[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 88 (Monday, May 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29539-29541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09058]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0926; FRL-10482-02-R9]


Clean Air Plans; 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area 
Requirements; Clean Fuels or Advanced Control Technology for Boilers; 
San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles--South Coast Air Basin, California

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve revisions to the California State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) concerning the provisions for clean fuels or advanced control 
technology for boilers for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality 
standards (``2015 ozone NAAQS'') in the San Joaquin Valley and Los 
Angeles--South Coast Air Basin, California (``South Coast'') ozone 
nonattainment areas. The SIP revisions include the ``Certification that 
the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District's Current 
Rules Address the Clean Air Act's Clean Fuels for Boilers Requirements 
for the 2015 8-hour Ozone Standard'' for San Joaquin Valley (``2021 San 
Joaquin Valley Certification'') and the ``Clean Fuels for Boilers 
Compliance Demonstration for the South Coast Air Basin'' for South 
Coast (``2021 South Coast Certification''), both submitted on August 3, 
2021. We are approving these revisions under the Clean Air Act (CAA or 
``the Act''), which establishes clean fuels or advanced control 
technology for boilers requirements for ``Extreme'' ozone nonattainment 
areas.

DATES: This rule is effective June 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0926. 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 for additional availability information. 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: Khoi Nguyen, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4120 or 
by email at [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On January 30, 2023, the EPA proposed to approve as a revision to 
the California SIP the provisions in the San Joaquin Valley and South 
Coast for clean fuels or advanced control technology for boilers as 
meeting the requirements of CAA section 182(e)(3) and 40 CFR 
51.1302.\1\ Our proposed approval was based on our evaluation of the 
2021 San Joaquin Valley Certification and the 2021 South Coast 
Certification. In our proposed rulemaking, we provided background 
information on the 2015 ozone standards, area designations in 
California, and related clean fuels for boilers SIP revision 
requirements. Table 1 of this document lists the certifications 
addressed by our proposed action.
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    \1\ 88 FR 5835 (January 30, 2023).

[[Page 29540]]



          Table 1--Clean Fuels for Boilers Certifications Submitted as Revisions to the California SIP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             District                 Nonattainment area        Date adopted                   Title
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution    San Joaquin Valley...  June 17, 2021........  Certification that the San
 Control District.                                                                 Joaquin Valley Unified Air
                                                                                   Pollution Control District's
                                                                                   Current Rules Address the
                                                                                   Clean Air Act's Clean Fuels
                                                                                   for Boilers Requirements for
                                                                                   the 2015 8-Hour Ozone
                                                                                   Standard.
South Coast Air Quality Management  South Coast Air Basin  June 4, 2021.........  Clean Fuels for Boilers
 District.                                                                         Compliance Demonstration for
                                                                                   the South Coast Air Basin.\a\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ The ``Clean Fuels for Boilers Compliance Demonstration for the South Coast Air Basin'' is part of the
  document titled ``Final Certification of Nonattainment New Source Review and Clean Fuels for Boilers
  Compliance Demonstration for 2015 8-hour Ozone Standard.'' The latter document consists of two demonstrations:
  (1) Nonattainment New Source Review (NSR) Compliance Demonstration for the South Coast Air Basin and the
  Coachella Valley and (2) Clean Fuels for Boilers Compliance Demonstration for the South Coast Air Basin. In
  the proposed action, we were evaluating and proposing action on the ``Clean Fuels for Boilers Compliance
  Demonstration for the South Coast Air Basin.''

    In this rulemaking, we are taking final action to approve the 2021 
San Joaquin Valley Certification and the 2021 South Coast 
Certification. Please refer to our proposed rule for more information 
concerning the background for this action and for a more detailed 
discussion of the rationale for approval.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, the EPA received one anonymous comment unrelated to 
the rulemaking. The EPA has determined that the comment fails to raise 
issues germane to our proposed finding that the two submitted 
certifications satisfy the requirements of CAA section 182(e)(3) and 40 
CFR 51.1302. Therefore, we have determined that this comment does not 
necessitate a response, and the EPA will not provide a specific 
response to the comment in this document. The full text of the comment 
is available in the docket for this rulemaking.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted that change our assessment of the two 
certifications as described in our proposed action. Therefore, as 
authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the CAA, the EPA is taking final 
action to approve as a revision to the California SIP the 2021 San 
Joaquin Valley Certification and the 2021 South Coast Certification, 
both submitted on August 3, 2021. Specifically, the elements we are 
approving are:
     Provisions in the San Joaquin Valley for clean fuels or 
advanced control technology for boilers as meeting the requirements of 
CAA section 182(e)(3) and 40 CFR 51.1302 based on the 2021 San Joaquin 
Valley Certification; and
     Provisions in the South Coast for clean fuels or advanced 
control technology for boilers as meeting the requirements of CAA 
section 182(e)(3) and 40 CFR 51.1302 based on the 2021 South Coast 
Certification.

IV. 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 the certifications 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.
    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).
    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 
The EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' The EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean 
that ``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
    The State did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as 
part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing 
regulations neither prohibit nor require such an evaluation. The EPA 
did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in this action. 
Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this action is 
expected to have a neutral to positive

[[Page 29541]]

impact on the air quality of the affected area. Consideration of EJ is 
not required as part of this action, and there is no information in the 
record inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving 
environmental justice for people of color, low-income populations, and 
Indigenous peoples.
    This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA 
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the 
Comptroller General of the United States. 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 July 7, 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, 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: April 25, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 
52 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 revising paragraph (c)(591) 
introductory text and adding paragraph (c)(591)(ii) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (591) The following rules and certifications were submitted on 
August 3, 2021, by the Governor's designee, as an attachment to a 
letter dated August 3, 2021.
* * * * *
    (ii) Additional materials. (A) San Joaquin Valley Unified Air 
Pollution Control District.
    (1) ``Certification that the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air 
Pollution Control District's Current Rules Address the Clean Air Act's 
Clean Fuels for Boilers Requirements for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone 
Standard,'' adopted on June 17, 2021.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (B) South Coast Air Quality Management District.
    (1) ``Final Certification of Nonattainment New Source Review and 
Clean Fuels for Boilers Compliance Demonstration for 2015 8-hour Ozone 
Standard,'' excluding the ``Nonattainment New Source Review Compliance 
Demonstration,'' adopted on June 4, 2021.
    (2) [Reserved]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-09058 Filed 5-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P