[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20915-20918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06264]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0526; FRL-10286-01-R9]


Air Quality Plans; California; Tehama County Air Pollution 
Control District; New Source Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing 
approval of a revision to the Tehama County Air Pollution Control 
District's (TCAPCD 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''). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to 
follow with a final action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0526 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 the 
disclosure of which 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,

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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 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: Manny Aquitania, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 972-3977; or by 
email to [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rule did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of this rule?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. What is the background for this proposal?
    B. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
    C. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    D. Proposed Action and Public Comment
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rule did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal, including the 
date it was adopted by the District and the date it was submitted to 
the EPA by the California Air Resources Board (CARB or ``the State''). 
The TCAPCD is the air pollution control agency for Tehama County in 
California.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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                                    Rule or regulation
             District                      No.                 Rule title             Adopted      Submitted \1\
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Tehama County APCD...............  Rule 2:3C..........  New and Modified Major          02/28/23        05/11/23
                                                         Sources in the Tuscan
                                                         Buttes Nonattainment
                                                         Areas.
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    On November 11, 2023, the submittal for Rule 2:3C was deemed by 
operation of law to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51, 
appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.
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    \1\ The submittal was transmitted to the EPA via a letter from 
CARB dated May 10, 2023. On December 5, 2023, CARB submitted a 
corrected version of Rule 2:3C, as the copy of the clean version of 
the rule that had been included in the May 11, 2023 SIP submittal 
did not include its adoption date and also contained an additional 
formatting error, and thus did not reflect the final rule that had 
been adopted on February 28, 2023.
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B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    There are no previous versions of Rule 2:3C in the California SIP.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    Rule 2:3C is intended to address the CAA's statutory and regulatory 
requirements for Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) permit programs 
for major sources emitting nonattainment air pollutants and their 
precursors.

II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. What is the background for this proposal?

    The EPA's May 2012 designation of the Tuscan Buttes area of the 
TCAPCD as a nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) \2\ triggered the requirement for the 
District to develop and submit a NNSR program to the EPA for SIP 
approval. CAA section 172(b) and 40 CFR 51.1114. Because Tehama County 
is designated (in part) and classified as Marginal nonattainment for 
the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the District's NNSR program must satisfy the NNSR 
requirements applicable to Marginal ozone nonattainment areas. See 40 
CFR 51.1102. As Tehama County (partial, Tuscan Buttes area) is also 
designated and classified as Marginal nonattainment (Rural Transport) 
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS,\3\ TCAPCD's NNSR program is also required to 
satisfy the NNSR requirements applicable to Marginal ozone 
nonattainment areas for purposes of the 2015 ozone NAAQS. See 40 CFR 
51.1302, 51.1314.\4\
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    \2\ 77 FR 30088, 30109 (May 21, 2012); see 40 CFR 81.305.
    \3\ 83 FR 25776, 25791 (June 4, 2018); see 40 CFR 81.305.
    \4\ The EPA's determination that the Tuscan Buttes nonattainment 
area in Tehama County had attained the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS by 
the applicable attainment dates suspended the requirements to submit 
those SIP elements related to attainment of these NAAQS for so long 
as the area continues to attain but did not suspend the requirement 
to submit an NNSR program. See 81 FR 26697 (May 4, 2016); 87 FR 
63698 (Oct. 20. 2022); 40 CFR 51.1118; 40 CFR 51.1318.
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    Additional information regarding the District's ozone nonattainment 
status and attainment/nonattainment designations for other criteria 
pollutants is included in our Technical Support Document (TSD), which 
may be found in the docket for this rule.

B. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?

    The EPA reviewed Rule 2:3C for compliance with CAA requirements 
for: (1) stationary source preconstruction permitting programs as set 
forth in CAA part D, including CAA sections 172(c)(5) and 173; (2) the 
review and modification of major sources in accordance with 40 CFR 
51.160-51.165 as applicable in Marginal ozone nonattainment areas; (3) 
the review of new major stationary sources or major modifications in a 
designated nonattainment area that may have an impact on visibility in 
any mandatory Class I Federal Area in accordance with 40 CFR 51.307; 
(4) SIPs in general as set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2), including 
110(a)(2)(A) and 110(a)(2)(E)(i); \5\ and (5) SIP revisions as set 
forth in CAA section 110(l) \6\ and 193.\7\ Our review evaluated the 
submittal for compliance with the NNSR requirements applicable to 
Marginal ozone nonattainment areas, and ensured that the submittal 
addressed the NNSR requirements for the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS.
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    \5\ CAA section 110(a)(2)(A) requires that regulations submitted 
to the EPA for SIP approval be clear and legally enforceable, and 
CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)(i) requires that states have adequate 
personnel, funding, and authority under state law to carry out their 
proposed SIP revisions.
    \6\ CAA section 110(l) requires SIP revisions to be subject to 
reasonable notice and public hearing prior to adoption and submittal 
by states to the EPA and prohibits the EPA from approving any SIP 
revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement 
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or any other 
applicable requirement of the CAA.
    \7\ CAA section 193 prohibits the modification of any SIP-
approved control requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in 
a nonattainment area, unless the modification ensures equivalent or 
greater emission reductions of the relevant pollutants.
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C. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    With respect to procedural requirements, CAA sections 110(a)(2) and 
110(l) require that revisions to a SIP

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be adopted by the state after reasonable notice and public hearing. 
Based on our review of the public process documentation included in the 
May 11, 2023, submittal of Rule 2:3C, we find that the TCAPCD has 
provided sufficient evidence of public notice, opportunity for comment 
and a public hearing prior to adoption and submittal of this rule to 
the EPA.
    With respect to the substantive requirements found in CAA sections 
172(c)(5) and 173, and 40 CFR 51.160-51.165, we have evaluated TCAPCD 
Rule 2:3C in accordance with the applicable CAA and regulatory 
requirements that apply to NNSR permit programs under part D of title I 
of the Act for all relevant ozone NAAQS. We find that Rule 2:3C 
satisfies these requirements as they apply to sources subject to the 
NNSR permit program requirements applicable to Marginal ozone 
nonattainment areas. We have also determined that this rule satisfies 
the related visibility requirements in 40 CFR 51.307. In addition, we 
have determined that Rule 2:3C satisfies the requirement in CAA section 
110(a)(2)(A) that regulations submitted to the EPA for SIP approval be 
clear and legally enforceable, and have determined that the submittal 
demonstrates in accordance with CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)(i) that the 
District has adequate personnel, funding, and authority under state law 
to carry out this proposed SIP revision. Our TSD contains a more 
detailed discussion of our analysis of Rule 2:3C.
    Regarding the additional substantive requirements of CAA sections 
110(l) and 193, our action will result in a more stringent SIP, while 
not relaxing any existing provision contained in the SIP. We have 
concluded that our action would comply with section 110(l) because our 
approval of TCAPCD Rule 2:3C will not interfere with any applicable 
requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or 
any other CAA applicable requirement. In addition, our approval of Rule 
2:3C will not relax any pre-November 15, 1990 requirement in the SIP, 
and therefore changes to the SIP resulting from this action ensure 
greater or equivalent emission reductions of ozone and its precursors 
in the District; accordingly, we have concluded that our action is 
consistent with the requirements of CAA section 193.

D. Proposed Action and Public Comment

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to 
approve the submitted rule because it fulfills all relevant 
requirements.
    We have concluded that our approval of the submitted rule would 
comply with the relevant provisions of CAA sections 110(a)(2), 110(l), 
172(c)(5), 173, and 193, and 40 CFR 51.160-51.165 and 40 CFR 51.307. If 
we finalize this action as proposed, our action will be codified 
through revisions to 40 CFR 52.220 (Identification of plan-in part).
    In conjunction with the EPA's SIP approval of the District's 
visibility provisions for sources subject to the NNSR program as 
meeting the relevant requirements of 40 CFR 51.307, this action would 
also revise the regulatory provision at 40 CFR 52.281(d) concerning the 
applicability of the visibility Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) at 40 
CFR 52.28 as it pertains to California, to provide that this FIP does 
not apply to sources subject to review under the District's SIP-
approved NNSR program.
    We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until 
April 25, 2024.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference Rule 2:3C, ``New and Modified Major Sources in the Tuscan 
Buttes Nonattainment Areas,'' adopted on February 28, 2023. Rule 2:3C 
is intended to address the CAA's statutory and regulatory requirements 
for Nonattainment New Source Review permit programs for major sources 
emitting nonattainment air pollutants and their precursors under part D 
of title I of the CAA. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, 
these materials available through https://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).

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 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 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 proposes to approve 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, 
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

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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 
E.O. 12898 of achieving environmental justice for people of color, low-
income populations, and Indigenous peoples.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

    Dated: March 15, 2024.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2024-06264 Filed 3-25-24; 8:45 am]
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