[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 225 (Friday, November 20, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 74263-74265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24926]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0418; FRL-10016-28-Region 9]


Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Northern Sierra Air 
Quality Management District; Stationary Source Permits

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a 
revision to the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD 
or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan 
(SIP). In this action, we are approving a rule submitted by the NSAQMD 
that governs the issuance of permits for stationary sources, which 
focuses on the preconstruction review and permitting of major sources 
and major modifications under part D of title I of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA or ``the Act'').

DATES: This rule will be effective on December 21, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0418. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information the 
disclosure of which 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 https://www.regulations.gov, 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 
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: Amber Batchelder, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 947-4174, or by 
email to batchelder.amber@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``we,'' 
``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action

[[Page 74264]]

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On September 23, 2020 (85 FR 59729), the EPA proposed to approve 
the following rule into the California SIP.
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    \1\ The submittal was transmitted to the EPA via a letter from 
the California Air Resources Board dated February 6, 2020.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           District                Rule No.                Rule title                 Adopted      Submitted \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSAQMD........................             428  NSR Requirements for New and            11/25/19        02/19/20
                                                 Modified Major Sources in
                                                 Nonattainment Areas.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA determined that the California SIP submittal listed above 
in Table 1 met the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. 
The EPA's signed notice of proposed rulemaking served as the EPA's 
formal completeness determination.
    For areas designated nonattainment for one or more National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the applicable SIP must include 
preconstruction review and permitting requirements for new or modified 
major stationary sources of such nonattainment pollutant(s) under part 
D of title I of the Act, commonly referred to as Nonattainment New 
Source Review (NNSR). The rule listed in Table 1 contains the 
District's NNSR permit program applicable to new and modified major 
sources located in areas within the District that are designated 
nonattainment for any NAAQS for ozone or particulate matter equal to or 
less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). The rule also contains 
the District's requirements for the review of new major stationary 
sources or major modifications in a designated nonattainment area that 
may have an impact on visibility in any mandatory Class I Federal area 
in accordance with 40 CFR 51.307. We proposed to approve this rule into 
the California SIP 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, no comments were submitted on our proposal.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted on our proposal. We continue to find 
that NSAQMD Rule 428 satisfies the relevant requirements for a CAA NNSR 
program for ozone and PM2.5, as well as the associated 
visibility requirements for sources subject to review under such a 
program in accordance with 40 CFR 51.307. Therefore, as authorized in 
section 110(k)(3) and 301(a) of the Act, the EPA is finalizing approval 
of NSAQMD Rule 428. This action incorporates the submitted rule into 
the California SIP. In conjunction with the EPA's SIP approval of the 
District's visibility program for sources subject to the NNSR program, 
this action also revises the scope of the visibility Federal 
Implementation Plan (FIP) at 40 CFR 52.28 in California so that this 
FIP no longer applies to sources located in the NSAQMD that are subject 
to the District's visibility program.

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 the rule 
listed in Table 1 of this preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these materials available electronically through https://www.regulations.gov 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).

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Additional information about these statutes and Executive orders 
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders.
    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 
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:
     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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 3, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     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.);
     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);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     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; and
     Does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority 
to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible

[[Page 74265]]

methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    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).
    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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by January 19, 2021. 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 52

    Administrative practice and procedure, Environmental protection, 
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: November 4, 2020.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    For reasons set out in the preamble, EPA amends 50 CFR part 52 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

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(546) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan-in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (546) The following regulations were submitted on February 19, 2020 
by the Governor's designee as an attachment to a letter dated February 
6, 2020.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 428, ``NSR Requirements for New and Modified Major Sources 
in Nonattainment Areas,'' adopted on November 25, 2019.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (B) [Reserved]
    (ii) [Reserved]
* * * * *

0
3. Section 52.281 is amended by revising paragraphs (d)(3) and (d)(4) 
and by adding paragraph (d)(5) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.281  Visibility protection.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (3) Calaveras County air pollution control district,
    (4) Mariposa County air pollution control district, and
    (5) Northern Sierra air quality management district.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2020-24926 Filed 11-19-20; 8:45 am]
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