Rule2021-11704
Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; California; Eastern Kern Ozone Nonattainment Area; Reclassification to Severe
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 7, 2021
Effective
July 7, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is granting a request by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reclassify the Eastern Kern, California ("Eastern Kern") ozone nonattainment area from "Serious" to "Severe" for the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 107 (Monday, June 7, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 107 (Monday, June 7, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30204-30206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11704]
[[Page 30204]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0340; FRL-10024-58-Region 9]
Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes;
California; Eastern Kern Ozone Nonattainment Area; Reclassification to
Severe
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 California Air Resources
Board (CARB) to reclassify the Eastern Kern, California (``Eastern
Kern'') ozone nonattainment area from ``Serious'' to ``Severe'' for the
2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).
DATES: This rule is effective on July 7, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0340. All documents in the docket are
listed on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, 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: Ben Leers, Air Planning Office (AIR-
2), EPA Region IX, (415) 947-4279, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87cbe2e2f5f4a9c5e2e9ede6eaeee9c7e2f7e6a9e0e8f1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c7059594e4f127e5952565d5155527c594c5d125b534a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
I. Reclassification of Eastern Kern to Severe Ozone Nonattainment
In March 2008, the EPA strengthened the primary and secondary
eight-hour ozone NAAQS from 0.08 parts per million (ppm) to 0.075 ppm
(``2008 ozone NAAQS'').\1\ In accordance with section 107(d) of the
CAA, the EPA must designate an area ``nonattainment'' if it is
violating the NAAQS or if it is contributing to a violation of the
NAAQS in a nearby area. With respect to the ozone NAAQS, the EPA
further classifies nonattainment areas as ``Marginal,'' ``Moderate,''
``Serious,'' ``Severe,'' \2\ or ``Extreme,'' depending upon the ozone
design value for an area.\3\ See CAA section 181(a)(1). 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. See, generally, subpart 2 of part D of title I of the CAA.
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\1\ 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008).
\2\ Throughout this document and in our final rule, we use the
term ``Severe'' to refer to Severe areas that have up to 15 years to
attain the ozone standards. The ozone area designation tables in 40
CFR part 81 specify ``Severe-15'' to distinguish such areas from
``Severe-17'' areas, which are Severe areas that have up to 17 years
to attain the ozone standards.
\3\ For the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the design value at each
monitoring site is the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour
average ozone concentration, averaged over three years. The design
value for an area is the highest design value among the monitoring
sites.
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Effective July 20, 2012, the EPA designated and classified the
Eastern Kern \4\ area under the CAA as Marginal nonattainment for the
2008 ozone NAAQS.\5\ The EPA's classification of the Eastern Kern area
as a Marginal ozone nonattainment area established a requirement that
the area attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable,
but no later than three years from the date of designation as
nonattainment, i.e., July 20, 2015. Under CAA section 181(b)(2), the
EPA is required to determine whether an area attained the ozone NAAQS
by the applicable attainment date. In May 2016, the EPA found that
Eastern Kern failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the July 20, 2015
Marginal attainment date and reclassified the area as Moderate for the
2008 ozone NAAQS with a new maximum attainment date of July 20,
2018.\6\
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\4\ Kern County is located in the southern-most portion of
California's Central Valley. The western portion of Kern County is
part of the San Joaquin Valley air basin and is included within the
San Joaquin Valley ozone nonattainment area. The eastern portion of
Kern County is part of the Mojave Desert air basin. The Eastern Kern
ozone nonattainment area covers the eastern portion of the county
excluding Indian Wells Valley. For more detail on the boundaries of
the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area, see the 2008 ozone table
in 40 CFR 81.305.
\5\ 77 FR 30088 (May 21, 2012).
\6\ 81 FR 26697 (May 4, 2016).
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On October 25, 2017, CARB submitted the ``Eastern Kern Air
Pollution Control District 2017 Ozone Attainment Plan for the Federal
75 ppb 8-Hour Ozone Standard'' (``the Eastern Kern 2017 Ozone Plan'').
The Eastern Kern 2017 Ozone Plan includes a request for voluntary
reclassification of the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area from
Moderate to Serious. Effective August 6, 2018, the EPA granted CARB's
request and reclassified the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area as
Serious for the 2008 ozone NAAQS with a new maximum attainment date of
July 20, 2021.\7\ By letter dated May 15, 2021, CARB submitted a
request from the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District to the EPA
to voluntarily reclassify the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area
from Serious to Severe for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.\8\
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\7\ 83 FR 31334 (July 5, 2018).
\8\ Letter dated May 15, 2021, from Richard W. Corey, Executive
Officer, CARB, to Deborah Jordan, Acting Regional Administrator, EPA
Region IX. In the letter, CARB also requests reclassification of
Eastern Kern to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The EPA will take
action on the reclassification request with respect to the 2015
ozone NAAQS in a separate rulemaking.
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Consistent with CAA section 181(b)(3), we are granting California's
request and reclassifying the Eastern Kern area from Serious to Severe
nonattainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. CAA section 181(b)(3) provides
for ``voluntary reclassification'' and states: ``The Administrator
shall grant the request of any State to reclassify a nonattainment area
in that State in accordance with table 1 of subsection (a) of this
section to a higher classification. The Administrator shall publish a
notice in the Federal Register of any such request and of action by the
Administrator granting the request.'' Under 40 CFR 51.1103(b), a state
``may request, and the Administrator must approve, a higher
classification for any reason in accordance with CAA section
181(b)(3)'' and 40 CFR 51.1103(a), Table 1. The EPA is therefore
granting CARB's request for voluntary reclassification under section
181(b)(3) for the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area, and the EPA is
reclassifying the area from Serious to Severe for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
In the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, the EPA is
proposing a schedule for CARB to submit the plan elements for a Severe
ozone nonattainment area.
[[Page 30205]]
As a result of this action, the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment
area must attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable,
but no later than fifteen years from the effective date of designation
as nonattainment, i.e., no later than July 20, 2027.
The EPA has determined this action falls under the ``good cause''
exemption in section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act
which, upon finding ``good cause,'' authorizes agencies to dispense
with public participation where public notice and comment procedures
are ``impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.''
The EPA has determined that public notice and comment for today's
action is unnecessary because our action to approve voluntary
reclassification requests under CAA section 181(b)(3) is
nondiscretionary both in its issuance and in its content. As such,
notice and comment rulemaking procedures would serve no useful purpose.
II. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), this final action is not a
``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not subject to
Executive Order 12866. 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
these reasons, this final action is also not subject to Executive Order
13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001).
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 that
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, and because tribes are not subject
to implementation plan submittal deadlines that apply to states as a
result of reclassifications.
This rule also does not have tribal implications 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, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). There are no Indian reservation lands or
other areas where the EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction within the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment
area, and thus, this reclassification 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.
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) establishes
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision
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 of their programs,
policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income
populations in the United States. This reclassification action does not
provide the EPA with the discretionary authority to address
disproportionate human health or environmental effects with practical,
appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive Order
12898.
This final action also 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 also is not subject to Executive Order 13045,
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because the EPA interprets
Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those regulatory actions that
concern health or safety risks, such that the analysis required under
section 5-501 of the Executive Order has the potential to influence the
regulation.
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 information 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 EPA will submit a rule report to each
House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United
States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A
major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in
the Federal Register. 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 August 6, 2021. 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, Intergovernmental
relations, National parks, Ozone, Wilderness areas.
Dated: May 27, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends part 81,
chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
[[Page 30206]]
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. 81.305, the table entitled ``California--2008 8-Hour Ozone
NAAQS [Primary and Secondary]'' is amended by revising the entry for
``Kern County (Eastern Kern), CA'' to read as follows:
Sec. 81.305 California.
* * * * *
California-2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
[Primary and secondary]
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Designation Classification
Designated area ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date \1\ Type Date \1\ Type
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* * * * * * *
Kern County (Eastern Kern), CA: \2\ .......................... Nonattainment............. July 7, 2021.............. Severe-15.
Kern County (part):
That portion of Kern County
(with the exception of that
portion in Hydrologic Unit
Number 18090205--the Indian
Wells Valley) east and south of
a line described as follows:
Beginning at the Kern-Los
Angeles County boundary and
running north and east along
the northwest boundary of the
Rancho La Liebre Land Grant to
the point of intersection with
the range line common to Range
16 West and Range 17 West, San
Bernardino Base and Meridian;
north along the range line to
the point of intersection with
the Rancho El Tejon Land Grant
boundary; then southeast,
northeast, and northwest along
the boundary of the Rancho El
Tejon Grant to the northwest
corner of Section 3, Township
11 North, Range 17 West; then
west 1.2 miles; then north to
the Rancho El Tejon Land Grant
boundary; then northwest along
the Rancho El Tejon line to the
southeast corner of Section 34,
Township 32 South, Range 30
East, Mount Diablo Base and
Meridian; then north to the
northwest corner of Section 35,
Township 31 South, Range 30
East; then northeast along the
boundary of the Rancho El Tejon
Land Grant to the southwest
corner of Section 18, Township
31 South, Range 31 East; then
east to the southeast corner of
Section 13, Township 31 South,
Range 31 East; then north along
the range line common to Range
31 East and Range 32 East,
Mount Diablo Base and Meridian,
to the northwest corner of
Section 6, Township 29 South,
Range 32 East; then east to the
southwest corner of Section 31,
Township 28 South, Range 32
East; then north along the
range line common to Range 31
East and Range 32 East to the
northwest corner of Section 6,
Township 28 South, Range 32
East, then west to the
southeast corner of Section 36,
Township 27 South, Range 31
East, then north along the
range line common to Range 31
East and Range 32 East to the
Kern-Tulare County boundary.
* * * * * * * *
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\1\ This date is July 20, 2012, unless otherwise noted.
\2\ Excludes Indian country located in each area, unless otherwise noted.
[FR Doc. 2021-11704 Filed 6-4-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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