Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 12, January 21, 2009, Pages 3395-3962 Page: 3,442
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Federal Register/Vol. 74, No. 12/Wednesday, January 21, 2009 /Rules and Regulations
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0862; FRL-8763-5]
Finding of Failure To Submit a
Required State Implementation Plan
Revision for 1-Hour Ozone Standard,
California-San Joaquin Valley-
Reasonably Available Control
Technology
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: EPA is finding that California
has failed to submit, for the San Joaquin
Valley extreme 1-hour ozone
nonattainment area, a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
required by Clean Air Act (CAA)
sections 172(c)(1), 182(b)(2) and 182(f).
These CAA sections require that SIPs
provide for the implementation of
reasonably available control technology
on major stationary sources of volatile
organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of
nitrogen (NOx) as well as certain other
sources. Under the CAA, this finding
triggers the 18-month time clock for
mandatory application of sanctions and
2-year time clock for a federal
implementation plan.
DATES: Effective Date: This rule is
effective on January 21, 2009.
ADDRESSES: The index to the docket for
this action is available electronically at
http://www.regulations.gov and in hard
copy at EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, California. While
all documents in the docket are listed in
the index, some information may be
publicly available only at the Regional
Office location (e.g., copyrighted
material). To inspect the hard copy
materials, please schedule an
appointment during normal business
hours with the contact listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrew Steckel, EPA Region IX, (415)
947-4115, steckel.andrew@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, "we," "us"
and "our" refer to EPA.
I. Background
A. The San Joaquin Valley's 1-Hour
Ozone Classification and Planning
Requirements
The San Joaquin Valley 1-hour ozone
nonattainment area (SJV) includes the
following counties in California's
central valley: San Joaquin, Stanislaus,Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare,
and part of Kern. 40 CFR 81.305. When
the CAA was amended in 1990, each
area of the country that was designated
nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone
national ambient air quality standard
(NAAQS), including the SJV, was
classified by operation of law as
"marginal," "moderate," "serious,"
"severe" or "extreme" depending on the
severity of the area's air quality
problem. CAA sections 107(d)(1)(C) and
181(a). Each successive classification
carries with it increasingly stringent
requirements that build on the previous
classification's requirements.
Based on its air quality during the
1987-1989 period, the SJV was initially
classified as serious with an attainment
date of no later than November 15, 1999.
See 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991)
and CAA section 181(a)(1). On
November 8, 2001, the SJV was
reclassified as severe (effective
December 10, 2001) for failure to attain
the 1-hour ozone standard by the
serious area attainment date. 66 FR
56476. CAA section 181(a) and (b)(2).
On January 9, 2004, California
requested that EPA reclassify the SJV
from severe to extreme for the 1-hour
ozone standard under the Act's
voluntary reclassification provisions in
section 181(b)(3). See letter from
Catherine Witherspoon, ARB, to Wayne
Nastri, EPA, January 9, 2004. On April
16, 2004, we granted the State's request.
69 FR 20550. In that action, we required
the State to submit by November 15,
2004 an extreme area plan for the SJV 1
that provides for the attainment of the
1-hour ozone standard as expeditiously
as practicable, but no later than
November 15, 2010. We also stated that
the plan must meet the specific
provisions of CAA section 182(e). Under
section 182(e), extreme area plans are
required to meet the requirements for
severe area plans and the additional
requirements for extreme areas.2
Among these requirements are the
provisions for the implementation of
reasonably available control technology
(RACT) in sections 172(c)(1) and
182(b)(2). At a minimum, the CAA
requires RACT for major VOC sources
and for VOC source categories for which
EPA has issued Control Techniques
Guideline (CTG) documents. For
extreme areas, such as the SJV, CAA
section 182(e) defines a major source as
1 There are several tribal areas in the SJV. Because
California has not been approved to administer any
GAA programs in Indian country, the requirement
to submit a revised SIP did not include these tribal
areas.
2 The CAA specifically excludes certain serious
area requirements from the extreme arearequirements, e.g., the section 182(c)(6), (7) and (8)
provisions for new source review.a stationary source that emits or has the
potential to emit 10 tons per year of
VOC. CAA section 182(f) requires that
RACT also apply to major stationary
sources of NOx.
B. The San Joaquin Valley's 1-Hour
Ozone RACT Provisions
The SJV Air Pollution Control District
(SJVAPCD or the District) adopted the
"Extreme Ozone Attainment
Demonstration Plan" on October 8, 2004
and amended it on October 20, 2005 to,
among other things, substitute for the
original chapter a new "Chapter 4:
Control Strategy" which includes the 1-
hour ozone RACT provisions. The State
submitted the plan and amendment on
November 15, 2004 and March 6, 2006,
respectively. See letters from Catherine
Witherspoon, ARB, to Wayne Nastri,
EPA, November 15, 2004 and March 6,
2006. The plan and amendment,
collectively, will be referred to as the
"2004 SIP" in this rule.
Section 4.2.5 of the 2004 SIP
identified four specific source categories
where further analysis and new or
modified rules might be needed to meet
the RACT requirements for sources
down to the 10 tpy emissions level. The
District concluded that only these
categories would need additional work
because its existing rules were already
sufficiently stringent. As discussed
below, the State withdrew the RACT
provisions of the 2004 SIP in
September, 2008.3
C. The San Joaquin Valley's 8-Hour
Ozone Classification and Anti-
Backsliding Requirements
In an April 30, 2004 final rule, EPA
designated and classified areas of the
country under the more protective 8-
hour ozone standard codified in 40 CFR
50.10. The SJV was designated
nonattainment and classified under title
1, part D, subpart 2 of the CAA as
serious for the 8-hour standard. 69 FR
23858. On the same date, EPA also
issued a final rule entitled "Final Rule
To Implement the 8-Hour Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality
Standard-Phase 1" (Phase 1 Rule). 69
FR 23951. Among other matters, this
rule revoked the 1-hour ozone standard
in the SJV (as well as in most other areas
of the country), effective June 15, 2005.
See 40 CFR 50.9(b); 69 FR 23951, 23996
and 70 FR 44470 (August 3, 2005). The
Phase 1 Rule also set forth anti-
backsliding principles to ensure
continued progress toward attainment of
the 8-hour ozone standard by
3 On October 16, 2008 we proposed to approve
the balance of the 2004 SIP as well as additionaldocuments comprising the State's 1-hour ozone
plan for the SJV. See 73 FR 61381.3442
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United States. Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 12, January 21, 2009, Pages 3395-3962, periodical, January 21, 2009; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc132874/m1/57/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.