[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 236 (Thursday, December 11, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57365-57367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22582]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-1113; FRL-12927-02-R9]
Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Arizona; Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality; Stationary Source Permits; West
Pinal County; PM10
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final action.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to fully approve the Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality's (ADEQ or ``State'') portion of the Arizona State
Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'')
that addresses Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) permitting for
precursor emissions from major stationary sources for purposes of the
1987 PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or
standard) in the West Pinal PM10 nonattainment area.
DATES: This action is effective January 12, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2025-1113. 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: Rebecca Newhouse, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; telephone number: (415) 972-
3936; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comment and EPA Response
III. EPA Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Proposed Action
On September 11, 2025 (90 FR 43980), the EPA proposed to fully
approve ADEQ's NNSR permitting program for precursor emissions from
major stationary sources for the 1987 PM10 NAAQS in the West
Pinal PM10 nonattainment area because we determined that it
fulfills the relevant CAA requirements.
[[Page 57366]]
As described in our proposal, the EPA issued a final rule in
November 2015, taking action on a comprehensive 2012 NSR SIP submittal
from the ADEQ that constituted a major update to the ADEQ's NSR program
(``2015 NSR action''). 80 FR 67319 (Nov. 2, 2015). The EPA's 2015 NSR
action also included a separate limited approval of the ADEQ's NNSR
program for PM10 only with respect to the West Pinal
PM10 nonattainment area, based on the requirements of
section 189(e) of the Act, without an accompanying limited disapproval.
80 FR 67319, 67332; see also 80 FR 14044, 14058, 14060 (Mar. 18, 2015)
(proposed rulemaking for the 2015 NSR action). In the proposal for that
action, the EPA observed that while the 2015 NSR action was generally
SIP strengthening, CAA section 189(e) requires that the ADEQ's NNSR
program for PM10 nonattainment areas apply to major
stationary sources of PM10 precursors unless the EPA
determines that such sources do not contribute significantly to
PM10 levels which exceed the standard in the area. The NSR
program did not apply to all precursors, and at that time, the EPA did
not have the state's PM10 precursor analysis before us, and
we could therefore not fully approve the 2012 NSR SIP submittal as
complying with the CAA. 80 FR 14044, 14058.
On December 15, 2023, the ADEQ submitted the ``2023 Five Percent
Particulate Plan for PM-10 for the West Pinal County Nonattainment
Area'' (``2023 PM10 Plan'') as a revision to the Arizona
SIP, which includes a discussion of PM10 formation in the
West Pinal PM10 nonattainment area and summarizes the
State's PM10 precursor evaluation and determination that
precursors do not contribute significantly to PM10 levels
that exceed the NAAQS in the West Pinal PM10 nonattainment
area. The EPA evaluated the State's PM10 precursor
determination and concurred with the State's evaluation. Our proposal
and TSD provide a more detailed discussion of our analysis supporting
this determination.
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period.
During this period, we received one comment.\1\
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\1\ The comment was received on October 14, 2025, from a member
of the public, and is available at www.regulations.gov under docket
number EPA-R09-OAR-2025-1113.
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The commenter stated, ``I believe the proposal should not be
approved, because public health surveys were not conducted.'' The
commenter stated that while the evidence in the State's PM10
precursor analysis ``seems substantial,'' a survey of citizens within
the nonattainment area to address health concerns related to PM
pollution should be conducted to allow citizens within the
nonattainment area to express their concerns. The commenter noted that
while the proposal was open to public comments, many citizens are not
able to accurately express their concerns.
The EPA acknowledges the commenter's concerns regarding health
input from the public. This issue is outside the scope of the present
rulemaking, and the EPA does not have the authority to compel such a
survey in this context. In the SIP framework established under Title I
of the CAA, heath impacts are evaluated in the process of setting the
NAAQS. The states then choose how to regulate sources such that the
NAAQS are attained. Section 109 of the CAA specifies that the primary
NAAQS are set at a level ``requisite to protect the public health''
with ``an adequate margin of safety.'' The PM10 NAAQS at
issue in this rulemaking was established in 1987 (52 FR 24634, July 1,
1987), and has been evaluated and retained multiple times since then.
See 71 FR 61144 (Oct. 17, 2006), 78 FR 3085 (Jan 15, 2013), 85 FR 82684
(Dec. 18, 2020), 89 FR 16202 (Mar. 6, 2024). Once the NAAQS has been
established and the states are tasked with regulating sources to ensure
attainment of the NAAQS, states are generally not required to re-
evaluate the health impacts of NAAQS pollutants.
Under section 110(k)(3) ``the Administrator shall approve'' a
complete SIP submittal ``if it meets all of the applicable requirements
of [the Act].'' As explained in our proposal and TSD, the applicable
Clean Air Act requirement for the purposes of this action is the
section 189(e) requirement that ``control requirements applicable under
plans in effect under this part for major stationary sources of PM-10
shall also apply to major stationary sources of PM-10 precursors,
except where the Administrator determines that such sources do not
contribute significantly to PM-10 levels which exceed the standard in
the area.'' As outlined in the proposal and TSD, the EPA evaluated the
State's precursor analysis and found their evidence and arguments
sufficient to conclude that, for the purposes of NNSR permitting,
precursors do not significantly contribute to PM10 formation
in the West Pinal nonattainment area. The comment does not indicate
that precursors contribute significantly to PM10 formation
in West Pinal, and it is not clear how public survey information would
assist in the EPA's section 189(e) determination regarding whether
precursors contribute significantly to PM10 levels which
exceed the standard in the area. Lastly, as noted by the commenter, all
members of the public, including those in the West Pinal nonattainment
area, were afforded the opportunity to comment on our proposal within
the 30-day comment period. See CAA section 307(h). The public also had
the opportunity to comment on the EPA's NAAQS evaluation actions.
Although both the State and the EPA are free to conduct additional
public engagement, the EPA may not condition its approval of a SIP
submission on such additional public engagement.
III. EPA Action
No comments were submitted that change our assessment as described
in our proposed action. Therefore, as authorized in section 110(k)(3)
of the Act, the EPA is approving the portion of the Arizona SIP under
the Act that addresses NNSR permitting for precursor emissions from
major stationary sources for purposes of the 1987 PM10 NAAQS
in the West Pinal PM10 nonattainment area. As noted in our
proposal, this resolves the issue that led the EPA to issue a limited
approval in the 2015 NSR action, and this was the only remaining issue
to be resolved regarding the full approvability of the ADEQ's NNSR
program for PM10 in the West Pinal nonattainment area.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, 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 Order 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866;
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions
[[Page 57367]]
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 CAA.
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 action 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).
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 February 9, 2026. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final action
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, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: November 27, 2025.
Michael Martucci,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2025-22582 Filed 12-10-25; 8:45 am]
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