[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7622-7624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02085]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0422; FRL-11353-02-R9]


Air Plan Revisions; California; Butte County Air Quality 
Management District; Nonattainment New Source Review Requirements for 
the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard

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 Butte County Air Quality Management 
District (``District'') portion of the California State Implementation 
Plan (SIP). These revisions address the nonattainment new source review 
(NNSR) requirements for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS or ``standard''). We are approving the SIP revisions 
pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') and its implementing 
regulations.

DATES: This rule is effective March 6, 2024.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0422. 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: Shaheerah Kelly, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4156 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. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On October 17, 2023 (88 FR 71518), the EPA proposed to approve the 
rule listed in Table 1 into the California SIP. The amended rule was 
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the agency that 
serves as the governor's designee for California SIP submittals.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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                                                                                                   Cover letter
                 Rule                             Title           Amendment date  Submittal date       date
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Rule 432..............................  Federal New Source             4/22/2021        8/3/2021        8/3/2021
                                         Review (FNSR).
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    The District's SIP-approved nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) 
program, established in Rule 432, ``Federal New Source Review (FNSR)'' 
(amended March 23, 2017) (``Rule 432''), applies to the construction 
and modification of stationary sources, including major stationary 
sources in nonattainment areas under its jurisdiction.\1\ The District 
submitted the August 3, 2021 SIP revision primarily to demonstrate that 
Rule 432 complies with the 2015 ozone NAAQS NNSR SIP requirements in 40 
CFR 51.165. The only revision to Rule 432 from the SIP-approved NNSR 
program was the removal of provisions related to interpollutant trading 
due to a recent court decision that vacated the interpollutant trading 
program.\2\
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    \1\ 83 FR 26222 (June 6, 2018).
    \2\ Sierra Club v. EPA, 21 F.4th 815 (D.C. Cir. 2021) and 86 FR 
37918 (July 19, 2021).
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    We proposed to approve this rule because we determined that it 
complies with the relevant CAA requirements applicable to the Butte 
County

[[Page 7623]]

nonattainment area as a Marginal ozone nonattainment area. 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, we received no comments that resulted in a change 
in our proposed action.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted that changed our assessment of Rule 432 
as described in our proposed action. Therefore, as authorized in CAA 
section 110(k)(3), and part D of title I of the Act and its regulations 
in 40 CFR 51.165, the EPA is approving Rule 432 into the California 
SIP. The April 22, 2021 version of Rule 432 will replace the previous 
version of this rule amended on March 23, 2017, and approved into the 
SIP on June 6, 2018.

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 finalizing the incorporation by reference of District 
Rule 432, ``Federal New Source Review (FNSR),'' amended on April 22, 
2021, which establishes preconstruction review requirements for major 
stationary sources and major modifications in the Butte County 
nonattainment area. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
documents available through www.regulations.gov and 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 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 CAA. 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. 
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 
Executive Order 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 April 5, 2024. 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, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: January 29, 2024.
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 7624]]

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(504)(i)(A)(2) and 
(c)(591)(i)(B) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (504) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) Previously approved on June 6, 2018, in paragraph 
(c)(504)(i)(A)(1) of this section and now deleted with replacement in 
paragraph (c)(591)(i)(B)(1) of this section: Rule 432, ``Federal New 
Source Review,'' amended on March 23, 2017.
* * * * *
    (591) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) Butte County Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 432, ``Federal New Source Review (FNSR),'' amended on 
April 22, 2021.
    (2) [Reserved]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2024-02085 Filed 2-2-24; 8:45 am]
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