[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 160 (Monday, August 19, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67012-67014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18386]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0199; FRL-12188-01-R9]


Air Quality Plans; Arizona; Maricopa County Air Quality 
Department; Source-Specific SIP Revision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing 
approval of a source-specific revision to the Maricopa County Air 
Quality Department's (MCAQD or ``Department'') portion of the Arizona 
State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision consists of certain 
permit conditions related to emissions offsets generated from the 
replacement of existing diesel-fueled solid waste collection trucks 
promulgated by the MCAQD and submitted by the State of Arizona for 
inclusion in the Maricopa County portion of the Arizona SIP under the 
Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''). The permit conditions have been 
submitted for SIP approval to ensure that they are federally 
enforceable, which is the basis for qualifying certain emissions 
reductions as creditable offsets under the CAA. We are taking comments 
on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2024-0199 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, 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 http://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: Christa Cichoski, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 972-3930; 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 SIP revision did the State submit?
    B. What is the purpose of the submitted source-specific SIP 
revision?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. What is the background for this proposal?
    B. How is the EPA evaluating the source-specific SIP revision?
    C. Does the source-specific SIP revision 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 SIP revision did the State submit?

    On August 3, 2022, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality 
(ADEQ) submitted three source-specific SIP revisions on behalf of the 
MCAQD. The SIP revisions consist of portions of the following three 
operating permits: Facility ID F001645 was issued P0008308, Facility ID 
F001646 was issued P0008309, and Facility ID F000443 was issued 
P0008316. On February 3, 2023, the SIP submittal was deemed complete by 
operation of law. On April 3, 2024, via a letter dated March 29, 
2024,\1\ the ADEQ submitted corrected copies of these same permit 
conditions to correct minor typographical errors. The permits are now 
numbered: P0011602, P0011603, P0011601, respectively.
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    \1\ We note that the Maricopa County letter to ADEQ is dated 
April 1, 2024, which is after the March 29, 2024 date of the ADEQ 
letter. The MCAQD has clarified that their letter contained a 
typographical error and should have been dated March 29, 2024. See 
email dated June 20, 2024, from Kimberly Butler (MCAQD) to Laura 
Yannayon (EPA Region 9), which documents this clarification. A copy 
is provided in the docket for this action.
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B. What is the purpose of the submitted source-specific SIP revision?

    The submitted permit conditions ensure that emission reduction 
credits granted to Waste Management of Arizona, Inc. (Waste Management) 
for replacing existing diesel-fired solid waste collection trucks with 
compressed natural gas (CNG)-fired solid waste collection trucks meet 
the offset integrity criteria contained in 40 CFR part 
51.165(a)(3)(ii)(C)(1)(i), which requires such emission reductions to 
be surplus, permanent, quantifiable, and federally enforceable. 
Approval of these portions of the permits into the Maricopa portion of 
the Arizona SIP will provide the necessary federal enforceability for 
these permit conditions.

[[Page 67013]]

II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. What is the background for this proposal?

    Waste Management replaced 225 diesel-fueled solid waste collection 
trucks with 225 CNG-fueled solid waste collection trucks, which reduced 
annual emissions of NOX from the four collection fleets 
based at three transfer stations within the Maricopa County ozone 
nonattainment area.
    On July 8, 2021, Waste Management submitted an emission reduction 
credit (ERC) application to the Department to certify these emission 
reductions for use as offsets. The Department evaluated the submittal 
and determined the emission reductions qualified as surplus, 
quantifiable, and permanent. The Department further determined that the 
emission reductions would qualify as federally enforceable if the three 
transfer station air quality permits associated with the four 
collection fleets were submitted to the EPA as source-specific SIP 
revisions and approved into the applicable SIP.
    In August 2021, the Department issued Waste Management permits 
P0008308, P0008309, and P0008316, which included permit conditions to 
ensure the emission reductions are surplus, permanent, quantifiable and 
enforceable.\2\ The permits were revised to include a condition that 
the replaced diesel-fueled trucks be either permanently disabled or 
permanently removed from the nonattainment area and a condition that 
CNG trucks can only be replaced in the future with trucks that are 
certified to a NOX emission limit equivalent to, or less 
than, that of current CNG trucks. In addition, the permits were revised 
to include monitoring and recordkeeping requirements to make the 
reductions enforceable.
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    \2\ These permits were subsequently renumbered as permits 
P0011602, P0011603, P0011601, respectively, when corrected copies 
were submitted on April 3, 2024.
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    After the Department revised these permits, the Department issued 
mobile ERC (MERC) Certificates to Waste Management for 33.6 tons/year 
of emission reduction credits. To ensure the federal enforceability of 
these emission reductions, the EPA directed the Department to submit 
the permit conditions related to the emission reduction credits for 
approval into the Maricopa portion of the Arizona SIP. The Maricopa 
County Board of Supervisors approved submittal of the Waste Management 
permit conditions as SIP revisions on July 27, 2022.

B. How is the EPA evaluating the source-specific SIP revision?

    In analyzing this source-specific SIP submittal, we reviewed it for 
compliance with the substantive CAA requirements for SIPs in general as 
set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2), the permit requirements for 
nonattainment areas in CAA section 173, and the requirements for 
offsets in 40 CFR 51.165(a)(3)(ii)(C)(1)(i). We also evaluated the 
submittal and our action to ensure consistency with the requirements 
related to SIP revisions in CAA sections 110(l) and 193.

C. Does the source-specific SIP revision meet the evaluation criteria?

    The EPA's implementing regulations regarding the requirements that 
emission reductions must meet to be used as offsets are found at 40 CFR 
51.165(a)(3). Generally, offsets are creditable if they are permanent, 
surplus, quantifiable, and federally enforceable. We refer to this 
group of requirements as the ``offset integrity criteria.'' We reviewed 
the permit conditions in all three permits pertaining to the emission 
reductions to ensure they met the offset integrity criteria. While the 
conditions in each permit are numbered differently, they all consist of 
the same nine conditions, with the only difference being the quantity 
of ERCs granted in each permit. For convenience, we cite the permit 
condition numbers of Maricopa County Air Quality Permit P0011602 below.
    All of the offset integrity criteria, except for federal 
enforceability, can be evaluated based on a review of the permit terms 
and conditions. Federal enforceability is a status of those terms and 
conditions, determined by who has the authority to enforce the terms 
and conditions. While terms and conditions issued under SIP-approved 
New Source Review (NSR) permit programs normally provide federal 
enforceability, that is not the case for requirements applicable to 
mobile sources, which are not regulated under NSR. By including these 
permit conditions as source-specific SIP revisions, the EPA's approval, 
if finalized, will allow for federal enforceability of the permit terms 
and conditions. This section will discuss each offset integrity 
criterion in further detail.
1. Permanent
    Emissions reductions used as offsets are required to be permanent, 
meaning the reductions continue for the life of the stationary source 
using the emission reductions as offsets. For MERCs, permanence is 
accomplished by including provisions to require the removal or 
destruction of the existing higher-emitting vehicles (or their engines) 
and by preventing the subsequent replacement of the newer lower-
emitting vehicles with higher-emitting vehicles. To ensure the 
permanency of these MERCs, the MCAQD included permit conditions to 
ensure that the diesel-fueled trucks that were replaced were removed 
from the nonattainment area. To ensure that the trucks do not operate 
in the nonattainment area, the MCAQD included a requirement that the 
location and usage of the replaced trucks be continuously monitored. In 
addition, the permit requires any future replacements of the new CNG-
fueled solid waste collection trucks meet an emissions rate that is the 
same or lower than the CNG-fueled trucks.
2. Surplus
    The permit specifies that the MERC quantity shall exclude emission 
reductions otherwise required by the CAA. This provision ensures that 
the emissions reductions that are quantified and credited are surplus 
to all other requirements of the CAA.
3. Quantifiable Emissions
    The permit specifies the calculation methodology and emission 
factors that were used to quantify the emission reductions. The 
requirement to use the emission factors and methodology specified in 
the permit ensures that emission calculations are consistent, accurate, 
and quantifiable.
4. Federally Enforceable
    Emissions reductions are enforceable if the emissions reductions 
are independently verifiable and enforceable as a practical matter. 
Each permit provides practical enforceability of the emissions 
reductions by imposing specific emission limits and monitoring and 
recordkeeping requirements. In order to be federally enforceable, the 
specific Waste Management permit conditions are being approved into the 
Maricopa County portion of the Arizona SIP as source-specific SIP 
revisions.
    Additional information regarding our analysis is provided in the 
TSD included in the docket for this action.

D. Proposed Action and Public Comment

    Pursuant to section 110(k)(3) of the Act, we are proposing approval 
of the source-specific SIP revisions submitted by ADEQ on behalf of the 
MCAQD. This proposed approval action is based on our determination that 
the submittal satisfies the applicable statutory and

[[Page 67014]]

regulatory provisions governing regulation of offsets under CAA section 
173 and 40 CFR 51.165(a)(3)(ii)(C)(1)(i), as explained above. As 
discussed in our TSD, we also found that the source-specific SIP 
revisions met the requirements of sections 110(l) and 193 of the Act. 
If we finalize this action as proposed, our action will be codified 
through revisions to 40 CFR 52.120 (Identification of Plan).
    We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until 
September 18, 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 the three source-specific SIP revisions identified in Section 
I.A. of this preamble, submitted on April 3, 2024. These source-
specific SIP revisions will incorporate specific provisions from 
permits issued by the MCAQD to ensure certain emission reductions are 
surplus, permanent, quantifiable, and federally enforceable. 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).

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 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 EJ 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 EJ 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 dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: August 12, 2024.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2024-18386 Filed 8-16-24; 8:45 am]
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