[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63031-63033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19727]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0910; FRL-10564-03-R9]


Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; El Dorado County Air 
Quality Management 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 El Dorado County Air Quality Management District's 
(EDCAQMD 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 October 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR 2022-0910. 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 the 
disclosure of which 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: Camille Cassar, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 947-4164; 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
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On March 31, 2023,\1\ the EPA proposed to approve the rule listed 
in Table 1 into the California SIP.\2\
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    \1\ 88 FR 19233.
    \2\ Concurrent with our proposed approval action, we issued an 
interim final determination that the District had satisfied the 
requirements of title I, part D of the CAA permitting program for 
nonattainment areas within the jurisdiction of the EDCAQMD. See 88 
FR 19225 (March 31, 2023). The effect of our interim final 
determination was that the imposition of sanctions that had been 
triggered in a February 2, 2000 final limited approval and limited 
disapproval action (65 FR 4887) was deferred.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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            Rule No.                    Rule title                  Revised                    Submitted
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Rule 523-1.....................  Federal Non-Attainment   December 7, 2021..........  March 9, 2022.
                                  New Source Review.
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    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 the designated nonattainment areas in El Dorado 
County. Our proposed action contains more information on the rule and 
our evaluation.

II. Public Comments

    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 523-1 satisfies the relevant requirements for a CAA NNSR 
program for ozone and PM2.5 nonattainment areas,\3\ 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.
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    \3\ As discussed in our proposed action, we determined that Rule 
523-1 satisfies the NNSR program requirements applicable to 
nonattainment areas classified as Severe for ozone and Moderate for 
PM2.5, and that the submittal addressed the NNSR 
requirements both the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, as well as the 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS. 88 FR 19233, 19235.
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    Additionally, all sanctions and sanctions clocks triggered by our 
February 2, 2000 final limited approval and limited disapproval action 
(65 FR 4887) will be permanently terminated on the effective date of 
this final approval action. In our interim final determination to defer 
sanctions (88 FR 19225), issued concurrently with our proposed approval 
action, we explained

[[Page 63032]]

our finding that Rule 523-1 would correct the deficiencies that 
triggered such sanctions. We received no comments on this finding or 
our interim final determination. Our interim final determination and 
our proposed action, as well as our Technical Support Document (TSD), 
which can be found in the docket for this action, contain more 
information regarding the basis for our finding in this regard.
    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 El Dorado 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 El Dorado County Air 
Quality Management District Rule 523-1, Federal Non-Attainment New 
Source Review, revised on December 7, 2021, which regulates the 
issuance of permits for stationary sources. 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 14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023);
     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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
     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, 
Feb. 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 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 November 13, 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, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

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

    Dated: August 28, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental 
Protection Agency amends part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations 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 63033]]

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(604)(i)(B) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan-in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (604) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) El Dorado County Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 523-1, ``Federal Non-Attainment New Source Review,'' 
revised on December 7, 2021.
    (2) [Reserved]

0
3. Section 52.281 is amended by adding paragraph (d)(11) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.28  1 Visibility protection.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (11) El Dorado County Air Quality Management District.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-19727 Filed 9-13-23; 8:45 am]
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