[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7877-7879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02410]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0584; FRL-9939-02-R9]


Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Tuolumne County Air 
Pollution Control District; Stationary Source Permits

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a 
revision to the Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District's 
(TCAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation 
Plan (SIP). This revision governs the District's issuance of permits 
for stationary sources, and focuses on the preconstruction review and 
permitting of major sources and major modifications under part D of 
title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'').

DATES: This rule is effective March 9, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0584. 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 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 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. 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: Amber Batchelder, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 947-4174, or by 
email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``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 July 14, 2022,\1\ the EPA proposed to approve the rule listed in 
Table 1 into the California SIP.
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    \1\ 87 FR 42132.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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            Local agency              Rule No.              Rule title                Adopted        Submitted
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TCAPCD.............................         429  Federal New Source Review......        07/06/21        08/03/21
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[[Page 7878]]

    For areas designated nonattainment for one or more National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the applicable SIP must include 
preconstruction review and permitting requirements for new or modified 
major stationary sources of such nonattainment pollutant(s) under part 
D of title I of the Act, commonly referred to as Nonattainment New 
Source Review (NNSR). The rule listed in Table 1 contains the 
District's NNSR permit program applicable to new and modified major 
sources located in Tuolumne County. 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, no comments were submitted on our proposal.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted on our proposal. We continue to find 
that Rule 429 satisfies the relevant requirements for a CAA NNSR 
program for ozone, as well as the associated visibility requirements 
for sources subject to review under such a program in accordance with 
40 CFR 51.307. Therefore, as authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the 
Act, the EPA is approving the submitted rule. This action incorporates 
the submitted rule into the California SIP. In conjunction with the 
EPA's SIP approval of the District's visibility program for sources 
subject to the NNSR program, this action also revises the scope of the 
visibility Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) at 40 CFR 52.28 in 
California so that this FIP no longer applies to sources located in 
Tuolumne County that are subject to the District's visibility program.

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 incorporating by reference Tuolumne County Air 
Pollution Control District Rule 429 as described in Section I of this 
preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials 
available 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

    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 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); and
     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.
    The state did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as 
part of its SIP submittal. There is no information in the record 
inconsistent with the stated goals of Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 
7629, February 16, 1994) of achieving environmental justice for people 
of color, low-income populations, and indigenous peoples.
    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 April 10, 2023. 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, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: January 31, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 52, 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.

[[Page 7879]]

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(591) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan-in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (591) The following new regulation was submitted on August 3, 2021 
by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. (A) Tuolumne County Air Pollution 
Control District.
    (1) Rule 429, Federal New Source Review, adopted on July 6, 2021.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (B) [Reserved]
    (ii) [Reserved]

0
3. Section 52.281 is amended by adding paragraph (d)(8) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.281  Visibility protection.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (8) Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-02410 Filed 2-6-23; 8:45 am]
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