Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0600; FRL-12508-01-R9]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality</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 an approval and a limited approval and limited disapproval of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission made by the State of Arizona to address emissions of particulate matter 10 micrometers in diameter or smaller (PM <E T="52">10</E> ) from agricultural operations. The SIP submission includes an amended statute, two definition rules, and two rules regulating crop and animal operations in Pinal County, Arizona. We are proposing action on local rules to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or “Act”). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before February 18, 2025. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0600 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 one of the people 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 one of the people identified in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For general inquiries and inquiries related to the Arizona Administrative Code: Christine Vineyard, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4125; email at <E T="03">vineyard.christine@epa.gov.</E> For inquiries related to the Arizona Revised Statutes: Alina Batool, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone (415) 972-3345; email at <E T="03">batool.alina@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. The State's Submittal</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. What did the State submit?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Are there other versions of the statute and rules?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule and statutory revisions?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> A. How is the EPA evaluating the statute and rules? </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Do the statute and rules meet the evaluation criteria?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. What are the deficiencies?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. The EPA's recommendations to further improve the statute and rules</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Proposed action and public comment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Incorporation by Reference</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. The State's Submittal</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. What did the State submit?</HD> Table 1 lists the statute and rules addressed by this proposal with the dates that they were adopted and submitted to the EPA by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ or “State”). <GPOTABLE COLS="4" OPTS="L2,nj,i1" CDEF="s50,r150,12,12"> <TTITLE>Table 1—Submitted Statute and Rules</TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Arizona revised statutes (ARS)</CHED> <CHED H="1">Statute title</CHED> <CHED H="1">Amended</CHED> <CHED H="1">Submitted</CHED> <ROW RUL="s"> <ENT I="01">ARS section 49-457</ENT> <ENT>Agricultural best management practices committee; members; powers; permits; definitions</ENT> <ENT>03/26/2021</ENT> <ENT>03/03/2023</ENT> </ROW> <ROW RUL="s"> <ENT I="22">Arizona administrative code (AAC)</ENT> <ENT>AAC Title</ENT> <ENT>Amended</ENT> <ENT>Submitted</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">AAC R18-2-610</ENT> <ENT>Definitions for R19-2-610.01, R18-2-610.02, and R18-2-610.03</ENT> <ENT>11/26/2021</ENT> <ENT>03/03/2023</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">AAC R18-2-610.03</ENT> <ENT>Agricultural PM General Permit for Crop Operations; Pinal County PM Nonattainment Area</ENT> <ENT>11/26/2021</ENT> <ENT>03/03/2023</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">AAC R18-2-611</ENT> <ENT>Definitions for R18-2-611.01, R18-2-611.02, and R18-2-611.03</ENT> <ENT>11/26/2021</ENT> <ENT>03/03/2023</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">AAC R18-2-611.03</ENT> <ENT>Agricultural PM General Permit for Animal Operations; Pinal County PM Nonattainment Area</ENT> <ENT>11/26/2021</ENT> <ENT>03/03/2023</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> On September 3, 2023, the SIP submittal containing the documents listed in Table 1 was deemed complete by operation of law. <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Are there other versions of the statute and rules?</HD> We approved an earlier version of ARS 49-457 into the SIP on June 29, 1999 (64 FR 34726). We also approved earlier versions of AAC R18-2-610 and R18-2-610.03 into the SIP on May 1, 2017 (82 FR 20267). If we finalize this proposal to approve the submitted version of ARS 49-457 and AAC R18-2-610 and to issue a limited approval and limited disapproval of the submitted version of AAC R18-2-610.03, then these versions will replace the versions of this statute and these rules in the SIP. We note that on October 11, 2001, we approved AAC R18-2-611, “Agricultural PM-10 General Permit; Maricopa PM <E T="52">10</E> Nonattainment Area” into the Arizona SIP, which applies to Maricopa County commercial farmers (crop operations). <E T="03">See</E> 66 FR 51869 (October 11, 2001). The March 3, 2023 submittal of rule AAC R18-2-611, “Definitions for R18-2-611.01, R18-2-611.02, and R18-2-611.03” is a separate rule that was not submitted to replace the existing SIP-approved rule AAC R18-2-611, “Agricultural PM-10 General Permit; Maricopa PM <E T="52">10</E> Nonattainment Area.” If the EPA approves the new rule AAC R18-2-611, “Definitions for R18-2-611.01, R18-2-611.02, and R18-2-611.03” into the Arizona SIP, there will be two different rules in the SIP with the same number, but they would be differentiated by their different titles and dates. <HD SOURCE="HD2">C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule and statutory revisions?</HD> Emissions of PM, including PM <E T="52">10</E> , contribute to effects that are harmful to human health and the environment, including premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, decreased lung function, visibility impairment, and damage to vegetation and ecosystems. The CAA requires states to have SIPs that provide for attainment, maintenance, and enforcement of the PM <E T="52">10</E> NAAQS, including the adoption and implementation of regulations to control PM emissions in designated PM <E T="52">10</E> nonattainment areas. ADEQ's submission addresses emissions from certain sources of PM <E T="52">10</E> emissions through a statutory provision and several regulations. First, this submission would revise the existing SIP-approved version of ARS section 49-457 by, among other things, expanding the definition of “regulated agricultural activities” to include activities of dairies, beef feedlots, poultry facilities, and swine facilities. It would also expand the definition of “regulated area” to apply to any PM <E T="52">10</E> nonattainment areas designated by the EPA on or after June 1, 2009, which includes the West Pinal County PM <E T="52">10</E> nonattainment area. Second, this submission would revise existing regulations in the Arizona SIP. AAC R18-2-610 makes largely administrative updates to the existing crop operations definitions rule and adds a definition for “unpaved vehicle or equipment traffic area.” AAC R18-2-610.03 amends the existing crop operations rule applicable to the West Pinal County PM <E T="52">10</E> nonattainment area, primarily adding a requirement for operators to implement two, as opposed to one, best management practices (BMPs) from the list of options for different areas. Third, this submission would add a new regulation to the Arizona SIP. AAC R18-2-611.03 requires that commercial dairy operations, beef cattle feedlots, poultry facilities, and swine facilities implement BMPs to reduce PM <E T="52">10</E> emissions from those sources. The new AAC R18-2-611 provides definitions for AAC R18-2-611.03 and other animal operations BMP rules in the State. The EPA's technical support documents (TSDs) have more information about the statute and rules. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action</HD> <HD SOURCE="H ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 29k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━