Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 63031 

1 88 FR 19233. 

2Concurrent with our proposed approval action, 

we issued an interim final determination that the 

District had satisfied the requirements of title I, part 

D of the CAA permitting program for nonattainment 

areas within the jurisdiction of the EDCAQMD. See 

88 FR 19225 (March 31, 2023). The effect of our 

interim final determination was that the imposition 

of sanctions that had been triggered in a February 

2, 2000 final limited approval and limited 

disapproval action (65 FR 4887) was deferred. 

3As discussed in our proposed action, we 

determined that Rule 523–1 satisfies the NNSR 

program requirements applicable to nonattainment 

areas classified as Severe for ozone and Moderate 

for PM2.5, and that the submittal addressed the 

NNSR requirements both the 2008 and 2015 ozone 

NAAQS, as well as the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. 88 FR 

19233, 19235. 

requester of the FOIA provisions for 

judicial review of the decision. 

(2) If the Agency reverses or modifies 

the adverse determination on appeal, 

the Agency will attach the requested 

information that the Agency determined 

on appeal to be releasable, or the 

Agency will return the request to the 

appropriate office so that the office may 

reprocess the request in accordance 

with the appeal decision. 

(f) When appeal is required. If the 

requester wishes to seek judicial review 

of any adverse determination, the 

requester must first appeal that adverse 

determination under this section, except 

when EPA has not responded to the 

request within the applicable timeperiod. In such cases, the requester may 

seek judicial review without making an 

administrative appeal. 

§ 2.109 Other rights and services. 

Nothing in this subpart shall be 

construed to entitle any person, as a 

right, to any service or to the disclosure 

of any record to which such person is 

not entitled under the FOIA. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19699 Filed 9–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2022–0910; FRL–10564– 

03–R9] 

Air Quality Implementation Plan; 

California; El Dorado County Air 

Quality Management District; 

Stationary Source Permits 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is finalizing a revision to 

the El Dorado County Air Quality 

Management District’s (EDCAQMD or 

‘‘District’’) portion of the California 

State Implementation Plan (SIP). This 

revision governs the District’s issuance 

of permits for stationary sources, and 

focuses on the preconstruction review 

and permitting of major sources and 

major modifications under part D of title 

I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ‘‘the 

Act’’). 

DATES: This rule is effective October 16, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket No. 

EPA–R09–OAR 2022–0910. 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 

the disclosure of which 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. 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: 

Camille Cassar, EPA Region IX, 75 

Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 

94105; by phone: (415) 947–4164; or by 

email to cassar.camille@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, the terms 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Proposed Action 

II. Public Comments 

III. EPA Action 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Proposed Action 

On March 31, 2023,1 the EPA 

proposed to approve the rule listed in 

Table 1 into the California SIP.2

TABLE 1—SUBMITTED RULE

Rule No. Rule title Revised Submitted 

Rule 523–1 ................................. Federal Non-Attainment New Source Review .............................. December 7, 2021 March 9, 2022. 

For areas designated nonattainment 

for one or more National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS), the 

applicable SIP must include 

preconstruction review and permitting 

requirements for new or modified major 

stationary sources of such 

nonattainment pollutant(s) under part D 

of title I of the Act, commonly referred 

to as Nonattainment New Source 

Review (NNSR). The rule listed in Table 

1 contains the District’s NNSR permit 

program applicable to new and 

modified major sources located in the 

designated nonattainment areas in El 

Dorado County. Our proposed action 

contains more information on the rule 

and our evaluation. 

II. Public Comments 

The EPA’s proposed action provided 

a 30-day public comment period. During 

this period, no comments were 

submitted on our proposal. 

III. EPA Action 

No comments were submitted on our 

proposal. We continue to find that Rule 

523–1 satisfies the relevant 

requirements for a CAA NNSR program 

for ozone and PM2.5 nonattainment 

areas,3 as well as the associated 

visibility requirements for sources 

subject to review under such a program 

in accordance with 40 CFR 51.307. 

Therefore, as authorized in section 

110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is 

approving the submitted rule. 

Additionally, all sanctions and 

sanctions clocks triggered by our 

February 2, 2000 final limited approval 

and limited disapproval action (65 FR 

4887) will be permanently terminated 

on the effective date of this final 

approval action. In our interim final 

determination to defer sanctions (88 FR 

19225), issued concurrently with our 

proposed approval action, we explained 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
63032 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

our finding that Rule 523–1 would 

correct the deficiencies that triggered 

such sanctions. We received no 

comments on this finding or our interim 

final determination. Our interim final 

determination and our proposed action, 

as well as our Technical Support 

Document (TSD), which can be found in 

the docket for this action, contain more 

information regarding the basis for our 

finding in this regard. 

This action incorporates the 

submitted rule into the California SIP. 

In conjunction with the EPA’s SIP 

approval of the District’s visibility 

program for sources subject to the NNSR 

program, this action also revises the 

scope of the visibility Federal 

Implementation Plan (FIP) at 40 CFR 

52.28 in California so that this FIP no 

longer applies to sources located in El 

Dorado County that are subject to the 

District’s visibility program. 

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 incorporating by 

reference El Dorado County Air Quality 

Management District Rule 523–1, 

Federal Non-Attainment New Source 

Review, revised on December 7, 2021, 

which regulates the issuance of permits 

for stationary sources. The EPA has 

made, and will continue to make, these 

materials available through https://

www.regulations.gov and in hard copy 

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 Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air 

Act. Accordingly, this action merely 

approves state law as meeting federal 

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 14094 (88 FR 

21879, April 11, 2023); 

• 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 subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) 

because it approves a state program; 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); and 

• 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 Clean Air Act. 

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). 

Executive Order 12898 (Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

Feb. 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies 

to identify and address 

‘‘disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects’’ 

of their actions on minority populations 

and low-income populations to the 

greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law. The EPA defines 

environmental justice (EJ) as ‘‘the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement 

of all people regardless of race, color, 

national origin, or income with respect 

to the development, implementation, 

and enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and policies.’’ The EPA 

further defines the term fair treatment to 

mean that ‘‘no group of people should 

bear a disproportionate burden of 

environmental harms and risks, 

including those resulting from the 

negative environmental consequences of 

industrial, governmental, and 

commercial operations or programs and 

policies.’’ 

The State did not evaluate 

environmental justice considerations as 

part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and 

applicable implementing regulations 

neither prohibit nor require such an 

evaluation. The EPA did not perform an 

EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in 

this action. Due to the nature of the 

action being taken here, this action is 

expected to have a neutral to positive 

impact on the air quality of the affected 

area. Consideration of EJ is not required 

as part of this action, and there is no 

information in the record inconsistent 

with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of 

achieving environmental justice for 

people of color, low-income 

populations, and Indigenous peoples. 

This action is subject to the 

Congressional Review Act, and the EPA 

will submit a rule report to each House 

of the Congress and to the Comptroller 

General of the United States. 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 November 13, 

2023. 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, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

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

Dated: August 28, 2023. 

Martha Guzman Aceves, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency amends part 52, chapter I, title 

40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 63033 

Subpart F—California 

■ 2. Section 52.220 is amended by 

adding paragraph (c)(604)(i)(B) to read 

as follows: 

§ 52.220 Identification of plan-in part. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(604) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(B) El Dorado County Air Quality 

Management District. 

(1) Rule 523–1, ‘‘Federal NonAttainment New Source Review,’’ 

revised on December 7, 2021. 

(2) [Reserved] 

■ 3. Section 52.281 is amended by 

adding paragraph (d)(11) to read as 

follows: 

§ 52.28 1 Visibility protection. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(11) El Dorado County Air Quality 

Management District. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–19727 Filed 9–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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