Air Plan Approval; California; Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, 10049-10058 [2023-03275]

Download as PDF 10049 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations EPA-APPROVED NEVADA NONREGULATORY PROVISIONS AND QUASI-REGULATORY MEASURES Applicable geographic or nonattainment area Name of SIP provision State submittal date EPA approval date Additional explanation Air Quality Implementation Plan for the State of Nevada 1 * * * The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Portion of the Nevada State Implementation Plan for the 2012 Annual Primary Fine Particulate Matter NAAQS, excluding the cover letter; the part addressing the visibility requirements of CAA 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) on page 9; and Appendices A– D and F–I. The Clark County Portion of the State Implementation Plan to meet the PM2.5 SIP Requirements of the Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2), excluding the cover letter to NDEP; the part of the submittal addressing the visibility requirements of CAA 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) on page 8; and Attachments A, B, and D. The Washoe County Portion of the Nevada State Implementation Plan to Meet the PM2.5 Infrastructure SIP Requirements of Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2), excluding the cover letter to NDEP and all Attachments and Appendices. * * * * * [INSERT Federal Register CITATION], 2/16/ 2023. * NDEP ‘‘Infrastructure’’ SIP for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. 12/11/15 [INSERT Federal Register CITATION], 2/16/ 2023. Clark County ‘‘Infrastructure’’ SIP for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. 12/11/15 [INSERT Federal Register CITATION], 2/16/ 2023. Washoe County ‘‘Infrastructure’’ SIP for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. State-wide within NDEP jurisdiction. 12/11/15 Clark County .... Washoe County * * * * * * * * * * * * organization of this table generally follows from the organization of the State of Nevada’s original 1972 SIP, which was divided into 12 sections. Nonattainment and maintenance plans, among other types of plans, are listed under Section 5 (Control Strategy). Lead SIPs and Small Business Stationary Source Technical and Environmental Compliance Assistance SIPs are listed after Section 12 followed by nonregulatory or quasi-regulatory statutory provisions approved into the SIP. Regulatory statutory provisions are listed in 40 CFR 52.1470(c). 1 The 3. Section 52.1472 is amended by adding paragraph (l) to read as follows: ■ § 52.1472 Approval status. * * * * * (l) 2012 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The Nevada state implementation plan (SIP) submittal on December 11, 2015 is partially disapproved for the prevention of significant deterioration-related portions of Clean Air Act (CAA) elements 110(a)(2)(C), (D)(i)(II), (D)(ii), and (J) for the NDEP and Washoe County portions of the Nevada SIP. CAA element 110(a)(2)(J) for public notification is conditionally approved for NDEP and Washoe County. [FR Doc. 2023–02999 Filed 2–15–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA–R09–OAR–2022–0503; FRL–9936–02– R9] Air Plan Approval; California; Innovative Clean Transit Regulation Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 ACTION: Final rule. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a revision to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) consisting of State rules intended to reduce particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions from public transit buses. The EPA is approving the SIP revision because the regulations meet the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act. Approval of the regulations as part of the California SIP makes them federally enforceable. DATES: This rule is effective on March 20, 2023. ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID Number EPA–R09–OAR–2022–0503. All documents in the docket are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 available through https:// www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 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 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Buss, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947–4152 or by email at buss.jeffrey@epa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. Table of Contents I. Proposed Action II. Public Comments and EPA Responses III. Final Action IV. Incorporation by Reference V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews I. Proposed Action On October 14, 2022 (87 FR 62337) (herein referred to as the proposed rule), the EPA proposed to approve a SIP revision submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on February E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 10050 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 13, 2020 consisting of certain state regulations (known as the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation) adopted to transition California public transit bus fleets to zero-emission technologies by 2040 and thereby to provide reductions in NOX and PM emissions to support regional air quality plans and improve air quality along public transit routes. Table 1 lists the specific sections of Title 13, Division 3, Chapter 1, Article 4.3 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR) that comprise the ICT regulation. TABLE 1—SUBMITTED RULES Section No. 13 CCR Agency CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. 2023 2023.1 2023.2 2023.3 2023.4 2023.5 2023.6 2023.7 2023.8 2023.9 2023.10 2023.11 State effective date Rule title Innovative Clean Transit Regulations Applicability and Scope ...................... Zero-Emission Bus Requirements .................................................................. Compliance Option for Joint Zero-Emission Bus Groups ............................... Zero-Emission Bus Bonus Credits .................................................................. Provisions for Exemption of a Zero-Emission Bus Purchase ......................... Zero-Emission Mobility Option ........................................................................ Low-NOX Engine Purchase Requirements ..................................................... Requirements to Use Renewable Fuels ......................................................... Reporting Requirements for Transit Agencies ................................................ Record Keeping Requirements ....................................................................... Authority to Suspend, Revoke or Modify ........................................................ Severability ...................................................................................................... On August 11, 2022, CARB supplemented the February 13, 2020, SIP submission by submitting certain additional definitions codified in the CCR or California Health & Safety Code (CH&SC) that are relied upon in the ICT 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 10/01/2019 Submission date 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 02/13/2020 regulation. The specific definitions submitted on August 11, 2022, are listed in table 2. TABLE 2—SUBMITTED ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS RELIED UPON BY THE ICT REGULATION Agency lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB CARB .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. State effective date CCR or CH&SC section Title CH&SC 39012 ............................ 17 CCR 95481(a)(27) 1 .............. 13 CCR 2208(c)(18) ................... 17 CCR 60100(e) ....................... 17 CCR 60113 2 ......................... 17 CCR 95481(a)(123) 3 ............ 17 CCR 95481(a)(20) 4 .............. 13 CCR 2020(b) ......................... Air Basin ........................................................................................................ Untitled but defines the term ‘‘compressed natural gas (CNG)’’ .................. Untitled but defines the term ‘‘Low-NOX engine’’ .......................................... Untitled but defines the Sonoma County portion of the North Coast Basin Lake Tahoe Air Basin .................................................................................... Untitled but defines the term ‘‘Renewable hydrocarbon diesel’’ ................... Untitled but defines the term ‘‘Biomethane’’ ................................................. Definitions ...................................................................................................... 01/01/1976 01/04/2019 10/16/2017 07/05/1978 01/30/1976 01/04/2019 01/04/2019 01/02/2010 On pages 62339–62341 of our proposed rule, we described how we evaluated the ICT regulation and how we determined that the regulation meets all applicable CAA requirements. In short, we determined that: • CARB provided adequate public notice of a comment period and a hearing on the draft ICT regulation prior to adoption and submission to the EPA, and thereby complied with the applicable procedural requirements for SIP revisions under the CAA section 110(l) and 40 CFR 51.102; • CARB has adequate legal authority to implement the ICT regulation because state law so provides; and because the requirements relate to transit bus purchases directed at public transit agencies (i.e., not private fleet operators), the regulations are not preempted under the CAA; and because CARB is not otherwise prohibited by any provision of federal or state law from carrying out the regulation; • The regulation includes all of the elements necessary to provide for practical enforceability, including clear applicability and exemption provisions, requirements that are sufficiently specific so that the persons affected by the regulation are fairly on notice as to what the requirements and related compliance dates are, and recordkeeping and reporting provisions, and thereby establish an enforceable control measure as required under CAA section 110(a)(2)(A); • The ICT regulation is an outgrowth of a committal measure for further deployment of zero-emission bus (ZEB) technologies in the public transit sector that was adopted by CARB in the 2016 State SIP Strategy, and the ICT regulation would achieve incremental emissions reductions needed to attain the NAAQS, particularly in the South Coast and San Joaquin Valley air quality planning areas. Thus, we found that the ICT regulation would not interfere with reasonable further progress (RFP), attainment or any other applicable CAA requirement for the purposes of CAA section 110(l); and • The ICT regulation would require only one additional person-year for developing a reporting system and updating fleet information prior to initial reporting in 2020, assisting transit agencies with compliance and 1 Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 95481(a)(30) with a state effective date of 7/ 1/2020. 2 Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 60013. 3 Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 95481(a)(130) with a state effective date of 7/ 1/2020. 4 Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 95481(a)(22) with a state effective date of 7/ 1/2020. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations annual reporting, and thus CARB has adequate personnel and funding to carry out the ICT regulation. For additional detail on the SIP submission itself, and our evaluation, please see our proposed rule. II. Public Comments and EPA Responses lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 The EPA’s proposed rule provided for a 30-day comment period. The EPA received a total of seven comment letters in response to the proposed rule. Four of the comment letters express general support for our proposed action. The three other comment letters include objections to our proposed action: (1) a comment letter from the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ); 5 (2) a comment letter from the American Fuel & Petroleum Manufacturers (AFPM); and (3) a comment letter from an individual member of the public. All the comments letters can be found in the docket for this rulemaking. In the paragraphs below, we summarize the comments and provide responses for the three comment letters that include objections to our proposed action. CCAEJ Comment #1: CCAEJ submits these comments in support of the EPA’s proposed approval of the ICT regulation. CCAEJ strongly supports ZEBs as an air quality and environmental justice solution in the Inland Empire and in other communities. However, a recent ICT regulation implementation update disclosed the financial challenges facing transit agencies to fully transition to 100 percent ZEBs as required by the regulation. CCAEJ has concerns that transit agencies will seek to avoid the transition to ZEBs by claiming financial infeasibility. Accordingly, CCAEJ calls on the EPA to partially disapprove the ICT regulation due to the unenforceability of the exemption for ‘‘financial hardship.’’ The Clean Air Act requires that measures are enforceable, and the EPA should require CARB to amend the regulation to ensure enforceability. The financial hardship exemption at 13 Cal. Code Regs. § 2023.4(c)(5) lacks enforceability. The 5 The letter from CCAEJ included six exhibits: American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2022 report; Progress Report and Technical Submittal for the 2012 PM2.5 Standard San Joaquin Valley (citing Appendix L, Emissions Inventory Methods and Results for the Proposed Innovative Clean Transit Regulation) (October 19, 2021); Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) Regulation Fact Sheet; CARB, Board Meeting, September 22, 2022, Board Item Summary; National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Comprehensive Review of California’s Innovated Clean Transit Regulation: Phase 1 Summary Report; and CARB, Board Meeting, September 22, 2022, transcript. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 exemption provision requires the CARB Executive Officer to grant a transit agency an exemption if the agency meets certain criteria. 13 Cal. Code Regs. § 2023.4(a). A transit agency may claim the financial hardship exemption request when the transit agency adopts a resolution declaring a ‘‘fiscal emergency.’’ Cal. Code Reg. § 2023.4(c)(5)(B)(1). This exemption is not enforceable. A transit agency can claim the exemption by adopting nothing more than a resolution declaring a ‘‘fiscal emergency.’’ 13 Cal. Code Regs. § 2023.4(c)(5)(B)(1). However, the ICT regulation does not define ‘‘fiscal emergency.’’ See 13 Cal. Code Regs. § 2023(b). And CARB has not submitted any other regulations that define ‘‘fiscal emergency’’ to the EPA for approval into the SIP. See 87 FR at 62338 and Table 2. The ICT regulation further requires no supporting documentation for the resolution to justify the undefined ‘‘fiscal emergency.’’ See 13 Cal. Code Regs. § 2023.4(c)(5)(B)(1). A transit agency, relying on this provision, could adopt a simple resolution finding a fiscal emergency without any supporting documentation and without reference to any enforceable standard for what constitutes a ‘‘fiscal emergency.’’ This provision begs for abuse and could allow transit agencies to avoid the regulation’s purchase mandate for claimed fiscal emergencies. Without a defined standard and supporting documentation, citizens and the EPA will be unable to hold transit agencies accountable for their duty to purchase ZEBs. EPA response to CCAEJ Comment #1: The EPA does not have the authority to disapprove the exemption for ‘‘financial hardship’’ but approve the rest of the ICT regulation because the exemption is not severable from the rest of the regulation, and because the EPA cannot render a SIP more stringent than intended by the state through a partial SIP approval.6 This principle was first established in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in Bethlehem Steel, a case in which the EPA approved a state opacity limitation but disapproved the allowance for violations of the limitation for a certain number of minutes within a 24-hour period.7 The court held that the EPA cannot, in the guise of a partial approval, remove words of limitation and thereby make the regulation stricter than the state had intended.8 If the EPA determines that a 6 Bethlehem Steel Corp. v. Gorsuch, 742 F.2d 1028, 1036 (7th Cir. 1984) (Bethlehem Steel). 7 Id, at 1032. 8 Id., at 1036. PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 10051 stricter rule is required, then the CAA provides that the EPA must disapprove the state regulation and promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) in its place. In this instance, too, the EPA is not authorized to approve the ICT regulation but disapprove the financial hardship exemption included therein because doing so would make the regulation stricter than the state had intended. Moreover, we believe the ICT regulation need not be made stricter by removal of this exemption to meet applicable CAA requirements. In addition, we do not view the ‘‘financial hardship’’ exemption as making the ICT regulation unenforceable. We agree that the provision does not have a specific definition for the term ‘‘fiscal emergency,’’ but the EPA believes that the requirements for public process and involvement will serve to assure that a public transit agency would not assert a fiscal emergency inappropriately or for purposes of invoking the exemption except when actually necessary. With respect to the specific provisions regarding fiscal emergencies, we note that the ICT regulation specifies that, to claim the exemption, a transit agency would need to declare a fiscal emergency under a resolution by a transit agency’s governing body following a public hearing.9 Moreover, under California law, a public hearing conducted by a public transit agency to consider declaration of a fiscal emergency will be governed by the Brown Act, which as a general matter requires California public agencies to conduct their business publicly.10 Under the Brown Act, such a hearing will be subject to minimum requirements regarding posting of notice of the hearing, posting of agendas and providing opportunities for public comment.11 As such, the public will have knowledge of, and the opportunity to participate in, the decision by a transit agency to declare a fiscal emergency. Given the procedure safeguards established in the Brown Act, we do not expect public transit agencies to abuse the financial hardship exemption to unduly delay the process under the ICT regulation for full transition to zero-emission buses. However, while, we do not view the financial hardship exemption as making the ICT regulation unenforceable, we do 9 13 CCR 2023.4(c)(5). 5, division 2, part 1, chapter 9 of the California Government Code. The Brown Act is referred to as one of the State of California’s ‘‘sunshine’’ laws. 11 California Government Code sections 54954(a) (meeting notice), 54954.2(a) (meeting agenda), and 54954.3(a) (public comment opportunity). 10 Title E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 10052 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations agree that the exemption, if granted frequently, could delay the expected schedule for full transition to ZEBs and delay the timing of the associated emissions reductions. As discussed further below in the EPA response to CCAEJ Comment #2, we expect that CARB will take into account the actual transition to ZEBs and related emissions reductions in future updates to the EMFAC model, and the EPA will assess the accuracy of emissions projections reflecting emissions reductions from the ICT regulation when the Agency takes action on SIP submissions of regional air quality plans. CCAEJ Comment #2: Given several exemptions provided in the ICT regulation, the financial challenges of implementation, and CARB’s claim that the regulation will achieve zero NOX and PM2.5 emissions, the EPA should not grant full SIP credit. CARB has claimed significant reductions from the ICT regulation, including 100% reductions by 2045. The EPA should only grant partial SIP credit because the regulation allows for transit agencies to claim several exemptions and continue to purchase internal combustion engine buses. A transit agency may claim exemptions for delays in ZEB infrastructure, when ZEBs cannot meet daily mileage needs, when ZEBs do not have adequate gradeability performance, when a ZEB for the applicable weight class is not available, and for financial hardship provided the agency demonstrates that the agency cannot offset the initial capital costs of ZEBs and associated infrastructure. Given these offramps for transit agencies, and the recent implementation update showing the substantial financial challenges transit agencies face with implementation beyond the initial 25 percent target, the EPA should decline to grant full SIP credit. EPA response to CCAEJ Comment #2: While, in the proposed rule, the EPA acknowledged CARB’s estimates for the reductions associated with the ICT regulation,12 the EPA is not approving a specific numerical credit for the ICT regulation in this rulemaking. The emissions reductions associated with the ICT regulation are reflected in the most recently-approved version of CARB’s on-road motor vehicle emissions model, EMFAC2021, and in the EPA-approved adjustment factors for the previous version of the model, EMFAC2017.13 CARB updates its EMFAC model every three or four years and each successive version reflects update 12 87 13 87 FR 62337, at 62338–62339. FR 68483 (November 15, 2022). VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 vehicle mixes and vehicle types and also changes in circumstances that affect assumptions regarding emissions reductions from regulatory initiatives such as the ICT regulation. Thus, if the transition to ZEBs in public transit fleets proves to be slower than assumed by EMFAC2021 and the adjustment factors to EMFAC2017, then CARB will take that circumstance into account in updating the model. The EPA, for its part, will assess the accuracy of emissions projections reflecting emissions reductions from the ICT regulation when the Agency takes action on SIP submissions, such as RFP and attainment demonstrations, that rely on emissions estimates made using EMFAC2021 or EMFAC2017 (with the adjustment factors). Moreover, at this time, we do not find that CARB’s emission reduction projections for the transition to zero emission buses under the ICT regulation are overly optimistic. First, at the CARB Board hearing on September 22, 2022, CARB reported that, based on the reported data for year 2021, California transit agencies collectively have 510 zero-emission buses in fleet and an addition 424 ZEBs on order, which is a total increase of over 250 zero-emission buses compared to year 2020.14 Second, CARB reports that funding has been awarded for nearly 750 additional zeroemission buses to be ordered.15 When the ICT regulation was proposed, CARB had estimated that, by 2027, approximately 1,350 zero-emission bus purchases would be required to comply with the regulation,16 but that number of bus purchases has already been surpassed when taking into account the number of zero-emission buses in service, or on order, or for which funding has been awarded. As such, we expect the anticipated emissions reductions estimated by CARB due to the ICT regulation and reflected in EMFAC to be achieved at least through the end of this decade. Beyond 2030, there is greater uncertainty as to the emissions reductions from the ICT regulation, but as noted above, future updates to the EMFAC model will take into account updated forecasts for the transition to zero-emission buses by the various public transit agencies. 14 CARB, Board Meeting, September 22, 2022, transcript, page 19. 15 Email communication, Pippin Brehler, Senior Attorney, CARB, to Jefferson Wehling, EPA Region IX, December 15, 2022. 16 CARB; Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, a Replacement of the Fleet Rule for Public Agencies; Staff Report: Initial Statement of Reasons; Date of Release: August 7, 2018, Table VIII–10 on page VIII–24. PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 AFPM Comment #1: The Clean Air Act provides states with a limited authority to establish emissions standards for government-owned fleets; however, that authority is constrained by the statute. In litigation challenging an earlier set of fleet regulations in California,17 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals explained the limitations to the provisions of CAA section 209(a). Although states are free to set more stringent standards for state-owned fleets, the ICT regulation fails to respect these statutory limits. The ICT regulation that the EPA is proposing to approve as part of the California SIP are not emissions standards because they are not performance standards, but rather a mandate to purchase an increasing percentage of specific technologies, and only vehicles powered by electricity or fuel cells qualify. The regulation is not applied uniformly to all vehicles in the class and, therefore, is not a standard. EPA response to AFPM Comment #1: States do not derive their authority to set emission standards under the CAA, rather they do so pursuant to their respective state law authority. However, CAA section 209(a) prohibits states and political subdivisions from adopting or attempting to enforce any standard relating to the control of emissions from new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines. As set forth in AFPM Comment #3 and EPA’s response, the ICT regulation is an emission standard that would generally be preempted by section 209(a). The EMA decision noted by AFPM was the result of remand from the United States Supreme Court to the United States District Court and then on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.18 The 17 AFPM cites Engine Mfrs. Ass’n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 498 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2007) (referred to herein by its full name or as EMA). 18 In Engine Mfrs. Ass’n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 U.S. 246 (2004), the Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision by the Ninth Circuit affirming a District Court ruling that upheld certain SCAQMD fleet rules from a preemption challenge, and in doing so, rejected the argument that the Rules ‘‘escape[d] pre-emption under § 209(a) . . . because they address the purchase of vehicles, rather than their manufacture or sale.’’ Id. However, the Supreme Court did not decide whether the SCAQMD fleet rules were actually preempted. See id. at 258. The Court stated that it was ‘‘likely that at least certain aspects of the Fleet Rules are preempted,’’ but allowed that ‘‘[i]t does not necessarily follow . . . that the Fleet Rules are preempted in toto.’’ Id. On remand in the District Court in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, the District Court concluded that the SCAQMD fleet rules were not preempted as applied to state and local governmental entities, and in the EMA case cited by AFPM, the Ninth Circuit agreed, stating that ‘‘the Clean Air Act does not preempt the Fleet Rules insofar as they direct the procurement behavior of state and local governmental entities.’’ Engine Mfrs. Ass’n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist, 498 F.3d 1031, 1039 (9th Cir. 2007). E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations Supreme Court noted: ‘‘The criteria referred to in § 209(a) relate to the emission characteristics of a vehicle or engine. To meet them the vehicle or engine must not emit more than a certain amount of a given pollutant, must be equipped with a certain type of pollution-control device, or must have some other design feature related to the control of emissions. This interpretation is consistent with the use of ‘standard’ throughout Title II of the CAA (which governs emissions from moving sources) to denote requirements such as numerical emission levels with which vehicles or engines must comply, e.g., 42 U.S.C. 7521(a)(3)(B)(ii), or emissioncontrol technology with which they must be equipped, e.g., 42 U.S.C. 7521(a)(6).’’ 19 The EPA need not decide whether CARB’s ICT zero-emission technology requirements are performance requirements or design technology requirements, as either relates to the emission characteristics of the vehicle and is designed to address emissions from the vehicle. Further, the commenter provides no authority for the claim that a requirement is only a ‘‘standard’’ if it applies uniformly. As addressed by the Supreme Court in Engine Mfrs. Ass’n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist, a set of rules that require a specific emission performance be met (among a broader list of emission-certified vehicles) by fleet purchasers will still be considered a standard under section 209(a).20 Lastly, we acknowledge that, in our proposed rule on page 62340, we stated that, in adopting the ICT regulation, CARB has not adopted or attempted to enforce a ‘‘standard’’ relating to the control of emissions from new motor vehicles for the purposes of CAA section 209(a). However, in so stating, we did not mean that the ICT regulation does not establish an emission standard in the sense considered preempted by the Supreme Court, but rather, that, because the requirements only apply to purchases by public entities, the regulation is not preempted under CAA section 209(a). This is discussed further in AFPM Comment #3 and EPA’s response thereto. AFPM Comment #2: In the EMA case, the Ninth Circuit found ‘‘nothing to indicate a congressional intent to bar states from choosing to use their own money to acquire or use vehicles that exceed the federal standards.’’ However, the California standards do not exceed federal standards. California (and the EPA) has not shown that the ICT 19 Engine Mfrs. Ass’n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 U.S. 246, 253 (2004). 20 Id., at 250 and footnote 2. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 standards will reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas, PM2.5, or NOX emissions. California has not conducted any analysis that compares the costs and benefits of alternative options, such as using the same amount of funding on new diesel or CNG busses that would speed progress towards NAAQS attainment compared to EV purchase requirements and may yield more significant reductions in life-cycle greenhouse gas. Such an analysis is particularly relevant because electric buses routinely do not operate on long bus routes and travel fewer miles per bus compared to diesel and CNG busses. California also needs to evaluate the significant increase in PM2.5 emissions associated with the higher tire wear from heavier electric buses. EPA response to AFPM Comment #2: First, we disagree that the ICT regulation does not exceed federal standards. The ICT regulation establishes more stringent numerical emission requirements that are beyond those established under other state or federal regulations applicable to emissions from buses.21 In other words, the requirements under the ICT regulation do not supplant or replace any existing emission control requirements applicable to buses. Second, we evaluate emissions impacts associated with SIP revisions, such as the ICT regulation, under CAA section 110(l), which prohibits EPA approval of SIP revisions that would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment or RFP or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. In this regard, we note that CARB conducted an environmental analysis of the proposed ICT regulation that evaluated the emissions changes under the proposed regulations relative to several alternative scenarios included the ‘‘Business-as-Usual’’ (BAU) scenario. The BAU scenario represents the projected emission reductions under the current level of compliance with the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies.22 Relative to the BAU scenario, CARB concluded that the tailpipe emissions of 21 87 FR at 62340. described on page 62338 if the proposed rule, CARB originally adopted the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies in 2000, and amended the rule in 2004 and 2006. Under the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies, public transit agencies operating urban bus fleets were required to select either the diesel bus path or the alternative-fuel bus path. The diesel bus path required retrofitting existing buses with diesel particulate filters, while transit agencies utilizing the alternative-fuel path had to ensure that eighty-five percent of urban bus purchases were alternative fueled buses. In the 2006 amendment to the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies, there was a 15 percent ZEB purchase requirement for larger transit agencies with more than 200 urban buses to purchase ZEBs starting in 2011. 22 As PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 10053 NOX and PM2.5 would be lower under the proposed ICT regulation 23 as would well-to-wheel greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.24 CARB’s environmental analysis acknowledges that the proposed ICT regulation would place additional demand on the existing electricity grid; however; the ICT regulation would be implemented in conjunction with other statewide regulatory programs aimed at improving the State’s per capita energy consumption, decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, and increasing reliance of renewable energy sources.25 In light of CARB’s environmental analysis, we find sufficient evidence that the ICT regulation would result in net emissions reductions of NOX and PM2.5, and that, as such, approval of the ICT regulation as a SIP revision would not interfere with attainment or RFP of any NAAQS, or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. Moreover, as noted in the proposed rule,26 the ICT regulation is an outgrowth of a committal measure for further deployment of zero-emission bus technologies in the public transit sector that was adopted by CARB in the 2016 State SIP Strategy, and for that reason also, we find that the ICT regulation is consistent with CAA section 110(l) and would not interfere with attainment, RFP or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. Third, California is not obligated to conduct any analysis that compares the costs and benefits of alternative options, such as using the same amount of funding on new diesel or CNG busses. Such considerations are not relevant to the EPA’s review of SIP submissions under CAA section 110. The EPA’s role is to review and approve state choices if they meet applicable CAA requirements. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k) and 40 CFR 52.02(a); see also Union Elec. Co. v. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 256–266 (1976) (holding that the EPA may not disapprove a state implementation plan that meets the requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2) on the basis of technological or economic infeasibility). In this instance, perhaps the state could have chosen an alternative to the gradual transition to a zero-emissions fleet for public transit buses, but the approach the state ultimately selected through adoption of the ICT regulation meets all applicable CAA requirements, and that is a sufficient basis for the EPA 23 CARB, Final Environmental Analysis for the Proposed Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, A Replacement to the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies, Date of Release: December 7, 2018, pages 33–37. 24 Id., pages 53–55. 25 Id., page 48. 26 Proposed rule, page 62340. E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 10054 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 to approve the ICT regulation as a SIP revision under CAA section 110. Lastly, with respect to PM emissions from tire wear, we first note that tire wear is caused by contact between tires and the road surface, with the rate of tire wear dependent on a variety of factors, including the roughness of the road surface; activity factors such as route and style of driving, and seasonal influences; and vehicle characteristics, such as weight, suspension, steering geometry, and tire material and design.27 Moreover, most of the PM emissions from tire wear are coarse particles, i.e., larger than particles considered PM10 or PM2.5. The EPA estimates that approximately 8.0 percent and 1.2 percent of tire wear PM emissions are emitted as PM10 and PM2.5, respectively.28 While the various factors that influence tire wear are known, the current state of knowledge does not provide a basis to quantify the relationship between tire wear and vehicle weight within the various regulatory classes of vehicles. As such, the EPA’s most recent version of the Agency’s mobile source estimation model, MOVES3,29 applies the same tire wear emission rate for all vehicle fuel types (gasoline, diesel, flex-fuel, CNG or electric) within a MOVES regulatory class.30 Thus, while the hypothetical incremental increase in PM emissions from heavier buses (due to the weight of batteries) as suggested by AFPM cannot reasonably be quantified, there is no evidence (and AFPM provides no evidence) to suggest that the incremental increase would result in PM emissions in great enough quantities to offset the documented decrease in tailpipe PM2.5 emissions.31 AFPM Comment #3: California’s new rule is a purchase mandate for which California has not sought a waiver from the EPA, as required prior to their inclusion in a SIP submittal to the EPA. In the above-referenced litigation, upon its remand to the 9th Circuit, the Supreme Court rejected California’s argument that their rules did not need an EPA waiver and ‘‘escape[d] preemption under § 209(a) . . . because 27 EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, ‘‘Brake and Tire Wear Emissions from Onroad Vehicles in MOVES3,’’ EPA–420–R–20–014, November 2020, page 22. 28 Id., page 29. 29 The EPA published the MOVES3 notice of availability at 86 FR 1106 (January 7, 2021). 30 EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, ‘‘Brake and Tire Wear Emissions from Onroad Vehicles in MOVES3,’’ EPA–420–R–20–014, November 2020, page 29. 31 See California Air Resources Board, Brake & Tire Wear Emissions, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ resources/documents/brake-tire-wear-emissions (last visited Dec. 22, 2022). VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 they address the purchase of vehicles, rather than their manufacture or sale.’’ The Court held that ‘‘standardenforcement efforts that are proscribed by § 209 can be directed to manufacturers or purchasers.’’ Engine Mfrs. Assn. v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 U.S. 246 (2004). The Court remanded the case back to the 9th Circuit for further proceedings consistent with its opinion, which stated that it is ‘‘likely that at least certain aspects of the Fleet Rules are preempted.’’ The reason that the California rules do not qualify as being excluded from the waiver requirements is that they are not a ‘‘state proprietary action.’’ Such an exception can only be applied to the efficient procurement of needed goods and services that also lack the effect of broader social regulation. On the contrary, California’s rules mandate the inefficient procurement of goods for the purpose of implementing broader social regulation. The inefficiency of California’s rule is clear because if California instead required the same amount of money to be invested in more cost-effective and proven bus technology, such as new diesel buses and new CNG buses, instead of electric buses and all of the associated costs to install and interconnect charging equipment, California would achieve greater emission reductions and achieve the NAAQS in a more expeditious timeframe than its so-called ‘Clean Transit’ regulations in the proposed SIP. California must seek a waiver, and must receive approval from the EPA, prior to including its bus purchase mandates in a SIP submittal to the EPA. EPA response to AFPM Comment #3: In this comment, AFPM refers to a Ninth Circuit decision, Engine Mfrs. Assn. v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 498 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2007) (referred to herein by its full name or as EMA), issued in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Engine Mfrs. Assn. v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 U.S. 246 (2004). In EMA, the Ninth Circuit held that the market participant doctrine applied to preemption under CAA section 209(a) and that fleet rules governing procurement decisions by state and local governments fell within scope of market participant doctrine and thus were saved from CAA preemption.32 The ICT regulation is not subject to preemption under CAA section 209(a), and CARB does not need a waiver under CAA section 209(b) for the ICT regulation to enforce the regulation. Further, nothing in CAA section 209(a) could be read as barring states from using their purchasing power for motor vehicles with more stringent standards than federal standards. Such a reading ‘‘would also run afoul of [CAA section 116’s] express reservation to the states of primary authority over and responsibility for controlling air pollution.’’ 33 In any event, the ICT regulation is analogous to the fleet rules that were the subject of the EMA decision to the extent they apply to fleets of vehicles purchased by the government for government purposes, which in this case is public transit services. APFM counters that the ICT regulation does not qualify as an exception to CAA section 209(a) preemption under the market participant doctrine because the ‘‘exception can only be applied to the efficient procurement of needed goods and services that also lack the effect of broader social regulation,’’ and ‘‘California’s rules mandate the inefficient procurement of goods for the purpose of implementing broader social regulation.’’ However, APFM’s formulation of the exception under the market participant doctrine conflates the two different circumstances cited by the Ninth Circuit in EMA under which state action qualifies as ‘‘proprietary,’’ and thus saved from preemption, as opposed to ‘‘regulatory,’’ and thus subject to preemption.34 In the first circumstance, state action is considered proprietary where the action essentially reflects the governmental entity’s own interest in its efficient procurement of needed goods and services, as measured by comparison with the typical behavior of private parties in similar circumstances.35 Under these circumstances, the market participant doctrine protects comprehensive state policies from preemption so long as the type of state action is essentially proprietary.36 Under the second circumstance, state action is considered proprietary where the state action may not reflect the efficient procurement of needed good and services but is so limited in scope as to lack to effect of broader social regulation.37 In this instance, we find that the state action through the ICT regulation is proprietary in that it reflects the State of California’s own interest in the efficient procurement of needed goods and services. Engine Mfrs. Assn v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 498 F.3d 1031, 33 Id., 34 Id., at 1043. at 1041. 35 Id. 36 Id. 32 EMA, PO 00000 at 1044, 1048. Frm 00044 Fmt 4700 37 Id. Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 1046 (9th Cir. 2007) (‘‘That a state or local governmental entity may have policy goals that it seeks to further through its participation in the market does not preclude the doctrine’s application, so long as the action in question is the state’s own market participation.’’) Like the fleet rules that were the subject of EMA, one purpose of the ICT regulation is to reduce air pollution, and ‘‘efficient procurement’’ must be viewed with an eye toward ‘‘procurement that serves the state’s purposes—which may include purposes other than saving money—just as private entities serve their purposes by taking into account factors other than price in their procurement decisions.’’ 38 In the case of the ICT regulation, the purposes include more than just reducing air pollution, and include reducing energy consumption and leading zero-emissions technology in the heavy-duty vehicle sector.39 Engine Mfrs. Assn v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 498 F.3d 1031, 1046 (9th Cir. 2007) (‘‘ ‘Efficient’ does not merely mean ‘cheap.’ In context, ‘efficient procurement’ means procurement that serves the state’s purposes—which may include purposes other than saving money—just as private entities serve their purposes by taking into account factors other than price in their procurement decisions.’’) In light of these state purposes, the ICT regulation’s requirement for purchase of zero-emission buses, rather than diesel buses or CNG buses, can properly be characterized as ‘‘efficient procurement’’ of needed goods and services and thus is not preempted under CAA section 209(a) under the market participant doctrine. Individual Member of the Public Comment #1: While generally supportive, the commenter remains concerned about whether the reduction in emissions from buses will increase costs to run the buses. EPA response to Individual Member of the Public Comment #1: In developing the ICT regulation, CARB too was concerned about the potential for increased costs to transit agencies affecting transit service, and thus, included in the regulation a number of provisions intended to provide the transit agencies with flexibility in meeting the requirements of the regulation and reduce the potential for impacts to transit service. Among the built-in flexibilities are a phase-in 38 Id., at 1046. Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, A Replacement of the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies, Staff Report: Initial Statement of Reasons, Date of Release: August 7, 2018, pages II–1—II–6. 39 CARB, VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 schedule and exemptions that would be granted by CARB under certain specific circumstances. The exemptions are broadly available, and the criteria for granting them are clearly set forth in the regulatory text. III. Final Action Under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA, and for the reasons given above, we are taking final action to approve a SIP revision submitted by CARB on February 3, 2020 that includes certain sections of title 13 of the California Code of Regulations that comprise the Innovative Clean Transit regulation and that was supplemented by CARB on August 11, 2022 with certain definitions relied upon by the regulation. Tables 1 and 2 above list the regulations and related supplemental definitions we are approving in this action. We are approving the SIP revision because the regulation fulfills all relevant CAA requirements. This final action incorporates by reference the regulation and related supplemental definitions into the federally enforceable SIP for the State of California. IV. Incorporation by Reference In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of one section of the California Health and Safety Code and certain sections of titles 13 and 17 of the California Code of Regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below which pertain to the transition of California public transit bus fleets to zero-emission technologies by 2040. Therefore, these materials have been approved by the EPA for inclusion in the State implementation plan, have been incorporated by reference by the EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA’s approval, and will be incorporated by reference by the Director of the Federal Register in the next update to the SIP compilation.40 The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available through https:// www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region IX Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). 40 62 PO 00000 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997). Frm 00045 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 10055 V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews Under the CAA, 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 CAA. Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this 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); • 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 CAA; and 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 proposed 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). Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629 (February 16, 1994)) establishes federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision directs E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 10056 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and lowincome populations in the United States. The EPA notes that, in adopting the ICT regulation, the state found that it furthers state environmental justice goals by transitioning to clean transportation modes in low-income and disadvantaged communities and does not disproportionately impact people of any race, culture, or income.41 We agree that, by transitioning to clean transportation modes in low-income and disadvantaged communities, the ICT regulation will serve to reduce adverse human health effects in all communities and thereby help to achieve environmental justice. 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, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. The EPA will submit a report containing this action 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 action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by April 17, 2023. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a 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 relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. Dated: February 10, 2023. Martha Guzman Aceves, Regional Administrator, Region IX. Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows: PART 52—APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows: ■ Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. Subpart F—California 2. In § 52.220a, paragraph (c), Table 1 is amended by: ■ a. Adding an entry for ‘‘39012’’ after the heading ‘‘Health and Safety Code’’; ■ b. Adding a heading for ‘‘Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices), Article 4 (Diesel Particulate Matter Control Measures)’’ after the entry for ‘‘1978’’; and under the new heading, adding an entry for ‘‘2020 (paragraph (b) (‘‘Transit Agency’’), only)’’; ■ c. Adding a heading for ‘‘Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air ■ Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices), Article 4.3 (Innovative Clean Transit)’’ after the new entry for ‘‘2020 (paragraph (b) (‘‘Transit Agency’’), only)’’ and under the new heading, adding entries for ‘‘2023’’, ‘‘2023.1’’, ‘‘2023.2’’, ‘‘2023.3’’, ‘‘2023.4’’, ‘‘2023.5’’, ‘‘2023.6’’, ‘‘2023.7’’, ‘‘2023.8’’, ‘‘2023.9’’, ‘‘2023.10’’ and ‘‘2023.11’’; ■ d. Adding a heading for ‘‘Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 4 (Criteria for the Evaluation of Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices and Fuel Additives), Article 1 (Fuel Additives and Prototype Emission Control Devices)’’ after the entry for ‘‘2194’’; and under the new heading, adding an entry for ‘‘2208 (paragraph (c)(18) (‘‘Low-NOX engine’’), only)’’; ■ e. Adding a heading for ‘‘Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 1.5 (Air Basins and Air Quality Standards), Article 1 (Description of California Air Basins)’’ after the entry for ‘‘3394.6’’; and under the new heading, adding entries for ‘‘60100 (paragraph (e), only)’’ and ‘‘60113’’; and ■ f. Adding a heading for ‘‘Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 10 (Climate Change), Article 4 (Regulations to Achieve Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions), Subarticle 7 (Low Carbon Fuel Standard)’’ after the entry for ‘‘94701’’; and under the new heading, adding an entry for ‘‘95481 (paragraphs (a)(20) (‘‘Biomethane’’), (a)(27) (‘‘Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)’’), and (a)(123) (‘‘Renewable Hydrocarbon Diesel’’), only)’’. The additions read as follows: § 52.220a * Identification of plan—in part. * * (c) * * * * * TABLE 1—EPA-APPROVED STATUTES AND STATE REGULATIONS 1 State citation lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 * * 39012 ............................................ * * Air Basin ........................................ 41 CARB, Resolution 18–60, December 14, 2018, pages 8 and 9. Also, see CARB; Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Innovative Clean Transit VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 State effective date Title/subject Jkt 259001 1/1/1976 EPA approval date * [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. Regulation, a Replacement of the Fleet Rule for Public Agencies; Staff Report: Initial Statement of PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 Additional explanation * * Definition of ‘‘Air Basin’’ is relied upon by CARB’s Innovative Clean Transit regulation. Reasons; Date of Release: August 7, 2018, chapter VII (‘‘Environmental Justice’’). E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1 10057 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations TABLE 1—EPA-APPROVED STATUTES AND STATE REGULATIONS 1—Continued State citation * State effective date Title/subject * * * EPA approval date Additional explanation * * * Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices), Article 4 (Diesel Particulate Matter Control Measures) 2020 (paragraph (b) (‘‘Transit Agency’’), only). Purpose and Definitions of Diesel Particulate Matter Control Measures. 1/2/2010 [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. The definition of ‘‘Transit Agency’’ is relied upon by CARB’s Innovative Clean Transit regulation. Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices), Article 4.3 (Innovative Clean Transit) 2023 .............................................. Innovative Clean Transit Regulations Applicability and Scope. 10/1/2019 2023.1 ........................................... Zero-Emission Bus Requirements 10/1/2019 2023.2 ........................................... Compliance Option for Joint ZeroEmission Bus Groups. 10/1/2019 2023.3 ........................................... Zero-Emission Bus Bonus Credits 10/1/2019 2023.4 ........................................... Provisions for Exemption of a Zero-Emission Bus Purchase. 10/1/2019 2023.5 ........................................... Zero-Emission Mobility Option ...... 10/1/2019 2023.6 ........................................... Low-NOX Engine Purchase Requirements. 10/1/2019 2023.7 ........................................... Requirements to Use Renewable Fuels. 10/1/2019 2023.8 ........................................... Reporting Requirements for Transit Agencies. 10/1/2019 2023.9 ........................................... Record Keeping Requirements ..... 10/1/2019 2023.10 ......................................... Authority to Suspend, Revoke, or Modify. 10/1/2019 2023.11 ......................................... Severability .................................... 10/1/2019 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 * * * * [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. Submitted on February 13, 2020. * * * Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 4 (Criteria for the Evaluation of Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices and Fuel Additives), Article 1 (Fuel Additives and Prototype Emission Control Devices) 2208 (paragraph (c)(18) (‘‘LowNOX engine’’), only). VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Purpose, Applicability, Definitions, and Reference Documents. Jkt 259001 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 4700 10/16/2017 Sfmt 4700 [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM The definition of ‘‘Low-NOX engine’’ is relied upon by CARB’s Innovative Clean Transit regulation. 16FER1 10058 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2023 / Rules and Regulations TABLE 1—EPA-APPROVED STATUTES AND STATE REGULATIONS 1—Continued State citation * State effective date Title/subject * * EPA approval date * Additional explanation * * * Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 1.5 (Air Basins and Air Quality Standards), Article 1 (Description of California Air Basins) 60100 (paragraph (e), only) .......... North Coast Basin ......................... 7/5/1978 [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. 60113 ............................................ Lake Tahoe Air Basin ................... 1/30/1976 [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. * * * * Paragraph (e) of 17 CCR 60100 defines the Sonoma County portion of the North Coast Basin and is relied upon by CARB’s Innovative Clean Transit regulation. The definition of ‘‘Lake Tahoe Air Basin’’ is relied upon by CARB’s Innovative Clean Transit regulation. * * * Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 10 (Climate Change), Article 4 (Regulations to Achieve Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions), Subarticle 7 (Low Carbon Fuel Standard) 95481 (paragraphs (a)(20) (‘‘Biomethane’’), (a)(27) (‘‘Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)’’), and (a)(123) (‘‘Renewable Hydrocarbon Diesel’’), only). * Definitions and Acronyms ............. * * 1/4/2019 [Insert Federal Register citation], 2/16/ 2023. * Certain definitions in 17 CCR 95481 are relied upon by CARB’s Innovative Clean Transit regulation. * * * 1 Table 1 lists EPA-approved California statutes and regulations incorporated by reference in the applicable SIP. Table 2 of paragraph (c) lists approved California test procedures, test methods and specifications that are cited in certain regulations listed in table 1. Approved California statutes that are nonregulatory or quasi-regulatory are listed in paragraph (e). DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [FR Doc. 2023–03275 Filed 2–15–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 50 CFR Part 635 GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION [Docket No. 220919–0193; RTID 0648– XC720] Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; Closure of the General Category January Through March Fishery for 2023 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 48 CFR Part 2 Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. Correction SUMMARY: AGENCY: lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 [FAC 2023–02; Item III; Docket No. FAR– 2023–0052; Sequence No.1] In rule document 2023–02427, appearing on page 9739, in the issue of Tuesday, February 14, 2023, make the following correction: On page 9739, in the first column, in the DATES section, ‘‘February 14, 2023’’ should read ‘‘March 16, 2023’’. [FR Doc. C1–2023–02427 Filed 2–15–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 0099–10–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 centimeters) curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the January through March subquota time period. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and highly migratory species (HMS) Charter/ Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 fishing commercially for BFT. Fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ Headboat permitted vessels may tagand-release BFT of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-andrelease and tag-and-release programs. On June 1, 2023, the fishery will reopen automatically. DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, February 14, 2023, through March 31, 2023. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Redd, Jr., larry.redd@noaa.gov, 301–427–8503, Ann Williamson, ann.williamson@noaa.gov, 301–427– 8503, or Nicholas Velseboer, nicholas.velseboer@noaa.gov, 978–281– 9260. Atlantic HMS fisheries, including BFT fisheries, are managed under the authority of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and its amendments are implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 635. Section 635.27 divides the U.S. BFT SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\16FER1.SGM 16FER1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10049-10058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03275]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0503; FRL-9936-02-R9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Innovative Clean Transit 
Regulation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a revision to the California State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) consisting of State rules intended to reduce particulate 
matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions from 
public transit buses. The EPA is approving the SIP revision because the 
regulations meet the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act. 
Approval of the regulations as part of the California SIP makes them 
federally enforceable.

DATES: This rule is effective on March 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID Number EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0503. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 
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 https://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
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 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Buss, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4152 or by 
email at [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. Final Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On October 14, 2022 (87 FR 62337) (herein referred to as the 
proposed rule), the EPA proposed to approve a SIP revision submitted by 
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on February

[[Page 10050]]

13, 2020 consisting of certain state regulations (known as the 
Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation) adopted to transition 
California public transit bus fleets to zero-emission technologies by 
2040 and thereby to provide reductions in NOX and PM 
emissions to support regional air quality plans and improve air quality 
along public transit routes. Table 1 lists the specific sections of 
Title 13, Division 3, Chapter 1, Article 4.3 of the California Code of 
Regulations (CCR) that comprise the ICT regulation.

                                            Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Section No. 13                                      State        Submission
              Agency                     CCR                 Rule title           effective date       date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARB.............................            2023  Innovative Clean Transit           10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Regulations Applicability
                                                    and Scope.
CARB.............................          2023.1  Zero-Emission Bus                  10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Requirements.
CARB.............................          2023.2  Compliance Option for Joint        10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Zero-Emission Bus Groups.
CARB.............................          2023.3  Zero-Emission Bus Bonus            10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Credits.
CARB.............................          2023.4  Provisions for Exemption of a      10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Zero-Emission Bus Purchase.
CARB.............................          2023.5  Zero-Emission Mobility Option      10/01/2019      02/13/2020
CARB.............................          2023.6  Low-NOX Engine Purchase            10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Requirements.
CARB.............................          2023.7  Requirements to Use Renewable      10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Fuels.
CARB.............................          2023.8  Reporting Requirements for         10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    Transit Agencies.
CARB.............................          2023.9  Record Keeping Requirements..      10/01/2019      02/13/2020
CARB.............................         2023.10  Authority to Suspend, Revoke       10/01/2019      02/13/2020
                                                    or Modify.
CARB.............................         2023.11  Severability.................      10/01/2019      02/13/2020
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On August 11, 2022, CARB supplemented the February 13, 2020, SIP 
submission by submitting certain additional definitions codified in the 
CCR or California Health & Safety Code (CH&SC) that are relied upon in 
the ICT regulation. The specific definitions submitted on August 11, 
2022, are listed in table 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 
95481(a)(30) with a state effective date of 7/1/2020.
    \2\ Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 60013.
    \3\ Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 
95481(a)(130) with a state effective date of 7/1/2020.
    \4\ Erroneously listed in the proposed rule as 17 CCR 
95481(a)(22) with a state effective date of 7/1/2020.

                   Table 2--Submitted Additional Definitions Relied Upon by the ICT Regulation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       State
            Agency                 CCR or CH&SC section                     Title                 effective date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARB..........................  CH&SC 39012...............  Air Basin...........................      01/01/1976
CARB..........................  17 CCR 95481(a)(27) \1\...  Untitled but defines the term             01/04/2019
                                                             ``compressed natural gas (CNG)''.
CARB..........................  13 CCR 2208(c)(18)........  Untitled but defines the term ``Low-      10/16/2017
                                                             NOX engine''.
CARB..........................  17 CCR 60100(e)...........  Untitled but defines the Sonoma           07/05/1978
                                                             County portion of the North Coast
                                                             Basin.
CARB..........................  17 CCR 60113 \2\..........  Lake Tahoe Air Basin................      01/30/1976
CARB..........................  17 CCR 95481(a)(123) \3\..  Untitled but defines the term             01/04/2019
                                                             ``Renewable hydrocarbon diesel''.
CARB..........................  17 CCR 95481(a)(20) \4\...  Untitled but defines the term             01/04/2019
                                                             ``Biomethane''.
CARB..........................  13 CCR 2020(b)............  Definitions.........................      01/02/2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On pages 62339-62341 of our proposed rule, we described how we 
evaluated the ICT regulation and how we determined that the regulation 
meets all applicable CAA requirements. In short, we determined that:
     CARB provided adequate public notice of a comment period 
and a hearing on the draft ICT regulation prior to adoption and 
submission to the EPA, and thereby complied with the applicable 
procedural requirements for SIP revisions under the CAA section 110(l) 
and 40 CFR 51.102;
     CARB has adequate legal authority to implement the ICT 
regulation because state law so provides; and because the requirements 
relate to transit bus purchases directed at public transit agencies 
(i.e., not private fleet operators), the regulations are not preempted 
under the CAA; and because CARB is not otherwise prohibited by any 
provision of federal or state law from carrying out the regulation;
     The regulation includes all of the elements necessary to 
provide for practical enforceability, including clear applicability and 
exemption provisions, requirements that are sufficiently specific so 
that the persons affected by the regulation are fairly on notice as to 
what the requirements and related compliance dates are, and 
recordkeeping and reporting provisions, and thereby establish an 
enforceable control measure as required under CAA section 110(a)(2)(A);
     The ICT regulation is an outgrowth of a committal measure 
for further deployment of zero-emission bus (ZEB) technologies in the 
public transit sector that was adopted by CARB in the 2016 State SIP 
Strategy, and the ICT regulation would achieve incremental emissions 
reductions needed to attain the NAAQS, particularly in the South Coast 
and San Joaquin Valley air quality planning areas. Thus, we found that 
the ICT regulation would not interfere with reasonable further progress 
(RFP), attainment or any other applicable CAA requirement for the 
purposes of CAA section 110(l); and
     The ICT regulation would require only one additional 
person-year for developing a reporting system and updating fleet 
information prior to initial reporting in 2020, assisting transit 
agencies with compliance and

[[Page 10051]]

annual reporting, and thus CARB has adequate personnel and funding to 
carry out the ICT regulation.
    For additional detail on the SIP submission itself, and our 
evaluation, please see our proposed rule.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed rule provided for a 30-day comment period. The 
EPA received a total of seven comment letters in response to the 
proposed rule. Four of the comment letters express general support for 
our proposed action. The three other comment letters include objections 
to our proposed action: (1) a comment letter from the Center for 
Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ); \5\ (2) a comment 
letter from the American Fuel & Petroleum Manufacturers (AFPM); and (3) 
a comment letter from an individual member of the public. All the 
comments letters can be found in the docket for this rulemaking. In the 
paragraphs below, we summarize the comments and provide responses for 
the three comment letters that include objections to our proposed 
action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The letter from CCAEJ included six exhibits: American Lung 
Association's State of the Air 2022 report; Progress Report and 
Technical Submittal for the 2012 PM2.5 Standard San 
Joaquin Valley (citing Appendix L, Emissions Inventory Methods and 
Results for the Proposed Innovative Clean Transit Regulation) 
(October 19, 2021); Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) Regulation Fact 
Sheet; CARB, Board Meeting, September 22, 2022, Board Item Summary; 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Comprehensive Review of 
California's Innovated Clean Transit Regulation: Phase 1 Summary 
Report; and CARB, Board Meeting, September 22, 2022, transcript.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CCAEJ Comment #1: CCAEJ submits these comments in support of the 
EPA's proposed approval of the ICT regulation. CCAEJ strongly supports 
ZEBs as an air quality and environmental justice solution in the Inland 
Empire and in other communities. However, a recent ICT regulation 
implementation update disclosed the financial challenges facing transit 
agencies to fully transition to 100 percent ZEBs as required by the 
regulation.
    CCAEJ has concerns that transit agencies will seek to avoid the 
transition to ZEBs by claiming financial infeasibility. Accordingly, 
CCAEJ calls on the EPA to partially disapprove the ICT regulation due 
to the unenforceability of the exemption for ``financial hardship.'' 
The Clean Air Act requires that measures are enforceable, and the EPA 
should require CARB to amend the regulation to ensure enforceability. 
The financial hardship exemption at 13 Cal. Code Regs. Sec.  
2023.4(c)(5) lacks enforceability. The exemption provision requires the 
CARB Executive Officer to grant a transit agency an exemption if the 
agency meets certain criteria. 13 Cal. Code Regs. Sec.  2023.4(a). A 
transit agency may claim the financial hardship exemption request when 
the transit agency adopts a resolution declaring a ``fiscal 
emergency.'' Cal. Code Reg. Sec.  2023.4(c)(5)(B)(1). This exemption is 
not enforceable. A transit agency can claim the exemption by adopting 
nothing more than a resolution declaring a ``fiscal emergency.'' 13 
Cal. Code Regs. Sec.  2023.4(c)(5)(B)(1). However, the ICT regulation 
does not define ``fiscal emergency.'' See 13 Cal. Code Regs. Sec.  
2023(b). And CARB has not submitted any other regulations that define 
``fiscal emergency'' to the EPA for approval into the SIP. See 87 FR at 
62338 and Table 2. The ICT regulation further requires no supporting 
documentation for the resolution to justify the undefined ``fiscal 
emergency.'' See 13 Cal. Code Regs. Sec.  2023.4(c)(5)(B)(1). A transit 
agency, relying on this provision, could adopt a simple resolution 
finding a fiscal emergency without any supporting documentation and 
without reference to any enforceable standard for what constitutes a 
``fiscal emergency.'' This provision begs for abuse and could allow 
transit agencies to avoid the regulation's purchase mandate for claimed 
fiscal emergencies. Without a defined standard and supporting 
documentation, citizens and the EPA will be unable to hold transit 
agencies accountable for their duty to purchase ZEBs.
    EPA response to CCAEJ Comment #1: The EPA does not have the 
authority to disapprove the exemption for ``financial hardship'' but 
approve the rest of the ICT regulation because the exemption is not 
severable from the rest of the regulation, and because the EPA cannot 
render a SIP more stringent than intended by the state through a 
partial SIP approval.\6\ This principle was first established in the 
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal's decision in Bethlehem Steel, a case 
in which the EPA approved a state opacity limitation but disapproved 
the allowance for violations of the limitation for a certain number of 
minutes within a 24-hour period.\7\ The court held that the EPA cannot, 
in the guise of a partial approval, remove words of limitation and 
thereby make the regulation stricter than the state had intended.\8\ If 
the EPA determines that a stricter rule is required, then the CAA 
provides that the EPA must disapprove the state regulation and 
promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) in its place. In this 
instance, too, the EPA is not authorized to approve the ICT regulation 
but disapprove the financial hardship exemption included therein 
because doing so would make the regulation stricter than the state had 
intended. Moreover, we believe the ICT regulation need not be made 
stricter by removal of this exemption to meet applicable CAA 
requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Bethlehem Steel Corp. v. Gorsuch, 742 F.2d 1028, 1036 (7th 
Cir. 1984) (Bethlehem Steel).
    \7\ Id, at 1032.
    \8\ Id., at 1036.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, we do not view the ``financial hardship'' exemption as 
making the ICT regulation unenforceable. We agree that the provision 
does not have a specific definition for the term ``fiscal emergency,'' 
but the EPA believes that the requirements for public process and 
involvement will serve to assure that a public transit agency would not 
assert a fiscal emergency inappropriately or for purposes of invoking 
the exemption except when actually necessary. With respect to the 
specific provisions regarding fiscal emergencies, we note that the ICT 
regulation specifies that, to claim the exemption, a transit agency 
would need to declare a fiscal emergency under a resolution by a 
transit agency's governing body following a public hearing.\9\ 
Moreover, under California law, a public hearing conducted by a public 
transit agency to consider declaration of a fiscal emergency will be 
governed by the Brown Act, which as a general matter requires 
California public agencies to conduct their business publicly.\10\ 
Under the Brown Act, such a hearing will be subject to minimum 
requirements regarding posting of notice of the hearing, posting of 
agendas and providing opportunities for public comment.\11\ As such, 
the public will have knowledge of, and the opportunity to participate 
in, the decision by a transit agency to declare a fiscal emergency. 
Given the procedure safeguards established in the Brown Act, we do not 
expect public transit agencies to abuse the financial hardship 
exemption to unduly delay the process under the ICT regulation for full 
transition to zero-emission buses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ 13 CCR 2023.4(c)(5).
    \10\ Title 5, division 2, part 1, chapter 9 of the California 
Government Code. The Brown Act is referred to as one of the State of 
California's ``sunshine'' laws.
    \11\ California Government Code sections 54954(a) (meeting 
notice), 54954.2(a) (meeting agenda), and 54954.3(a) (public comment 
opportunity).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    However, while, we do not view the financial hardship exemption as 
making the ICT regulation unenforceable, we do

[[Page 10052]]

agree that the exemption, if granted frequently, could delay the 
expected schedule for full transition to ZEBs and delay the timing of 
the associated emissions reductions. As discussed further below in the 
EPA response to CCAEJ Comment #2, we expect that CARB will take into 
account the actual transition to ZEBs and related emissions reductions 
in future updates to the EMFAC model, and the EPA will assess the 
accuracy of emissions projections reflecting emissions reductions from 
the ICT regulation when the Agency takes action on SIP submissions of 
regional air quality plans.
    CCAEJ Comment #2: Given several exemptions provided in the ICT 
regulation, the financial challenges of implementation, and CARB's 
claim that the regulation will achieve zero NOX and 
PM2.5 emissions, the EPA should not grant full SIP credit. 
CARB has claimed significant reductions from the ICT regulation, 
including 100% reductions by 2045. The EPA should only grant partial 
SIP credit because the regulation allows for transit agencies to claim 
several exemptions and continue to purchase internal combustion engine 
buses. A transit agency may claim exemptions for delays in ZEB 
infrastructure, when ZEBs cannot meet daily mileage needs, when ZEBs do 
not have adequate gradeability performance, when a ZEB for the 
applicable weight class is not available, and for financial hardship 
provided the agency demonstrates that the agency cannot offset the 
initial capital costs of ZEBs and associated infrastructure. Given 
these offramps for transit agencies, and the recent implementation 
update showing the substantial financial challenges transit agencies 
face with implementation beyond the initial 25 percent target, the EPA 
should decline to grant full SIP credit.
    EPA response to CCAEJ Comment #2: While, in the proposed rule, the 
EPA acknowledged CARB's estimates for the reductions associated with 
the ICT regulation,\12\ the EPA is not approving a specific numerical 
credit for the ICT regulation in this rulemaking. The emissions 
reductions associated with the ICT regulation are reflected in the most 
recently-approved version of CARB's on-road motor vehicle emissions 
model, EMFAC2021, and in the EPA-approved adjustment factors for the 
previous version of the model, EMFAC2017.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ 87 FR 62337, at 62338-62339.
    \13\ 87 FR 68483 (November 15, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CARB updates its EMFAC model every three or four years and each 
successive version reflects update vehicle mixes and vehicle types and 
also changes in circumstances that affect assumptions regarding 
emissions reductions from regulatory initiatives such as the ICT 
regulation. Thus, if the transition to ZEBs in public transit fleets 
proves to be slower than assumed by EMFAC2021 and the adjustment 
factors to EMFAC2017, then CARB will take that circumstance into 
account in updating the model. The EPA, for its part, will assess the 
accuracy of emissions projections reflecting emissions reductions from 
the ICT regulation when the Agency takes action on SIP submissions, 
such as RFP and attainment demonstrations, that rely on emissions 
estimates made using EMFAC2021 or EMFAC2017 (with the adjustment 
factors).
    Moreover, at this time, we do not find that CARB's emission 
reduction projections for the transition to zero emission buses under 
the ICT regulation are overly optimistic. First, at the CARB Board 
hearing on September 22, 2022, CARB reported that, based on the 
reported data for year 2021, California transit agencies collectively 
have 510 zero-emission buses in fleet and an addition 424 ZEBs on 
order, which is a total increase of over 250 zero-emission buses 
compared to year 2020.\14\ Second, CARB reports that funding has been 
awarded for nearly 750 additional zero-emission buses to be 
ordered.\15\ When the ICT regulation was proposed, CARB had estimated 
that, by 2027, approximately 1,350 zero-emission bus purchases would be 
required to comply with the regulation,\16\ but that number of bus 
purchases has already been surpassed when taking into account the 
number of zero-emission buses in service, or on order, or for which 
funding has been awarded. As such, we expect the anticipated emissions 
reductions estimated by CARB due to the ICT regulation and reflected in 
EMFAC to be achieved at least through the end of this decade. Beyond 
2030, there is greater uncertainty as to the emissions reductions from 
the ICT regulation, but as noted above, future updates to the EMFAC 
model will take into account updated forecasts for the transition to 
zero-emission buses by the various public transit agencies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ CARB, Board Meeting, September 22, 2022, transcript, page 
19.
    \15\ Email communication, Pippin Brehler, Senior Attorney, CARB, 
to Jefferson Wehling, EPA Region IX, December 15, 2022.
    \16\ CARB; Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Innovative 
Clean Transit Regulation, a Replacement of the Fleet Rule for Public 
Agencies; Staff Report: Initial Statement of Reasons; Date of 
Release: August 7, 2018, Table VIII-10 on page VIII-24.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    AFPM Comment #1: The Clean Air Act provides states with a limited 
authority to establish emissions standards for government-owned fleets; 
however, that authority is constrained by the statute. In litigation 
challenging an earlier set of fleet regulations in California,\17\ the 
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals explained the limitations to the 
provisions of CAA section 209(a). Although states are free to set more 
stringent standards for state-owned fleets, the ICT regulation fails to 
respect these statutory limits. The ICT regulation that the EPA is 
proposing to approve as part of the California SIP are not emissions 
standards because they are not performance standards, but rather a 
mandate to purchase an increasing percentage of specific technologies, 
and only vehicles powered by electricity or fuel cells qualify. The 
regulation is not applied uniformly to all vehicles in the class and, 
therefore, is not a standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ AFPM cites Engine Mfrs. Ass'n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. 
Dist., 498 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2007) (referred to herein by its full 
name or as EMA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA response to AFPM Comment #1: States do not derive their 
authority to set emission standards under the CAA, rather they do so 
pursuant to their respective state law authority. However, CAA section 
209(a) prohibits states and political subdivisions from adopting or 
attempting to enforce any standard relating to the control of emissions 
from new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines. As set forth in 
AFPM Comment #3 and EPA's response, the ICT regulation is an emission 
standard that would generally be preempted by section 209(a). The EMA 
decision noted by AFPM was the result of remand from the United States 
Supreme Court to the United States District Court and then on appeal to 
the Ninth Circuit.\18\ The

[[Page 10053]]

Supreme Court noted: ``The criteria referred to in Sec.  209(a) relate 
to the emission characteristics of a vehicle or engine. To meet them 
the vehicle or engine must not emit more than a certain amount of a 
given pollutant, must be equipped with a certain type of pollution-
control device, or must have some other design feature related to the 
control of emissions. This interpretation is consistent with the use of 
`standard' throughout Title II of the CAA (which governs emissions from 
moving sources) to denote requirements such as numerical emission 
levels with which vehicles or engines must comply, e.g., 42 U.S.C. 
7521(a)(3)(B)(ii), or emission-control technology with which they must 
be equipped, e.g., 42 U.S.C. 7521(a)(6).'' \19\ The EPA need not decide 
whether CARB's ICT zero-emission technology requirements are 
performance requirements or design technology requirements, as either 
relates to the emission characteristics of the vehicle and is designed 
to address emissions from the vehicle. Further, the commenter provides 
no authority for the claim that a requirement is only a ``standard'' if 
it applies uniformly. As addressed by the Supreme Court in Engine Mfrs. 
Ass'n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist, a set of rules that require a 
specific emission performance be met (among a broader list of emission-
certified vehicles) by fleet purchasers will still be considered a 
standard under section 209(a).\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ In Engine Mfrs. Ass'n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 
541 U.S. 246 (2004), the Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision 
by the Ninth Circuit affirming a District Court ruling that upheld 
certain SCAQMD fleet rules from a preemption challenge, and in doing 
so, rejected the argument that the Rules ``escape[d] pre-emption 
under Sec.  209(a) . . . because they address the purchase of 
vehicles, rather than their manufacture or sale.'' Id. However, the 
Supreme Court did not decide whether the SCAQMD fleet rules were 
actually preempted. See id. at 258. The Court stated that it was 
``likely that at least certain aspects of the Fleet Rules are 
preempted,'' but allowed that ``[i]t does not necessarily follow . . 
. that the Fleet Rules are pre-empted in toto.'' Id. On remand in 
the District Court in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision, the 
District Court concluded that the SCAQMD fleet rules were not 
preempted as applied to state and local governmental entities, and 
in the EMA case cited by AFPM, the Ninth Circuit agreed, stating 
that ``the Clean Air Act does not preempt the Fleet Rules insofar as 
they direct the procurement behavior of state and local governmental 
entities.'' Engine Mfrs. Ass'n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist, 
498 F.3d 1031, 1039 (9th Cir. 2007).
    \19\ Engine Mfrs. Ass'n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 
U.S. 246, 253 (2004).
    \20\ Id., at 250 and footnote 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Lastly, we acknowledge that, in our proposed rule on page 62340, we 
stated that, in adopting the ICT regulation, CARB has not adopted or 
attempted to enforce a ``standard'' relating to the control of 
emissions from new motor vehicles for the purposes of CAA section 
209(a). However, in so stating, we did not mean that the ICT regulation 
does not establish an emission standard in the sense considered 
preempted by the Supreme Court, but rather, that, because the 
requirements only apply to purchases by public entities, the regulation 
is not preempted under CAA section 209(a). This is discussed further in 
AFPM Comment #3 and EPA's response thereto.
    AFPM Comment #2: In the EMA case, the Ninth Circuit found ``nothing 
to indicate a congressional intent to bar states from choosing to use 
their own money to acquire or use vehicles that exceed the federal 
standards.'' However, the California standards do not exceed federal 
standards. California (and the EPA) has not shown that the ICT 
standards will reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas, PM2.5, or 
NOX emissions. California has not conducted any analysis 
that compares the costs and benefits of alternative options, such as 
using the same amount of funding on new diesel or CNG busses that would 
speed progress towards NAAQS attainment compared to EV purchase 
requirements and may yield more significant reductions in life-cycle 
greenhouse gas. Such an analysis is particularly relevant because 
electric buses routinely do not operate on long bus routes and travel 
fewer miles per bus compared to diesel and CNG busses. California also 
needs to evaluate the significant increase in PM2.5 
emissions associated with the higher tire wear from heavier electric 
buses.
    EPA response to AFPM Comment #2: First, we disagree that the ICT 
regulation does not exceed federal standards. The ICT regulation 
establishes more stringent numerical emission requirements that are 
beyond those established under other state or federal regulations 
applicable to emissions from buses.\21\ In other words, the 
requirements under the ICT regulation do not supplant or replace any 
existing emission control requirements applicable to buses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ 87 FR at 62340.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Second, we evaluate emissions impacts associated with SIP 
revisions, such as the ICT regulation, under CAA section 110(l), which 
prohibits EPA approval of SIP revisions that would interfere with any 
applicable requirement concerning attainment or RFP or any other 
applicable requirement of the CAA. In this regard, we note that CARB 
conducted an environmental analysis of the proposed ICT regulation that 
evaluated the emissions changes under the proposed regulations relative 
to several alternative scenarios included the ``Business-as-Usual'' 
(BAU) scenario. The BAU scenario represents the projected emission 
reductions under the current level of compliance with the Fleet Rule 
for Transit Agencies.\22\ Relative to the BAU scenario, CARB concluded 
that the tailpipe emissions of NOX and PM2.5 
would be lower under the proposed ICT regulation \23\ as would well-to-
wheel greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.\24\ CARB's environmental analysis 
acknowledges that the proposed ICT regulation would place additional 
demand on the existing electricity grid; however; the ICT regulation 
would be implemented in conjunction with other statewide regulatory 
programs aimed at improving the State's per capita energy consumption, 
decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, and increasing reliance of 
renewable energy sources.\25\ In light of CARB's environmental 
analysis, we find sufficient evidence that the ICT regulation would 
result in net emissions reductions of NOX and 
PM2.5, and that, as such, approval of the ICT regulation as 
a SIP revision would not interfere with attainment or RFP of any NAAQS, 
or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. Moreover, as noted in 
the proposed rule,\26\ the ICT regulation is an outgrowth of a 
committal measure for further deployment of zero-emission bus 
technologies in the public transit sector that was adopted by CARB in 
the 2016 State SIP Strategy, and for that reason also, we find that the 
ICT regulation is consistent with CAA section 110(l) and would not 
interfere with attainment, RFP or any other applicable requirement of 
the CAA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ As described on page 62338 if the proposed rule, CARB 
originally adopted the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies in 2000, and 
amended the rule in 2004 and 2006. Under the Fleet Rule for Transit 
Agencies, public transit agencies operating urban bus fleets were 
required to select either the diesel bus path or the alternative-
fuel bus path. The diesel bus path required retrofitting existing 
buses with diesel particulate filters, while transit agencies 
utilizing the alternative-fuel path had to ensure that eighty-five 
percent of urban bus purchases were alternative fueled buses. In the 
2006 amendment to the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies, there was a 
15 percent ZEB purchase requirement for larger transit agencies with 
more than 200 urban buses to purchase ZEBs starting in 2011.
    \23\ CARB, Final Environmental Analysis for the Proposed 
Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, A Replacement to the Fleet Rule 
for Transit Agencies, Date of Release: December 7, 2018, pages 33-
37.
    \24\ Id., pages 53-55.
    \25\ Id., page 48.
    \26\ Proposed rule, page 62340.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Third, California is not obligated to conduct any analysis that 
compares the costs and benefits of alternative options, such as using 
the same amount of funding on new diesel or CNG busses. Such 
considerations are not relevant to the EPA's review of SIP submissions 
under CAA section 110. The EPA's role is to review and approve state 
choices if they meet applicable CAA requirements. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k) 
and 40 CFR 52.02(a); see also Union Elec. Co. v. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 
256-266 (1976) (holding that the EPA may not disapprove a state 
implementation plan that meets the requirements of CAA section 
110(a)(2) on the basis of technological or economic infeasibility). In 
this instance, perhaps the state could have chosen an alternative to 
the gradual transition to a zero-emissions fleet for public transit 
buses, but the approach the state ultimately selected through adoption 
of the ICT regulation meets all applicable CAA requirements, and that 
is a sufficient basis for the EPA

[[Page 10054]]

to approve the ICT regulation as a SIP revision under CAA section 110.
    Lastly, with respect to PM emissions from tire wear, we first note 
that tire wear is caused by contact between tires and the road surface, 
with the rate of tire wear dependent on a variety of factors, including 
the roughness of the road surface; activity factors such as route and 
style of driving, and seasonal influences; and vehicle characteristics, 
such as weight, suspension, steering geometry, and tire material and 
design.\27\ Moreover, most of the PM emissions from tire wear are 
coarse particles, i.e., larger than particles considered 
PM10 or PM2.5. The EPA estimates that 
approximately 8.0 percent and 1.2 percent of tire wear PM emissions are 
emitted as PM10 and PM2.5, respectively.\28\ 
While the various factors that influence tire wear are known, the 
current state of knowledge does not provide a basis to quantify the 
relationship between tire wear and vehicle weight within the various 
regulatory classes of vehicles. As such, the EPA's most recent version 
of the Agency's mobile source estimation model, MOVES3,\29\ applies the 
same tire wear emission rate for all vehicle fuel types (gasoline, 
diesel, flex-fuel, CNG or electric) within a MOVES regulatory 
class.\30\ Thus, while the hypothetical incremental increase in PM 
emissions from heavier buses (due to the weight of batteries) as 
suggested by AFPM cannot reasonably be quantified, there is no evidence 
(and AFPM provides no evidence) to suggest that the incremental 
increase would result in PM emissions in great enough quantities to 
offset the documented decrease in tailpipe PM2.5 
emissions.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, ``Brake and 
Tire Wear Emissions from Onroad Vehicles in MOVES3,'' EPA-420-R-20-
014, November 2020, page 22.
    \28\ Id., page 29.
    \29\ The EPA published the MOVES3 notice of availability at 86 
FR 1106 (January 7, 2021).
    \30\ EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, ``Brake and 
Tire Wear Emissions from Onroad Vehicles in MOVES3,'' EPA-420-R-20-
014, November 2020, page 29.
    \31\ See California Air Resources Board, Brake & Tire Wear 
Emissions, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/brake-tire-wear-emissions (last visited Dec. 22, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    AFPM Comment #3: California's new rule is a purchase mandate for 
which California has not sought a waiver from the EPA, as required 
prior to their inclusion in a SIP submittal to the EPA. In the above-
referenced litigation, upon its remand to the 9th Circuit, the Supreme 
Court rejected California's argument that their rules did not need an 
EPA waiver and ``escape[d] pre-emption under Sec.  209(a) . . . because 
they address the purchase of vehicles, rather than their manufacture or 
sale.'' The Court held that ``standard-enforcement efforts that are 
proscribed by Sec.  209 can be directed to manufacturers or 
purchasers.'' Engine Mfrs. Assn. v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 
541 U.S. 246 (2004). The Court remanded the case back to the 9th 
Circuit for further proceedings consistent with its opinion, which 
stated that it is ``likely that at least certain aspects of the Fleet 
Rules are preempted.''
    The reason that the California rules do not qualify as being 
excluded from the waiver requirements is that they are not a ``state 
proprietary action.'' Such an exception can only be applied to the 
efficient procurement of needed goods and services that also lack the 
effect of broader social regulation. On the contrary, California's 
rules mandate the inefficient procurement of goods for the purpose of 
implementing broader social regulation. The inefficiency of 
California's rule is clear because if California instead required the 
same amount of money to be invested in more cost-effective and proven 
bus technology, such as new diesel buses and new CNG buses, instead of 
electric buses and all of the associated costs to install and 
interconnect charging equipment, California would achieve greater 
emission reductions and achieve the NAAQS in a more expeditious 
timeframe than its so-called `Clean Transit' regulations in the 
proposed SIP. California must seek a waiver, and must receive approval 
from the EPA, prior to including its bus purchase mandates in a SIP 
submittal to the EPA.
    EPA response to AFPM Comment #3: In this comment, AFPM refers to a 
Ninth Circuit decision, Engine Mfrs. Assn. v. S. Coast Air Quality 
Mgmt. Dist., 498 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2007) (referred to herein by its 
full name or as EMA), issued in the wake of the Supreme Court's 
decision in Engine Mfrs. Assn. v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 
U.S. 246 (2004). In EMA, the Ninth Circuit held that the market 
participant doctrine applied to preemption under CAA section 209(a) and 
that fleet rules governing procurement decisions by state and local 
governments fell within scope of market participant doctrine and thus 
were saved from CAA preemption.\32\ The ICT regulation is not subject 
to preemption under CAA section 209(a), and CARB does not need a waiver 
under CAA section 209(b) for the ICT regulation to enforce the 
regulation. Further, nothing in CAA section 209(a) could be read as 
barring states from using their purchasing power for motor vehicles 
with more stringent standards than federal standards. Such a reading 
``would also run afoul of [CAA section 116's] express reservation to 
the states of primary authority over and responsibility for controlling 
air pollution.'' \33\ In any event, the ICT regulation is analogous to 
the fleet rules that were the subject of the EMA decision to the extent 
they apply to fleets of vehicles purchased by the government for 
government purposes, which in this case is public transit services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ EMA, at 1044, 1048.
    \33\ Id., at 1043.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    APFM counters that the ICT regulation does not qualify as an 
exception to CAA section 209(a) preemption under the market participant 
doctrine because the ``exception can only be applied to the efficient 
procurement of needed goods and services that also lack the effect of 
broader social regulation,'' and ``California's rules mandate the 
inefficient procurement of goods for the purpose of implementing 
broader social regulation.'' However, APFM's formulation of the 
exception under the market participant doctrine conflates the two 
different circumstances cited by the Ninth Circuit in EMA under which 
state action qualifies as ``proprietary,'' and thus saved from 
preemption, as opposed to ``regulatory,'' and thus subject to 
preemption.\34\ In the first circumstance, state action is considered 
proprietary where the action essentially reflects the governmental 
entity's own interest in its efficient procurement of needed goods and 
services, as measured by comparison with the typical behavior of 
private parties in similar circumstances.\35\ Under these 
circumstances, the market participant doctrine protects comprehensive 
state policies from preemption so long as the type of state action is 
essentially proprietary.\36\ Under the second circumstance, state 
action is considered proprietary where the state action may not reflect 
the efficient procurement of needed good and services but is so limited 
in scope as to lack to effect of broader social regulation.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ Id., at 1041.
    \35\ Id.
    \36\ Id.
    \37\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In this instance, we find that the state action through the ICT 
regulation is proprietary in that it reflects the State of California's 
own interest in the efficient procurement of needed goods and services. 
Engine Mfrs. Assn v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 498 F.3d 1031,

[[Page 10055]]

1046 (9th Cir. 2007) (``That a state or local governmental entity may 
have policy goals that it seeks to further through its participation in 
the market does not preclude the doctrine's application, so long as the 
action in question is the state's own market participation.'') Like the 
fleet rules that were the subject of EMA, one purpose of the ICT 
regulation is to reduce air pollution, and ``efficient procurement'' 
must be viewed with an eye toward ``procurement that serves the state's 
purposes--which may include purposes other than saving money--just as 
private entities serve their purposes by taking into account factors 
other than price in their procurement decisions.'' \38\ In the case of 
the ICT regulation, the purposes include more than just reducing air 
pollution, and include reducing energy consumption and leading zero-
emissions technology in the heavy-duty vehicle sector.\39\ Engine Mfrs. 
Assn v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 498 F.3d 1031, 1046 (9th Cir. 
2007) (`` `Efficient' does not merely mean `cheap.' In context, 
`efficient procurement' means procurement that serves the state's 
purposes--which may include purposes other than saving money--just as 
private entities serve their purposes by taking into account factors 
other than price in their procurement decisions.'') In light of these 
state purposes, the ICT regulation's requirement for purchase of zero-
emission buses, rather than diesel buses or CNG buses, can properly be 
characterized as ``efficient procurement'' of needed goods and services 
and thus is not preempted under CAA section 209(a) under the market 
participant doctrine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ Id., at 1046.
    \39\ CARB, Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Innovative 
Clean Transit Regulation, A Replacement of the Fleet Rule for 
Transit Agencies, Staff Report: Initial Statement of Reasons, Date 
of Release: August 7, 2018, pages II-1--II-6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Individual Member of the Public Comment #1: While generally 
supportive, the commenter remains concerned about whether the reduction 
in emissions from buses will increase costs to run the buses.
    EPA response to Individual Member of the Public Comment #1: In 
developing the ICT regulation, CARB too was concerned about the 
potential for increased costs to transit agencies affecting transit 
service, and thus, included in the regulation a number of provisions 
intended to provide the transit agencies with flexibility in meeting 
the requirements of the regulation and reduce the potential for impacts 
to transit service. Among the built-in flexibilities are a phase-in 
schedule and exemptions that would be granted by CARB under certain 
specific circumstances. The exemptions are broadly available, and the 
criteria for granting them are clearly set forth in the regulatory 
text.

III. Final Action

    Under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA, and for the reasons given 
above, we are taking final action to approve a SIP revision submitted 
by CARB on February 3, 2020 that includes certain sections of title 13 
of the California Code of Regulations that comprise the Innovative 
Clean Transit regulation and that was supplemented by CARB on August 
11, 2022 with certain definitions relied upon by the regulation. Tables 
1 and 2 above list the regulations and related supplemental definitions 
we are approving in this action. We are approving the SIP revision 
because the regulation fulfills all relevant CAA requirements. This 
final action incorporates by reference the regulation and related 
supplemental definitions into the federally enforceable SIP for the 
State of California.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of one 
section of the California Health and Safety Code and certain sections 
of titles 13 and 17 of the California Code of Regulations described in 
the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below which pertain to the 
transition of California public transit bus fleets to zero-emission 
technologies by 2040. Therefore, these materials have been approved by 
the EPA for inclusion in the State implementation plan, have been 
incorporated by reference by the EPA into that plan, are fully 
federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the 
effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be 
incorporated by reference by the Director of the Federal Register in 
the next update to the SIP compilation.\40\ The EPA has made, and will 
continue to make, these materials generally available through https://www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region IX Office (please contact 
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \40\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, 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 CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law as meeting federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this 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);
     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 CAA; and
    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 proposed 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).
    Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629 (February 16, 1994)) establishes 
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision 
directs

[[Page 10056]]

federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by 
law, to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying 
and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse 
human health effects of their programs, policies, and activities on 
minority populations and low-income populations in the United States. 
The EPA notes that, in adopting the ICT regulation, the state found 
that it furthers state environmental justice goals by transitioning to 
clean transportation modes in low-income and disadvantaged communities 
and does not disproportionately impact people of any race, culture, or 
income.\41\ We agree that, by transitioning to clean transportation 
modes in low-income and disadvantaged communities, the ICT regulation 
will serve to reduce adverse human health effects in all communities 
and thereby help to achieve environmental justice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ CARB, Resolution 18-60, December 14, 2018, pages 8 and 9. 
Also, see CARB; Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Innovative 
Clean Transit Regulation, a Replacement of the Fleet Rule for Public 
Agencies; Staff Report: Initial Statement of Reasons; Date of 
Release: August 7, 2018, chapter VII (``Environmental Justice'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. The EPA will submit a report containing this action 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 action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by April 17, 2023. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of 
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a 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 relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: February 10, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended 
as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart F--California

0
2. In Sec.  52.220a, paragraph (c), Table 1 is amended by:
0
a. Adding an entry for ``39012'' after the heading ``Health and Safety 
Code'';
0
b. Adding a heading for ``Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air 
Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices), 
Article 4 (Diesel Particulate Matter Control Measures)'' after the 
entry for ``1978''; and under the new heading, adding an entry for 
``2020 (paragraph (b) (``Transit Agency''), only)'';
0
c. Adding a heading for ``Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air 
Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices), 
Article 4.3 (Innovative Clean Transit)'' after the new entry for ``2020 
(paragraph (b) (``Transit Agency''), only)'' and under the new heading, 
adding entries for ``2023'', ``2023.1'', ``2023.2'', ``2023.3'', 
``2023.4'', ``2023.5'', ``2023.6'', ``2023.7'', ``2023.8'', ``2023.9'', 
``2023.10'' and ``2023.11'';
0
d. Adding a heading for ``Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air 
Resources Board), Chapter 4 (Criteria for the Evaluation of Motor 
Vehicle Pollution Control Devices and Fuel Additives), Article 1 (Fuel 
Additives and Prototype Emission Control Devices)'' after the entry for 
``2194''; and under the new heading, adding an entry for ``2208 
(paragraph (c)(18) (``Low-NOX engine''), only)'';
0
e. Adding a heading for ``Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air 
Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 1.5 (Air Basins 
and Air Quality Standards), Article 1 (Description of California Air 
Basins)'' after the entry for ``3394.6''; and under the new heading, 
adding entries for ``60100 (paragraph (e), only)'' and ``60113''; and
0
f. Adding a heading for ``Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air 
Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 10 (Climate 
Change), Article 4 (Regulations to Achieve Greenhouse Gas Emission 
Reductions), Subarticle 7 (Low Carbon Fuel Standard)'' after the entry 
for ``94701''; and under the new heading, adding an entry for ``95481 
(paragraphs (a)(20) (``Biomethane''), (a)(27) (``Compressed Natural Gas 
(CNG)''), and (a)(123) (``Renewable Hydrocarbon Diesel''), only)''.
    The additions read as follows:


Sec.  52.220a   Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                            Table 1--EPA-Approved Statutes and State Regulations \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             State                                Additional
          State citation              Title/subject     effective date   EPA approval date       explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
39012............................  Air Basin..........        1/1/1976  [Insert Federal      Definition of ``Air
                                                                         Register             Basin'' is relied
                                                                         citation], 2/16/     upon by CARB's
                                                                         2023.                Innovative Clean
                                                                                              Transit
                                                                                              regulation.
 

[[Page 10057]]

 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control
                        Devices), Article 4 (Diesel Particulate Matter Control Measures)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020 (paragraph (b) (``Transit     Purpose and                1/2/2010  [Insert Federal      The definition of
 Agency''), only).                  Definitions of                       Register             ``Transit Agency''
                                    Diesel Particulate                   citation], 2/16/     is relied upon by
                                    Matter Control                       2023.                CARB's Innovative
                                    Measures.                                                 Clean Transit
                                                                                              regulation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 1 (Motor Vehicle Pollution Control
                                Devices), Article 4.3 (Innovative Clean Transit)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023.............................  Innovative Clean          10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Transit                              Register             February 13, 2020.
                                    Regulations                          citation], 2/16/
                                    Applicability and                    2023.
                                    Scope.
2023.1...........................  Zero-Emission Bus         10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Requirements.                        Register             February 13, 2020.
                                                                         citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.2...........................  Compliance Option         10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    for Joint Zero-                      Register             February 13, 2020.
                                    Emission Bus                         citation], 2/16/
                                    Groups.                              2023.
2023.3...........................  Zero-Emission Bus         10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Bonus Credits.                       Register             February 13, 2020.
                                                                         citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.4...........................  Provisions for            10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Exemption of a                       Register             February 13, 2020.
                                    Zero-Emission Bus                    citation], 2/16/
                                    Purchase.                            2023.
2023.5...........................  Zero-Emission             10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Mobility Option.                     Register             February 13, 2020.
                                                                         citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.6...........................  Low-NOX Engine            10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Purchase                             Register             February 13, 2020.
                                    Requirements.                        citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.7...........................  Requirements to Use       10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Renewable Fuels.                     Register             February 13, 2020.
                                                                         citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.8...........................  Reporting                 10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Requirements for                     Register             February 13, 2020.
                                    Transit Agencies.                    citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.9...........................  Record Keeping            10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Requirements.                        Register             February 13, 2020.
                                                                         citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.10..........................  Authority to              10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                    Suspend, Revoke,                     Register             February 13, 2020.
                                    or Modify.                           citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
2023.11..........................  Severability.......       10/1/2019  [Insert Federal      Submitted on
                                                                         Register             February 13, 2020.
                                                                         citation], 2/16/
                                                                         2023.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Title 13 (Motor Vehicles), Division 3 (Air Resources Board), Chapter 4 (Criteria for the Evaluation of Motor
 Vehicle Pollution Control Devices and Fuel Additives), Article 1 (Fuel Additives and Prototype Emission Control
                                                    Devices)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2208 (paragraph (c)(18) (``Low-    Purpose,                 10/16/2017  [Insert Federal      The definition of
 NOX engine''), only).              Applicability,                       Register             ``Low-NOX engine''
                                    Definitions, and                     citation], 2/16/     is relied upon by
                                    Reference                            2023.                CARB's Innovative
                                    Documents.                                                Clean Transit
                                                                                              regulation.

[[Page 10058]]

 
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 1.5 (Air
               Basins and Air Quality Standards), Article 1 (Description of California Air Basins)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
60100 (paragraph (e), only)......  North Coast Basin..        7/5/1978  [Insert Federal      Paragraph (e) of 17
                                                                         Register             CCR 60100 defines
                                                                         citation], 2/16/     the Sonoma County
                                                                         2023.                portion of the
                                                                                              North Coast Basin
                                                                                              and is relied upon
                                                                                              by CARB's
                                                                                              Innovative Clean
                                                                                              Transit
                                                                                              regulation.
60113............................  Lake Tahoe Air            1/30/1976  [Insert Federal      The definition of
                                    Basin.                               Register             ``Lake Tahoe Air
                                                                         citation], 2/16/     Basin'' is relied
                                                                         2023.                upon by CARB's
                                                                                              Innovative Clean
                                                                                              Transit
                                                                                              regulation.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Title 17 (Public Health), Division 3 (Air Resources), Chapter 1 (Air Resources Board), Subchapter 10 (Climate
  Change), Article 4 (Regulations to Achieve Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions), Subarticle 7 (Low Carbon Fuel
                                                    Standard)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
95481 (paragraphs (a)(20)          Definitions and            1/4/2019  [Insert Federal      Certain definitions
 (``Biomethane''), (a)(27)          Acronyms.                            Register             in 17 CCR 95481
 (``Compressed Natural Gas                                               citation], 2/16/     are relied upon by
 (CNG)''), and (a)(123)                                                  2023.                CARB's Innovative
 (``Renewable Hydrocarbon                                                                     Clean Transit
 Diesel''), only).                                                                            regulation.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Table 1 lists EPA-approved California statutes and regulations incorporated by reference in the applicable
  SIP. Table 2 of paragraph (c) lists approved California test procedures, test methods and specifications that
  are cited in certain regulations listed in table 1. Approved California statutes that are nonregulatory or
  quasi-regulatory are listed in paragraph (e).

[FR Doc. 2023-03275 Filed 2-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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