[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20788-20790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07084]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0202; FRL-10873-01-R9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a revision to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District 
(MDAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). 
This revision concerns emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 
and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) from internal combustion 
engines. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these 
emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are 
taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final 
action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 8, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2023-0202 at https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted at 
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 
Regulations.gov. 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. 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: La Kenya Evans-Hopper, EPA Region IX, 
75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3245 or 
by email at [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rule did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of this rule?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revision?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rule did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal with the dates 
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Local agency                Rule No.              Rule title              Amended        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MDAQMD.............................            1160  Internal Combustion Engines        01/23/23        03/03/23
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    Pursuant to CAA section 110(k)(1)(B) and 40 CFR part 51, appendix 
V, the EPA determined that the submittal for MDAQMD Rule 1160 met the 
completeness criteria on March 17, 2023.

B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    On September 10, 2021 (86 FR 50643), we took final action on a 
limited approval and limited disapproval of an earlier version of Rule 
1160. This limited approval final action approved this earlier version 
of Rule 1160 into the SIP, including those rule provisions identified 
as deficient. In response to our limited disapproval final action, the 
MDAQMD adopted revisions to the SIP-approved version on January 23, 
2023 and CARB submitted them to us on March 3, 2023. In its submittal 
letter, CARB requested that, upon approval of the revised version of 
Rule 1160, the EPA remove the old version of this rule from the SIP. If 
we take final action to approve the January 23, 2023 version of Rule 
1160, this version will replace the previously approved version of this 
rule in the SIP.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revision?

    Emissions of NOX and VOCs contribute to the production 
of ground-level ozone, smog and particulate matter, which harm human 
health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states 
to submit regulations that control NOX and VOC emissions. 
Sections 182(b)(2) and (f) require that SIPs for ozone nonattainment 
areas classified as Moderate or above implement reasonably available 
control technology (RACT) for any source covered by a Control 
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document and for any major source of VOCs 
or NOX. Rule 1160 regulates NOX emissions from 
major sources of NOX and has been submitted by CARB and the 
air district to implement RACT for these sources. The revised version 
of Rule 1160 was submitted to address the deficiencies identified in 
our September 10, 2021 limited disapproval final action of the previous 
version of Rule 1160, and to ensure that the air district implements 
RACT level controls for all major stationary sources of NOX.

II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?

    Rules in the SIP must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)), 
and must not interfere with applicable

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requirements concerning attainment and reasonable further progress or 
other CAA requirements (see CAA section 110(l)).
    Generally, SIP rules must require RACT for each category of sources 
covered by a CTG document as well as each major source of 
NOX and VOCs in ozone nonattainment areas classified as 
moderate or above (see CAA sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)). The MDAQMD 
regulates an ozone nonattainment area classified as Severe-15 for the 
1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and the 
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS (40 CFR 81.305). Therefore, MDAQMD must 
implement RACT.
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate 
enforceability, revision/relaxation and rule stringency requirements 
for the applicable criteria pollutants include the following:
    1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January 11, 
1990).
    2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
    3. ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Solvent Metal 
Cleaning,'' EPA-450/2-77-022, November 1977.
    4. ``NOX Emissions from Stationary Reciprocating 
Internal Combustion Engines,'' EPA-453/R-93-032, July 1993.
    5. ``Stationary Spark-Ignited Internal Combustion Engines,'' CARB, 
November 2001.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    This rule meets CAA requirements and is consistent with relevant 
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP revisions. The revised 
version of Rule 1160 removed the alternative compliance option that the 
EPA identified as deficient in our September 10, 2021 final action. As 
a result, covered engines in the District no longer have the option to 
generate an alternative compliance plan in place of complying with the 
limits in the rule. However, the rule does include a specialized 
provision that governs five units that previously complied with the 
rule via an alternative compliance plan. The rule requires five 
specific internal combustion engines located at the Pacific Gas & 
Electric Facility Hinkley Compressor Station in Hinkley, California to 
operate, in aggregate, no greater than 2,600 engine hours per calendar 
year. Once operations of these engines exceed this limit, the engines 
will be subject to the NOX emission limits of the rule. This 
represents less than 6% of the total capacity of these engines. Given 
the costs associated with retrofitting these low-use engines, which the 
facility needs to keep online for occasional peaking capacity, the EPA 
concludes that additional controls for these units are not reasonably 
available. The EPA's reasoning is explained in greater detail in the 
technical support document (TSD) located in the docket of this 
rulemaking.
    The revised version of Rule 1160 also adds testing and compliance 
requirements for regulated internal combustion engines without emission 
control equipment. The lack of compliance requirements for such units 
was identified as a deficiency in the EPA's prior limited disapproval 
of Rule 1160. As described in greater detail in our TSD, the EPA 
concludes that these added compliance requirements cure the previously 
identified deficiency. The EPA's TSD has more information about this 
rule.

C. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to 
fully approve the submitted rule because it fulfills all relevant 
requirements. We will accept comments from the public on this proposal 
until May 8, 2023. If we take final action to approve the submitted 
rule, our final action will incorporate this rule into the federally 
enforceable SIP.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a 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 MDAQMD Rule 1160, Internal Combustion Engines, amended on 
January 23, 2023 which regulates NOX and VOC emissions from 
internal combustion engines as discussed in section II of this 
preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials 
available through https://www.regulations.gov 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).

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 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:
     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);
     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); and
     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 Clean Air Act.
    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).
    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and

[[Page 20790]]

permitted by law. EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair 
treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, 
color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that 
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
    The State did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as 
part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing 
regulations neither prohibit nor require such an evaluation. EPA did 
not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in this action. 
Consideration of EJ is not required as part of this action, and there 
is no information in the record inconsistent with the stated goal of 
Executive Order 12898 of achieving environmental justice for people of 
color, low-income populations, and Indigenous peoples.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

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

    Dated: March 30, 2023.
Kerry Drake,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2023-07084 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
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