Environmental Protection Agency March 25, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is proposing to approve, as a revision of the California state implementation plan, a request from the California Air Resources Board to redesignate the San Diego County ozone nonattainment area to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (1997 ozone standard) because the request meets the statutory requirements for redesignation under the Clean Air Act. EPA is also proposing to approve the State's plan for maintaining the 1997 ozone standard in San Diego County for ten years beyond redesignation, and the inventories and related motor vehicle emissions budgets within the plan, because they meet the applicable requirements for such plans and budgets.

The EPA is announcing the reopening of the public comment period for the EPA's responses to state and tribal designation recommendations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard. The EPA sent the responses directly to the states and tribes on or about February 7, 2013. On February 15, 2013, the EPA published a notice of availability in the Federal Register that the EPA had posted the responses on its Internet Web site and the EPA invited public comment. In the notice of availability, the EPA stated that public comments must be received on or before March 18, 2013. The EPA has received several requests from stakeholders for additional time to prepare their comments. Some of the requesters asserted that they needed additional time to review the EPA's response to state's proposed designation and prepare their responses due to the complexity of the issues impacting their area. Taking that into consideration, the EPA is reopening the comment period until April 8, 2013. The EPA intends to make final the designation determinations for the areas of the country addressed by these responses in June 2013.