 
105 grants require a cost share (also referred to as a match 
requirement) of 40%. Program activities relevant to the match consist 
of both recurring and non-recurring (unique, one-time only) expenses. 
In addition, air pollution control agencies must meet a maintenance of 
effort (MOE) requirement in accordance with section 105(c)(1) of the 
CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7405.
    The MOE provision requires that an eligible agency spend at least 
the same dollar level of funds as it did in the previous grant year for 
the costs of recurring activities. Specifically, section 105(c)(1) of 
the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7405(c)(1), provides that, ``No agency shall receive 
any grant under this section during any fiscal year when its 
expenditures of non-Federal funds for recurrent expenditures for air 
pollution control programs will be less than its expenditures were for 
such programs during the preceding fiscal year.'' However, pursuant to 
CAA section 105(c)(2), 42 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2), the EPA may still award a 
grant to an agency not meeting the requirements of section 42 U.S.C. 
7405(c)(1), ``. . . if the Administrator, after notice and opportunity 
for public hearing, determines that a reduction in expenditures is 
attributable to a non-selective reduction in the expenditures in the 
programs of all Executive branch agencies of the applicable unit of 
Government.'' These statutory requirements are repeated in the EPA's 
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 35.140-35.148. The EPA issued a 
memorandum dated September 30, 2011, entitled ``Updated Information for 
Determining a Non-Selective Reduction'' with guidance to recipients on 
what constitutes a nonselective reduction. In consideration of the 
legislative history, the guidance clarified that a non-selective 
reduction does not necessarily mean that each executive branch agency 
needs to be reduced in equal proportion. However, it must be clear to 
the EPA, from the weight of evidence, that a recipient's CAA-related 
air program is not being disproportionately impacted or singled out for 
a reduction.
    A section 105 grant recipient must submit a final federal financial 
report no later than 90 days from the close of its grant period that 
documents all of its federal and non-federal expenditures for the 
completed period. The recipient seeking an adjustment to its MOE for 
that period must provide the rationale and the documentation necessary 
to enable the EPA to determine that a nonselective reduction has 
occurred. In order to expedite that determination, the

[[Page 44388]]

recipient must provide details of the budget action and the comparative 
fiscal impacts on all the jurisdiction's executive branch agencies, and 
the recipient's air program. The recipient needs to identify any 
executive branch agencies or programs that should be excepted from 
comparison and explain why. The recipient must provide evidence that 
the air program is not being singled out for a reduction or being 
disproportionately reduced. Documentation in key areas is needed 
including budget data specific to the recipient's air program, and 
comparative budget data between the recipient's air program, the agency 
containing the air program, and the other executive branch agencies. 
The EPA may also request information from the recipient about how 
impacts on its program operations will affect its ability to meet its 
CAA obligations and requirements, and documentation that explains the 
cause of the reduction, such as legislative changes or the issuance of 
a new executive order.
    In FY 2021, the EPA awarded the VCAPCD $1,106,518, which 
represented approximately 10% of the VCAPCD budget. In FY2022, the EPA 
intends to award the VCAPCD $1,115,038, which represents approximately 
12% of the VCAPCD budget.
    VCAPCD's final federal financial report for FY2020 indicated that 
VCAPCD's MOE level was $6,055,144. VCAPCD's final federal financial 
report for FY2021 indicates that VCAPCD's expenditure on recurrent 
activities is $5,620,253. That level of expenditure is not sufficient 
to meet the MOE requirements for FY2021 under section 105 because it is 
not equal to or greater than the MOE for the previous fiscal year.
    In order for the VCAPCD to be eligible to receive its FY2022 CAA 
section 105 grant, the EPA must make a determination (after notice and 
an opportunity for a public hearing) that the reduction in expenditures 
from 2020 to 2021 is attributable to a non-selective reduction in the 
expenditures in the programs of the VCAPCD.
    The VCAPCD is a single-purpose air pollution control agency. It is 
the unit of government for CAA section 105(c)(2) purposes.
    On February 7, 2022, the VCAPCD submitted a request to the EPA 
seeking a reduction for the required MOE for FY2021. The District 
provided supplemental information pertaining to its request on June 1, 
2022. The VCAPCD explained that it was unable to meet its MOE 
requirement due to a decrease in reoccurring services and supplies 
expenses, particularly rent payments. VCAPCD was renting office space 
up until mid-2021 when they moved into a building they purchased to 
serve as their permanent office space. In FY2020 the District paid 
$626,800 in rent as a recurring cost. In FY2021, the District paid six 
months of rent, or $259,754, and categorized the cost as nonrecurring. 
Since moving into the new offices the District no longer pays rent and 
the decrease in expenditure significantly impacts VCAPCD's MOE from 
previous years. Additionally, the District experienced significant 
payroll changes impacting its overall budget. In FY2021 VCAPCD approved 
a general salary increase for all employees. Other changes included 
senior level employees retiring, with some positions filled by entry 
level staff at lower starting salaries, and other positions remaining 
vacant due to the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, 
many services and supplies were postponed or reduced due to the COVID-
19 pandemic. Travel for conferences, trainings, and seminars were 
cancelled, held virtually, or postponed.
    The EPA proposes to find that the request for a reset of VCAPCD's 
MOE meets the requirements for a non-selective reduction under CAA 
section 105. The VCAPCD's reduction in rent as a recurrent expenditure, 
the inability to fill vacant positions created by retirements, and a 
significant cut back on expenditures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic 
contributed to the reduction in expenditures.
    The EPA proposes that the MOE for VCAPCD's FY2021 CAA section 105 
grant be reduced to $5,520,253 to address the non-selective reduction 
of recurrent expenditures discussed above.
    This notice constitutes a request for public comment and an 
opportunity for public hearing as required by the CAA. All written 
substantive comments received by August 25, 2022 on this proposal will 
be considered. The EPA will conduct a public hearing on this proposal 
only if a written request for such is received by the EPA by August 25, 
2022. If no written request for a hearing is received or if the EPA 
determines that the issues raised are insubstantial, the EPA will 
proceed to the final action to award the fiscal year 2022 grant to 
VCAPCD.

    Dated: July 20, 2022.
Elizabeth Adams,
Director, Air and Radiation Division, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2022-15953 Filed 7-25-22; 8:45 am]
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