Interim Final Determination To Defer Sanctions; California; South Coast Air Quality Management District, 37719-37720 [2013-14916]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 121 (Monday, June 24, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37719-37720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14916]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2013-0384; FRL-9826-3]


Interim Final Determination To Defer Sanctions; California; South 
Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Interim final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is making an interim final determination to defer the 
imposition of sanctions based on a proposed approval of revisions to 
the South Coast Air Quality Management District's (SCAQMD) portion of 
the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) published elsewhere in 
this Federal Register. The revisions concern the Clean Air Act (CAA) 
contingency measure requirement for the 1997 annual and 24-hour 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate 
matter (PM2.5) in the Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin 
(South Coast).

DATES: This interim final determination is effective on June 24, 2013. 
However, comments will be accepted until July 24, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2013-0384, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions.
    2. Email: lo.doris@epa.gov.
    3. Mail or deliver: Doris Lo (Air-2), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket 
without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless the comment 
includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you 
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as 
such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email. 
www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not 
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the 
body of your comment. If you send email directly to EPA, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
public comment. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be 
able to consider your comment.
    Docket: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all 
documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov, some 
information may be publicly available only at the hard copy location 
(e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be publicly 
available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy 
materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours 
with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lo, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3959, lo.doris@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA.

I. Background

    On November 9, 2012 (76 FR 69928), we published a partial approval 
and partial disapproval of the South Coast 2007 AQMP and the 2007 State 
Strategy (collectively the ``South Coast PM2.5 SIP''). As 
part of this action, EPA disapproved the contingency measure provisions 
in the South Coast PM2.5 SIP as failing to meet the 
requirements of CAA section 172(c)(9) and 40 CFR 51.1012, which require 
that the SIP for each PM2.5 nonattainment area contain 
contingency measures to be implemented if the area fails to make 
reasonable further progress or to attain the NAAQS by the applicable 
attainment date. See 76 FR 41562, 41578 to 41580 (July 14, 2011) and 76 
FR 69928, 69947 and 69952 (November 9, 2011). This disapproval action 
became effective on January 9, 2012 and started a sanctions clock for 
imposition of offset sanctions 18 months after January 9, 2012 and 
highway sanctions 6 months later, pursuant to section 179 of the Clean 
Air Act (CAA) and our regulations at 40 CFR 52.31. As such, offset 
sanctions will apply on July 9, 2013 and highway sanctions will apply 
on January 9, 2014, unless EPA determines that the deficiency forming 
the basis of the disapproval has been corrected.
    On November 14, 2011, the State of California submitted the ``South 
Coast Air Quality Management District Proposed Contingency Measures for 
the 2007 PM2.5 SIP'' (dated October 2011) as a SIP revision 
to correct the deficiency identified in our partial disapproval action. 
On April 13, 2013, the SCAQMD submitted a technical clarification to 
the SIP revision, including updated emissions data for the year 2012. 
In the Proposed Rules section of today's Federal Register, we have 
proposed to approve this submittal because we believe it corrects the 
deficiency identified in our November 9, 2011 partial disapproval 
action. Based on today's proposed approval, we are taking this final 
rulemaking action, effective on publication, to defer the imposition of 
offset and highway sanctions triggered by our November 9, 2011 partial 
disapproval.
    EPA is providing the public with an opportunity to comment on this 
deferral of sanctions. If comments are submitted that change our 
assessment described in this final determination and the proposed full 
approval of the SIP revision, we intend to take subsequent

[[Page 37720]]

final action to impose sanctions pursuant to 40 CFR 52.31(d). If no 
comments are submitted that change our assessment, then all sanctions 
and sanction clocks will be permanently terminated on the effective 
date of a final rule approval.

II. EPA Action

    We are making an interim final determination to defer CAA section 
179 sanctions associated with our partial disapproval of the South 
Coast PM2.5 SIP based on our concurrent proposal to approve 
the State's SIP revision as correcting the deficiency that initiated 
sanctions.
    Because EPA has preliminarily determined that the State has 
corrected the deficiency identified in EPA's partial disapproval 
action, relief from sanctions should be provided as quickly as 
possible. Therefore, EPA is invoking the good cause exception under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in not providing an opportunity for 
comment before this action takes effect (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)). However, 
by this action EPA is providing the public with a chance to comment on 
EPA's determination after the effective date, and EPA will consider any 
comments received in determining whether to reverse such action.
    EPA believes that notice-and-comment rulemaking before the 
effective date of this action is impracticable and contrary to the 
public interest. EPA has reviewed the State's submittal and, through 
its proposed action, is indicating that it is more likely than not that 
the State has corrected the deficiency that started the sanctions 
clocks. Therefore, it is not in the public interest to initially impose 
sanctions when the State has most likely done all it can to correct the 
deficiency that triggered the sanctions clocks. Moreover, it would be 
impracticable to go through notice-and-comment rulemaking on a finding 
that the State has corrected the deficiency prior to the rulemaking 
approving the State's submittal. Therefore, EPA believes that it is 
necessary to use the interim final rulemaking process to defer 
sanctions while EPA completes its rulemaking process on the 
approvability of the State's submittal. Moreover, with respect to the 
effective date of this action, EPA is invoking the good cause exception 
to the 30-day notice requirement of the APA because the purpose of this 
notice is to relieve a restriction (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1)).

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This action defers federal sanctions and imposes no additional 
requirements.
    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget.
    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions 
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001) because it is not a 
significant regulatory action.
    The administrator certifies that this action will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
    This rule 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).
    This rule does not have tribal implications because it will not 
have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the 
relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the federal 
government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    This action does not have federalism implications because it does 
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, 
as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999).
    This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045, ``Protection of 
Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.
    The requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272) do not apply to 
this rule because it imposes no standards.
    This rule does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report to Congress and the Comptroller 
General. However, section 808 provides that any rule for which the 
issuing agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure 
thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest, shall take effect at such time as the agency promulgating the 
rule determines. 5 U.S.C. 808(2). EPA has made such a good cause 
finding, including the reasons therefore, and established an effective 
date of June 24, 2013. EPA will submit a report containing this rule 
and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by August 23, 2013. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule for the purpose of judicial review nor does 
it extend the time within which petition for judicial review may be 
filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. 
This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its 
requirements (see section 307(b)(2)).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental regulations, Ozone, Particulate matter, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: June 12, 2013.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2013-14916 Filed 6-21-13; 8:45 am]
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