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Clean Air Plans; 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area Requirements; Clean Fuels for Fleets; California Publication: Federal Register Agency: Environmental Protection Agency Byline: Martha Guzman Aceves Date: 3 March 2023 Subjects: American Government  , The Environment
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13392-13394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03781]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0936; FRL-10470-01-R9]
Clean Air Plans; 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area
Requirements; Clean Fuels for Fleets; California
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve revisions to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP)
concerning the provisions for Clean Fuels for Fleets (CFF) for the 2015
ozone national ambient air quality standards (``2015 ozone NAAQS'') in
the Riverside County (Coachella Valley), Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin
Valley, Los Angeles--South Coast Air Basin (South Coast), Ventura
County, and Los Angeles--San Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert)
nonattainment areas (NAAs). The SIP revisions include the ``California
Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for the 70 ppb Ozone Standard''
(``Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification'') submitted on February 3,
2022. We are proposing to approve these revisions under the Clean Air
Act (CAA or ``the Act''), which establishes clean fuels for fleets
requirements for ``Serious,'' ``Severe,'' and ``Extreme'' ozone NAAs.
DATES: Written comments must arrive on or before April 3, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0936 at https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted at
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. 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 (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public
comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and
general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. 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 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Ledezma, Air Planning Office
(ARD-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105,
(415) 972-3985, or by email at Ledezma.Ernesto@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
A. Procedural Requirements for Adoption and Submittal of SIP
Revisions
B. Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets
III. Summary of the State's Submittal
A. Adoption and Submittal of SIP Revisions
B. Summary of State Submittal
IV. The EPA's Evaluation of the State's Submittal
A. Evaluation of Procedural Requirements
B. Evaluation of Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets
V. Proposed Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On October 26, 2015, the EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour ozone
NAAQS of 0.070 parts per million (ppm).\1\ In accordance with section
107(d) of the CAA, the EPA must designate an area ``nonattainment'' if
it is violating the NAAQS or if it is contributing to a violation of
the NAAQS in a nearby area.
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\1\ 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015).
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The EPA designated 21 areas in California as nonattainment for the
2015 ozone NAAQS on June 4, 2018, effective August 3, 2018.\2\ Amador
County, Calaveras County, Butte County, Imperial County, Mariposa
County,\3\ San Francisco Bay Area, San Luis Obispo (Eastern part),
Sutter Buttes, Tuolumne County, and Tuscan Buttes NAAs were classified
as Marginal nonattainment. Kern County (Eastern Kern), Nevada County
(Western part), Sacramento Metro,\4\ and San Diego County \5\ NAAs were
classified as Moderate nonattainment. The EPA classified the Ventura
County NAA as Serious nonattainment. The EPA classified the Los
Angeles-San Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert) and Riverside
County (Coachella Valley) NAAs as Severe nonattainment. The EPA
classified both the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast NAAs as
Extreme nonattainment. The EPA designated the lands of the Pechanga
Band of Luise[ntilde]o Mission Indians of the Pechanga Reservation \6\
and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians as separate NAAs and classified
them as Marginal and Serious nonattainment, respectively. The State of
California does not have regulatory authority on any Indian reservation
land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction.
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\2\ 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018).
\3\ On April 13, 2022, the EPA reclassified Mariposa from
Marginal to Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (87 FR 21842).
\4\ On October 28, 2021, the EPA reclassified Kern County
(Eastern Kern), Nevada County (Western part) and Sacramento Metro
from Moderate to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (86 FR 59648).
\5\ On April 8, 2021, the EPA reclassified San Diego from
Moderate to Severe for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (86 FR 18227).
\6\ On April 13, 2022, the EPA reclassified the lands of the
Pechanga Band Luise[ntilde]o Mission Indians of the Pechanga
Reservation from Marginal to Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (87
FR 21842).
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Sections 182(c)(4) \7\ and 246 of the CAA provide that SIPs for
Serious, Severe, and Extreme ozone nonattainment areas with 1980
populations greater than 250,000 must require at least a specified
percentage of all new covered fleet vehicles in model year 1998 and
thereafter, purchased by each covered fleet operator in each covered
area, to be clean-fuel vehicles and use clean alternative fuels when
operating in the covered area.\8\ Sections
[[Page 13393]]
182(c)(4) and 246 of the CAA also require states to submit to the EPA a
plan revision addressing this requirement within 42 months after the
effective date of the designation and classification.
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\7\ CAA section 182(c)(4) establishes the requirements for
clean-fuel vehicle programs in Serious NAAs. CAA sections 182(d) and
182(e) require the same for Severe and Extreme NAAs, respectively.
\8\ CAA section 241(2) defines clean alternative fuels as any
fuel, including methanol, ethanol, or other alcohols (including any
mixture thereof containing 85 percent or more by volume of such
alcohol with gasoline or other fuels), reformulated gasoline,
diesel, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and hydrogen) or power
source (including electricity). CAA section 241(7) defines a clean
fuel vehicle as one that has been certified to meet the relevant
light and heavy-duty truck exhaust standards in CAA sections 243 and
245, respectively.
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On February 3, 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
submitted SIP revisions to the EPA for multiple nonattainment areas to
fulfill requirements under section 182(c)(4) and section 246 of the CAA
requiring clean fuels for fleets in nonattainment areas. In this
action, we are evaluating and proposing action on the submittal for CFF
for six nonattainment areas with 1980 populations greater than 250,000
in California, and that are classified as Serious, Severe, or Extreme--
the Coachella Valley, Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South
Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave Desert NAAs.\9\
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\9\ CARB's submittal does not include the San Diego County NAA,
which was submitted separately on January 12, 2021, as a part of the
``2020 Plan for Attaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
for Ozone in San Diego County.'' The EPA will act on the CFF
requirement for the San Diego County NAA in a separate rulemaking.
CARB's submittal also does not include Kern County (Eastern Kern)
and Nevada County (Western part) because neither area exceeds the
population threshold that is prescribed in the Act to require
implementation of the CFF Program.
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II. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
A. Procedural Requirements for Adoption and Submittal of SIP Revisions
CAA sections 110(a)(1) and 110(l) and 40 CFR 51.102 require states
to provide reasonable opportunity for a public hearing prior to
adoption of SIP revisions. Section 110(k)(1)(B) requires the EPA to
determine whether a SIP submittal is complete within 60 days of
receipt. Any plan that the EPA does not affirmatively determine to be
complete or incomplete will become complete six months after the day of
submittal by operation of law. A finding of completeness does not
approve the submittal as part of the SIP, nor does it indicate that the
submittal is approvable. It does start a 12-month clock for the EPA to
act on the SIP submittal (see CAA section 110(k)(2)).
B. Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets
As described in section I of this document, CAA section 182(c)(4)
and 246 provide that SIPs for Serious, Severe, and Extreme
nonattainment areas with 1980 populations greater than 250,000 require
that at least a specified percentage of all new covered fleet vehicles
in model year 1998 and thereafter, purchased by each covered fleet
operator in each covered area, be clean-fuel vehicles and use clean
alternative fuels when operating in the covered area.
Additional guidance on this requirement is provided in CAA section
182(c)(4)(B). According to CAA section 182(c)(4)(B), any revision to
the relevant applicable implementation plan that in the Administrator's
judgment will achieve long-term reductions in ozone-producing and toxic
air emissions equal to those achieved under section 246 of the CAA, or
the percentage thereof attributable to the portion of the clean-fuel
vehicle program for which the revision is to substitute, can substitute
for all or a portion of the clean-fuel vehicle program described under
part C of title II of the Act.
According to the EPA's ``Guidance for Fulfilling the Clean Fuels
for Fleets Requirement of the Clean Air Act,'' \10\ the substitute
measure(s) must achieve long-term reductions in ozone precursor
emissions equal to those achieved through the CFF Program. A state
could submit a SIP revision implementing substitute measures that
achieve emissions reductions that are equal or greater than those
achieved by implementing a CFF Program, with the understanding that any
new light- or heavy-duty vehicle purchased by a fleet owner is deemed
to also meet the CAA emissions standards for ultra-low emission CFF
vehicles.
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\10\ EPA, ``EPA's Guidance for Fulfilling the Clean Fuel Fleets
Requirement of the Clean Air Act,'' EPA-420-B-22-027, June 2022.
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III. Summary of the State's Submittal
A. Adoption and Submittal of SIP Revisions
The submittal package (``2022 CARB SIP submittal'') contains the
Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification, a multi-district certification
that the existing CFF programs in the Coachella Valley, Sacramento
Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave
Desert NAAs meet the CFF requirements under the 2015 ozone
standard.\11\ The 2022 CARB SIP submittal includes a cover letter to
the EPA dated February 3, 2022; \12\ signed Resolution 22-1, dated
January 27, 2022,\13\ demonstrating that CARB adopted the
certification; a copy of the notice of public hearing held on January
27, 2022,\14\ consistent with 40 CFR part 51.102; and a SIP
completeness checklist.\15\
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\11\ CARB, ``California Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for
the 70 ppb Ozone Standard,'' dated December 17, 2021.
\12\ Letter dated February 3, 2022, from Richard W. Corey,
Executive Officer, CARB, to Martha Guzman, Regional Administrator,
EPA Region IX.
\13\ CARB Resolution 22-1, ``California Clean Fuels for Fleets
Certification for the 70 ppb Ozone Standard,'' January 27, 2022.
\14\ CARB, ``Notice of Public Meeting to Consider the Proposed
California Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for the 70 ppb Ozone
Standard,'' dated December 17, 2021.
\15\ CARB, ``Completeness Checklist for SIP Revision.''
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B. Summary of State Submittal
In the Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification, CARB states that in
1994, it submitted a SIP revision to the EPA to opt out of the CFF
Program. The Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification includes a
demonstration that California's Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) program
achieved emissions reductions at least equivalent to the reductions
that would be achieved by the EPA's CFF Program. CARB also states that
California's LEV program established regulations that created tiers of
exhaust emissions standards for increasingly more stringent categories
of LEVs, a mechanism requiring each auto manufacturer to phase-in a
progressively cleaner mix of vehicles from year to year with the option
of credit banking and trading, and a requirement that a specified
percentage of passenger cars and light-duty trucks be zero-emission
vehicles with no exhaust or evaporative emissions. The Clean Fuels for
Fleets Certification also indicates that the EPA approved the
California SIP revision to opt out of the CFF Program effective
September 27, 1999.\16\
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\16\ 64 FR 46849 (August 27, 1999).
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CARB also stated in the submittal that the State has continued to
strengthen emissions requirements in its LEV program, adopting LEV II
\17\ standards in 1998 and LEV III \18\ standards in 2012. CARB also
certified in its Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification that California's
LEV program qualifies as a substitute for the EPA program and satisfies
Sections 182(c)(4) and 246 of the Act for the 0.070 ppm ozone standard
for the Coachella Valley, Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South
Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave Desert NAAs.
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\17\ See the LEV II and CAP 2000 Regulatory Documents web page,
available at: https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/regact/levii/levii.htm.
\18\ See the LEV III and GHG 2012 Regulatory Documents web page,
available at: https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/regact/2012/leviiighg2012/leviiighg2012.htm.
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[[Page 13394]]
IV. The EPA's Evaluation of the State's Submittal
A. Evaluation of Procedural Requirements
Based on the documentation included in the 2022 CARB SIP submittal,
the EPA finds that the submittal satisfies the procedural requirements
of sections 110(a)(1) and 110(l) of the Act, requiring states to
provide reasonable notice and an opportunity for public hearing prior
to adoption of SIP revisions. CARB's submittal became complete by
operation of law on August 3, 2022, pursuant to section 110(k)(1)(B).
B. Evaluation of Requirements for Clean Fuels for Fleets
The EPA has reviewed the Clean Fuels for Fleets Certification for
consistency with sections 182(c)(4) and 246 of the CAA. As explained in
section II of this document, Section 182(c)(4)(B) of the CAA allows
states to opt out of the federal CFF Program by submitting a SIP
revision consisting of a program or programs that will result in
equivalent or greater long-term reductions in ozone precursors and
toxic air emissions as that which is prescribed under section 246 of
the CAA. We agree with the 2022 CARB SIP Submittal that in 1994, CARB
submitted a SIP revision to the EPA to opt out of the federal CFF
Program. The submittal included a demonstration that California's LEV
program achieved emissions reductions at least as large as would be
achieved by the federal program. The EPA approved the SIP revision to
opt out of the federal program on August 27, 1999.\19\ There have been
no changes to the federal CFF Program since the EPA approved the
California SIP revision to opt out of the federal program, and thus, no
corresponding changes to the SIP are required. The EPA finds that
California has continued to adopt and implement increasingly stringent
versions of the LEV program. Therefore, new vehicles must be certified
to emissions standards that are significantly more stringent than the
CFF Program. Thus, we find that the California SIP revision to opt out
of the federal program, as approved in 1999, meets the requirements of
CAA sections 182(c)(4)(A) and 246 and the EPA's ``Guidance for
Fulfilling the Clean Fuel Fleets Requirement of the Clean Air Act'' for
Coachella Valley, Sacramento Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast,
Ventura County, and West Mojave Desert NAAs for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
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\19\ 64 FR 46849.
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V. Proposed Action
For the reasons discussed in this document, under CAA section
110(k)(3), the EPA is proposing to find that the 2022 CARB SIP
submittal meets the requirements of CAA sections 182(c)(4) and 246 for
the 2015 ozone NAAQS with respect to the Coachella Valley, Sacramento
Metro, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, Ventura County, and West Mojave
Desert NAAs.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and
applicable federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this proposed action merely proposes to approve state law
as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this
proposed action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the Clean Air Act.
The State did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as
part of its SIP submittal. There is no information in the record
inconsistent with the stated goals of Executive Order 12898 (59 FR
7629, February 16, 1994) of achieving environmental justice for people
of color, low-income populations, and indigenous peoples.
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe
has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal
law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9,
2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 16, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2023-03781 Filed 3-2-23; 8:45 am]
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