Rule2022-22192
Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date, California Areas Classified as Serious for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards and Marginal for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Primary source
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Published
October 20, 2022
Effective
November 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a determination that the Nevada County (Western part) and Ventura County areas in California, both classified as Serious for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the July 20, 2021 attainment date. The EPA is also finalizing a determination that six areas in California classified as Marginal for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the August 3, 2021 attainment date. These six areas are: Butte County, Calaveras County, San Luis Obispo (Eastern part), Sutter Buttes, Tuolumne County, and Tuscan Buttes. Our final determination of attainment is based on the exclusion of exceedances of the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS that occurred on multiple days in 2018 and 2020, because the exceedances were due to exceptional events. We are also finalizing our determination that the requirement for the State to have contingency measures for Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) and attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS for the Nevada County (Western part) and Ventura nonattainment areas will no longer apply, because the contingency measures will never be needed given the attainment of the NAAQS by the attainment date. This action fulfills the EPA's statutory obligation to determine whether these ozone nonattainment areas attained the NAAQS by the relevant attainment dates.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 202 (Thursday, October 20, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 202 (Thursday, October 20, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63698-63701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22192]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0412; FRL-9818-02-R9]
Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date, California
Areas Classified as Serious for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards and Marginal for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a
determination that the Nevada County (Western part) and Ventura County
areas in California, both classified as Serious for the 2008 ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), attained the 2008 ozone
NAAQS by the July 20, 2021 attainment date. The EPA is also finalizing
a determination that six areas in California classified as Marginal for
the 2015 ozone NAAQS, attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the August 3,
2021 attainment date. These six areas are: Butte County, Calaveras
County, San Luis Obispo (Eastern part), Sutter Buttes, Tuolumne County,
and Tuscan Buttes. Our final determination of attainment is based on
the exclusion of exceedances of the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS that
occurred on multiple days in 2018 and 2020, because the exceedances
were due to exceptional events. We are also finalizing our
determination that the requirement for the State to have contingency
measures for Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) and attainment for the
2008 ozone NAAQS for the Nevada County (Western part) and Ventura
nonattainment areas will no longer apply, because the contingency
measures will never be needed given the attainment of the NAAQS by the
attainment date. This action fulfills the EPA's statutory obligation to
determine whether these ozone nonattainment areas attained the NAAQS by
the relevant attainment dates.
DATES: The effective date of this rule is November 21, 2022.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0412. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Lawrence, Air Planning Office
(AIR-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105;
By phone: (415) 972-3407 or by email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2945485e5b4c474a4c0745485c5b48694c5948074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8d4d9cfcaddd6dbdd96d4d9cdcad9f8ddc8d996dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' means the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
II. Public Comment Period and Final Action
III. Summary of Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
[[Page 63699]]
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
On July 14, 2022,\1\ the EPA proposed to determine that two areas
classified as Serious nonattainment for the 2008 ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') attained the standards
by their July 21, 2021 attainment date, and that six areas classified
as Marginal for the 2015 ozone standards attained the standards by
their August 3, 2021 attainment date.\2\ The EPA proposed these
findings to fulfill our statutory obligation under Clean Air Act (CAA
or the Act) section 181(b)(2) to determine whether areas with
attainment dates in 2021 attained the relevant standards by their
applicable attainment dates. These proposed determinations were based
on complete, quality-assured and certified ozone air quality monitoring
data for the 2018-2020 calendar years, and based on the exclusion of
certain exceedances of the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS that occurred on
multiple days in 2018 and 2020, because the exceedances were due to
exceptional events.
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\1\ 87 FR 42126 (July 14, 2022).
\2\ The 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS are both 8-hour standards; the
2008 ozone NAAQS was set at a level of 0.075 ppm (73 FR 16436, March
27, 2008), and the 2015 ozone NAAQS was set at a level of 0.070 ppm
(80 FR 65291, October 26, 2015).
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Specifically, we proposed to determine than the Ventura County and
the Nevada County (Western part) (or ``Western Nevada County'') areas
attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the Serious area attainment date of
July 20, 2021, and that the Butte County, Calaveras County, San Luis
Obispo (Eastern part) (or ``Eastern San Luis Obispo''), Sutter Buttes,
Tuloumne County, and Tuscan Buttes areas attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS
by the Marginal area attainment date of August 3, 2021. A summary of
the actions proposed for the two areas classified Serious for the 2008
ozone NAAQS is provided in Table 1 of this document, and a summary of
the actions proposed for the six areas classified Marginal for the 2015
ozone NAAQS is provided in Table 2 of this document.
Table 1--2008 Ozone NAAQS Serious Nonattainment Area Action Summary \a\
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2018-2020 2008 NAAQS attained
2008 NAAQS nonattainment area design value by the Serious
(ppm) attainment date?
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Nevada County (Western part)...... 0.075 Attained.
Ventura County.................... 0.075 Attained.
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\a\ The data shown exclude exceedances due to exceptional events.
Table 2--2015 Ozone NAAQS Marginal Nonattainment Area Action Summary \a\
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2018-2020 2015 NAAQS attained
2015 NAAQS nonattainment area design value by the Marginal
(ppm) attainment date?
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Butte County...................... \b\ 0.070 Attained.
Calaveras County.................. 0.069 Attained.
San Luis Obispo (Eastern part).... 0.070 Attained.
Sutter Buttes..................... 0.070 Attained.
Tuolumne County................... 0.070 Attained.
Tuscan Buttes..................... 0.070 Attained.
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\a\ The data shown exclude exceedances due to exceptional events.
\b\ The average percent completeness for one of the monitors in Butte
County, located in Paradise, CA, is 88 percent due to a power loss
caused by regional California wildfires. Per 40 CFR part 50, appendix
U, 4(c) the California Air Resources Board (CARB) submitted a request
to the Regional Administrator for Region 9 to count missing data for
79 days between November 8, 2018, and January 25, 2019, towards the
minimum data completeness requirements. This request was approved and
results in data completeness over 90 percent on average over the three-
year period of 2018-2020 for the site; therefore, this design value is
considered valid. For more information regarding the Paradise monitor
data certification and the state's request, see the Technical Support
Document for the proposed action and data certification letters
included in the docket.
In our proposed rule, we also proposed to determine that, if the
proposed determinations of attainment by the attainment date were
finalized for the Ventura County and Western Nevada County
nonattainment areas, then the requirement for the State to have
contingency measures for failure to meet RFP and failure to attain for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS would no longer apply, because contingency
measures would never be needed given the attainment of the NAAQS by the
attainment date (see section II.D of the proposed rule).
Our proposed rule includes additional information about ozone air
pollution, the NAAQS, and the statutory and regulatory bases for making
these proposed determinations of attainment. Our proposed rule and the
Technical Support Document (TSD) accompanying the proposed rule also
include additional information about the relevant nonattainment areas,
information about areas of Indian Country within the nonattainment
areas, and additional information about the data considered for this
action.
II. Public Comment Period and Final Action
The public comment period for the EPA's July 14, 2022 proposal
closed on August 15, 2022. We received no comments on our proposal.
Pursuant to section 181(b)(2)(A) of the CAA and 40 CFR 51.1303, the
EPA is making final determinations that the Serious nonattainment areas
listed in Table 1 attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date of July 20, 2021, and the Marginal nonattainment areas
listed in Table 2 attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date of August 3, 2021. Once effective, this final action
satisfies the EPA's obligation pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) to
determine, based on an area's air quality as of the attainment date,
whether the area attained the standard by the applicable attainment
date. This determination also establishes that, in
[[Page 63700]]
accordance with CAA section 181(b)(2)(A), the area will not be
reclassified for failure to attain by the applicable attainment date.
The EPA is also making a final determination that the requirement
for the Western Nevada County and Ventura nonattainment areas to have
contingency measures for failure to meet RFP and failure to attain the
2008 ozone NAAQS by the attainment date no longer applies, because
contingency measures can never be triggered given the attainment of the
NAAQS by the attainment date. This finding will not prevent the EPA, in
the event that an area subsequently violates the NAAQS, from exercising
its authority under the CAA to address violations of the NAAQS.\3\ Our
proposed rule has more information about the EPA's rationale for these
actions.
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\3\ See Bahr v Regan, 6 F.4th 1059, 1085 (9th Cir. 2021); see
also 42 U.S.C. 7407(d)(3).
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These determinations of attainment do not constitute a
redesignation to attainment under CAA section 107(d)(3). The EPA may
redesignate an area if a state meets additional statutory criteria,
including the EPA approval of a state plan demonstrating maintenance of
the air quality standard for 10 years after redesignation, as required
under CAA section 175A. As for all NAAQS, the EPA is committed to
working with states that choose to submit redesignation requests for
areas that are attaining the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS.
III. Summary of Final Action
For the reasons set forth in our proposed rule and summarized in
this document, we are determining that:
<bullet> The Ventura County and Western Nevada County nonattainment
areas attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the July 20, 2021 attainment
date;
<bullet> The Butte County, Calaveras County, Eastern San Luis
Obispo County, Sutter Buttes, Tuolumne County, and Tuscan Buttes
nonattainment areas attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the August 3, 2021
attainment date; and
<bullet> The CAA requirement for the SIP to provide for contingency
measures for attainment and RFP will no longer apply to the Ventura
County and Western Nevada County nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS.
As noted in section II of this document, we are not taking action
to redesignate any area to attainment. The EPA would consider a
redesignation to attainment for these areas following a submittal by
the State of a formal redesignation request and maintenance plan.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Additional information about these statutes and Executive orders
can be found at <a href="https://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders">https://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders</a>.
A. Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant regulatory action and was
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This rule does not impose any new information collection burden
under the PRA not already approved by the OMB.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This
action will not impose any requirements on small entities.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain any unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or uniquely affect
small governments. This action imposes no enforceable duty on any
state, local or tribal governments, or the private sector.
E. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the states, tribes, or the relationship
between the National Government and the states and tribes, or on the
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of
government.
F. Executive Order 13175, Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments
Executive Order 13175, entitled ``Consultation and Coordination
with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000),
requires the EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure
``meaningful and timely input by tribal officials in the development of
regulatory policies that have tribal implications.'' ``Policies that
have tribal implications'' is defined in the Executive order to include
regulations that have ``substantial direct effects on one or more
Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal government and
the Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities
between the Federal government and Indian Tribes.''
The EPA has identified tribal areas within three of the
nonattainment areas covered by this action, that would be potentially
affected by this action. Specifically, the Butte County, Calaveras
County, and Tuolumne County nonattainment areas addressed in this
action include areas of Indian country located within the nonattainment
area boundaries. A full list of tribes in these nonattainment areas is
found in section I.D of the proposed action and in the TSD accompanying
the proposed action.
The EPA has concluded that this action may have tribal implications
for these tribes for the purposes of Executive Order 13175, but would
not impose substantial direct costs upon the tribes, nor would it
preempt tribal law. The determinations we are finalizing in this rule
apply throughout the nonattainment area, including on tribal lands
within the nonattainment areas. As noted in our proposed rule, and in
section II of this document, the nonattainment areas, including the
tribal lands within the nonattainment areas, will remain designated
nonattainment and will retain their existing classifications.
At the time of our proposed action, the EPA notified the tribes
located within the boundaries of the nonattainment areas addressed in
this action, and we plan to notify them of this final action. Because
this action did not change the tribe's existing nonattainment
designation or classification, we did not offer government-to-
government consultation on our proposed action, however, as stated in
our proposed action, the EPA would initiate government-to-government
consultation at the request of any tribe. The EPA did not receive any
requests for consultation on this action.
G. Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children From Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in
section 2-202 of the Executive order. This action is not subject to
Executive Order 13045 because it does not concern an environmental
health risk or safety risk.
[[Page 63701]]
H. Executive Order 13211, Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355,
May 22, 2001) because it is not a significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
This rulemaking does not involve technical standards.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Population
CAA 181(b)(2)(A) directs the Administrator to determine, within 6
months following the applicable attainment date, and based on the
area's design value as of the attainment date, whether the area
attained the standard by that date. There is no information in the
record indicating that this action would be inconsistent with the
stated goals of Executive Order 12898 of achieving environmental
justice for people of color, low-income populations, and indigenous
peoples.
K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)
This rule is exempt from the CRA because it is a rule of particular
applicability. The rule makes factual determinations for specific
entities and does not directly regulate any entities. The determination
of attainment by the attainment date does not in itself create any new
requirements beyond what is mandated by the CAA.
L. Judicial Review
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 December 19, 2022. 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 52
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Designations and classifications, Incorporation
by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 6, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, part 52, chapter 1, title
40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart F--California
0
2. Section 52.282 is amended by adding paragraph (n) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.282 Control strategy and regulations: Ozone.
* * * * *
(n) Determinations of attainment by the attainment date. Effective
November 21, 2022.
(1) Determinations of attainment by the attainment date. The EPA
has determined that the Nevada County (Western part) and Ventura County
Serious nonattainment areas in California attained the 2008 8-hour
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the applicable
attainment date of July 20, 2021, based upon complete, quality-assured
and certified data for the calendar years 2018-2020.
(2) Determinations of attainment by the attainment date. The EPA
has determined that the Butte County, Calaveras County, San Luis Obispo
(Eastern part), Sutter Buttes, Tuolumne County, and Tuscan Buttes
Marginal nonattainment areas in California attained the 2015 8-hour
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the applicable
attainment date of August 3, 2021, based upon complete, quality-assured
and certified data for the calendar years 2018-2020.
[FR Doc. 2022-22192 Filed 10-19-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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