[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13392-13394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03781]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0936; FRL-10470-01-R9]


Clean Air Plans; 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area 
Requirements; Clean Fuels for Fleets; California

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve revisions to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
concerning the provisions for Clean Fuels for Fleets (CFF) for the 2015 
ozone national ambient air quality standards (``2015 ozone NAAQS'') in 
the Riverside County (Coachella Valley), Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin 
Valley, Los Angeles--South Coast Air Basin (South Coast), Ventura 
County, and Los Angeles--San Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert) 
nonattainment areas (NAAs). The SIP revisions include the ``California 
Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for the 70 ppb Ozone Standard'' 
(``Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification'') submitted on February 3, 
2022. We are proposing to approve these revisions under the Clean Air 
Act (CAA or ``the Act''), which establishes clean fuels for fleets 
requirements for ``Serious,'' ``Severe,'' and ``Extreme'' ozone NAAs.

DATES: Written comments must arrive on or before April 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0936 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 a disability 
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: Andrew Ledezma, Air Planning Office 
(ARD-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, 
(415) 972-3985, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
    A. Procedural Requirements for Adoption and Submittal of SIP 
Revisions
    B. Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets
III. Summary of the State's Submittal
    A. Adoption and Submittal of SIP Revisions
    B. Summary of State Submittal
IV. The EPA's Evaluation of the State's Submittal
    A. Evaluation of Procedural Requirements
    B. Evaluation of Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets
V. Proposed Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    On October 26, 2015, the EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS of 0.070 parts per million (ppm).\1\ In accordance with section 
107(d) of the CAA, the EPA must designate an area ``nonattainment'' if 
it is violating the NAAQS or if it is contributing to a violation of 
the NAAQS in a nearby area.
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    \1\ 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015).
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    The EPA designated 21 areas in California as nonattainment for the 
2015 ozone NAAQS on June 4, 2018, effective August 3, 2018.\2\ Amador 
County, Calaveras County, Butte County, Imperial County, Mariposa 
County,\3\ San Francisco Bay Area, San Luis Obispo (Eastern part), 
Sutter Buttes, Tuolumne County, and Tuscan Buttes NAAs were classified 
as Marginal nonattainment. Kern County (Eastern Kern), Nevada County 
(Western part), Sacramento Metro,\4\ and San Diego County \5\ NAAs were 
classified as Moderate nonattainment. The EPA classified the Ventura 
County NAA as Serious nonattainment. The EPA classified the Los 
Angeles-San Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert) and Riverside 
County (Coachella Valley) NAAs as Severe nonattainment. The EPA 
classified both the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast NAAs as 
Extreme nonattainment. The EPA designated the lands of the Pechanga 
Band of Luise[ntilde]o Mission Indians of the Pechanga Reservation \6\ 
and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians as separate NAAs and classified 
them as Marginal and Serious nonattainment, respectively. The State of 
California does not have regulatory authority on any Indian reservation 
land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction.
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    \2\ 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018).
    \3\ On April 13, 2022, the EPA reclassified Mariposa from 
Marginal to Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (87 FR 21842).
    \4\ On October 28, 2021, the EPA reclassified Kern County 
(Eastern Kern), Nevada County (Western part) and Sacramento Metro 
from Moderate to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (86 FR 59648).
    \5\ On April 8, 2021, the EPA reclassified San Diego from 
Moderate to Severe for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (86 FR 18227).
    \6\ On April 13, 2022, the EPA reclassified the lands of the 
Pechanga Band Luise[ntilde]o Mission Indians of the Pechanga 
Reservation from Marginal to Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (87 
FR 21842).
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    Sections 182(c)(4) \7\ and 246 of the CAA provide that SIPs for 
Serious, Severe, and Extreme ozone nonattainment areas with 1980 
populations greater than 250,000 must require at least a specified 
percentage of all new covered fleet vehicles in model year 1998 and 
thereafter, purchased by each covered fleet operator in each covered 
area, to be clean-fuel vehicles and use clean alternative fuels when 
operating in the covered area.\8\ Sections

[[Page 13393]]

182(c)(4) and 246 of the CAA also require states to submit to the EPA a 
plan revision addressing this requirement within 42 months after the 
effective date of the designation and classification.
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    \7\ CAA section 182(c)(4) establishes the requirements for 
clean-fuel vehicle programs in Serious NAAs. CAA sections 182(d) and 
182(e) require the same for Severe and Extreme NAAs, respectively.
    \8\ CAA section 241(2) defines clean alternative fuels as any 
fuel, including methanol, ethanol, or other alcohols (including any 
mixture thereof containing 85 percent or more by volume of such 
alcohol with gasoline or other fuels), reformulated gasoline, 
diesel, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and hydrogen) or power 
source (including electricity). CAA section 241(7) defines a clean 
fuel vehicle as one that has been certified to meet the relevant 
light and heavy-duty truck exhaust standards in CAA sections 243 and 
245, respectively.
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    On February 3, 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) 
submitted SIP revisions to the EPA for multiple nonattainment areas to 
fulfill requirements under section 182(c)(4) and section 246 of the CAA 
requiring clean fuels for fleets in nonattainment areas. In this 
action, we are evaluating and proposing action on the submittal for CFF 
for six nonattainment areas with 1980 populations greater than 250,000 
in California, and that are classified as Serious, Severe, or Extreme--
the Coachella Valley, Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South 
Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave Desert NAAs.\9\
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    \9\ CARB's submittal does not include the San Diego County NAA, 
which was submitted separately on January 12, 2021, as a part of the 
``2020 Plan for Attaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
for Ozone in San Diego County.'' The EPA will act on the CFF 
requirement for the San Diego County NAA in a separate rulemaking. 
CARB's submittal also does not include Kern County (Eastern Kern) 
and Nevada County (Western part) because neither area exceeds the 
population threshold that is prescribed in the Act to require 
implementation of the CFF Program.
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II. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements

A. Procedural Requirements for Adoption and Submittal of SIP Revisions

    CAA sections 110(a)(1) and 110(l) and 40 CFR 51.102 require states 
to provide reasonable opportunity for a public hearing prior to 
adoption of SIP revisions. Section 110(k)(1)(B) requires the EPA to 
determine whether a SIP submittal is complete within 60 days of 
receipt. Any plan that the EPA does not affirmatively determine to be 
complete or incomplete will become complete six months after the day of 
submittal by operation of law. A finding of completeness does not 
approve the submittal as part of the SIP, nor does it indicate that the 
submittal is approvable. It does start a 12-month clock for the EPA to 
act on the SIP submittal (see CAA section 110(k)(2)).

B. Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets

    As described in section I of this document, CAA section 182(c)(4) 
and 246 provide that SIPs for Serious, Severe, and Extreme 
nonattainment areas with 1980 populations greater than 250,000 require 
that at least a specified percentage of all new covered fleet vehicles 
in model year 1998 and thereafter, purchased by each covered fleet 
operator in each covered area, be clean-fuel vehicles and use clean 
alternative fuels when operating in the covered area.
    Additional guidance on this requirement is provided in CAA section 
182(c)(4)(B). According to CAA section 182(c)(4)(B), any revision to 
the relevant applicable implementation plan that in the Administrator's 
judgment will achieve long-term reductions in ozone-producing and toxic 
air emissions equal to those achieved under section 246 of the CAA, or 
the percentage thereof attributable to the portion of the clean-fuel 
vehicle program for which the revision is to substitute, can substitute 
for all or a portion of the clean-fuel vehicle program described under 
part C of title II of the Act.
    According to the EPA's ``Guidance for Fulfilling the Clean Fuels 
for Fleets Requirement of the Clean Air Act,'' \10\ the substitute 
measure(s) must achieve long-term reductions in ozone precursor 
emissions equal to those achieved through the CFF Program. A state 
could submit a SIP revision implementing substitute measures that 
achieve emissions reductions that are equal or greater than those 
achieved by implementing a CFF Program, with the understanding that any 
new light- or heavy-duty vehicle purchased by a fleet owner is deemed 
to also meet the CAA emissions standards for ultra-low emission CFF 
vehicles.
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    \10\ EPA, ``EPA's Guidance for Fulfilling the Clean Fuel Fleets 
Requirement of the Clean Air Act,'' EPA-420-B-22-027, June 2022.
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III. Summary of the State's Submittal

A. Adoption and Submittal of SIP Revisions

    The submittal package (``2022 CARB SIP submittal'') contains the 
Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification, a multi-district certification 
that the existing CFF programs in the Coachella Valley, Sacramento 
Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave 
Desert NAAs meet the CFF requirements under the 2015 ozone 
standard.\11\ The 2022 CARB SIP submittal includes a cover letter to 
the EPA dated February 3, 2022; \12\ signed Resolution 22-1, dated 
January 27, 2022,\13\ demonstrating that CARB adopted the 
certification; a copy of the notice of public hearing held on January 
27, 2022,\14\ consistent with 40 CFR part 51.102; and a SIP 
completeness checklist.\15\
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    \11\ CARB, ``California Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for 
the 70 ppb Ozone Standard,'' dated December 17, 2021.
    \12\ Letter dated February 3, 2022, from Richard W. Corey, 
Executive Officer, CARB, to Martha Guzman, Regional Administrator, 
EPA Region IX.
    \13\ CARB Resolution 22-1, ``California Clean Fuels for Fleets 
Certification for the 70 ppb Ozone Standard,'' January 27, 2022.
    \14\ CARB, ``Notice of Public Meeting to Consider the Proposed 
California Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for the 70 ppb Ozone 
Standard,'' dated December 17, 2021.
    \15\ CARB, ``Completeness Checklist for SIP Revision.''
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B. Summary of State Submittal

    In the Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification, CARB states that in 
1994, it submitted a SIP revision to the EPA to opt out of the CFF 
Program. The Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification includes a 
demonstration that California's Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) program 
achieved emissions reductions at least equivalent to the reductions 
that would be achieved by the EPA's CFF Program. CARB also states that 
California's LEV program established regulations that created tiers of 
exhaust emissions standards for increasingly more stringent categories 
of LEVs, a mechanism requiring each auto manufacturer to phase-in a 
progressively cleaner mix of vehicles from year to year with the option 
of credit banking and trading, and a requirement that a specified 
percentage of passenger cars and light-duty trucks be zero-emission 
vehicles with no exhaust or evaporative emissions. The Clean Fuels for 
Fleets Certification also indicates that the EPA approved the 
California SIP revision to opt out of the CFF Program effective 
September 27, 1999.\16\
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    \16\ 64 FR 46849 (August 27, 1999).
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    CARB also stated in the submittal that the State has continued to 
strengthen emissions requirements in its LEV program, adopting LEV II 
\17\ standards in 1998 and LEV III \18\ standards in 2012. CARB also 
certified in its Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification that California's 
LEV program qualifies as a substitute for the EPA program and satisfies 
Sections 182(c)(4) and 246 of the Act for the 0.070 ppm ozone standard 
for the Coachella Valley, Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South 
Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave Desert NAAs.
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    \17\ See the LEV II and CAP 2000 Regulatory Documents web page, 
available at: https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/regact/levii/levii.htm.
    \18\ See the LEV III and GHG 2012 Regulatory Documents web page, 
available at: https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/regact/2012/leviiighg2012/leviiighg2012.htm.

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[[Page 13394]]

IV. The EPA's Evaluation of the State's Submittal

A. Evaluation of Procedural Requirements

    Based on the documentation included in the 2022 CARB SIP submittal, 
the EPA finds that the submittal satisfies the procedural requirements 
of sections 110(a)(1) and 110(l) of the Act, requiring states to 
provide reasonable notice and an opportunity for public hearing prior 
to adoption of SIP revisions. CARB's submittal became complete by 
operation of law on August 3, 2022, pursuant to section 110(k)(1)(B).

B. Evaluation of Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets

    The EPA has reviewed the Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for 
consistency with sections 182(c)(4) and 246 of the CAA. As explained in 
section II of this document, Section 182(c)(4)(B) of the CAA allows 
states to opt out of the federal CFF Program by submitting a SIP 
revision consisting of a program or programs that will result in 
equivalent or greater long-term reductions in ozone precursors and 
toxic air emissions as that which is prescribed under section 246 of 
the CAA. We agree with the 2022 CARB SIP Submittal that in 1994, CARB 
submitted a SIP revision to the EPA to opt out of the federal CFF 
Program. The submittal included a demonstration that California's LEV 
program achieved emissions reductions at least as large as would be 
achieved by the federal program. The EPA approved the SIP revision to 
opt out of the federal program on August 27, 1999.\19\ There have been 
no changes to the federal CFF Program since the EPA approved the 
California SIP revision to opt out of the federal program, and thus, no 
corresponding changes to the SIP are required. The EPA finds that 
California has continued to adopt and implement increasingly stringent 
versions of the LEV program. Therefore, new vehicles must be certified 
to emissions standards that are significantly more stringent than the 
CFF Program. Thus, we find that the California SIP revision to opt out 
of the federal program, as approved in 1999, meets the requirements of 
CAA sections 182(c)(4)(A) and 246 and the EPA's ``Guidance for 
Fulfilling the Clean Fuel Fleets Requirement of the Clean Air Act'' for 
Coachella Valley, Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, 
Ventura County, and West Mojave Desert NAAs for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
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    \19\ 64 FR 46849.
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V. Proposed Action

    For the reasons discussed in this document, under CAA section 
110(k)(3), the EPA is proposing to find that the 2022 CARB SIP 
submittal meets the requirements of CAA sections 182(c)(4) and 246 for 
the 2015 ozone NAAQS with respect to the Coachella Valley, Sacramento 
Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave 
Desert NAAs.

VI. 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 proposed action merely proposes to approve state law 
as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this 
proposed 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: February 16, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2023-03781 Filed 3-2-23; 8:45 am]
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