Finding of Failure to Attain the 1987 24-Hour PM10 Standards; Pinal County, Arizona, 47026-47029 [2023-15339]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 139 / Friday, July 21, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
of any person: (1) for being an accessory to
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having unlawful possession of any mail,
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Tram T. Pham,
Attorney, Ethics and Legal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2023–15449 Filed 7–20–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R09–OAR–2023–0035; FRL–10594–
02–R9]
Finding of Failure to Attain the 1987
24-Hour PM10 Standards; Pinal County,
Arizona
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is taking final action to
determine that the West Pinal County,
Arizona nonattainment area (‘‘West
Pinal County’’ or ‘‘area’’) did not attain
the 1987 24-hour national ambient air
quality standards (NAAQS or
‘‘standards’’) for particulate matter with
a diameter of 10 micrometers or smaller
(PM10) by its December 31, 2022
‘‘Serious’’ area attainment date. This
action is based on the EPA’s calculation
of the PM10 design value for the
nonattainment area over the 2020–2022
period, using complete, quality-assured,
and certified PM10 monitoring data.
With this final determination that West
Pinal County has failed to attain the
PM10 NAAQS by its attainment date, the
State of Arizona is required to submit a
revision to the Arizona state
implementation plan (SIP) that, among
other elements, provides for expeditious
attainment of the PM10 standards and
for a five percent annual reduction in
SUMMARY:
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the emissions of direct PM10 or a PM10
plan precursor pollutant in the
nonattainment area.
DATES: This rule is effective on August
21, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a
docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA–R09–OAR–2023–0035. 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:
Ashley Graham, Geographic Strategies
and Modeling Section (AIR–2–2), EPA
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San
Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415)
972–3877 or by email at
graham.ashleyr@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’
and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. The EPA’s Final Evaluation of Attainment
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
On February 15, 2023, the EPA
proposed to determine that the West
Pinal County nonattainment area failed
to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS
by its December 31, 2022 ‘‘Serious’’ area
attainment date.1 For a PM10
nonattainment area classified as Serious
under the CAA, such as the West Pinal
County area, section 188(c)(2) of the
CAA states that the area’s attainment
date is ‘‘as expeditiously as practicable
but no later than the end of the tenth
calendar year beginning after the area’s
designation as nonattainment.’’
1 88
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Consequently, the applicable attainment
date for West Pinal County, designated
nonattainment in 2012, was December
31, 2022.2 CAA sections 179(c)(1) and
188(b)(2) require the EPA to determine
whether a PM10 nonattainment area
attained the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS
by the area’s attainment date within six
months after that date. Generally, this
determination of whether an area’s air
quality meets the PM10 standards is
based upon the most recent three years
of complete, certified data gathered at
eligible monitoring sites in accordance
with 40 CFR part 58.3
An area attains the 1987 24-hour PM10
standards of 150 micrograms per cubic
meter (mg/m3) when the expected
number of days per calendar year with
a 24-hour concentration exceeding the
standards, referred to as an
‘‘exceedance’’,4 averaged over a threeyear period is equal to or less than
one.The expected number of
exceedances averaged over a three-year
period at any given monitor is known as
the PM10 design value for that site.5 The
PM10 design value for the nonattainment
area is the highest design value from a
monitor within that area. Three
consecutive years of air quality data are
required to show attainment of the PM10
standards.
Our proposed determination that the
West Pinal County area failed to attain
the PM10 NAAQS was based on our
review of preliminary monitoring data
for 2020–2022.6 As discussed in our
2 The EPA’s proposed rule discusses that on May
31, 2022, the Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality adopted and submitted the ‘‘2022 Serious
Area Particulate Plan for PM–10 for the West Pinal
County Nonattainment Area’’, which included a
request for an extension of the December 31, 2022
attainment date pursuant to CAA section 188(e), but
that the EPA has not approved the plan or
attainment date extension. Therefore, the maximum
Serious area attainment date for West Pinal County
remains December 31, 2022.
3 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 2.3(a).
4 An exceedance is defined as a daily value that
is above the level of the 24-hour standards, 150 mg/
m3, after rounding to the nearest 10 mg/m3 (i.e.,
values ending in five or greater are to be rounded
up). Consequently, a recorded value of 154 mg/m3
would not be an exceedance because it would be
rounded to 150 mg/m3; whereas, a recorded value
of 155 mg/m3 would be an exceedance because it
would be rounded to 160 mg/m3. See 40 CFR 50.6
and 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 1.0.
5 A design value is calculated using a specific
methodology from monitored air quality data and
is used to compare an area’s air quality to a
NAAQS. The methodologies for calculating
expected exceedances for the 1987 24-hour PM10
NAAQS are found in 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K,
Section 2.1(a).
6 The EPA also based the determination on the
adequacy of the PM10 monitoring network in the
nonattainment area and the reliability of the data
collected by that network (88 FR 9812, 9814). For
purposes of our proposal, we reviewed findings
from the EPA’s 2019 technical systems audit (TSA),
which was the most recent TSA available at that
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proposal,7 while complete 2020 and
2021 data were available, the deadlines
for submission of quarter 4 (October
through December) 2022 data and
certification of the 2022 data had not yet
passed at the time our proposal was
being developed and these data had not
yet been submitted and certified. The
2022 data were therefore considered
incomplete and preliminary. We
reviewed such data for all regulatory
monitoring sites measuring PM10 within
the West Pinal County nonattainment
area, expressed as a single design value
for each site representing the
preliminary average expected
exceedances over the three-year period,
2020–2022. The PM10 data showed that
the design values at multiple monitoring
sites were greater than 1.0 estimated
annual average exceedances of the 1987
24-hour PM10 NAAQS. Moreover, the
EPA explained that even if there were
zero exceedances in 2022, the 2020–
2022 design value would exceed 1.0 at
multiple monitoring sites.
Consequently, the EPA proposed to
determine, based on complete and
quality-assured 2020 and 2021 data and
preliminary 2022 data, that the West
Pinal County nonattainment area did
not attain the 1987 24-hour PM10
NAAQS by the applicable attainment
date of December 31, 2022.
In our proposal to determine that the
West Pinal County area did not attain
the NAAQS by the relevant attainment
date, the EPA noted that the
consequence of a final determination is
that the State of Arizona would be
required under CAA sections 179(d) and
189(d) to submit, by December 31, 2023,
a revision to the SIP for West Pinal
County.8 The SIP revision must, among
other elements, demonstrate expeditious
attainment of the standards within the
time period provided under CAA
section 179(d), provide for an annual
reduction in the emissions of direct
PM10 or a PM10 plan precursor pollutant
within the area of not less than five
percent until attainment, demonstrate
reasonable further progress, and include
contingency measures. The requirement
for a new attainment demonstration
time. For purposes of this final action, we also
reviewed the findings from the EPA’s 2022 TSA
(see EPA Region IX, Technical Systems Audit of the
Ambient Air Monitoring Program: Pinal County Air
Quality Control District, September 13–15, 2022
(Final Report dated May 2023)). As with the 2019
TSA, none of the findings from the 2022 TSA were
cause for invalidation of any data from the relevant
monitors and thus the EPA continues to find that
the data collected at the West Pinal monitoring sites
are suitable for determining whether West Pinal
County attained the PM10 NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date.
7 88 FR 9812, 9814.
8 88 FR 9812, 9815.
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47027
under CAA section 189(d) also triggers
the requirement for the SIP revision for
quantitative milestones under section
189(c) that are to be achieved every
three years until redesignation to
attainment.
Our proposed rule also discussed that
because the EPA has not yet approved
a Moderate or Serious area attainment
plan for West Pinal County, the
Moderate and Serious area requirements
also remain outstanding, though the
EPA anticipates that Arizona’s
submission of an approvable Serious
area and 189(d) nonattainment plan
would also satisfy the State’s Moderate
area nonattainment plan obligations.9
The EPA explained that the new
attainment date is the date by which
attainment can be achieved as
expeditiously as practicable, but no later
than five years from the date of the final
determination of failure to attain, except
that the EPA may extend the attainment
date for a period no greater than 10
years from the final determination,
considering the severity of
nonattainment and the availability and
feasibility of pollution control measures.
II. Public Comments and EPA
Responses
The public comment period for the
proposed rule opened on February 15,
2023, the date of its publication in the
Federal Register, and closed on March
17, 2023. During this period, the EPA
received comments from the Sierra Club
and from a private citizen.10 The Sierra
Club comment letter expressed support
for our proposal and urged the EPA to
finalize the determination. The
comments from the private citizen
pertain to the processes followed by the
Arizona Agricultural Best Management
Practices Committee and are not directly
relevant to this finding of failure to
attain the PM10 NAAQS. Copies of the
Sierra Club comment letter and
comments from the private citizen are
included in the docket for this final
action.
III. The EPA’s Final Evaluation of
Attainment
As discussed in Section I of this
document, our proposed determination
that the West Pinal County area failed
to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS
was based on the EPA’s calculation of
9 Id.
10 Comment submitted March 17, 2023, from
Sierra Club to docket number EPA–R09–OAR–
2023–0035, with attached letter dated March 17,
2023, from Sandy Bahr, Chapter Director, Sierra
Club—Grand Canyon Chapter, to Ashley Graham,
Air Planning Office (AIR–2), EPA Region IX; and
comment submitted March 17, 2023, from Dan
Blackson, to docket number EPA–R09–OAR–2023–
0035.
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the preliminary PM10 design value for
the nonattainment area over the 2020–
2022 period. Since the time of the EPA’s
proposal, the Pinal County Air Quality
Control District has submitted the 2022
quarter 4 data to the EPA’s Air Quality
System (AQS) database,11 and has
certified that the 2022 concentration
data are accurate, taking into
consideration the quality assurance
findings.12
For purposes of this final action, we
reviewed the final quality-assured and
certified PM10 air quality monitoring
data from the 2020–2022 calendar years.
Table 1 of this document provides the
estimated number of PM10 exceedances
in each of the years 2020–2022, and
final certified 2022 PM10 design values
expressed as a single value representing
the average expected exceedances over
the three-year period, 2020–2022, for all
regulatory monitoring sites measuring
PM10 within West Pinal County. These
design values are identical to those
shown in our proposal and are greater
than 1.0 estimated annual average
exceedance of the 1987 24-hour PM10
NAAQS at multiple monitoring sites.
Consequently, the EPA is finalizing a
determination that, based on complete
and quality-assured 2020–2022 data,
West Pinal County did not attain the
1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the
applicable attainment date of December
31, 2022.
TABLE 1—2020–2022 PM10 ESTIMATED EXCEEDANCES FOR THE WEST PINAL COUNTY NONATTAINMENT AREA
PM10 estimated exceedances
Monitoring site
AQS site ID No.
2020
Casa Grande Downtown ................................................
Stanfield .........................................................................
Combs ............................................................................
Pinal County Housing (aka Eleven Mile Corner) ...........
Eloy ................................................................................
Hidden Valley .................................................................
Maricopa 1405 ...............................................................
04–021–0001–3
04–021–3008–3
04–021–3009–3
04–021–3011–3
04–021–3014–3
04–021–3015–3
04–021–3016–3
2021
1.2
4
0
1
2.2
59.6
3
2022
2
4
1
3
3
24
2
2020–2022
0
2
0
0
0
14.1
1
1.1
3.3
0.3
1.3
1.7
32.6
2
Source: EPA AQS Design Value Report, AMP 480, dated May 23, 2023. (User ID: JCARLSTAD, Report Request ID: 2107794).
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IV. Final Action
In accordance with sections 179(c)(1)
and 188(b)(2) of the CAA, the EPA is
taking final action to determine that the
West Pinal County Serious
nonattainment area did not attain the
1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the
Serious area attainment date of
December 31, 2022. Our determination
that West Pinal County failed to attain
the PM10 NAAQS is based on complete,
quality-assured, and certified PM10
monitoring data for the appropriate
three-year period, 2020–2022.
As a result of our determination of
failure to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10
NAAQS by the Serious area attainment
date, Arizona is required under CAA
sections 179(d) and 189(d) to submit a
revision to the SIP for West Pinal
County that, among other elements,
demonstrates expeditious attainment of
the standards within the time period
provided under CAA section 179(d),
and that provides for an annual
reduction in the emissions of direct
PM10 or a PM10 precursor pollutant
within the area of not less than five
percent until attainment. The SIP
revision required under CAA sections
179(d) and 189(d) will be due for
submittal to the EPA no later than
December 31, 2023.
11 AQS is the EPA’s national repository of
ambient air quality data.
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18:12 Jul 20, 2023
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V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA)
Additional information about these
statutes and Executive Orders can be
found at https://www.epa.gov/lawsregulations/laws-and-executive-orders.
This action does not contain any
unfunded mandate of $100 million or
more, as described in UMRA (2 U.S.C.
1531–1538) and does not significantly
or uniquely affect small governments.
This action itself imposes no
enforceable duty on any state, local, or
tribal governments, or the private sector.
This action determines that West Pinal
County failed to attain the NAAQS by
the applicable attainment date. As of the
effective date, this determination
triggers existing statutory timeframes for
the state to submit a SIP revision. Such
a determination in and of itself does not
impose any federal intergovernmental
mandate.
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant
regulatory action and was therefore not
submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This action does not impose an
information collection burden under the
provisions of the PRA because it does
not contain any information collection
activities.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have
a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the RFA. This action does not
impose any requirements on small
entities. This action requires the State to
adopt and submit SIP revisions to
satisfy CAA requirements and does not
itself directly regulate any small
entities.
12 Letter dated April 27, 2023, from Josh
DeZeeuw, Air Quality Manager, Pinal County Air
Quality Control District, to Dena Vallano, Manager,
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E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism
implications. It will not have substantial
direct effects on the states, on the
relationship between the national
government and the states, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government.
F. Executive Order 13175: Coordination
With Indian Tribal Governments
This action does not have tribal
implications, as specified in Executive
Order 13175. As there are no federally
recognized tribes within West Pinal
Monitoring and Analysis Section, U.S. EPA Region
IX, Subject: ‘‘RE: AQS Data Certification—2022.’’
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 139 / Friday, July 21, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
County,13 the finding of failure to attain
the PM10 NAAQS does not apply to
tribal areas, and the rule would not
impose a burden on Indian reservation
lands or other areas where the EPA or
an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction within West Pinal
County. Thus, this 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.
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
Risks and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order
13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that concern
environmental health or safety risks that
the EPA has reason to believe may
disproportionately affect children, per
the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory
action’’ in section 2–202 of the
Executive Order. This action is not
subject to Executive Order 13045
because the effect of this action is to
trigger additional planning requirements
under the CAA. This action does not
establish an environmental standard
intended to mitigate health or safety
risks.
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
This final rule is not subject to
Executive Order 13211, because it is not
a significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
I. National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This rulemaking does not involve
technical standards.
13 A map of Federally-Recognized Tribes in the
EPA’s Pacific Southwest (Region IX) is available at
https://www.epa.gov/tribal-pacific-sw/mapfederally-recognized-tribes-epas-pacific-southwestregion-9.
18:12 Jul 20, 2023
Jkt 259001
K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)
This rule is exempt from the CRA
because it is a rule of particular
applicability. This rule makes factual
determinations for specific entities and
does not directly regulate any entities.
The determination of a failure to attain
by the attainment date and
reclassification does not in itself create
any new requirements beyond what is
mandated by the CAA.
L. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 September 19,
2023. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of
this final rule does not affect the finality
of this rule 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, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal
Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs 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 or
environmental effects of their programs,
policies, and activities on minority
populations (people of color and/or
Indigenous peoples) and low-income
populations. There is no information in
the record indicating that this action
VerDate Sep<11>2014
would be inconsistent with the stated
goals of Executive Order 12898 of
achieving environmental justice for
people of color, low-income
populations, and indigenous peoples.
Dated: July 13, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
Part 52, 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 D—Arizona
2. Section 52.126 is amended by
adding paragraph (e) to read as follows:
■
§ 52.126 Control strategy and regulations:
Particulate matter.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) Effective August 21, 2023, the EPA
has determined that the West Pinal
Serious PM10 nonattainment area failed
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47029
to attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS
by the applicable attainment date of
December 31, 2022. This determination
triggers the requirements of CAA
sections 179(d) and 189(d) for the State
of Arizona to submit a revision to the
Arizona SIP for West Pinal to the EPA
by December 31, 2023. The SIP revision
must, among other elements,
demonstrate expeditious attainment of
the 1987 PM10 NAAQS within the time
period provided under CAA section
179(d) and provide for an annual
reduction in the emissions of direct
PM10 or a PM10 plan precursor pollutant
within the area of not less than five
percent until attainment.
[FR Doc. 2023–15339 Filed 7–20–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 70 and 71
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2016–0186; FRL–8961–02–
OAR]
RIN 2060–AV39
Removal of Title V Emergency
Affirmative Defense Provisions From
State Operating Permit Programs and
Federal Operating Permit Program
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is removing the
‘‘emergency’’ affirmative defense
provisions from the EPA’s title V
operating permit program regulations.
These provisions established an
affirmative defense that sources could
have asserted in enforcement cases
brought for noncompliance with
technology-based emission limitations
in operating permits, provided that the
exceedances occurred due to qualifying
emergency circumstances. These
provisions, which have never been
required elements of state operating
permit programs, are being removed
because they are inconsistent with the
EPA’s interpretation of the enforcement
structure of the Clean Air Act (CAA or
the Act) in light of prior court decisions
from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit. The removal of these
provisions is also consistent with other
recent EPA actions involving affirmative
defenses and would harmonize the
EPA’s treatment of affirmative defenses
across different CAA programs. Through
this document, the EPA is also
providing guidance on the
implementation process resulting from
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\21JYR1.SGM
21JYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 139 (Friday, July 21, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47026-47029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15339]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035; FRL-10594-02-R9]
Finding of Failure to Attain the 1987 24-Hour PM10
Standards; Pinal County, Arizona
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to determine that the West Pinal County, Arizona nonattainment
area (``West Pinal County'' or ``area'') did not attain the 1987 24-
hour national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'')
for particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or smaller
(PM10) by its December 31, 2022 ``Serious'' area attainment
date. This action is based on the EPA's calculation of the
PM10 design value for the nonattainment area over the 2020-
2022 period, using complete, quality-assured, and certified
PM10 monitoring data. With this final determination that
West Pinal County has failed to attain the PM10 NAAQS by its
attainment date, the State of Arizona is required to submit a revision
to the Arizona state implementation plan (SIP) that, among other
elements, provides for expeditious attainment of the PM10
standards and for a five percent annual reduction in the emissions of
direct PM10 or a PM10 plan precursor pollutant in
the nonattainment area.
DATES: This rule is effective on August 21, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035. 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: Ashley Graham, Geographic Strategies
and Modeling Section (AIR-2-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San
Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3877 or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. The EPA's Final Evaluation of Attainment
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Summary of the Proposed Action
On February 15, 2023, the EPA proposed to determine that the West
Pinal County nonattainment area failed to attain the 1987 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS by its December 31, 2022 ``Serious'' area
attainment date.\1\ For a PM10 nonattainment area classified
as Serious under the CAA, such as the West Pinal County area, section
188(c)(2) of the CAA states that the area's attainment date is ``as
expeditiously as practicable but no later than the end of the tenth
calendar year beginning after the area's designation as
nonattainment.''
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\1\ 88 FR 9812.
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[[Page 47027]]
Consequently, the applicable attainment date for West Pinal County,
designated nonattainment in 2012, was December 31, 2022.\2\ CAA
sections 179(c)(1) and 188(b)(2) require the EPA to determine whether a
PM10 nonattainment area attained the 1987 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS by the area's attainment date within six months
after that date. Generally, this determination of whether an area's air
quality meets the PM10 standards is based upon the most
recent three years of complete, certified data gathered at eligible
monitoring sites in accordance with 40 CFR part 58.\3\
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\2\ The EPA's proposed rule discusses that on May 31, 2022, the
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality adopted and submitted
the ``2022 Serious Area Particulate Plan for PM-10 for the West
Pinal County Nonattainment Area'', which included a request for an
extension of the December 31, 2022 attainment date pursuant to CAA
section 188(e), but that the EPA has not approved the plan or
attainment date extension. Therefore, the maximum Serious area
attainment date for West Pinal County remains December 31, 2022.
\3\ 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 2.3(a).
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An area attains the 1987 24-hour PM10 standards of 150
micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) when the expected number of
days per calendar year with a 24-hour concentration exceeding the
standards, referred to as an ``exceedance'',\4\ averaged over a three-
year period is equal to or less than one.The expected number of
exceedances averaged over a three-year period at any given monitor is
known as the PM10 design value for that site.\5\ The
PM10 design value for the nonattainment area is the highest
design value from a monitor within that area. Three consecutive years
of air quality data are required to show attainment of the
PM10 standards.
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\4\ An exceedance is defined as a daily value that is above the
level of the 24-hour standards, 150 [mu]g/m\3\, after rounding to
the nearest 10 [mu]g/m\3\ (i.e., values ending in five or greater
are to be rounded up). Consequently, a recorded value of 154 [mu]g/
m\3\ would not be an exceedance because it would be rounded to 150
[mu]g/m\3\; whereas, a recorded value of 155 [mu]g/m\3\ would be an
exceedance because it would be rounded to 160 [mu]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR
50.6 and 40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, section 1.0.
\5\ A design value is calculated using a specific methodology
from monitored air quality data and is used to compare an area's air
quality to a NAAQS. The methodologies for calculating expected
exceedances for the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS are found in
40 CFR part 50, Appendix K, Section 2.1(a).
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Our proposed determination that the West Pinal County area failed
to attain the PM10 NAAQS was based on our review of
preliminary monitoring data for 2020-2022.\6\ As discussed in our
proposal,\7\ while complete 2020 and 2021 data were available, the
deadlines for submission of quarter 4 (October through December) 2022
data and certification of the 2022 data had not yet passed at the time
our proposal was being developed and these data had not yet been
submitted and certified. The 2022 data were therefore considered
incomplete and preliminary. We reviewed such data for all regulatory
monitoring sites measuring PM10 within the West Pinal County
nonattainment area, expressed as a single design value for each site
representing the preliminary average expected exceedances over the
three-year period, 2020-2022. The PM10 data showed that the
design values at multiple monitoring sites were greater than 1.0
estimated annual average exceedances of the 1987 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS. Moreover, the EPA explained that even if there
were zero exceedances in 2022, the 2020-2022 design value would exceed
1.0 at multiple monitoring sites. Consequently, the EPA proposed to
determine, based on complete and quality-assured 2020 and 2021 data and
preliminary 2022 data, that the West Pinal County nonattainment area
did not attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date of December 31, 2022.
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\6\ The EPA also based the determination on the adequacy of the
PM10 monitoring network in the nonattainment area and the
reliability of the data collected by that network (88 FR 9812,
9814). For purposes of our proposal, we reviewed findings from the
EPA's 2019 technical systems audit (TSA), which was the most recent
TSA available at that time. For purposes of this final action, we
also reviewed the findings from the EPA's 2022 TSA (see EPA Region
IX, Technical Systems Audit of the Ambient Air Monitoring Program:
Pinal County Air Quality Control District, September 13-15, 2022
(Final Report dated May 2023)). As with the 2019 TSA, none of the
findings from the 2022 TSA were cause for invalidation of any data
from the relevant monitors and thus the EPA continues to find that
the data collected at the West Pinal monitoring sites are suitable
for determining whether West Pinal County attained the
PM10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date.
\7\ 88 FR 9812, 9814.
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In our proposal to determine that the West Pinal County area did
not attain the NAAQS by the relevant attainment date, the EPA noted
that the consequence of a final determination is that the State of
Arizona would be required under CAA sections 179(d) and 189(d) to
submit, by December 31, 2023, a revision to the SIP for West Pinal
County.\8\ The SIP revision must, among other elements, demonstrate
expeditious attainment of the standards within the time period provided
under CAA section 179(d), provide for an annual reduction in the
emissions of direct PM10 or a PM10 plan precursor
pollutant within the area of not less than five percent until
attainment, demonstrate reasonable further progress, and include
contingency measures. The requirement for a new attainment
demonstration under CAA section 189(d) also triggers the requirement
for the SIP revision for quantitative milestones under section 189(c)
that are to be achieved every three years until redesignation to
attainment.
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\8\ 88 FR 9812, 9815.
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Our proposed rule also discussed that because the EPA has not yet
approved a Moderate or Serious area attainment plan for West Pinal
County, the Moderate and Serious area requirements also remain
outstanding, though the EPA anticipates that Arizona's submission of an
approvable Serious area and 189(d) nonattainment plan would also
satisfy the State's Moderate area nonattainment plan obligations.\9\
The EPA explained that the new attainment date is the date by which
attainment can be achieved as expeditiously as practicable, but no
later than five years from the date of the final determination of
failure to attain, except that the EPA may extend the attainment date
for a period no greater than 10 years from the final determination,
considering the severity of nonattainment and the availability and
feasibility of pollution control measures.
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\9\ Id.
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II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
The public comment period for the proposed rule opened on February
15, 2023, the date of its publication in the Federal Register, and
closed on March 17, 2023. During this period, the EPA received comments
from the Sierra Club and from a private citizen.\10\ The Sierra Club
comment letter expressed support for our proposal and urged the EPA to
finalize the determination. The comments from the private citizen
pertain to the processes followed by the Arizona Agricultural Best
Management Practices Committee and are not directly relevant to this
finding of failure to attain the PM10 NAAQS. Copies of the
Sierra Club comment letter and comments from the private citizen are
included in the docket for this final action.
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\10\ Comment submitted March 17, 2023, from Sierra Club to
docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035, with attached letter dated
March 17, 2023, from Sandy Bahr, Chapter Director, Sierra Club--
Grand Canyon Chapter, to Ashley Graham, Air Planning Office (AIR-2),
EPA Region IX; and comment submitted March 17, 2023, from Dan
Blackson, to docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0035.
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III. The EPA's Final Evaluation of Attainment
As discussed in Section I of this document, our proposed
determination that the West Pinal County area failed to attain the 1987
24-hour PM10 NAAQS was based on the EPA's calculation of
[[Page 47028]]
the preliminary PM10 design value for the nonattainment area
over the 2020-2022 period. Since the time of the EPA's proposal, the
Pinal County Air Quality Control District has submitted the 2022
quarter 4 data to the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database,\11\ and
has certified that the 2022 concentration data are accurate, taking
into consideration the quality assurance findings.\12\
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\11\ AQS is the EPA's national repository of ambient air quality
data.
\12\ Letter dated April 27, 2023, from Josh DeZeeuw, Air Quality
Manager, Pinal County Air Quality Control District, to Dena Vallano,
Manager, Monitoring and Analysis Section, U.S. EPA Region IX,
Subject: ``RE: AQS Data Certification--2022.''
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For purposes of this final action, we reviewed the final quality-
assured and certified PM10 air quality monitoring data from
the 2020-2022 calendar years. Table 1 of this document provides the
estimated number of PM10 exceedances in each of the years
2020-2022, and final certified 2022 PM10 design values
expressed as a single value representing the average expected
exceedances over the three-year period, 2020-2022, for all regulatory
monitoring sites measuring PM10 within West Pinal County.
These design values are identical to those shown in our proposal and
are greater than 1.0 estimated annual average exceedance of the 1987
24-hour PM10 NAAQS at multiple monitoring sites.
Consequently, the EPA is finalizing a determination that, based on
complete and quality-assured 2020-2022 data, West Pinal County did not
attain the 1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date of December 31, 2022.
Table 1--2020-2022 PM10 Estimated Exceedances for the West Pinal County Nonattainment Area
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PM10 estimated exceedances
Monitoring site AQS site ID No. ---------------------------------------------------------------
2020 2021 2022 2020-2022
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Casa Grande Downtown......... 04-021-0001-3 1.2 2 0 1.1
Stanfield.................... 04-021-3008-3 4 4 2 3.3
Combs........................ 04-021-3009-3 0 1 0 0.3
Pinal County Housing (aka 04-021-3011-3 1 3 0 1.3
Eleven Mile Corner).........
Eloy......................... 04-021-3014-3 2.2 3 0 1.7
Hidden Valley................ 04-021-3015-3 59.6 24 14.1 32.6
Maricopa 1405................ 04-021-3016-3 3 2 1 2
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Source: EPA AQS Design Value Report, AMP 480, dated May 23, 2023. (User ID: JCARLSTAD, Report Request ID:
2107794).
IV. Final Action
In accordance with sections 179(c)(1) and 188(b)(2) of the CAA, the
EPA is taking final action to determine that the West Pinal County
Serious nonattainment area did not attain the 1987 24-hour
PM10 NAAQS by the Serious area attainment date of December
31, 2022. Our determination that West Pinal County failed to attain the
PM10 NAAQS is based on complete, quality-assured, and
certified PM10 monitoring data for the appropriate three-
year period, 2020-2022.
As a result of our determination of failure to attain the 1987 24-
hour PM10 NAAQS by the Serious area attainment date, Arizona
is required under CAA sections 179(d) and 189(d) to submit a revision
to the SIP for West Pinal County that, among other elements,
demonstrates expeditious attainment of the standards within the time
period provided under CAA section 179(d), and that provides for an
annual reduction in the emissions of direct PM10 or a
PM10 precursor pollutant within the area of not less than
five percent until attainment. The SIP revision required under CAA
sections 179(d) and 189(d) will be due for submittal to the EPA no
later than December 31, 2023.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Additional information about these statutes and Executive Orders
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders.
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant regulatory action and was
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This action does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the PRA because it does not contain any information
collection activities.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This
action does not impose any requirements on small entities. This action
requires the State to adopt and submit SIP revisions to satisfy CAA
requirements and does not itself directly regulate any small entities.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain any unfunded mandate of $100 million
or more, as described in UMRA (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) and does not
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. This action itself
imposes no enforceable duty on any state, local, or tribal governments,
or the private sector. This action determines that West Pinal County
failed to attain the NAAQS by the applicable attainment date. As of the
effective date, this determination triggers existing statutory
timeframes for the state to submit a SIP revision. Such a determination
in and of itself does not impose any federal intergovernmental mandate.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between
the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
F. Executive Order 13175: Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments
This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in
Executive Order 13175. As there are no federally recognized tribes
within West Pinal
[[Page 47029]]
County,\13\ the finding of failure to attain the PM10 NAAQS
does not apply to tribal areas, and the rule would not impose a burden
on Indian reservation lands or other areas where the EPA or an Indian
tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction within West Pinal
County. Thus, this 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.
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\13\ A map of Federally-Recognized Tribes in the EPA's Pacific
Southwest (Region IX) is available at https://www.epa.gov/tribal-pacific-sw/map-federally-recognized-tribes-epas-pacific-southwest-region-9.
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G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in
section 2-202 of the Executive Order. This action is not subject to
Executive Order 13045 because the effect of this action is to trigger
additional planning requirements under the CAA. This action does not
establish an environmental standard intended to mitigate health or
safety risks.
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
This final rule is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it
is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This rulemaking does not involve technical standards.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) directs
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 or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and
activities on minority populations (people of color and/or Indigenous
peoples) and low-income populations. There is no information in the
record indicating that this action would be inconsistent with the
stated goals of Executive Order 12898 of achieving environmental
justice for people of color, low-income populations, and indigenous
peoples.
K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)
This rule is exempt from the CRA because it is a rule of particular
applicability. This rule makes factual determinations for specific
entities and does not directly regulate any entities. The determination
of a failure to attain by the attainment date and reclassification does
not in itself create any new requirements beyond what is mandated by
the CAA.
L. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 September 19, 2023. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule 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, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: July 13, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
Part 52, 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 D--Arizona
0
2. Section 52.126 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.126 Control strategy and regulations: Particulate matter.
* * * * *
(e) Effective August 21, 2023, the EPA has determined that the West
Pinal Serious PM10 nonattainment area failed to attain the
1987 24-hour PM10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of
December 31, 2022. This determination triggers the requirements of CAA
sections 179(d) and 189(d) for the State of Arizona to submit a
revision to the Arizona SIP for West Pinal to the EPA by December 31,
2023. The SIP revision must, among other elements, demonstrate
expeditious attainment of the 1987 PM10 NAAQS within the
time period provided under CAA section 179(d) and provide for an annual
reduction in the emissions of direct PM10 or a
PM10 plan precursor pollutant within the area of not less
than five percent until attainment.
[FR Doc. 2023-15339 Filed 7-20-23; 8:45 am]
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