Proposed Rule2022-15027
Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District; Stationary Source Permits
Primary source
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Published
July 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Tuolumne 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42132-42135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15027]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0584; FRL-9939-01-R9]
Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Tuolumne County Air
Pollution Control District; Stationary Source Permits
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a revision to the Tuolumne 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 August 15, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2021-0584 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e9bbd0a8809bb98c9b84809d9aa98c9988c78e869f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="84d6bdc5edf6d4e1f6e9edf0f7c4e1f4e5aae3ebf2">[email protected]</span></a>. For comments submitted at <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, follow
the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. For either
manner of submission, the EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information
the disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Multimedia
[[Page 42133]]
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 and multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>. 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: Amber Batchelder, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 947-4174, or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4c6c5d0c7ccc1c8c0c1d68ac5c9c6c1d6e4c1d4c58ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5a383b2e39323f363e3f28743b37383f281a3f2a3b743d352c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``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
A. What is the background for this proposal?
B. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
C. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
III. Proposed Action and Public Comment
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. 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 on which it was adopted by the District and the date on which 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
Tuolumne County in California.
Table 1--Submitted Rule
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Local agency Rule # Rule title Adopted Submitted
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TCAPCD........................... 429 Federal New Source Review... 07/06/21 08/03/21
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For areas designated nonattainment for one or more National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the applicable SIP must include
preconstruction review and permitting requirements for new or modified
major stationary sources of such nonattainment pollutant(s) under part
D of title I of the Act, commonly referred to as Nonattainment New
Source Review (NNSR). The rule listed in Table 1 contains the
District's NNSR permit program applicable to new and modified major
sources located in areas designated nonattainment for the 1997 and 2015
ozone NAAQS.
On February 3, 2022, the submittal for Rule 429 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.
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
There are no previous versions of Rule 429 in the SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
Rule 429 is intended to address the CAA's statutory and regulatory
requirements for NNSR permit programs for major sources emitting
nonattainment air pollutants and their precursors.
II. The EPA's Evaluation
A. What is the background for this proposal?
The EPA's April 2004 designation of Tuolumne County as a
nonattainment area for the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) triggered the requirement for the District to
develop and submit an NNSR program to the EPA for SIP approval.\1\
Although the EPA revoked the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS effective April 6,
2015,\2\ the NNSR requirements applicable to Tuolumne County based on
its designation and classification for the revoked 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS remain applicable in order to prevent future emissions from new
and modified major stationary sources from increasing beyond the levels
allowed, based on the area's prior designation and classification for
the 1997 ozone NAAQS. Thus, because Tuolumne County was designated and
classified as Moderate nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS,
the District's NNSR program must satisfy the NNSR requirements
applicable to Moderate ozone nonattainment areas, including the offset
ratios identified in CAA section 182(b)(5).\3\ Tuolumne County is also
designated and classified as Marginal nonattainment for the 2015 8-hour
ozone NAAQS and, therefore, subject to the NNSR requirements applicable
to Marginal ozone nonattainment areas.\4\ Submission of an NNSR program
that satisfies the requirements of the Act and the EPA's regulations
for Moderate ozone nonattainment areas, however, would satisfy the NNSR
program requirements for Marginal ozone nonattainment areas.\5\
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\1\ CAA section 172(b) and 40 CFR 51.914.
\2\ 80 FR 12264, 12265 (March 6, 2015).
\3\ The EPA's determination that the Tuolumne County area had
attained the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment
date 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. 40 CFR 51.918; see also 77 FR 71551 (Dec. 3, 2012) (noting
that the EPA's attainment determination does not redesignate the
area to attainment or relax control requirements).
\4\ 40 CFR 51.1314.
\5\ The NNSR requirements applicable to Moderate ozone
nonattainment areas are identical to those that apply to Marginal
ozone nonattainment areas, except that Moderate nonattainment areas
are subject to a more stringent offset ratio than Marginal
nonattainment areas. CAA sections 182(a)(2)(C) (requiring permit
programs consistent with CAA sections 172(c)(5) and 173 for ozone
nonattainment areas), 182(a)(4) (establishing 1.1 to 1 offset ratio
for Marginal nonattainment areas), and 182(b)(5) (establishing 1.15
to 1 offset ratio for Moderate nonattainment areas) and 40 CFR
51.165.
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Additional information regarding the District's nonattainment
status for each pollutant 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 429 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 Moderate ozone nonattainment areas; (3) the
review of new major stationary sources or major modifications in a
designated nonattainment area that may have an
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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); \6\ and
(5) SIP revisions as set forth in CAA section 110(l) and
193.<SUP>7 8</SUP> Our review evaluated the submittal for compliance
with the NNSR requirements applicable to Moderate ozone nonattainment
areas, and ensured that the submittal addressed the NNSR requirements
for the 1997 and 2015 ozone NAAQS.
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\6\ 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.
\7\ Per CAA section 110(l), SIP revisions are subject to
reasonable notice and public hearing prior to adoption and submittal
by states to the EPA. Additionally, CAA section 110(l) 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.
\8\ 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 be adopted by the state after
reasonable notice and public hearing. Based on our review of the public
process documentation included in the August 3, 2021 submittal of Rule
429, we find that the District has provided sufficient evidence of
public notice, opportunity for comment, and a public hearing prior to
adoption and submittal of these rules 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 Rule 429
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, including the 2015 ozone NAAQS. We find that
Rule 429 satisfies these requirements as they apply to sources subject
to the NNSR permit program requirements applicable to Moderate 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 429 satisfies the requirement in CAA section
110(a)(2)(A) that requires regulations submitted to the EPA for SIP
approval be clear and legally enforceable, and we 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 these proposed SIP revisions.
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 Rule 429 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 429 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.
III. Proposed Action and Public Comment
As authorized in sections 110(k)(3) and 301(a) of the Act, the EPA
is proposing to approve the submitted rule because it fulfills the
relevant CAA requirements, and strengthens the SIP. 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,
40 CFR 51.160-51.165, and 40 CFR 51.307.
If finalized 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
August 15, 2022.
IV. 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 District rule described in Section I.A. of this preamble.
The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials available
through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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).
V. 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 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:
<bullet> 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 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
<bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
<bullet> 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.);
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
<bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
<bullet> 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; and
<bullet> Does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority
to address
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disproportionate human health or environmental effects with practical,
appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive Order
12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
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).
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.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: July 7, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2022-15027 Filed 7-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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