Proposed Rule2025-10036
Air Plan Approval; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District; Portland Cement Kilns
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
June 4, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District (EKAPCD or "District") portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) from Portland cement kilns. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act"). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 4, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 4, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23653-23655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10036]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0058; FRL-12609-01-R9]
Air Plan Approval; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control
District; Portland Cement Kilns
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a revision to the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District
(EKAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation
Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of oxides of nitrogen
(NO<INF>X</INF>) from Portland cement kilns. We are proposing to
approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean
Air Act (CAA or ``Act''). We are taking comments on this proposal and
plan to follow with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 7, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2025-0058 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: Elijah Gordon, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; telephone number: (415) 972-
3158; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d6b1b9a4b2b9b8f8b3babfbcb7be96b3a6b7f8b1b9a0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="43242c31272c2d6d262f2a29222b032633226d242c35">[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. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
C. 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 with the date
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted to the EPA by
the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local agency Rule No. Rule title Amended Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EKAPCD............................ 425.3 Portland Cement Kilns 11/13/2024 12/12/2024
(Oxides of Nitrogen).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 23654]]
The EPA has reviewed the SIP submittal containing the document
listed in table 1 and finds that it fulfills the completeness criteria
in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V.
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
On June 5, 2023 (88 FR 36479), we finalized a limited approval and
limited disapproval of Rule 425.3 as amended on March 8, 2018. The
EKAPCD adopted revisions to the SIP-approved version on November 13,
2024, and CARB submitted them to us on December 12, 2024. If we take
final action to approve the November 13, 2024 version of Rule 425.3,
this version will replace the previously approved version of this rule
in the SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
Emissions of NO<INF>X</INF> contribute to the production of ground-
level ozone, smog and particulate matter (PM), which harm human health
and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to
submit plans that provide for implementation, maintenance, and
enforcement of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). CAA
sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f) in combination require that SIPs for
ozone nonattainment areas classified as ``Moderate'' or higher
implement Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for any
category of sources covered by a Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG)
document and for any major source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
or NO<INF>X</INF>. The EKAPCD has jurisdiction over the Kern County
(Eastern Kern) ozone nonattainment area. The area is classified as
``Moderate'' for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, ``Severe-15'' for the
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and ``Serious'' for the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS.\1\ Therefore, EKAPCD must implement RACT in this area consistent
with CAA sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f). The District relies on Rule
425.3 to establish RACT-level controls for Portland cement kilns at
major sources of NO<INF>X</INF> within the ozone nonattainment area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See 40 CFR 81.305. For the 2008 ozone NAAQS, EKAPCD's
voluntary reclassification to ``Serious'' from ``Moderate'' was
finalized on July 5, 2018 (83 FR 31334) and the voluntary
reclassification to ``Severe-15'' was finalized on June 7, 2021 (86
FR 30204). EKAPCD's voluntary reclassification to ``Serious'' for
the 2015 ozone NAAQS was finalized on October 28, 2021 (86 FR
59648).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our June 5, 2023 limited approval and limited disapproval of the
2018 version of Rule 425.3, the EPA evaluated the RACT stringency of
Rule 425.3 with respect to the Portland cement kilns covered by the
rule, and the limited disapproval portion of that action started a
sanctions clock based on the deficient portion of that rule. The
present submission was submitted in order to address that deficiency.
Rule 425.3 establishes NO<INF>X</INF> emission limitations for the
operation of Portland cement kilns within the nonattainment area under
the EKAPCD's jurisdiction. The EKAPCD revised Rule 425.3 in order to
correct the deficiencies identified in our June 5, 2023 limited
approval and limited disapproval. The revised rule requires all kilns
to comply with the 2.8 lb of NO<INF>X</INF>/ton of clinker over a 30-
operating day rolling average limit, replaces exemptions from
NO<INF>X</INF> emission limitations during startup and shutdown
operations with new alternative NO<INF>X</INF> emission limitations,
and removes the exemption from NO<INF>X</INF> emission limitations
during breakdown conditions. The EKAPCD also removed the less stringent
alternative emission limitation (3.4 lb of NO<INF>X</INF>/ton of
clinker over a 30-operating day rolling average) during periods of
normal operation for low NO<INF>X</INF> burners or low NO<INF>X</INF>
precalciner kilns installed and made operational by January 1, 2007.
The EKAPCD added a recordkeeping requirement for Portland cement kilns,
which must now record startup and shutdown daily NO<INF>X</INF>
emission rates. Finally, the EKAPCD revised the definitions of
``startup'' and ``shutdown'' to align with 40 CFR part 63, subpart
LLL--National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From the
Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry (see 40 CFR 63.1341). The EPA's
technical support document (TSD) has more information about this rule.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
Rules in the SIP must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2))
and must not interfere with applicable requirements concerning
attainment and reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements
(see CAA section 110(l)). Additionally, as explained above, EKAPCD must
implement RACT in this area pursuant to CAA sections 182(b)(2) and (f),
and the District relies on Rule 425.3 to establish RACT-level controls
for Portland cement kilns at major sources of NO<INF>X</INF> within the
Kern County (Eastern Kern) ozone nonattainment area. In our June 5,
2023 action, we found that Rule 425.3 was largely consistent with the
relevant CAA requirements. However, in that final rulemaking, we
identified certain deficiencies that prevented full approval of Rule
425.3. This rulemaking focuses on the deficiencies identified in that
June 5, 2023 limited disapproval and proposes to determine that the
revisions to Rule 425.3 correct those identified deficiencies.
Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate
enforceability, interference under CAA section 110(l), and rule
stringency requirements for the applicable criteria pollutants include
the following:
1. ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,''
57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).
2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies,
and Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January
11, 1990).
3. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
4. ``State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to
the General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
Implementation of Title I; Proposed Rule,'' (the NO<INF>X</INF>
Supplement), 57 FR 55620, November 25, 1992.
5. ``NO<INF>X</INF> Emissions from Cement Manufacturing,'' EPA-
453/R-94-004, March 1994.
6. ``Air Plan Limited Approval and Limited Disapproval;
California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District,'' 88 FR
36479, June 5, 2023.
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
Based on our evaluation, this rule meets CAA requirements and is
consistent with relevant guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and
SIP revisions. In our June 5, 2023 final rule, we determined that the
NO<INF>X</INF> emission limitation of 2.8 lb of NO<INF>X</INF>/ton of
clinker over a 30-operating day rolling average, excluding periods of
startup and shutdown, implements RACT-level stringency. We have not
identified any information since our June 5, 2023 final action to alter
this determination. We also determined in that final action that
sections (IV)(A) and (IV)(B) of Rule 425.3, which contained exemptions
from emission limitations for Portland cement kiln sources during
periods of startup, shutdown, and breakdown conditions, were deficient
because ``[a]n emission limitation or requirement that exempts a period
of source operation, such as startup or shutdown, cannot be considered
continuous and is not consistent with CAA requirements.'' \2\ See,
e.g., CAA section 302(k). These deficiencies were the only identified
deficiencies that were the basis for our
[[Page 23655]]
limited disapproval. Our proposed approval of the present submission of
Rule 425.3 does not otherwise alter our previous determination that
Rule 425.3 establishes RACT-level controls for all sources subject to
the rule, except for the identified deficiencies. As a result, in this
action, we focus our analysis primarily on the revisions that have been
made to the rule and supporting analysis to cure the previously
identified deficiencies and serve as the basis for now proposing to
approve the rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See 88 FR 36479.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to our limited disapproval of Rule 425.3, the EKAPCD
removed sections (IV)(A) and (IV)(B) of Rule 425.3, added alternative
emission limitations during startup and shutdown, and added
recordkeeping requirements during startup and shutdown. The alternative
emission limitations during startup and shutdown of 21,528 lb of
NO<INF>X</INF> per day is similar to the NO<INF>X</INF> alternative
emission limitations during startup and shutdown required in Mojave
Desert Rule 1161--Portland Cement Kilns, which was SIP-approved on June
2, 2023 (see 88 FR 36249).\3\ Based on our previous determination that
the stringency of the NO<INF>X</INF> emission limitations during
periods of normal operations contained in Rule 425.3 implement RACT,
combined with the revised numerical alternative emission NO<INF>X</INF>
mass limits that apply during periods of startup and shutdown in the
updated rule, we are proposing to determine that the District has
established emission limitations in the SIP that are continuous and
implement RACT for Portland cement kilns subject to Rule 425.3. Our
evaluation of the remainder of the rule remains unchanged from our 2023
analysis. The TSD has more information on our evaluation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ During periods of startup and shutdown, little to no clinker
is produced while NO<INF>X</INF> emissions are generated. Therefore,
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions during these periods are characterized by
lb of NO<INF>X</INF>/ton of clinker values that can vary
significantly based on varying clinker production values during
these periods of operation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Considering the most recent revisions to Rule 425.3, we propose to
fully approve Rule 425.3 as meeting all applicable CAA requirements and
being consistent with relevant guidance regarding enforceability, RACT,
and SIP revisions.
C. 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. If we finalize approval of the submitted rule, our final
action will incorporate this rule into the federally enforceable SIP.
We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until July 7,
2025.
If we finalize this rulemaking as proposed, EKAPCD will have
corrected the deficiencies identified in our prior June 5, 2023 limited
disapproval, and all associated sanctions and Federal implementation
plan clocks would be permanently stopped, and any already applied
sanctions would permanently be lifted. We are concurrently making an
interim final determination to stay and defer the CAA section 179
sanctions associated with our June 5, 2023 limited disapproval of Rule
425.3. Consistent with our order of sanction regulations,\4\ this
determination is based on this proposed approval of SIP revisions to
resolve the deficiencies that were the basis of our prior June 5, 2023
limited disapproval.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See 40 CFR 52.31.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, 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 the EKAPCD Rule 425.3, ``Portland Cement Kilns
(Oxides of Nitrogen),'' amended on November 13, 2024, which establishes
NO<INF>X</INF> emission limitations from the operation of Portland
cement kilns. 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 CAA, 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 CAA. 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 Order 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866;
<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 CAA.
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).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: May 21, 2025.
Joshua F.W. Cook,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2025-10036 Filed 6-3-25; 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 June 4, 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.