San Joaquin Valley d AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT 

GOVERNING BOARD 

Chris Vierra, Chair 

Councilmember, City of Ceres 

Tony Barba, Vice Chair 

Supervisor. Kings County 

Judith G. Case 

Supervisor, Fresno County 

Ronn Dominici 

Supervisor, Madera County 

Henry Jay Forman. Ph.0. 

Appointed by Governor 

Michael G. Nelson 

Supervisor, Merced County 

William O'Brien 

Supervisor, Stanislaus County 

Leroy Ornellas 

Supervisor, San Joaquin County 

John G. Telles, M.D. 

Appointed by Governor 

Raymond A. Watson 

Supervisor. Kern County 

J. Steven Worthley 

Supervisor, Tulare County 

Vacant 

Large City 

Vacant 

Large City 

Vacant 

Small City, Central Region 

Vacant 

Small City, Southern Region 

Seyed Sadredin 

Executive Director 

Air Pollution Control Officer 

Northern Region Office 

4800 Enterprise Way 

Modesto, CA 95356.8718 

(2091 557.6400 FAX (209) 557.6475 

Central Region Office 

1990 East Gettysburg Avenue 

Fresno, CA 93726-0244 

(5591 230-6000 FAX (559) 230-6061 

Southern Region Office 

34946 Flyover Court 

Bakersfield, CA 93308-9725 

(661) 392-5500 FAX (661) 392-5585 

DATE: April 16, 2009 

TO: SJVUAPCD Governing Boa 

FROM: Seyed Sad redin, Executive 

project Coordinator: Errol Villegas 

RE: APPROVE REASONABLY AVAILABLE CONTROL 

TECHNOLOGY (RACT) DEMONSTRATION FOR 

OZONE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (SIP) 

REPORT 

RECOMMENDATION: 

1. Approve the Reasonably Available Control Technology 

(RACT) Demonstration for Ozone State lmplementation Plans 

(SIP) Report, 

2. Approve the Negative Declaration for two source categories 

covered by EPA Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG), 

3. Authorize the Chair to sign the attached resolution, and 

4. Direct staff to forward the accepted RACT Demonstration for 

Ozone SIP and the attached resolution to the California Air 

Resources Board (ARB) for incorporation as part of the 

California State Implementation Plan (SIP). 

BACKGROUND: 

The San Joaquin Valley Air Basin (SJVAB) is classified as an 

extreme ozone nonattainment area for the federal eight-hour ozone 

National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). 

To improve the SJVAB's air quality and move the region towards 

attainment of the NAAQS, the District has prepared and adopted 

several attainment plans since the eight counties within the SJVAB 

unified as a single air district in 1992. The District has also adopted 

over 500 new rules and amendments since 1992. Many current 

rules are fourth or fifth generation, meaning that they have been 

revised as new emission control technology has become available in 

ww. valleyair.org 
SJVUAPCD Governing Board 

APPROVE REASONABLY AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY (RACT) DEMONSTRATION FOR 

OZONE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (SIP) 

April 16, 2009 

2

the marketplace. The District’s continuous dedication to improving rule stringency has 

resulted in the District having met or exceeded required rate of progress (ROP) and 

reasonable further progress (RFP) emission reduction requirements imposed by the 

federal Clean Air Act.

The control measures in the District’s Rules and Regulations have been progressively 

advanced through the years such that they reflect technologies and methods that are far 

beyond RACT. Air quality improvements evidence the success of the District’s 

innovative and effective rules. Significant progress has been made towards the 

attainment of the ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS and the EPA has redesignated the SJVAB 

from nonattainment to attainment for the PM10 NAAQS. 

Despite the progress towards attainment, the SJVAB remains in nonattainment for 

ozone and Sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f) of the federal Clean Air Act require ozone 

nonattainment areas to implement RACT for sources that are subject to Control 

Techniques Guidelines (CTG) documents issued by EPA and for “major sources” of 

volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are ozone 

precursors. RACT requirements are included in the Clean Air Act to assure that 

significant source categories at major sources in the nation’s nonattainment areas are 

controlled to a “reasonable” extent. 

The purpose of this analysis is to fulfill multiple requirements pursuant to the United 

States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

One-Hour Ozone Requirements: 

In June of 2004, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated San 

Joaquin Valley Air Basin as nonattainment for the new 8-hour ambient air quality 

standard for ozone. Subsequently, in June of 2005, EPA revoked the previous 1-hour 

ambient air quality standard. However, prior to EPA's revocation of the 1-hour ozone 

standard, in October 2004, the District had submitted an Extreme Ozone Attainment 

Demonstration Plan (EOADP) for the 1-hour ozone standard. Within the EOADP, was a 

RACT discussion (Section 4.2.5) which satisfied all the requirements that EPA had 

specified at the time. 

In November 2005, EPA changed its policy for RACT in SIPs, as outlined in their Final 

Rule to Implement the 8-hr Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard-Phase 2 (70 

FR 71612). In 2008, EPA notified the District that the 2004 EOADP RACT discussion 

did not meet the requirements of the new policy. District staff, in discussions with EPA 

staff, determined that the most prudent course of action to address this discrepancy was 

to formally withdraw the RACT discussion from the 2004 EOADP, thereby removing it 

from EPA's review and approval process for the 1-hr ozone SIP requirements. 

Therefore, on August 21, 2008, the District’s Governing Board approved agenda item 

“Adopt the Clarifications and Documentation Regarding the 2004 Extreme Ozone 

Attainment Demonstration Plan for the Revoked Federal I-Hour Ozone Standard”, which 
SJVUAPCD Governing Board 

APPROVE REASONABLY AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY (RACT) DEMONSTRATION FOR 

OZONE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (SIP) 

April 16, 2009 

3

provided EPA with the necessary documentation and clarification needed to take final 

action on the 2004 1-hour ozone plan. Contained within this Governing Board item was 

the withdrawal of the RACT portion of that plan (Section 4.2.5) and a commitment to 

replace it with a new RACT analysis. 

Subsequently, on January 21, 2009, EPA published in the Federal Register a “Finding 

of Failure to Submit” for the RACT analysis of the one-hour ozone plan, which began 

sanction clocks. The first sanction clock runs for 18 months and, if not stopped, 

imposes a 2:1 ratio on offsets for new major stationary sources. The second sanction 

runs for 24-months and, if not stopped, would restrict the use of federal highway funds 

in the area, with the exception of certain safety and air quality projects. 

This RACT demonstration report will satisfy the commitment for a new RACT analysis 

for the one-hour ozone plan and prevent all sanctions that could be imposed by the 

“finding of failure to submit”. 

Eight-Hour Ozone Requirements: 

According to the EPA’s Final Rule to Implement the Eight-Hour Ozone NAAQS (70 FR 

71612, November 29, 2005), areas classified as moderate nonattainment or higher 

must submit a demonstration that their current rules fulfill eight-hour ozone RACT for all 

CTG categories and all major, non-CTG sources. 

On August 17, 2006 the District Governing Board adopted a RACT SIP analysis for its 

eight-hour ozone serious nonattainment classification. Per Section 182 (c) of the 

federal Clean Air Act, areas classified as serious nonattainment have a 50 tons per year 

(tpy) major source definition. The Valley did not, however, experience a 50 tpy 

threshold because of state law and the federal revocation of the 1-hour ozone 

standard.1 The August 2006 RACT SIP analysis showed that the District’s rules met or 

exceeded RACT requirements for all applicable EPA source categories. The final eighthour ozone attainment plan (2007 Ozone Plan), adopted on April 30, 2007, requested 

an extreme nonattainment classification for the District. For areas classified as extreme 

nonattainment, the major source definition is 10 tpy VOC or NOx (Section 182 (e) of the 

federal Clean Air Act). 

To assess the District’s rules based on the adjusted major source definition of 10 tpy, on 

December 28, 2007 the District published a revised RACT SIP analysis for public 

comment. The analysis also evaluated District rules against four new CTGs 

promulgated between August 2006 and December 2007 and reviewed additional rules 

and rule amendments for RACT that were adopted by the District’s Governing Board 

between August 17, 2006 and December 2007. The District received comment letters 

from EPA and Earthjustice which suggested that the District conduct a more thorough 

 

1

 Section 42504 of the California Health and Safety Code stipulates that any major source threshold in effect as of 

December 30, 2002 cannot be relaxed to a higher threshold. On December 30, 2002 the Valley was classified as 

severe nonattainment for 1-hour ozone, so the threshold remained at 25 tpy. This state law prevented the Valley’s 

major source threshold from rising to 50 tpy upon classifying the Valley as serious nonattainment for 8-hour ozone. 
SJVUAPCD Governing Board 

APPROVE REASONABLY AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY (RACT) DEMONSTRATION FOR 

OZONE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (SIP) 

April 16, 2009 

4

analysis for each rule to address RACT and evaluate how emission limits found 

reasonable in other areas have changed since EPA approval of the District’s rules. 

This RACT demonstration report therefore, replaces both the original August 17, 2006 

RACT SIP analysis and the December 28, 2007 revised RACT SIP analysis as it 

assesses the District’s rules based on the adjusted major source definition of 10 tpy, 

evaluates District rules against new CTGs promulgated since August 2006, and also 

reviews additional rules and rule amendments for RACT that have been adopted by the 

District’s Governing Board since August 17, 2006. 

Additional EPA Requirements: 

As part of the August 2006 RACT SIP analysis, District staff identified eight rules2 that 

were not previously submitted to EPA for inclusion into the SIP. In May 2007, District 

staff submitted the rules to the California Air Resources Board (ARB) for transmittal to 

EPA for inclusion into the SIP. On January 2, 2008, EPA published in the Federal 

Register (73 FR 48) a direct final approval of the rules into the SIP. The direct final 

action was published without prior proposal because EPA anticipated no adverse 

comment. The direct final rule stated that if adverse comments were received by 

February 1, 2008, EPA would publish a timely removal in the Federal Register. EPA 

received a timely adverse comment which suggested that the rules did not meet the 

federal Clean Air Act, Section 172(c)(1) requirements for RACT and consequently 

removed the direct final approval of the rules. It should be noted that the EPA did not 

determine that these rules do not satisfy RACT. 

This RACT demonstration report also addresses EPA’s request for additional 

information regarding the eight rules proposed for direct final approval 

DISCUSSION: 

The RACT SIP analysis requires the District to evaluate rules that apply to sources that 

are covered by a CTG (CTG sources) and rules that apply to major sources but are not 

covered by a CTG (major, non-CTG sources). A list of all District rules was prepared 

and refined to only include rules that control ozone precursors, NOx or VOC, since this 

analysis is for ozone attainment plans. 

Chapter 2 of the report addresses District implementation of EPA CTGs. As a part of its 

RACT SIP analysis, the District is required to assure that EPA’s CTGs are being 

appropriately implemented though District regulations. For this part of the analysis, staff 

matched the list of CTGs to District rules that apply to CTG source categories. Table 2-

 

2

 Rule 4104 (Reduction of Animal Matter); Rule 4402 (Crude Oil Production Sumps); Rule 4404 (Heavy Oil Test 

Station – Kern County); Rule 4453 (Refinery Vacuum Producing Devices or Systems); Rule 4454 (Refinery Process 

Unit Turnaround); Rule 4625 (Wastewater Separators); Rule 4641 (Cutback, Slow Cure, and Emulsified Asphalt, 

Paving and Maintenance Operations); and Rule 4672 (Petroleum Solvent Dry Cleaning Operations) 
SJVUAPCD Governing Board 

APPROVE REASONABLY AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY (RACT) DEMONSTRATION FOR 

OZONE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (SIP) 

April 16, 2009 

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1 of the report shows the CTGs promulgated by the EPA to-date, and the corresponding 

District rules. 

There are also two CTG source categories that have no associated District rules: (a) 

surface coating operations at shipbuilding and ship repair facilities; and (b) 

Pharmaceutical manufacturing. Since there are no such business establishments 

currently operating in the District, staff has prepared a negative declaration, which will 

be included in the resolution stating this finding. The proposed negative declaration 

analysis is detailed in Chapter 2, Section 2.1.2 of the report. 

Chapter 3 of the report identifies the facilities within the District that have the potential to 

emit at least ten tons per year of either NOx or VOC (e.g. major sources) and identified 

the NOx and VOC rules that apply to the facility’s equipment (see Table 3-1 of the 

report). 

The bulk of the District’s RACT Demonstration effort was to review the District’s 

numerous NOx and VOC regulations for compliance with federal RACT requirements. 

Criteria for determining that RACT is satisfied included the RACT guidance from EPA, 

requirements per California law, and a comparison against multiple federal rules, 

regulations, and technology guidelines as well as evaluating District rules against 

comparable rules from California’s most technologically progressive air districts. District 

staff, upon application of the criteria, was then able to determine RACT status for each 

rule. 

It should be noted that if a District rule had been recently SIP-approved, it was 

understood that the rule had been evaluated by the EPA and found to fulfill RACT, and 

no detailed analysis was conducted. However, since RACT is a moving target, if there 

were no recent SIP-approvals for a rule, District staff performed a detailed analysis to 

evaluate rule requirements against current technology. 

District staff’s analysis concluded that all rules that apply to CTG sources in the District 

and all rules that apply to major, non-CTG sources have been found to fulfill RACT or 

are on a schedule to fulfill RACT requirements. For the two CTG source categories that 

have no associated District rules, staff has prepared a negative declaration, in 

accordance with EPA’s directive. 

Environmental Impact Analysis 

The RACT Demonstration for Ozone SIP report is an evaluation of the current District 

rules. Therefore, adoption of the proposed analysis is not a project as described in 

Section 15378(a) of the CEQA guidelines and does not need to undergo CEQA analysis. 

Project Development Process 
SJVUAPCD Governing Board 

APPROVE REASONABLY AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY (RACT) DEMONSTRATION FOR 

OZONE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (SIP) 

April 16, 2009 

6

A 30-day public review period for the report was held from March 16, 2009 to April 16, 

2009. Comments received from EPA were general in nature and mainly required 

clarification within certain rule evaluations. The comments and the District’s responses 

have been incorporated in the report, as Appendix A. No comments were received from 

the ARB and the public or interested parties. 

Staff is recommending that the Governing Board consider adopting the RACT 

Demonstration for Ozone SIP report and the negative declaration at a public hearing 

scheduled for April 16, 2009. The notice of the public hearing was published in a 

general circulation newspaper in each of the eight San Joaquin Valley counties, and 

was mailed to affected sources and interested parties. The notice of public hearing 

solicited written comments, and identified the name and telephone number of District 

staff that answered questions and responded to comments. 

FISCAL IMPACT:

District staff expects no fiscal impact to the District to result from this action. 

Attachments: 

Resolution for the Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) Demonstration and Negative 

Declaration for Two Source Categories Covered by EPA Control Techniques Guidelines (4 pages) 

RACT Demonstration for Ozone SIP Report with Appendices (453 pages)