Rule2025-20095
Air Plan Approval; Arizona; Yuma 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area; Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan
Primary source
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Published
November 18, 2025
Effective
December 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve the State of Arizona's "SIP Revision: 2015 Ozone NAAQS, Yuma Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan" ("Yuma Maintenance Plan" or "Plan") as a revision to the Arizona state implementation plan (SIP). The Yuma Maintenance Plan includes, among other elements, an emissions inventory consistent with attainment, a maintenance demonstration, contingency provisions, and a motor vehicle emissions budget for use in transportation conformity determinations for the ten-year maintenance period. With this action, the EPA is approving the motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2020, 2030, and 2037. The EPA is also approving the State's request to redesignate the Yuma nonattainment area ("Yuma area") from nonattainment to attainment for the 8-hour national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone promulgated in 2015 ("2015 ozone NAAQS"). The EPA is finalizing this action because this SIP revision meets the applicable Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act") requirements for maintenance plans and because the State has met the requirements under the Act for redesignation of a nonattainment area to attainment with respect to the Yuma area.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51548-51551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20095]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0339; FRL-12125-02-R9]
Air Plan Approval; Arizona; Yuma 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment
Area; Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan
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 State of Arizona's ``SIP Revision: 2015 Ozone
NAAQS, Yuma Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan'' (``Yuma
Maintenance Plan'' or ``Plan'') as a revision to the Arizona state
implementation plan (SIP). The Yuma Maintenance Plan includes, among
other elements, an emissions inventory consistent with attainment, a
maintenance demonstration, contingency provisions, and a motor vehicle
emissions budget for use in transportation conformity determinations
for the ten-year maintenance period. With this action, the EPA is
approving the motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2020, 2030, and 2037.
The EPA is also approving the State's request to redesignate the Yuma
nonattainment area (``Yuma area'') from nonattainment to attainment for
the 8-hour national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone
promulgated in 2015 (``2015 ozone NAAQS''). The EPA is finalizing this
action because this SIP revision meets the applicable Clean Air Act
(CAA or ``Act'') requirements for maintenance plans and because the
State has met the requirements under the Act for redesignation of a
nonattainment area to attainment with respect to the Yuma area.
DATES: This action is effective on December 18, 2025.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0339. 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#bef2dbdadbc4d3df90ffd0daccdbc9fedbcedf90d9d1c8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8cc0e9e8e9f6e1eda2cde2e8fee9fbcce9fceda2ebe3fa">[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 November 5, 2024, under CAA section 110(k)(3), the EPA proposed
to approve the Yuma Maintenance Plan submitted by the Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) on December 27, 2023, as a
revision to the Arizona SIP.\1\ In so doing, we proposed to find that
the Yuma Maintenance Plan adequately demonstrates that the Yuma area
will maintain the 2015 ozone NAAQS for ten years beyond redesignation
and includes sufficient contingency provisions to promptly correct any
violation of the 2015 ozone NAAQS that may occur, and otherwise meets
the requirements for maintenance plans under CAA section 175A. We also
proposed to find the motor vehicle emissions budgets (``budgets'') for
volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NO<INF>X</INF>)
for 2020, 2030, and 2037 adequate and approve the budgets for
transportation conformity purposes.
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\1\ 89 FR 87828 (November 5, 2024).
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In our proposed rulemaking, we also proposed to grant ADEQ's
request to redesignate the Yuma area from nonattainment to attainment
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS pursuant to CAA section 107(d)(3)(E). We
proposed to do so based on our conclusion that the Yuma area has
attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS based on the following: the most recent
three-year period (2020-2022) of quality-assured, certified, and
complete ozone data; \2\ the relevant portions of the Arizona SIP are,
or will be as part of this action, fully approved; the improvement in
air quality is due to permanent and enforceable emissions reductions;
Arizona has met all requirements applicable to the Yuma area with
respect to section 110 and part D of the CAA; and based on our proposed
approval as described above, the Yuma Maintenance Plan meets the
requirements for maintenance plans under section 175A of the CAA.
Therefore, Arizona has met the criteria for redesignation under CAA
section 107(d)(3)(E) for the Yuma area with respect to the 2015 ozone
NAAQS.
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\2\ The Yuma 2015 ozone NAAQS design value for 2024 remained in
attainment at 0.069 parts per million; EPA, 2024 AQS Design Value
Report (AMP480) dated July 8, 2025, included in the docket for this
rulemaking; also available at EPA, Ozone Design Values, 2024,
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values">https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values</a>.
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Our proposed rulemaking has a detailed discussion of the background
for this action, our procedural and substantive review of the Yuma
Maintenance Plan and associated budgets, and our rationale for our
proposed approval of the Yuma Maintenance Plan and for granting ADEQ's
request for redesignation of the Yuma area to attainment.
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
Our November 5, 2024 (89 FR 87828) proposed rulemaking provided a
30-day public comment period that closed on December 5, 2024. During
this comment period we received one comment, which stated that the
cannabis industry is responsible for significant greenhouse gas and VOC
emissions in Arizona. We acknowledge the comment; however, it fails to
assert or explain how the EPA's approval of Arizona's redesignation
request for the Yuma area and the Yuma Maintenance Plan is erroneous or
otherwise inconsistent with the CAA, applicable regulations, or other
authorities. 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
November 5, 2024 (89 FR 87828) proposed rulemaking, the EPA is taking
final action to approve the Yuma Maintenance Plan submittal as a
revision to the Arizona SIP. The EPA finds that the maintenance
demonstration showing the area will continue to maintain the 2015 ozone
NAAQS for 10 years beyond redesignation, the contingency provisions
describing the actions that ADEQ will take in the event of a future
monitored violation, and the other elements of the Yuma Maintenance
Plan meet all applicable requirements for
[[Page 51549]]
maintenance plans and related contingency provisions in CAA section
175A. The EPA is also approving the budgets for VOC and NO<INF>X</INF>
for 2020, 2030, and 2037 because they are derived from an approvable
maintenance demonstration, are adequate, and meet the applicable
transportation conformity requirements under 40 CFR 93.118(e).
Under CAA section 107(d)(3)(D), we are also taking final action to
grant ADEQ's request to redesignate the Yuma area to attainment for the
2015 ozone NAAQS, which accompanied the submittal of the Yuma
Maintenance Plan. We are doing so based on our conclusion that the area
has met the five criteria for redesignation under CAA section
107(d)(3)(E). Our conclusion in this regard is based on our
determination of the following: the area has attained the 2015 ozone
NAAQS; relevant portions of the Arizona SIP are, or will be as part of
this action, fully approved; the improvement in air quality is due to
permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions; Arizona has met all
requirements applicable to the Yuma area with respect to section 110
and part D of the CAA; and our approval (as part of this action) of the
Yuma Maintenance Plan.
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. Moreover, 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 Clean Air Act; and
The EPA has identified Tribal areas within the Yuma area covered by
this rule that would be potentially affected by this final action.
Specifically, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona and the Quechan Tribe of the
Fort Yuma Indian Reservation are located within the boundaries of the
Yuma area.
The EPA has concluded that this rule may have Tribal implications
for these Tribes for the purposes of transportation conformity, as this
document sets motor vehicle emissions budgets for ozone precursors for
the Yuma area, which includes some Tribal roads. The EPA has
communicated with the potentially affected Tribes located within the
boundaries of the Yuma area.\3\
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\3\ Letter dated June 4, 2024, from Matthew Lakin, Director, EPA
Region IX to Sherry Cordova, Chairwoman, Cocopah Tribe of Arizona,
Subject: ``Invitation to Consult on a Redesignation Request and
Maintenance Plan from the State of Arizona for the 2015 Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS),'' and letter dated
June 4, 2024 from Matthew Lakin, Director, EPA Region IX to Jordan
Joaquin, President, Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian
Reservation, Subject: ``Invitation to Consult on a Redesignation
Request and Maintenance Plan from the State of Arizona for the 2015
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).''
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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 January 20, 2026. 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, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: September 29, 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 D--Arizona
0
2. Section 52.120 is amended in paragraph (e), table 1, under the
heading ``Part D Elements and Plans (Other than for the Metropolitan
Phoenix or Tucson Areas)'' by adding an entry for ``SIP Revision: 2015
Ozone NAAQS, Yuma Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan'' before
the entry for ``SIP Revision: Marginal Ozone Plan for the Yuma
Nonattainment Area (dated December 17, 2020), excluding chapter D and
appendix C'' to read as follows:
[[Page 51550]]
Sec. 52.120 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
Table 1--EPA-Approved Non-Regulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
[Excluding certain resolutions and statutes, which are listed in tables 2 and 3, respectively] \1\
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Applicable
geographic or State submittal
Name of SIP provision nonattainment area date EPA approval date Explanation
or title/subject
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* * * * * * *
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Part D Elements and Plans (Other than for the Metropolitan Phoenix or Tucson Areas)
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SIP Revision: 2015 Ozone NAAQS, Yuma 2015 8-hour December 27, 2023. November 18, 2025, Adopted by the
Yuma Redesignation Request and ozone 90 FR [INSERT Arizona
Maintenance Plan. nonattainment FEDERAL REGISTER Department of
area. PAGE WHERE THE Environmental
DOCUMENT BEGINS]. Quality on
December 15,
2023, and
submitted to the
EPA as an
attachment to a
letter dated
December 27,
2023.
* * * * * * *
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\1\ Table 1 is divided into three parts: Clean Air Act section 110(a)(2) State Implementation Plan Elements
(excluding Part D Elements and Plans), Part D Elements and Plans (other than for the Metropolitan Phoenix or
Tucson Areas), and Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas.
* * * * *
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. Section 81.303 is amended in the table ``Arizona--2015 8-Hour Ozone
NAAQS [Primary and Secondary]'' by revising the entry for ``Yuma, AZ''
to read as follows:
Sec. 81.303 Arizona.
* * * * *
Arizona--2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
[Primary and Secondary]
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Designation Classification
Designated area \1\ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date \2\ Type Date \2\ Type
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* * * * * * *
Yuma, AZ........................ December 18, 2025........... Attainment..................
Yuma County (part):
That portion within Yuma
County of the area
described by the
following:
1. Bounded on the
north and west by
the Arizona state
line.
2. Bounded on the
south by the line
of latitude at
32[deg]39'20'' N.
3. Bounded on the
east by the line of
longitude
114[deg]33'50'' W.
4. And excluding the
sections 10, 11,
and 12 of township
T9S, R23W and any
portion in Indian
Country.
Cocopah Tribe of Arizona.
Quechan Tribe of the Fort
Yuma Indian Reservation.
* * * * * * *
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\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the boundaries of any area of Indian country
in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation
area is not a determination that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is August 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
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[FR Doc. 2025-20095 Filed 11-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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