93624 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 21, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

1See sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air Act 

(CAA or ‘‘Act’’). Primary standards represent 

ambient air quality standards the attainment and 

maintenance of which the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) has determined, including 

a margin of safety, are requisite to protect the public 

health. Secondary standards represent ambient air 

quality standards the attainment and maintenance 

of which the EPA has determined are requisite to 

protect the public welfare from any known or 

anticipated adverse effects associated with the 

presence of such air pollutant in the ambient air. 

CAA section 109(b). 

2 In 2015, we tightened the ozone National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or 

‘‘standards’’) even further and established 0.070 

parts per million (ppm), 8-hour average, as the new 

ozone NAAQS. See 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015). 

While the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS and 1997 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS have been revoked, the 2008 

ozone NAAQS remains in effect. 

3Mariposa County is located in central California 

and is the southern-most county within the air 

basin designated by California as the Mountain 

Counties Air Basin. The nonattainment area 

designation for Mariposa County encompasses the 

entire county. 

4 81 FR 26697 (May 4, 2016). The 2012–2014 

design value for the Mariposa County NAA was 

0.078 parts per million, which exceeded the 2008 

ozone NAAQS of 0.075 ppm, daily maximum 8- 

hour average. We note that today’s action is based 

on the 2013–2015 design value. 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2016–0669; FRL–9956–66- 

Region 9] 

Determination of Attainment of the 

2008 Ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards; Mariposa County, 

California 

AGENCY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking direct final 

action to determine that the Mariposa 

County, California Moderate 

Nonattainment Area (NAA) has attained 

the 2008 8-hour ozone National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS or ‘‘standards’’). This 

determination is based on complete, 

quality-assured and certified data for 

2013–2015. Preliminary data for 2016 

are consistent with continued 

attainment of the standards in the 

Mariposa County NAA. This 

determination suspends any unfulfilled 

obligations to submit revisions to the 

state implementation plan (SIP) related 

to attainment of the 2008 ozone 

standards for the Mariposa County NAA 

for as long as the area continues to meet 

those standards. 

DATES: This rule is effective on February 

21, 2017 without further notice, unless 

the EPA receives adverse comments by 

January 20, 2017. If the EPA receives 

such comments, the EPA will publish a 

timely withdrawal in the Federal 

Register to notify the public that this 

direct final rule will not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R09– 

OAR–2016–0669 at http://

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

levin.nancy@epa.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. For either manner of 

submission, the EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the Web, cloud or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, (415) 972– 

3848, levin.nancy@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. What is the background for this action? 

A. Ozone NAAQS, Area Designations and 

Classifications 

B. Relevant Statutory and Regulatory 

Requirements 

C. Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Data 

II. What is the EPA’s analysis of the Relevant 

Air Quality data? 

A. Monitoring Network and Data 

Considerations 

B. Evaluation of the Ambient Air Quality 

Data 

III. What is the effect of this action? 

IV. Final Action 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What is the background for this 

action? 

A. Ozone NAAQS, Area Designations 

and Classifications 

The Clean Air Act (CAA or ‘‘Act’’) 

requires the EPA to establish national 

primary and secondary standards for 

certain widespread pollutants, such as 

ozone, that cause or contribute to air 

pollution that is reasonably anticipated 

to endanger public health or welfare.1 In 

the 1970s, the EPA promulgated 

primary and secondary ozone standards, 

based on a 1-hour average. In 1997, we 

replaced the 1-hour ozone standards 

with primary and secondary 8-hour 

ozone standards. In 2008, we tightened 

the 8-hour ozone standards to the level 

of 0.075 parts per million (ppm), daily 

maximum 8-hour average.2 See 73 FR 

16436 (March 27, 2008); 40 CFR 50.15. 

Since the primary and secondary ozone 

standards are the same, we refer to them 

hereafter in this document using the 

singular ‘‘2008 ozone standard’’ (or 

simply ‘‘standard’’) or NAAQS. The 

2008 ozone standard is met at an 

ambient air quality monitoring site 

when the 3-year average of the annual 

fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour 

average ozone concentration is less than 

or equal to 0.075 ppm, as determined in 

accordance with 40 CFR part 50, 

Appendix P. 

The EPA designated NAAs for the 

2008 ozone standard on May 21, 2012, 

effective July 20, 2012 (77 FR 30088). In 

that action, the EPA classified (by 

operation of law) the Mariposa County, 

California 3 NAA as a ‘‘Marginal’’ 

nonattainment area. The original 

attainment date for the 2008 ozone 

standard for this Marginal ozone 

nonattainment area was as expeditious 

as practicable but not later than July 20, 

2015. See 40 CFR 51.1103. 

In May 2016, the EPA determined that 

the Mariposa County NAA failed to 

attain the 2008 ozone standard by the 

applicable attainment date of July 20, 

2015, and reclassified the area to the 

next higher classification, i.e., 

‘‘Moderate.’’ Our determination was 

based on complete, quality-assured and 

certified data for 2012–2014.4 States 

with Moderate ozone NAAs are required 

to submit revisions to the applicable SIP 

that comply with the requirements set 

forth in subpart 2 of part D of title I of 

the CAA and in the EPA’s ozone 

implementation rule for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS in 40 CFR part 51, subpart AA. 

The relevant SIP requirements include, 

among other requirements, attainment 

demonstrations and associated 

reasonably available control measures 

(RACM), reasonable further progress 

(RFP) plans, and contingency measures 

for failure to attain or make RFP. The 

applicable attainment date for areas 


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5A Primary Quality Assurance Organization 

(PQAO) means a monitoring organization, a group 

of monitoring organizations or other organization 

that is responsible for a set of stations that monitor 

the same pollutant and for which data quality 

assessments can be pooled. Each criteria pollutant 

sampler/monitor at a monitoring station must be 

associated with only one PQAO. (40 CFR 58.1). 

6The Bay Area Air Quality Management District 

(AQMD), the South Coast AQMD and the San Diego 

Air Pollution Control District are each designated 

as the PQAO for their respective ambient air 

monitoring programs. 

7Clean Air Status and Trends Network 

(CASTNET) is a national monitoring network 

established to assess trends in pollutant 

concentrations, atmospheric deposition and 

ecological effects due to changes in air pollutant 

emissions. For additional background on 

CASTNET, see https://www.epa.govfxsp0;/castnet. 

8See 40 CFR 58.10(a)(1). 

9Letter from Meredith Kurpius, Manager, Air 

Quality Analysis Office, EPA Region IX, to Karen 

Magliano, Chief, Air Quality Data Branch, Planning 

and Technical Support Division, CARB, dated 

March 7, 2014, approving CARB’s 2013 annual 

monitoring network report; letter from Meredith 

Kurpius, Manager, Air Quality Analysis Office, EPA 

Region IX, to Karen Magliano, Chief, Air Quality 

Data Branch, Planning and Technical Support 

Division, CARB, dated January 27, 2015, approving 

CARB’s 2014 annual monitoring report; and letter 

from Meredith Kurpius, Manager, Air Quality 

Analysis Office, U.S. EPA Region IX, to Ravi 

Ramalingam, Chief Consumer Products and Air 

Quality Assessment Branch, Air Quality Planning 

and Science Division, CARB, dated November 13, 

2015, approving CARB’s 2015 annual monitoring 

network report. 

10The 2016 CASTNET Annual Network Plan is 

available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/ 

files/2016-07/documents/castnet_plan_2016_

final.pdf. 

11Letter from Elizabeth J. Adams, Acting Director, 

Air Division, EPA Region IX, to Richard Corey, 

Executive Officer, CARB, dated August 31, 2016, 

transmitting findings of the EPA’s 2015 Technical 

System Audit of the CARB’s ambient air monitoring 

program. 

classified as Moderate nonattainment 

for the 2008 ozone NAAQS is as 

expeditious as practicable but not later 

than July 20, 2018. See 40 CFR 51.1103. 

B. Relevant Statutory and Regulatory 

Requirements 

Under the provisions of EPA’s ozone 

implementation rule for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS, if the EPA issues a 

determination that an area is attaining 

the relevant standard, also known as a 

Clean Data Determination, the 

requirements for such area to submit 

attainment demonstrations and 

associated RACM, RFP plans, 

contingency measures and other 

planning SIPs related to attainment of 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS are suspended 

until such time as the area is 

redesignated to attainment for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS. However, if the EPA 

later determines, through notice-andcomment rulemaking, that the area has 

again violated the 2008 ozone NAAQS, 

the area is again required to submit such 

plans. See 40 CFR 51.1118. While these 

requirements are suspended, the EPA is 

not precluded from acting upon these 

SIP elements at any time if submitted to 

the EPA for review and approval. 

C. Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Data 

A determination of whether an area’s 

air quality meets the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS is generally based upon three 

consecutive calendar years of complete, 

quality-assured data measured at 

established State and Local Air 

Monitoring Stations (SLAMS) in the 

NAA and entered into the EPA Air 

Quality System (AQS) database. Data 

from ambient air monitoring sites 

operated by state or local agencies in 

compliance with EPA monitoring 

requirements must be submitted to 

AQS. Heads of monitoring agencies 

annually certify that these data are 

accurate to the best of their knowledge. 

Accordingly, the EPA relies primarily 

on data in AQS when determining the 

attainment status of an area. See 40 CFR 

50.15; 40 CFR part 50, Appendix P; 40 

CFR part 53; 40 CFR part 58, 

Appendices A, C, D and E. All data are 

reviewed to determine the area’s air 

quality status in accordance with 40 

CFR part 50, Appendix P. 

The 2008 ozone standard is met at an 

ambient air quality monitoring site 

when the design value is less than or 

equal to 0.075 ppm, as determined in 

accordance with 40 CFR part 50, 

Appendix P. See 40 CFR 50.15. The 

design value is a statistic that describes 

the air quality status of a given location 

relative to the level of the NAAQS. For 

the purpose of comparison with the 

2008 ozone standard, the design value 

for a site is the 3-year average of the 

annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8- 

hour average ozone concentrations. 

When the design value is less than or 

equal to 0.075 ppm (based on the 

rounding convention in 40 CFR part 50, 

Appendix P) at each monitoring site 

within the area, then the area is meeting 

the NAAQS. The data completeness 

requirement is met when the 3-year 

average percent of days with valid 

monitoring data is at least 90 percent, 

and no single year has less than 75 

percent data completeness as 

determined in accordance with 40 CFR 

part 50, Appendix P. 

II. What is the EPA’s analysis of the 

Relevant Air Quality data? 

A. Monitoring Network and Data 

Considerations 

The California Air Resources Board 

(CARB) and local air pollution control 

districts and air quality management 

districts (‘‘districts’’) operate ambient air 

monitoring stations throughout the State 

of California. CARB is the lead 

monitoring agency in the Primary 

Quality Assurance Organization (PQAO) 

that includes all the monitoring 

agencies in the State with a few 

exceptions.5 6

Within the Mariposa County ozone 

nonattainment area, there is one ozone 

SLAMS (referred to as the Jerseydale 

site) that is operated by CARB, and one 

SLAMS (referred to as the Turtleback 

Dome site in Yosemite National Park) 

that is operated by the National Park 

Service (NPS). The ozone monitoring 

site operated by NPS at Turtleback 

Dome is one of many sites throughout 

the U.S. and Canada that comprise the 

Clean Air Status and Trends Network 

(CASTNET).7 Ozone monitors at 

CASTNET sites meet the EPA’s ambient 

air quality monitoring requirements of 

40 CFR part 58, and data from such sites 

are submitted to AQS. Ozone data from 

CASTNET sites, such as Turtleback 

Dome, are eligible for use in 

determining compliance with the ozone 

NAAQS. CARB is the PQAO for the 

Jerseydale site. The NPS is the PQAO 

for the Turtleback Dome site. 

All state and local air monitoring 

agencies are required to submit annual 

monitoring network plans to the EPA.8

An annual monitoring network plan 

discusses the status of the air 

monitoring network, as required under 

40 CFR part 58.10. CARB submits the 

annual monitoring network plans for the 

Jerseydale site. 

Since 2007, the EPA has regularly 

reviewed these annual monitoring 

network plans for compliance with the 

applicable reporting requirements in 40 

CFR part 58. With respect to ozone, the 

EPA found that the area’s annual 

monitoring network plans meet the 

applicable requirements under 40 CFR 

part 58. See EPA letters to CARB 

approving annual monitoring network 

plans for the years 2013, 2014 and 

2015.9 The 2016 CASTNET annual 

network plan, dated June 23, 2016, 

includes the Turtleback Dome site.10

The EPA also concluded from its 

Technical System Audit of the CARB 

PQAO (conducted during Summer 

2015), that the combined ambient air 

monitoring network operated by CARB 

currently meets or exceeds the 

requirements for the minimum number 

of SLAMS for the 2008 ozone 

standard.11 All of the monitoring sites in 

the PQAO are reviewed with respect to 

monitoring objectives, spatial scales and 

other site criteria as required by 40 CFR 

part 58, Appendix D. 

CARB oversees the quality assurance 

of all data collected within the CARB 

PQAO. Also, CARB annually certifies 

that the data it submits to AQS are 


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12See, e.g., letter from Ravi Ramalingam, Chief, 

Air Quality Data Branch, CARB, to Elizabeth 

Adams, Acting Director, Air Division, EPA Region 

9, certifying calendar year 2015 ambient air quality 

data and quality assurance data, May 10, 2016. 

13See, e.g., letter from Barkley Sive, Air 

Resources Division Program Manager, National Park 

Service, to Lew Weinstock, EPA Office of Air 

Quality Policy and Standards, certifying calendar 

year 2015 ambient air quality data and quality 

assurance, dated April 27, 2016. 

14See the CARB’s Annual Monitoring Network 

Report for Twenty-five Districts in California (July 

2015). The EPA approved an ozone season waiver 

for the Jerseydale site. See letter from Meredith 

Kurpius, Manager, Air Quality Analysis Office, EPA 

Region IX, to Ravi Ramalingam, Chief, Consumer 

Products and Air Quality Assessment Branch, 

CARB, dated March 8, 2016. The Jerseydale ozone 

monitor operates only in the warmer six months of 

the year. The site is at a high elevation where access 

during the winter can be problematic. Ozone 

concentrations during the winter at the Jerseydale 

site are well below the levels of the 2008 ozone 

standard. 

15See the CARB’s Annual Monitoring Network 

Report for Twenty-five Districts in California (July 

2015). 

16See EPA, Air Quality System, Design Value 

Report, July 25, 2016. 

17See EPA’s Ozone Watch. The November 8, 2016 

Ozone Watch reports that the preliminary 2014– 

2016 Design Value for Mariposa County 2008 ozone 

NAA is 0.075 ppm. http://oaqpsapps.epa.gov/ 

;MadeInAQAG/index.php?title=Ozone_Watch. 

complete and quality-assured. This 

includes data from all CARB sites, 

including the Jerseydale site.12 Data 

from the Turtleback Dome site are 

certified by the NPS.13

As noted above, there are two ozone 

SLAMS monitoring sites operating 

within the Mariposa County NAA. 

These sites monitor ozone 

concentrations on a continuous basis 

using EPA reference or equivalent 

methods.14 15

Lastly, consistent with the 

requirements contained in 40 CFR part 

50, the EPA has reviewed the qualityassured and certified ozone ambient air 

monitoring data, as recorded in AQS for 

the applicable monitoring period, 

collected at the monitoring sites in the 

Mariposa County NAA for 

completeness. The EPA has determined 

that the data are complete.16 For the two 

ozone monitoring sites in Mariposa 

County, daily maximum 8-hour average 

concentrations are available for at least 

90 percent of the days within the ozone 

monitoring season, on average for the 

2013–2015 period, and daily maximum 

8-hour average concentrations are 

available for at least 75 percent of the 

days within the ozone monitoring 

season for each individual year within 

that period. 

B. Evaluation of the Ambient Air 

Quality Data 

As noted above, the applicable 

attainment date for the Mariposa County 

ozone NAA is July 20, 2018; however, 

we have reviewed the data collected at 

the two monitoring sites within that 

area during the most recent three-year 

period (2013–2015) to determine 

whether the area has already attained 

the 2008 ozone standard. Table 1 shows 

the fourth-highest daily maximum 8- 

hour ozone concentrations for 2013 

through 2015 at both sites in the 

Mariposa County ozone NAA and shows 

the design values for 2013–2015. The 

design value for a given area is based on 

the monitoring site in the area with the 

highest design value. In this case, the 

design value for 2013–2015 for the 

Mariposa County ozone NAA is at the 

Jerseydale site and is 0.075 ppm, which 

is equal to the standard (i.e., 0.075 

ppm). Therefore, we are determining, 

based on the complete, quality-assured 

and certified data for 2013–2015, that 

the Mariposa County Moderate ozone 

NAA has attained the 2008 ozone 

standard. We have also reviewed 

preliminary data for 2016 and find that 

they are consistent with continued 

attainment of the standard in the 

Mariposa County NAA.17

TABLE 1—2013–2015 OZONE DESIGN VALUES AT SITES WITHIN THE MARIPOSA COUNTY NAA 

Monitoring site 

AQS site 

identification 

number 

Fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour ozone 

concentration (ppm) Design value 

(2013–2015) 

2013 2014 2015 

Yosemite NP—Turtleback Dome ......................................... 06–043–0003 0.073 0.077 0.073 0.074 

Jerseydale ............................................................................ 06–043–0006 0.077 0.077 0.071 0.075 

Source: EPA AQS Quick Look Report (AMP450), August 10, 2016. 

III. What is the effect of this action? 

With this determination that the 

Mariposa County ozone NAA has 

attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the 

obligation on the State of California to 

submit SIP revisions related to 

attainment of the 2008 ozone standard 

in Mariposa County, including but not 

limited to SIP revisions demonstrating 

attainment and RFP, is suspended until 

such time as Mariposa County is 

redesignated to attainment for the 2008 

ozone standard, at which time the 

requirements no longer apply. However, 

if the EPA determines, through noticeand-comment rulemaking, that 

Mariposa County has once again 

violated the 2008 ozone NAAQS, then 

the area is again required to submit the 

attainment-related SIP revisions. See 40 

CFR 51.1118. 

This final determination of attainment 

for the Mariposa County NAA does not 

constitute a redesignation to attainment. 

Under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E), 

redesignations to attainment require 

states to meet a number of additional 

statutory criteria, including EPA’s 

approval of a SIP revision 

demonstrating maintenance of the 

standard for 10 years after 

redesignation. The designation status of 

the Mariposa County area will remain 

Moderate nonattainment for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS until such time as the 

EPA determines that the area meets the 

CAA requirements for redesignation to 

attainment. 

IV. Final Action 

The EPA is taking direct final action 

to determine that the Mariposa County 

Moderate ozone NAA has attained the 

2008 ozone standard based on complete, 

quality-assured and certified ambient air 

quality monitoring data for the 2013– 

2015 monitoring period. Preliminary 

data for 2016 are consistent with 

continued attainment of the standard in 

the Mariposa County NAA. Upon the 

effective date of this determination, the 

requirements for the Mariposa County 

NAA to submit planning SIPs related to 

attainment of the standard are 

suspended until the area is redesignated 

or the EPA determines that the area has 

violated the standard, at which time the 

area would again be required to submit 

such plans. 

We do not think anyone will object to 

this determination, so we are finalizing 

it without proposing it in advance. 

However, in the Proposed Rules section 

of this Federal Register, we are 

simultaneously proposing to make the 

same determination made herein. If we 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 21, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 93627 

receive adverse comments by January 

20, 2017, we will publish a timely 

withdrawal in the Federal Register to 

notify the public that the direct final 

action will not take effect and we will 

address the comments in a subsequent 

final action based on the proposal. If we 

do not receive timely adverse 

comments, the direct final action will be 

effective without further notice on 

February 21, 2017. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This action makes a determination 

based on air quality data and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. For that 

reason, the action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• is not subject to the requirements of 

section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA; and 

• does not provide the EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, this rule does not have 

tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because the SIP 

obligations discussed herein do not 

apply to Indian tribes, and thus this 

action will not impose substantial direct 

costs on tribal governments or preempt 

tribal law. 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides 

that before a rule may take effect, the 

agency promulgating the rule must 

submit a rule report, which includes a 

copy of the rule, to each House of the 

Congress and to the Comptroller General 

of the United States. The EPA will 

submit a report containing this action 

and other required information to the 

U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 

Representatives and the Comptroller 

General of the United States prior to 

publication of the rule in the Federal 

Register. A major rule cannot take effect 

until 60 days after it is published in the 

Federal Register. This action is not a 

‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 

804(2). 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean 

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of 

this action must be filed in the United 

States Court of Appeals for the 

appropriate circuit by February 21, 

2017. Filing a petition for 

reconsideration by the Administrator of 

this final rule does not affect the finality 

of this action for the purposes of judicial 

review nor does it extend the time 

within which a petition for judicial 

review may be filed, and shall not 

postpone the effectiveness of such rule 

or action. Parties with objections to this 

direct final rule are encouraged to file a 

comment in response to the parallel 

notice of proposed rulemaking for this 

action published in the Proposed Rules 

section of today’s Federal Register, 

rather than file an immediate petition 

for judicial review of this direct final 

rule, so that the EPA can withdraw this 

direct final rule and address the 

comment in the proposed rulemaking. 

This action may not be challenged later 

in proceedings to enforce its 

requirements (see section 307(b)(2)). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Oxides of Nitrogen, Ozone, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: December 2, 2016. 

Deborah Jordan, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations is amended as 

follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart F—California 

■ 2. Section 52.282 is amended by 

adding paragraph (j) to read as follows: 

§ 52.282 Control strategy and regulations: 

Ozone 

* * * * * 

(j) Determination of attainment. The 

EPA has determined that, as of February 

21, 2017, the Mariposa County 2008 8- 

hour ozone nonattainment area in 

California has attained the 2008 ozone 

standard, based upon complete, qualityassured and certified data for 2013– 

2015. Under the provisions of the EPA’s 

ozone implementation rule (see 40 CFR 

51.1118), this determination suspends 

the requirements for the area to submit 

attainment demonstrations and 

associated reasonably available control 

measures, reasonable further progress 

plans, contingency measures for failure 

to attain or make reasonable further 

progress and other planning SIPs related 

to attainment of the 2008 ozone 

standard for as long as the area 

continues to attain the 2008 ozone 

standard. If the EPA determines, after 

notice-and-comment rulemaking, that 

the Mariposa County ozone 

nonattainment area no longer meets the 

2008 ozone standard, the corresponding 

determination of attainment for this area 

shall be withdrawn. 

[FR Doc. 2016–30477 Filed 12–20–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R01–OAR–2014–0720; A–1–FRL– 

9952–94–Region 1] 

Air Plan Approval; MA; Infrastructure 

State Implementation Plan 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is approving most 

elements of State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) submissions from Massachusetts 

regarding the infrastructure 

requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA 

or Act) for the 1997 ozone, 2008 lead 

(Pb), 2008 ozone, 2010 nitrogen dioxide 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES