[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 139 (Friday, July 21, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47026-47029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15339]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035; FRL-10594-02-R9]


Finding of Failure to Attain the 1987 24-Hour PM10 
Standards; Pinal County, Arizona

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to determine that the West Pinal County, Arizona nonattainment 
area (``West Pinal County'' or ``area'') did not attain the 1987 24-
hour national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') 
for particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or smaller 
(PM10) by its December 31, 2022 ``Serious'' area attainment 
date. This action is based on the EPA's calculation of the 
PM10 design value for the nonattainment area over the 2020-
2022 period, using complete, quality-assured, and certified 
PM10 monitoring data. With this final determination that 
West Pinal County has failed to attain the PM10 NAAQS by its 
attainment date, the State of Arizona is required to submit a revision 
to the Arizona state implementation plan (SIP) that, among other 
elements, provides for expeditious attainment of the PM10 
standards and for a five percent annual reduction in the emissions of 
direct PM10 or a PM10 plan precursor pollutant in 
the nonattainment area.

DATES: This rule is effective on August 21, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035. 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: Ashley Graham, Geographic Strategies 
and Modeling Section (AIR-2-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3877 or by email at 
[email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Summary of the Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. The EPA's Final Evaluation of Attainment
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Summary of the Proposed Action

    On February 15, 2023, the EPA proposed to determine that the West 
Pinal County nonattainment area failed to attain the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS by its December 31, 2022 ``Serious'' area 
attainment date.\1\ For a PM10 nonattainment area classified 
as Serious under the CAA, such as the West Pinal County area, section 
188(c)(2) of the CAA states that the area's attainment date is ``as 
expeditiously as practicable but no later than the end of the tenth 
calendar year beginning after the area's designation as 
nonattainment.''
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    \1\ 88 FR 9812.

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[[Page 47027]]

Consequently, the applicable attainment date for West Pinal County, 
designated nonattainment in 2012, was December 31, 2022.\2\ CAA 
sections 179(c)(1) and 188(b)(2) require the EPA to determine whether a 
PM10 nonattainment area attained the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS by the area's attainment date within six months 
after that date. Generally, this determination of whether an area's air 
quality meets the PM10 standards is based upon the most 
recent three years of complete, certified data gathered at eligible 
monitoring sites in accordance with 40 CFR part 58.\3\
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    \2\ The EPA's proposed rule discusses that on May 31, 2022, the 
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality adopted and submitted 
the ``2022 Serious Area Particulate Plan for PM-10 for the West 
Pinal County Nonattainment Area'', which included a request for an 
extension of the December 31, 2022 attainment date pursuant to CAA 
section 188(e), but that the EPA has not approved the plan or 
attainment date extension. Therefore, the maximum Serious area 
attainment date for West Pinal County remains December 31, 2022.
    \3\ 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 2.3(a).
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    An area attains the 1987 24-hour PM10 standards of 150 
micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) when the expected number of 
days per calendar year with a 24-hour concentration exceeding the 
standards, referred to as an ``exceedance'',\4\ averaged over a three-
year period is equal to or less than one.The expected number of 
exceedances averaged over a three-year period at any given monitor is 
known as the PM10 design value for that site.\5\ The 
PM10 design value for the nonattainment area is the highest 
design value from a monitor within that area. Three consecutive years 
of air quality data are required to show attainment of the 
PM10 standards.
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    \4\ An exceedance is defined as a daily value that is above the 
level of the 24-hour standards, 150 [mu]g/m\3\, after rounding to 
the nearest 10 [mu]g/m\3\ (i.e., values ending in five or greater 
are to be rounded up). Consequently, a recorded value of 154 [mu]g/
m\3\ would not be an exceedance because it would be rounded to 150 
[mu]g/m\3\; whereas, a recorded value of 155 [mu]g/m\3\ would be an 
exceedance because it would be rounded to 160 [mu]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR 
50.6 and 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 1.0.
    \5\ A design value is calculated using a specific methodology 
from monitored air quality data and is used to compare an area's air 
quality to a NAAQS. The methodologies for calculating expected 
exceedances for the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS are found in 
40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, Section 2.1(a).
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    Our proposed determination that the West Pinal County area failed 
to attain the PM10 NAAQS was based on our review of 
preliminary monitoring data for 2020-2022.\6\ As discussed in our 
proposal,\7\ while complete 2020 and 2021 data were available, the 
deadlines for submission of quarter 4 (October through December) 2022 
data and certification of the 2022 data had not yet passed at the time 
our proposal was being developed and these data had not yet been 
submitted and certified. The 2022 data were therefore considered 
incomplete and preliminary. We reviewed such data for all regulatory 
monitoring sites measuring PM10 within the West Pinal County 
nonattainment area, expressed as a single design value for each site 
representing the preliminary average expected exceedances over the 
three-year period, 2020-2022. The PM10 data showed that the 
design values at multiple monitoring sites were greater than 1.0 
estimated annual average exceedances of the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS. Moreover, the EPA explained that even if there 
were zero exceedances in 2022, the 2020-2022 design value would exceed 
1.0 at multiple monitoring sites. Consequently, the EPA proposed to 
determine, based on complete and quality-assured 2020 and 2021 data and 
preliminary 2022 data, that the West Pinal County nonattainment area 
did not attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the applicable 
attainment date of December 31, 2022.
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    \6\ The EPA also based the determination on the adequacy of the 
PM10 monitoring network in the nonattainment area and the 
reliability of the data collected by that network (88 FR 9812, 
9814). For purposes of our proposal, we reviewed findings from the 
EPA's 2019 technical systems audit (TSA), which was the most recent 
TSA available at that time. For purposes of this final action, we 
also reviewed the findings from the EPA's 2022 TSA (see EPA Region 
IX, Technical Systems Audit of the Ambient Air Monitoring Program: 
Pinal County Air Quality Control District, September 13-15, 2022 
(Final Report dated May 2023)). As with the 2019 TSA, none of the 
findings from the 2022 TSA were cause for invalidation of any data 
from the relevant monitors and thus the EPA continues to find that 
the data collected at the West Pinal monitoring sites are suitable 
for determining whether West Pinal County attained the 
PM10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date.
    \7\ 88 FR 9812, 9814.
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    In our proposal to determine that the West Pinal County area did 
not attain the NAAQS by the relevant attainment date, the EPA noted 
that the consequence of a final determination is that the State of 
Arizona would be required under CAA sections 179(d) and 189(d) to 
submit, by December 31, 2023, a revision to the SIP for West Pinal 
County.\8\ The SIP revision must, among other elements, demonstrate 
expeditious attainment of the standards within the time period provided 
under CAA section 179(d), provide for an annual reduction in the 
emissions of direct PM10 or a PM10 plan precursor 
pollutant within the area of not less than five percent until 
attainment, demonstrate reasonable further progress, and include 
contingency measures. The requirement for a new attainment 
demonstration under CAA section 189(d) also triggers the requirement 
for the SIP revision for quantitative milestones under section 189(c) 
that are to be achieved every three years until redesignation to 
attainment.
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    \8\ 88 FR 9812, 9815.
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    Our proposed rule also discussed that because the EPA has not yet 
approved a Moderate or Serious area attainment plan for West Pinal 
County, the Moderate and Serious area requirements also remain 
outstanding, though the EPA anticipates that Arizona's submission of an 
approvable Serious area and 189(d) nonattainment plan would also 
satisfy the State's Moderate area nonattainment plan obligations.\9\ 
The EPA explained that the new attainment date is the date by which 
attainment can be achieved as expeditiously as practicable, but no 
later than five years from the date of the final determination of 
failure to attain, except that the EPA may extend the attainment date 
for a period no greater than 10 years from the final determination, 
considering the severity of nonattainment and the availability and 
feasibility of pollution control measures.
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    \9\ Id.
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II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The public comment period for the proposed rule opened on February 
15, 2023, the date of its publication in the Federal Register, and 
closed on March 17, 2023. During this period, the EPA received comments 
from the Sierra Club and from a private citizen.\10\ The Sierra Club 
comment letter expressed support for our proposal and urged the EPA to 
finalize the determination. The comments from the private citizen 
pertain to the processes followed by the Arizona Agricultural Best 
Management Practices Committee and are not directly relevant to this 
finding of failure to attain the PM10 NAAQS. Copies of the 
Sierra Club comment letter and comments from the private citizen are 
included in the docket for this final action.
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    \10\ Comment submitted March 17, 2023, from Sierra Club to 
docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035, with attached letter dated 
March 17, 2023, from Sandy Bahr, Chapter Director, Sierra Club--
Grand Canyon Chapter, to Ashley Graham, Air Planning Office (AIR-2), 
EPA Region IX; and comment submitted March 17, 2023, from Dan 
Blackson, to docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035.
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III. The EPA's Final Evaluation of Attainment

    As discussed in Section I of this document, our proposed 
determination that the West Pinal County area failed to attain the 1987 
24-hour PM10 NAAQS was based on the EPA's calculation of

[[Page 47028]]

the preliminary PM10 design value for the nonattainment area 
over the 2020-2022 period. Since the time of the EPA's proposal, the 
Pinal County Air Quality Control District has submitted the 2022 
quarter 4 data to the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database,\11\ and 
has certified that the 2022 concentration data are accurate, taking 
into consideration the quality assurance findings.\12\
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    \11\ AQS is the EPA's national repository of ambient air quality 
data.
    \12\ Letter dated April 27, 2023, from Josh DeZeeuw, Air Quality 
Manager, Pinal County Air Quality Control District, to Dena Vallano, 
Manager, Monitoring and Analysis Section, U.S. EPA Region IX, 
Subject: ``RE: AQS Data Certification--2022.''
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    For purposes of this final action, we reviewed the final quality-
assured and certified PM10 air quality monitoring data from 
the 2020-2022 calendar years. Table 1 of this document provides the 
estimated number of PM10 exceedances in each of the years 
2020-2022, and final certified 2022 PM10 design values 
expressed as a single value representing the average expected 
exceedances over the three-year period, 2020-2022, for all regulatory 
monitoring sites measuring PM10 within West Pinal County. 
These design values are identical to those shown in our proposal and 
are greater than 1.0 estimated annual average exceedance of the 1987 
24-hour PM10 NAAQS at multiple monitoring sites. 
Consequently, the EPA is finalizing a determination that, based on 
complete and quality-assured 2020-2022 data, West Pinal County did not 
attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the applicable 
attainment date of December 31, 2022.

           Table 1--2020-2022 PM10 Estimated Exceedances for the West Pinal County Nonattainment Area
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                                                                    PM10 estimated exceedances
       Monitoring site          AQS site ID No.  ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       2020            2021            2022          2020-2022
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Casa Grande Downtown.........      04-021-0001-3             1.2               2               0             1.1
Stanfield....................      04-021-3008-3               4               4               2             3.3
Combs........................      04-021-3009-3               0               1               0             0.3
Pinal County Housing (aka          04-021-3011-3               1               3               0             1.3
 Eleven Mile Corner).........
Eloy.........................      04-021-3014-3             2.2               3               0             1.7
Hidden Valley................      04-021-3015-3            59.6              24            14.1            32.6
Maricopa 1405................      04-021-3016-3               3               2               1               2
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Source: EPA AQS Design Value Report, AMP 480, dated May 23, 2023. (User ID: JCARLSTAD, Report Request ID:
  2107794).

IV. Final Action

    In accordance with sections 179(c)(1) and 188(b)(2) of the CAA, the 
EPA is taking final action to determine that the West Pinal County 
Serious nonattainment area did not attain the 1987 24-hour 
PM10 NAAQS by the Serious area attainment date of December 
31, 2022. Our determination that West Pinal County failed to attain the 
PM10 NAAQS is based on complete, quality-assured, and 
certified PM10 monitoring data for the appropriate three-
year period, 2020-2022.
    As a result of our determination of failure to attain the 1987 24-
hour PM10 NAAQS by the Serious area attainment date, Arizona 
is required under CAA sections 179(d) and 189(d) to submit a revision 
to the SIP for West Pinal County that, among other elements, 
demonstrates expeditious attainment of the standards within the time 
period provided under CAA section 179(d), and that provides for an 
annual reduction in the emissions of direct PM10 or a 
PM10 precursor pollutant within the area of not less than 
five percent until attainment. The SIP revision required under CAA 
sections 179(d) and 189(d) will be due for submittal to the EPA no 
later than December 31, 2023.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Additional information about these statutes and Executive Orders 
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders.

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This action is not a significant regulatory action and was 
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the PRA because it does not contain any information 
collection activities.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    I certify that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This 
action does not impose any requirements on small entities. This action 
requires the State to adopt and submit SIP revisions to satisfy CAA 
requirements and does not itself directly regulate any small entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)

    This action does not contain any unfunded mandate of $100 million 
or more, as described in UMRA (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) and does not 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. This action itself 
imposes no enforceable duty on any state, local, or tribal governments, 
or the private sector. This action determines that West Pinal County 
failed to attain the NAAQS by the applicable attainment date. As of the 
effective date, this determination triggers existing statutory 
timeframes for the state to submit a SIP revision. Such a determination 
in and of itself does not impose any federal intergovernmental mandate.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between 
the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

F. Executive Order 13175: Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in 
Executive Order 13175. As there are no federally recognized tribes 
within West Pinal

[[Page 47029]]

County,\13\ the finding of failure to attain the PM10 NAAQS 
does not apply to tribal areas, and the rule would not impose a burden 
on Indian reservation lands or other areas where the EPA or an Indian 
tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction within West Pinal 
County. Thus, this 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.
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    \13\ A map of Federally-Recognized Tribes in the EPA's Pacific 
Southwest (Region IX) is available at https://www.epa.gov/tribal-pacific-sw/map-federally-recognized-tribes-epas-pacific-southwest-region-9.
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G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks

    The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those 
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks 
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect 
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in 
section 2-202 of the Executive Order. This action is not subject to 
Executive Order 13045 because the effect of this action is to trigger 
additional planning requirements under the CAA. This action does not 
establish an environmental standard intended to mitigate health or 
safety risks.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This final rule is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it 
is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)

    This rulemaking does not involve technical standards.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) directs 
federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by 
law, to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying 
and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse 
human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and 
activities on minority populations (people of color and/or Indigenous 
peoples) and low-income populations. There is no information in the 
record indicating that this action would be inconsistent with the 
stated goals of Executive Order 12898 of achieving environmental 
justice for people of color, low-income populations, and indigenous 
peoples.

K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)

    This rule is exempt from the CRA because it is a rule of particular 
applicability. This rule makes factual determinations for specific 
entities and does not directly regulate any entities. The determination 
of a failure to attain by the attainment date and reclassification does 
not in itself create any new requirements beyond what is mandated by 
the CAA.

L. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 September 19, 2023. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this rule 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, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

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

    Dated: July 13, 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.

Subpart D--Arizona

0
2. Section 52.126 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.126  Control strategy and regulations: Particulate matter.

* * * * *
    (e) Effective August 21, 2023, the EPA has determined that the West 
Pinal Serious PM10 nonattainment area failed to attain the 
1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of 
December 31, 2022. This determination triggers the requirements of CAA 
sections 179(d) and 189(d) for the State of Arizona to submit a 
revision to the Arizona SIP for West Pinal to the EPA by December 31, 
2023. The SIP revision must, among other elements, demonstrate 
expeditious attainment of the 1987 PM10 NAAQS within the 
time period provided under CAA section 179(d) and provide for an annual 
reduction in the emissions of direct PM10 or a 
PM10 plan precursor pollutant within the area of not less 
than five percent until attainment.

[FR Doc. 2023-15339 Filed 7-20-23; 8:45 am]
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