Proposed Rule2024-06264
Air Quality Plans; California; Tehama County Air Pollution Control District; New Source Review
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
March 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of a revision to the Tehama County Air Pollution Control District's (TCAPCD 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"). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20915-20918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06264]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0526; FRL-10286-01-R9]
Air Quality Plans; California; Tehama County Air Pollution
Control District; New Source Review
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
approval of a revision to the Tehama County Air Pollution Control
District's (TCAPCD 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''). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to
follow with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 25, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0526 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
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information the
disclosure of which 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 (i.e., on the web,
[[Page 20916]]
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 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: Manny Aquitania, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 972-3977; or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#84e5f5f1edf0e5eaede5aae9e5eaeafdc4e1f4e5aae3ebf2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="234252564a57424d4a420d4e424d4d5a634653420d444c55">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rule did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. What is the background for this proposal?
B. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
C. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
D. Proposed Action and Public Comment
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rule did the State submit?
Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal, including the
date it was adopted by the District and the date it was submitted to
the EPA by the California Air Resources Board (CARB or ``the State'').
The TCAPCD is the air pollution control agency for Tehama County in
California.
Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rule or regulation
District No. Rule title Adopted Submitted \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tehama County APCD............... Rule 2:3C.......... New and Modified Major 02/28/23 05/11/23
Sources in the Tuscan
Buttes Nonattainment
Areas.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On November 11, 2023, the submittal for Rule 2:3C was deemed by
operation of law to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51,
appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The submittal was transmitted to the EPA via a letter from
CARB dated May 10, 2023. On December 5, 2023, CARB submitted a
corrected version of Rule 2:3C, as the copy of the clean version of
the rule that had been included in the May 11, 2023 SIP submittal
did not include its adoption date and also contained an additional
formatting error, and thus did not reflect the final rule that had
been adopted on February 28, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
There are no previous versions of Rule 2:3C in the California SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
Rule 2:3C is intended to address the CAA's statutory and regulatory
requirements for Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) permit programs
for major sources emitting nonattainment air pollutants and their
precursors.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. What is the background for this proposal?
The EPA's May 2012 designation of the Tuscan Buttes area of the
TCAPCD as a nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) \2\ triggered the requirement for the
District to develop and submit a NNSR program to the EPA for SIP
approval. CAA section 172(b) and 40 CFR 51.1114. Because Tehama County
is designated (in part) and classified as Marginal nonattainment for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the District's NNSR program must satisfy the NNSR
requirements applicable to Marginal ozone nonattainment areas. See 40
CFR 51.1102. As Tehama County (partial, Tuscan Buttes area) is also
designated and classified as Marginal nonattainment (Rural Transport)
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS,\3\ TCAPCD's NNSR program is also required to
satisfy the NNSR requirements applicable to Marginal ozone
nonattainment areas for purposes of the 2015 ozone NAAQS. See 40 CFR
51.1302, 51.1314.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 77 FR 30088, 30109 (May 21, 2012); see 40 CFR 81.305.
\3\ 83 FR 25776, 25791 (June 4, 2018); see 40 CFR 81.305.
\4\ The EPA's determination that the Tuscan Buttes nonattainment
area in Tehama County had attained the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS by
the applicable attainment dates suspended the requirements to submit
those SIP elements related to attainment of these NAAQS for so long
as the area continues to attain but did not suspend the requirement
to submit an NNSR program. See 81 FR 26697 (May 4, 2016); 87 FR
63698 (Oct. 20. 2022); 40 CFR 51.1118; 40 CFR 51.1318.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional information regarding the District's ozone nonattainment
status and attainment/nonattainment designations for other criteria
pollutants is included in our Technical Support Document (TSD), which
may be found in the docket for this rule.
B. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
The EPA reviewed Rule 2:3C for compliance with CAA requirements
for: (1) stationary source preconstruction permitting programs as set
forth in CAA part D, including CAA sections 172(c)(5) and 173; (2) the
review and modification of major sources in accordance with 40 CFR
51.160-51.165 as applicable in Marginal ozone nonattainment areas; (3)
the review of new major stationary sources or major modifications in a
designated nonattainment area that may have an impact on visibility in
any mandatory Class I Federal Area in accordance with 40 CFR 51.307;
(4) SIPs in general as set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2), including
110(a)(2)(A) and 110(a)(2)(E)(i); \5\ and (5) SIP revisions as set
forth in CAA section 110(l) \6\ and 193.\7\ Our review evaluated the
submittal for compliance with the NNSR requirements applicable to
Marginal ozone nonattainment areas, and ensured that the submittal
addressed the NNSR requirements for the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ CAA section 110(a)(2)(A) requires that regulations submitted
to the EPA for SIP approval be clear and legally enforceable, and
CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)(i) requires that states have adequate
personnel, funding, and authority under state law to carry out their
proposed SIP revisions.
\6\ CAA section 110(l) requires SIP revisions to be subject to
reasonable notice and public hearing prior to adoption and submittal
by states to the EPA and prohibits the EPA from approving any SIP
revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable requirement of the CAA.
\7\ CAA section 193 prohibits the modification of any SIP-
approved control requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in
a nonattainment area, unless the modification ensures equivalent or
greater emission reductions of the relevant pollutants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
With respect to procedural requirements, CAA sections 110(a)(2) and
110(l) require that revisions to a SIP
[[Page 20917]]
be adopted by the state after reasonable notice and public hearing.
Based on our review of the public process documentation included in the
May 11, 2023, submittal of Rule 2:3C, we find that the TCAPCD has
provided sufficient evidence of public notice, opportunity for comment
and a public hearing prior to adoption and submittal of this rule to
the EPA.
With respect to the substantive requirements found in CAA sections
172(c)(5) and 173, and 40 CFR 51.160-51.165, we have evaluated TCAPCD
Rule 2:3C in accordance with the applicable CAA and regulatory
requirements that apply to NNSR permit programs under part D of title I
of the Act for all relevant ozone NAAQS. We find that Rule 2:3C
satisfies these requirements as they apply to sources subject to the
NNSR permit program requirements applicable to Marginal ozone
nonattainment areas. We have also determined that this rule satisfies
the related visibility requirements in 40 CFR 51.307. In addition, we
have determined that Rule 2:3C satisfies the requirement in CAA section
110(a)(2)(A) that regulations submitted to the EPA for SIP approval be
clear and legally enforceable, and have determined that the submittal
demonstrates in accordance with CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)(i) that the
District has adequate personnel, funding, and authority under state law
to carry out this proposed SIP revision. Our TSD contains a more
detailed discussion of our analysis of Rule 2:3C.
Regarding the additional substantive requirements of CAA sections
110(l) and 193, our action will result in a more stringent SIP, while
not relaxing any existing provision contained in the SIP. We have
concluded that our action would comply with section 110(l) because our
approval of TCAPCD Rule 2:3C will not interfere with any applicable
requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or
any other CAA applicable requirement. In addition, our approval of Rule
2:3C will not relax any pre-November 15, 1990 requirement in the SIP,
and therefore changes to the SIP resulting from this action ensure
greater or equivalent emission reductions of ozone and its precursors
in the District; accordingly, we have concluded that our action is
consistent with the requirements of CAA section 193.
D. Proposed Action and Public Comment
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to
approve the submitted rule because it fulfills all relevant
requirements.
We have concluded that our approval of the submitted rule would
comply with the relevant provisions of CAA sections 110(a)(2), 110(l),
172(c)(5), 173, and 193, and 40 CFR 51.160-51.165 and 40 CFR 51.307. If
we finalize this action as proposed, our action will be codified
through revisions to 40 CFR 52.220 (Identification of plan-in part).
In conjunction with the EPA's SIP approval of the District's
visibility provisions for sources subject to the NNSR program as
meeting the relevant requirements of 40 CFR 51.307, this action would
also revise the regulatory provision at 40 CFR 52.281(d) concerning the
applicability of the visibility Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) at 40
CFR 52.28 as it pertains to California, to provide that this FIP does
not apply to sources subject to review under the District's SIP-
approved NNSR program.
We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until
April 25, 2024.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference Rule 2:3C, ``New and Modified Major Sources in the Tuscan
Buttes Nonattainment Areas,'' adopted on February 28, 2023. Rule 2:3C
is intended to address the CAA's statutory and regulatory requirements
for Nonattainment New Source Review permit programs for major sources
emitting nonattainment air pollutants and their precursors under part D
of title I of the CAA. 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 at
the EPA Region IX Office (please contact the person identified in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more
information).
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 proposed action merely proposes to approve state law
as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this
proposed 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 proposes to approve 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,
February 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
[[Page 20918]]
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.
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.
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, and Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: March 15, 2024.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2024-06264 Filed 3-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 26, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.