Attainment Date Extension for the San Joaquin Valley, California 1997 Annual PM2.5 Fine Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0250; FRL-12006-01-R9]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT> Attainment Date Extension for the San Joaquin Valley, California 1997 Annual PM <E T="0735">2.5</E> Fine Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area </SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to grant a one-year extension of the applicable “Serious” attainment date for the 1997 annual fine particulate matter (PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ) San Joaquin Valley, California nonattainment area. This action is based on the EPA's evaluation of air quality monitoring data and the extension request submitted by the State of California on May 23, 2024. The EPA is proposing to grant a one-year extension of the Serious attainment date from December 31, 2023, to December 31, 2024, in accordance with section 172(a)(2)(C) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before August 7, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0250 at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> For comments submitted at <E T="03">Regulations.gov,</E> follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from <E T="03">Regulations.gov</E> . 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 ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.</E> 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 <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Ashley Graham, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; phone: (415) 972-3877; email: <E T="03">graham.ashleyr@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> Throughout this document, “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the EPA. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> A. PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> B. San Joaquin Valley PM <E T="52">2.5</E> Designations, Classifications, and SIP Revisions </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. CAA Requirements for an Attainment Date Extension</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. The State's Request for an Extension</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. The EPA's Evaluation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Compliance With the Applicable SIP</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Air Quality Data</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Environmental Justice Considerations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. The EPA's Proposed Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2"> A. PM <E T="54">2.5</E> NAAQS </HD> Under section 109 of the CAA, the EPA has established NAAQS for certain pervasive air pollutants (referred to as “criteria pollutants”) and conducts periodic reviews of the NAAQS to determine whether the EPA should revise or establish new NAAQS to protect public health. On July 18, 1997, the EPA revised the NAAQS for particulate matter by establishing new NAAQS for particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers (PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ). <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The EPA established primary and secondary annual and 24-hour standards for PM <E T="52">2.5</E> . <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> The EPA set the annual primary and secondary standards at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m <SU>3</SU> ), based on a three-year average of annual mean PM <E T="52">2.5</E> concentrations, and set the 24-hour primary and secondary standards at 65 μg/m <SU>3</SU> , based on the three-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> concentrations at each monitoring site within an area. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> Collectively, we refer herein to the 1997 annual and 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS as the “1997 PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS.” <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  62 FR 38652. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  For a given air pollutant, “primary” NAAQS are those determined by the EPA as requisite to protect the public health, allowing an adequate margin of safety, and “secondary” standards are those determined by the EPA as requisite to protect the public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the presence of such air pollutant in the ambient air. See CAA section 109(b). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  40 CFR 50.7. </FTNT> On October 17, 2006, the EPA revised the level of the 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS to 35 μg/m <SU>3</SU> , <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> and on January 15, 2013, the EPA revised the level of the primary annual PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS to 12.0 μg/m <SU>3</SU> . <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> On February 7, 2024, the EPA revised the level of the primary annual PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS once more to 9.0 μg/m <SU>3</SU> . <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> Even though the EPA lowered the 24-hour and annual PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS, the 1997 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS remain in effect and the 1997 primary annual PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS remains in effect in areas designated nonattainment for that NAAQS. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  71 FR 61144. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  78 FR 3086. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  89 FR 16202. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>  40 CFR 50.13(d). </FTNT> The EPA established each of the PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS after considering substantial evidence from numerous health studies demonstrating that serious health effects are associated with exposures to PM <E T="52">2.5</E> concentrations above these levels. Epidemiological studies have shown statistically significant correlations between elevated PM <E T="52">2.5</E> levels and premature mortality. Other important health effects associated with PM <E T="52">2.5</E> exposure include aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (as indicated by increased hospital admissions, emergency room visits, absences from school or work, and restricted activity dates), changes in lung function and increased respiratory symptoms, and new evidence for more subtle indicators of cardiovascular health. Individuals particularly sensitive to PM <E T="52">2.5</E> exposure include older adults, people with heart and lung disease, and children. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>  EPA, Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, No. EPA/600/P-99/002aF and EPA/600/P-99/002bF, October 2004. </FTNT> PM <E T="52">2.5</E> can be particles emitted by sources directly into the atmosphere as a solid or liquid particle (“primary PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ” or “direct PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ”) or can be particles that form in the atmosphere as a result of various chemical reactions from PM <E T="52">2.5</E> precursor emissions emitted by sources (“secondary PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ”). The EPA has identified the precursors of PM <E T="52">2.5</E> to be oxides of nitrogen (“NO <E T="52">X</E> ”), sulfur oxides (“SO <E T="52">X</E> ”), volatile organic compounds (“VOC”), and ammonia. <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>  For example, see 72 FR 20586, 20589 (April 25, 2007). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD2"> B. San Joaquin Valley PM <E T="54">2.5</E> Designations, Classifications, and SIP Revisions </HD> Following promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, the EPA is required under CAA section 107(d) to designate areas throughout the nation as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable for the NAAQS. Effective April 5, 2005, the EPA established the initial air quality designations for the 1997 annual and 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS, using air quality monitoring data for the three-year periods of 2001-2003 and 2002-2004. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> The EPA designated the San Joaquin Valley as nonattainment for both the 1997 annual PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS (15.0 µg/m <SU>3</SU> ) and the 1997 24-hour PM <E T="52">2.5</E> NAAQS (65 µg/m <SU>3</SU> ). <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>  70 FR 944 (January 5, 2005). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>  40 CFR 81.305. </FTNT> The San Joaquin Valley PM <E T="52">2.5</E> nonattainment area encompasses over 23,000 square miles and includes all or part of eight counties: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and the valley portion of Kern. <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> The area is home to four million people and is one of the nation's leading agricultural regions. Stretching over 250 miles from north to south and averaging 80 miles wide, it is partially e ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 81k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━