Proposed Rule2025-17638
Air Plan Approval; California; San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District
Primary source
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Published
September 12, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD or "District") portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning a rule submitted to address section 185 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the "Act") with respect to the revoked 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or "standard"). We are proposing action on this local rule that was submitted as an equivalent alternative to a statutory section 185 program. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44155-44157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17638]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0300; FRL-12832-01-R9]
Air Plan Approval; California; San Joaquin Valley Unified Air
Pollution Control District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a revision to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution
Control District (SJVUAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California
State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning a rule submitted to address
section 185 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the ``Act'') with respect to
the revoked 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS or ``standard''). We are proposing action on this local rule
that was submitted as an equivalent alternative to a statutory section
185 program. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow
with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2025-0300 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: Donnique Sherman, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4129 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#96e5fef3e4fbf7f8b8f2f9f8f8ffe7e3f3d6f3e6f7b8f1f9e0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="94e7fcf1e6f9f5fabaf0fbfafafde5e1f1d4f1e4f5baf3fbe2">[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 dates
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
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Local agency Rule No. Rule title Adopted Submitted
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SJVUAPCD............................... 3171 Federally Mandated Ozone 10/19/23 01/10/24
Nonattainment Fee--1997 8-Hour
Standard.
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[[Page 44156]]
On July 10, 2024, the submittal for SJVUAPCD Rule 3171 was deemed
by operation of law to be complete. We have reviewed the submittal to
ensure it meets the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51, appendix
V.
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
There are no previous versions of Rule 3171 in the SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
Under sections 182(d)(3), (e), (f) and 185 of the Act, states with
ozone nonattainment areas classified as Severe or Extreme are required
to submit a SIP revision that requires major stationary sources of
volatile organic compounds (VOC) or oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>)
emissions in the area to pay a fee if the area fails to attain the
standard by the attainment date. The required SIP revision must provide
for annual payment of the fees, computed in accordance with section
185(b).
The purpose of SJVUAPCD Rule 3171 is to satisfy the requirements of
sections 182(d)(3) and 185 of the Act by utilizing an equivalency
approach consistent with the principles of section 172(e) of the Act.
Under this rule, the District will track, calculate, analyze, and
report on expenditures designed to result in VOC or NO<INF>X</INF>
reductions within the District to implement an alternative program that
is not less stringent than a statutory CAA section 185 fee program. The
rule includes calculation of the CAA section 185 fee obligation,
establishment of a CAA section 185 fee equivalency demonstration
system, an annual fee equivalency demonstration report, reporting to
the EPA, and a provision requiring major sources to pay fees directly
in the event of a fee collection shortfall. The fee equivalency
demonstration system includes fees collected by the California
Department of Motor Vehicles as an additional source of funding for the
alternative 185 fee program and would need to demonstrate that the
program's revenue would be greater than or equal to the revenue that
would result under a direct implementation of the section 185 fee
program if all major stationary sources covered by section 185 paid the
statutory fee amount.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
Rules in the SIP must be enforceable and must not interfere with
applicable requirements concerning attainment and reasonable further
progress or other CAA requirements. See, respectively, CAA sections
110(a)(2) and 110(l). The EPA is also evaluating this rule for
consistency with the statutory requirements of CAA section 185. Since
the rule allows for an equivalent alternative program to meet the CAA
section 185 obligation for the revoked 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, it must
be consistent with the principles of CAA section 172(e) and must be
``not less stringent'' than the statutory section 185 program.
Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate
enforceability, revision/relaxation, 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).
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
We evaluated this rule to ensure it meets CAA requirements and is
consistent with relevant guidance regarding enforceability, SIP
revisions, and section 185. The equivalent alternative program provides
a partial exemption for certain clean emissions units, and it allows
for an alternative baseline in certain situations. However, the rule
also provides for the collection of California Vehicle Code Fees, and
then it compares the fees collected from major sources and vehicle fees
to the fees that would have been collected under a statutory section
185 program that simply collected fees from applicable major stationary
sources. In the event of a shortfall, the rule requires the collection
of this shortfall amount from the initially-exempt clean emissions
units. This program ensures that the total fee amount collected is
greater than or equal to the fee that would have been collected under a
statutory section 185 program. Moreover, the fees that are collected
are used to establish and implement surplus incentive-based emissions-
reduction programs. This approach of ensuring fee equivalence, and
using the collected funds to achieve reductions in the District, is
consistent with the principles of 172(e) of the CAA. Based on our
review, the rule meets the relevant requirements. The Technical Support
Document (TSD) has more information on our evaluation.
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. We will accept comments from the public on this proposal
until October 14, 2025. If we take final action to approve the
submitted rule, our final action will incorporate this rule into the
federally enforceable SIP.
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 SJVUAPCD Rule 3171, Federally Mandated Ozone Nonattainment
Fee--1997 8-Hour Standard, adopted on October 19, 2023, described in
section I.A. 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 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
[[Page 44157]]
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).
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, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 3, 2025.
Michael Martucci,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2025-17638 Filed 9-11-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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