Proposed Rule2026-05636
Air Plan Revisions; California; Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District; New Source Review; Stationary Source Permits
Primary source
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Published
March 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of one permitting rule, submitted on October 16, 2025, as a revision to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD or "District") portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns the District's New Source Review (NSR) permitting program for new and modified sources of air pollution under part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act"). The AVAQMD amended and resubmitted the rule after the EPA identified deficiencies in an earlier proposed rulemaking on a previous submittal. In this action, the EPA is also withdrawing our proposed limited approval and limited disapproval of the previous version of this AVAQMD rule. If finalized, this action will update the AVAQMD's current SIP with the amended rule. 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 91 Issue 55 (Monday, March 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 55 (Monday, March 23, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13797-13800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05636]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0056; FRL-12601-04-R9]
Air Plan Revisions; California; Antelope Valley Air Quality
Management District; New Source Review; Stationary Source Permits
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule and partial withdrawal of proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
approval of one permitting rule, submitted on October 16, 2025, as a
revision to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD
or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan
(SIP). This revision concerns the District's New Source Review (NSR)
permitting program for new and modified sources of air pollution under
part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''). The AVAQMD
amended and resubmitted the rule after the EPA identified deficiencies
in an earlier proposed rulemaking on a previous submittal. In this
action, the EPA is also withdrawing our proposed limited approval and
limited disapproval of the previous version of this AVAQMD rule. If
finalized, this action will update the AVAQMD's current SIP with the
amended rule. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to
follow with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 22, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2025-0056 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: Cecelia Working, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (213) 244-1911; or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#98eff7eaf3f1f6ffb6fbfdfbfdd8fde8f9b6fff7ee"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d8afb7aab3b1b6bff6bbbdbbbd98bda8b9f6bfb7ae">[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 rules are in the current SIP?
B. What rule did the State submit?
[[Page 13798]]
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
C. How are the previously identified rule deficiencies resolved?
D. Proposed Action and Public Comment
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules are in the current SIP?
Table 1 lists the rules in the current SIP with the dates they were
adopted or amended by the AVAQMD, submitted by the California Air
Resources Board (CARB), the governor's designee for California SIP
submittals, and approved by the EPA.
Table 1--Current SIP Rules
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State
District rule No. Title/subject effective EPA approval date
date
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1300............................... New Source Review 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
General.
1301............................... New Source Review 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
Definitions.
1302 (except 1302(C)(5) and New Source Review 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
1302(C)(7)(c)). Procedure.
1303............................... New Source Review 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
Requirements.
1304............................... New Source Review 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
Emissions
Calculations.
1305............................... New Source Review 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
Emissions Offsets.
1306............................... New Source Review for 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
Electric Energy
Generating Facilities.
1309............................... Emission Reduction 7/20/2021 7/3/2023 (88 FR 42621).
Credit Banking.
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B. What rules did the State submit?
CARB provided a submittal to the EPA on October 16, 2025 (hereafter
referred to as the ``October 2025 submittal''), to revise the AVAQMD's
nonattainment NSR (NNSR) permitting program in the California SIP.
CARB's October 2025 submittal provided the amended NNSR permitting
program rule listed in Table 2--Rule 1314--that the AVAQMD amended on
July 15, 2025. Locally amended Rule 1314 supersedes the version of Rule
1314 that CARB submitted to the EPA on January 7, 2025. In addition to
Rule 1314, CARB's January 7, 2025 submittal included amended AVAQMD
rules 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305, and 1309. CARB submitted these
rules to replace the current EPA-approved SIP rules in Table 1 that
apply in the AVAQMD. On March 26, 2025, the EPA proposed to take action
on CARB's January 7, 2025 submittal (the ``March 2025 Proposed
Action'').\1\
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\1\ 90 FR 13719 (March 26, 2025). In the March 2025 Proposed
Action, the EPA proposed to approve AVAQMD Rules 1301, 1302 (except
subsections 1302(C)(5) and 1302(C)(7)(c), which CARB did not submit
for inclusion in the SIP), 1303, 1304, 1305, and 1309, and proposed
a limited approval and limited disapproval of the prior version of
AVAQMD Rule 1314, which the AVAQMD superseded with the July 15, 2025
Board-adopted version of the rule. 90 FR 13719, 13722.
Table 2--Submitted Rule
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Amendment
District rule No. Title/subject Amended or adopted or adoption Submittal
date date \a\
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1314................................ Federal Nonattainment Adopted (New Rule)..... \b\ 7/15/ 10/16/2025
New Source Review for 2025
Ozone Precursors.
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\a\ The October 2025 submittal of Rule 1314 was transmitted to the EPA via a letter from CARB dated October 1,
2025.
\b\ The AVAQMD Governing Board adopted amended Rule 1314 on July 15, 2025. On August 4, 2025, the AVAQMD
renumbered the rule to correct cross-referencing errors, as the AVAQMD submission letter to CARB explains. The
change copy of Rule 1314 that is included in the AVAQMD's submission to CARB shows the corrections to the July
15, 2025 AVAQMD Board-adopted amended rule. These documents are available in the docket for this action.
Section 110(k)(1)(B) of the CAA requires the EPA to determine
whether a SIP submission is complete within 60 days of receipt. The
EPA's SIP completeness criteria are found in 40 CFR part 51, Appendix
V. Based on our review of the public process documentation for the
October 2025 submittal, we find that the District has provided
sufficient evidence of public notice and opportunity for public comment
and held a public hearing prior to adoption and submittal of this rule
to the EPA pursuant to 40 CFR part 51, Appendix V, and that the
submittal fulfills the completeness criteria of Appendix V.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
The AVAQMD is the permitting authority for a portion of the Los
Angeles-San Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert), CA (``West Mojave
Desert'') nonattainment area that is designated as a ``Severe''
nonattainment area for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The area is designated as
Unclassifiable/Attainment for the nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide,
particulate matter equal to or less than 10 micrometers
(PM<INF>10</INF>), particulate matter equal to or less than 2.5
micrometers (PM<INF>2.5</INF>), sulfur dioxide, and lead NAAQS.\2\ The
designation of the West Mojave Desert as a federal ozone nonattainment
area triggered the requirement for the District to develop and submit
an NNSR program to the EPA for approval into the California SIP.
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\2\ 40 CFR 81.305.
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The submitted rule listed in Table 2 of this Federal Register
action, in conjunction with the rules that the EPA proposed to approve
in the March 2025 Proposed Action, is intended to replace
[[Page 13799]]
the rules currently in the SIP as listed in Table 1. The submitted rule
is intended to satisfy the NNSR requirements of section 110(a)(2)(C)
and part D of title I of the Act and the EPA's implementing regulations
at title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 51. NNSR
requirements apply only in areas designated as nonattainment for one or
more National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The submitted rule
is also intended to resolve deficiencies identified in two EPA actions:
(1) our July 3, 2023 NSR action (``2023 NSR Action'') \3\ that included
a limited disapproval of AVAQMD Rules 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305, and
1309, as locally amended on July 20, 2021, and (2) our proposed limited
approval and limited disapproval of AVAQMD Rule 1314, as adopted on
December 30, 2024, as described in our March 2025 Proposed Action.\4\
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\3\ 88 FR 42621.
\4\ 90 FR 13719 (March 26, 2025).
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The AVAQMD adopted new Rule 1314 and amended its existing rules
1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305, and 1309 to address the deficiencies that
the EPA identified in the 2023 NSR Action. In the March 2025 Proposed
Action, the EPA proposed to find that the AVAQMD's revisions to its
rules addressed the deficiencies that the EPA identified in the 2023
NSR Action. In the March 2025 Proposed Action, however, the EPA
identified a new deficiency in the newly adopted AVAQMD Rule 1314.\5\
The deficiency that the EPA first identified in the March 2025 Proposed
Action is separate and unrelated to the deficiencies the EPA identified
in the 2023 NSR Action. In the March 2025 Proposed Action, the EPA
explained that AVAQMD Rule 1314 did not include the reasonable
possibility requirements that are stated in 40 CFR 51.165(a)(6) and
(7).\6\ Before the EPA finalized the March 2025 Proposed Action, the
AVAQMD amended Rule 1314 with the intention of addressing the missing
requirements that the EPA identified in the March 2025 Proposed Action.
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\5\ 90 FR 13719, 13722. The Technical Support Document (``TSD'')
in the March 2025 Proposed Action also describes the deficiency at
sections 5.2, 7.2, and in TSD Attachment 4. The Technical Support
Document that is associated with the March 2025 Proposed Action is
available in the docket for this proposed action.
\6\ Id.
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II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
In the EPA evaluation of the prior and now superseded version of
AVAQMD Rule 1314 as part of the March 2025 Proposed Action, the EPA
reviewed the rule for compliance with the CAA requirements as follows:
(1) the general SIP requirements as set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2),
including 110(a)(2)(A) and 110(a)(2)(E)(i); (2) the stationary source
preconstruction permitting program requirements as set forth in CAA
part D of title I, including CAA sections 172(c)(5), 173, and 182; (3)
the requirements for the review and modification of major sources in
accordance with 40 CFR 51.160-51.165 as applicable in Severe ozone
nonattainment areas; (4) the SIP revision requirements as set forth in
CAA sections 110(l) and 193; and (5) the provisions of CAA section
302(z). We described our review in detail in the March 2025 Proposed
Action Federal Register Notice and in the accompanying Technical
Support Document (``TSD'').\7\
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\7\ Id.
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Sections 110(a)(2) and 110(l) of the Act require that each SIP or
revision to a SIP submitted by the State must be adopted after
reasonable notice and public hearing. In addition, section 110 of the
Act requires that SIP rules be enforceable. Section 110(a)(2)(C) of the
Act requires each SIP to include a program to regulate the modification
and construction of any stationary source within the areas covered by
the SIP as necessary to assure attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS.
Part D of title I of the Act contains the general requirements for
areas designated nonattainment for a NAAQS (section 172), referred to
as NNSR, including preconstruction permit requirements for new major
sources and major modifications proposing to construct in nonattainment
areas (section 173) and the de minimis plan provisions for Severe
nonattainment areas (sections 182(c)(6) and 182(d)).
The EPA's regulations at 40 CFR 51.160-51.164 provide general
programmatic requirements to implement the statutory mandate under
section 110(a)(2)(C) of the Act that is commonly referred to as the
``general'' or ``minor'' NSR program. These NSR program regulations
impose requirements for approval of state and local programs that are
more general in nature as compared to the specific statutory and
regulatory requirements for NSR permitting programs under part D of
title I of the Act.
The EPA's regulations at 40 CFR 51.165 set forth the EPA's
regulatory requirements for SIP approval of a NNSR permit program. Our
review also evaluated the submittal for compliance with the NNSR
requirements applicable to Severe ozone nonattainment areas and ensured
that the submittal addressed the NNSR requirements for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS.
Section 110(l) of the Act prohibits the EPA from approving any SIP
revisions that would interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress or any other
applicable requirement of the CAA.
Section 193 of the Act, which only applies in nonattainment areas,
prohibits the modification of a SIP-approved control requirement in
effect before November 15, 1990, in any manner unless the modification
insures equivalent or greater emission reductions of such air
pollutant.
Section 302(z) of the Act defines the term ``Stationary Source'' as
generally any source of an air pollutant except those emissions
resulting directly from an internal combustion engine for
transportation purposes or from a nonroad engine or nonroad vehicle as
defined in title II of the Act.
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
In the March 2025 Proposed Action, the EPA reviewed the submitted
rule listed in Table 2 of this document in accordance with the rule
evaluation criteria described in Section II.A. of this document. The
only difference between the version of Rule 1314 that is the focus of
this proposed action and the superseded version of the rule that is the
subject of the March 2025 Proposed Action is the amended rule's new
section (G), ``Projects That Rely On a Projected Actual Emissions
Test,'' which the AVAQMD added when it amended the rule. The language
in Rule 1314(G) contains the requirements of 40 CFR 51.165(a)(6) and
(7).
With respect to procedural requirements, CAA sections 110(a)(2) and
110(l) require SIP revisions to be adopted by the state after
reasonable notice and public hearing. Based on our review of the public
process documentation included in the October 2025 submittal for the
amended rules listed in Table 2 of this document, we find that the
AVAQMD has provided sufficient evidence of public notice, opportunity
for comment, and a public hearing prior to the adoption and submittal
of these rules to the EPA.
We have determined that the submitted rule satisfies the statutory
and regulatory requirements in part D of the Act (including sections
172, 173, 182(c)(6) and 182(d)) and with the relevant provisions of
sections 110(a)(2) and 302(z) of the Act, as well as 40 CFR 51.160-
51.165, and addresses all of the deficiencies previously identified by
the
[[Page 13800]]
EPA.\8\ We describe how these deficiencies have been resolved in
Section II.C. of this notice.
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\8\ The EPA describes the deficiencies in sections II.C and II.D
of the Federal Register Notice for the March 2025 Proposed Action
(90 FR 13719, 13721-22) as well as the TSD.
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C. How are the previously identified rule deficiencies resolved?
The October 2025 submittal resolves the deficiencies previously
identified by the EPA in the 2023 NSR Action and in the March 2025
Proposed Action. In the October 2025 submittal, the AVAQMD made no
changes to Rule 1314 that affect our rationale for proposing to find,
in the March 2025 Proposed Action, that it resolved the deficiencies
identified in the 2023 NSR Action. By amending Rule 1314 such that it
includes new section (G), the AVAQMD in the October 2025 submittal
resolved the deficiency we identified in the March 2025 Proposed
Action.
D. Proposed Action and Public Comment
Based on the rationale set forth above, the EPA is proposing to
approve AVAQMD Rule 1314 as submitted in the October 2025 submittal as
authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act. The explanation we provided
in the March 2025 Proposed Action--in our Federal Register Notice and
TSD--of how AVAQMD Rule 1314 satisfies CAA statutory and regulatory
requirements still stands, but we are, in this action, revising the
March 2025 Proposed Action to remove our proposed deficiency findings
regarding the missing requirements of 40 CFR 51.165(a)(6) and (7),
because Rule 1314 now includes these requirements. We are
simultaneously withdrawing our proposed limited approval and limited
disapproval of Rule 1314 from the March 2025 Proposed Action in light
of our proposed full approval of the rule.\9\ Therefore, we no longer
plan to take final action on the January 7, 2025 submittal of Rule 1314
because it is superseded by the October 2025 submittal of amended Rule
1314.
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\9\ We are not withdrawing our proposed approval of AVAQMD Rules
1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305, and 1309 from the March 2025 Proposed
Action.
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Because this action proposes to fully approve Rule 1314, the EPA's
March 26, 2025 interim final determination that stayed the application
of the offset sanction and deferred the action of the highway sanction
remains in effect.\10\ We will respond to the public comment we
received on the interim final determination when we take final action
on the District's submitted Regulation XIII rules.
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\10\ 90 FR 13702.
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If we finalize this action as proposed, we plan to do so in a
single final action on the October 2025 submittal for Rule 1314 as well
as on the January 7, 2025 submittal from CARB for Rules 1301, 1302,
1303, 1304, 1305 and 1309, for which we proposed action in the March
2025 Proposed Action. Our action, if finalized, will be codified
through revisions to 40 CFR 52.220a (Identification of plan--in part).
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in 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 AVAQMD rule described in Table 2 of this preamble. This
rule implements the District's nonattainment NSR program. 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 in hard copy 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, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 11, 2026.
Michael Martucci,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2026-05636 Filed 3-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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