Finding of Failure To Attain and Reclassification of Las Vegas Area as Serious for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 103657-103662 [2024-29061]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
103657
TABLE E–6 TO SECTION 3.8 OF APPENDIX E—SUMMARY OF MONITORING PATH SITING CRITERIA—Continued
Pollutant
Maximum monitoring path
PAMS 3 4 5 Ozone precursors.
length 9 10
Height from
ground to 80% of
monitoring path 1 8
(meters)
Horizontal or
vertical distance
from supporting
structures 2 to
90% of monitoring
path 1 8
(meters)
Distance from
trees to 90%
of monitoring
path 1 8
(meters)
2.0–15
≥1.0
≥10
<= 1.0 km for Neighborhood and Urban ................
Distance from roadways
to monitoring path 1 8
(meters)
See Table E–4 of this
appendix.
N/A—Not applicable.
1 Monitoring path for open path analyzers is applicable only to middle or neighborhood scale CO monitoring, middle, neighborhood, urban, and regional scale NO
2
monitoring, and all applicable scales for monitoring SO2, O3, and O3 precursors.
2 When the monitoring path is located on a rooftop, this separation distance is in reference to walls, parapets, or penthouses located on roof.
3 At least 90 percent of the monitoring path should be greater than 20 meters from the dripline of tree(s) and must be 10-meters from the dripline.
4 Distance from 90 percent of monitoring path to obstacle, such as a building, must be at least twice the height the obstacle protrudes above the monitoring path.
Sites not meeting this criterion may be classified as microscale or middle scale (see text).
5 Must have unrestricted airflow 270 degrees around at least 90 percent of the monitoring path; 180 degrees if the monitoring path is adjacent to the side of a building or a wall for street canyon monitoring.
6 The monitoring path should be away from minor sources, such as furnace or incineration flues. The separation distance is dependent on the height of the minor
source’s emission point (such as a flue), the type of fuel or waste burned, and the quality of the fuel (sulfur, ash, or lead content). This criterion is designed to avoid
undue influences from minor sources.
7 For microscale CO monitoring sites, the monitoring path must be ≥10. meters from a street intersection and preferably at a midblock location.
8 All distances listed are expressed as having 2 significant figures. When rounding is performed to assess compliance with these siting requirements, the distance
measurements will be rounded such as to retain at least two significant figures.
9 See section 1.2 of appendix D to this part for definitions of monitoring scales.
10 See section 3.7 of this appendix.
*
*
*
*
*
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA–R09–OAR–2024–0553; FRL–12419–
01–R9]
Finding of Failure To Attain and
Reclassification of Las Vegas Area as
Serious for the 2015 Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final determination.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is determining that the
Las Vegas, Nevada area failed to attain
the 2015 ozone national ambient air
quality standards (NAAQS or
‘‘standards’’) by the applicable
attainment date. The effect of failing to
attain by the applicable attainment date
is that the area will be reclassified by
operation of law from ‘‘Moderate’’ to
‘‘Serious’’ nonattainment for the 2015
ozone NAAQS on January 21, 2025, the
effective date of this final rule. This
action fulfills the EPA’s obligation
under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to
determine whether the Las Vegas,
Nevada ozone nonattainment area
attained the NAAQS by the attainment
date and to publish a document in the
Federal Register identifying the area as
having failed to attain and identifying
the reclassification.
DATES: This final rule is effective on
January 21, 2025.
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SUMMARY:
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The EPA has established a
docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA–R09–OAR–2024–0553. 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.
ADDRESSES:
[FR Doc. 2024–29223 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am]
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lindsay Wickersham, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA
94105. By phone: (415) 947–4192, or by
email at wickersham.lindsay@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Overview of Action
II. What is the background for this action?
III. What is the statutory authority for this
action?
IV. How does the EPA determine whether an
area has attained the standards?
V. What is the EPA’s determination for the
area?
VI. What action is the EPA taking?
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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I. Overview of Action
The EPA is required to determine
whether areas designated nonattainment
for an ozone NAAQS attained the
standards by the applicable attainment
date, and to take certain steps for areas
that failed to attain (see CAA section
181(b)(2)). The EPA’s determination of
attainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS
is based on a nonattainment area’s
design value (DV) as of the attainment
date.1
The 2015 ozone NAAQS is met at an
EPA regulatory monitoring site when
the DV does not exceed 0.070 parts per
million (ppm). For the Moderate
nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS addressed in this action, the
attainment date was August 3, 2024.
Because the DV is based on the three
most recent, complete calendar years of
data, attainment must occur no later
than December 31 of the year prior to
the attainment date (i.e., December 31,
2023, in the case of Moderate
nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS). As such, the EPA’s
determinations for each area are based
upon the complete, quality-assured, and
certified ozone monitoring data from
calendar years 2021, 2022, and 2023.
This action addresses one area in
Nevada that was classified as Moderate
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS as of the
1 A DV is a statistic used to compare data
collected at an ambient air quality monitoring site
to the applicable NAAQS to determine compliance
with the standard. The data handling conventions
for calculating DVs for the 2015 ozone NAAQS are
specified in appendix U to 40 CFR part 50. The DV
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS is the 3-year average of
the annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
average ozone concentration. The DV is calculated
for each air quality monitor in an area, and the DV
for an area is the highest DV among the individual
monitoring sites located in the area.
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
Moderate area attainment date of August
3, 2024. The EPA is addressing the
remaining areas in other states in
separate actions. Table 1 provides the
DV and the EPA’s air quality-based
determination for the Moderate area
addressed in this action.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF NONATTAINMENT AREA IN NEVADA CLASSIFIED AS MODERATE FOR THE 2015 OZONE NAAQS
2021–2023 DV
(ppm)
Nonattainment area
Las Vegas, NV .............................................................................................................
0.074
Attainment by the attainment date
Failed to attain.
Source: AMP480_LasVegas_DesignValueReport_2021_2023.
The EPA is finding that the Moderate
area listed in Table 1 did not attain by
its attainment dates because their 2021–
2023 DVs are greater than 0.070 ppm. If
the EPA determines that a
nonattainment area classified as
Moderate failed to attain by the
attainment date, CAA section
181(b)(2)(B) requires the EPA to publish
a notice in the Federal Register, no later
than 6 months following the attainment
date, identifying each such area and
identifying the applicable
reclassification.
Under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A), the
effect of this determination is that this
area will be reclassified by operation of
law as Serious on the effective date of
this final rule. The reclassified area will
then be subject to the Serious area
requirement to attain the 2015 ozone
NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable,
but not later than August 3, 2027.
Once reclassified as Serious, the
relevant state must submit to the EPA
the SIP revisions for this area that
satisfy the statutory and regulatory
requirements applicable to Serious areas
established in CAA section 182(c) and
in the EPA’s implementing regulations
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.2 The EPA
is establishing deadlines for submitting
SIP revisions for this reclassified area in
a separate action.3
II. What is the background for this
action?
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On October 26, 2015, the EPA issued
its final action to revise the NAAQS for
ozone to establish new 8-hour
standards.4 In that action, the EPA
promulgated identical tighter primary
and secondary ozone standards
designed to protect public health and
welfare that specified an 8-hour ozone
level of 0.070 ppm. Specifically, the
standards require that the 3-year average
of the annual fourth highest daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone
2 83 FR 62998, ‘‘Implementation of the 2015
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone:
Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plan
Requirements’’ (December 6, 2018).
3 See proposed rule at 89 FR 80833 (October 4,
2024).
4 80 FR 65452.
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concentration may not exceed 0.070
ppm.
Effective on August 3, 2018, the EPA
designated 52 areas throughout the
country as nonattainment for the 2015
ozone NAAQS.5 In a separate action, the
EPA assigned classification thresholds
and attainment dates based on the
severity of an area’s ozone problem,
determined by the area’s DV.6 The EPA
established the attainment date for
‘‘Marginal,’’ Moderate, and Serious
nonattainment areas as three years, six
years, and nine years, respectively, from
the effective date of the final
designations. Thus, the attainment date
for Marginal nonattainment areas for the
2015 ozone NAAQS was August 3,
2021, the attainment date for Moderate
areas was August 3, 2024, and the
attainment date for Serious areas is
August 3, 2027. On January 3, 2023, the
EPA determined that the Las Vegas, NV
area addressed in this action did not
attain the standards by the Marginal
attainment date, reclassifying the area as
Moderate by operation of law.7
III. What is the statutory authority for
this action?
The statutory authority for these
determinations is provided by the CAA,
as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).
Relevant portions of the CAA include,
but are not necessarily limited to,
sections 181 and 182.
CAA section 107(d) provides that
when the EPA establishes or revises a
NAAQS, the agency must designate
areas of the country as nonattainment,
attainment, or unclassifiable based on
whether an area is not meeting (or is
contributing to air quality in a nearby
area that is not meeting) the NAAQS,
meeting the NAAQS, or cannot be
classified as meeting or not meeting the
NAAQS, respectively. Subpart 2 of part
D of title I of the CAA governs the
classification, state planning, and
emissions control requirements for any
areas designated as nonattainment for a
revised primary ozone NAAQS. In
5 83
FR 25776 (June 4, 2018).
6 83 FR 10376 (March 9, 2018).
7 88 FR 775.
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particular, CAA section 181(a)(1)
requires each area designated as
nonattainment for a revised ozone
NAAQS to be classified at the same time
as the area is designated based on the
extent of the ozone problem in the area
(as determined based on the area’s DV).
Classifications for ozone nonattainment
areas are ‘‘Marginal,’’ ‘‘Moderate,’’
‘‘Serious,’’ ‘‘Severe,’’ and ‘‘Extreme,’’ in
order of stringency. CAA section 182
provides the specific attainment
planning and additional requirements
that apply to each ozone nonattainment
area based on its classification.
Section 181(b)(2)(A) of the CAA
requires that within six months
following the applicable attainment
date, the EPA shall determine whether
an ozone nonattainment area attained
the ozone standard based on the area’s
DV as of that date. Under CAA section
181(a)(5) as interpreted by the EPA in 40
CFR 51.1307, upon application by any
state, the EPA may grant a 1-year
extension to the attainment date when
certain criteria are met. One criterion for
a first attainment date extension is that
an area’s fourth highest daily maximum
8-hour value for the attainment year
must not exceed the level of the
standard.
In the event an area fails to attain the
ozone NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date and is not granted a 1year attainment date extension, CAA
section 181(b)(2)(A) requires the EPA to
make the determination that an ozone
nonattainment area failed to attain the
ozone standard by the applicable
attainment date, and requires the area to
be reclassified by operation of law to the
higher of: (1) The next higher
classification for the area, or (2) the
classification applicable to the area’s DV
as of the determination of failure to
attain.8 Section 181(b)(2)(B) of the CAA
requires the EPA to publish the
determination of failure to attain and
accompanying reclassification in the
Federal Register no later than six
months after the attainment date, which,
8 Las Vegas, Nevada will be classified to the next
higher classification, Serious because it does not
have a DV that would otherwise place it in a higher
classification.
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in the case of the Moderate
nonattainment area considered in this
determination, is February 3, 2025.
Once an area is reclassified, each state
that contains a reclassified area is
required to submit certain SIP revisions
in accordance with its more stringent
classification. The SIP revisions are
intended to, among other things,
demonstrate how the area will attain the
NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable,
but no later than August 3, 2027 (the
Serious area attainment date for the
2015 ozone NAAQS). Per CAA section
182(i), a state with a reclassified ozone
nonattainment area must submit the
applicable attainment plan requirements
‘‘according to the schedules prescribed
in connection with such requirements’’
in CAA section 182(c) for Serious areas,
but the EPA ‘‘may adjust applicable
deadlines (other than attainment dates)
to the extent such adjustment is
necessary or appropriate to assure
consistency among the required
submissions.’’ The EPA is addressing
the SIP revision and implementation
deadlines for newly reclassified Serious
areas, as well as the continued
applicability of Moderate area
requirements that these areas may not
yet have met, in a separate rulemaking.9
IV. How does the EPA determine
whether an area has attained the
standards?
The level of the 2015 ozone NAAQS
is 0.070 ppm.10 Under the EPA
regulations at 40 CFR part 50, appendix
U, the 2015 ozone NAAQS is attained at
a site when the 3-year average of the
annual fourth highest daily maximum 8hour average ambient ozone
concentration (i.e., DV) does not exceed
0.070 ppm. When the DV does not
exceed 0.070 ppm at each ambient air
quality monitoring site within the area,
the area is deemed to be attaining the
ozone NAAQS. Each area’s DV is
determined by the highest DV among
monitors with valid DVs.11 The data
handling convention in appendix U
dictates that concentrations shall be
reported in ‘‘ppm’’ to the third decimal
place, with additional digits to the right
being truncated. Thus, a computed 3year average ozone concentration of
0.071 ppm is greater than 0.070 ppm
and would exceed the standards, but a
computed 3-year average ozone
concentration of 0.0709 ppm is
truncated to 0.070 ppm and attains the
2015 ozone NAAQS.
The EPA’s determination of
attainment is based upon hourly ozone
concentration data for calendar years
2021, 2022, and 2023 that have been
collected and quality-assured in
accordance with 40 CFR part 58 and
reported to the EPA’s Air Quality
System (AQS) database.12
State and local monitoring network
plans are subject to approval by the EPA
on an annual basis, and any interim
modifications to those plans must also
be approved by the EPA.13 The annual
monitoring network plan process is
provided in 40 CFR 58.10 and the
requirements governing system
modifications and monitor
discontinuations are laid out in 40 CFR
58.14. Where state or local agencies seek
103659
to modify the ambient air quality
monitoring networks by discontinuing a
monitor station, the EPA may approve
such modifications subject to the
criteria established in 40 CFR 58.14(c).
The EPA may not approve such
discontinuation if doing so would
compromise data collection needed for
implementation of a NAAQS. If a
monitor has been discontinued subject
to 40 CFR 58.14 such that the
discontinuation results in insufficient
data to calculate a valid DV according
to appendix U to 40 CFR part 50, the
EPA will determine the applicable
area’s attainment status based on the
remaining monitors in the area.
V. What is the EPA’s determination for
the area?
The EPA is determining that the
Moderate nonattainment area addressed
in this action (Las Vegas, NV) failed to
attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the
attainment date of August 3, 2024. As
shown in Table 1 of this notice, at least
one monitor had a 2021–2023 DV
greater than 0.070 ppm. The EPA has
further determined that this area did not
meet the requirement under section
181(a)(5)(B) and 40 CFR 51.1307
necessary to grant a 1-year extension of
the attainment date because at least one
monitor in the Las Vegas area had a
2023 fourth highest daily maximum 8hour average that was greater than 0.070
ppm. Table 2 of this notice shows the
annual fourth highest daily maximum 8hour average ozone concentration and
2021–2023 DV for each monitor in the
Las Vegas area.
TABLE 2—2021–2023 FOURTH HIGHEST DAILY MAXIMUM 8-HOUR AVERAGE OZONE CONCENTRATIONS AND DESIGN
VALUES AT ALL MONITORS IN THE LAS VEGAS, NV AREA
AQS site ID
County
Fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentration
(ppm)
State
2021
32–003–0044
32–003–2003
32–003–0299
32–003–0075
32–003–0540
32–003–0043
.............
.............
.............
.............
.............
.............
Clark
Clark
Clark
Clark
Clark
Clark
..........................
..........................
..........................
..........................
..........................
..........................
9 See
proposed rule at 89 FR 80833.
40 CFR 50.19.
11 According to appendix U to 40 CFR part 50,
ambient monitoring sites with a DV of 0.070 ppm
or less must meet minimum data completeness
requirements in order to be considered valid. These
requirements are met for a 3-year period at a site
if daily maximum 8-hour average ozone
concentrations are available for at least 90% of the
days within the ozone monitoring season, on
average, for the 3-year period, with a minimum of
at least 75% of the days within the ozone
monitoring season in any one year. Ozone
monitoring seasons are defined for each State in
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10 See
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Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
0.075
0.074
0.074
0.075
0.070
0.074
appendix D to 40 CFR part 58. DVs greater than
0.070 ppm are considered to be valid regardless of
the data completeness.
12 The EPA maintains the AQS, a database that
contains ambient air pollution data collected by the
EPA, state, local, and tribal air pollution control
agencies. The AQS also contains meteorological
data, descriptive information about each monitoring
station (including its geographic location and its
operator) and data quality assurance/quality control
information. The AQS data is used to (1) assess air
quality, (2) assist in attainment/non-attainment
designations, (3) evaluate SIPs for non-attainment
areas, (4) perform modeling for permit review
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2022
2021–2023
design value (DV)
(ppm)
2023
0.073
0.073
0.072
0.070
0.068
0.074
0.074
0.071
0.069
0.072
0.066
0.071
0.074
0.072
0.071
0.072
0.068
0.073
analysis, and (5) prepare reports for Congress as
mandated by the CAA. Access is through the
website at https://www.epa.gov/aqs.
13 Annual monitoring network plans for each state
are available at https://www.epa.gov/amtic/statemonitoring-agency-annual-air-monitoring-plansand-network-assessments. The plans relevant to
this action Annual monitoring network plans for
each state are available at https://www.epa.gov/
amtic/state-monitoring-agency-annual-airmonitoring-plans-and-network-assessments. The
plans relevant to this action and the EPA’s letters
approving those plans are also available in the
docket for this action.
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TABLE 2—2021–2023 FOURTH HIGHEST DAILY MAXIMUM 8-HOUR AVERAGE OZONE CONCENTRATIONS AND DESIGN
VALUES AT ALL MONITORS IN THE LAS VEGAS, NV AREA—Continued
AQS site ID
County
Fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentration
(ppm)
State
2021
32–003–0071 .............
32–003–0073 .............
32–003–0298 .............
Clark ..........................
Clark ..........................
Clark ..........................
Nevada ......................
Nevada ......................
Nevada ......................
0.075
0.076
0.072
2022
2021–2023
design value (DV)
(ppm)
2023
0.070
0.070
0.067
0.072
0.071
0.071
0.072
0.072
0.070
Source: AMP480_LasVegas_DesignValueReport_2021_2023.
VI. What action is the EPA taking?
Pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(2),
the EPA is determining that the Las
Vegas, NV area failed to attain the 2015
ozone NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date of August 3, 2024.
Therefore, upon the effective date of this
final action, the area will be reclassified,
by operation of law, to Serious for the
2015 ozone NAAQS. Once reclassified
as Serious, this area will be required to
attain the standards ‘‘as expeditiously as
practicable’’ but no later than nine years
after the initial designation as
nonattainment, which in this case
would be no later than August 3, 2027.
Section 553 of the APA, 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(B), provides that, when an
agency for good cause finds that notice
and public procedures are
impracticable, unnecessary or contrary
to the public interest, the agency may
issue a rule without providing notice
and an opportunity for public comment.
The EPA has determined that there is
good cause for making this final agency
action without prior proposal and
opportunity for comment because our
action to determine whether this area
has attained the NAAQS by the
attainment date is governed, per CAA
section 181(b)(2)(A), solely by area
design values as of that date. The area
design values relied upon in this notice
are calculations based on the certified
air quality monitoring data governed by
the EPA’s regulations and involve no
judgment or discretion. Thus, notice
and public procedures are unnecessary
to take this action. The EPA finds that
this constitutes good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
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VII. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review, and Executive
Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory
Review
This action is not a ‘‘significant
regulatory action’’ under the terms of
Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and is therefore not
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subject to review under Executive Order
14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023).
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This rule does not impose an
information collection burden under the
provisions of the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.). This action does not
contain any information collection
activities and serves only to make a final
determination that the Las Vegas, NV
nonattainment area failed to attain the
2015 ozone standards by the August 3,
2024 attainment date. This area will be
reclassified as Serious nonattainment
for the 2015 ozone standards by
operation of law upon the effective date
of the final reclassification action.
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 (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
This action will not impose any
requirements on small entities. The
determination of failure to attain the
2015 ozone standards (and resulting
reclassifications), do not in and of
themselves create any new requirements
beyond what is mandated by the CAA.
This final action would require the state
to adopt and submit SIP revisions to
satisfy CAA requirements and would
not itself directly regulate any small
entities.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA)
This action does not contain any
unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538 and does
not significantly or uniquely affect small
governments. The action imposes no
enforceable duty on any state, local or
tribal governments or the private sector.
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
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levels of government. The division of
responsibility between the Federal
government and the states for purposes
of implementing the NAAQS is
established under the CAA.
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000), requires the EPA to
develop an accountable process to
ensure ‘‘meaningful and timely input by
Tribal officials in the development of
regulatory policies that have Tribal
implications.’’
The EPA has identified a tribal area
within the nonattainment area covered
by this proposed rule that would be
potentially affected by this rulemaking.
Specifically, the Las Vegas Tribe of
Paiute Indians of the Las Vegas Indian
Colony is located within the boundaries
of the Las Vegas nonattainment area.
The EPA has concluded that this rule
may have tribal implications for this
tribe for the purposes of Executive
Order 13175, but it would not impose
substantial direct costs upon the tribes,
nor would it preempt tribal law. A tribe
that is part of an area that is reclassified
from Moderate to Serious nonattainment
is not required to submit a tribal
implementation plan revision to address
new Serious area requirements.
However, the nonattainment new source
review major source threshold and
offset requirements would change for
stationary sources seeking
preconstruction permits in any
nonattainment areas newly reclassified
as Serious, including on tribal lands
within these nonattainment areas.
The EPA has communicated with the
potentially affected tribe located within
the boundaries of the nonattainment
area addressed in this proposal,
including offering government-togovernment consultation, as
appropriate.14
14 See letter dated July 23, 2024 from Matthew
Lakin, Director, Air and Radiation Division, EPA
Region 9 to the Honorable Benny Tso, Chairman,
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as
applying 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 it 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 action is not subject to Executive
Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22,
2001) 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. Therefore, the EPA
is not considering the use of any
voluntary consensus standards.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal
Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations
Executive Order 12898 (Federal
Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs Federal
agencies to identify and address
‘‘disproportionately high and adverse
human health or environmental effects’’
of their actions on communities with
103661
Court of Appeals for the appropriate
circuit by February 18, 2025. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the
Administrator of this action 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
this action. This action may not be
challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section
307(b)(2).)
environmental justice (EJ) concerns to
the greatest extent practicable and
permitted by law. Executive Order
14096 (Revitalizing Our Nation’s
Commitment to Environmental Justice
for All, 88 FR 25251, April 26, 2023)
builds on and supplements Executive
Order 12898 and defines EJ as, among
other things, the just treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people,
regardless of income, race, color,
national origin, or Tribal affiliation, or
disability in agency decision-making
and other Federal activities that affect
human health and the environment.’’
The EPA did not perform an EJ
analysis and did not consider EJ in this
action. Due to the nature of the action
being taken here, this action is expected
to have a neutral to positive impact on
the air quality of the affected area.
Consideration of EJ is not required as
part of this action, and there is no
information in the record inconsistent
with the stated goals of Executive
Orders 12898 and 14096 of achieving
environmental justice for communities
with EJ concerns.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Dated: December 5, 2024.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX. Region
IX.
For the reasons stated in the
preamble, title 40 CFR part 81 is
amended as follows:
K. Congressional Review Act
This rule is exempt from the CRA
because it is a rule of particular
applicability. The rule makes factual
determinations for an identified entity
(the Las Vegas, Nevada area) based on
facts and circumstances specific to that
entity. Determinations of attainment and
failure to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS
do not in themselves create any new
requirements beyond what is mandated
by the CAA.
L. Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA,
petitions for judicial review of this
action must be filed in the United States
PART 81—DESIGNATION OF AREAS
FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING
PURPOSES
1. The authority citation for part 81
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
2. Section 81.329 is amended in the
table for ‘‘Nevada—2015 8-Hour Ozone
NAAQS [Primary and Secondary]’’ by
revising the entry for ‘‘Las Vegas, NV:
Clark County (part), NV’’ to read as
follows:
■
§ 81.329
*
Nevada.
*
*
*
*
NEVADA—2015 8-HOUR OZONE NAAQS
[Primary and Secondary]
Designation
Classification
Designated area 1
Las Vegas, NV .................................................................................................
Clark County (part):
That portion of Clark County that lies in hydrographic area 212.3
Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of the Las Vegas Indian Colony.
*
*
*
Date 2
Type
........................
Nonattainment
*
Date 2
*
*
1 Includes
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
1/21/2025
Type
Serious.
*
any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the boundaries of any area of Indian
country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation area is not a determination that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
2 This date is August 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
3 Hydrographic areas are shown on the State of Nevada Division of Water Resources’ map titled Water Resources and Inter-basin Flows (September 1971).
Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of the Las Vegas
Colony.
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*
*
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
*
*
Federal Register. Pursuant to the 2015
Act, agencies are required to adjust the
level of the CMP with an initial ‘‘fix‘‘,
and make subsequent annual
adjustments for inflation. Catch up
adjustments are based on the percent
change between the Consumer Price
Index for Urban Consumers (CPI–U) for
the month of October for the year of the
previous adjustment, and the October
2015 CPI–U. Annual inflation
adjustments will be based on the
percent change between the October
CPI–U preceding the date of adjustment
and the prior year’s October CPI–U.
*
[FR Doc. 2024–29061 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
GENERAL SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION
41 CFR Part 105–70
[FPMR Case 2025–01; Docket No. GSA–
FPMR–2025–0021; Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090–AK89
Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation
Adjustment
The Office of the General
Counsel, General Services
Administration.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by
the Debt Collection Improvement Act of
1996, and further amended by the
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvement Act of
2015, this final rule applies the inflation
adjustments for GSA’s civil monetary
penalties.
DATES: Effective 30 days after the date of
publication.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Aaron Pound, Assistant General
Counsel, General Law Division (LG),
General Services Administration, 1800 F
Street NW, Washington DC 20405.
Telephone Number 202–501–1460.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
SUMMARY:
I. The Debt Collection Improvement Act
of 1996
To maintain the remedial impact of
civil monetary penalties (CMPs) and to
promote compliance with the law, the
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101–
410) was amended by the Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1996
(Pub. L. 104–134) and the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
Improvement Act of 2015 (Sec. 701 of
Pub. L. 114–74) to require Federal
agencies to regularly adjust certain
CMPs for inflation. As amended, the law
requires each agency to make an initial
inflationary adjustment for all
applicable CMPs, and to make further
adjustments at least once every year
thereafter for these penalty amounts.
The Debt Collection Improvement Act of
1996 further stipulates that any
resulting increases in a CMP due to the
calculated inflation adjustments shall
apply only to violations which occur
after the date the increase takes effect 30
days after the date of publication in the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:31 Dec 18, 2024
Jkt 265001
II. The Program Fraud Civil Remedies
Act of 1986
Sections 6103 and 6104 of the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1986 (Pub. L. 99–509) set forth the
Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of
1986 (PFCRA). Specifically, this statute
imposes a CMP and an assessment
against any person who, with
knowledge or reason to know, makes,
submits, or presents a false, fictitious, or
fraudulent claim or statement to the
Government. The General Services
Administration’s regulations, published
in the Federal Register (61 FR 246,
December 20, 1996) and codified at 41
CFR part 105–70, currently set forth a
CMP of up to $13,400 for each false
claim or statement made to the agency.
Based on the penalty amount inflation
factor calculation, derived from
originally dividing the October 2023 CPI
by the October 2024 CPI and making the
CPI-based annual adjustment thereafter,
after rounding, we are adjusting the
maximum penalty amount for this CMP
to $13,700 for each false claim or
statement made to the agency.
III. Subsequent Annual Adjustments
The 2015 Act also requires agencies to
make annual adjustments to civil
penalty amounts no later than January
15 of each year following the initial
adjustment described above. For
subsequent adjustments made in
accordance with the 2015 Act, the
amount of the adjustment is based on
the percent increase between the CPI–U
for the month of October preceding the
date of the adjustment and the CPI–U
for the October one year prior to the
October immediately preceding the date
of the adjustment. If there is no increase,
there is no adjustment of civil penalties.
Therefore, if GSA adjusts penalties in
January 2026, the adjustment will be
calculated based on the percent change
between the CPI–U for October 2026
(the October immediately preceding the
date of adjustment) and October 2025
(the October one year prior to October
2026). GSA will publish the amount of
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these annual inflation adjustments in
the Federal Register no later than
January 15 of each year, starting in 2026.
IV. Public Participation
The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvement Act of
2015 expressly exempts this final rule
from the notice and comment
requirements of the Administrative
Procedure Act by directing agencies to
adjust civil monetary penalties for
inflation ‘‘notwithstanding section 553
of title 5, United States Code’’ (Pub. L.
114–74, 129 Stat. 599; 28 U.S.C. 2461
note). As such, this final rule is being
issued without prior public notice or
opportunity for public comment, with
an effective date 30 days after the date
of publication in the Federal Register.
V. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and
13563 direct agencies to assess all costs
and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives and, if regulation is
necessary, to select regulatory
approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic,
environmental, public health and safety
effects, distributive impacts, and
equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the
importance of quantifying both costs
and benefits, of reducing costs, of
harmonizing rules, and of promoting
flexibility. The Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) has reviewed this
final rule in accordance with the
provisions of E.O. 12866 and has
determined that it does not meet the
criteria for a significant regulatory
action and thus was not subject to
review under Section 6(b) of E.O. 12866.
As indicated above, the provisions
contained in this final rulemaking set
forth the inflation adjustments in
compliance with the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of
1990, as amended, for specific
applicable CMPs. The great majority of
individuals, organizations and entities
addressed through these regulations do
not engage in such prohibited conduct,
and as a result, we believe that any
aggregate economic impact of these
revised regulations will be minimal,
affecting only those limited few who
may engage in prohibited conduct in
violation of the statute. As such, this
final rule and the inflation adjustment
contained therein should have no effect
on Federal or State expenditures.
VI. Congressional Review Act
The agency and the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
OMB have determined that this rule is
not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Subtitle E of the Small Business
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 103657-103662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29061]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0553; FRL-12419-01-R9]
Finding of Failure To Attain and Reclassification of Las Vegas
Area as Serious for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final determination.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is determining that
the Las Vegas, Nevada area failed to attain the 2015 ozone national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') by the
applicable attainment date. The effect of failing to attain by the
applicable attainment date is that the area will be reclassified by
operation of law from ``Moderate'' to ``Serious'' nonattainment for the
2015 ozone NAAQS on January 21, 2025, the effective date of this final
rule. This action fulfills the EPA's obligation under the Clean Air Act
(CAA) to determine whether the Las Vegas, Nevada ozone nonattainment
area attained the NAAQS by the attainment date and to publish a
document in the Federal Register identifying the area as having failed
to attain and identifying the reclassification.
DATES: This final rule is effective on January 21, 2025.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0553. 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: Lindsay Wickersham, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4192, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Overview of Action
II. What is the background for this action?
III. What is the statutory authority for this action?
IV. How does the EPA determine whether an area has attained the
standards?
V. What is the EPA's determination for the area?
VI. What action is the EPA taking?
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Overview of Action
The EPA is required to determine whether areas designated
nonattainment for an ozone NAAQS attained the standards by the
applicable attainment date, and to take certain steps for areas that
failed to attain (see CAA section 181(b)(2)). The EPA's determination
of attainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS is based on a nonattainment
area's design value (DV) as of the attainment date.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ A DV is a statistic used to compare data collected at an
ambient air quality monitoring site to the applicable NAAQS to
determine compliance with the standard. The data handling
conventions for calculating DVs for the 2015 ozone NAAQS are
specified in appendix U to 40 CFR part 50. The DV for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS is the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration. The DV is calculated for
each air quality monitor in an area, and the DV for an area is the
highest DV among the individual monitoring sites located in the
area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2015 ozone NAAQS is met at an EPA regulatory monitoring site
when the DV does not exceed 0.070 parts per million (ppm). For the
Moderate nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS addressed in this
action, the attainment date was August 3, 2024. Because the DV is based
on the three most recent, complete calendar years of data, attainment
must occur no later than December 31 of the year prior to the
attainment date (i.e., December 31, 2023, in the case of Moderate
nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS). As such, the EPA's
determinations for each area are based upon the complete, quality-
assured, and certified ozone monitoring data from calendar years 2021,
2022, and 2023.
This action addresses one area in Nevada that was classified as
Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS as of the
[[Page 103658]]
Moderate area attainment date of August 3, 2024. The EPA is addressing
the remaining areas in other states in separate actions. Table 1
provides the DV and the EPA's air quality-based determination for the
Moderate area addressed in this action.
Table 1--Summary of Nonattainment Area in Nevada Classified as Moderate
for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021-2023 DV Attainment by the
Nonattainment area (ppm) attainment date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Las Vegas, NV..................... 0.074 Failed to attain.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: AMP480_LasVegas_DesignValueReport_2021_2023.
The EPA is finding that the Moderate area listed in Table 1 did not
attain by its attainment dates because their 2021-2023 DVs are greater
than 0.070 ppm. If the EPA determines that a nonattainment area
classified as Moderate failed to attain by the attainment date, CAA
section 181(b)(2)(B) requires the EPA to publish a notice in the
Federal Register, no later than 6 months following the attainment date,
identifying each such area and identifying the applicable
reclassification.
Under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A), the effect of this determination is
that this area will be reclassified by operation of law as Serious on
the effective date of this final rule. The reclassified area will then
be subject to the Serious area requirement to attain the 2015 ozone
NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but not later than August 3,
2027.
Once reclassified as Serious, the relevant state must submit to the
EPA the SIP revisions for this area that satisfy the statutory and
regulatory requirements applicable to Serious areas established in CAA
section 182(c) and in the EPA's implementing regulations for the 2015
ozone NAAQS.\2\ The EPA is establishing deadlines for submitting SIP
revisions for this reclassified area in a separate action.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 83 FR 62998, ``Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient
Air Quality Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area State
Implementation Plan Requirements'' (December 6, 2018).
\3\ See proposed rule at 89 FR 80833 (October 4, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. What is the background for this action?
On October 26, 2015, the EPA issued its final action to revise the
NAAQS for ozone to establish new 8-hour standards.\4\ In that action,
the EPA promulgated identical tighter primary and secondary ozone
standards designed to protect public health and welfare that specified
an 8-hour ozone level of 0.070 ppm. Specifically, the standards require
that the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-
hour average ozone concentration may not exceed 0.070 ppm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 80 FR 65452.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effective on August 3, 2018, the EPA designated 52 areas throughout
the country as nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.\5\ In a separate
action, the EPA assigned classification thresholds and attainment dates
based on the severity of an area's ozone problem, determined by the
area's DV.\6\ The EPA established the attainment date for ``Marginal,''
Moderate, and Serious nonattainment areas as three years, six years,
and nine years, respectively, from the effective date of the final
designations. Thus, the attainment date for Marginal nonattainment
areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS was August 3, 2021, the attainment date
for Moderate areas was August 3, 2024, and the attainment date for
Serious areas is August 3, 2027. On January 3, 2023, the EPA determined
that the Las Vegas, NV area addressed in this action did not attain the
standards by the Marginal attainment date, reclassifying the area as
Moderate by operation of law.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018).
\6\ 83 FR 10376 (March 9, 2018).
\7\ 88 FR 775.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. What is the statutory authority for this action?
The statutory authority for these determinations is provided by the
CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). Relevant portions of the CAA
include, but are not necessarily limited to, sections 181 and 182.
CAA section 107(d) provides that when the EPA establishes or
revises a NAAQS, the agency must designate areas of the country as
nonattainment, attainment, or unclassifiable based on whether an area
is not meeting (or is contributing to air quality in a nearby area that
is not meeting) the NAAQS, meeting the NAAQS, or cannot be classified
as meeting or not meeting the NAAQS, respectively. Subpart 2 of part D
of title I of the CAA governs the classification, state planning, and
emissions control requirements for any areas designated as
nonattainment for a revised primary ozone NAAQS. In particular, CAA
section 181(a)(1) requires each area designated as nonattainment for a
revised ozone NAAQS to be classified at the same time as the area is
designated based on the extent of the ozone problem in the area (as
determined based on the area's DV). Classifications for ozone
nonattainment areas are ``Marginal,'' ``Moderate,'' ``Serious,''
``Severe,'' and ``Extreme,'' in order of stringency. CAA section 182
provides the specific attainment planning and additional requirements
that apply to each ozone nonattainment area based on its
classification.
Section 181(b)(2)(A) of the CAA requires that within six months
following the applicable attainment date, the EPA shall determine
whether an ozone nonattainment area attained the ozone standard based
on the area's DV as of that date. Under CAA section 181(a)(5) as
interpreted by the EPA in 40 CFR 51.1307, upon application by any
state, the EPA may grant a 1-year extension to the attainment date when
certain criteria are met. One criterion for a first attainment date
extension is that an area's fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour value
for the attainment year must not exceed the level of the standard.
In the event an area fails to attain the ozone NAAQS by the
applicable attainment date and is not granted a 1-year attainment date
extension, CAA section 181(b)(2)(A) requires the EPA to make the
determination that an ozone nonattainment area failed to attain the
ozone standard by the applicable attainment date, and requires the area
to be reclassified by operation of law to the higher of: (1) The next
higher classification for the area, or (2) the classification
applicable to the area's DV as of the determination of failure to
attain.\8\ Section 181(b)(2)(B) of the CAA requires the EPA to publish
the determination of failure to attain and accompanying
reclassification in the Federal Register no later than six months after
the attainment date, which,
[[Page 103659]]
in the case of the Moderate nonattainment area considered in this
determination, is February 3, 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Las Vegas, Nevada will be classified to the next higher
classification, Serious because it does not have a DV that would
otherwise place it in a higher classification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once an area is reclassified, each state that contains a
reclassified area is required to submit certain SIP revisions in
accordance with its more stringent classification. The SIP revisions
are intended to, among other things, demonstrate how the area will
attain the NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than
August 3, 2027 (the Serious area attainment date for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS). Per CAA section 182(i), a state with a reclassified ozone
nonattainment area must submit the applicable attainment plan
requirements ``according to the schedules prescribed in connection with
such requirements'' in CAA section 182(c) for Serious areas, but the
EPA ``may adjust applicable deadlines (other than attainment dates) to
the extent such adjustment is necessary or appropriate to assure
consistency among the required submissions.'' The EPA is addressing the
SIP revision and implementation deadlines for newly reclassified
Serious areas, as well as the continued applicability of Moderate area
requirements that these areas may not yet have met, in a separate
rulemaking.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See proposed rule at 89 FR 80833.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. How does the EPA determine whether an area has attained the
standards?
The level of the 2015 ozone NAAQS is 0.070 ppm.\10\ Under the EPA
regulations at 40 CFR part 50, appendix U, the 2015 ozone NAAQS is
attained at a site when the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest
daily maximum 8-hour average ambient ozone concentration (i.e., DV)
does not exceed 0.070 ppm. When the DV does not exceed 0.070 ppm at
each ambient air quality monitoring site within the area, the area is
deemed to be attaining the ozone NAAQS. Each area's DV is determined by
the highest DV among monitors with valid DVs.\11\ The data handling
convention in appendix U dictates that concentrations shall be reported
in ``ppm'' to the third decimal place, with additional digits to the
right being truncated. Thus, a computed 3-year average ozone
concentration of 0.071 ppm is greater than 0.070 ppm and would exceed
the standards, but a computed 3-year average ozone concentration of
0.0709 ppm is truncated to 0.070 ppm and attains the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See 40 CFR 50.19.
\11\ According to appendix U to 40 CFR part 50, ambient
monitoring sites with a DV of 0.070 ppm or less must meet minimum
data completeness requirements in order to be considered valid.
These requirements are met for a 3-year period at a site if daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations are available for at
least 90% of the days within the ozone monitoring season, on
average, for the 3-year period, with a minimum of at least 75% of
the days within the ozone monitoring season in any one year. Ozone
monitoring seasons are defined for each State in appendix D to 40
CFR part 58. DVs greater than 0.070 ppm are considered to be valid
regardless of the data completeness.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The EPA's determination of attainment is based upon hourly ozone
concentration data for calendar years 2021, 2022, and 2023 that have
been collected and quality-assured in accordance with 40 CFR part 58
and reported to the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ The EPA maintains the AQS, a database that contains ambient
air pollution data collected by the EPA, state, local, and tribal
air pollution control agencies. The AQS also contains meteorological
data, descriptive information about each monitoring station
(including its geographic location and its operator) and data
quality assurance/quality control information. The AQS data is used
to (1) assess air quality, (2) assist in attainment/non-attainment
designations, (3) evaluate SIPs for non-attainment areas, (4)
perform modeling for permit review analysis, and (5) prepare reports
for Congress as mandated by the CAA. Access is through the website
at https://www.epa.gov/aqs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
State and local monitoring network plans are subject to approval by
the EPA on an annual basis, and any interim modifications to those
plans must also be approved by the EPA.\13\ The annual monitoring
network plan process is provided in 40 CFR 58.10 and the requirements
governing system modifications and monitor discontinuations are laid
out in 40 CFR 58.14. Where state or local agencies seek to modify the
ambient air quality monitoring networks by discontinuing a monitor
station, the EPA may approve such modifications subject to the criteria
established in 40 CFR 58.14(c). The EPA may not approve such
discontinuation if doing so would compromise data collection needed for
implementation of a NAAQS. If a monitor has been discontinued subject
to 40 CFR 58.14 such that the discontinuation results in insufficient
data to calculate a valid DV according to appendix U to 40 CFR part 50,
the EPA will determine the applicable area's attainment status based on
the remaining monitors in the area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Annual monitoring network plans for each state are
available at https://www.epa.gov/amtic/state-monitoring-agency-annual-air-monitoring-plans-and-network-assessments. The plans
relevant to this action Annual monitoring network plans for each
state are available at https://www.epa.gov/amtic/state-monitoring-agency-annual-air-monitoring-plans-and-network-assessments. The
plans relevant to this action and the EPA's letters approving those
plans are also available in the docket for this action.
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V. What is the EPA's determination for the area?
The EPA is determining that the Moderate nonattainment area
addressed in this action (Las Vegas, NV) failed to attain the 2015
ozone NAAQS by the attainment date of August 3, 2024. As shown in Table
1 of this notice, at least one monitor had a 2021-2023 DV greater than
0.070 ppm. The EPA has further determined that this area did not meet
the requirement under section 181(a)(5)(B) and 40 CFR 51.1307 necessary
to grant a 1-year extension of the attainment date because at least one
monitor in the Las Vegas area had a 2023 fourth highest daily maximum
8-hour average that was greater than 0.070 ppm. Table 2 of this notice
shows the annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone
concentration and 2021-2023 DV for each monitor in the Las Vegas area.
Table 2--2021-2023 Fourth Highest Daily Maximum 8-Hour Average Ozone Concentrations and Design Values at All Monitors in the Las Vegas, NV Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentration (ppm) 2021-2023 design
AQS site ID County State ------------------------------------------------ value (DV) (ppm)
2021 2022 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32-003-0044......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.075 0.073 0.074 0.074
32-003-2003......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.074 0.073 0.071 0.072
32-003-0299......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.074 0.072 0.069 0.071
32-003-0075......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.075 0.070 0.072 0.072
32-003-0540......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.070 0.068 0.066 0.068
32-003-0043......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.074 0.074 0.071 0.073
[[Page 103660]]
32-003-0071......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.075 0.070 0.072 0.072
32-003-0073......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.076 0.070 0.071 0.072
32-003-0298......................... Clark.................. Nevada................ 0.072 0.067 0.071 0.070
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Source: AMP480_LasVegas_DesignValueReport_2021_2023.
VI. What action is the EPA taking?
Pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(2), the EPA is determining that the
Las Vegas, NV area failed to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the
applicable attainment date of August 3, 2024. Therefore, upon the
effective date of this final action, the area will be reclassified, by
operation of law, to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Once
reclassified as Serious, this area will be required to attain the
standards ``as expeditiously as practicable'' but no later than nine
years after the initial designation as nonattainment, which in this
case would be no later than August 3, 2027.
Section 553 of the APA, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), provides that, when an
agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedures are
impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest, the
agency may issue a rule without providing notice and an opportunity for
public comment. The EPA has determined that there is good cause for
making this final agency action without prior proposal and opportunity
for comment because our action to determine whether this area has
attained the NAAQS by the attainment date is governed, per CAA section
181(b)(2)(A), solely by area design values as of that date. The area
design values relied upon in this notice are calculations based on the
certified air quality monitoring data governed by the EPA's regulations
and involve no judgment or discretion. Thus, notice and public
procedures are unnecessary to take this action. The EPA finds that this
constitutes good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review, and Executive
Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory Review
This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the
terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and is
therefore not subject to review under Executive Order 14094 (88 FR
21879, April 11, 2023).
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This rule does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This action
does not contain any information collection activities and serves only
to make a final determination that the Las Vegas, NV nonattainment area
failed to attain the 2015 ozone standards by the August 3, 2024
attainment date. This area will be reclassified as Serious
nonattainment for the 2015 ozone standards by operation of law upon the
effective date of the final reclassification action.
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 (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This action will not impose any requirements on
small entities. The determination of failure to attain the 2015 ozone
standards (and resulting reclassifications), do not in and of
themselves create any new requirements beyond what is mandated by the
CAA. This final action would require the state to adopt and submit SIP
revisions to satisfy CAA requirements and would not itself directly
regulate any small entities.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain any unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538 and does not significantly or uniquely affect
small governments. The action imposes no enforceable duty on any state,
local or tribal governments or the private sector.
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. The
division of responsibility between the Federal government and the
states for purposes of implementing the NAAQS is established under the
CAA.
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), requires the
EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful and timely
input by Tribal officials in the development of regulatory policies
that have Tribal implications.''
The EPA has identified a tribal area within the nonattainment area
covered by this proposed rule that would be potentially affected by
this rulemaking. Specifically, the Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of
the Las Vegas Indian Colony is located within the boundaries of the Las
Vegas nonattainment area. The EPA has concluded that this rule may have
tribal implications for this tribe for the purposes of Executive Order
13175, but it would not impose substantial direct costs upon the
tribes, nor would it preempt tribal law. A tribe that is part of an
area that is reclassified from Moderate to Serious nonattainment is not
required to submit a tribal implementation plan revision to address new
Serious area requirements. However, the nonattainment new source review
major source threshold and offset requirements would change for
stationary sources seeking preconstruction permits in any nonattainment
areas newly reclassified as Serious, including on tribal lands within
these nonattainment areas.
The EPA has communicated with the potentially affected tribe
located within the boundaries of the nonattainment area addressed in
this proposal, including offering government-to-government
consultation, as appropriate.\14\
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\14\ See letter dated July 23, 2024 from Matthew Lakin,
Director, Air and Radiation Division, EPA Region 9 to the Honorable
Benny Tso, Chairman, Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of the Las
Vegas Colony.
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[[Page 103661]]
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23,
1997) as applying 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 it 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 action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355,
May 22, 2001) 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. Therefore,
the EPA is not considering the use of any voluntary consensus
standards.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects'' of their actions on communities with environmental justice
(EJ) concerns to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
Executive Order 14096 (Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to
Environmental Justice for All, 88 FR 25251, April 26, 2023) builds on
and supplements Executive Order 12898 and defines EJ as, among other
things, the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people,
regardless of income, race, color, national origin, or Tribal
affiliation, or disability in agency decision-making and other Federal
activities that affect human health and the environment.''
The EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in
this action. Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this
action is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the air
quality of the affected area. Consideration of EJ is not required as
part of this action, and there is no information in the record
inconsistent with the stated goals of Executive Orders 12898 and 14096
of achieving environmental justice for communities with EJ concerns.
K. Congressional Review Act
This rule is exempt from the CRA because it is a rule of particular
applicability. The rule makes factual determinations for an identified
entity (the Las Vegas, Nevada area) based on facts and circumstances
specific to that entity. Determinations of attainment and failure to
attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS do not in themselves create any new
requirements beyond what is mandated by the CAA.
L. Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by February 18, 2025. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this action 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 this 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 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: December 5, 2024.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX. Region IX.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, title 40 CFR part 81 is
amended as follows:
PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES
0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
0
2. Section 81.329 is amended in the table for ``Nevada--2015 8-Hour
Ozone NAAQS [Primary and Secondary]'' by revising the entry for ``Las
Vegas, NV: Clark County (part), NV'' to read as follows:
Sec. 81.329 Nevada.
* * * * *
Nevada--2015 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
[Primary and Secondary]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Designation Classification
Designated area \1\ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date \2\ Type Date \2\ Type
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Las Vegas, NV................... .............. Nonattainment......... 1/21/2025 Serious.
Clark County (part):
That portion of Clark
County that lies in
hydrographic area
212.\3\
Las Vegas Tribe of
Paiute Indians of the
Las Vegas Indian
Colony.
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the
boundaries of any area of Indian country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the
larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation area is not a determination
that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is August 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
\3\ Hydrographic areas are shown on the State of Nevada Division of Water Resources' map titled Water Resources
and Inter-basin Flows (September 1971).
[[Page 103662]]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2024-29061 Filed 12-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
