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Final Rule

Air Plan Revisions; California; Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program

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What is this Federal Register notice?

This is a final rule published in the Federal Register by Environmental Protection Agency. Final rules have completed the public comment process and establish legally binding requirements.

Is this rule final?

Yes. This rule has been finalized. It has completed the notice-and-comment process required under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Who does this apply to?

Consult the full text of this document for specific applicability provisions. The affected parties depend on the regulatory scope defined within.

When does it take effect?

This document has been effective since September 30, 2024.

Why it matters: This final rule amends regulations in 40 CFR Part 52.

Document Details

Document Number2024-19374
TypeFinal Rule
PublishedAug 30, 2024
Effective DateSep 30, 2024
RIN-
Docket IDEPA-R09-OAR-2024-0237
Text FetchedYes

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2024-14349 Proposed Rule Air Plan Revisions; California; Motor Ve... Jul 2, 2024

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Full Document Text (3,728 words · ~19 min read)

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<RULE> ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0237; FRL-11999-02-R9]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Revisions; California; Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or “Act”), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a revision to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision addresses the CAA requirements for motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs (also referred to as “Smog Check” programs) for the 2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (“2015 ozone NAAQS”). </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective September 30, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0237. All documents in the docket are listed on the <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, <E T="03">e.g.,</E> Confidential Business Information (CBI) 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 <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> or please contact the person identified in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section for additional availability information. 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> Jeffrey Buss, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; phone: (415) 947-4152; email: <E T="03">buss.jeffrey@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> <CONTENTS> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Proposed Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Public Comments and EPA Responses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. EPA Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </CONTENTS> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Proposed Action</HD> On July 2, 2024 (89 FR 54753), under CAA section 110(k)(3), the EPA proposed to approve the California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) submission of the “California Smog Check Performance Standard Modeling and Program Certification for the 70 Parts Per Billion (ppb) 8-Hour Ozone Standard” (“Smog Check Certification SIP”) as a revision to the California SIP. CARB submitted the Smog Check Certification SIP to the EPA on April 26, 2023. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The Smog Check Certification SIP includes CARB's evaluation of the California Smog Check program for compliance with the applicable Smog Check program requirements for SIPs under CAA sections 182(a)(2)(B), 182(b)(4), and 182(c)(3) and the EPA's regulations in 40 CFR part 51, subpart S for certain nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Letter (with enclosures) dated April 26, 2023, from Steven S. Cliff, Ph.D., Executive Officer, CARB, to Martha Guzman, Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX (submitted electronically April 26, 2023). The letter and enclosures, which include the Smog Check Certification SIP, among other materials, are included in the docket for this rulemaking. The “70 Parts Per Billion (ppb) 8-Hour Ozone Standard” refers to the ozone NAAQS the EPA established in 2015. </FTNT> More specifically, the Smog Check Certification SIP addresses the applicable Smog Check SIP requirements for all California air quality planning areas classified as “Moderate” and above for the 2015 ozone NAAQS that are subject to State jurisdiction. These areas (and their respective classifications for the 2015 ozone NAAQS) include Coachella Valley (Severe-15), Eastern Kern (Serious), Mariposa County (Moderate), Sacramento Metro (Serious), San Diego County (Severe-15), San Joaquin Valley (Extreme), Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin (Extreme), Ventura (Serious), West Mojave Desert (Severe-15) and Western Nevada County (Serious). <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> While Coachella Valley and Sacramento Metro are currently classified as Severe-15 and Serious, respectively, CARB has submitted voluntary reclassification requests for the areas to Extreme and Severe-15, respectively, and the performance standard modeling presented and documented by CARB in the Smog Check Certification SIP assumes the EPA's grant of the reclassification requests for those areas. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  40 CFR 81.305. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  See letters from Steven S. Cliff, Ph.D., Executive Officer, CARB, to Martha Guzman, Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX, dated February 22, 2023 (Reclassification request to Extreme for Coachella Valley); CARB Resolution 23-19, October 26, 2023 (Adopting Severe area ozone plan for the 2015 ozone NAAQS for the Sacramento Metro area). </FTNT> Earlier this year, the EPA took final action to approve the San Diego County area portion of the Smog Check Certification SIP as part of the EPA's action on the San Diego ozone attainment plan. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> In this document, we are taking final action on the Smog Check Certification SIP as it relates to all the other nonattainment areas that are addressed in the SIP submission. <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  89 FR 15035 (March 1, 2024). </FTNT> In our proposed rule, we provided background information concerning the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), the criteria air pollutants and precursors, and the requirements for States to adopt and submit SIPs. We also explained that, for certain ozone nonattainment areas, States must submit SIP revisions that address CAA and EPA requirements for Smog Check programs. More specifically, section 182(b)(4) of the CAA requires States with ozone nonattainment areas classified under subpart 2 as Moderate to submit SIP revisions that provide for the implementation of a “Basic” I/M program in those areas. Section 182(c)(3) of the CAA requires States with ozone nonattainment areas classified under subpart 2 as Serious or above to submit SIP revisions that provide for the implementation of an “Enhanced” I/M program in certain urbanized portions of those areas. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  The CAA I/M SIP requirements apply to Moderate and above nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1302. </FTNT> As a general matter, Basic and Enhanced I/M programs both achieve their objective by identifying vehicles that have high emissions due to one or more malfunctions and requiring them to be repaired. An Enhanced I/M program covers more of the vehicles in operation, employs inspection methods that are better at finding high-emitting vehicles, and has additional features to better assure that all vehicles are tested properly and effectively repaired. The EPA has established specific requirements for Basic and Enhanced I/M programs in 40 CFR part 51, subpart S (“The EPA's I/M regulation”). The EPA's I/M regulation establishes minimum performance standards for Basic and Enhanced I/M programs as well as requirements for certain elements of the programs, including (among other elements) test frequency, vehicle coverage, test procedures and standards, stations and inspectors, and data collection, analysis, and reporting. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  40 CFR part 51, subpart S, sections 51.350-51.373. </FTNT> An I/M performance standard is a collection of program design elements that defines a benchmark program to which a State's Smog Check program is compared in terms of its potential to reduce emissions of the ozone precursors, VOC and NO <E T="52">X</E> . The performance standard is expressed as emission levels in area-wide average grams per mile (gpm), achieved from on-road motor vehicles based on a specified model I/M program design. The emission levels achieved by the State's program design must be calculated using the most current version of the EPA mobile source emission factor model and must meet or exceed the emission reductions achieved by the model performance standard program both in operation and for SIP approval. The EPA most recently approved a comprehensive update to California's Smog Check program into its SIP in 2010, and in that action, the EPA approved the program as meeting the applicable I/M requirements for the various nonattainment areas in the State for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> The California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) implements the SIP-approved Smog Check program in California, including oversight of the automotive repair industry and administration of the State's vehicle emissions reduction and safety programs. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) administers motor vehicle registration and licensing and supports BAR in administering the Smog Check program. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>  75 FR 38023 (July 1, 2010). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>  “Fiscal Year 2021-22 Annual Report,” Department of Consumer Affairs, at pages 40-44. </FTNT> Currently, BAR implements an Enhanced I/M program in the urbanized areas within the Coachella Valley, Sacramento Metro, San Diego County, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, Ventura County and West Mojave Desert ozone nonattainment areas and a Basic I/M program outside the urbanized areas within ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 25k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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