[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31334-31336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14444]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R09-OAR-2018-0223; FRL-9980-48--Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control 
District; Reclassification

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) is granting a request by the State of California to reclassify 
the Eastern Kern County (``Eastern Kern'') nonattainment area from 
``Moderate'' to ``Serious'' for the 2008 ozone national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS). In connection with the reclassification, the 
EPA is establishing a deadline of no later than 12 months from the 
effective date of reclassification for submittal of revisions to the 
Eastern Kern portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
to meet certain additional requirements for Serious ozone nonattainment 
areas. The EPA has already received SIP revision submittals addressing 
most of the additional SIP requirements.

DATES: This rule is effective on August 6, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2018-0223. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the http://www.regulations.gov 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 http://www.regulations.gov, or please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for 
additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3848, [email protected].

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
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On May 14, 2018 (83 FR 22235), the EPA proposed to grant a request 
by the State of California to reclassify the Eastern Kern nonattainment 
area from Moderate to Serious for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Our May 14, 
2018 proposed rule provides: Background information concerning the 
Clean Air Act (CAA); the EPA's promulgation of the NAAQS; SIPs to 
implement, maintain, and enforce the NAAQS within each state; ozone and 
its precursors (volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX)); the 2008 ozone NAAQS; area designations, 
classifications and reclassifications for the 2008 ozone NAAQS; and SIP 
revisions required to address CAA ozone nonattainment area plan 
requirements based on classification.
    Our proposed rule also describes the California Air Resources 
Board's (CARB) request for reclassification of the Eastern Kern 2008 
ozone nonattainment area from Moderate to Serious, our evaluation of 
the request, and the basis for our proposed approval of the request. 
Lastly, our proposed rule describes the SIP revisions that CARB has 
already submitted to the EPA for the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment 
area and finds that all the SIP elements that apply to Eastern Kern as 
a Serious ozone nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone NAAQS have been 
addressed except for new source review (NSR) and reasonably available 
control technology (RACT) for major sources of NOX. Today, 
we are taking final action to grant CARB's reclassification request for 
the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area and to establish a 12-month 
deadline (from the effective date of this final rule) for submittal of 
the two remaining SIP elements for this area. Please see our May 14, 
2018 proposed rule for further detail concerning these topics.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, we received four comments that were submitted 
anonymously. The commenters raised issues that are outside of the scope 
of this rulemaking, including foreign policy, wildfire suppression, 
dams, wind turbines, air quality in China and India, water quality in 
China, and climate change. The comment letters are available in the 
docket for this rulemaking.

III. EPA Action

    Pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(3) and 40 CFR 51.1103(b), the EPA is 
granting a request by the State of California to reclassify the Eastern 
Kern nonattainment area from Moderate to Serious for the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS. In connection with the reclassification, the EPA is establishing 
a deadline of no later than 12 months from the effective date of 
reclassification for submittal of the two remaining SIP elements (i.e., 
NSR and RACT for major sources of NOX) for Serious ozone 
nonattainment areas that have not already been submitted for the 
Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area.\1\
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    \1\ Upon the effective date of reclassification, we note that 
certain regulatory changes would occur automatically and do not 
require a SIP revision. For example, upon reclassification from 
Moderate to Serious, the applicability (or ``de minimis'') 
thresholds under our General Conformity rule (see 40 CFR part 93) 
would drop from 100 tons per year to 50 tons per year for VOC or 
NOX. See 40 CFR 93.153(b)(1). Under the General 
Conformity rule, federal agencies bear the responsibility of 
determining conformity of actions in nonattainment and maintenance 
areas that require Federal permits, approvals, or funding.

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[[Page 31335]]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), this final action is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget. Voluntary 
reclassifications under section 181(b)(3) of the CAA are based solely 
upon requests by the state, and the EPA is required under the CAA to 
grant them. This final action does not, in and of itself, impose any 
new requirements on any sector of the economy. In addition, because the 
statutory requirements are clearly defined with respect to the 
differently classified areas, and because those requirements are 
automatically triggered by classification, reclassification does not 
impose a materially adverse impact under Executive Order 12866. For 
these reasons, this final action is also not subject to Executive Order 
13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). 
Furthermore, this final action is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 
9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory action because actions such as 
reclassifications made at the request of a state are exempt under 
Executive Order 12866.
    In addition, I certify that this final rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This final 
action 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), because the EPA is 
required to grant requests by states for voluntary reclassifications 
and such reclassifications in and of themselves do not impose any 
federal intergovernmental mandate.
    Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000) requires the 
EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful and timely 
input by tribal officials in the development of regulatory policies 
that have tribal implications.'' ``Policies that have tribal 
implications'' is defined in the Executive Order to include regulations 
that have ``substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on 
the relationship between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
government and Indian tribes.'' There are no Indian reservation lands 
or other areas where the EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 
tribe has jurisdiction within the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment 
area, and thus, this final 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.
    This final action also does not have Federalism implications 
because it does not have substantial direct effects on the states, on 
the relationship between the national government and the states, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels 
of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, 
August 10, 1999). This final action does not alter the relationship or 
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean 
Air Act.
    This final rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045, 
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because the EPA interprets 
Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those regulatory actions that 
concern health or safety risks, such that the analysis required under 
section 5-501 of the Executive Order has the potential to influence the 
regulation.
    Reclassification actions do not involve technical standards and 
thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. 
This final rule does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.).
    Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) establishes 
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision 
directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and 
permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission 
by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high 
and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs 
policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income 
populations in the United States. This final reclassification action 
relates to ozone, a pollutant that is regional in nature, and is not 
the type of action that could result in the types of local impacts 
addressed in Executive Order 12898.
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. The EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. 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 September 4, 2018. 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 in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, National parks, Ozone, Wilderness areas.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.


    Dated: June 26, 2018.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 81, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

[[Page 31336]]

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

0
2. Section 81.305 is amended in the table for ``California-2008 8-Hour 
Ozone NAAQS (Primary and secondary)'' by revising the entry for ``Kern 
County (Eastern Kern), CA'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.305   California

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                                       California--2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
                                             [Primary and secondary]
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                                              Designation                             Classification
       Designated Area        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Date \1\               Type               Date \1\               Type
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Kern County (Eastern Kern),    ..............  Nonattainment...........        8/6/2018  Serious.
 CA: \2\.
    Kern County (part):
        That portion of Kern
         County (with the
         exception of that
         portion in
         Hydrologic Unit
         Number 18090205--the
         Indian Wells Valley)
         east and south of a
         line described as
         follows: Beginning
         at the Kern-Los
         Angeles County
         boundary and running
         north and east along
         the northwest
         boundary of the
         Rancho La Liebre
         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.
 
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\1\ This date is July 20, 2012, unless otherwise noted.
\2\ Excludes Indian country located in each area, unless otherwise noted.

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[FR Doc. 2018-14444 Filed 7-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


