82550 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

Signing Authority 

Denis McDonough, Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, approved and signed 

this document on October 2, 2024, and 

authorized the undersigned to sign and 

submit the document to the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Luvenia Potts, 

Regulation Development Coordinator, Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of General Counsel, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, the Department of Veterans 

Affairs proposes to amend 38 CFR part 

14 as follows: 

PART 14—LEGAL SERVICES, 

GENERAL COUNSEL, AND 

MISCELLANEOUS CLAIMS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 14 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 28 U.S.C. 2671– 

2680; 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 512, 515, 5502, 5901– 

5905; 28 CFR part 14, appendix to part 14, 

unless otherwise noted. 

■ 2. Amend § 14.629 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (b)(1)(i) 

through (iv). 

■ b. Adding paragraph (b)(1)(v). 

■ c. Revising paragraphs (b)(2)(v), (viii), 

and (ix) and (b)(6). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 14.629 Requirements for accreditation of 

service organization representatives; 

agents; and attorneys. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) For agents, the initial accreditation 

process consists of application to the 

Office of the General Counsel, selfcertification of admission information 

concerning practice before any other 

court, bar, or State or Federal agency, 

self-certification of completion of the 

continuing legal education (CLE) 

requirement of paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of 

this section, an affirmative 

determination of character and fitness 

by VA, and a written examination. 

(ii) For attorneys, the initial 

accreditation process consists of 

application to the Office of the General 

Counsel, self-certification of admission 

information concerning practice before 

any other court, bar, or State or Federal 

agency, self-certification of completion 

of the CLE requirement of paragraph 

(b)(1)(iii) of this section, and a 

determination of character and fitness. 

The Office of the General Counsel will 

presume an attorney’s character and 

fitness to practice before VA based on 

State bar membership in good standing 

unless the Office of the General Counsel 

receives credible information to the 

contrary. 

(iii) As a condition of initial 

accreditation, both agents and attorneys 

are required to complete 3 hours of 

qualifying CLE during the 6-month 

period preceding their application for 

accreditation. To qualify under this 

paragraph (b)(1)(iii), a CLE course must 

be approved for a minimum of 3 hours 

of CLE credit by any State bar 

association and, at a minimum, must 

cover the following topics: 

representation before VA (including 

VA’s standards of conduct contained in 

§ 14.632), claims procedures, basic 

eligibility for VA benefits, right to 

appeal, disability compensation (38 

U.S.C. chapter 11), dependency and 

indemnity compensation (38 U.S.C. 

chapter 13), and pension (38 U.S.C. 

chapter 15). Upon completion of the 

initial CLE requirement, agents and 

attorneys shall certify to the Office of 

the General Counsel in writing that they 

have completed qualifying CLE. Such 

certification shall include the title of the 

CLE, date and time of the CLE, and 

identification of the CLE provider, and 

shall be submitted to VA as part of the 

initial application. 

(iv) To maintain accreditation, agents 

and attorneys are required to complete 

an additional 3 hours of qualifying CLE 

on veterans benefits law and procedure 

not later than 1 year from the date of 

initial accreditation and every 1 year 

thereafter. To qualify under this 

paragraph (b)(1)(iv), a CLE course must 

be approved for a minimum of 3 hours 

of CLE credit by any State bar 

association. Upon completion of the 

post-accreditation CLE requirement, 

agents and attorneys shall certify to the 

Office of the General Counsel in writing 

that they have completed qualifying 

CLE. Such certification shall include the 

title of the CLE, date and time of the 

CLE, and identification of the CLE 

provider, and shall be submitted to VA 

as part of the annual certification 

prescribed by paragraph (b)(4) of this 

section. 

(v) As a further condition of initial 

and continued accreditation, agents and 

attorneys are required to notify the 

Office of the General Counsel within 30 

days of any changes in contact 

information. 

(2) * * * 

(v) Information concerning whether 

the applicant has any condition or 

impairment (such as substance abuse, 

alcohol abuse, or a mental, emotional, 

nervous, or behavioral disorder or 

condition) that in any way currently 

affects, or, if untreated or not otherwise 

actively managed, could affect the 

applicant’s ability to represent 

claimants in a competent and 

professional manner; 

* * * * * 

(viii) The names, addresses, and email 

addresses of three character references; 

(ix) Information relevant to whether 

the applicant for accreditation as an 

agent has any physical limitations that 

would interfere with the completion of 

a comprehensive written examination 

administered under the supervision of 

the Office of the General Counsel 

(agents only); and 

* * * * * 

(6) Applicants for accreditation as a 

claims agent must achieve a score of 75 

percent or more on a written 

examination administered by the Office 

of the General Counsel as a prerequisite 

to accreditation. No applicant shall be 

allowed to sit for the examination more 

than two times in any 1-year period. 

The Office of the General Counsel may 

offer the examination a minimum of 

twice per calendar year. An applicant 

must achieve a passing score on the 

examination before the Office of the 

General Counsel will begin reviewing 

the applicant’s character and fitness for 

practice before the Department. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–23610 Filed 10–10–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2023–0647; FRL–12276– 

01–R6] 

Air Plan Approval; Texas; Vehicle 

Inspection and Maintenance Plan for 

Bexar County 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Clean Air Act 

(CAA or the Act), the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 

approve revisions to the Texas State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted to 

the EPA by the Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality (TCEQ or State) 

on December 18, 2023. The SIP 

revisions address Control of Air 

Pollution from Motor Vehicles and 

establish a Motor Vehicle Inspection 

and Maintenance (I/M) program for the 

San Antonio ozone nonattainment area. 

The revisions also update definitions 

and address options for displaying a 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2024 / Proposed Rules 82551 

1See 80 FR 65296, October 26, 2015; and 40 CFR 

part 50, appendix U, for more information on the 

revised 2015 ozone NAAQS, including a detailed 

explanation of the calculation of the 3-year 8-hour 

average. 

2The ‘‘San Antonio nonattainment area’’ may 

also be referred to as the ‘‘Bexar County 

nonattainment area’’ and includes all of Bexar 

County. The surrounding counties in the San 

Antonio area: Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, 

Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, and Wilson Counties 

are designated as attainment/unclassifiable. 

3The performance standard for Basic I/M 

programs in areas designated nonattainment for the 

2015 ozone NAAQS includes, among other things, 

annual inspections of light-duty vehicles in a 

centralized test program by conducting idle testing 

of 1968–2000 Model Year (MY) subject vehicles and 

on-board diagnostics (OBD) checks on 2001 and 

newer subject vehicles (see 40 CFR 51.352(e)). An 

I/M performance standard is a collection of program 

design elements which 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 NOX. 

Per the SIP, the Texas I/M program requires the 

annual OBD testing of gasoline-powered vehicles 

between 2–24 years old in the affected counties. 

4To satisfy the requirements of 40 CFR part 51, 

subpart S, § 51.350(a)(4). 

5Letter from Mr. David F. Garcia, Air and 

Radiation Division Director, EPA Region 6 to Mr. 

Jon Niermann, Chairman, Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality (March 11, 2024), included 

in the docket for this action. 

vehicle’s registration as proof of 

compliance with I/M requirements. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before November 12, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID EPA–R06–OAR– 

2023–0647, at https://

www.regulations.gov or via email to 

steib.clovis@epa.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 

The EPA may publish any comment 

received to its public docket. Do not 

submit electronically any information 

you consider to be Confidential 

Business Information (CBI) or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact Mr. Clovis Steib, 214–665–7566, 

steib.clovis@epa.gov. For the full EPA 

public comment policy, information 

about CBI or multimedia submissions, 

and general guidance on making 

effective comments, please visit https:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. 

DOCKET: The index to the docket for 

this action is available electronically at 

www.regulations.gov. While all 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the index, some information may not be 

publicly available due to docket file size 

restrictions or content (e.g., CBI). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Clovis Steib, EPA Region 6 Office, 

Infrastructure and Ozone Section, 214– 

665–7566, steib.clovis@epa.gov. We 

encourage the public to submit 

comments via https://

www.regulations.gov. Please call or 

email the contact listed above if you 

need alternative access to material 

indexed but not provided in the docket. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document ‘‘we’’ and 

‘‘our’’ means the EPA. 

I. Background 

Ground-level ozone, also known as 

‘‘tropospheric ozone’’ or ‘‘smog,’’ is 

created when emissions of the ozone 

precursors, oxides of nitrogen (NOX) 

and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 

react in the presence of sunlight and 

heat. EPA has established the ozone 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) to protect public health, 

including the health of at-risk 

populations, with an adequate margin of 

safety. On October 1, 2015, EPA revised 

the ozone NAAQS to a level of 0.070 

parts per million (ppm) (computed 

based on the annual fourth highest daily 

maximum 8-hour average concentration, 

averaged over 3 years).1 The revised 

2015 ozone NAAQS provide greater 

protection of public health and the 

environment than the previous ozone 

NAAQS of 0.075 ppm, set in 2008. 

Although the 2015 ozone NAAQS retain 

the same general form and averaging 

time as the NAAQS set in 2008, the 

lower level is more protective. 

Effective September 24, 2018, Bexar 

County was designated as the San 

Antonio, Texas, nonattainment area 2

and classified as a Marginal 

nonattainment area for the 2015 ozone 

NAAQS with an attainment deadline of 

September 24, 2021 (83 FR 35136, July 

25, 2018). 

On March 30, 2022, TCEQ adopted 

revisions to their SIP (Rule Project No. 

2021–029–114–AI) that implement 

applicable sections of Senate Bill (SB) 

604, 86th legislature 2019. The revisions 

expanded the compliance options for 

the display of vehicle registration 

insignia and incorporated minor 

changes to 30 Texas Administrative 

Code (TAC) chapter 114, Control of Air 

Pollution from Motor Vehicles, to 

comply with the Texas Transportation 

Code, chapter 504. 

On October 7, 2022, EPA reclassified 

the San Antonio area from Marginal to 

Moderate effective November 7, 2022 

(87 FR 60897). The CAA section 

182(b)(4) and title 40 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR), part 51, 

subpart S, require the implementation of 

a Basic vehicle emissions I/M program 3

in certain urbanized ozone 

nonattainment areas classified as 

Moderate. The State is therefore 

required to implement an I/M program 

in Bexar County by November 7, 2026.4

On November 29, 2023, TCEQ 

adopted the Bexar County I/M SIP 

Revision (Non-Rule Project No. 2022– 

027–SIP–NR) and the associated 

revisions to 30 TAC Chapter 114 (Rule 

Project No. 2022–026–114–AI). 

II. The Submitted SIP Revisions 

On December 18, 2023, the TCEQ 

submitted an I/M Program plan (NonRule Project No. 2022–027–SIP–NR) and 

rulemaking revisions (Rule Project No. 

2022–026–114–AI) that would ensure 

the State’s implementation of the 

vehicle I/M program in the San Antonio 

nonattainment area by no later than 

November 1, 2026. The submitted 

revisions expand the State’s existing I/ 

M program into Bexar County. 

Additionally, the submitted revisions 

also incorporate minor changes from a 

prior 30 TAC chapter 114 rulemaking 

(Rule Project No. 2021–029–114–AI) 

that expand the options for displaying a 

vehicle’s registration insignia to include 

digital license plates. 

EPA determined on March 11, 2024, 

that the three submitted revisions 

addressed herein meet the SIP 

completeness criteria found in 40 CFR 

part 51, appendix V.5

III. The EPA’s Evaluation 

A. Analysis of Submitted Bexar County 

I/M SIP Revision and Associated 

Revisions to 30 TAC Chapter 114 

The submitted SIP revisions (NonRule Project No. 2022–027–SIP–NR) 

expand the State’s I/M program into 

Bexar County and implement on-board 

diagnostics (OBD) inspections for 

vehicles subject to I/M program 

requirements beginning November 1, 

2026. All vehicle emissions inspection 

stations in Bexar County will be 

required to offer the OBD inspections. 

The submitted revisions (Rule Project 

No. 2022–026–114–AI and Rule Project 

No. 2021–029–114–AI) address 30 TAC 

chapter 114, subchapters A, C, and H. 

An analysis of the submitted revisions 

to chapter 114 are covered in detail in 

our Technical Support Document (TSD) 

included in the docket for this action. A 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
82552 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

6The definitions are listed in the TSD in the 

docket for this proposed action. 

7The revisions establish the maximum fee of 

$11.50 that Bexar County program area emissions 

inspection stations may charge for the OBD test. 

The adopted revisions would also require affected 

vehicle owners to remit $2.50 to the Texas 

Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or county tax 

assessor-collector at the time of annual vehicle 

registration as part of the vehicle emissions 

inspection fee to cover the costs to implement, 

maintain, administer, and enforce the required 

vehicle I/M program in Bexar County. 

8These are the State’s rules addressing gasoline 

with low Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP). For 

information on gasoline Reid vapor pressure, please 

visit https://www.epa.gov/gasoline-standards/ 

gasoline-reid-vapor-pressure. 

9 87 FR 60897. 

10See Attachment B: Inspection and Maintenance 

(I/M) Program Performance Standard Modeling 

(PSM) for the New I/M Program in the Bexar County 

2015 Ozone Nonattainment Area of the State’s 

December 18, 2023, submittal package. 

11MOVES 3.1 was the most current version 

available to TCEQ in March 2023 (released 12/9/ 

2022). It’s successor, MOVES4, was released in 

September of 2023. 

12See Docket EPA–R06–OAR–2023–0647. 

13See Table 3–1: Summary of 2026 Performance 

Standard Evaluation for the Bexar County 2015 

Ozone NAAQS Nonattainment Area Proposed I/M 

Program (tons per day) on page 12 of the TCEQ 

summary document. 

summary of the revisions to 30 TAC 

chapter 114 grouped by subchapter is 

provided: 

Subchapter A: 

• The revisions to section 114.1 and 

114.2 remove obsolete definitions and 

update the mail code in the Texas I/M 

SIP.6

Subchapter C: 

• The revisions to sections 114.50 

and 114.53, implement a new Bexar 

County I/M program, specifies the 

program start date and the model year 

vehicles to be tested, require that all 

vehicle emissions testing stations offer 

OBD tests, and establish fees.7

• The revisions to section 114.82 

expand the options for proof of 

compliance with I/M requirements for 

motorists. It adds language to allow for 

different forms of proof of compliance 

with I/M requirements provided by the 

DPS and the DMV. The revisions allow 

for the display of a vehicle’s registration 

insignia for certain commercial fleet or 

governmental entity vehicles on a 

digital license plate in lieu of attaching 

the registration insignia to the vehicle’s 

windshield. 

This action does not address the 

submitted revisions to subchapter H (30 

TAC 114.309)—the State’s Low RVP 

Program (Rule Project No. 2022–026– 

114–AI).8 These submitted revisions are 

severable and will be addressed in a 

future, separate EPA action. 

B. Analysis of Bexar County 2015 Ozone 

Nonattainment Area Performance 

Standard Modeling (PSM) 

As mentioned previously, the San 

Antonio ozone nonattainment area was 

reclassified as Moderate under the 2015 

standard, and therefore, must 

demonstrate through modeling that the 

area meets the Basic I/M requirements.9

PSM is a SIP submission requirement 

per the I/M rule at 40 CFR 51.372(a)(2). 

This rule requires states to provide a 

demonstration that the proposed vehicle 

emissions I/M program for a newly 

designated or reclassified ozone 

nonattainment area meets the emissions 

reduction benchmarks specified for the 

area’s ozone NAAQS classification 

level. A PSM analysis is conducted to 

evaluate whether a proposed I/M 

program meets the applicable 

performance standard. The performance 

standards establish the level of emission 

reductions that mandatory I/M programs 

must meet or exceed. The TCEQ 

performed the required PSM analysis of 

the proposed Bexar County area I/M 

program 10 following the procedures in 

the EPA guidance document 

Performance Standard Modeling for 

New and Existing Vehicle Inspection 

and Maintenance (I/M) Programs Using 

the MOVES Mobile Source Emissions 

Model (EPA–420–B–22–034, October 

2022). For the benchmark or model 

program to which Bexar County’s 

proposed Basic I/M program will be 

compared, TCEQ correctly selected the 

Basic performance standard for areas 

designated nonattainment for the 8-hour 

ozone standard detailed in 40 CFR 

51.352(e). TCEQ used EPA’s Mobile 

Vehicle Emissions Simulator, version 

3.1 (MOVES3.1) 11 to conduct the 

analyses in March 2023, using 2026 as 

the analysis year—the Bexar County 

program implementation year under the 

2015 ozone NAAQS. The 

documentation of the PSM assessments 

is provided in attachment B, chapter 2 

of the State’s December 18, 2023, 

submittal, and a summary of the results 

are provided in attachment B, chapter 3 

of the submittal. Copies of the modeling 

summary are included in the docket 12

for this action. After reviewing TCEQ’s 

PSM analysis, EPA concludes that 

TCEQ has demonstrated that the Basic 

I/M performance standard is met in the 

Bexar County subject I/M area and that 

the analysis was completed consistent 

with EPA’s 2022 PSM guidance. 

Table 1 below presents mass unit 

modeling results (in tons per day or tpd) 

of TCEQ’s PSM comparison of the 

proposed Bexar County area’s I/M 

program to the benchmark program of 

the Basic performance standard. The 

emission levels (in tpd) of the ozone 

precursors, NOX and VOC, for the 

proposed I/M program are lower than 

the emissions from the benchmark 

program for the Basic I/M performance 

standard. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2026 PERFORMANCE STANDARD EVALUATION FOR THE BEXAR COUNTY 2015 OZONE NAAQS 

NONATTAINMENT AREA NEW I/M PROGRAM

[Tons per day] 13

Pollutant New I/M program 

emissions 

Performance 

standard 

benchmark 

basic I/M 

program 

emissions 

Does new program 

meet I/M performance 

standard? 

NOX .................................................................................................... 15.01 15.16 Yes. 

VOC ................................................................................................... 8.85 9.41 Yes. 

Therefore, we are proposing that the 

Bexar County I/M program be approved 

into the SIP because the proposed I/M 

program meets the Basic I/M 

performance standard for the 2015 

ozone NAAQS. 

IV. Proposed Action 

EPA is proposing to approve the 

following revisions to the Texas SIP, 

submitted to the EPA on December 18, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2024 / Proposed Rules 82553 

14See https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen. 

2023: 30 TAC chapter 114, subchapter 

A, sections 114.1 and 114.2, and 

subchapter C, sections 114.50, 114.53, 

and 114.82. The submitted revisions 

describe and demonstrate how CAA 

requirements for a Basic vehicle I/M 

program (CAA section 182(b)(4) and 40 

CFR part 51, subpart S) meets the 

requirements for 2015 ozone NAAQS for 

the San Antonio ozone nonattainment 

area; and incorporates minor changes 

for the display of a vehicle’s registration 

insignia. This proposed action is being 

taken pursuant to section 110 and part 

D of the CAA. 

V. Environmental Justice 

Considerations 

For this proposed action, The EPA 

conducted screening analyses using the 

EPA’s Environmental Justice (EJ) 

screening tool (EJScreen tool, version 

2.2).14 The EPA reviewed 

environmental and demographic data of 

the populations living within the San 

Antonio area. The EPA then compared 

these data to the national average for 

each of the environmental and 

demographic groups. The results of this 

analysis are being provided for 

informational and transparency 

purposes. 

Review of the environmental analyses 

indicate that the San Antonio ozone 

nonattainment area is above the 80th 

percentile for Particulate Matter 2.5, 

Ozone, and Superfund Proximity. A 

detailed description of the EJ 

considerations and the EJScreen 

analysis reports are available in the 

docket for this rulemaking. 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the Clean Air Act, the 

Administrator is required to approve a 

SIP submission that complies with the 

provisions of the Clean Air Act and 

applicable Federal regulations. 42 

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

in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA’s 

role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, this 

action merely approves state law as 

meeting Federal requirements and does 

not impose additional requirements 

beyond those imposed by state law. For 

that reason, this action: 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to review by the Office of 

Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 14094 (88 FR 

21879, April 11, 2023); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) 

because it approves a state program; 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); and 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act. 

Executive Order 12898 (Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

February 16, 1994) directs Federal 

agencies to identify and address 

‘‘disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects’’ 

of their actions on minority populations 

and low-income populations to the 

greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law. The EPA defines 

environmental justice (EJ) as ‘‘the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement 

of all people regardless of race, color, 

national origin, or income with respect 

to the development, implementation, 

and enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and policies.’’ EPA further 

defines the term fair treatment to mean 

that ‘‘no group of people should bear a 

disproportionate burden of 

environmental harms and risks, 

including those resulting from the 

negative environmental consequences of 

industrial, governmental, and 

commercial operations or programs and 

policies.’’ 

This proposed action would 

strengthen measures in the current SIP 

by implementing a vehicle inspection 

and maintenance program in the San 

Antonio area. As such, at a minimum, 

this action would not worsen any 

existing air quality and is expected to 

ensure that the San Antonio 

nonattainment area is meeting 

requirements to attain and/or maintain 

air quality standards. Further, there is 

no information in the record indicating 

this action is expected to have 

disproportionately high or adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on a particular group of people. The 

EPA performed an environmental 

justice analysis, as described earlier in 

this action under ‘‘Environmental 

Justice Considerations.’’ The analysis 

was done for the purpose of providing 

additional context and information 

about this proposal to the public, not as 

a basis of the action. 

In addition, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where EPA or an 

Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Ozone, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

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

Dated: October 3, 2024. 

Earthea Nance, 

Regional Administrator, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23340 Filed 10–10–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2024–0370; FRL–12152– 

01–R9] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; California; 

California Mobile Source Regulations 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a 

revision to the California State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) consisting of 

California regulations and related test 

procedures that were adopted as part of 

California’s Advanced Clean Cars I 

program and that establish standards 

and other requirements relating to the 

control of emissions of greenhouse gases 

from new passenger cars, light-duty 

trucks, and medium-duty vehicles. The 

standards and other requirements relate 

to 2017 and subsequent model-year 

passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and 

medium-duty vehicles. The EPA is 

proposing to approve the SIP revision 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1