Rule2023-19727
Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; El Dorado County Air Quality Management District; Stationary Source Permits
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
September 14, 2023
Effective
October 16, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a revision to the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District's (EDCAQMD 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").
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63031-63033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19727]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0910; FRL-10564-03-R9]
Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; El Dorado County Air
Quality Management District; Stationary Source Permits
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a
revision to the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District's
(EDCAQMD 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'').
DATES: This rule is effective October 16, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR 2022-0910. 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 the
disclosure of which 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. 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: Camille Cassar, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 947-4164; or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87e4e6f4f4e6f5a9e4e6eaeeebebe2c7e2f7e6a9e0e8f1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bad9dbc9c9dbc894d9dbd7d3d6d6dffadfcadb94ddd5cc">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``we,''
``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Proposed Action
On March 31, 2023,\1\ the EPA proposed to approve the rule listed
in Table 1 into the California SIP.\2\
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\1\ 88 FR 19233.
\2\ Concurrent with our proposed approval action, we issued an
interim final determination that the District had satisfied the
requirements of title I, part D of the CAA permitting program for
nonattainment areas within the jurisdiction of the EDCAQMD. See 88
FR 19225 (March 31, 2023). The effect of our interim final
determination was that the imposition of sanctions that had been
triggered in a February 2, 2000 final limited approval and limited
disapproval action (65 FR 4887) was deferred.
Table 1--Submitted Rule
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Rule No. Rule title Revised Submitted
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Rule 523-1..................... Federal Non-Attainment December 7, 2021.......... March 9, 2022.
New Source Review.
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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 the designated nonattainment areas in El Dorado
County. Our proposed action contains more information on the rule and
our evaluation.
II. Public Comments
The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period.
During this period, no comments were submitted on our proposal.
III. EPA Action
No comments were submitted on our proposal. We continue to find
that Rule 523-1 satisfies the relevant requirements for a CAA NNSR
program for ozone and PM<INF>2.5</INF> nonattainment areas,\3\ as well
as the associated visibility requirements for sources subject to review
under such a program in accordance with 40 CFR 51.307. Therefore, as
authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is approving the
submitted rule.
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\3\ As discussed in our proposed action, we determined that Rule
523-1 satisfies the NNSR program requirements applicable to
nonattainment areas classified as Severe for ozone and Moderate for
PM<INF>2.5</INF>, and that the submittal addressed the NNSR
requirements both the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, as well as the 2006
PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS. 88 FR 19233, 19235.
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Additionally, all sanctions and sanctions clocks triggered by our
February 2, 2000 final limited approval and limited disapproval action
(65 FR 4887) will be permanently terminated on the effective date of
this final approval action. In our interim final determination to defer
sanctions (88 FR 19225), issued concurrently with our proposed approval
action, we explained
[[Page 63032]]
our finding that Rule 523-1 would correct the deficiencies that
triggered such sanctions. We received no comments on this finding or
our interim final determination. Our interim final determination and
our proposed action, as well as our Technical Support Document (TSD),
which can be found in the docket for this action, contain more
information regarding the basis for our finding in this regard.
This action incorporates the submitted rule into the California
SIP. In conjunction with the EPA's SIP approval of the District's
visibility program for sources subject to the NNSR program, this action
also revises the scope of the visibility Federal Implementation Plan
(FIP) at 40 CFR 52.28 in California so that this FIP no longer applies
to sources located in El Dorado County that are subject to the
District's visibility program.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, the EPA is incorporating by reference El Dorado County Air
Quality Management District Rule 523-1, Federal Non-Attainment New
Source Review, revised on December 7, 2021, which regulates the
issuance of permits for stationary sources. The EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these materials available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://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 Clean Air Act, 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 action merely approves state law as meeting federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason, this 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 14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023);
<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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
<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 Clean Air Act.
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).
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
Feb. 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
The EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color,
national origin, or income with respect to the development,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and
policies.'' The EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean
that ``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
The State did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as
part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing
regulations neither prohibit nor require such an evaluation. The EPA
did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in this action.
Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this action is
expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the air quality of the
affected area. Consideration of EJ is not required as part of this
action, and there is no information in the record inconsistent with the
stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving environmental justice for people
of color, low-income populations, and Indigenous peoples.
This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, 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). 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 November 13, 2023. 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, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: August 28, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental
Protection Agency amends part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations 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.
[[Page 63033]]
Subpart F--California
0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(604)(i)(B) to read
as follows:
Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan-in part.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(604) * * *
(i) * * *
(B) El Dorado County Air Quality Management District.
(1) Rule 523-1, ``Federal Non-Attainment New Source Review,''
revised on December 7, 2021.
(2) [Reserved]
0
3. Section 52.281 is amended by adding paragraph (d)(11) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.28 1 Visibility protection.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(11) El Dorado County Air Quality Management District.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-19727 Filed 9-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 14, 2023.
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