Rule2023-00567
Finding of Failure To Submit State Implementation Plan Revisions Required Under Clean Air Act Section 185; California; Sacramento Metro Area
Primary source
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Published
January 17, 2023
Effective
February 16, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The EPA is taking final action finding that the state of California has failed to submit state implementation plan (SIP) revisions for the Sacramento Metro nonattainment area to satisfy certain requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Specifically, these requirements pertain to the assessment and collection of fees under CAA section 185. This action triggers certain CAA deadlines for the imposition of sanctions if California does not submit the required SIP revisions within the specified timeframes. This finding also establishes a CAA deadline for the EPA to promulgate federal implementation plans (FIPs) to address the CAA section 185 requirements if the State does not submit or the EPA does not approve the State's section 185 SIP revisions.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2541-2543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00567]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0962; FRL-10505-01-R9]
Finding of Failure To Submit State Implementation Plan Revisions
Required Under Clean Air Act Section 185; California; Sacramento Metro
Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final action.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is taking final action finding that the state of
California has failed to submit state implementation plan (SIP)
revisions for the Sacramento Metro nonattainment area to satisfy
certain requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2008 8-hour
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Specifically,
these requirements pertain to the assessment and collection of fees
under CAA section 185. This action triggers certain CAA deadlines for
the imposition of sanctions if California does not submit the required
SIP revisions within the specified timeframes. This finding also
establishes a CAA deadline for the EPA to promulgate federal
implementation plans (FIPs) to address the CAA section 185 requirements
if the State does not submit or the EPA does not approve the State's
section 185 SIP revisions.
DATES: This action is effective on February 16, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0962. 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: Mae Wang, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4137 or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fd8a9c939ad3909c98bd988d9cd39a928b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="681f09060f4605090d280d1809460f071e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
A. The Sacramento Metro Ozone Nonattainment Area
B. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
C. Consequences of Findings of Failure To Submit a SIP
II. EPA Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
A. The Sacramento Metro Ozone Nonattainment Area
The Sacramento Metro ozone nonattainment area in California
consists of Sacramento and Yolo counties and portions of El Dorado,
Placer, Solano and Sutter counties. For a precise description of the
geographic boundaries of the Sacramento Metro area for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS, see the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 81.305.
Several local air agencies have jurisdiction in this area. Sacramento
County is under the jurisdiction of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air
Quality Management District (Sacramento Metropolitan AQMD). Yolo County
and the eastern portion of Solano County comprise the Yolo-Solano Air
Quality Management District (Yolo-Solano AQMD). The southern portion of
Sutter County is
[[Page 2542]]
part of the Feather River Air Quality Management District (Feather
River AQMD). The western portion of Placer County is part of the Placer
County Air Pollution Control District (Placer County APCD). Lastly, the
western portion of El Dorado County is part of the El Dorado County Air
Quality Management District (El Dorado County AQMD). In California, the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) is the agency responsible for the
adoption and submission of SIPs and SIP revisions to the EPA. Working
jointly with CARB, local and regional air pollution control districts
in California are responsible for the development of regional air
quality plans. These agencies adopt and submit their plans to CARB for
state adoption and submission to the EPA as revisions to the California
SIP.
On May 21, 2012 (77 FR 30088), the EPA designated the Sacramento
Metro area as nonattainment for the 2008 ozone standard and classified
the area as Severe-15. This designation was effective on July 20, 2012.
The 8-hour ozone designations and classifications for California areas
are codified at 40 CFR 81.305.
B. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
Section 185 of the CAA requires states with Severe and Extreme
ozone nonattainment areas to have a plan that implements the program
specified in that section. The CAA section 185 fee program provides for
collecting fees from each major stationary source of volatile organic
compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) for each
calendar year following a failure to attain the ozone standard by the
applicable attainment date. While CAA section 185 expressly mentions
VOC, CAA section 182(f) extends the application of this provision to
NO<INF>X</INF> by providing that ``plan provisions required under
[subpart D] for major stationary sources of [VOC] shall also apply to
major stationary sources of [NO<INF>X</INF>].'' CAA section 185(b)
specifies the method for computing the fee amount. Section 185(a)
specifies that the fee is payable for each calendar year beginning
after the attainment date, until the area is redesignated as an
attainment area for ozone. Each such plan revision should include
procedures for assessment and collection of such fees. No source is
required to pay any fee for emissions during a year for which the area
receives an extension of their attainment date under CAA section
181(a)(5).
On March 6, 2015 (80 FR 12263), the EPA established a final rule
for implementing the 2008 ozone NAAQS. That rule established deadlines
for submitting various elements of an ozone nonattainment area SIP. The
due date for fee programs is codified at 40 CFR 51.1117. For each ozone
nonattainment area initially classified Severe or Extreme for the 2008
ozone NAAQS, the state must submit a SIP revision within 10 years of
the effective date of the area's nonattainment designation that meets
the requirements of CAA section 185. The deadline for California to
submit CAA section 185 fee programs for the Sacramento Metro area for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS was July 20, 2022.
C. Consequences of Findings of Failure To Submit a SIP
Section 179(a) of the CAA specifies the consequences if the EPA
finds that a state has failed to make a required SIP submission, if the
EPA has determined that a submitted SIP is incomplete, or if the EPA
has disapproved a SIP submission. Additionally, CAA section 110(c)
specifies that any of these findings also triggers an obligation for
the EPA to promulgate a FIP within 2 years of the finding if the state
has not submitted and the EPA has not approved the required submission.
The first finding, that a state has failed to submit a plan or one or
more elements of a plan required under the CAA, is the finding relevant
to this action.
The EPA is finding that the state of California has failed to make
required CAA section 185 fee program SIP submissions for portions of
the Sacramento Metro nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. Pursuant to CAA section 179(a) and (b) and 40 CFR 52.31, the EPA
must affirmatively determine that California has submitted the required
plan revisions for the Sacramento Metro area within 18 months of the
effective date of this rulemaking, or the offset sanction identified in
CAA section 179(b)(2) and 40 CFR 52.31 will apply in each portion of
the area that remains subject to the finding. Additionally, if the EPA
has not affirmatively determined that the State has made a complete
submission for the area within 6 months after the offset sanction is
imposed, then the highway funding sanction will apply to each portion
of the area that remains subject to the finding, in accordance with CAA
section 179(b)(1) and 40 CFR 52.31. Lastly, CAA section 110(c) requires
that no later than 2 years after the effective date of this finding,
the EPA must promulgate a FIP if the State has not submitted and the
EPA has not approved the required SIP revisions as fully meeting the
CAA section 185 fee obligation for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The 18- and
24-month clocks for any area will stop and the sanctions will not take
effect if the EPA finds that the State has made a complete submittal
within the required timeframe.
II. EPA Action
In this action, the EPA is making a finding that the state of
California has failed to submit CAA section 185 fee programs for the
2008 ozone NAAQS for the portions of the Sacramento Metro ozone
nonattainment area that are under the jurisdiction of the following air
agencies: El Dorado County AQMD, Placer County APCD, Sacramento
Metropolitan AQMD, and Yolo-Solano AQMD. California submitted a CAA
section 185 fee program SIP revision for the Feather River AQMD portion
of the Sacramento Metro area on July 5, 2022, and it was determined
complete on October 28, 2022. Therefore, the portion of the Sacramento
Metro ozone nonattainment area that is under the jurisdiction of the
Feather River AQMD is not subject to this action. This finding starts
the 18-month emission offset sanctions clock, the 24-month highway
funding sanctions clock, and a 24-month clock for promulgation by the
EPA of a FIP.
III. 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/">https://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/</a>laws-and-
executive-orders.
A. Notice and Comment Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
Section 553 of the APA, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), provides that, when
an agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure are
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, the
agency may issue a rule without providing notice and an opportunity for
public comment. The EPA has determined that there is good cause for
making this final agency action without prior proposal and opportunity
for comment because no significant EPA judgment is involved in making
findings of failure to submit SIPs, or elements of SIPs, required by
the CAA, where states and territories have made no submissions, or
incomplete submissions, to meet the requirement. Thus, notice and
public procedures are unnecessary. The EPA finds that this constitutes
good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).
[[Page 2543]]
B. 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 therefore
was not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This action does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the PRA because it does not impose additional
requirements or create any new information collection burdens.
D. 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.
E. 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 does not impose any new requirements.
Accordingly, no additional costs to state, local, or tribal
governments, or to the private sector, result from this action.
F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between
the National Government and the states, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
G. Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments
This action does not have tribal implications as specified in
Executive Order 13175, because this action does not 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, and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.
H. 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 create any new regulations.
This action finds that a state has failed to submit required SIP
revisions.
I. Executive Order 13211, Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it is
not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.
J. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
Section 12(d) of the NTTAA directs the EPA to use voluntary
consensus standards in its regulatory activities unless to do so would
be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. This
action does not involve technical standards.
K. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
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 effects of their programs, policies, and
activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the
United States. The EPA has determined that this final rule will not
have disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects on minority or low-income populations because it does not
directly affect the level of protection provided to human health or the
environment. This action finds that a state has not met the requirement
to submit CAA section 185 fee program SIP revisions and begins clocks
that could result in the imposition of sanctions if the state continues
to not meet this statutory obligation. If the state fails to submit the
required SIP revisions or submits SIP revisions that the EPA cannot
approve, then the EPA will be required to develop the plans in lieu of
the state.
L. Congressional Review Act (CRA)
This action is subject to the CRA, 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).
M. Petitions for 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 March 20, 2023. 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, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: December 23, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2023-00567 Filed 1-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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