Rule2025-18637
Air Plan Approval; California; San Joaquin Valley 1-Hour Ozone Area; Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request
Primary source
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Published
September 25, 2025
Effective
October 27, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve the "2023 Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request for the Revoked 1-Hour Ozone Standard" ("San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan" or "Plan") as a revision to the state implementation plan (SIP) for the State of California. The San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan includes, among other elements, an emissions inventory consistent with attainment and contingency provisions. The EPA is also finalizing its finding that the State of California's request to redesignate the San Joaquin Valley area from nonattainment to attainment for the revoked 1979 1-hour national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or "standard") for ozone ("1979 ozone NAAQS," "1-hour ozone NAAQS," or "1-hour ozone standard") meets all the Clean Air Act (CAA or "the Act") criteria for redesignation. Therefore, the EPA is terminating all anti-backsliding obligations for the San Joaquin Valley area for the revoked 1-hour ozone NAAQS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 184 (Thursday, September 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 184 (Thursday, September 25, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46075-46079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18637]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0611; FRL-12521-02-R9]
Air Plan Approval; California; San Joaquin Valley 1-Hour Ozone
Area; Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to approve the ``2023 Maintenance Plan
[[Page 46076]]
and Redesignation Request for the Revoked 1-Hour Ozone Standard''
(``San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan'' or ``Plan'') as a revision to
the state implementation plan (SIP) for the State of California. The
San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan includes, among other elements, an
emissions inventory consistent with attainment and contingency
provisions. The EPA is also finalizing its finding that the State of
California's request to redesignate the San Joaquin Valley area from
nonattainment to attainment for the revoked 1979 1-hour national
ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or ``standard'') for ozone (``1979
ozone NAAQS,'' ``1-hour ozone NAAQS,'' or ``1-hour ozone standard'')
meets all the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'') criteria for
redesignation. Therefore, the EPA is terminating all anti-backsliding
obligations for the San Joaquin Valley area for the revoked 1-hour
ozone NAAQS.
DATES: This action will be effective on October 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0611. 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 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: Andrew Ledezma, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3985 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d69ab3b2b3acbbb7f897b8b2a4b3a196b3a6b7f8b1b9a0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="561a3332332c3b37781738322433211633263778313920">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Summary of Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Summary of Proposed Action
On June 23, 2025, under CAA section 110(k)(3), the EPA proposed to
approve the San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan submitted by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) on July 21, 2023, as a revision
to the California SIP.\1\ Consistent with the requirements in CAA
section 175A and EPA guidance,\2\ we proposed to find that the San
Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan adequately addressed the required
elements of a maintenance plan: an emissions inventory, a maintenance
demonstration, a commitment to maintain an air quality monitoring
network, verification of continued attainment, and a contingency plan.
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\1\ 90 FR 26469 (June 23, 2025).
\2\ See memorandum dated September 4, 1992, from John Calcagni,
Director, Air Quality Management Division, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, EPA, Subject: ``Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment.''
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In our proposed action, we also proposed to find that California's
redesignation request meets all five criteria for redesignation in CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E) for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. We proposed to find
that the San Joaquin Valley area meets the criteria in CAA section
107(d)(3)(E) based on the following: the San Joaquin Valley area
attained the 1979 ozone NAAQS based on the 2021-2023 period of quality-
assured, certified, and complete ozone data; the applicable portions of
the California SIP are fully approved; the improvement in air quality
is due to permanent and enforceable emissions reductions; California
has met all requirements applicable to the San Joaquin Valley area with
respect to section 110 and part D of the CAA; and based on our proposed
approval as described above, the San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan
meets the requirements for maintenance plans under section 175A of the
CAA. Therefore, California has met the criteria for redesignation under
CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) for the San Joaquin Valley area with respect
to the 1979 ozone NAAQS.
Although CAA section 107(d)(3) applies explicitly only to revisions
of area designations and the designations for this area have been
revoked along with the NAAQS, the EPA's view is that, consistent with
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's
findings in South Coast Air Quality Management District v. EPA (``South
Coast II''),\3\ satisfaction of the statutory redesignation criteria
permits the termination of any remaining anti-backsliding obligations
for the San Joaquin Valley area as to the revoked 1979 ozone NAAQS.
Therefore, we proposed to terminate anti-backsliding obligations,
identified at 40 CFR 51.1100(o), for the San Joaquin Valley area
associated with the 1-hour ozone NAAQS and to revise the table in 40
CFR part 81 to reflect the status of applicable anti-backsliding
obligations in the San Joaquin Valley area for the revoked 1979 ozone
NAAQS.
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\3\ 882 F.3d 1138 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
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Our proposed rulemaking has a detailed discussion of the background
for this action, our procedural and substantive review of the San
Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan, and our rationale for terminating
anti-backsliding obligations for the San Joaquin Valley area associated
with the 1-hour ozone NAAQS.
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
Our June 23, 2025 proposed rulemaking provided a 30-day public
comment period that closed on July 22, 2025. During this period, we
received comment letters from two organizations and one anonymous
commenter. CARB and the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution
Control District (``SJVUAPCD'') submitted letters supporting the EPA's
proposed action.\4\ The anonymous commenter submitted a comment
objecting to our proposed action. In the following paragraphs, we will
summarize the comment objecting to our proposed action and provide our
response.
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\4\ Letter dated July 22, 2025, from Edie Chang, Deputy
Executive Officer, CARB to Joshua F.W. Cook, Regional Administrator,
EPA Region IX; and letter dated July 23, 2025, from Emily Kneeland,
Director of Air Quality Planning, SJVUACPD.
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The anonymous commenter states the EPA's regulations should be
updated to address new sources of environmental issues, such as
wildfires and changes in the ozone. The commenter states that this
implementation plan should be revised to address outdated EPA standards
and to ensure citizens are protected.
We acknowledge the comment; however, it fails to assert or explain
how the EPA's approval of the San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan and
finding that the redesignation request meets all criteria in CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E) is erroneous or otherwise inconsistent with the
CAA, applicable regulations, or other authorities. We also note that
the San Joaquin Valley area remains in nonattainment for several more
recent and more stringent ozone standards, which requires the
development and implementation of state implementation plans to reduce
ozone concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley area to levels the
[[Page 46077]]
EPA has determined are protective of human health. As such, the comment
does not require further response in order to finalize the action as
proposed.
III. Final Action
Under CAA section 110(k)(3), and for reasons set forth in our June
23, 2025 proposed rule, the EPA is taking final action to approve the
San Joaquin Valley Maintenance Plan submittal as a revision to the
California SIP. The EPA finds that the maintenance demonstration
showing the area will continue to maintain the 1979 ozone NAAQS for 10
years beyond redesignation, the contingency provisions describing the
actions that SJVUAPCD and CARB will take in the event of a future
monitored violation, and the other elements of the San Joaquin Valley
Maintenance Plan meet all applicable requirements for maintenance plans
and related contingency provisions in CAA section 175A.
We are also determining that all five of the redesignation criteria
at CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) for the San Joaquin Valley area have been
met for the standard. We are terminating the anti-backsliding
obligations for the San Joaquin Valley area with respect to the revoked
1-hour ozone NAAQS. Consistent with the South Coast II decision, anti-
backsliding obligations for the revoked ozone standard may be
terminated when the redesignation criteria for that standard are met.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, redesignation of a nonattainment area to
attainment and the accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under
section 107(d)(3)(E) are actions that affect the status of a
geographical area and do not impose any additional regulatory
requirements on sources beyond those imposed by the SIP and applicable
Federal rules. Redesignation to attainment does not in and of itself
create any new requirements but rather results in the applicability of
less stringent requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have
been redesignated to attainment. While we are not in this action
redesignating any areas to attainment, we are approving the state's
demonstration that all five redesignation criteria have been met.
Similar to a redesignation, the termination of anti-backsliding
obligations in this action does not impose any new requirements.
With regard to the SIP approval portions of this action, 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, these actions merely
approve a SIP revision and redesignation request as meeting Federal
requirements and do not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For these reasons, these actions:
<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 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
<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 approves a state program;
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
<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; and
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).
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 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 November 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 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
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate Matter, Sulfur Dioxide,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: September 11, 2025.
Michael Martucci,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR parts
52 and 81 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. In Sec. 52.220a, in paragraph (e), amend table 8 by adding an entry
for ``2023 Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request for the Revoked
1-Hour Ozone Standard'' after the entry for ``Letter from David Warner,
Deputy Air Pollution Control Officer, San Joaquin Valley Unified APCD,
to Gerardo C. Rios, Chief, Air Permits Office, EPA Region IX, dated
June 26, 2014.''
[[Page 46078]]
Sec. 52.220a Identification of plan--in part.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
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Applicable
Name of SIP provision geographic area State submittal date EPA approval date Explanation
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* * * * * * *
2023 Maintenance Plan and San Joaquin July 21, 2023......... 9/25/2025, 90 FR Submitted on July
Redesignation Request for the Valley. [INSERT FEDERAL 21, 2023, as an
Revoked 1-Hour Ozone Standard. REGISTER PAGE attachment to a
WHERE THE letter of the
DOCUMENT BEGINS]. same date.
* * * * * * *
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* * * * *
PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES
0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C 7401 et seq.
Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations
0
4. In Sec. 81.305 amend the table, ``California--Ozone (1-Hour
Standard),'' by:
0
a. Revising the entry for ``San Joaquin Valley Area''; and
0
b. Adding footnote ``7''.
The revisions and additions read as follows:
Sec. 81.305 California.
* * * * *
California--Ozone
[1-Hour standard] \4\
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Designation Classification
Designated area ---------------------------------------------------
Date \1\ Type Date \1\ Type
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San Joaquin Valley Area:
Fresno County........................................... 10/27/2025 (\7\)
Kern County (part). That portion of Kern County that 10/27/2025 (\7\)
lies west and north of a line described below:.........
Beginning at the Kern-Los Angeles County boundary
and running north and east along the northwest
boundary of the Rancho La Pliebre Land Grant to the
point of intersection with the range line common to
Range 16 West and Range 17 West, San Bernardino
Base and Meridian; north along the range line to
the point of intersection with the Rancho El Tejon
Land Grant boundary; then southeast, northeast, and
northwest along the boundary of the Rancho El Tejon
Grant to the northwest corner of Section 3,
Township 11 North, Range 17 West; then west 1.2
miles; then north to the Rancho El Tejon Land Grant
boundary; then northwest along the Rancho El Tejon
line to the southeast corner of Section 34,
Township 32 South, Range 30 East, Mount Diablo Base
and Meridian; then north to the northwest corner of
Section 35, Township 31 South, Range 30 East; then
northeast along the boundary of the Rancho El Tejon
Land Grant to the southwest corner of Section 18,
Township 31 South, Range 31 East; then east to the
southeast corner of Section 13, Township 31 South,
Range 31 East; then north along the range line
common to Range 31 East and Range 32 East, Mount
Diablo Base and Meridian, to the northwest corner
of Section 6, Township 29 South, Range 32 East;
then east to the southwest corner of Section 31,
Township 28 South, Range 32 East; then north along
the range line common to Range 31 East and Range 32
East to the northwest corner of Section 6, Township
28 South, Range 32 East, then west to the southeast
corner of Section 36, Township 27 South, Range 31
East, then north along the range line common to
Range 31 East and Range 32 East to the Kern-Tulare
County boundary:
Kings County............................................ 9/25/2025 (\7\)
Madera County........................................... 10/27/2025 (\7\)
Merced County........................................... 10/27/2025 (\7\)
San Joaquin County...................................... 10/27/2025 (\7\)
Stanislaus County....................................... 10/27/2025 (\7\)
Tulare County........................................... 10/27/2025 (\7\)
* * * * * * *
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\1\ This date is October 18, 2000 unless otherwise noted.
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\4\ The 1-hour ozone standard is revoked effective June 15, 2005 for all areas in California. The Monterey Bay,
San Diego, and Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc areas are maintenance areas for the 1-hour NAAQS for purposes
of 40 CFR part 51 subpart X.
[[Page 46079]]
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\7\ The San Joaquin Valley Area was designated and classified as ``Extreme'' nonattainment on April 16, 2004 and
was so designated and classified when the 1-hour ozone standard, designations and classifications were
revoked. The area has since attained the 1-hour ozone standard and met all the Clean Air Act criteria for
redesignation. All 1-hour ozone standard anti-backsliding obligations for the area are terminated effective
October 27, 2025.
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[FR Doc. 2025-18637 Filed 9-24-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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