Notice2022-15953
Clean Air Act Grant; Ventura County Air Pollution Control District; Opportunity for Public Hearing
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
July 26, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The EPA is proposing to determine that the reduction in expenditures of recurrent non-Federal funds for the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District ("VCAPCD" or "District") in support of its continuing air program under section 105 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the calendar year 2021 are a result of non-selective reductions in expenditures. This determination, when final, will permit the VCAPCD to receive grant funding for fiscal year (FY) 2022 from the EPA under section 105 of the CAA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44387-44388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15953]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0360; FRL-9787-01-R9]
Clean Air Act Grant; Ventura County Air Pollution Control
District; Opportunity for Public Hearing
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed action; determination with request for comments and
notice of opportunity for public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to determine that the reduction in
expenditures of recurrent non-Federal funds for the Ventura County Air
Pollution Control District (``VCAPCD'' or ``District'') in support of
its continuing air program under section 105 of the Clean Air Act (CAA)
for the calendar year 2021 are a result of non-selective reductions in
expenditures. This determination, when final, will permit the VCAPCD to
receive grant funding for fiscal year (FY) 2022 from the EPA under
section 105 of the CAA.
DATES: Comments and/or requests for a public hearing must be received
by the EPA at the address stated below on or before August 25, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0360 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</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>. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be
Proprietary Business Information (PBI) or Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure 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 (e.g., 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 PBI/CBI or 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: Roberto Gutierrez, EPA Region IX,
Grants and Program Integration Office, Air and Radiation Division, 75
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; phone at (415) 947-4276 or
email address at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3f584a4b565a4d4d5a45114d505d5a4d4b507f5a4f5e11585049"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="472032332e223535223d69352825223533280722372669202831">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 105 of the CAA provides grant
funding to air pollution control agencies for the prevention and
control of air pollution or implementation of national primary and
secondary ambient air quality standards. In accordance with 40 CFR
35.145(a), the Regional Administrator may provide air pollution control
agencies up to three-fifths of the approved costs of implementing
programs for the prevention and control of air pollution. CAA Section
105 grants require a cost share (also referred to as a match
requirement) of 40%. Program activities relevant to the match consist
of both recurring and non-recurring (unique, one-time only) expenses.
In addition, air pollution control agencies must meet a maintenance of
effort (MOE) requirement in accordance with section 105(c)(1) of the
CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7405.
The MOE provision requires that an eligible agency spend at least
the same dollar level of funds as it did in the previous grant year for
the costs of recurring activities. Specifically, section 105(c)(1) of
the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7405(c)(1), provides that, ``No agency shall receive
any grant under this section during any fiscal year when its
expenditures of non-Federal funds for recurrent expenditures for air
pollution control programs will be less than its expenditures were for
such programs during the preceding fiscal year.'' However, pursuant to
CAA section 105(c)(2), 42 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2), the EPA may still award a
grant to an agency not meeting the requirements of section 42 U.S.C.
7405(c)(1), ``. . . if the Administrator, after notice and opportunity
for public hearing, determines that a reduction in expenditures is
attributable to a non-selective reduction in the expenditures in the
programs of all Executive branch agencies of the applicable unit of
Government.'' These statutory requirements are repeated in the EPA's
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 35.140-35.148. The EPA issued a
memorandum dated September 30, 2011, entitled ``Updated Information for
Determining a Non-Selective Reduction'' with guidance to recipients on
what constitutes a nonselective reduction. In consideration of the
legislative history, the guidance clarified that a non-selective
reduction does not necessarily mean that each executive branch agency
needs to be reduced in equal proportion. However, it must be clear to
the EPA, from the weight of evidence, that a recipient's CAA-related
air program is not being disproportionately impacted or singled out for
a reduction.
A section 105 grant recipient must submit a final federal financial
report no later than 90 days from the close of its grant period that
documents all of its federal and non-federal expenditures for the
completed period. The recipient seeking an adjustment to its MOE for
that period must provide the rationale and the documentation necessary
to enable the EPA to determine that a nonselective reduction has
occurred. In order to expedite that determination, the
[[Page 44388]]
recipient must provide details of the budget action and the comparative
fiscal impacts on all the jurisdiction's executive branch agencies, and
the recipient's air program. The recipient needs to identify any
executive branch agencies or programs that should be excepted from
comparison and explain why. The recipient must provide evidence that
the air program is not being singled out for a reduction or being
disproportionately reduced. Documentation in key areas is needed
including budget data specific to the recipient's air program, and
comparative budget data between the recipient's air program, the agency
containing the air program, and the other executive branch agencies.
The EPA may also request information from the recipient about how
impacts on its program operations will affect its ability to meet its
CAA obligations and requirements, and documentation that explains the
cause of the reduction, such as legislative changes or the issuance of
a new executive order.
In FY 2021, the EPA awarded the VCAPCD $1,106,518, which
represented approximately 10% of the VCAPCD budget. In FY2022, the EPA
intends to award the VCAPCD $1,115,038, which represents approximately
12% of the VCAPCD budget.
VCAPCD's final federal financial report for FY2020 indicated that
VCAPCD's MOE level was $6,055,144. VCAPCD's final federal financial
report for FY2021 indicates that VCAPCD's expenditure on recurrent
activities is $5,620,253. That level of expenditure is not sufficient
to meet the MOE requirements for FY2021 under section 105 because it is
not equal to or greater than the MOE for the previous fiscal year.
In order for the VCAPCD to be eligible to receive its FY2022 CAA
section 105 grant, the EPA must make a determination (after notice and
an opportunity for a public hearing) that the reduction in expenditures
from 2020 to 2021 is attributable to a non-selective reduction in the
expenditures in the programs of the VCAPCD.
The VCAPCD is a single-purpose air pollution control agency. It is
the unit of government for CAA section 105(c)(2) purposes.
On February 7, 2022, the VCAPCD submitted a request to the EPA
seeking a reduction for the required MOE for FY2021. The District
provided supplemental information pertaining to its request on June 1,
2022. The VCAPCD explained that it was unable to meet its MOE
requirement due to a decrease in reoccurring services and supplies
expenses, particularly rent payments. VCAPCD was renting office space
up until mid-2021 when they moved into a building they purchased to
serve as their permanent office space. In FY2020 the District paid
$626,800 in rent as a recurring cost. In FY2021, the District paid six
months of rent, or $259,754, and categorized the cost as nonrecurring.
Since moving into the new offices the District no longer pays rent and
the decrease in expenditure significantly impacts VCAPCD's MOE from
previous years. Additionally, the District experienced significant
payroll changes impacting its overall budget. In FY2021 VCAPCD approved
a general salary increase for all employees. Other changes included
senior level employees retiring, with some positions filled by entry
level staff at lower starting salaries, and other positions remaining
vacant due to the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly,
many services and supplies were postponed or reduced due to the COVID-
19 pandemic. Travel for conferences, trainings, and seminars were
cancelled, held virtually, or postponed.
The EPA proposes to find that the request for a reset of VCAPCD's
MOE meets the requirements for a non-selective reduction under CAA
section 105. The VCAPCD's reduction in rent as a recurrent expenditure,
the inability to fill vacant positions created by retirements, and a
significant cut back on expenditures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
contributed to the reduction in expenditures.
The EPA proposes that the MOE for VCAPCD's FY2021 CAA section 105
grant be reduced to $5,520,253 to address the non-selective reduction
of recurrent expenditures discussed above.
This notice constitutes a request for public comment and an
opportunity for public hearing as required by the CAA. All written
substantive comments received by August 25, 2022 on this proposal will
be considered. The EPA will conduct a public hearing on this proposal
only if a written request for such is received by the EPA by August 25,
2022. If no written request for a hearing is received or if the EPA
determines that the issues raised are insubstantial, the EPA will
proceed to the final action to award the fiscal year 2022 grant to
VCAPCD.
Dated: July 20, 2022.
Elizabeth Adams,
Director, Air and Radiation Division, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2022-15953 Filed 7-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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