Air Resources Board

Mary D. Nichols, Chairman

Linda S. Adams 1001 I Street P.O. Box 2815 Arnold Schwarzenegger Secretary for Sacramento, Cahfornia 95812 • www.arb.ca.gov Governor

Environmental Protection

RECEIVED

August 14, 2008 3JG 2 9 2008

Ms. Deborah Jordan Director . . . uo..i4I ‘ DIV)S0fl’ ru’ Air Division, Region 9

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA, REGION 9

75 Hawthorne Street

San Francisco, California 94105

Dear Ms. Jordan:

The Air Resources Board (ARB) is pleased to submit to the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District’s

(District) 2008 Reasonably Available Control Technology State Implementation Plan

(RACT SIP) Revision for the Western Nevada County Nonattainment Area as a revision

to the California SIP.

On April 30, 2004, U.S. EPA classified the Western Nevada County Nonattainment Area

as a Basic nonattainment area for the 8-hour ozone standard. Under this classification,

the District is required to implement RACT if it needs over five years to attain the

standard. Subsequently, in response to a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals,

U.S. EPA has advised Basic areas that they are not required to submit attainment

demonstrations by the June 15, 2007 deadline 1.However, because the District will

ultimately still be subject to a RACT requirement, the District adopted a RACT SIP,

covering Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) through the end of 2005, in June 2007.

ARB submitted the RACT SIP to U.S. EPA in November, 2007. In 2006 and 2007,

U.S. EPA ruled on seven more CTGs and the District is now requesting that ARB

submit a revision to the RACT SIP to address these. This submittal is intended to

complete the RACT SIP requirements for the federal 8-hour ozone standard.

District staff has thoroughly researched the 2006 and 2007 CTGs and relevant local

sources and determined that no local sources are, or will be in the-near future, subject

to these guidelines. The District, therefore, is submitting a Negative Declaration for the

CTGs issued in 2006 and 2007 as a RACT SIP Revision. ARB staff concurs with the

District’s findings and has verified that the 2008 RACT SIP Revision meets the criteria

for completeness as a RACT SIP Revision including the public notice and public

1 June 15, 2007 Memo from Robert J. Meyers to the Regional Administrators regarding the Decision of

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of columbia Circuit.

The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian needs to take immediate action to reduce energy consumption.

For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and cut your energy costs, see our website: http://www.arb.ca.ov.

California Environmental Protection Agency

Printed on Recycled Paper
Ms. Deborah Jordan

August 14, 2008

Page 2

comment process required prior to adoption. Public comments received by the District

are contained within the RACT SIP submittal. This SIP submittal consists of the

following enclosures:

I. ARB Executive Order adopting the 8-hour ozone RACT SIP Revision

(Executive Order S-08-011).

II. Completeness Checklist for 8-hour ozone RACT SIP Revision Submittal.

III. Two copies of the District’s 8-hour ozone RACT SIP Revision analysis and

Federal Negative Declarations, adopted May 19, 2008.

IV. Two CDs, each containing an electronic copy of the District’s adopted 8-hour

ozone RACT SIP revision.

I encourage you to approve this RACT SIP Revision for incorporation into the California

SIP. If you have any questions, please call Lynn Terry, Deputy Executive Officer, at

(916) 322-2739, or have your staff contact Kurt Karperos, Chief, Air Quality and

Transportation Planning Branch at (916) 322-0285.

Sincerely,

(VZ

James N. GoIdØ e

Executive Officer

Enclosures

cc: (w/o Enclosures)

Gretchen Bennitt

Air Pollution Control Officer

Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District

P.O. Box 2509

Grass Valley, California 95945

Lynn Terry

Air Resources Board

Kurt Karperos

Air Resources Board
State of California

AIR RESOURCES BOARD

EXECUTIVE ORDER

S-08-01 1

Submittal of the 8-Hour Ozone

Reasonably Available Control Technology

State Implementation Plan Revision

For Western Nevada County

WHEREAS, the California Legislature in Health and Safety Code (H&SC)

section 39602 has designated the State Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) as

the air pollution control agency for all purposes set forth in federal law;

WHEREAS, ARB has primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from

vehicular sources, including motor vehicle fuels, as specified in

H&SC sections 39002, 39500, and part 5 (commencing with section 43000), and

for ensuring that the districts meet their responsibilities under the Act pursuant to

H&SC sections 39002, 39500, 39602, 40469, and 41650;

WHEREAS, districts have primary responsibility for the control of air pollution

from nonvehicular sources and for adopting control measures, rules, and

regulations to attain the NAAQS within their boundaries pursuant to

H&SC sections 39002, 40000, 40001, 40701, 40702, and 41650;

WHEREAS, ARB is responsible for the preparation of the State Implementation

Plan (SIP) for attaining and maintaining national ambient air quality standards

(NAAQS) as required by the federal Clean Air Act (the Act; 42 U.S.C. section

7401 et seq.), and to this end is directed by H&SC section 39602 to coordinate

the activities of all local and regional air pollution control and air quality

management districts (districts) necessary to comply with the Act;

WHEREAS, H&SC section 39602 also provides that the SIP shall include only

those provisions necessary to meet the requirements of the Act;

WHEREAS, on November 29, 2005, U.S. EPA promulgated the ‘Final Rule to

Implement the 8-hour Ozone NAAQS—Phase 2,” (70 FR 71612 et seq.) which

specifies submission dates for the reasonably available control technology

(RACT) SIPs for 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas based on their classification;

WHEREAS, the Western Nevada County Nonattainment Area is in the Northern

Sierra Air Quality Management District (District) and was designated on

June15, 2004 as a nonattainment area with a classification of “Basic —

Subpart 1” for the 8-hour ozone standard;
EXECUTIVE ORDER S-08-01 1 2

WHEREAS, U.S. EPA has published Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) that

establish RACT control limits for VOC emissions from specific stationary source

categories and establish various major source threshold limits for areas

classified as nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone standard;

WHEREAS, the Act and U.S. EPA regulations require districts to review their

rules for CTG and major non-CTG sources located in the district to determine if

those rules meet RACT requirements and to update or adopt new rules if

necessary;

WHEREAS, U.S. EPA regulations require districts not having a listed CTG or

major non-CTG source, and consequently choosing to not adopt a RACT rule for

that CTG category, to make a negative declaration stating that there are no

existing or anticipated sources subject to RACT requirements;

WHEREAS, federal law set forth in section 110(l) of the Act and Title 40, Code of

Federal Regulations (CFR), section 51.102 requires that one or more public

hearings, preceded by at least 30 days notice and opportunity for review, must

be conducted prior to the adoption and submittal to U.S. EPA of any SIP

revision; V

WHEREAS, following a duly noticed public hearing on June 25, 2007, the District

adopted the 2007 RACT SIP for the Western Nevada County Nonattainment

Area; V

WHEREAS, ARB approved as a SIP revision the District’s 2007 RACT SIP and,

subsequently in November of 2007, submitted it to U.S. EPA forapproval;

WHEREAS, the District’s 2007 RACT SIP addressed CTGs up through 2005;

V WHEREAS, U.S. EPA published seven new CTGs in 2006 and 2007;

WHEREAS, following a duly noticed public hearing on May 19, 2008, the District

adopted for submittal to ARB and U.S. EPA the Negative Declaration for CTGs

issued in 2006 and 2007 as a 2008 RACT SIP Revision for the Western Nevada

County Nonattainment Area;

WHEREAS, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that no

project which may have significant adverse environmental impacts may be V

adopted as originally proposed if feasible alternatives or mitigation measures are

available to reduce or eliminate such impacts, unless specific overriding

considerations are identified which outweigh the potential adverse consequences
EXECUTIVE ORDER S-08-01 1 3

of any unmitigated impacts;

WHEREAS, no potential adverse environmental impacts are expected from the

adoption of the 2008 Negative Declaration as a SIP Revision, and the

requirements of CEQA have been met for this SIP revision; and

WHEREAS, H&SC sections 39515 and 39516 delegate to the Executive Officer

the authority to act for the Board in this matter.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the Executive Officer hereby

approves as a SIP revision the 2008 RACT SIP Revision adopted by the

Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED that ARB hereby submits to U.S. EPA the 2008

RACT SIP Revision for the Western Nevada County Nonattainment Area and

requests that U.S. EPA approve it as a revision to the CaHfornia SIP.

I certify, pursuant to 40 CFR section 51.102 that the 2008 RACT SIP Revision

for the Western Nevada County Nonattainment Area being submitted as a SIP

revision was adopted after notice and public hearing as required by

40 CFR 51.102.

Executed at Sacramento, California this Lb day of F , 2008:

Executive Officer
EXECUTIVE ORDER S-08-O1 1 4

X:\2007-2008 SIPs\RACT SIPs\Western Nevada RACT SIP\2008 WNevada EO

draft.doc

Author: sking

Assignment # 7201
COMPLETENESS CHECKLIST FOR 8-HOUR OZONE RACT SIP SUBMITTAL

Planning Area: Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District

Title 40 CFR, Part 51, Appendix V —

Criteria for Determining the Completeness Enclosed Notes

of Plan Submissions

ADMINISTRATIVE MATERIALS

2.1 (a) Submittal Letter from Governors

Designee X See ARB Executive Order S-08-01 1

See Northern Sierra Air Quality

2.1(b) Evidence of Adoption X Management District Resolution

5/19/2008 as certified by Board Clerk

2.1(c) Legal Authority Citation X See ARB Executive Order.

2.1(d) Copy of:

a. Attainment Plan Not applicable

b: Contingency Measures

. See Northern Sierra Air Quality

2.1(e) Evidence of Compliance with States Management District Resolution

Procedural Requirements 5/19/2008 as certified by Board Clerk

and ARB Executive Order.

2.1 (f) Evidence of Public Notice Consistent with

40 CFR part 51.102

. . . . See attachmented Public Notices for 2.1(g) Certification of Public Hearing in X Adoption of RACT SIP revision and Accordance with Notice .

RACT SIP revision Board Adoption

2.lCh) Compilation of Public Comments and Resolution, May 19, 2008.

Responses

2.2(a) Identification of Regulated Pollutant Not applicable.

2.2(b) Identification of Attainment Area/Status Not applicable.

2.2(c) Estimate of Plans Impact on Emissions Not applicable.

2.2(d) Demonstration that Plan

Approval/Implementation Protects Not applicable.

NAAQS

2.2(e) Modeling Support Not applicable.

2.2(f)- Compliance/Enforcement and . .. . Not applicable. 2.2(i) Justification

X:\2007-2008 SIPs\RACT SIPs\Western Nevada RACT SIP\NSAQMD RACT SIP revision completeness

checklist. doc