Rule2024-25560
Air Plan Revisions; California; San Diego County Air Pollution Control District and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District
Primary source
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Published
November 4, 2024
Effective
December 4, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve revisions to the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDCAPCD) and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern negative declarations for the Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry (Oil and Natural Gas CTG).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 213 (Monday, November 4, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 87505-87509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25560]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0418; FRL-12225-02-R9]
Air Plan Revisions; California; San Diego County Air Pollution
Control District and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to approve revisions to the San Diego County Air Pollution
Control District (SDCAPCD) and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management
District (MDAQMD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan
(SIP). These revisions concern negative declarations for the Control
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry (Oil
and Natural Gas CTG).
DATES: This rule is effective December 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0418. 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 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: Eugene Chen, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4304 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e5868d808bcb809082808b80a5809584cb828a93"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ec8f848982c289998b898289ac899c8dc28b839a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Proposed Action
On September 23, 2024, the EPA proposed to approve the California
Air Resources Board's (CARB) submittal of negative declarations for the
Oil and Natural Gas CTG adopted by SDCAPCD and MDAQMD.\1\ As discussed
in our proposed action, these negative declarations should provide
reasonable assurances that no sources subject to the CTG's requirements
currently exist in the relevant ozone nonattainment areas. Based on our
review, we did not identify any sources that would be subject to the
Oil and Natural Gas CTG and agreed with the SDCAPCD and MDAQMD negative
declarations. We therefore proposed approval of these negative
declarations for the Oil and Natural Gas CTG.
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\1\ 89 FR 77467.
Table 1--Submitted Documents
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Submitted
Local agency Document Adopted to EPA
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SDCAPCD............... 2020 Reasonably 10/14/2020 12/29/2020
Available Control
Technology
Demonstration for the
National Ambient Air
Quality Standards for
Ozone in San Diego
County (``2020 RACT
SIP'')--Negative
Declaration for Oil
and Natural Gas CTG.
MDAQMD................ 70 ppb Ozone Standard 10/28/2019 12/20/2019
Implementation
Evaluation: RACT SIP
Analysis; Federal
Negative
Declarations; and
Emission Statement
Certification--Negati
ve Declaration for
Oil and Natural Gas
CTG.
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As discussed in our September 23, 2024 (89 FR 77467) proposal, we
only proposed action on the negative declaration for the Oil and
Natural Gas CTG in Attachment B of the SDCAPCD submittal and did not
propose action on any other elements of the submittal. Similarly, for
the MDAQMD submittal, we only proposed action on the negative
declaration for the Oil and Natural Gas CTG in table 2 and did not
propose action on any other elements of the submittal. In both cases,
the negative declarations for the Oil and Natural Gas CTG were
submitted for the 2008 and 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS).<SUP>2 3</SUP>
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\2\ Page 10 of MDAQMD 70 ppb O3 Evaluation, Final Staff Report.
\3\ Page B-10 of SDCAPCD 2020 RACT SIP, Attachment B.
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[[Page 87506]]
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period.
During this period, we received four comments. We have summarized these
comments and included our responses below.
Comment 1: One commenter inquired about grants for the
electrification of equipment on small farms and included information
regarding a certain model of electric tractor deployed in Europe.
Response 1: Our proposed action is related to oil and natural gas
sources located in certain California air districts. We do not consider
this comment to be germane because it is beyond the scope of our
proposed action.
Comment 2: One commenter expressed general support for the proposed
action and urged the EPA to adopt the proposed rulemakings.
Response 2: The EPA acknowledges the comment.
Comment 3: One commenter urged the EPA to take action to regulate
cannabis growth. The commenter asserts that cannabis cultivation is
responsible for significant emissions of greenhouse gases and that
cannabis plants themselves are a source of terpenes, which are VOCs
that ``when mixed with nitrogen oxide and sunlight, form ozone-
degrading aerosols.''
Response 3: We acknowledge the information provided by the
commenter regarding the potential for the cannabis cultivation industry
to be a source of greenhouse gas emissions and VOCs. As noted in our
response to Comment 1 of this preamble above, our proposed action is
related to oil and natural gas sources located in certain California
air districts. As a result, we do not consider this comment to be
germane because it is beyond the scope of our proposed action.
Comment 4: One commenter opposes the EPA action on the proposed
rulemakings. The commenter notes the need for ozone regulation in
southwest California under the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS because ``the
ozone emitted by the oil and natural gas industries has a stronger
impact than in more temperate regions.'' The commenter suggests that
``providing a bulwark against accelerated ozone production from [these]
sources is paramount'' and concludes by stating ``if the SDCAPCD,
MDAQMD and EPA sign onto the negative decision to include oil and
natural gas industries in these portions of the California SIP, the
problem of ground-level ozone will not be fully resolved.''
Response 4: We acknowledge the commenters concerns regarding ozone
levels in southwest California and attainment of the 2008 and 2015
ozone NAAQS for the areas at issue in the EPA's proposed action.
However, we disagree with the commenter that the proposed action will
negatively impact ozone emissions in the areas at issue. We wish to
clarify that the EPA's proposed action involves a negative declaration,
not a negative decision. As discussed above and in our proposed action,
the negative declarations from SDCAPCD and MDAQMD represent their
certifications that there are no sources subject to the Oil and Natural
Gas CTG present in their jurisdictions. A negative declaration does not
exempt sources from regulation, and if sources subject to the Oil and
Natural Gas CTG subsequently came to exist in either of the Districts,
CAA sections 182(b)(2) and (f) would require that District to adopt
control measures implementing RACT for the CTG.\4\
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\4\ In a separate action earlier this year, the EPA proposed to
approve a California statewide regulation into the California SIP
for those areas that need to regulate sources covered by the Oil and
Natural Gas CTG. See 89 FR 36729 (May 3, 2024).
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III. EPA Action
None of the comments submitted change our assessment of the SIP
revision as described in the proposed action at issue. Therefore, as
authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is approving
SDCAPCD's and MDAQMD's negative declarations for the Oil and Natural
Gas CTG because they fulfill the relevant requirements in CAA sections
110(a), 110(l), and 182(b)(2). In addition, our approval of SDCAPCD's
negative declaration terminates the EPA's obligation to promulgate a
Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for SDCAPCD arising from our November
16, 2020 finding of failure to submit for the Oil and Natural Gas
CTG.\5\
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\5\ November 16, 2020. 85 FR 72963. Our November 16, 2020
finding of failure to submit also triggered offset sanctions and
highway funding sanctions. These sanctions clocks were extinguished
by SDCAPCD's December 29, 2020 submittal and our May 6, 2021 letter
determining that the District's negative declaration submittal was
complete. See Docket Item B-01.
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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 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 communities with environmental justice
(EJ) concerns to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
The EPA defines 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
[[Page 87507]]
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 Districts did not evaluate EJ 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 goals of
Executive Order 12898 of achieving EJ for communities with EJ concerns.
This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act (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).
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 January 3, 2025. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial
review, nor does it extend the time within which a petition for
judicial review may be filed, and it 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, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 29, 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. Amend Sec. 52.222 by adding paragraph (a)(1)(x) and revising
paragraphs (a)(5)(ii) and (iii) to read as follows.
Sec. 52.222 Negative declarations.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(x) The following negative declaration for the 2008 ozone standard
and 2015 ozone standard was adopted by the District on October 28,
2019, and submitted to EPA on December 20, 2019: EPA Control Techniques
Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry (453/B-16-001).
* * * * *
(5) * * *
(ii) The following negative declarations for the 2008 ozone NAAQS
were adopted by the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.
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Adopted: 12/14/ Adopted: 10/14/ Adopted: 10/14/ Adopted: 10/14/
2016 Submitted: 4/ 2020 Submitted: 2020 Submitted: 2020 Submitted:
CTG document No. Title 12/2017 SIP 12/29/2020 SIP 12/29/2020 SIP 12/29/2020 SIP
approved: 12/03/ approved: 6/29/ approved: 1/17/ approved: 11/4/
2020 2022 2023 2024
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(A) EPA-450/2-77-008........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Emissions from Existing
Stationary Sources--Volume
II: Surface Coating of Cans,
Coils, Paper, Fabrics,
Automobiles, and Light-Duty
Trucks (Automobiles, and
light-duty truck coatings
only).
(B) EPA-450/2-77-025........................ Control of Refinery Vacuum X
Producing Systems, Wastewater
Separators, and Process Unit
Turnarounds.
(C) EPA-450/2-77-032........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Emissions from Existing
Stationary Sources--Volume
III: Surface Coating of Metal
Furniture.
(D) EPA-450/2-77-033........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Emissions from Existing
Stationary Sources--Volume
IV: Surface Coating of
Insulation of Magnet Wire.
(E) EPA-450/2-77-034........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Emissions from Existing
Stationary Sources--Volume V:
Surface Coating of Large
Appliances.
(F) EPA-450/2-78-029........................ Control of Volatile Organic ................. X
Emissions from Manufacture of
Synthesized Pharmaceutical
Products.
[[Page 87508]]
(G) EPA-450/2-78-030........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Emissions from Manufacture of
Pneumatic Rubber Tires.
(H) EPA-450/2-78-032........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Emissions from Existing
Stationary Sources--Volume
VII: Factory Surface Coating
of Flat Wood Paneling.
(I) EPA-450/2-78-036........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Leaks from Petroleum
Refinery Equipment.
(J) EPA-450/3-82-009........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Emissions from Large
Petroleum Dry Cleaners.
(K) EPA-450/3-83-006........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Leaks from Synthetic
Organic Chemical Polymer and
Resin Manufacturing Equipment.
(L) EPA-450/3-83-007........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Equipment Leaks from
Natural Gas/Gasoline
Processing Plants.
(M) EPA-450/3-83-008........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Emissions from
Manufacture of High-Density
Polyethylene, Polypropylene,
and Polystyrene Resins.
(N) EPA-450/3-84-015........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Emissions from Air
Oxidation Processes in
Synthetic Organic Chemical
Manufacturing Industry.
(O) EPA-450/4-91-031........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Emissions from
Reactor Processes and
Distillation Operations in
Synthetic Organic Chemical
Manufacturing Industry.
(P) EPA-453/R-97-004........................ Control of Volatile Organic X
Compound Emissions from
Coating Operations at
Aerospace Manufacturing and
Rework Operations.
Aerospace MACT, see the
Federal Register of 6/6/94.
(Q) EPA-453/R-06-004........................ Control Techniques Guidelines X
for Flat Wood Paneling
Coatings.
(R) EPA 453/R-07-004........................ Control Techniques Guidelines X
for Large Appliance Coatings.
(S) EPA 453/R-07--005....................... Control Techniques Guidelines X
for Metal Furniture Coatings.
(T) EPA-453/R-08-003........................ Control Techniques Guidelines ................. X
for Miscellaneous Metal and
Plastic Parts Coatings Tables
3-6.
(U) EPA-453/R-08-004........................ Control Techniques Guidelines ................. X
for Fiberglass Boat
Manufacturing Materials.
(V) EPA-453/R-08-006........................ Control Techniques Guidelines X
for Automobile and Light-Duty
Truck Assembly Coatings.
(W) --N/A--................................. Major non-CTG VOC sources..... ................. ................. X
(X) EPA-453/B-16-001)....................... Control Techniques Guidelines ................. ................. ................. X
for the Oil and Natural Gas
Industry.
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(iii) The following negative declarations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS
were adopted by the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.
[[Page 87509]]
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Adopted: 10/14/ Adopted: 10/14/
2020 Submitted: 2020 Submitted:
CTG document No. Title 12/29/2020 SIP 12/29/2020 SIP
approved: 6/29/ approved: 11/4/
2022 2024
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(A) EPA-450/2-78-029....................... Control of Volatile Organic X
Emissions from Manufacture
of Synthesized
Pharmaceutical Products.
(B) EPA-453/R-08-003....................... Control Techniques Guidelines X
for Miscellaneous Metal and
Plastic Parts Coatings
Tables 3-6.
(C) EPA-453/R-08-004....................... Control Techniques Guidelines X
for Fiberglass Boat
Manufacturing Materials.
(D) EPA-453/B-16-001)...................... Control Techniques Guidelines ................. X
for the Oil and Natural Gas
Industry.
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[FR Doc. 2024-25560 Filed 11-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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