Rule2025-17039
Revisions to the Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; California; San Diego County 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
September 5, 2025
Effective
November 4, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
With this direct final rule, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating approval of revisions to the Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program (title V) of the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDCAPCD or "District") in California. The EPA is taking this final action in accordance with federal regulations and the Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act").
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 170 (Friday, September 5, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 170 (Friday, September 5, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42843-42844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17039]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 70
[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0038; FRL-12574-02-R9]
Revisions to the Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program;
California; San Diego County Air Pollution Control District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: With this direct final rule, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is promulgating approval of revisions to the Clean Air Act
Operating Permit Program (title V) of the San Diego County Air
Pollution Control District (SDCAPCD or ``District'') in California. The
EPA is taking this final action in accordance with federal regulations
and the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'').
DATES: This rule is effective November 4, 2025 without further notice,
unless the EPA receives adverse comments by October 6, 2025. If the EPA
receives adverse comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2025-0038 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 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: Camille Cassar, Rules Office (Air-3-
2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4d2e2c3e3e2c3f632e2c20242121280d283d2c632a223b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="533032202032217d30323e3a3f3f36133623327d343c25">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Why is the EPA using a direct final rule?
II. Background
III. What is the State's Proposed Title V Program Revision?
IV. EPA Evaluation of Title V Program Revision
V. Final Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Why is the EPA using a direct final rule?
The EPA is publishing this final rule approving the SDCAPCD's
proposed title V program revisions without prior proposal because we
consider it to be a noncontroversial action and anticipate no adverse
comments. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal
Register publication, the EPA is simultaneously publishing a proposal
that will also serve as a public notice of San Diego's proposed title V
program revisions pursuant to title 40 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), section 70.4(i).
II. Background
The CAA Amendments of 1990 include title V, which requires states
to develop an operating permits program that meets the federal criteria
codified in 40 CFR part 70. The title V program requires certain
sources of air pollution to obtain federal operating permits from their
respective states. These federal operating permits improve enforcement
and compliance by consolidating all applicable federal requirements
into one federally enforceable document. Before states can issue title
V permits, the EPA must approve their programs as amendments to
appendix A of part 70. States may submit revisions to their approved
programs for EPA approval. See EPA's Technical Support Document (TSD)
for a more detailed discussion of the history of the title V program
approvals for SDCAPCD.
III. What is the State's proposed Title V program revision?
Table 1 lists the rule submitted as part of the SDCAPCD's title V
program revisions and the date it was adopted by the District and
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which is the
governor's designee for California rule submittals.
Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submitted
Rule No. Rule title Amended date date \b\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1415....................................... Title V Operating Permits--Permit 10/12/2023 01/19/2024
Process--Public Notification.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\b\ CARB transmitted the submittal to the EPA by letter dated January 19, 2024.
The District submitted revisions to Rule 1415 (Title V Operating
Permits--Permit Process--Public Notification) at Sections (a), (c),
(d), (g), and (j) to conform to current public noticing, application
publication, and record retention requirements codified at 40 CFR
70.5(c), 70.7(h) and 70.8(a)(3). Details regarding the revisions made,
including a change-copy of Rule 1415, can be found in the TSD and the
docket.
IV. EPA Evaluation of Title V Program Revision
EPA finds the District revisions to Rule 1415 (Title V Operating
Permits--Permit Process--Public Notification) at Sections (a), (c),
(d), (g), and (j) conform to and are consistent with current public
noticing, application publication, and record retention requirements
codified at 40 CFR 70.5(c), 70.7(h) and 40 CFR 70.6(a)(3)(ii)(B),
respectively. Details regarding the revisions made can be found in the
TSD available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
[[Page 42844]]
V. Final Action
As authorized in 40 CFR 70.4(i), the EPA is fully approving the
submitted revisions because we find the proposed changes to Rule 1415
align with 40 CFR part 70 program elements. Therefore, the proposed
changes are approvable as title V program revisions. We do not
anticipate adverse comments, so we are finalizing this action without
proposing it in advance. However, in the Proposed Rules section of this
Federal Register, we are simultaneously proposing approval of the same
submitted rule. If we receive adverse comments on the proposed
revisions by October 6, 2025, we will publish a timely withdrawal in
the Federal Register to notify the public that the direct final
approval will not take effect. The EPA would then address all public
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. If we
do not receive timely adverse comments, this direct final approval will
be effective without further notice on November 4, 2025. Pursuant to
section 307(b)(1) of the Act, judicial review of this final agency
action may be sought by filing a petition for review in the United
States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit within 60 days of
publication in the Federal Register. We do not plan to open a second
comment period on this action, so any parties interested in commenting
should do so at this time.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve title V
operating permit program revisions that comply with the Act and
applicable federal regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 7661a(d). Thus, in
reviewing title V permit program submissions, the EPA's role is to
approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA.
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 Order 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because it is not a significant regulatory action
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 (Public Law 104-4);
<bullet> Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
<bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
<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.
This rule does not have tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the
Title V action is not approved to apply in Indian country located in
the State, and the EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by November 4, 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 shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action. This action approving California title V permit program
revisions may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its
requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR part 70
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: August 19, 2025.
Joshua F. W. Cook,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended
as follows:
PART 70--STATE OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAMS
0
1. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
0
2. Appendix A to Part 70 is amended under ``California'' by adding
paragraph (x)(7) to read as follows:
Appendix A to Part 70--Approval Status of State and Local Operating
Permits Programs
* * * * *
California
* * * * *
(x) ***
(7) The District adopted revisions on October 12, 2023. The
California Air Resources Board submitted revisions to the EPA on
January 19, 2024. Approval is effective on September 5, 2025.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2025-17039 Filed 9-4-25; 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 September 5, 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.