[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59832-59835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16123]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R08-OAR-2024-0318; FRL-12110-01-R8]


Clean Air Act Reclassification; Colorado; Reclassification of the 
Denver Metro/North Front Range 2015 Ozone Nonattainment Area to Serious

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is granting a request by the State of Colorado to 
reclassify the

[[Page 59833]]

Denver Metro/North Front Range ozone nonattainment area (``DMNFR) from 
``Moderate'' to ``Serious'' for the 2015 8-hour ozone national ambient 
air quality standards (NAAQS).

DATES: This rule is effective on July 24, 2024.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R08-OAR-2024-0318 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 
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: Amrita Singh, Air and Radiation 
Division, US EPA, Region 8, Mail-code 8ARD-IO, 1595 Wynkoop Street, 
Denver, Colorado, 80202-1129, telephone number: (303) 312-6103, email 
address: [email protected].

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

I. Reclassification of the DMNFR Area to ``Serious'' Ozone 
Nonattainment

    On October 1, 2015, the EPA strengthened the primary and secondary 
NAAQS for ozone to a level of 0.070 parts per million, to be assessed 
using the ``design value'' metric: the annual fourth-highest daily 
maximum 8-hour average concentration, averaged over 3 years.\1\ 
Effective August 3, 2018, based on what were then the three most recent 
years (2014-2016) of air monitoring data, EPA designated all areas that 
were violating the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS as nonattainment.\2\ In that 
action, EPA designated the DMNFR Area as nonattainment and classified 
the area as ``Marginal'' based on the area's design value.\3\ As a 
general matter, higher-classified ozone nonattainment areas are subject 
to a greater number of, and more stringent, CAA planning requirements 
than lower-classified areas, but are allowed more time to attain the 
ozone NAAQS.\4\ States with areas designated as nonattainment and 
classified as ``Marginal'' were required to attain the 2015 8-hour 
ozone NAAQs as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than August 
3, 2021, based on 2018-2020 monitoring data.\5\ Effective November 7, 
2022, EPA determined that the DMNFR Area, among other areas, had failed 
to attain the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS by the applicable ``Marginal'' 
area attainment deadline, and accordingly reclassified the area as 
``Moderate''.\6\
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    \1\ Final rule, National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 
Ozone, 80 FR 65292 (Oct. 26, 2015).
    \2\ Final rule, Additional Air Quality Designations for the 2015 
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 
2018).
    \3\ 40 CFR 50.19. EPA subsequently expanded the boundary of the 
Metro/North Front Range 2015 ozone NAAQS nonattainment area to 
include all of Weld County. Final rule, Additional Revised Air 
Quality Designations for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards, 86 FR 67864 (Nov. 30, 2021).
    \4\ See generally CAA title I, part D, subpart 2.
    \5\ See 40 CFR 51.1303 (defining Marginal attainment date as 
three years after the effective date of designation for the area).
    \6\ Final rule, Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment 
Date, 87 FR 60897 (Oct. 7, 2022).
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    On June 8, 2024, the State of Colorado requested that EPA 
reclassify the DMNFR Area from ``Moderate'' to ``Serious''. We are 
approving Colorado's reclassification request under the Act's 
``voluntary reclassification'' provisions: ``The Administrator shall 
grant the request of any State to reclassify a nonattainment area in 
that State . . . to a higher classification.'' \7\ Similarly, by 
regulation EPA has provided that a state ``may request, and the 
Administrator must approve, a higher classification for any reason in 
accordance with CAA section 181(b)(3).'' \8\ Because the plain language 
of the statute and regulation mandates that we approve this request, 
EPA is granting Colorado's request for voluntary reclassification for 
the DMNFR Area for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, and accordingly is 
reclassifying the area from ``Moderate'' to ``Serious''. As a result of 
this action, Colorado must now attain the 2015 ozone standard as 
expeditiously as practicable but no later than August 3, 2027, which is 
nine years from the area's date of designation as nonattainment.
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    \7\ CAA section 181(b)(3), 42 U.S.C. 7511(b)(3).
    \8\ 40 CFR 51.1103(b).
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    The EPA has determined that this action falls under section 
553(b)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which authorizes 
agencies, upon finding ``good cause,'' to take rulemaking actions 
without public notice and comment when these procedures are 
``impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.'' We 
have determined that public notice and comment procedures are 
unnecessary here because EPA's action to approve voluntary 
reclassification requests under CAA section 181(b)(3) is 
nondiscretionary both in its issuance and in its content. Therefore, 
notice and comment rulemaking procedures would serve no useful purpose 
in connection with this action.
    The EPA also finds that there is good cause under APA section 
553(d)(3) for this reclassification to become effective on the date of 
publication. That section allows an effective date of less than 30 days 
after publication ``as otherwise provided by the agency for good cause 
found and published with the rule.'' \9\ The purpose of the 30-day 
waiting period generally prescribed in APA section 553(d)(3) is to give 
affected parties a reasonable time to adjust their behavior and prepare 
before the final rule takes effect. This rule, however, does not create 
any new regulatory requirements that would cause affected parties to 
need time to prepare before the rule takes effect. Applicable SIP 
requirements and deadlines associated with the reclassification will be 
addressed in a separate notice, which will include an opportunity for 
public comment. For this reason, EPA finds good cause under APA section 
553(d)(3) for this reclassification to become effective on the date of 
publication.
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    \9\ 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
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II. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) this 
final action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore 
is not subject to a requirement for Executive Order 12866 review. With 
respect to lands under state jurisdiction, voluntary reclassifications 
under CAA section 181(b)(3) of the CAA are based solely upon requests 
by the state, and the EPA is required under the CAA to grant them. 
These actions do not, in and of themselves, impose any new requirements 
on any sectors of the economy. In addition, because the statutory 
requirements are clearly defined with respect to the differently 
classified areas, and because those requirements are automatically 
triggered by reclassification, reclassification does not impose a 
materially adverse impact under Executive Order 12866. For those 
reasons, this final action is also not subject to Executive Order 
13211.

[[Page 59834]]

``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2021).
    In addition, I certify that this final rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and this 
final rule 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), because the EPA is required to 
grant requests by states for voluntary reclassifications and such 
reclassifications in and of themselves do not impose any Federal 
intergovernmental mandate.
    This rule also does not have any tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because it will 
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on 
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes. In addition, tribes are not subject to 
implementation plan submittal deadlines that apply to states as result 
of reclassifications.
    Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) establishes 
Federal executive policy on environmental justice. It 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 on their programs, policies, and 
activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the 
United States. This reclassification action relates to ozone, a 
pollutant that is regional in nature, and is not the type of action 
that could result in the types of local impacts addressed in Executive 
Order 12898.
    This final action does not have federalism implications because it 
does not have substantial direct effects on the states, on the 
relationship between the National Government, and the states, nor on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels 
of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, 
August 10, 1999. This final action does not alter the relationship or 
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA.
    This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045, ``Protection of 
the Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997), because EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as 
applying only to those regulatory actions considered significant under 
section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866 and that also concern 
environmental health or safety risks that EPA has reason to believe may 
disproportionally affect children per the definition of ``covered 
regulatory action'' in section 2-202 of Executive Order 13045.
    Reclassification actions do not involve technical standards, and 
thus the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. 
This rule does not impose an informative collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act (CRA), 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added 
by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 
generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency 
promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy 
of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States. The CRA allows the issuing agency to make 
a rule effective sooner than otherwise provided by the CRA if the 
agency makes a good cause finding that notice and comment rulemaking 
procedures are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest (5 U.S.C. 808(2)). The EPA has made a good cause finding for 
this rule as discussed in section I. of the preamble, including the 
basis for the finding. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined 
by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuits by September 23, 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 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Greenhouse gases, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.

    Dated: July 17, 2024
KC Becker,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 40 CFR part 81 is 
amended as follows:

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

0
2. In Sec.  81.306, the table entitled ``Colorado-2015 8-hour Ozone 
NAAQS [Primary and Secondary]'' is amended by revising the entry 
``Denver Metro/North Front Range, CO'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.306  Colorado.

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                                        Colorado--2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
                                             [Primary and Secondary]
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                                               Designation                          Classification
        Designated area \1\        -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Date \2\           Type                Date \2\                Type
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Denver Metro/North Front Range, CO  .........  Nonattainment........  July 24, 2024.......  Serious.
Adams County.
Arapahoe County.
Boulder County.
Broomfield County.

[[Page 59835]]

 
Denver County.
Douglas County.
Jefferson County.
Larimer County (part).
Including the portion of Rocky
 Mountain National Park therein
 and that portion of the county
 that lies south of a line
 described as follows: Beginning
 at a point on Larimer County's
 eastern boundary and Weld
 County's western boundary
 intersected by 40 degrees, 42
 minutes, and 47.1 seconds north
 latitude, proceed west to a point
 defined by the intersection of 40
 degrees, 42 minutes, 47.1 seconds
 north latitude and 105 degrees,
 29 minutes, and 40.0 seconds west
 longitude, thence proceed south
 on 105 degrees, 29 minutes, 40.0
 seconds west longitude to the
 inter-section with 40 degrees, 33
 minutes and 17.4 seconds north
 latitude, thence proceed west on
 40 degrees, 33 minutes, 17.4
 seconds north latitude until this
 line intersects Larimer County's
 western boundary and Grand
 County's eastern boundary.
Weld County.......................     12/30/
                                         2021
 
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\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the
  boundaries of any area of Indian country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the
  larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation area is not a determination
  that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is August 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted.

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[FR Doc. 2024-16123 Filed 7-23-24; 8:45 am]
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