Rule2026-07398
Air Plan Approval; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District; Portland Cement Kilns
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
April 16, 2026
Effective
May 18, 2026
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a revision to the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District (EKAPCD or "District") portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) from Portland cement kilns. We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act").
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 73 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 73 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20363-20365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07398]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0058; FRL-12609-03-R9]
Air Plan Approval; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control
District; Portland Cement Kilns
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to approve a revision to the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control
District (EKAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California State
Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of oxides
of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) from Portland cement kilns. We are
approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the
Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'').
DATES: This rule is effective May 18, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0058. 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 (CBI) 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: Elijah Gordon, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; telephone number: (415) 972-
3158; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c0b031e08030242090005060d042c091c0d420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="593e362b3d3637773c3530333831193c2938773e362f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
[[Page 20364]]
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Proposed Action
On June 4, 2025 (90 FR 23653), the EPA proposed to approve the
following rule into the California SIP.
Table 1--Submitted Rule
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Local agency Rule No. Rule title Amended Submitted
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EKAPCD.............................. 425.3 Portland Cement Kilns 11/13/2024 12/12/2024
(Oxides of Nitrogen).
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We proposed to approve this rule because we determined that it
complies with the relevant CAA requirements. Our proposed action
contains more information on the rule and our evaluation.
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period.
During this period, we received no comments.
III. EPA Action
No comments were submitted. Therefore, as authorized in section
110(k)(3) of the Clean Air Act, the EPA is approving this rule into the
California SIP. The November 13, 2024 version of Rule 425.3 will
replace the previously approved version of this rule in the SIP. This
approval resolves all deficiencies forming the basis for our previous
limited disapproval in 2023 of the prior version of Rule 425.3.\1\ The
deficiencies, which related to exemptions from NO<INF>X</INF> emission
limitations, have been remedied by replacing the exemptions during
startup and shutdown periods with alternative NO<INF>X</INF> emission
limits and removing the exemption during breakdown conditions. This
action also permanently terminates all sanctions clocks and FIP clocks
triggered by our June 5, 2023 limited disapproval action.
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\1\ 88 FR 36479 (June 5, 2023).
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IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of EKAPCD
Rule 425.3, ``Portland Cement Kilns (Oxides of Nitrogen),'' amended on
November 13, 2024, which regulates emissions of NO<INF>X</INF> from
Portland cement kilns. Therefore, these materials have been approved by
the EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference
by the EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under
sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final
rule of the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in
the next update to the SIP compilation.\2\ The EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these documents 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).
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\2\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. 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 Clean Air Act. 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 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); 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).
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 June 15, 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 CAA section 307(b)(2).)
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.
[[Page 20365]]
Dated: April 3, 2026.
Michael Martucci,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental
Protection Agency amends part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations 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
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2. Amend Sec. 52.220a, paragraph (c), under the subheading ``Table
10--EPA-Approved Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District
Regulations; Kern County Air Pollution Control District Regulations,''
by revising the entry for ``425.3,'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.220a Identification of plan--in part.
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(c) * * *
Table 10--EPA-Approved Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District Regulations; Kern County Air Pollution
Control District Regulations
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Additional
District citation Title/subject State effective date EPA approval date explanation
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425.3................. Portland Cement Kilns November 13, 2024.... 4/16/2026, 91 FR Submitted on
(Oxides of Nitrogen). [INSERT FEDERAL December 12, 2024.
REGISTER PAGE WHERE
THE DOCUMENT
BEGINS].
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[FR Doc. 2026-07398 Filed 4-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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