[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 92 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29045-29046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09748]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 50 and 51

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0313; FRL-9812-01-OAR]


Identifying Additional Areas Subject to Mitigation Plan 
Requirements Under the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule: Notice of 
Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notification of availability.

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SUMMARY: Notification is hereby given that the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) has finalized a list of additional areas subject to the 
mitigation plan requirements found in the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule. 
This list is included within this document and is available on the 
Agency's website and in the electronic docket for this action. The EPA 
is separately notifying states with areas newly subject to these 
requirements. These notification letters are also available on the 
Agency's website and in the electronic docket for this action.

DATES: May 12, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this 
notice, please contact, Gobeail McKinley, U.S. EPA, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, C539-04, 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-5246, email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. General Information

Where can I get information related to this action?

    Docket: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0313. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information may not be 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. Publicly available docket materials are available 
electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.
    Agency website: A list of the additional areas subject to 
mitigation plans is found on the website that contains information 
related to exceptional events at: https://www.epa.gov/air-quality-analysis/treatment-air-quality-data-influenced-exceptional-events-homepage-exceptional.

II. What is the purpose of this action?

    In keeping with the EPA's mission to protect public health and 
consistent with the principles included at the Clean Air Act section 
319(b)(3)(A), the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule (Rule) promulgated new 
regulations requiring states to develop mitigation plans for areas with 
historically documented or known seasonal exceptional events. Using air 
quality monitoring data contained within the Air Quality System (AQS) 
for the period January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2015, the EPA 
initially identified 29 areas required to submit mitigation plans 
within 2 years of the effective date of the Rule.\1\
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    \1\ 81 FR 68272, Table 6--Areas Subject to the Mitigation 
Requirements in 40 CFR 51.930(b), October 3, 2016.
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    Further, the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule states that as areas 
become subject to the mitigation plan requirements, the Administrator 
will notify the states in writing. However, the Rule did not establish 
a specific process for providing notice to states with areas newly 
identified as being subject to mitigation plan requirements. This 
action establishes a process for providing that notice and fulfills our 
obligation to identify additional areas with recurring events of the 
same type and pollutant. Table 1 contains a list of the newly 
identified areas subject to mitigation requirements. Generally, areas 
subject to the mitigation requirements have experienced three events or 
three seasons of events of the same type and pollutant in a 3-year 
period. For purposes of this analysis and notification, the EPA 
evaluated rolling 3-year periods for January 1, 2016, through December 
31, 2020. A detailed description of the process the EPA followed to 
identify these areas and a summary of required components of a 
mitigation plan are included in a background document placed in the 
docket for this rulemaking titled, ``Additional Areas Subject to 
Mitigation Plan Requirements in 40 CFR 51.930(b).''
    Within 2 years of being notified that they are subject to the 
mitigation plan provisions within the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule, air 
agencies responsible for ensuring air quality for the areas identified 
in Table 1 shall submit mitigation plans to the applicable EPA Regional 
Administrator. Consistent with the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule, after 
this 2-year timeframe, if an air agency has not submitted the required 
mitigation plan, the EPA will not concur with an air agency's request 
to exclude data that have been influenced by an event of the type that 
is the subject of a required mitigation plan. An air agency may submit 
a mitigation plan in advance of, or as part of, an exceptional events 
demonstration submission of the same event type and pollutant as the 
focus of the mitigation plan.
    The discussion of the mitigation plan components is included in the 
preamble to the 2016 Exceptional Events Rule \2\ and 40 CFR 
51.930(b)(2) identifies the required components for each mitigation 
plan. A discussion of mitigation plan components is also included in 
the background document placed in the docket for this rulemaking.
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    \2\ 81 FR 68273, October 3, 2016.

            Table 1--Additional Areas Subject to the Mitigation Requirements in 40 CFR 51.930(b) \a\
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                                                                                                    County/
          Pollutant                 AQS flag \b\           AQS flag              State           nonattainment
                                                         description                             area boundary
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Ozone........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  NV..................  Washoe.
Ozone........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  CA..................  Tehama (Tuscan
                                                                                                Buttes).
Ozone........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  CA..................  Ventura.

[[Page 29046]]

 
PM10.........................  RJ...................  High Winds.......  CA..................  Ventura.
PM10.........................  RJ...................  High Winds.......  WY..................  Campbell.
PM10.........................  RJ...................  High Winds.......  WY..................  Sweetwater.
PM10.........................  RJ...................  High Winds.......  NM..................  Bernalillo.
PM10.........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  CA..................  Santa Barbara.
PM10.........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  CA..................  San Joaquin
                                                                                                Valley.
PM2.5........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  CA..................  Butte.
PM2.5........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  CA..................  San Joaquin
                                                                                                Valley.
PM2.5........................  RT...................  Wildfire-U.S.....  CA..................  South Coast.
PM2.5........................  RH...................  Fireworks........  CA..................  San Joaquin
                                                                                                Valley.
PM2.5........................  RH...................  Fireworks........  CA..................  South Coast.
PM2.5........................  RJ...................  High Winds.......  CA..................  San Joaquin
                                                                                                Valley.
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\a\ The EPA identified these counties using data submitted through the Exceptional Events Submission and
  Tracking System, EPA's AQS, and other sources for the January 1, 2016-December 31, 2020, timeframe. The EPA
  used these data to identify areas with three events or event seasons within a 3-year period.
\b\ The complete list of AQS qualifier codes and descriptions is available at https://www.epa.gov/aqs/aqs-code-list list.


Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2022-09748 Filed 5-11-22; 8:45 am]
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