Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 12263 

1 78 FR 3086 and 40 CFR 50.18. Unless otherwise 

noted, all references to the PM2.5 NAAQS in this 

notice are to the 2012 annual NAAQS of 12.0 mg/ 

m3 codified at 40 CFR 50.18. 

2 78 FR 3086, 3088 (January 15, 2013). 

3EPA, Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, 

No. EPA/600/P–99/002aF and EPA/600/P–99/ 

002bF, October 2004. 

4 80 FR 2206 (January 15, 2015). 

5From 2000 through early 2013, the Portola PM2.5

monitoring site was located at 161 Nevada Street. 

In 2013, the site was relocated to 420 Gulling Street. 

6 84 FR 11208. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03124 Filed 3–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2020–0534; FRL–10020– 

36–Region 9] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality State Implementation Plans; 

California; Plumas County; Moderate 

Area Plan for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking final action to 

approve a state implementation plan 

(SIP) revision submitted by the State of 

California to address Clean Air Act 

(CAA or ‘‘Act’’) requirements for the 

2012 annual fine particulate matter 

(PM2.5) national ambient air quality 

standard (NAAQS or ‘‘standard’’) in the 

Plumas County Moderate PM2.5

nonattainment area (‘‘Portola 

nonattainment area’’). The submitted 

SIP revision is the State’s ‘‘Proposed 

Portola PM2.5 Plan Contingency Measure 

SIP Submittal’’ (‘‘PM2.5 Plan Revision’’), 

which includes a revised City of Portola 

ordinance regulating PM2.5 emission 

sources and the State’s demonstration 

that this submission meets the Moderate 

area contingency measure requirement 

for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the 

Portola nonattainment area. The EPA is 

also taking final action to approve the 

contingency measure element of the 

Moderate area attainment plan for the 

Portola nonattainment area, as revised 

and supplemented by the PM2.5 Plan 

Revision. 

DATES: This rule is effective on April 2, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R09–OAR–2020–0534. 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 

disabilities 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: John 

Ungvarsky, Air Planning Office (AIR–2), 

EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 972– 

3963 or ungvarsky.john@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses 

III. Final Action 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

On January 15, 2013, the EPA 

strengthened the primary annual 

NAAQS for particulate matter with a 

diameter of 2.5 microns or less by 

lowering the level from 15.0 micrograms 

per cubic meter (mg/m3) to 12.0 mg/m3

(‘‘2012 PM2.5 NAAQS’’).1 The EPA 

established this standard after 

considering substantial evidence from 

numerous health studies demonstrating 

that serious health effects are associated 

with exposures to PM2.5 concentrations 

above these levels. 

Epidemiological studies have shown 

statistically significant correlations 

between elevated levels of PM2.5

(particulate matter with a diameter of 

2.5 microns or less) and premature 

mortality. Other important health effects 

associated with PM2.5 exposure include 

aggravation of respiratory and 

cardiovascular disease, changes in lung 

function, and increased respiratory 

symptoms. Individuals particularly 

sensitive to PM2.5 exposure include 

older adults, people with heart and lung 

disease, and children.2 PM2.5 can be 

emitted directly into the atmosphere as 

a solid or liquid particle (‘‘primary 

PM2.5’’ or ‘‘direct PM2.5’’) or can be 

formed in the atmosphere as a result of 

various chemical reactions among 

precursor pollutants such as nitrogen 

oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic 

compounds, and ammonia (‘‘secondary 

PM2.5’’).3

Following promulgation of a new or 

revised NAAQS, the EPA is required by 

CAA section 107(d) to designate areas 

throughout the nation as attaining or not 

attaining the NAAQS. The EPA 

designated and classified the Portola 

nonattainment area as ‘‘Moderate’’ 

nonattainment for the 2012 annual 

PM2.5 standards based on ambient 

monitoring data that showed the area 

was above 12.0 mg/m3 for the 2011–2013 

monitoring period.4 For the 2011–2013 

period, the annual PM2.5 design value 

for the Portola nonattainment area was 

12.8 mg/m3 based on monitored readings 

at the 161 Nevada Street and 420 

Gulling Street monitors.5

The Portola nonattainment area 

includes the City of Portola (‘‘Portola’’), 

which has a population of 

approximately 2,100 and is located at an 

elevation of 4,890 feet in an 

intermountain basin isolated by rugged 

mountains. For a precise description of 

the geographic boundaries of the Portola 

nonattainment area, see 40 CFR 81.305. 

The local air district with primary 

responsibility for developing a plan to 

attain the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in 

this area is the Northern Sierra Air 

Quality Management District (NSAQMD 

or ‘‘District’’). The District worked with 

the California Air Resources Board 

(CARB) in preparing the PM2.5 Plan 

Revision. Under state law, authority for 

regulating sources under state 

jurisdiction in the Portola 

nonattainment area is split between the 

District, which has responsibility for 

regulating stationary and most area 

sources, and CARB, which has 

responsibility for regulating most 

mobile sources. 

On February 28, 2017, California 

submitted the ‘‘Portola Fine Particulate 

Matter (PM2.5) Attainment Plan’’ 

(‘‘Portola PM2.5 Plan’’) to address the 

CAA’s Moderate area requirements for 

the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the 

Portola nonattainment area. On March 

25, 2019, the EPA fully approved the 

Portola PM2.5 Plan, except for the 

contingency measure element.6 As part 

of the attainment control strategy, the 

Portola PM2.5 Plan relies on ‘‘Ordinance 

No. 344: An Ordinance of the City of 

Portola, County of Plumas Amending 

Chapter 15.10 of the City of Portola 

Municipal Code Providing for 

Regulation of Wood Stoves and 

Fireplaces’’ (‘‘City Ordinance No. 344’’) 

to achieve direct PM2.5 emission 

reductions necessary for attainment by 


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12264 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

7 83 FR 9213. 

8 83 FR 13871. 

9Letter dated October 28, 2020, from Richard 

Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to John Busterud, 

Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX, with 

enclosures. 

10CARB requested that the EPA entirely replace 

City Ordinance No. 344 in the SIP with City 

Ordinance No. 359. NSAQMD, Resolution 2020–09 

(October 26, 2020). 

11 85 FR 78050 (December 3, 2020). 

12Order, Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. 

Andrew Wheeler, Case No. 3:19–cv–02782–EMC 

(N.D. Cal., February 19, 2020). 

13 85 FR 78050. 

14CARB Resolution 20–26, ‘‘Proposed Portola 

PM2.5 Plan Contingency Measure State 

Implementation Plan Submittal’’ (November 19, 

2020) and letter dated December 28, 2020, from 

Richard W. Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to John 

W. Busterud, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

IX, including enclosures (transmitting Proposed 

Portola PM2.5 Plan Contingency Measure State 

Implementation Plan Submittal). 

15The comment is available in the docket for this 

rulemaking at https://www.regulations.gov/ 

document?D=EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0534-0028. 

the December 31, 2021 attainment date. 

The EPA approved City Ordinance No. 

344 into the SIP on March 5, 2018.7 The 

attainment control strategy in the 

Portola PM2.5 Plan also relies on an 

enforceable state commitment to 

implement an incentive grant program 

called the ‘‘Greater Portola Woodstove 

Change-out Program 2016’’ (‘‘Wood 

Stove Program’’) during the 2016 to 

2021 period to fund the replacement of 

uncertified wood stoves with newer, 

EPA-certified devices and to educate 

residents on proper ways to store and 

burn wood. The EPA approved the 

Wood Stove Program into the SIP on 

April 2, 2018.8

On October 28, 2020, CARB submitted 

‘‘Ordinance No. 359: An Ordinance of 

the City of Portola, County of Plumas 

Amending Chapter 15.10 of the City of 

Portola Municipal Code Providing for 

Regulation of Wood Stoves and 

Fireplaces and the Prohibition of the 

Open Burning of Yard Waste’’ (‘‘City 

Ordinance No. 359’’), together with a 

document entitled ‘‘Proposed Portola 

PM2.5 Plan Contingency Measure SIP 

Submittal,’’ October 16, 2020 (hereafter 

‘‘CARB Staff Report’’), to the EPA with 

a request for approval into the SIP 

through the EPA’s parallel processing 

procedures in 40 CFR part 51, appendix 

V, section 2.3.9 We refer to this 

submission of City Ordinance No. 359 

and the CARB Staff Report together as 

the ‘‘Proposed PM2.5 Plan Revision.’’ 

The Proposed PM2.5 Plan Revision 

contains, among other things, a 

contingency measure in City Ordinance 

No. 359 that revises and supplements 

the contingency measure element of the 

Portola PM2.5 Plan.10

On December 3, 2020, the EPA 

proposed to approve the Proposed PM2.5

Plan Revision, through parallel 

processing, and to approve the 

contingency measure element of the 

Portola PM2.5 Plan, as revised and 

supplemented by the Proposed PM2.5

Plan Revision.11 Specifically, the EPA 

proposed to find that the contingency 

measure element of the Portola PM2.5

Plan, as revised and supplemented by 

the Proposed PM2.5 Plan Revision, 

would satisfy the requirements for 

contingency measures in CAA section 

172(c)(9) and 40 CFR 51.1014 for 

purposes of the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS in 

the Portola nonattainment area. Our 

proposed approval was contingent upon 

the State’s submission of the final, 

adopted PM2.5 Plan Revision in time for 

the EPA to finalize this action by March 

1, 2021, our court-ordered deadline for 

taking final action on the contingency 

measure element of the Portola PM2.5

Plan.12 The EPA also proposed to find 

that the requirement for contingency 

measures to address a failure to meet a 

reasonable further progress (RFP) 

requirement for the 2019 RFP milestone 

year was moot as applied to the Portola 

nonattainment area, because the State 

and District had adequately 

demonstrated that the emission 

reductions needed for RFP had been 

achieved and that the Portola 

nonattainment area had met its 2019 

quantitative milestone. Finally, the EPA 

proposed to approve a new prohibition 

on the open burning of yard waste and 

related provisions in City Ordinance No. 

359 that would strengthen the SIP, 

excluding paragraph 15.10.060 B. and 

sections 15.10.100 and 15.10.110 

regarding penalties and violations.13

On November 19, 2020, CARB 

adopted the Proposed PM2.5 Plan 

Revision, and on December 29, 2020, 

CARB submitted the final PM2.5 Plan 

Revision to the EPA as a revision to the 

California SIP.14 The SIP submission 

includes evidence that the State 

provided adequate public notice and an 

opportunity for a public hearing, 

consistent with the EPA’s implementing 

regulations in 40 CFR 51.102. 

II. Public Comments and EPA 

Responses 

The EPA’s proposed action provided 

a 30-day public comment period that 

ended on January 4, 2021. During this 

period, the EPA received one 

anonymous comment that does not 

articulate any issue.15 We do not 

respond to this comment because it fails 

to identify any issue that is germane to 

the EPA’s action. 

III. Final Action 

For the reasons discussed in detail in 

the proposed rule and summarized 

herein, under CAA section 110(k)(3), the 

EPA is taking final action to approve the 

PM2.5 Plan Revision and to approve the 

contingency measure element of the 

Portola PM2.5 Plan, as revised and 

supplemented by the PM2.5 Plan 

Revision, as meeting the contingency 

measure requirements of CAA section 

172(c)(9) and 40 CFR 51.1014 for the 

2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the 

Portola nonattainment area. The EPA is 

also determining that the requirement 

for RFP contingency measures for the 

2019 milestone date is moot as applied 

to the Portola nonattainment area, 

because the State and District have 

adequately demonstrated that the 

emission reductions needed for RFP 

have been achieved and that the 2019 

quantitative milestone has been met in 

the Portola nonattainment area. 

Finally, the EPA is approving new 

provisions in City Ordinance No. 359 

concerning open burning of yard wastes 

and other debris, including related 

definitions and exemptions. These 

provisions strengthen the SIP and are 

consistent with CAA requirements 

regarding enforceability and SIP 

revisions. At the State’s and District’s 

request, we are not acting on paragraph 

15.10.060 B., section 15.10.100, or 

section 15.10.110 of City Ordinance No. 

359. 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing 

regulatory text that includes 

incorporation by reference. In 

accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 

51.5, the EPA is finalizing the 

incorporation by reference of the City of 

Portola ordinance described in the 

amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth 

below. The EPA has made, and will 

continue to make, these documents 

available through www.regulations.gov 

and at the EPA Region IX Office (please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this preamble for more information). 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

Act and applicable federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely approves, or conditionally 

approves, state plans as meeting federal 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 12265 

requirements and does not impose 

additional requirements beyond those 

imposed by state law. For that reason, 

this action: 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to review by the Office of 

Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• 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 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 

practical and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where the EPA or 

an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

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 CAA, 

petitions for judicial review of this 

action must be filed in the United States 

Court of Appeals for the appropriate 

circuit by May 3, 2021. 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. 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, Ammonia, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 

dioxide, Particulate matter, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 

dioxide, Volatile organic compounds. 

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

Dated: February 23, 2021. 

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 52.220 is amended by 

adding paragraphs (c)(497)(i)(C)(1)(ii), 

(c)(500)(ii)(A)(2), and (c)(553) to read as 

follows: 

§ 52.220 Identification of plan—in part. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(497) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(C) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) Previously approved on March 5, 

2018 at (c)(497)(i)(C)(1)(i) of this section 

and now deleted with replacement at 

(c)(553)(i)(B)(1)(i), Ordinance No. 344, 

Portola Municipal Code, Chapter 15.10, 

‘‘Wood Stove and Fireplace Ordinance,’’ 

adopted June 22, 2016. 

* * * * * 

(500) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(2) The ‘‘Portola Fine Particulate 

Matter (PM2.5) Attainment Plan,’’ 

adopted January 23, 2017, subchapter 

VI.B (‘‘Contingency Measure’’), as 

supplemented and revised October 26, 

2020. 

* * * * * 

(553) The following additional 

materials were submitted on December 

29, 2020, by the Governor’s designee as 

an attachment to a letter dated 

December 28, 2020. 

(i) Incorporation by reference. (A) 

Northern Sierra Air Quality 

Management District. 

(1) City of Portola. 

(i) Ordinance No. 359, Portola 

Municipal Code, Chapter 15.10, ‘‘Wood 

Stove and Fireplace Ordinance and the 

Prohibition of the Open Burning of Yard 

Waste,’’ adopted September 9, 2020, 

except paragraph 15.10.060 B., section 

15.10.100, and section 15.10.110. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

(B) [Reserved] 

(ii) Additional materials. (A) 

California Air Resources Board. 

(1) Resolution 20–26, ‘‘Proposed 

Portola PM2.5 Plan Contingency Measure 

State Implementation Plan Submittal,’’ 

adopted November 19, 2020. 

(2) [Reserved] 

(B) Northern Sierra Air Quality 

Management District. 

(1) Northern Sierra Air Quality 

Management District Resolution 2020– 

09, adopted October 26, 2020. 

(2) [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. 2021–04351 Filed 3–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2020–0196; FRL–10020– 

45–Region 3] 

Air Plan Approval; West Virginia; 1997 

8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard Second Maintenance 

Plan for the West Virginia Portion of 

the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY Area 

Comprising Cabell and Wayne 

Counties 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 


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