Conditional Approval; Contingency Measure State Implementation Plan for the 2008 Ozone Standard; San Joaquin Valley, California

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0338; FRL-12118-01-R9]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Conditional Approval; Contingency Measure State Implementation Plan for the 2008 Ozone Standard; San Joaquin Valley, California</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 conditionally approve a state implementation plan (SIP) submission under the Clean Air Act (CAA or “Act”) that addresses the contingency measure requirements for the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or “standards”) for the San Joaquin Valley ozone nonattainment area. The SIP submission, titled the “Ozone Contingency Measure State Implementation Plan Revision for the 2008 and 2015 8-hour Ozone Standards” (“2024 SJV Ozone Contingency Measure Plan,” “Contingency Measure Plan,” or “Plan”) relies on two ozone contingency measures that the EPA has already approved in separate rulemakings. The proposed approval is conditional because it also relies on commitments by the State air agency and regional air district to supplement the 2024 SJV Ozone Contingency Measure Plan with submission of specific additional contingency measures within one year of the EPA's final conditional approval. The EPA is proposing conditional approval of the SIP submission because the Agency has preliminarily determined that the existing approved contingency measures, the commitments to submit additional contingency measures, and the justification for not adopting contingency measures that would achieve the recommended amount for such measures, meet the applicable requirements for such SIP submissions under the CAA and the EPA's implementation regulations for the San Joaquin Valley for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The proposed conditional approval, if finalized, would add the 2024 SJV Ozone Contingency Measure Plan to the federally enforceable California SIP. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Written comments must arrive on or before November 25, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0338 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> Andrew Ledezma, Air Planning Office (ARD-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 972-3985, or by email at <E T="03">Ledezma.Andrew@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 for Proposed Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. The 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Designation, Classification, and Plans</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. The San Joaquin Valley Ozone Nonattainment Area</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Previous EPA Actions Related to Contingency Measures for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS in the San Joaquin Valley</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Contingency Measure Requirements, Guidance, and Legal Precedent</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Draft Revised Contingency Measure Guidance</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Summary of SIP Submission and Evaluation for Compliance With SIP Revision Procedural Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Summary of SIP Submission</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Evaluation for Compliance With SIP Revision Procedural Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Summary of the San Joaquin Valley Ozone Contingency Measure Plan</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. One Year's Worth of Progress</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Emissions Inventory Analysis and Contingency Measures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Adopted Contingency Measures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Commitments To Adopt Additional Contingency Measures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Contingency Measure Feasibility Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. EPA Evaluation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. One Year's Worth of Progress</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Contingency Measures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Commitments To Adopt Additional Contingency Measures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Contingency Measure Feasibility Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Conclusion</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Proposed Action and Request for Public Comment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background for Proposed Action</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. The 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Designation, Classification, and Plans</HD> Ground-level ozone pollution is formed from the reaction of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NO <E T="52">X</E> ) in the presence of sunlight. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> These two pollutants, referred to as ozone precursors, are emitted by many types of sources, including on-and off-road motor vehicles and engines, power plants and industrial facilities, and smaller area sources such as lawn and garden equipment, architectural coatings, and other types of consumer products. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  The State of California refers to reactive organic gases (ROG) in some of its ozone-related submissions. The CAA and the EPA's regulations refer to VOC, rather than ROG, but both terms cover essentially the same set of gases. In this proposed rule, we use the federal term (VOC) to refer to this set of gases. </FTNT> Scientific evidence indicates that adverse public health effects occur following exposure to ozone, particularly in children and adults with lung disease. Breathing air containing ozone can reduce lung function and inflame airways, which can increase respiratory symptoms and aggravate asthma or other lung diseases. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  See “Fact Sheet—2008 Final Revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone” dated March 2008. </FTNT> Under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or “Act”), the EPA has established national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or “standards”) for certain pervasive air pollutants, such as ozone. The EPA has previously promulgated NAAQS for ozone in 1979 and 1997. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> In 2008, the EPA revised and further strengthened the ozone NAAQS by setting the acceptable level of ozone in the ambient air at 0.075 parts per million (ppm), averaged over an 8-hour period. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> Although the EPA further tightened the 8-hour ozone NAAQS to 0.070 ppm in 2015, this action relates to the requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. <E T="51">5 6</E> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  The ozone NAAQS promulgated in 1979 was 0.12 parts per million (ppm) averaged over a 1-hour period. <E T="03">See</E> 44 FR 8202 (February 8, 1979). The ozone NAAQS promulgated in 1997 was 0.08 ppm averaged over an 8-hour period. <E T="03">See</E> 62 FR 38856 (July 18, 1997). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  Information on the 2015 ozone NAAQS is available at 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015). <SU>6</SU>  Although the district's submittal included submissions to address requirements for both the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, at this time we are taking action on the submittal as it pertains to the 2008 ozone requirements. The EPA plans to act on the submittal with respect to the 2015 ozone requirements at a later date. </FTNT> Following promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, the EPA is required under CAA section 107(d) to designate areas throughout the country as attaining or not attaining the NAAQS. In 2012, the EPA designated the San Joaquin Valley as nonattainment for the 2008 ozone standards and classified that area as “Extreme.”  <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 77 FR 30088 (May 21, 2012). </FTNT> In California, the California Air Resources Board (CARB or “State”) is the state agency responsible for the adoption and submission to the EPA of California SIP revisions, and it has broad authority to establish emissions standards and other requirements for mobile sources. Local and regional air pollution control districts in California are responsible for the regulation of stationary sources and are generally responsible for the development of region ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 131k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━