Rule2025-01215
Interim Final Determination To Defer Sanctions, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District
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
January 21, 2025
Effective
January 21, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making an interim final determination that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has submitted a Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act") state implementation plan (SIP) revision on behalf of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD or "District") that corrects deficiencies concerning the District's new source review (NSR) stationary source permitting program. This determination is based on a proposed approval, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, of SJVUAPCD Rules 1020, 2020, and 2201. The effect of this interim final determination is to defer sanctions that were triggered by the EPA's limited disapproval of SJVUAPCD Rule 2201 in 2023.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 12 (Tuesday, January 21, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 21, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6809-6811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01215]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0627; FRL-12536-02-R9]
Interim Final Determination To Defer Sanctions, San Joaquin
Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Interim final determination.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making an interim
final determination that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has
submitted a Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') state implementation plan
(SIP) revision on behalf of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air
Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD or ``District'') that corrects
deficiencies concerning the District's new source review (NSR)
stationary source permitting program. This determination is based on a
proposed approval, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal
Register, of SJVUAPCD Rules 1020, 2020, and 2201. The effect of this
interim final determination is to defer sanctions that were triggered
by the EPA's limited disapproval of SJVUAPCD Rule 2201 in 2023.
DATES: This interim final determination is effective January 21, 2025.
However, comments will be accepted on or before February 20, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2024-0620 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 whose
disclosure 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, 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 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: Doris Lo, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
St., San Francisco, CA 94105; phone: (415) 972-3959; email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f89497d69c978a918bb89d8899d69f978e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="305c5f1e545f425943705540511e575f46">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. EPA Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On July 10, 2023, we published a limited approval and limited
disapproval of SJVUAPCD Rule 2201 as adopted locally on August 15,
2019.\1\ We based our limited disapproval action on deficiencies
identified in the submitted rule. This limited approval and limited
disapproval action started a sanctions clock for imposition of offset
sanctions 18 months after August 9,
[[Page 6810]]
2023, and highway sanctions six months later, pursuant to section 179
of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and our regulations at 40 CFR 52.31. Under
40 CFR 52.31(d)(1), offset sanctions apply 18 months after the
effective date of a disapproval and highway sanctions apply six months
after the offset sanctions, unless we determine that the deficiencies
forming the basis of the disapproval have been corrected.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 87 FR 45730 (July 29, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On April 20, 2023, SJVUAPCD amended Rules 1020 and 2201 to address
the deficiencies that were the basis for our limited disapproval of
Rule 2201, as identified in our July 29, 2022, proposal. The State
submitted these amended rules to the EPA on October 13, 2023, along
with other revisions to Rule 2020 adopted on December 18, 2014. In the
Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are proposing a
limited approval of these rules because we believe they correct the
deficiencies identified in our July 10, 2023 disapproval action and
meet other applicable CAA requirements. This approval is limited
because the EPA is simultaneously proposing a limited disapproval of
the rules based on other revisions that do not meet applicable CAA
requirements. Based on this proposed action, we are taking this final
rulemaking action, effective on publication, to defer the imposition of
the offset and highway sanctions that were triggered by our July 10,
2023 limited disapproval.
The EPA is providing the public with an opportunity to comment on
this deferral of sanctions. If comments are submitted that change our
assessment described in this final determination and our proposed
limited approval of SJVUAPCD Rules 1020, 2020, and 2201, we intend to
take subsequent final action to reimpose sanctions pursuant to 40 CFR
52.31(d). If no comments are submitted that change our assessment, then
all sanctions and sanction clocks associated with our July 10, 2023
final action will be permanently terminated on the effective date of a
final rule approval.
II. EPA Action
We are making an interim final determination to defer the
imposition of the offset and highway sanctions associated with our
limited disapproval of SJVUAPCD Rule 2201 (as adopted in 2023) based on
our concurrent proposal finding that the State's SIP revision corrects
the deficiencies that initiated the sanctions.
Because the EPA has preliminarily determined that the State has
corrected the deficiencies identified in the EPA's July 10, 2023
limited disapproval action, relief from sanctions should be provided as
quickly as possible. Therefore, the EPA is invoking the good cause
exception under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in not providing
an opportunity for comment before this action takes effect.\2\ However,
by this action, the EPA is providing the public with an opportunity to
comment on the EPA's determination after the effective date, and the
EPA will consider any comments received in determining whether to
reverse such action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The EPA believes that notice-and-comment rulemaking before the
effective date of this action is impracticable and contrary to the
public interest. The EPA has reviewed the State's submittal and,
through its proposed action, is indicating that it is more likely than
not that the State has corrected the deficiencies that were the basis
for the limited disapproval that started the sanctions clocks.
Therefore, it is not in the public interest to apply sanctions. The EPA
believes that it is necessary to use the interim final rulemaking
process to defer sanctions while the EPA completes its rulemaking
process on the approvability of the State's submittal. Moreover, with
respect to the effective date of this action, the EPA is invoking the
good cause exception to the 30-day notice requirement of the APA
because the purpose of this notice is to relieve a restriction.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
This action defers Federal sanctions and imposes no additional
requirements. 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 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 communities with environmental justice
(EJ) concerns to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
Executive Order 14096 (Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to
Environmental Justice for All, 88 FR 25251, April 26, 2023) builds on
and supplements Executive Order 12898 and defines EJ as, among other
things, ``the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people,
regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation,
or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities
that affect human health and the environment.''
The State 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. 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 Executive Orders 12898 and
14096 of achieving EJ for communities with EJ concerns.
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
[[Page 6811]]
General of the United States. This action is not a ``major rule'' as
defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The CRA allows the issuing agency to make a
rule effective sooner than otherwise provided by the CRA if the agency
makes a good cause finding that notice and comment rulemaking
procedures are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public
interest (5 U.S.C. 808(2)). The EPA has made a good cause finding for
this action as discussed in Section II of this preamble, including the
basis for that finding.
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 24, 2025. 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 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 CAA section
307(b)(2)).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ammonia, Nitrogen oxides,
Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: January 13, 2025.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2025-01215 Filed 1-17-25; 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 January 21, 2025.
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.