Rule2024-05260
Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan for the 24-Hour PM10 Standards; Sacramento County Planning Area, California
Primary source
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Published
March 14, 2024
Effective
April 15, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action under the Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act") to approve the "Second 10-Year PM<INF>10</INF> Maintenance Plan for Sacramento County" ("Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan" or "Plan") as a revision to the state implementation plan (SIP) for the State of California ("State"). The Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan includes, among other elements, a base year emissions inventory, a maintenance demonstration, contingency provisions, and motor vehicle emissions budgets ("budgets") for use in transportation conformity determinations, to ensure the continued maintenance of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter of 10 microns or less (PM<INF>10</INF>). As part of this rulemaking, the EPA is finalizing its finding that the 2024, 2027, and 2033 motor vehicle emission budgets are adequate for use in transportation conformity.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18548-18549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05260]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0267; FRL-10958-02-R9]
Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan for the 24-Hour PM10 Standards;
Sacramento County Planning Area, California
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') to approve the ``Second
10-Year PM<INF>10</INF> Maintenance Plan for Sacramento County''
(``Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan'' or ``Plan'') as a revision to the
state implementation plan (SIP) for the State of California
(``State''). The Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan includes, among other
elements, a base year emissions inventory, a maintenance demonstration,
contingency provisions, and motor vehicle emissions budgets
(``budgets'') for use in transportation conformity determinations, to
ensure the continued maintenance of the national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter of 10 microns or less
(PM<INF>10</INF>). As part of this rulemaking, the EPA is finalizing
its finding that the 2024, 2027, and 2033 motor vehicle emission
budgets are adequate for use in transportation conformity.
DATES: This action will be effective on April 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0267. 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 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 a disability
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: Michael Dorantes, Geographic
Strategies and Modeling Section (AIR-2-2), EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3934, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#274348554649534254094a4e444f46424b6742574609404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="61050e13000f1504124f0c08020900040d210411004f060e17">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Summary of Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Summary of Proposed Action
On September 22, 2023, the EPA proposed to approve the Second 10-
Year Maintenance Plan prepared by the Sacramento Metropolitan Air
Quality Management District (SMAQMD or ``District''), and submitted by
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on October 21, 2021, as a
revision to the California SIP.\1\ In doing so, we proposed to find
that the Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan adequately demonstrates that
the Sacramento County planning area will maintain the 1987 annual NAAQS
for PM<INF>10</INF> through the year 2033 (i.e., for more than 10 years
beyond the first 10-year maintenance period).\2\ We also proposed to
find the motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Plan for direct
PM<INF>10</INF> and NO<INF>X</INF> for the years 2024, 2027, and 2033
adequate and to approve the budgets for use in transportation
conformity determinations as they meet all applicable criteria for such
budgets including the adequacy criteria under 40 CFR 93.118. The EPA
announced the availability of the Plan and related motor vehicle
emissions budgets as part of proposed rulemaking.
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\1\ 88 FR 65336 (September 22, 2023).
\2\ In our proposed action, the EPA committed to examine any
quality-assured and certified PM<INF>10</INF> monitoring data that
would be newly available between proposed and final action to ensure
that Sacramento County continues to maintain the PM<INF>10</INF>
NAAQS. Our proposed action examined monitoring data through 2022,
and since that time, there have been no additional quality-assured
and certified PM<INF>10</INF> data available from Sacramento County.
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II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
The EPA's notice of proposed rulemaking provided a 30-day public
comment period that ended on October 23, 2023. We received no comments.
III. Final Action
For the reasons discussed in our proposed action and herein, the
EPA is taking final action to approve the Second 10-Year Maintenance
Plan for Sacramento County, submitted by CARB on October 21, 2021, as a
revision to the California SIP. We are approving the maintenance
demonstration and contingency provisions as meeting all of the
applicable requirements for maintenance plans and related contingency
provisions in CAA section 175A. We are also finding the motor vehicle
emissions budgets for 2024, 2027, and 2033 adequate and approving the
budgets for transportation conformity purposes because they meet all
applicable criteria for such budgets including the adequacy criteria
under 40 CFR 93.118(e).\3\
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\3\ Pursuant to 40 CFR 93.118(f)(2)(iii), the EPA's adequacy
determination is effective upon publication of this final rule in
the Federal Register.
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IV. 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
[[Page 18549]]
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, this rulemaking 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.
If finalized, 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 May 13, 2024. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 6, 2024.
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.
Subpart F--California
0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(603)(ii)(B) and
reserved paragraph (c)(603)(ii)(C) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan--in part.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(603) * * *
(ii) * * *
(B) Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
(1) ``Second 10-Year PM<INF>10</INF> Maintenance Plan for
Sacramento County,'' adopted on September 23, 2021.
(2) [Reserved]
(C) [Reserved]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2024-05260 Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 14, 2024.
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