[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80833-80853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22008]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 51

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0333; FRL-11817-01-OAR]
RIN 2060-AW25


State Implementation Plan Submittal Deadlines and Implementation 
Requirements for Reclassified Nonattainment Areas Under the Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing 
deadlines for submission of state implementation plan (SIP) revisions 
and implementation of the relevant control requirements that will apply 
for nonattainment areas reclassified as Moderate, Serious, and Severe 
under the current and any future ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) as a result of either failing to attain the standard 
by the applicable classification attainment date or the EPA granting a 
voluntary reclassification request. This proposal articulates the 
implementation requirements and timeframes that will apply for all such 
areas once reclassified. The EPA is also proposing regulatory revisions 
to codify its existing interpretation that following reclassification, 
a state is no longer required to submit SIP revisions addressing 
certain, but not all, requirements related to the prior classification 
level for an ozone nonattainment area. In addition, the EPA is 
articulating in this document how the proposed default deadlines and 
codification of applicable requirements following reclassification 
would apply specifically to any nonattainment areas that are 
reclassified as Serious under the 2015 ozone NAAQS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2024-0333, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#30511d515e541d421d545f535b5544705540511e575f46"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="90f1bdf1fef4bde2bdf4fff3fbf5e4d0f5e0f1bef7ffe6">[email protected]</span></a>. Include Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2024-0333 in the subject line of the message.
    <bullet> Fax: (202) 566-9744.
    <bullet> Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Office of Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): 
EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of 
operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except federal 
holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``I. Public 
Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document. For information on EPA Docket Center services, please 
visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this proposed 
rule, contact Erin Lowder, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, C535-A Research Triangle Park, 
NC 27709; telephone number: (919) 541-5421; email address: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4824273f2c2d3a662d3a2126082d3829662f273e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cba7a4bcafaeb9e5aeb9a2a58baebbaae5aca4bd">[email protected]</span></a>; or Robert Lingard, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, C539-01 Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27709; by telephone number: (919) 541-5272; email 
address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#791510171e180b1d570b161b1c0b0d391c0918571e160f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="127e7b7c757360763c607d70776066527762733c757d64">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or 
``our'' means the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Public Participation
II. Overview and Basis of Proposal
    A. Overview of Proposal
    B. What is the background for the proposed actions?
    C. What is the statutory authority for the proposed actions?
III. What is the EPA proposing and what is the rationale?
    A. Default Deadlines for Reclassified Nonattainment Areas Under 
the Ozone NAAQS
    1. Default Deadlines for Nonattainment Areas Reclassified as 
Moderate or Serious
    2. Default Deadlines for Nonattainment Areas Reclassified as 
Severe
    B. Status of Certain Requirements of Former Classification
    1. Introduction
    2. Leftover SIP Requirements
    C. Serious Area SIP Revisions for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS
    1. Required Submission Elements
    2. Submission and Implementation Deadlines
IV. Environmental Justice Considerations

[[Page 80834]]

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
    A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and 
Executive Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory Review
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
    D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
    E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
    F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With 
Indian Tribal Governments
    G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From 
Environmental Health and Safety Risks
    H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
    I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act (NTTAA)
    J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address 
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income 
Populations and Executive Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation's 
Commitment to Environmental Justice for All
    K. Judicial Review

I. Public Participation

    Written comments: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0333, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), or the other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once 
submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The 
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not 
submit to EPA's docket at https://www.regulations.gov any information 
you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary 
Business Information (PBI), or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Clearly mark the part or all of the information 
that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on any digital storage 
media that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the digital storage 
media as CBI or PBI and then identify electronically within the digital 
storage media the specific information that is claimed as CBI or PBI. 
In addition to one complete version of the comments that includes 
information claimed as CBI or PBI, you must submit a copy of the 
comments that does not contain the information claimed as CBI or PBI 
directly to the public docket through the procedures outlined in 
Instructions. If you submit any digital storage media that does not 
contain CBI or PBI, mark the outside of the digital storage media 
clearly that it does not contain CBI. Information not marked as CBI or 
PBI will be included in the public docket and the EPA's electronic 
public docket without prior notice. Information marked as CBI or PBI 
will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 
40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2. Our preferred method to 
receive CBI or PBI is for it to be transmitted to electronically using 
email attachments, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or other online file 
sharing services (e.g., Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive). Electronic 
submissions must be transmitted directly to the OAQPS CBI Office using 
the email address, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ef1ffefeeedfdfcf7defbeeffb0f9f1e8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4c232d3d3c3f2f2e250c293c2d622b233a">[email protected]</span></a>, and should include clear CBI or 
PBI markings as described earlier. If assistance is needed with 
submitting large electronic files that exceed the file size limit for 
email attachments, and if you do not have your own file sharing 
service, please email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a0cfc1d1d0d3c3c2c9e0c5d0c18ec7cfd6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b9d6d8c8c9cadadbd0f9dcc9d897ded6cf">[email protected]</span></a> to request a file transfer link. 
If sending CBI or PBI information through the postal service, please 
send it to the following address: OAQPS Document Control Officer (C404-
02), OAQPS, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle 
Park, North Carolina 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-
0333. The mailed CBI or PBI material should be double wrapped and 
clearly marked. Any CBI or PBI markings should not show through the 
outer envelope.

II. Overview and Basis of Proposal

A. Overview of Proposal

    The EPA is proposing default SIP submittal and implementation 
deadlines for the current and future ozone NAAQS that would apply for 
mandatory reclassifications (e.g., from Marginal to Moderate, Moderate 
to Serious, and Serious to Severe), and also for areas voluntarily 
reclassified as Moderate, Serious, and Severe. These default 
reclassification SIP submittal and implementation deadlines would apply 
only in cases where the otherwise applicable deadlines that apply to 
areas initially designated nonattainment have passed or are less than 
18 months in the future from the effective date of such a 
reclassification. In the near term, if these default deadlines are 
finalized as proposed, they will apply to any nonattainment areas that 
are reclassified as Serious under the 2015 ozone NAAQS for failing to 
attain the standard by the Moderate attainment date of August 3, 2024, 
unless otherwise established in a separate notice-and-comment 
rulemaking.
    The EPA is proposing a general default SIP submittal deadline for 
such reclassified areas as the sooner of 18 months from the effective 
date of the reclassification notice or January 1 of the new 
classification attainment year, except for SIP revisions addressing 
Clean Air Act (CAA) section 185. For the CAA section 185 fee program 
SIP submittals for areas reclassified as Severe, the EPA is proposing a 
default deadline of the sooner of 36 months after the effective date of 
reclassification to Severe or January 1 of the Severe area attainment 
year. The EPA recognizes that in certain circumstances, states and 
areas may seek an adjustment of these default deadlines; the EPA 
therefore proposes that the default SIP submission deadlines could be 
adjusted where such adjustment is appropriate or necessary, through 
future notice-and-comment rulemaking in specific EPA actions. Further 
discussion of these proposed default deadlines is provided in section 
III.A. of this document.
    The EPA is also proposing default deadlines for implementation of 
emissions control measures required by mandatory reclassifications 
(e.g., from Marginal to Moderate, Moderate to Serious, and Serious to 
Severe), and also for voluntary reclassifications to Moderate, Serious, 
and Severe. The EPA is proposing a default control implementation 
deadline of the sooner of 18 months after the proposed SIP submittal 
deadline or the beginning of the relevant attainment year ozone season. 
Similar to the SIP deadlines, the EPA proposes that these default 
control measure implementation deadlines could be adjusted where such 
adjustment is appropriate or necessary subject to notice-and-comment 
rulemaking in specific EPA actions. Further discussion of these 
proposed default deadlines is provided in section III.A. of this 
document. In addition to establishing default SIP submittal and related 
implementation deadlines, the EPA is proposing regulations to codify 
its existing interpretation that, following reclassification, a state 
is no longer required to submit SIP revisions addressing the following 
requirements related to the prior classification level for an ozone 
nonattainment area: (1) a demonstration of attainment by the prior 
attainment date, (2) a reasonably available control measures (RACM) 
analysis tied to the prior attainment date; and (3) for areas that are 
voluntarily reclassified before the lower classification's attainment 
date, contingency measures specifically related to the area's failure 
to attain by the prior attainment date. As a general matter, this 
interpretation applies with respect to areas reclassified by operation 
of law from (1) Marginal to Moderate, (2) Moderate to Serious, and (3) 
Serious to Severe, and also to any voluntary

[[Page 80835]]

reclassification request granted by the EPA for these 
classifications.\1\
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    \1\ This rule does not address voluntary reclassifications to 
Extreme. The EPA expects that this type of reclassification will be 
rare. We would address the requirements around such a 
reclassification on a case-by-case basis, should the need arise.
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    Under the CAA, the EPA is required to determine whether areas 
designated nonattainment for an ozone NAAQS attained the standard by 
the applicable attainment date, and to take certain steps for areas 
that failed to attain (see CAA section 181(b)(2)). For a concentration-
based standard, such as the 2015 ozone NAAQS,\2\ a determination of 
attainment is based on a nonattainment area's design value (DV).\3\ In 
separate actions, the EPA will determine whether areas classified as 
Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS factually attained the standard by 
the applicable attainment date of August 3, 2024, based on their DV as 
of the attainment date. As required under CAA section 181(b)(2)(A), 
where the EPA determines that areas failed to timely attain, those 
areas will be reclassified by operation of law as Serious upon the 
effective date of the EPA's determination. The reclassified areas will 
then be required to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as 
practicable, but not later than August 3, 2027 (see CAA section 
181(a)(1) (table 1) and 40 CFR 51.1303(a) (table 1)). States with 
jurisdiction over such areas will be required to submit to the EPA the 
SIP revisions for these areas that satisfy the statutory and regulatory 
requirements applicable to Serious areas established in CAA section 
182(c) and in the 2015 Ozone NAAQS SIP Requirements Rule (see 83 FR 
62998, December 6, 2018, and 40 CFR 51.1300 et seq.).
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    \2\ Because the 2015 primary and secondary NAAQS for ozone are 
identical, for convenience, the EPA refers to them in the singular 
as ``the 2015 ozone NAAQS'' or as ``the standard.''
    \3\ A design value is a statistic used to compare data collected 
at an ambient air quality monitoring site to the applicable NAAQS to 
determine compliance with the standard. The DV for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS is the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest daily 
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration. The DV is calculated for 
each air quality monitor in an area, and the DV for an area is the 
highest DV among the individual monitoring sites located in the 
area. For more information on air quality design values, visit 
https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-design-values.
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    The EPA proposes in this action to articulate applicable 
requirements and establish deadlines for submitting SIP revisions that 
will apply to these reclassified areas, consistent with CAA section 
182(i). If the proposed default deadlines discussed in section III.A. 
of this document are finalized, new SIP revisions for nonattainment 
areas reclassified as Serious under the 2015 ozone NAAQS would be due 
to the EPA no later than 18 months after the effective date of the 
relevant reclassification notice or January 1, 2026, whichever is 
sooner.
    Under the CAA and the Tribal Authority Rule (TAR), tribes may, but 
are not required to, submit implementation plans to the EPA for 
approval (see CAA section 301(d) and 40 CFR part 49). Accordingly, for 
tribal nonattainment areas, a tribe is not required to submit any 
tribal implementation plan (TIP) revisions applicable to Serious areas 
established in CAA section 182(c) and in the 2015 Ozone NAAQS SIP 
Requirements Rule. Tribes that are part of multi-jurisdictional 
nonattainment areas are also not required to submit implementation plan 
revisions applicable to Serious nonattainment areas.
    If the proposed default deadlines discussed in section III.A. are 
finalized as proposed, states would be required to implement any new 
reasonably available control technology (RACT) required for 
reclassified Serious areas under the 2015 ozone NAAQS no later than 18 
months from the RACT submittal deadline or the beginning of the 2026 
attainment year ozone season for that area, whichever is earlier. 
Additionally, the deadline for any new or revised Enhanced vehicle 
inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs (for areas that do not need 
I/M emission reductions to demonstrate attainment by the attainment 
date or to meet reasonable further progress (RFP) milestones) to be 
fully implemented would be as expeditiously as practicable but no later 
than 4 years after the effective date of the reclassification. Lastly, 
the deadline for submitting the first transportation control 
demonstration, as required by CAA section 182(c)(5), would be 2 years 
after the attainment demonstration due date.

B. What is the background for the proposed actions?

    On October 26, 2015, the EPA issued its final action to revise the 
NAAQS for ozone to establish a new 8-hour standard (see 80 FR 65452, 
October 26, 2015).\4\ In that action, the EPA promulgated identical 
tighter primary and secondary ozone standards designed to protect 
public health and welfare that specified an 8-hour ozone level of 0.070 
ppm. Specifically, the standards require that the 3-year average of the 
annual fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration 
may not exceed 0.070 ppm.
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    \4\ On October 26, 2015, the EPA issued its final action to 
revise the 8-hour NAAQS for ozone from 0.075 ppm to 0.070 ppm. The 
0.075 ppm standard that was promulgated in 2008 has not been revoked 
and is still in effect. See 40 CFR 51.1100 et seq.
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    Effective on August 3, 2018, the EPA designated 51 areas throughout 
the country as nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (see 83 FR 25776, 
June 4, 2018).\5\ In a separate action, the EPA assigned classification 
thresholds and attainment dates based on the severity of an area's 
ozone levels, determined by the area's design value (DV) (see 83 FR 
10376, March 9, 2018). In addition, the EPA established the attainment 
date for Marginal, Moderate, Serious, Severe, and Extreme nonattainment 
areas as 3 years, 6 years, 9 years, 15 years, and 20 years, 
respectively, from the effective date of the final designations. Thus, 
the attainment dates for each nonattainment area classification for the 
2015 ozone NAAQS are as follows: August 3, 2021, for Marginal areas; 
August 3, 2024, for Moderate areas, August 3, 2027, for Serious areas; 
August 3, 2033, for Severe areas; and August 3, 2038, for Extreme 
areas.\6\ The EPA also promulgated a rulemaking interpreting the CAA's 
ozone nonattainment area implementation requirements for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS.\7\ The implementation rulemaking articulated the Act's 
substantive requirements for ozone nonattainment areas for each 
classification level and established deadlines for submission of plan 
revisions to address those requirements that were triggered off of the 
date of the areas' initial designations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (e.g., 
24 months from the effective date of designation).\8\
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    \5\ Effective on September 24, 2018, the EPA also designated the 
San Antonio, Texas area as nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 
See 83 FR 35136 (July 25, 2018).
    \6\ Effective on September 24, 2018, the EPA classified the San 
Antonio, Texas area as Marginal by operation of law for the 2015 
ozone NAAQS, with an attainment date of September 24, 2021. Upon any 
reclassification, the attainment deadline associated with each 
classification level for the San Antonio nonattainment area is based 
on this September 24, 2018, effective date. See 83 FR 35136 (July 
25, 2018).
    \7\ 83 FR 10382 (March 9, 2018).
    \8\ Id.; 40 CFR 51.1300-1319.
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C. What is the statutory authority for the proposed actions?

    The statutory authority for the actions proposed in this document 
is provided by the CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). Relevant 
portions of the CAA include, but are not necessarily limited to, CAA 
sections 172, 181, 182, and 301(a).
    CAA section 107(d) provides that when the EPA establishes or 
revises a

[[Page 80836]]

NAAQS, the agency must designate areas of the country as nonattainment, 
attainment, or unclassifiable based on whether an area is not meeting 
(or is contributing to air quality in a nearby area that is not 
meeting) the NAAQS, meeting the NAAQS, or cannot be classified as 
meeting or not meeting the NAAQS, respectively. Part D of title I of 
the CAA establishes the plan requirements that apply to all areas 
designated nonattainment. The purpose of these plan requirements is 
ensuring that these areas achieve attainment of the applicable NAAQS by 
the applicable area attainment date. Subpart 1 of part D sets out the 
plan requirements for nonattainment areas in general, and subpart 2 of 
part D of title I of the CAA governs the classification, state 
planning, and emissions control requirements for any areas designated 
as nonattainment for a revised primary ozone NAAQS. In particular, CAA 
section 181(a)(1) requires each area designated as nonattainment for a 
revised ozone NAAQS to be classified at the same time as the area is 
designated based on the extent of the ozone problem in the area (as 
determined based on the area's DV). Classifications for ozone 
nonattainment areas range from Marginal to Extreme. CAA section 172 (in 
subpart 1) covers nonattainment area plan provisions in general, and 
CAA section 182 (in subpart 2) provides the specific attainment 
planning and additional requirements that apply to each ozone 
nonattainment area based on its classification. Subparts 1 and 2 also 
establish the timeframes by which air agencies must submit and 
implement SIP revisions to satisfy the applicable attainment planning 
elements, and require that such plans ``shall provide for attainment of 
the NAAQS,'' \9\ and that the ``primary standard attainment date for 
ozone shall be as expeditiously as practicable'' but not later than a 
maximum attainment date measured from the effective date of the area's 
designation.\10\ The EPA has also promulgated regulations interpreting 
these requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS and the 2015 ozone NAAQS at 
40 CFR part 51, subparts X and CC, respectively.
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    \9\ CAA section 172(c)(1).
    \10\ CAA section 181(a)(1).
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    CAA section 182(i) governs the Act's requirements for areas 
reclassified by operation of law. Specifically, CAA section 182(i) 
states that areas that are reclassified due to failure to timely attain 
by the attainment date ``shall meet such requirements of subsections 
(b) through (d) of this section as may be applicable to the area as 
reclassified, according to the schedules prescribed in connection with 
such requirements, except that the Administrator may adjust any 
applicable deadlines (other than attainment dates) to the extent such 
adjustment is necessary or appropriate to assure consistency among the 
submissions.'' Subsections (b) through (d) of CAA section 182 cover the 
required SIP revisions for Moderate (182(b)), Serious (182(c)), and 
Severe (182(d)), and those requirements are generally cumulative (see, 
e.g., CAA section 182(b) (requiring Moderate areas to make submissions 
relating to Marginal areas in addition to the revisions for the 
Moderate classification)). The SIP revisions, control measures, and 
timing of such submissions and controls are intended to, among other 
things, ensure that areas will attain the NAAQS as expeditiously as 
practicable, but no later than the applicable attainment date. As 
discussed in more detail later in this document, most SIP requirements 
are not dependent on the attainment date itself, but certain SIP 
requirements are inherently tied to the applicable attainment date and 
therefore are no longer required for the lower classification after the 
area is reclassified.
    As noted, CAA section 182(i) also provides the Administrator with 
authority to adjust applicable deadlines (other than attainment dates) 
for areas that are reclassified as a result of failure to attain the 
NAAQS under CAA section 182(b)(2), ``to the extent such adjustment is 
necessary or appropriate to assure consistency among the required 
submissions.'' In proposing the adjustment of applicable deadlines for 
reclassified areas, the EPA considered the timeframes provided under 
the statute for the submission and implementation of requirements for 
initial area designations and classifications. Unsurprisingly, many of 
the nonattainment plan requirements in subparts 1 and 2 establish 
timing of the submission and implementation of controls such that those 
plans and controls will influence attainment of the NAAQS within the 
area by the attainment date.\11\ The EPA's proposed submission and 
implementation schedules for reclassified areas in this document are 
consistent with the overall schedule of the submission of substantive 
requirements that are associated with a classification, but adjusts 
those schedules to fit the abbreviated timeframe available to 
reclassified areas before the next applicable attainment date. In 
particular, the EPA's proposed deadlines for implementation of controls 
and SIP submissions are informed by the need to ensure that the 
reductions resulting from the Act's requirements are consistently due 
in time to influence an area's attainment by the attainment date, to 
the extent the applicable controls are necessary to achieve attainment 
by that date.
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    \11\ See, e.g., CAA section 172(c)(6) (``Such plan provisions 
shall include enforceable emission limitations . . . as well as 
schedules and timetables for compliance, as may be necessary or 
appropriate to provide for attainment of such standard in such area 
by the applicable attainment date specified in this part.''); CAA 
section 182(b)(1)(A)(i) (``Such plan shall provide for such specific 
annual reductions in emissions of volatile organic compounds and 
oxides of nitrogen as necessary to attain the [NAAQS] of for ozone 
by the attainment date applicable under this chapter.''); CAA 
section 182(b)(2) (requiring control measures on major stationary 
sources of VOCs or sources of VOCs covered by a CTG to be 
implemented as expeditiously as practicable but no later than the 
beginning of the ozone season of the attainment year).
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    While some areas are reclassified due to failure to attain by the 
attainment date, others may be reclassified as a result of a state's 
request. CAA section 181(b)(3) states that ``[t]he Administrator shall 
grant the request of any State to reclassify a nonattainment area in 
that State . . . to a higher classification.'' In some cases, states 
may seek voluntary reclassification to a higher classification early in 
the designation and planning cycle, and in those cases, the existing 
SIP submittal and implementation deadlines for the higher 
classification would continue to apply. In other instances, states may 
request a voluntary reclassification under CAA section 181(b)(3) where 
the SIP submittal and implementation deadlines have already passed or 
will occur in the near future. CAA section 182(i) specifically provides 
authority to the EPA to adjust applicable deadlines, other than 
attainment dates, for areas that are reclassified as a result of a 
failure to attain under CAA section 181(b)(2), but section 182(i) does 
not specifically reference areas that are voluntarily reclassified 
under CAA section 181(b)(3). Per CAA section 301(a)(1), the EPA has 
determined that regulations are necessary to prescribe the SIP 
submittal and implementation deadlines for such voluntarily 
reclassified areas, where the deadlines associated with the requested 
higher classification have already passed or will occur in the near 
future (i.e., less than 18 months from the effective date of the 
reclassification).
    The EPA's proposed deadlines in this document were also informed by 
the amount of time that the CAA prescribes when new implementation 
plans are

[[Page 80837]]

required to be submitted under various circumstances (see, e.g., CAA 
section 110(k)(5) (allowing EPA to ``establish reasonable deadlines 
(not to exceed 18 months)'' after notification that a SIP is 
inadequate); CAA section 179(d) (subpart 1 requirement that within one 
year of a finding that a nonattainment area has failed to attain by its 
attainment date, States must submit a new SIP revision addressing 
nonattainment plan requirements)).

III. What is the EPA proposing and what is the rationale?

A. Default Deadlines for Reclassified Nonattainment Areas Under the 
Ozone NAAQS

    The EPA is proposing to establish default SIP submittal and 
implementation deadlines for reclassifications by operation of law 
pursuant to section 181(b)(2) and voluntary reclassification requests 
pursuant to section 181(b)(3) for areas reclassified as Moderate, 
Serious, and Severe for all current and future ozone NAAQS. States 
responsible for areas initially designated as nonattainment are 
required to prepare and submit SIP revisions by deadlines relative to 
the effective date of the rule establishing area designations, and the 
submission deadlines vary depending on the SIP element required (e.g., 
the statute provides 3 or 4 years from initial nonattainment 
designation to submit SIPs for some requirements and 2 years for 
others). Areas initially designated as nonattainment are also required 
to implement RACT as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 
January 1 of the fifth year after the effective date of designations.
    The EPA recognizes that upon reclassification, especially when 
under CAA section 181(b)(2), a state can be faced with limited time to 
submit and implement required SIP revisions prior to the next 
attainment date. In addition, in some cases, the SIP submission and 
implementation deadlines associated with areas initially classified at 
a level may have already passed at the time of reclassification, making 
it impossible to apply, for example, the Moderate area SIP submission 
and implementation deadlines to areas that are mandatorily reclassified 
to Moderate upon failure to attain by the Marginal area attainment 
date. In light of these considerations, the EPA has historically 
adjusted deadlines pursuant to the general rulemaking authority granted 
under CAA section 301(a) to prescribe regulations as are necessary to 
carry out the functions of the Act, and the specific authority granted 
by CAA section 182(i).\12\ The EPA has promulgated these adjustments of 
SIP submission and implementation deadlines that apply to reclassified 
areas with the intent to ensure consistency amongst submissions, 
encourage meaningful reductions towards expeditious attainment of the 
NAAQS, and promote planning flexibility where possible, within the 
fixed outer bound of an area's new maximum attainment date.
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    \12\ CAA section 182(i) specifically provides authority to the 
EPA to adjust applicable deadlines, other than attainment dates, for 
areas that are reclassified as a result of failure to attain under 
CAA section 182(b)(2), to the extent such adjustment is necessary or 
appropriate to assure consistency among the required submissions. 
The provision does not specifically reference areas that are 
voluntarily reclassified under CAA section 181(b)(3); the EPA is 
therefore reasonably proposing to adjust deadlines for such areas 
under its general rulemaking authority in CAA section 301(a), 
consistent with CAA section 182(i).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We recognize that because the adjustments in these deadlines are 
not made until after an area's attainment date under a lower 
classification, the time between reclassification and a reclassified 
area's new attainment date will inherently provide less time than the 
period of time provided between initial designation and classification 
and that classification's initial attainment date. For example, an area 
that is initially classified as Marginal is afforded 3 years to attain 
the NAAQS per CAA section 181(a)(1). If that area fails to attain by 
the Marginal area attainment date, and the EPA timely issues its 
finding 6 months after the attainment date per CAA section 181(b)(2), 
then the area has no more than 2.5 years from that point in time to 
plan for and attain the NAAQS by its new Moderate area attainment date, 
which is far less than the 6 years that areas initially classified as 
Moderate are allotted.
    In some cases, though, particularly where a state requests a 
voluntary reclassification pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(3) and does 
so well before the area's attainment date, the existing deadlines 
associated with the higher classification's requirements will not have 
passed and it will be practicable for the state to meet those deadlines 
without adjustment. The EPA is therefore proposing that, where the 
existing deadlines are 18 months or more from the effective date of 
reclassification, the EPA will not adjust such applicable deadlines or 
set new ones under its CAA section 182(i) and 301(a) authority. The 18-
month timeframe is the outer boundary of what the CAA sets as a 
``reasonable deadline'' for SIP revisions required following a finding 
of inadequacy (see CAA section 110(k)(5)), and where that period of 
time remains for SIP development for a reclassified area, we do not 
think adjustment is necessary, nor is it needed to assure expeditious 
attainment of the NAAQS or that the required submissions will be 
implemented consistently with the Act's structure. The Act's 
establishment of 18 months as an outer boundary in CAA section 
110(k)(5) also indicates that Congress judged that this timeframe would 
be sufficient for states to identify and develop control measures, to 
draft revisions to address attainment plans and other requirements, and 
to complete the required public notice process, adopt such revisions, 
and to submit them to the EPA.
    However, we note that the Act does not guarantee states will have 
18 months to revise their SIPs following a finding of inadequacy, and 
nor does this proposal establish that states are entitled to have 18 
months to revise plans to address requirements of the new 
classification. Expeditious attainment of the NAAQS and ensuring that 
requirements are in place in time to influence attainment by the 
attainment date will, in many cases, require that states are afforded 
much less than 18 months to revise SIPs. This will be particularly true 
where areas fail to attain by their attainment date, especially for the 
lower classifications where the interval between attainment dates is 
only 3 years,\13\ and where states fail to request a voluntary 
reclassification early in the implementation schedule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ The difference in attainment deadlines between Marginal and 
Moderate classifications is 3 years, between Moderate and Serious 
areas is 3 years, and between Serious and Severe areas is 6 years. 
See CAA section 181(a) and 40 CFR 51.1302.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA invites comments on its proposal to adjust applicable 
deadlines where the existing classification deadline has either passed 
or is less than 18 months away, and whether a different remaining time 
period for an existing deadline should be considered. The proposed 
default adjustment of deadlines that would apply in these circumstances 
will provide advance notice and certainty to any states with 
nonattainment areas that may fail to attain an ozone NAAQS by the 
applicable attainment date in the future. Because many of these same 
timing-related pressures will exist with voluntary reclassifications, 
the EPA is proposing to also set the same default SIP submission and 
implementation deadlines to provide certainty to any states that are 
contemplating making

[[Page 80838]]

such requests. The proposed default deadlines are listed in table 1 for 
clarity.

   Table 1--Default SIP Submission and Control Measure Implementation
      Deadlines for Reclassified Ozone Nonattainment Areas When the
    Classification-related Deadlines for Initial Designations Provide
                            Insufficient Time
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           SIP requirement                 Proposed default deadline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Default Deadlines for Reclassified Nonattainment Areas
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIP submittal deadline for all        Within 18 months after the
 elements, unless addressed            effective date of the relevant
 differently elsewhere in this table.  reclassification or January 1 of
                                       the applicable attainment year,
                                       whichever is sooner.
RACT implementation deadline........  Within 18 months from the RACT SIP
                                       submittal deadline or the
                                       beginning of the applicable
                                       attainment year ozone season as
                                       defined by 40 CFR appendix D to
                                       part 58(i), whichever is sooner.
I/M implementation deadline (Basic    No later than 4 years after the
 and Enhanced).                        effective date of the relevant
                                       reclassification notice (unless
                                       needed for attainment by the
                                       attainment date or to demonstrate
                                       RFP).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Default Deadlines for Reclassified Severe Nonattainment Areas
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIP submittal deadline for section    36 months after the effective date
 185 fee program element.              of the relevant reclassification
                                       notice or no later than January 1
                                       of the applicable attainment
                                       year, whichever is sooner.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Establishing default deadlines for areas reclassified under CAA 
sections 181(b)(2) and 181(b)(3) is necessary and appropriate to ensure 
states are submitting SIP revisions and implementing control measures 
triggered by reclassification on a consistent timeline that retains the 
statute's framework of applying requirements in time to achieve 
attainment by the attainment date. Doing so also provides states 
maximum advance visibility into the time that will be provided for 
development of SIP revisions and new control measures designed to 
expeditiously attain the NAAQS. The EPA's expectation is that providing 
a consistent framework for SIP development for reclassified areas will 
establish certainty for states with areas that fail to timely attain, 
and that such states can begin focusing on identifying meaningful 
reductions and developing SIPs to obtain those reductions earlier than 
they would under the EPA's historical practice of issuing SIP revision 
submission and control measure implementation deadlines after or in 
parallel with the determinations that result in area reclassifications. 
However, we recognize the possibility that in some situations, the 
default deadlines may not be appropriate or serve the statutory goals 
of consistency amongst submissions or expeditious attainment of the 
NAAQS. Therefore, we propose that the EPA would retain authority under 
CAA sections 301(a) and 182(i) to establish a set of SIP submission and 
control measure implementation deadlines on a case-by-case basis, 
through notice-and-comment rulemaking, that deviate from the default 
deadlines proposed in this document, if finalized, where appropriate.
1. Default Deadlines for Nonattainment Areas Reclassified as Moderate 
or Serious
    SIP requirements that apply to Moderate areas are generally 
cumulative of CAA requirements for the Marginal classification and 
include additional Moderate area requirements (see CAA sections 
172(c)(1) and 182(a) and (b)). The EPA has further interpreted and 
described these requirements in its implementation rules.\14\ 
Similarly, SIP requirements that apply to Serious areas are generally 
cumulative of CAA requirements for the Marginal and Moderate area 
classifications and include additional Serious area requirements (see 
CAA sections 172(c)(1) and 182(a)-(c)). The EPA's implementation rules 
also provide further interpretation of the statutory Serious area 
requirements.\15\
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    \14\ See, e.g., 40 CFR 51.1100 et seq. (2008 ozone NAAQS), and 
40 CFR 51.1300 et seq. (2015 ozone NAAQS).
    \15\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

a. Default Submission Deadline for Required SIP Revisions
    The time period between designation and the maximum attainment date 
for nonattainment areas initially classified as Moderate or Serious is 
6 or 9 years, respectively. In the case of mandatory reclassification 
after initial area designations pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(2), 
reclassified Moderate and Serious areas would typically have less than 
3 years between the date of reclassification and the area's new maximum 
attainment date. Given the compressed timeline that reclassified 
Moderate and Serious areas face, and consistent with past practice,\16\ 
we are proposing to set the SIP submission deadlines for all the 
various requirements for newly reclassified Moderate and Serious areas 
as within 18 months of the effective date of the relevant 
reclassification notice or January 1 of the applicable attainment year, 
whichever is sooner, unless otherwise specified in a separate notice-
and-comment rulemaking establishing a different SIP submission 
deadline. While not all of the ``schedules prescribed in connection 
with'' the various subpart 2 requirements are the same, because the 
timeframe to attain by the newly applicable attainment date for 
Moderate and Serious areas is compressed from either 6 or 9 years to 
less than 3 years, we propose to apply one SIP revision deadline that 
is at most 18 months from the effective date of reclassification, but 
in any case no later than January 1 of the attainment year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ See, e.g., ``Final Rule--Determinations of Attainment by 
the Attainment Date, Extensions of the Attainment Date, and 
Reclassification of Areas Classified as Marginal for the 2015 Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards'' (87 FR 60897, 60907, 
October 7, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As previously stated, the EPA believes that, in most cases, 18 
months should provide states sufficient time for assessing, adopting, 
and implementing emission reduction measures such that any reclassified 
nonattainment areas can expeditiously attain the ozone NAAQS, 
consistent with part D's purpose of achieving expeditious attainment by 
the attainment date. Similarly, a default SIP submission deadline of 
January 1 of the applicable attainment year would

[[Page 80839]]

promote expeditious attainment of the ozone NAAQS by requiring states 
to submit SIPs including control measures needed for attainment prior 
to when those controls are required to be implemented. In addition, 
establishing January 1 of the attainment year as the outer boundary for 
states to submit SIP revisions would ensure that reclassified 
nonattainment areas are subject to consistent deadlines in accordance 
with CAA section 182(i) and would be in line with past practice. For 
example, the EPA adopted this approach for Marginal areas reclassified 
as Moderate for failure to timely attain the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, 
to ensure consistency among required SIP submissions.<SUP>17 18</SUP> 
Thus, the proposed deadline is necessary and appropriate to assure that 
these submissions are consistent with the Act's overall scheme for 
expeditious attainment of the NAAQS by the attainment date, and that 
similarly situated states are treated consistently.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ ``Final Rule--Determinations of Attainment by the 
Attainment Date, Extensions of the Attainment Date, and 
Reclassification of Several Areas for the 2008 Ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards'' (81 FR 26697, 26705, May 4, 2016).
    \18\ ``Final Rule--Determinations of Attainment by the 
Attainment Date, Extensions of the Attainment Date, and 
Reclassification of Areas Classified as Marginal for the 2015 Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards'' (87 FR 60897, 60907, 
October 7, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In some historical instances, we have also established SIP 
submission deadlines that align with the beginning of an area's ozone 
season,\19\ which we view as the outer boundary for establishing a SIP 
submission deadline for a reclassified area, because the beginning of 
the attainment year ozone season is the maximum deadline under the 
statutory ozone RACT provision and the EPA's existing regulations 
interpreting that provision to implement RACT. The EPA does not believe 
it is reasonable to establish a SIP submission date for controls 
subsequent to a date when those controls are required under the Act to 
already be implemented. For many ozone nonattainment areas in the 
country, January 1 is the beginning of the ozone season. But there are 
states that have a later start to the ozone season in March, April, or 
May. We therefore take comment on establishing the later alternative 
SIP submission deadline for reclassified Moderate and/or Serious areas 
as the beginning of the attainment year ozone season (rather than 
January 1 of the attainment year), recognizing that doing so would 
result in different SIP submission deadlines for different reclassified 
areas, depending on when the area's ozone season begins.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ See, e.g., 88 FR 6633 (February 1, 2023) establishing March 
1, 2023, as the due date for SIP revisions addressing Moderate 
requirements for the Detroit, Michigan area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA's proposed SIP submission deadline for areas reclassified 
as Moderate or Serious of no later than 18 months after the effective 
date of the relevant reclassification notice or January 1 of the 
applicable attainment year, whichever is earlier, would apply to all 
newly applicable requirements associated with the reclassification, 
including SIPs to address RACT and I/M. The EPA's implementing 
regulations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS established a default RACT SIP 
submission deadline for areas reclassified Moderate or higher of either 
24 months from the reclassification effective date or a deadline 
established by the Administrator in the reclassification action using 
its discretion under CAA section 182(i) (see 40 CFR 51.1312(a)(2)(ii)). 
We have found that a RACT SIP submission deadline of 24 months after 
the effective date of the reclassification action has resulted in SIP 
submission deadlines that are later than the beginning of the 
attainment year ozone season, and in some cases, near or after an 
applicable Moderate or Serious area attainment date. In every case of 
reclassification under the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, it has not been 
possible to provide a RACT SIP submission deadline of 24 months from 
the effective date of the reclassification for an area that was 
reclassified as result of failure to attain by the attainment date. We 
are therefore proposing to remove the existing RACT SIP submission 
deadline in 40 CFR 51.1312(a)(2)(ii) and replace it with the general 
default deadlines discussed in this action.
    Thus, if this action is finalized as proposed, the default SIP 
submission deadlines for newly required Basic or Enhanced I/M SIPs, 
would also become the sooner of 18 months from the effective date of 
the relevant reclassification notice or January 1 of the applicable 
attainment year. This is necessary to be consistent with the I/M 
regulations which provide that an I/M SIP shall be submitted no later 
than the deadline for submitting the area's attainment SIP.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ See 40 CFR 51.372(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Default Implementation Deadlines for RACT and I/M
    With respect to implementation deadlines, the EPA's implementing 
regulations for the 2008 ozone NAAQS require that, for areas initially 
classified as Moderate or higher, a state shall provide for 
implementation of RACT as expeditiously as practicable, but no later 
than January 1 of the 5th year after the effective date of 
designation.\21\ Similarly, the EPA's implementing regulations for the 
2015 ozone NAAQS require that, for areas initially classified as 
Moderate or higher, a state shall provide for implementation of RACT as 
expeditiously as practicable but no later than January 1 of the fifth 
year after the effective date of designation.\22\ The EPA's 
implementing regulations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS also require that, 
for RACT required pursuant to reclassification, the state shall provide 
for implementation of RACT as expeditiously as practicable, but no 
later than the beginning of the attainment year ozone season associated 
with the area's new attainment deadline, or January 1 of the third year 
after the associated SIP submission deadline, whichever is earlier; or 
the deadline established by the Administrator in the final action 
issuing the area reclassification.\23\ In addition, the modeling and 
attainment demonstration requirements for 2008 ozone nonattainment 
areas require that a state must provide for implementation of all 
control measures needed for attainment no later than the beginning of 
the attainment year ozone season.\24\ Similarly, the EPA's implementing 
regulations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS require that the modeling and 
attainment demonstrations for areas classified Moderate or higher must 
provide for implementation of all control measures needed for 
attainment no later than the beginning of the attainment year ozone 
season, notwithstanding any alternative deadline established per 40 CFR 
51.1312.\25\ Underlying these implementation deadlines is the EPA's 
consideration that any RACT deadline should, where possible, provide at 
least one full ozone season in advance of an area's maximum attainment 
date for implemented controls to achieve emission reductions and 
positively influence an area's monitored design value.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ See 40 CFR 51.1112(a)(3).
    \22\ See 40 CFR 51.1312(a)(3)(i).
    \23\ See 40 CFR 51.1312(a)(3)(ii).
    \24\ See 40 CFR 51.1108(d).
    \25\ See 40 CFR 51.1308(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA recognizes that the beginning of the ozone season varies 
among states and nonattainment areas. For some nonattainment areas, the 
ozone season begins in January and for other areas it begins in March, 
April, or May. Consequently, the beginning of the attainment year ozone 
season ranges from January to May of the year before

[[Page 80840]]

the area's maximum attainment deadline. The EPA's existing implementing 
regulations informed the default RACT implementation deadline that we 
are proposing in this document for any area reclassified as Moderate or 
Serious. Such proposed default deadline would require states to 
implement RACT as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 18 
months from the proposed RACT SIP submittal deadline or the beginning 
of the applicable attainment year ozone season, whichever is earlier. 
We are proposing that this default deadline would apply instead of the 
existing regulatory provision in 40 CFR 51.1312(a)(3)(ii), which 
applied only to the 2015 ozone NAAQS. As we proposed for establishment 
of SIP submission deadlines, the EPA is also proposing that the 
regulation would allow the EPA to establish a different deadline in a 
notice-and-comment rulemaking in order to accommodate fact-specific 
circumstances, where appropriate.
    With respect to the default implementation deadlines for Basic and 
Enhanced I/M programs required as the result of a mandatory 
reclassification, states wishing to use emission reductions from their 
newly required I/M programs for the ozone NAAQS would need to have such 
programs fully established and start testing as expeditiously as 
practicable, but no later than the beginning of the applicable 
attainment year ozone season, consistent with the CAA principle (and 
logic) that measures that are needed to demonstrate attainment by the 
attainment date must be in place early enough to impact the air quality 
design value that will be used to determine whether the area attained 
by that date. The EPA's implementing regulations for the 2008 and 2015 
ozone NAAQS therefore adopt this principle with respect to 
implementation of I/M when required as a result of a reclassification. 
However, given the unique nature of I/M programs, there are many 
challenges, tasks, and milestones that must be met in establishing and 
implementing an I/M program. The EPA realizes that implementing a new 
or revised I/M program on an accelerated timeline may be difficult to 
achieve in practice. Therefore, for states that do not intend to rely 
upon emission reductions from their newly required Basic or Enhanced I/
M program in attainment or RFP SIPs, we are proposing to allow these 
Basic and Enhanced I/M programs to be fully implemented no later than 4 
years after the effective date of reclassification, explained as 
follows.
    Under CAA section 182(i), mandatorily reclassified areas are 
generally required to meet the requirements associated with their new 
classification ``according to the schedules prescribed in connection 
with such requirements.'' The I/M regulations provide such a prescribed 
schedule in stating that newly required I/M programs are to be 
implemented as expeditiously as practicable. The I/M regulations also 
allow areas newly required to implement I/M up to ``4 years after the 
effective date of designation and classification'' to fully implement 
the I/M program.\26\ With mandatory reclassifications, this 4-year 
implementation deadline for newly required I/M programs might extend 
beyond the corresponding attainment date. However, by proposing such a 
deadline for mandatorily reclassified areas newly required to implement 
a Basic or Enhanced I/M program (but not needing I/M emission 
reductions for attainment or RFP SIP purposes), the EPA maintains that 
these newly required I/M programs could reasonably be implemented after 
the area's relevant attainment date if reductions from an I/M program 
are not necessary for an area to achieve timely attainment of the 
applicable NAAQS. The EPA has long taken the position that the 
statutory requirement for states to implement I/M in ozone 
nonattainment areas classified Moderate and higher generally exists 
independently from the attainment planning requirements for such areas 
(see also section III.B.2. of this document).\27\ This proposed 
implementation deadline of up to 4 years takes into consideration the 
numerous challenges and milestones necessary in implementing a Basic or 
an Enhanced I/M program. The EPA is proposing to establish that the 
same implementation deadline of up to 4 years for areas not relying on 
Basic or Enhanced I/M for attainment or RFP SIP purposes is appropriate 
to also apply to voluntarily reclassified areas, where the higher 
classification deadlines for those areas have either already passed or 
are less than 18 months from the effective date of reclassification. 
This proposed deadline is not only consistent with the proposed 
deadline for mandatorily reclassified areas, but it is also consistent 
with EPA's historical practice.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ The I/M program implementation deadline at 40 CFR 51.373(d) 
states: ``For areas newly required to implement enhanced I/M as a 
result of designation under the 8-hour ozone standard, the required 
program shall be fully implemented no later than 4 years after the 
effective date of designation and classification under the 8-hour 
ozone standard.'' A start date for I/M programs of 4 years after the 
effective date of designation and classification under the 8-hour 
ozone standard is also cited in the Basic I/M performance standard 
at 40 CFR 51.351(c) and (i)(2).
    \27\ John S. Seitz, Memo, ``Reasonable Further Progress, 
Attainment Demonstration, and Related Requirements for Ozone 
Nonattainment Areas Meeting the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard,'' May 10, 1995, at 4.
    \28\ See, e.g., 87 FR 60897 (October 7, 2022) (establishing 
Basic I/M implementation deadlines for areas reclassified from 
Marginal to Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS); 89 FR 51829 (June 
20, 2024) (establishing Enhanced I/M implementation deadlines for 
certain Texas areas that were voluntarily reclassified from Moderate 
to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA requests comment on a proposed default deadline for 
reclassified Moderate and Serious areas requiring that any newly 
required Basic or Enhanced I/M programs be fully implemented as 
expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 4 years after the 
effective date of reclassification. The EPA again notes that if a state 
intends to rely upon emission reductions from its newly required Basic 
or Enhanced I/M programs in its attainment or RFP SIP, the state will 
need to have such I/M programs fully implemented no later than the 
beginning of the applicable attainment year ozone season.
c. Transportation Control Demonstration
    CAA section 182(c)(5) requires states with Serious ozone 
nonattainment areas to submit, 6 years after November 15, 1990, and 
every 3 years thereafter, a demonstration as to whether current 
aggregate vehicle mileage, aggregate vehicle emissions, congestion 
levels, and other relevant parameters are consistent with those used 
for the area's demonstration of attainment. Six years after November 
15, 1990, was 2 years after the statutory deadline established to 
submit attainment demonstrations for such areas. Because the 
transportation control demonstration is not itself a control that must 
be implemented in order for areas to attain by the attainment date, and 
is ideally spaced from the deadline of the attainment demonstration to 
allow sufficient time for the state to see whether actual vehicle 
emissions and parameters square with the projected emissions and 
parameters in the attainment demonstration modeling, it is appropriate 
to retain the Act's prescribed schedule without adjustment with respect 
to this element for reclassified areas. The EPA is therefore proposing 
that for all reclassified Serious ozone areas, the first transportation 
control demonstration must be submitted within 2 years after the 
deadline for the attainment demonstrations for these areas and every 3 
years thereafter.

[[Page 80841]]

2. Default Deadlines for Nonattainment Areas Reclassified as Severe
    SIP requirements that apply to Severe areas are generally 
cumulative of CAA requirements for lower area classifications (i.e., 
Marginal through Serious) and include additional Severe area 
requirements as interpreted and described in the final SIP Requirements 
Rules for the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS (see 80 FR 12264, March 6, 
2015; 83 FR 62998, December 6, 2018; CAA sections 172(c)(1) and 182(a)-
(d); 40 CFR 51.1100 et seq.; and 40 CFR 51.1300 et seq.). For areas 
reclassified as Severe, SIP submissions must address the more stringent 
major source threshold of 25 tpy \29\ for RACT and NNSR, and the more 
stringent NNSR emissions offset ratio of 1.3:1.\30\ In order to fulfill 
their Severe area SIP submission requirements, states may, where 
appropriate, certify that existing SIP provisions for an area are 
adequate to address one or more Severe area requirements. Such 
certifications must be submitted as a SIP revision.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ ``For any Severe Area, the terms `major source' and `major 
stationary source' include (in addition to the sources described in 
section 7602 of this title) any stationary source or group of 
sources located within a contiguous area and under common control 
that emits, or has the potential to emit, at least 25 tpy of 
volatile organic compounds.'' CAA section 182(d).
    \30\ See CAA section 182(d)(2). If a state's plan requires all 
existing major sources in the nonattainment area to use best 
available control technology for VOCs consistent with CAA section 
169(3), the required offset ratio is 1.2 to 1.
    \31\ Air agencies should review any existing regulation that was 
previously approved by the EPA to determine whether it is sufficient 
to fulfill obligations triggered by the revised ozone NAAQS. This 
review should include determining whether the nonattainment area 
boundary for the current ozone NAAQS is consistent with the boundary 
for the previous standards. Where an air agency determines that an 
existing regulation is adequate to meet applicable nonattainment 
area planning requirements of CAA section 182 (or ozone transport 
region RACT requirements of CAA section 184) for a revised ozone 
NAAQS, that air agency's SIP revision may provide a written 
statement certifying that determination in lieu of submitting new 
revised regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA is proposing the same default SIP submittal and 
implementation deadlines for reclassified Severe areas as is proposed 
in section III.A.1. of this document for reclassified Moderate and 
Serious areas, with one exception for SIP submissions addressing CAA 
section 185 fee programs. More specifically, for all newly applicable 
SIP requirements associated with an area's reclassification to Severe 
(except SIP submissions addressing section CAA section 185 fee 
programs), the EPA is proposing a default SIP submittal deadline as the 
earlier of 18 months after the effective date of the relevant 
reclassification notice or January 1 of the applicable attainment 
year.\32\ This proposed SIP submission deadline is consistent with the 
EPA's historical adjustment of deadlines for ozone areas mandatorily 
reclassified from Serious to Severe under the 2008 ozone NAAQS as well 
as areas reclassified to Severe per a voluntary request from the state, 
for which we have previously established 18-month SIP submission 
deadlines.\33\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ This proposed deadline would not apply for voluntarily 
reclassified areas where the existing Severe area SIP submission 
deadline is at least 18 months from the effective date of the 
reclassification. In those instances, the existing Severe area SIP 
submission deadline would apply.
    \33\ 87 FR 21825 (April 13, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is appropriate to align the default SIP submission and 
implementation deadlines for reclassified Severe nonattainment areas 
with those proposed in section III.A.1. of this document for 
reclassified Moderate and Serious nonattainment areas. The same 
considerations articulated in section III.A.1. also apply here. 
Additionally, areas that have been reclassified to Severe are areas 
that have struggled over time to expeditiously attain the NAAQS, and 
may face more complex and difficult implementation obstacles than areas 
classified at lower levels. However, it is the Agency's view that an 
outer boundary of 18 months remains an appropriate timeframe for states 
to revise SIPs as needed, even for areas reclassified as Severe. We 
recognize that the statute's later maximum attainment date associated 
with higher classifications, and the more stringent requirements 
imposed upon such areas under subpart 2, reflect the ``heavier lift'' 
that Severe areas may face to attain the NAAQS. The longer interval 
between attainment dates between Serious and Severe would provide 
states more time than is available for reclassifications between the 
lower classifications (i.e., Marginal to Moderate or Moderate to 
Serious) for SIP development and identification and implementation of 
control measures. However, that same interval also means that 
establishing an 18-month maximum SIP submission and control measure 
implementation deadline will result in earlier implementation of the 
control measures prompted by the Severe area requirements, such that 
those measures may be in place to impact air quality in multiple ozone 
seasons before the maximum attainment date, rather than just the last 
ozone season preceding the attainment date, as may often be the 
practical outcome of the EPA's proposed deadline for areas in the lower 
classifications. Increasing the likelihood that Severe area measures 
will be in place for multiple ozone seasons prior to the attainment 
date correspondingly increases the likelihood that these reclassified 
Severe areas will expeditiously attain the NAAQS by the attainment 
date. The EPA's proposed deadline for reclassified areas, by providing 
18 months for SIP development but requiring at least that those 
revisions and measures be submitted by the last calendar year preceding 
the attainment date, accommodates the varying positions areas may be in 
vis-[agrave]-vis their attainment date, while also meeting the CAA's 
requirement under section 182(i) ``to assure consistency among the 
required submissions.''
    The EPA is therefore proposing a default deadline for states to 
submit Severe area SIP revisions of 18 months after the effective date 
of reclassification or January 1 of the applicable attainment year, 
whichever is earlier. Specifically, the EPA is proposing that SIP 
revisions required for all newly reclassified Severe areas must be 
submitted by the sooner of 18 months after the effective date of 
reclassification or January 1 of the applicable attainment year, except 
for SIP revisions required to address the section 185 fee program 
element, for which the EPA is proposing a submittal deadline of the 
earlier of 36 months after the effective date of reclassification or 
January 1 of the applicable attainment year. Consistent with past 
practice, the EPA is proposing a later submittal date for the CAA 
section 185 fee program element than what is proposed for the other 
requirements because implementation of a CAA section 185 fee program is 
a penalty for failing to attain the NAAQS by the applicable attainment 
date.\34\ Thus, an extended deadline of the earlier of 36 months after 
the effective date of reclassification or January 1 of the applicable 
attainment year, could allow states to focus more attention on other 
elements in the first 18 months following reclassification while also 
allowing enough time for states to submit, and for the EPA to approve, 
a CAA section 185 fee program ahead of the applicable Severe area 
attainment date. However, to the degree that states want to take 
advantage of the administrative efficiency of adopting the CAA section 
185 fee program element along with other required Severe area SIP 
elements, they have the option to submit their CAA section 185 fee 
programs earlier, including with the other elements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ See, 87 FR 60926 at 60932 (October 7, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CAA section 182(d)(1)(A) requires a state with a Severe ozone 
nonattainment

[[Page 80842]]

area to submit a SIP revision that identifies and adopts specific 
enforceable transportation controls strategies and transportation 
control measures (TCMs) to offset any growth in emissions from vehicle 
miles traveled (VMT) or number of vehicles trips in such area. The EPA 
has provided guidance to states on how to demonstrate whether there has 
been any growth in emissions from growth in VMT or growth in the number 
of vehicle trips.\35\ In addition, states with Severe ozone 
nonattainment areas are required to submit a SIP revision that 
identifies and adopts specific enforceable transportation control 
strategies and TCMs to obtain reductions in motor vehicle emissions as 
necessary, in combination with other emission reduction requirements. 
States are also required to consider measures specified in CAA section 
108(f) and choose from among those measures and implement such measures 
as necessary to demonstrate attainment with the relevant ozone NAAQS. 
In considering these measures, states should ensure adequate access to 
downtown, other commercial, and residential areas and should avoid 
measures that increase or relocate emissions and congestion rather than 
reduce them. The EPA proposes that a SIP revision to address the VMT 
offset demonstration requirement will be due the earlier of 18 months 
after the effective date of reclassification or January 1 of the 
applicable attainment year, consistent with all other Severe area 
requirements. If a demonstration shows that a state must adopt 
transportation control strategies or TCMs to offset any identified 
increase in emissions due to growth in VMT or vehicle trips or if 
additional transportation control strategies or TCMs are needed to 
address RFP or attainment, we are proposing that the transportation 
control strategies and/or TCMs be submitted at the same time as the SIP 
revision to address the VMT offset demonstration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ In August 2012, the EPA released guidance on VMT offset 
demonstrations titled ``Implementing Clean Air Act Section 
182(d)(1)(A): Transportation Control Measures and Transportation 
Control Strategies to Offset Growth in Emissions Due to Growth in 
Vehicle Miles Travelled'' (EPA-420-B-12-053). This guidance is 
posted at https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/vehicle-miles-travelled-vmt-offset-demonstration-guidance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to these submission deadlines, for any controls that 
air agencies determine are needed for meeting CAA requirements, the EPA 
is proposing that these controls must be implemented as expeditiously 
as practicable, but no later than 18 months from the SIP submission 
deadline or the beginning of the applicable attainment year ozone 
season, whichever is earlier. This proposed deadline would generally 
provide a 36-month schedule for SIP submission and controls 
implementation for reclassified Severe areas. These proposed default 
deadlines are consistent with the deadlines established for all other 
Severe area plan elements that are established under CAA sections 
172(c)(1) and 182(a)-(d), and 40 CFR 51.1100 et seq. As proposed in 
section III.A.1. of this document for reclassified Moderate and Serious 
areas, the EPA is also proposing to reserve the right to establish 
different SIP submittal and implementation deadlines for reclassified 
Severe areas in a notice-and-comment rulemaking in order to accommodate 
fact-specific circumstances, where appropriate.
    In addition to the SIP submission deadlines identified in this 
section, the CAA prohibits the sale of conventional gasoline in any 
ozone nonattainment area that is reclassified as Severe and requires 
that federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) be sold instead. The 
prohibition on the sale of conventional gasoline takes effect 1 year 
after the effective date of the reclassification (see CAA sections 
211(k)(10)(D) and 211(k)(5)). The prohibition on the sale of 
conventional gasoline takes effect by operation of law; therefore, 
states with such reclassified areas are not required to make a SIP 
submission associated with the RFG requirement.
    In summary, the EPA is proposing to establish default SIP submittal 
and implementation deadlines for reclassifications by operation of law 
under CAA section 181(a)(2) for areas that fail to attain by the 
attainment date and are thus reclassified as Moderate, Serious, or 
Severe for all current and future ozone NAAQS, and also for voluntary 
reclassifications to these classifications under CAA section 181(a)(3). 
Establishing default SIP submission deadlines that are triggered from 
the effective date of reclassification actions will provide consistency 
among the submissions in the sense that all states with jurisdiction 
over such areas will be treated uniformly by having the same amount of 
time to develop and submit SIPs. However, we acknowledge that our 
proposal could in some cases result in SIP deadlines for reclassified 
areas falling on different days (because such deadlines will be 
triggered by reclassification actions that are statutorily required to 
happen any time in a 6-month window following the attainment date, or 
are granted under voluntary reclassification requests that may occur at 
any time).
    For areas reclassified as Moderate or Serious, where the initially 
established deadlines have passed or are less than 18 months from the 
effective date of reclassification, the EPA is requesting comment on: 
(1) establishing a default SIP submission deadline for all Moderate and 
Serious area plan elements of no later than 18 months from the 
effective date of the relevant reclassification notice or January 1 of 
the applicable attainment year, whichever is earlier; (2) requiring 
that RACT be implemented as expeditiously as practicable, but no later 
than 18 months from the RACT SIP submittal deadline or the beginning of 
the applicable attainment year ozone season, whichever is earlier; (3) 
requiring that any newly required Basic or Enhanced I/M programs be 
fully implemented as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 4 
years after the effective date of reclassification; and (4) requiring 
that the first transportation control demonstration be submitted 2 
years after the due date for the attainment demonstrations for 
reclassified areas (i.e., January 1 of the applicable attainment year) 
and every 3 years thereafter.
    For areas reclassified as Severe, where the initially established 
deadlines have passed or are less than 18 months from the effective 
date of reclassification, the EPA is requesting comment on: (1) 
establishing a default SIP submission deadline for all Severe area plan 
elements of 18 months after the effective date of reclassification or 
January 1 of the applicable attainment year, whichever is earlier, with 
an exception for section 185 fee program SIPs; (2) establishing a 
default SIP submission deadline for section 185 fee program SIPs of 36 
months from the effective date of reclassification or January 1 of the 
applicable attainment year, whichever is earlier; and (3) requiring 
that any controls needed for meeting RFP or timely attainment of the 
ozone NAAQS be implemented as expeditiously as practicable, but no 
later than 18 months after the proposed SIP submission deadline or the 
beginning of the applicable attainment year ozone season, whichever is 
earlier.

B. Status of Certain Requirements of Former Classification

1. Introduction
    The EPA is also proposing to revise regulations to clarify whether, 
when an ozone nonattainment area is reclassified to a higher 
classification, certain ozone SIP requirements for that lower, former 
classification will still be required. The

[[Page 80843]]

EPA has previously established its statutory interpretation and 
position on the status of certain SIP requirements for the previous 
classification in individual SIP actions, most recently in a 
reclassification action for three nonattainment areas in Texas.\36\ 
This proposal restates these interpretations and proposes regulatory 
language to codify these interpretations to provide further clarity. 
Specifically, the EPA is restating its interpretation that ozone 
nonattainment area planning requirements continue to apply following a 
change in an area's classification level, except where the EPA has 
specifically determined that the planning requirement is no longer 
applicable. Specifically, the EPA's existing interpretation is that 
only three requirements applicable to the lower, former classification 
(i.e., Moderate or Serious) are no longer required following a change 
in the area's classification (i.e., to Serious or Severe, 
respectively): (1) the attainment demonstration, (2) RACM, and, (3) for 
areas that are voluntarily reclassified, contingency measures as 
necessary to address failure to attain by the attainment date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ 89 FR 51829 (June 20, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As described elsewhere in this document, CAA section 182(i) 
specifies that reclassified areas must meet the requirements ``as may 
be applicable to the area as reclassified'' and describes the EPA's 
authority to adjust applicable deadlines (except attainment dates) for 
the new classification. In contrast, the CAA does not specify what then 
happens to the requirements that were applicable to the area as it was 
formerly classified. Nevertheless, this question commonly arises in the 
ozone program in circumstances where an area is reclassified--whether 
mandatorily as a result of failure to attain pursuant to CAA section 
181(b)(2) or voluntarily (i.e., at the request of a state) pursuant to 
CAA section 181(b)(3)--before the EPA determines that the requirements 
for the former classification have been met by the state. This can 
occur when reclassification takes effect before a state has submitted a 
SIP revision addressing the requirements applicable to the former 
classification, before the EPA has acted on a SIP submission to address 
such requirements, or where the EPA has disapproved or conditionally 
approved a SIP submission addressing such requirements. For the 
purposes of this proposal, the EPA refers to the unresolved 
requirements applicable to the former classification under any of these 
scenarios as ``leftover'' SIP requirements.
    As an initial matter, the Agency notes that when the states and EPA 
timely meet CAA-specified deadlines for submitting and acting on SIPs, 
and the submissions are approvable, it is possible for there to be no 
leftover SIP requirements, but this is not guaranteed for every 
situation. To illustrate a possible circumstance, consider that under 
the 2015 ozone NAAQS, the Marginal attainment date was August 3, 2021. 
Assuming the EPA had completed the Marginal determinations of 
attainment by the attainment date (DAADs) within the 6 months provided 
by CAA section 181(b)(2) (i.e., within 6 months of the August 3, 2021, 
attainment date), the reclassifications to Moderate would have taken 
effect no later than February 2022. The EPA, consistent with the 
principles articulated in the deadline portion of this document, could 
have established a SIP due date of January 1, 2023 (i.e., the beginning 
of the Moderate attainment year), less than 11 months after the 
reclassification took effect. Had the states in turn made timely and 
complete submissions by January 1, 2023, the EPA could theoretically 
have acted to approve or disapprove them within the statutory 12 months 
allotted, or by January 1, 2024. This would have allowed for the 
possibility of final action before the Moderate attainment date of 
August 3, 2024. Assuming, for the sake of illustration, that such SIPs 
were approvable, final approval before the attainment date would ensure 
that there would be no leftover Moderate SIP requirements by the time 
the EPA would be required to complete the Moderate area DAAD (i.e., by 
February 2025) and reclassify areas to Serious if they fail to attain. 
However, implementation of the ozone standards does not always follow 
the most straightforward path. To take the previous example, consider 
the changed circumstances and timeframe that might occur if the 
Marginal area qualified for a 1-year extension of the attainment date 
(under CAA section 181(a)(5) and 40 CFR 51.1307), but ultimately failed 
to attain by the extended attainment date of August 3, 2022. Even if 
the EPA issued its DAAD action reclassifying the area immediately after 
the attainment date (i.e., August 4, 2022), the state would have less 
than four months between the reclassification and its applicable SIP 
due date under this proposal (i.e., January 1 of the attainment year, 
2023) to develop the SIP revisions, put them out for public notice and 
comment, legislatively approve them, and submit them to the EPA (see, 
CAA section 110(l)). This timeframe makes it nearly impossible for the 
state and the EPA to have approved Moderate area SIPs and controls in 
place to influence air quality to help the area attain by the Moderate 
area attainment date (i.e., August 3, 2024). Thus, areas in 
circumstances like these may end up failing to attain by the Moderate 
area attainment date and being reclassified as Serious without having 
their Moderate area SIP revisions submitted and/or approved. Moreover, 
even where there is no attainment date extension, the CAA timelines 
under section 182 leave no margin for delay, particularly for areas 
that are reclassified by operation of law as Moderate or Serious. For 
such areas, the attainment year typically begins less than a year from 
when the SIP would be due, and the resulting timeframe for SIP 
development--which for ozone can involve complex analyses--is typically 
less than a year. Therefore, despite significant effort invested by the 
EPA and states to timely meet CAA-specified deadlines for ozone SIPs, 
these deadlines are sometimes not met, and leftover SIP requirements 
can result.
    Accordingly, the EPA is restating in this national rulemaking its 
interpretations describing whether and how these types of SIP 
requirements leftover from lower classifications will still apply 
following the reclassification to a higher classification (e.g., 
reclassification from Moderate to Serious). The EPA is also proposing 
regulatory text to codify these interpretations. If this proposed rule 
is finalized, it will codify the EPA's existing interpretation that 
certain requirements applicable to the lower, former classification 
(i.e., Moderate or Serious) are no longer required following a change 
in the area's classification. Codifying this interpretation will 
improve the EPA's and states' abilities to identify and timely meet SIP 
deadlines.
2. Leftover SIP Requirements
    The EPA has assessed the effect of reclassification on each of the 
SIP requirements--referred to in this document as SIP elements--that 
apply to Marginal, Moderate, and Serious areas.\37\ We have concluded 
that certain SIP elements, discussed in this section, are explicitly 
tied to the current attainment date, and would therefore be mooted by 
reclassification. However,

[[Page 80844]]

most of the SIP elements required under the former classification are 
not explicitly tied to the attainment date for that former 
classification and are therefore unaffected by reclassification. The 
mere fact that an area is reclassified is not a sufficient basis to 
determine that a CAA requirement applicable to the prior classification 
no longer applies and there is no language in the statute which 
necessitates or even supports such a position. The SIP elements 
associated with each classification are generally cumulative from 
Marginal up to Extreme.\38\ The requirement to submit such elements 
remains applicable, and the submittal and implementation deadlines are 
unchanged. If a state misses the submission deadline for these required 
SIP elements and has been subsequently reclassified, the EPA is 
obligated under CAA section 110(k)(1)(copyright) to issue a finding 
that the state has failed to make a complete submission (FFS) and 
promulgate a FIP unless the state submits, and the EPA approves, a 
corrective SIP. Thus, the EPA is not proposing any changes to the 
current rules with respect to these requirements. For clarity, the 
requirements associated with a prior classification that the EPA has 
concluded still apply following a reclassification are listed in table 
2. The EPA has been, and will continue, to conduct any CAA-directed 
oversight on adherence to these listed requirements following 
reclassification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \37\ As noted previously, this rule does not address voluntary 
reclassifications from Severe to Extreme. The EPA expects that this 
type of reclassification will be rare. We would address the status 
of leftover Severe requirements following a reclassification to 
Extreme, if any, on a case-by-case basis, should the need arise.
    \38\ In subpart 2, subsections (b) through (d) of CAA section 
182 cover the required SIP revisions for Moderate (182(b)), Serious 
(182(c)), and Severe (182(d)), and those requirements are generally 
cumulative. See, e.g., CAA section 182(b) (requiring Moderate areas 
to make submissions relating to Marginal areas in addition to the 
revisions for the Moderate classification).

 Table 2--SIP Requirements From a Prior Classification That Continue To
                    Apply Following Reclassification
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Regulatory cite
         SIP requirement              CAA section       from 40 CFR (if
                                                          applicable)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Marginal Area Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emissions Inventory.............  182(a)(3)(A)......  Sec.   51.1315.
Emissions Statement Rule........  182(a)(3)(B)......  Sec.   51.1300(p).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Moderate Area Requirements (also includes above Marginal Area
                              Requirements)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 percent rate-of-progress       182(b)(1)(a)......  Sec.   51.1310.
 (ROP) plan.
Contingency measures for failure  172(c)(9).........  N/A.
 to achieve ROP.
Moderate Area RACT..............  182(b)(2).........  Sec.   51.1312.
NNSR Moderate Area rules........  173...............  Sec.   51.165.
Basic I/M.......................  182(b)(4).........  40 CFR part 51,
                                                       subpart S.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Serious Area Requirements (also includes above Moderate Area
                              Requirements)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RFP.............................  182(c)(2)(B) and    Sec.   51.1310.
                                   (C).
Serious Area RACT...............  182(b)(2).........  Sec.   51.1312.
Contingency measures for failure  182(c)(9).........  N/A.
 to achieve RFP.
Enhanced I/M....................  182(c)(3).........  40 CFR part 51,
                                                       subpart S.
Clean-fuel Vehicle Programs.....  182(c)(4).........  N/A.
NNSR Serious Area Rules.........  173...............  51.165.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA is, however, proposing that following reclassification, 
there are three elements for nonattainment areas formerly classified as 
Moderate or Serious that are no longer required for the lower, former 
classification: (1) the attainment demonstration, (2) RACM, and (3) in 
the case of voluntary reclassification, contingency measures for 
failure to attain. These three elements are no longer required because 
they are explicitly tied to the applicable attainment date. CAA section 
181(a)(1) provides that the attainment date for an ozone nonattainment 
area depends upon its classification. Therefore, when an ozone 
nonattainment area is reclassified, the attainment date for the prior 
classification is superseded by the attainment date for the new 
classification. Thus, once an ozone nonattainment area has been 
reclassified and as a result has a new statutory attainment deadline, 
these three elements are no longer required for the lower, former 
classification. Requiring a state to submit or the EPA to act on such 
SIP elements would make no logical or practical sense as described in 
more detail later in this section.
    The first proposed element that is no longer required is the 
attainment demonstration requirement for the former classification. 
Following mandatory reclassification upon failure to attain, the 
former, superseded classification's attainment date is in the past and 
is no longer applicable, and it is no longer meaningful to evaluate 
whether a plan demonstrates that an area would attain by that 
superseded date. Moreover, it is impossible for a plan to demonstrate 
that an area would attain by that superseded date. At that point in 
time, no changes could be made that would change facts that have 
already come to pass (i.e., that the area has failed to attain by its 
applicable attainment date). For a voluntary reclassification that 
becomes effective before the attainment date, the former attainment 
date is likewise superseded. There can only be one attainment date that 
applies at any given time, and the CAA does not require attainment 
demonstrations for attainment dates that are not applicable to the 
area. Because the former classification's attainment date is no longer 
applicable, it is therefore no longer relevant for the area to 
demonstrate attainment with respect to it (just as it is not relevant 
for an area initially classified as Serious to provide an attainment 
demonstration for a Moderate attainment date). Moreover, following 
voluntary reclassification, the EPA is no longer required to determine 
whether the area attained by the former attainment date. The EPA is 
therefore proposing to codify the Agency's existing interpretation that 
the leftover attainment demonstration requirement is no longer required 
upon reclassification.

[[Page 80845]]

    The second element that is proposed to be no longer required for 
the lower, superseded classification is RACM. For ozone NAAQS 
implementation under subpart 2 of the CAA, the EPA's rules require the 
RACM element to be submitted with the attainment demonstration.\39\ The 
RACM demonstration must show that an area has adopted all reasonably 
available control measures necessary to demonstrate attainment as 
expeditiously as practicable and meet RFP.\40\ The EPA has long 
evaluated RACM in terms of whether, beyond the control strategy 
associated with the accompanying attainment demonstration, there are 
any reasonably available control measures that could advance an area's 
attainment date.\41\ The determination of whether a SIP contains all 
RACM requires an area-specific analysis that there are no additional 
economically and technologically feasible control measures (alone or 
cumulatively) that will advance the attainment date.\42\ The EPA's RACM 
policy, as outlined in the April 16, 1992, General Preamble, indicates 
that states should consider all candidate measures that are potentially 
available for the particular nonattainment area that could advance the 
attainment date by 1 year.\43\ Thus, the basis for our proposal that 
the attainment demonstration is no longer required is applicable to the 
RACM analysis as well. For a mandatory reclassification, this means 
that the former classification's attainment date is in the past and was 
not met. Thus, it is not possible or meaningful to conduct an 
evaluation as to whether attainment could be achieved by the attainment 
date or advanced. Likewise, once a voluntary reclassification has 
occurred, it is no longer relevant to assess whether the former 
attainment date could have been met sooner. Thus, even though it may 
have been requested prior to the former attainment date, once granted, 
a voluntary reclassification would still render inapplicable those 
requirements specifically tied to the former, no longer applicable 
attainment date. Accordingly, the EPA interprets the CAA such that 
following reclassification, both the attainment demonstration and 
associated RACM analysis must be done with respect to the new and 
currently applicable attainment date. The CAA does not require 
attainment demonstrations (and accompanying RACM analysis) for 
attainment dates associated with any classification that is not 
applicable to the area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ 40 CFR 51.1312(c)
    \40\ Id.
    \41\ See 83 FR 62998, 63008 (December 6, 2018).
    \42\ Memorandum of December 14, 2000, from John S. Seitz, 
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, re: 
``Additional Submission on RACM from States with Severe One-Hour 
Ozone Nonattainment Area SIPs.'' https://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/memoranda/121400_racmmemfin.pdf.
    \43\ ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the 
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990; 
Proposed Rule.'' 57 FR 13507 (April 16, 1992). The discussion of 
RACM in that document contains other relevant history concerning the 
RACM requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The third element that the EPA interprets the CAA to no longer 
require, and therefore proposes to codify into regulatory text through 
this rule, is the contingency measure requirement with respect to 
contingency measures that are only tied to the attainment date.\44\ The 
contingency measure provisions of the CAA require the submittal of 
measures that would take effect without further action by the EPA or 
the state if the area fails to make RFP, or fails to attain by the 
attainment date.\45\ Unlike the first two elements, the EPA is 
proposing that the contingency measure requirement for failure to 
attain would no longer be required only in the case of a voluntary 
reclassification which becomes effective before the attainment date 
associated with the prior classification. In the case of mandatory 
reclassification upon failure to attain, the contingency measure 
requirement for failure to attain would continue to apply.\46\ 
Furthermore, in no case would reclassification alone make the 
contingency measure requirement for RFP or milestone failure be no 
longer applicable. The contingency measure requirement for failure to 
attain no longer applies in the case of a voluntary reclassification 
because, in those circumstances, the state requests, and the EPA 
approves, a reclassification before the attainment date. When the area 
is voluntarily reclassified before the attainment date, the EPA is no 
longer required to determine whether the area attained by the former 
attainment date. Because the EPA would not issue such a finding of 
failure to attain, contingency measures for failure to attain by the 
attainment date associated with the previous classification would not 
be triggered, and thus no longer have logical significance. The EPA 
notes, however, that any mandatory or voluntary reclassification 
triggers the need to submit new contingency measures for failure to 
attain by the new attainment date, and further notes that there must 
still be contingency measures available to implement in the event the 
area fails to meet any RFP milestone associated with the current or 
former classification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \44\ The EPA notes that most state air agencies do not 
distinguish their contingency measures submissions as to which 
measures would be triggered by a failure to attain versus a failure 
to meet RFP, and the EPA does not necessarily encourage this. 
Because contingency measures will continue to be required for RFP 
following voluntary reclassification, the practical effect of the 
contingency measures element no longer being required for failure to 
attain may be negligible in most cases.
    \45\ CAA section 172(c)(9). The RFP contingency measure 
requirement is further specified in CAA section 182(c)(9) to be 
undertaken if the area fails to meet any applicable RFP milestone.
    \46\ Moreover, the determination that the area failed to attain 
would actually trigger implementation of these contingency measures. 
To the extent this requirement is still unmet following such a 
determination, the lack of contingency measures is a deficiency that 
states must correct by developing and implementing such measures as 
soon as reasonably possible (See, e.g., 88 FR 67961.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Aside from these three SIP requirements proposed to be no longer 
applicable following reclassification, the EPA is not proposing any 
clarifications or changes to its interpretation regarding the remaining 
required SIP elements. All other Marginal, Moderate, and Serious area 
elements continue to be required after these areas are reclassified. 
These requirements are unaffected because their meaning is not 
dependent upon the attainment date itself. For completeness, these 
requirements are listed in table 2. Reclassification does not change 
the submission requirement or due date for these elements. For example, 
the Moderate area 15 percent rate-of-progress (ROP) requirement of CAA 
section182(b) specifies an amount of reductions that must occur within 
6 years of initial designation, and this requirement is not tied to the 
applicable attainment date, and therefore, is unaffected by 
supersession of the attainment date. Similarly, the 3 percent RFP 
requirement of CAA section 182(c)(2)(B) is expressed as an amount of 
reductions that must occur every 3 years, beginning 6 years after 
initial designation and continuing until the attainment year. A new, 
later attainment date would have no effect on the requirement to reduce 
emissions in years 6, 9, and so on. This same reasoning applies to the 
requirement to have contingency measures for failure to meet RFP. Where 
an area is reclassified and the attainment date is superseded, the EPA 
must still determine the adequacy of a state's demonstration that RFP 
milestones have been met, which, if inadequate, could trigger the 
implementation of contingency measures. Accordingly, and as discussed 
earlier, contingency measure submissions for this element associated 
with the current or former classification are still required.
    Similar reasoning applies to the other elements listed in table 2. 
RACT, I/M,

[[Page 80846]]

NNSR, and clean-fuel vehicle elements are required to be implemented on 
specific timeframes that are independent of the attainment date and 
therefore are unaffected by its supersession. Changing the submission 
requirement or implementation deadlines for these elements that are not 
tied to the attainment date would delay the implementation of these 
measures beyond what the CAA intended. While the CAA does provide for 
later attainment dates for higher classifications, it does not 
authorize altering requirements that came due as a result of the lower 
classifications, aside from the very particular situation outlined for 
the three requirements that are directly dependent on the attainment 
date. For example, the CAA requirement in section 182(b)(2) to 
implement RACT for specified sources is implemented and assessed based 
on whether the RACT rules are implementing what is economically and 
technologically feasible. In other words, this analysis of whether 
controls comprise RACT is done irrespective of the attainment deadline 
and on a timeline that does not change if the attainment deadline is 
superseded. There is nothing in the CAA to suggest that 
reclassification, and the associated change in an area's attainment 
date, should alter the preexisting requirement to submit a SIP 
implementing RACT level controls and the deadline to implement those 
controls. This same logic applies to all the identified SIP 
requirements not specifically tied to the attainment date. This also is 
consistent with the EPA's current practice with respect to these 
requirements.
    Finally, the EPA notes that once a reclassification occurs, 
questions may arise as to how the EPA will implement the leftover SIP 
requirements. First, for the requirements that the EPA has determined 
still apply, the statutory planning obligations on states and the EPA 
would remain. Where a state has not submitted a plan addressing these 
requirements, the EPA would be required to issue an FFS (as it has done 
for the 2015 NAAQS Moderate SIP elements),\47\ and where a state does 
not submit an approvable plan for these requirements, there would be 
FIP and sanctions obligations from any resulting disapprovals. We will 
continue to work with states to support the development of approvable 
SIPs for these required elements, and where such SIPs are received, we 
intend to act on them in a timely manner, notwithstanding that the area 
has been reclassified since the SIPs came due. There may be 
opportunities for states to harmonize certain analyses for the new 
classification with submittals for the former classification, but these 
are situationally dependent and beyond the scope of this rule. As to 
the SIP elements that the EPA interprets to no longer be required for 
areas that have been reclassified, the EPA can withdraw the existing 
FFS for these elements and thereby remove associated FIP and sanctions 
obligations. Similarly, where a submittal is pending before the EPA 
that contains SIP elements that are no longer required, the EPA expects 
that a state could withdraw such a submission, with the expectation 
that the EPA would not issue an FFS as to such no longer required SIP 
elements. For such submissions that remain pending before the EPA and 
for which the Agency is required to take action on under CAA section 
110(k)(2), or if there are no longer required elements of a submission 
that the state still wishes the EPA to act on, the EPA would continue 
to evaluate those submissions in light of its view that the 
approvability of such a submission no longer depends upon the 
attainment date associated with the former classification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \47\ 88 FR 71757 (October 18, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Serious Area SIP Revisions for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS

    Moderate nonattainment areas that the EPA has determined failed to 
attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the attainment date of August 3, 2024, 
will be reclassified as Serious by operation of law upon the effective 
date of the relevant final reclassification rule. Upon 
reclassification, each responsible state air agency must submit SIP 
revisions that satisfy the general air quality planning requirements 
under CAA section 172(copyright) and the ozone specific requirements 
for Serious nonattainment areas under CAA section 182(copyright), as 
interpreted and described in the 2015 Ozone NAAQS SIP Requirements Rule 
(see 83 FR 62998, December 6, 2018, and 40 CFR 51.1300 et seq.). This 
section describes the required submission elements for Serious 
nonattainment areas and articulates how, if finalized, the proposed 
default SIP submission and implementation deadlines in section III.A.1. 
of this document will apply to all areas reclassified as Serious under 
the 2015 ozone NAAQS. In separate rulemakings, the EPA will determine 
whether specific areas classified as Moderate for the 2015 ozone NAAQS 
attained the standard by the applicable attainment date of August 3, 
2024. The uniform deadlines the EPA is proposing to establish in this 
rulemaking document are intended to apply to all reclassified Serious 
nonattainment areas, unless otherwise established in a separate notice-
and-comment rulemaking.
1. Required Submission Elements
    SIP requirements that apply to areas classified as Serious are 
generally cumulative of CAA requirements for the Moderate 
classification and include additional requirements that are specific to 
areas classified as Serious, as interpreted and described in the final 
SIP Requirements Rule for the 2015 ozone NAAQS (see CAA sections 
172(c)(1) and 182(b) and (c), and 40 CFR 51.1300 et seq.). The SIP 
requirements that apply specifically to Serious areas include: Enhanced 
monitoring (CAA section 182(c)(1) and 40 CFR 58.10); Emissions 
inventory and emissions statement rule (CAA section 182(a)(1), CAA 
section 182(a)(3)(A), 40 CFR 51.1300(p), and 40 CFR 51.1315); RFP (CAA 
section 182(c)(2)(B) and 40 CFR 51.1310); Attainment demonstration and 
RACM (CAA section 182(c)(2(A), CAA section 172(c)(6), 40 CFR 51.1308, 
and 40 CFR 51.1312(c)); RACT (CAA section 182(b)(2) and 40 CFR 
51.1312); Nonattainment New Source Review (NSR) (CAA section 172(c)(5), 
CAA section 173, 40 CFR 51.1314, and 40 CFR 51.165); Enhanced I/M (CAA 
section 182(c)(3) and 40 CFR part 51, subpart S); Clean-fuel vehicle 
programs (CAA section 182(c)(4)); \48\ and Contingency measures (CAA 
sections 172(c)(9) and 182(c)(9)). In addition to these required SIP 
submissions, a demonstration evaluating the need for a transportation 
control measure program (CAA section 182(c)(5)) is required.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \48\ In June 2022, the EPA released guidance on clean fuel fleet 
programs titled ``Guidance for Fulfilling the Clean Fuel Fleets 
Requirement of the Clean Air Act'' (EPA-420-B-22-027). This guidance 
is posted at https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/clean-fuel-fleets-program-guidance.
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    We are providing additional discussion in the following sections 
for these Serious area requirements: (a) RACT, (b) Nonattainment New 
Source Review, and (c) Enhanced I/M.
a. RACT
    Subpart 2 of part D of title I of the CAA applies a specific RACT 
requirement for all ozone nonattainment areas that the EPA interprets 
as being independent of the Attainment Demonstration and RACM elements 
(see CAA section 182(b)(2), 40 CFR 51.1112, and 40 CFR 51.1312). For 
ozone nonattainment areas reclassified as Serious, the independent 
analysis addressing RACT level controls for major sources must include 
an evaluation of controls for sources emitting 50 tons per year (tpy) 
or more

[[Page 80847]]

that are currently reasonably available, consistent with the definition 
of ``major source'' or ``major stationary source'' for areas classified 
as Serious (see CAA sections 182(c)). The RACT analysis must also 
include an evaluation of currently available RACT for all sources in 
the nonattainment area that emit, or have the potential to emit, at 
least 50 tpy of VOC or NO<INF>X</INF>, as well as an evaluation of RACT 
for all sources subject to a Control Techniques Guideline (see CAA 
sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)). The EPA recognizes that in the context 
of a reclassification to Serious, these areas should already have RACT 
in place to address the lower classification's requirements (i.e., 
those required when the areas were previously classified as Moderate); 
RACT should already be implemented in these areas for sources that 
emit, or have the potential to emit, at least 100 tpy of VOC or 
NO<INF>X</INF>. CAA subpart 2 requirements are generally cumulative 
and, for Serious areas, states are required to address not only those 
requirements listed in CAA section 182(c) but also in CAA sections 
182(a) and (b), to the extent those requirements are not superseded by 
the more stringent requirements in CAA section 182(c) and/or have not 
been previously addressed. However, the primary focus for states with 
areas reclassified as Serious is expected to be on identifying and 
adopting new RACT measures required to control sources with the 
potential to emit between 50 to 100 tpy of VOC or NO<INF>X</INF>, as 
long as the state has already addressed sources with at least 100 tpy 
of VOC or NO<INF>X</INF>. In order to fulfill their Serious area SIP 
submission requirements under the 2015 ozone NAAQS, states may, where 
appropriate, certify that existing RACT SIP provisions for an area are 
adequate to address one or more Serious area requirements. Such 
certifications must be submitted as a SIP revision.\49\
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    \49\ Air agencies should review any existing regulation that was 
previously approved by the EPA to determine whether it is sufficient 
to fulfill obligations triggered by the reclassification. This 
review should include determining whether the nonattainment area 
boundary for the 2015 ozone NAAQS is consistent with the boundary 
for any previous standards. Where an air agency determines that an 
existing regulation is adequate to meet any newly applicable 
nonattainment area planning requirements under CAA section 182, that 
air agency's SIP revision may provide a written statement certifying 
that determination in lieu of submitting new revised regulations.
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    As a general matter, the EPA expects that any new determination or 
certification that a state regulation meets RACT should be supported in 
the record with a state's assessment of relevant information. We 
informally refer to this assessment process as ``due diligence review'' 
and consider it a necessary component of approvable RACT SIP revisions. 
The EPA has articulated this policy previously in its implementation 
rules for the 2015 and 2008 ozone NAAQS, indicating that states should 
refer to all relevant information (including recent technical 
information and information received during the public comment period) 
that is available at the time that they are developing their RACT 
SIPs,\50\ and that SIP certifications should explain how an applicable 
requirement is met by a previously approved regulation.\51\
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    \50\ See 83 FR 62998, 63007 (December 6, 2018) and 80 FR 12264, 
12279 (March 6, 2015).
    \51\ See 83 FR 62998 at 63002.
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    The EPA has long taken the position that the statutory requirement 
for states to assess and adopt RACT for sources in ozone nonattainment 
areas classified Moderate and higher generally exists independently 
from the attainment demonstration for such areas.\52\ In addition to 
the independent RACT requirement, states have a statutory obligation to 
apply RACM and adopt such measures needed to meet RFP requirements and 
to demonstrate attainment as expeditiously as practicable when also 
considering emissions reductions associated with the implementation of 
RACT on sources in the area.\53\ Therefore, to the extent that a state 
adopts new or additional control measures as RACT and then relies on 
the emission reductions caused by those control measures to demonstrate 
RFP and/or to demonstrate attainment as expeditiously as practicable, 
those states must include such RACT revisions with the other SIP 
elements due as part of the attainment plan required under CAA sections 
172(c) and 182(c).
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    \52\ See Memo from John Seitz, ``Reasonable Further Progress, 
Attainment Demonstration, and Related Requirements for Ozone 
Nonattainment Areas Meeting the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard'' (1995), at 5 (explaining that subpart 2 requirements 
linked to the attainment demonstration are suspended by a finding 
that a nonattainment area is attaining but that requirements such as 
RACT and I/M must be met whether or not an area has attained the 
standard); see also 40 CFR 51.1318 (suspending attainment 
demonstrations, RACM, RFP, contingency measures, and other 
attainment planning SIPs with a finding of attainment).
    \53\ Though not directly a part of a nonattainment area RACM 
analysis, the EPA has interpreted CAA section 172(c)(6) to require 
that air agencies also consider the impacts of emissions from 
sources outside an ozone nonattainment area (but within a state's 
boundaries) and must require other control measures on these 
intrastate sources if doing so is necessary to provide for 
attainment of the applicable ozone NAAQS within the area by the 
applicable attainment date. For discussion of this ``other control 
measures'' provision see also the final rule to implement the 2015 
ozone NAAQS (83 FR 63015, December 6, 2018), the Phase 2 proposed 
rulemaking (68 FR 32829, June 2, 2003) and final rule to implement 
the 8-hour ozone NAAQS (70 FR 71623, November 29, 2005), and the 
final rule to implement the PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS (81 FR 58035, 
August 24, 2016).
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b. Nonattainment New Source Review
    Upon reclassification, stationary air pollution sources in newly 
reclassified Serious nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS will 
be subject to Serious ozone nonattainment area NSR permit requirements. 
The source applicability thresholds for major sources and major source 
modification emissions will be 50 tpy for volatile organic compounds 
(VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NO<INF>X</INF>). For new and modified major 
stationary sources subject to NSR, VOC and NO<INF>X</INF> emission 
increases from the proposed construction of the new or modified major 
stationary sources must be offset by emission reductions by a minimum 
offset ratio of 1.20 to 1 (see CAA section 182(copyright)(10)). We note 
that some newly reclassified Serious nonattainment areas for the 2015 
ozone NAAQS may be classified as Severe under the 2008 ozone NAAQS and, 
therefore, the more stringent Severe area requirements are currently 
being implemented in those areas.\54\ As noted in section III.C.1.a. of 
this document, in order to fulfill their Serious area SIP submission 
requirements under the 2015 ozone NAAQS, states may, where appropriate, 
certify that existing SIP provisions for an area are adequate to 
address one or more Serious area requirements. Such certifications must 
be submitted as a SIP revision.
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    \54\ For Severe ozone nonattainment areas, the nonattainment NSR 
source applicability thresholds for major sources and major source 
modification emissions are 25 tpy for VOC and NO<INF>X</INF>, and 
the minimum emissions offset ratio is 1.30 to 1 (see CAA sections 
182(d) and 182(d)(2)).
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c. Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M)
    Background on I/M. Motor vehicles are a major contributor of ozone 
precursor (VOC and NO<INF>X</INF>) emissions. I/M programs reduce these 
emissions by ensuring on-road motor vehicles are maintained to meet 
vehicle emission standards as certified, identify excessive emissions, 
and assure vehicle repairs.\55\
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    \55\ See EPA's I/M website for a fact sheet and link to the I/M 
regulations at https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/vehicle-emissions-inspection-and-maintenance-im-regulations.
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    As mentioned in the preceding section, an Enhanced I/M program is a 
required Serious area SIP submission element for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 
The applicable Enhanced I/M requirements for Serious ozone 
nonattainment areas are described in CAA section 182I(3) and further 
defined

[[Page 80848]]

in the EPA's I/M regulations (40 CFR part 51, subpart S). The EPA is 
not proposing changes to its I/M regulations in this document; however, 
additional clarification in this preamble is provided to assist states 
with nonattainment areas subject to Enhanced I/M in understanding 
specific I/M program requirements due to being reclassified as Serious. 
After a Moderate ozone area is reclassified to Serious or higher, an 
Enhanced I/M program is required to be implemented in the 1990 Census-
defined urbanized area, if the 1980 Census-defined population is 
200,000 or more (see 40 CFR 51.350(a)(9)).
    Areas subject to Enhanced I/M program requirements for the 2015 
ozone NAAQS. An Enhanced I/M program is required for all Serious areas 
under the 2015 ozone NAAQS which meet the urbanized area population 
criterion.\56\ Consistent with the I/M regulations, states with these 
existing I/M programs would need to conduct and submit a performance 
standard \57\ modeling (PSM) analysis \58\ as well as make any 
necessary program revisions as part of their Serious area SIP 
submissions for these reclassified areas to ensure that their I/M 
programs are operating at or above the Enhanced I/M performance 
standard level for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. States may determine through 
the PSM analysis that an existing SIP-approved program would meet the 
Enhanced performance standard for purposes of the 2015 ozone NAAQS 
without modification. In this case, the state could submit a SIP 
revision with the associated performance standard modeling, a narrative 
describing how the regulations for the existing I/M program are 
consistent with EPA's I/M regulations, and a written statement 
certifying their determination for the 2015 ozone NAAQS in lieu of 
submitting new revised regulations.\59\
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    \56\ See CAA section 182(c)(3)(A).
    \57\ An I/M performance standard is a collection of program 
design elements that defines a benchmark program to which a state's 
proposed program is compared in terms of its potential to reduce 
emissions of the ozone precursors, VOC, and NO<INF>X</INF>.
    \58\ See Performance Standard Modeling for New and Existing 
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Programs Using the MOVES 
Mobile Source Emissions Model (October 2022, EPA-420-B-22-034) at 
https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/vehicle-emissions-inspection-and-maintenance-im-policy-and-technical#reporting.
    \59\ See Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area Classifications and State 
Implementation Plan Requirements, 83 FR 63001-63002. Performance 
standard modeling is required for Enhanced I/M programs for the 2015 
ozone NAAQS in Serious and above ozone nonattainment areas for that 
NAAQS.
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    In addition to complying with the Enhanced performance standard, 
there are three other requirements unique to Enhanced I/M programs. 
First, Enhanced I/M programs must conduct on-road testing of in-use 
vehicles for a small percentage of the area's fleet of motor 
vehicles.\60\ Second, Enhanced I/M programs are required to conduct 
evaluations, and report the results of, the program effectiveness every 
2 years.\61\ Third, Enhanced I/M programs have stricter provisions than 
Basic programs if the program chooses to issue repair waivers.\62\ The 
Enhanced I/M program requirements are to be fully implemented as 
expeditiously as practicable but no later than the implementation 
deadline determined by the final action of this proposal, as discussed 
in section III.A.2.c. of this document.
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    \60\ See Guidance for On-Road Testing Requirements for Enhanced 
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Programs, EPA-420-B-20-020, 
March 2020, available at https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100YQX8.PDF?Dockey=P100YQX8.pdf.
    \61\ See Guidance on Biennial Performance Evaluation 
Requirements for Enhanced Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) 
Programs, EPA-420-B-22-042, December 2022, available at https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P10168PU.pdf.
    \62\ 40 CFR 51.360
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2. Submission and Implementation Deadlines
a. Submission Deadline for SIP Revisions
    As discussed in section III.A. of this document, CAA section 182(i) 
provides that areas reclassified under CAA section 181(b)(2) shall 
generally meet the requirements associated with their new 
classifications ``according to the schedules prescribed in connection 
with such requirements, except that the Administrator may adjust any 
applicable deadlines (other than attainment dates) to the extent such 
adjustment is necessary or appropriate to assure consistency among the 
required submissions.'' Here, the EPA interprets the ``schedules 
prescribed in connection with such requirements'' as the statutory 
deadlines provided to meet Serious area requirements. For areas 
initially classified as Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, the deadlines 
to prepare and submit SIP revisions were established relative to the 
effective date of designation. For those areas, the submission 
deadlines ranged from 24 to 48 months after the effective date of 
designation, depending on the SIP element required (e.g., 2 years for 
the RACT SIP, 4 years for the attainment plan with RACM and attainment 
demonstration, and 4 years for an Enhanced I/M program SIP if required) 
(see 40 CFR 51.1308 and 51.1312). Areas initially classified as 
Moderate or higher were also required to implement RACT as 
expeditiously as practicable but no later than January 1 of the 5th 
year after the effective date of designations, i.e., January 1, 2023 
(see 40 CFR 51.1312).
    The SIP submission deadlines for nonattainment areas initially 
classified by the EPA in 2018 as Serious have passed as of August 3, 
2020, for the RACT SIP element and August 3, 2022, for the RACM and 
Serious area SIP elements (including Enhanced I/M). The EPA is 
therefore proposing to adjust applicable deadlines, as discussed in 
section III.A.1. of this document, for areas reclassified as Serious 
under the 2015 ozone NAAQS, per its authority under CAA section 301(a) 
``to prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out [its] 
functions under [the CAA]'' and its authority under CAA section 182(i). 
We recognize that the time between the anticipated effective date of 
reclassification and the Serious area attainment date in 2027 (and, 
critically, the attainment year of 2026) \63\ is far less than the 9 
years that areas initially classified as Serious have between 
designation and the attainment date. The EPA is proposing that it is 
necessary and appropriate to set, given the elapsed deadlines and this 
compressed timeline, a uniform SIP submission deadline for all the 
various requirements for the newly reclassified Serious areas. 
Consistent with the framework of establishing proposed default 
deadlines discussed in section III.A. of this document, because the 
initially applicable Serious area deadlines have already passed, those 
deadlines as proposed would be the earlier of 18 months from the 
effective date of reclassification or January 1, 2026 (January 1 of the 
attainment year).\64\ This deadline, consistent with the timing and 
structure of subpart 2 requirements relative to area attainment dates, 
will allow Serious area control measures to influence attainment by the 
Serious area attainment date while also balancing the need for a 
consistent submission deadline among the various Serious area SIP 
requirements. While not all of the ``schedules prescribed in connection 
with'' the various subpart 2

[[Page 80849]]

requirements are the same for initially designated Serious areas (e.g., 
the statute provides 4 years to submit SIPs for some requirements and 2 
years for others), coordinating the submissions with the same deadline 
is necessary and appropriate in this situation given the compressed 
timeline before the attainment date and the need for consistent 
implementation of required control measures for expeditious attainment 
of the NAAQS.
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    \63\ ``Attainment year'' refers to the last calendar year of 
data prior to the attainment date. Attainment for newly reclassified 
areas will be determined based on air quality monitoring data from 
the DV period of 2024-2026, making the attainment year 2026.
    \64\ Given the timing of this proposal, for these reclassified 
Serious areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, the proposed deadline will 
be January 1, 2026.
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    The EPA recognizes that because CAA section 181(b)(2) requires the 
EPA to determine whether areas have attained by the attainment date 
``within six months of the attainment date'' and because CAA section 
181(b)(3) allows a state to request voluntary reclassification at any 
time, the effective date of reclassification will not necessarily be 
uniform across all 2015 areas being reclassified to Serious. Therefore, 
the time between the effective date of an area's reclassification and 
the proposed SIP revision deadline of January 1, 2026, may not be 
uniform across areas. It is the Agency's view that the uniform deadline 
of January 1, 2026, nevertheless best serves the statutory aim of 
ensuring consistency across the required submissions. All of these 
areas will be subject to an August 3, 2027, attainment deadline, thus 
the attainment year will be 2026 for all of these areas. As previously 
discussed, the purpose of the part D nonattainment area requirements 
(i.e., the submissions required by subparts 1 and 2) is the expeditious 
attainment of the NAAQS by the attainment date, and SIP revisions and 
implementation of controls occurring after the attainment year (in this 
case, 2026), by definition cannot contribute to expeditious attainment 
of the NAAQS by the attainment date (which will be determined based on 
2024-2026 air quality monitoring data). The January 1, 2026, SIP 
revision deadline for reclassified Serious areas is equally applicable 
across areas, and perhaps more importantly, ensures that the newly 
applicable subpart 2 requirements will be addressed consistent with 
part D's purpose of achieving expeditious attainment by the attainment 
date.
    We note that ozone seasons do not have a uniform start date across 
the country. In some states, the ozone season begins January 1 and in 
other states, it begins in March. (See 40 CFR part 58, appendix D, 
section 4.1, table D-3). While the EPA recognizes that nonattainment 
areas located in states with ozone seasons that begin in March could 
potentially benefit from an extra 2 months to develop and submit their 
SIP revisions (e.g., attainment demonstration, RFP plan, and 
contingency measures), the EPA also recognizes the value in 
establishing a single due date for Serious area SIP submissions that 
does not extend beyond the deadline for implementing such controls. 
Requiring states to submit the required Serious area SIP revisions by 
no later than January 1, 2026, will ensure that SIPs requiring control 
measures needed for attainment will be submitted prior to when those 
controls are required to be implemented and will also treat states 
consistently per CAA section 182(i).
    If the EPA does not finalize the proposed default deadlines 
discussed in section III.A. that would apply generally to 
reclassifications, the EPA proposes in the alternative to establish a 
SIP revision deadline of January 1, 2026, for all reclassified Serious 
area requirements for the 2015 ozone NAAQS nonattainment areas.
    The SIP revisions triggered by a reclassification to Serious 
includes a revision to address RACT requirements. The EPA's existing 
implementing regulations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS established a RACT 
SIP submission deadline for reclassified areas of either 24 months from 
the reclassification effective date or a deadline established by the 
Administrator in the reclassification action using the discretion under 
CAA section 182(i) (see 40 CFR 51.1312(a)(2)(ii)). We are proposing to 
remove this provision, specific to the 2015 ozone NAAQS, from those 
implementing regulations and to instead have the new regulations 
addressing reclassified areas (discussed in section III.A. of this 
document) apply in this situation, or in the alternative, to articulate 
a January 1, 2026, SIP submission deadline for RACT revisions for areas 
reclassified as Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
    The January 1, 2026, SIP submission deadline for reclassified 
Serious 2015 ozone NAAQS areas also applies to revisions to address 
Enhanced I/M. Aligning the submittal deadline for Enhanced I/M for 
reclassified areas with the SIP submission deadline for all other SIP 
elements is consistent with the I/M regulations, which provide that an 
I/M SIP shall be submitted no later than the deadline for submitting 
the area's attainment SIP.\65\
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    \65\ 40 CFR 51.372(b)(2).
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    The EPA requests comment on a uniform SIP submission deadline of 
January 1, 2026, for RACT, and all other Serious area SIP elements 
(including Enhanced I/M) for nonattainment areas reclassified as 
Serious under the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
b. RACT Implementation Deadline
    With respect to implementation deadlines, the EPA's implementing 
regulations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS require that, for areas initially 
classified as Moderate or higher, a state shall provide for 
implementation of RACT as expeditiously as practicable but no later 
than January 1 of the 5th year after the effective date of designation 
(see 40 CFR 51.1312(a)(3)(i)), which corresponds with the beginning of 
the attainment year for initially classified Moderate areas (January 1, 
2023). The modeling and attainment demonstration requirements for 2015 
ozone NAAQS areas classified Moderate or higher require that a state 
must provide for implementation of all control measures needed for 
attainment no later than the beginning of the attainment year ozone 
season, notwithstanding any alternative deadline established per 40 CFR 
51.1312 (see 40 CFR 51.1308(d)). For areas that are reclassified (e.g., 
from Serious to Severe), the EPA's existing implementing regulations 
for the 2015 ozone NAAQS require that the state shall provide for 
implementation of RACT as expeditiously as practicable, but no later 
than the beginning of the attainment year ozone season associated with 
the reclassified area's new attainment deadline, or January 1 of the 
third year after the associated SIP submission deadline, whichever is 
earlier; or the deadline established by the Administrator in the final 
action issuing the area reclassification (see 40 CFR 
51.1312(a)(3)(ii)).
    In the case of the potential reclassified Serious areas addressed 
by this proposal, the beginning of the ozone season varies among 
states, as stated earlier in this document. For some nonattainment 
areas that will potentially be reclassified as Serious in separate 
actions, the last ozone season that can impact air quality before the 
areas' attainment date begins in January of the attainment year and for 
other areas it begins in March of the attainment year (see 40 CFR part 
58, appendix D, section 4.1, table D-3). Thus, in accordance with the 
default deadlines proposed in section III.A.1.b. of this document, the 
RACT implementation deadline for any nonattainment area reclassified as 
Serious under the 2015 ozone NAAQS would be as expeditiously as 
practicable, but no later than the earlier of 18 months from the RACT 
SIP submission deadline or the beginning of the 2026 ozone season 
associated with the area's new August 3, 2027,

[[Page 80850]]

attainment date. If the EPA does not finalize the proposed default 
deadlines discussed in section III.A. that would apply generally to 
reclassifications, the EPA proposes in the alternative to establish a 
RACT implementation deadline for nonattainment areas reclassified as 
Serious under the 2015 ozone NAAQS to be as expeditiously as 
practicable, but no later than the beginning of the 2026 ozone season.
c. I/M Implementation Deadline
    With respect to the implementation deadline for Enhanced I/M 
programs, states wishing to use emission reductions from their newly 
required Enhanced I/M program for the 2015 ozone NAAQS would need to 
have such programs fully implemented as expeditiously as practicable 
but no later than the beginning of the ozone season for the applicable 
Serious area attainment year (i.e., January 1 or March 1, 2026), 
whichever is applicable for a given area as described earlier in this 
document. This I/M implementation deadline for those states wishing to 
take credit for their I/M programs in their attainment or RFP SIPs 
would align with that of the RACT implementation deadline determined by 
the existing ozone NAAQS implementation rule at 40 CFR 
51.1312(a)(3)(ii), as discussed in section III.A.1.b. of this document, 
and with the implementation deadline at 40 CFR 51.1308(d) for any other 
control measures necessary to attain by the Serious area attainment 
date. However, as noted previously, there are many challenges, tasks, 
and milestones that must be met in establishing and implementing an I/M 
program. The EPA realizes that implementing a new or revised I/M 
program on an accelerated timeline may be difficult to achieve in 
practice. Therefore, for the states that do not intend to rely upon 
emission reductions from their Enhanced I/M program in attainment or 
RFP SIPs, we are proposing to allow Enhanced I/M programs to be fully 
implemented no later than 4 years after the effective date of 
reclassification. The EPA's underlying rationale for the proposed 4-
year maximum implementation deadline for I/M programs required to 
conduct Enhanced I/M programs as the result of a mandatory 
reclassification to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS is the same as 
that for the default I/M implementation deadline for reclassifications 
as proposed in section III.A.1. of this document.
    The EPA is not proposing any changes to the implementation of any 
new Basic I/M programs, which are still required by the prior rule that 
reclassified certain nonattainment areas as Moderate for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS.\66\
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    \66\ See 87 FR 60897, October 7, 2022, at 60900.
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    The EPA requests comment on requiring that any Enhanced I/M 
programs, required as a result of reclassification, be fully 
implemented as expeditiously as practicable but no later than 4 years 
after the effective date of reclassification. If a state intends to 
rely upon emission reductions from its newly required Enhanced I/M 
programs for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, that state would need to have such 
Enhanced programs fully implemented as expeditiously as practicable but 
no later than the beginning of the ozone season of the applicable 
attainment year (i.e., January 1 or March 1, 2026).
    The proposed 4-year implementation deadline offers the states that 
will be required to implement Enhanced I/M due to reclassifications the 
flexibility to fully implement the I/M programs on a timeline that 
addresses the challenges, especially for states new to Enhanced I/M 
programs.
d. Transportation Control Demonstration
    CAA section 182(c)(5) requires states with Serious ozone 
nonattainment areas to submit, 6 years after November 15, 1990, and 
every 3 years thereafter, a demonstration as to whether current 
aggregate vehicle mileage, aggregate vehicle emissions, congestion 
levels, and other relevant transportation parameters are consistent 
with those used for the area's demonstration of attainment. Six years 
after November 15, 1990, was 2 years after the statutory deadline 
established to submit attainment demonstrations for such areas. To be 
consistent with this CAA schedule, the EPA is proposing to require that 
the first transportation control demonstration be submitted 2 years 
after the attainment demonstrations for newly reclassified Serious 
areas are due, or January 1, 2028, and every 3 years thereafter. The 
EPA's rationale for the deadlines for submitting the initial and 
subsequent demonstration is discussed in section III.A.1.c. of this 
document.

IV. Environmental Justice Considerations

    In this action, the EPA is proposing to establish default SIP 
deadlines for submission of SIP revisions and implementation of the 
related control requirements for nonattainment areas reclassified as 
Moderate, Serious, and Severe for current and future ozone NAAQS. In 
addition, the EPA is proposing to codify its existing interpretation 
that following reclassification, a state is no longer required to 
submit SIP revisions addressing certain requirements related to the 
prior classification level for an ozone nonattainment area. The EPA is 
also articulating how the proposed default deadlines and codification 
of applicable requirements following reclassification would apply to 
nonattainment areas reclassified as Serious under the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 
This action is intended to comply with the CAA program to ensure that 
affected air agencies comply with CAA obligations for the applicable 
nonattainment areas.
    It is difficult to assess the environmental justice (EJ) 
implications of this proposed action because the EPA cannot 
geographically identify or quantify resulting source-specific emission 
reductions. However, due to the nature of this proposed action, the EPA 
believes that it will likely have no adverse impact on any existing 
disproportionate and adverse effects on communities with EJ concerns. 
At a minimum, the EPA believes that this action will not worsen any 
existing air quality and is expected to ensure that the areas affected 
by the rulemaking will meet applicable requirements to attain and/or 
maintain national air quality standards.
    The EPA notes, however, that states have flexibility and discretion 
under the CAA in implementing their attainment strategies to focus 
resources on controlling those sources of emissions that directly and 
adversely affect communities with EJ concerns. The EPA strongly urges 
states to consider the EJ aspects of any control measures in order to 
provide health protection for communities with EJ concerns. In 
addition, the EPA strongly encourages states to work with communities 
experiencing EJ concerns to develop ozone-related control strategies 
that most effectively reduce emissions contributing to elevated ozone 
levels. One way to do this would be for states to increase 
opportunities for meaningful involvement of community groups during 
their SIP development processes. For example, air agencies could 
provide advance notification for communities with EJ concerns of 
upcoming opportunities for public comment on ozone SIPs and other 
related actions, such as permit actions.
    The EPA has resources available to help air agencies consider 
aspects of EJ in their SIP development processes. The EPA released EPA 
Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice (EJ Legal Tools) in 2022 
to highlight the various environmental and civil rights

[[Page 80851]]

law authorities available to the EPA that authorize or address 
consideration of EJ in its decision-making process as it pertains to 
environmental laws, including the CAA.\67\ EJ Legal Tools is also 
intended to promote meaningful engagement among the EPA and 
communities.\68\ In addition, on September 5, 2024, the EPA announced 
the release of the final policy, ``Achieving Health and Environmental 
Protection Through EPA's Meaningful Engagement Policy.'' \69\ This 
final policy updates the EPA's 2003 Public Involvement Policy that 
guides the EPA's staff to provide meaningful public involvement in all 
its programs and regions.\70\
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    \67\ ``EPA Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice,'' (May 
2022).
    \68\ Id.
    \69\ ``Achieving Health and Environmental Protection Through 
EPA's Meaningful Engagement Policy'' (August 2024).
    \70\ See, ``Public Involvement Policy of the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency,'' (May 2003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory Review

    This action is not a significant regulatory action as defined by 
Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 14094, and was 
therefore not subject to a requirement for Executive Order 12866 
review.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

    This proposed rule does not impose any new information collection 
burden under the PRA not already approved by the Office of Management 
and Budget. This action proposes to establish deadlines for submission 
of required SIP revisions and implementation of the related control 
requirements for newly reclassified Moderate, Serious, and Severe ozone 
nonattainment areas. This action also proposes to codify the EPA's 
existing interpretation that following reclassification, a state is no 
longer required to submit SIP revisions addressing certain requirements 
related to the prior classification level for an ozone nonattainment 
area. Thus, the proposed action does not impose any new information 
collection burden under the PRA. OMB has previously approved the EPA's 
information collection activities contained in the existing regulations 
and has assigned OMB control number 2060-0695.\71\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \71\ On April 30, 2018, the OMB approved the EPA's request for 
renewal of the previously approved information collection request 
(ICR). The renewed request expired on April 30, 2021, 3 years after 
the approval date (see OMB Control Number 2060-0695 and ICR 
Reference Number 201801-2060-003 for EPA ICR No. 2347.03). On April 
30, 2021, the OMB published the final 30-day document (86 FR 22959) 
for the ICR renewal titled ``Implementation of the 8-Hour National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone (Renewal)'' (see OMB Control 
Number 2060-0695 and ICR Reference No: 202104-2060-004 for EPA ICR 
Number 2347.04). The ICR renewal was approved on February 1, 2022, 
and the renewed request expires on January 31, 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    I certify that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This 
action will not impose any requirements on small entities. The proposed 
SIP submittal and implementation deadlines, and the policy discussion 
outlining the EPA's interpretation of the status of certain 
requirements for prior nonattainment classifications following 
reclassification, do not in and of themselves create any new 
requirements beyond what is mandated by the CAA. Instead, this 
rulemaking is administrative in nature, and does not directly regulate 
any entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)

    This action does not contain an unfunded mandate as described in 
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or uniquely affect 
small governments. The action imposes no enforceable duty on any state, 
local or tribal governments or the private sector.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between 
the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government. The 
division of responsibility between the federal government and the 
states for purposes of implementing the NAAQS is established under the 
CAA.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in 
Executive Order 13175. This action will not impose substantial direct 
costs upon the tribes, nor will it preempt tribal law. The CAA requires 
SIP revisions for all nonattainment areas that are reclassified from a 
lower classification to a higher classification. For nonattainment 
areas that include portions of Indian reservation lands, the 
implementation plan deadlines that apply to states do not directly 
apply to tribes. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this 
action.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those 
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks 
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect 
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in 
section 2-202 of the Executive Order. Therefore, this action is not 
subject to Executive Order 13045 because it does not directly concern 
an environmental health risk or safety risk. Since this action does not 
directly concern human health, the EPA's policy on Children's Health 
also does not apply.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it is 
not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act (NTTAA)

    This rulemaking does not involve technical standards.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations and 
Executive Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to 
Environmental Justice for All

    The EPA believes that the human health or environmental conditions 
that exist prior to this action have the potential to result in 
disproportionate and adverse human health or environmental effects on 
communities with EJ concerns. The EPA believes that this action is not 
likely to change existing disproportionate and adverse effects on 
communities with EJ concerns. The areas impacted by this action are 
designated as nonattainment for one or more ozone NAAQS and this action 
is intended to comply with the CAA program to ensure attainment and 
maintenance of the NAAQS. From a programmatic perspective, this action 
is intended to ensure that affected air agencies comply with CAA 
obligations for the applicable nonattainment areas.
    The EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ as a 
basis for this action. While it is difficult to assess the EJ 
implications of this proposed action because the EPA cannot

[[Page 80852]]

geographically identify or quantify resulting source-specific emission 
reductions that are ultimately determined by air agencies, the EPA 
believes that this proposed action is likely to have no impact on any 
existing disproportionate and adverse effects on communities with EJ 
concerns. Further, there is no information in the record inconsistent 
with the stated goals of E.O.s 12898 or 14096.

K. Judicial Review

    Section 307(b)(1) of the CAA governs judicial review of final 
actions by the EPA. This section provides, in part, that petitions for 
review must be filed in the Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit: (i) When the agency action consists of ``nationally 
applicable regulations promulgated, or final actions taken, by the 
Administrator,'' or (ii) when such action is locally or regionally 
applicable, if ``such action is based on a determination of nationwide 
scope or effect and if in taking such action the Administrator finds 
and publishes that such action is based on such a determination.'' For 
locally or regionally applicable final actions, the CAA reserves to the 
EPA complete discretion whether to invoke the exception in (ii).\72\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \72\ In deciding whether to invoke the exception by making and 
publishing a finding that this action, if finalized, is based on a 
determination of nationwide scope or effect, the Administrator 
intends to take into account a number of policy considerations, 
including his judgment balancing the benefit of obtaining the D.C. 
Circuit's authoritative centralized review versus allowing 
development of the issue in other contexts and the best use of 
agency resources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EPA is proposing to establish SIP submission and implementation 
deadlines for all newly reclassified areas nationwide using a common, 
nationwide method. The EPA is also proposing to codify its existing 
interpretation that, following reclassification, a state is no longer 
required to submit SIP revisions addressing certain requirements 
related to the prior classification level for an ozone nonattainment 
area. This action, if finalized, would impact jurisdictions with ozone 
nonattainment areas across the country, covering potentially every 
judicial circuit.
    If the Administrator takes final action on this proposal, then, in 
consideration of the effects of the action across the country, the EPA 
views this action to be ``nationally applicable'' within the meaning of 
CAA section 307(b)(1). In the alternative, to the extent a court finds 
this proposal, if finalized, to be locally or regionally applicable, 
the Administrator intends to exercise the complete discretion afforded 
to him under the CAA to make and publish a finding that this action is 
based on a determination of ``nationwide scope or effect'' within the 
meaning of CAA section 307(b)(1).\73\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \73\ In the report on the 1977 Amendments that revised CAA 
section 307(b)(1), Congress noted that the Administrator's 
determination that the ``nationwide scope or effect'' exception 
applies would be appropriate for any action that has a scope or 
effect beyond a single judicial circuit. See H.R. Rep. No. 95-294 at 
323-24, reprinted in 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1402-03.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 51

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Designations and classifications, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, and Volatile organic compounds.

Michael S. Regan,
Administrator.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA proposes to amend 
Title 40, Chapter I of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 51--REQUIREMENTS FOR PREPARATION, ADOPTION, AND SUBMITTAL OF 
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 51 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 101; 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart CC--Provisions for Implementation of the 2015 Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards


Sec.  51.1312  [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  51.1312 by removing and reserving paragraphs (a)(2)(ii) 
and (a)(3)(ii).
0
3. Add subpart DD consisting of Sec. Sec.  51.1400 through 51.1403 to 
part 51 to read as follows:

Subpart DD--Requirements for Reclassified Ozone Nonattainment Areas

Sec.
51.1400 Definitions.
51.1401 Applicability of part 51.
51.1402 SIP submission and control measure implementation deadlines 
for reclassified ozone nonattainment areas.
51.1403 Applicability of ozone SIP requirements for former 
classification after reclassification.


Sec.  51.1400  Definitions.

    The following definitions apply for purposes of this subpart. Any 
term not defined herein shall have the meaning as defined in Sec.  
51.100.
    Attainment year means the calendar year in which the attainment 
year ozone season occurs.
    Attainment year ozone season means the full ozone season 
immediately preceding a nonattainment area's maximum attainment date.
    CAA means the Clean Air Act as codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q 
(2010).
    Former attainment date means the attainment date associated with 
the classification under subpart 2 of part D of title I of the CAA 
immediately preceding reclassification from a lower classification to a 
higher classification.
    Former classification means the classification under subpart 2 of 
part D of title I of the CAA immediately preceding reclassification 
from a lower classification to a higher classification.
    Higher classification/lower classification means for purposes of 
determining which classifications are higher or lower, the 
classifications are ranked from lowest to highest as follows: Marginal; 
Moderate; Serious; Severe-15; Severe-17; and Extreme.
    I/M refers to the inspection and maintenance programs for in-use 
vehicles required under the 1990 CAA Amendments and defined by subpart 
S of 40 CFR part 51.
    Initially classified means the first nonattainment classification 
that becomes effective for an area for a specific ozone NAAQS and does 
not include reclassification to another classification for that 
specific NAAQS.
    Initially designated means the first designation to nonattainment 
that becomes effective for an area for a specific ozone NAAQS.
    Ozone season means for each state (or portion of a state), the 
ozone monitoring season as defined in 40 CFR part 58, appendix D, 
section 4.1(i) for that state (or portion of a state).


Sec.  51.1401  Applicability of part 51.

    The provisions in subparts A through Y, AA, and CC of this part 
apply to reclassified nonattainment areas for purposes of the ozone 
NAAQS to the extent they are not inconsistent with the provisions of 
this subpart.


Sec.  51.1402  SIP submission and control measure implementation 
deadlines for reclassified ozone nonattainment areas.

    (a) Deadlines for applicable requirements pursuant to a 
reclassification as Moderate, Serious, or Severe that are 18 months or 
more after the effective date of reclassification will apply to such 
reclassified area as though the area were initially designated at that 
classification.

[[Page 80853]]

    (b) Deadlines for applicable requirements pursuant to a 
reclassification as Moderate, Serious, or Severe, where the deadline 
that would have applied had the area been initially classified at the 
new classification level at the time of initial nonattainment area 
designations is less than 18 months after the effective date of 
reclassification;
    (1) SIP submission deadlines.
    (i) For all SIP revisions required pursuant to reclassification 
(except SIPs addressing CAA section 185 fee programs), the SIP revision 
deadline is 18 months after the effective date of the relevant 
reclassification or January 1 of the attainment year, whichever is 
earlier, unless the Administrator establishes a different deadline in a 
separate action.
    (ii) For SIP revisions addressing CAA section 185 fee programs 
required pursuant to reclassification, the SIP revision deadline is 36 
months after the effective date of the relevant reclassification or 
January 1 of the attainment year, whichever is earlier, unless the 
Administrator establishes a different deadline in a separate action.
    (2) Control measure implementation deadlines.
    (i) For RACT required pursuant to reclassification, the state shall 
provide for implementation of such RACT as expeditiously as 
practicable, but no later than 18 months after the RACT SIP submittal 
deadline or the beginning of the attainment year ozone season 
associated with the area's new attainment deadline, whichever is 
earlier, unless the Administrator establishes a different deadline in a 
separate action.
    (ii) For the required I/M program pursuant to reclassification, the 
state shall provide for full implementation of such I/M program as 
expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 4 years after the 
effective date of the relevant reclassification, unless the I/M program 
is needed for attainment by the attainment date or RFP, in which case 
the state shall provide for full implementation of such I/M program no 
later than the beginning of the attainment year ozone season.


Sec.  51.1403  Applicability of ozone SIP requirements for former 
classification after reclassification.

    (a) Upon the effective date of reclassification, the requirements 
of any subpart of this part with respect to ozone nonattainment 
planning applicable to the area for the former classification shall 
apply as follows:
    (1) Unless specified in (2) or (3), the requirement is unaffected 
by reclassification and continues to be required for the former 
classification.
    (2) The following requirements are no longer applicable with 
respect to the former attainment date:
    (i) A SIP revision to demonstrate attainment by such date.
    (ii) A SIP revision demonstrating adoption of all RACM necessary to 
demonstrate attainment with respect to such date.
    (2) If the reclassification occurred prior to the former attainment 
date pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(3), the plan requirement for 
contingency measures for failure to attain by such date is no longer 
applicable with respect to the former attainment date.
    (b) Nothing in this section shall affect the requirements 
applicable to the nonattainment area under its currently applicable 
classification and attainment date.

[FR Doc. 2024-22008 Filed 10-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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