104476 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

I certify that 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. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have Tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175. It would not have a 

substantial direct effect on one or more 

Indian Tribes. Furthermore, these 

proposed regulation revisions do not 

affect the relationship or distribution of 

power and responsibilities between the 

Federal government and Indian Tribes. 

The CAA and the TAR establish the 

relationship of the Federal government 

and Tribes in characterizing air quality 

and developing plans to protect 

visibility in Class I areas. Thus, 

Executive Order 13175 does not apply 

to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health & 

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 concern an 

environmental health risk or safety risk. 

Since this action does not 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 and 

Advancement Act 

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 it is not 

practicable to assess whether the human 

health or environmental conditions that 

exist prior to this action result in 

disproportionate and adverse effects on 

communities with environmental justice 

concerns. This action revises a 

procedural requirement—a deadline for 

submission of a SIP requirement, for all 

States, the District of Columbia, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands. Neither the CAA 

nor the RHR require States to conduct 

an evaluation of environmental justice 

when preparing a Haze SIP, although 

the EPA encourages States to consider 

whether there may be equity and 

environmental justice considerations 

when developing a Haze SIP. This 

proposed rulemaking only proposes to 

extend the SIP deadline for the third 

implementation period. It does not 

revise or impose new requirements 

regarding the development of a Haze 

SIP. For these reasons, the EPA believes 

that it is not practicable to assess 

whether this action is likely to result in 

new disproportionate and adverse 

effects on communities with 

environmental justice concerns. As was 

explained in this action, the EPA 

provided for meaningful outreach and 

engagement through the opening of a 

nonregulatory docket and receipt of 

feedback, including feedback being 

considered as part of this proposed 

rulemaking. 

VIII. Statutory Authority 

The statutory authority for this action 

is provided by 42 U.S.C. 7403, 7407, 

7410 and 7491(A)(b). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 51 

Environmental protection, 

administrative practice and procedure, 

air pollution control, nitrogen dioxide, 

particulate matter, sulfur oxides, 

transportation, volatile organic 

compounds. 

Michael S. Reagan, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, Title 40, Chapter I of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is proposed to be 

amended as follows: 

PART 51—REQUIREMENTS FOR 

PREPARATION, ADOPTION, AND 

SUBMITTAL OF IMPLEMENTATION 

PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 51 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 101; 42 U.S.C. 7401– 

7671q. 

■ 2. Amend § 51.308 by revising 

paragraph (f) introductory text, to read 

as follows: 

§ 51.308 Regional haze program 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(f) Requirements for periodic 

comprehensive revisions of 

implementation plans for regional haze. 

Each State identified in § 51.300(b) must 

revise and submit its regional haze 

implementation plan revision to EPA by 

July 31, 2021, July 31, 2031, July 31, 

2038, and every 10 years thereafter. The 

plan revision due on or before July 31, 

2021, must include a commitment by 

the State to meet the requirements of 

paragraph (g) of this section. In each 

plan revision, the State must address 

regional haze in each mandatory Class 

I Federal area located within the State 

and in each mandatory Class I Federal 

area located outside the State that may 

be affected by emissions from within the 

State. To meet the core requirements for 

regional haze for these areas, the State 

must submit an implementation plan 

containing the following plan elements 

and supporting documentation for all 

required analyses: 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–30212 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2020–0162; FRL–12488– 

01–R6] 

Air Plan Disapproval; Texas; 

Attainment Demonstrations for the 

Dallas-Fort Worth and HoustonGalveston-Brazoria Nonattainment 

Areas 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean 

Air Act (CAA), the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 

disapprove revisions to the Texas State 

Implementation Plan (SIP). The 

revisions were submitted by the Texas 

Commission on Environmental Quality 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Proposed Rules 104477 

1The EPA determined that the DFW and HGB 

Moderate areas failed to meet the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS by the applicable July 20, 2018, attainment 

date and these areas were reclassified as Serious by 

operation of law (84 FR 44238, August 23, 2019). 

Subsequently, EPA determined that the DFW and 

HGB Serious areas failed to meet the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS by the applicable July 20, 2021, attainment 

date and these areas were reclassified as Severe by 

operation of law (87 FR 60926, October 7, 2022). 

2More information on ground-level ozone is 

available at https://www.epa.gov/ground-levelozone-pollution/ground-level-ozone-basics. 

3For more about the NAAQS, please visit https:// 

www.epa.gov/naaqs. 

4 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008). 

(TCEQ or State) on July 10, 2015, 

August 5, 2016, December 29, 2016, and 

May 13, 2020, and address certain CAA 

requirements for the Dallas-Fort Worth 

(DFW) and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 

(HGB) nonattainment areas for the 2008 

ozone National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards (NAAQS or standard). 

Specifically, the EPA is proposing to 

disapprove the attainment 

demonstrations and the associated 

reasonably available control measures 

(RACM) analyses and motor vehicle 

emission budgets (budgets) in the 

submitted revisions. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before January 22, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket No. EPA–R06– 

OAR–2020–0162, at https://

www.regulations.gov or via email to 

tsui-bowen.alethea@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 Alethea Tsui-Bowen, 214–665– 

7555, tsui-bowen.alethea@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-epa-dockets. 

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: Ms. 

Alethea Tsui-Bowen, EPA Region 6 

Office, Infrastructure and Ozone 

Section, 214–665–7555, tsuibowen.alethea@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 wherever 

‘‘we’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean the 

EPA. 

I. What is the EPA proposing? 

The EPA is proposing to disapprove 

attainment demonstrations for the DFW 

area submitted to EPA on July 10, 2015, 

August 5, 2016, and May 13, 2020. The 

July 2015 and August 2016 SIP revisions 

address the DFW Moderate 

nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS and the May 2020 SIP revision 

addresses the DFW Serious 

nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS. We are also proposing to 

disapprove attainment demonstrations 

for the HGB area submitted to EPA on 

December 29, 2016, and May 13, 2020. 

The December 2016 SIP revision 

addresses the HGB Moderate 

nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS and the May 2020 SIP revision 

addresses the HGB Serious 

nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS. We are also proposing to 

disapprove the RACM associated with 

these submitted attainment 

demonstrations as well as the NOX and 

VOC motor vehicle emissions budgets 

(or ‘‘budgets’’) associated with these 

submitted attainment demonstrations 

and included as part of the SIP. We are 

proposing to disapprove these SIP 

submissions because the DFW and HGB 

areas failed to attain the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS by the July 20, 2018, Moderate 

attainment date and subsequently failed 

to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the 

July 20, 2021, Serious attainment date.1

II. Background 

A. The 2008 Ozone NAAQS and the 

DFW and HGB Areas 

Ground-level ozone, or smog, which 

harms human health and the 

environment, is formed when volatile 

organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides 

of nitrogen (NOX) interact in the 

presence of sunlight. Motor vehicle 

exhaust and industrial emissions, 

gasoline vapors, chemical solvents and 

natural sources emit VOCs and NOX. 

Urban areas tend to have high levels of 

ground-level ozone, but areas without 

significant industrial activity and with 

relatively low vehicular traffic are also 

subject to increased ozone levels 

because wind carries ozone and its 

precursors hundreds of miles from their 

sources.2

Repeated exposure to ozone pollution 

may cause lung damage. Even at very 

low concentrations, ground-level ozone 

triggers a variety of health problems 

including aggravated asthma, reduced 

lung capacity, and increased 

susceptibility to respiratory illnesses 

like pneumonia and bronchitis. It can 

also have detrimental effects on plants 

and ecosystems. 

CAA section 109 requires the EPA to 

establish primary and secondary 

NAAQS for certain air pollutants and 

also establishes provisions for the 

review and revision of such NAAQS. 

Primary standards are designed to 

provide requisite protection of public 

health while secondary standards are 

designed to provide requisite protection 

of public welfare. The EPA has set 

NAAQS for six common air pollutants, 

including ozone.3

On March 27, 2008, the EPA 

published a rule in the Federal Register 

revising the levels of the primary and 

the secondary ozone NAAQS to 0.075 

parts per million (ppm).4 On May 21, 

2012, the EPA designated and classified 

the 10-county DFW area (Collin, Dallas, 

Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, 

Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise 

counties) as Moderate nonattainment 

and designated and classified the eightcounty HGB area (Brazoria, Chambers, 

Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, 

Montgomery, and Waller counties) as 

Marginal nonattainment for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS (77 FR 30088). The HGB 

Marginal area was initially given an 

attainment date of no later than 

December 31, 2015, and the DFW 

Moderate area was initially given an 

attainment date of no later than 

December 31, 2018 (77 FR 30160, May 

21, 2012). 

On December 23, 2014, the U.S. Court 

of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit (‘‘D.C. Circuit’’) issued a 

decision, among other things, that we 

did not have statutory authority under 

the CAA to extend attainment deadlines 

to the end of the calendar year. NRDC 

v. EPA, 777 F.3d 456, 464–69 (D.C. Cir. 

2014). Consistent with the Court’s 

decision to vacate that portion of the 

rule, we modified the attainment 

deadlines for all nonattainment areas for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS and set the 

attainment deadline for such areas to 

run from the effective date of 


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5On October 26, 2015 (80 FR 65292), the EPA 

published a rule in the Federal Register revising the 

level of the ozone NAAQS to 0.070 ppm and 

retaining all the other elements of the NAAQS (‘‘the 

2015 ozone NAAQS’’). On May 4, 2018, the EPA 

promulgated designations under the 2015 ozone 

NAAQS (83 FR 25776) and in that action, the EPA 

designated the nine-county DFW area (Collin, 

Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, 

Tarrant, and Wise counties) and the six-county HGB 

area (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, 

Harris, and Montgomery counties) as Marginal with 

an attainment date of no later than August 3, 2021. 

The DFW and HGB nonattainment areas missed the 

Marginal attainment date and thus were reclassified 

as Moderate (87 FR 60897, October 7, 2022). The 

Governor of Texas requested a voluntary 

reclassification of the DFW and HGB areas from 

Moderate to Serious and the EPA approved the 

request (89 FR 51829, June 20, 2024). The EPA’s 

actions herein do not address the DFW and HGB 

nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. 

6For more about SIPs, please visit https://

www.epa.gov/air-quality-implementation-plans. 

7On December 5, 2023, the State of Texas and the 

TCEQ filed a petition for judicial review of EPA’s 

final action at 88 FR 67957, and on August 22, 

2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th District 

vacated the action and remanded it to EPA. We will 

address the remanded action in a separate 

rulemaking. 

8CAA section 172 and 182; 40 CFR 51.1108. 

designation, which was July 20, 2012 

(80 FR 12264, March 6, 2015). 

Therefore, the HGB Marginal attainment 

date was modified to no later than July 

20, 2015, and the DFW Moderate 

attainment date was modified to no later 

than July 20, 2018 (80 FR 12264). 

For the HGB area, the TCEQ requested 

a one-year extension to the Marginal 

attainment date, which EPA approved 

(81 FR 26697, May 4, 2016). However, 

the HGB area did not attain the 2008 

ozone NAAQS by the July 20, 2016, 

attainment date and was thus 

reclassified as Moderate (81 FR 90207, 

December 14, 2016). The DFW and HGB 

areas did not meet the Moderate 

attainment date and were accordingly 

reclassified as Serious with an 

attainment date of no later than July 20, 

2021 (84 FR 44238, August 23, 2019). 

Subsequently, the DFW and HGB areas 

did not meet the Serious attainment 

date and were thus reclassified as 

Severe (87 FR 60926, October 7, 2022).5

B. What is a State implementation plan? 

The SIP is a plan that specifies the 

manner in which the NAAQS will be 

achieved and maintained within each 

air quality control region in a State. 

States must develop and submit a SIP to 

EPA for approval as required by the 

CAA. A SIP includes air pollution 

regulations, control strategies, other 

means or techniques, and technical 

analyses developed by the State to help 

ensure that the State meets the NAAQS. 

When a State makes changes to the 

regulations and control strategies in its 

SIP, such revisions must be submitted to 

the EPA for approval and incorporation 

into the federally enforceable SIP.6

C. What did the State submit? 

On July 10, 2015, the TCEQ submitted 

a SIP revision for the DFW Moderate 

area based on an attainment date of 

December 31, 2018. Because that date 

was vacated by the Court, Texas revised 

the SIP to address an attainment date of 

July 20, 2018, which it submitted on 

August 5, 2016. The August 5, 2016, SIP 

submission included baseline and 

future emissions inventories for all 

source categories that account for the 

impacts of control strategies in the area; 

a photochemical modeling analysis and 

a weight-of-evidence analysis in which 

the State asserted that the DFW area 

would attain by the July 20, 2018, 

attainment date; a RACM analysis; 

budgets for VOC and NOX consistent 

with the emissions inventory for 

demonstrating attainment in the year 

2017; a RACT analysis; certifications 

addressing enhanced monitoring, the 

motor vehicle Enhanced Inspection and 

Maintenance (I/M) program, and 

Nonattainment New Source Review 

(NNSR); and contingency measures for 

failure to attain. This action concerns 

the portions of the July 2015 and August 

2016 SIP submissions related to the 

attainment demonstration, RACM 

analysis, and budgets for 2017. 

On December 29, 2016, the TCEQ 

submitted a SIP revision for the HGB 

Moderate area, which included baseline 

and future emissions inventories for all 

source categories that account for the 

impacts of control strategies in the area; 

a photochemical modeling analysis and 

a weight-of evidence analysis in which 

the State asserted that the HGB area 

would attain by the July 20, 2018, 

attainment date; a RACM analysis; 

budgets for VOC and NOX consistent 

with the emissions inventory for 

demonstrating attainment in the year 

2017; a RACT analysis; certifications 

addressing enhanced monitoring, the 

motor vehicle Enhanced Inspection and 

Maintenance (I/M) program, and 

Nonattainment New Source Review 

(NNSR); and contingency measures for 

failure to attain. This action concerns 

the portions of the December 2016 SIP 

submission related to the attainment 

demonstration, RACM analysis, and 

budgets for 2017. 

On May 13, 2020, the TCEQ 

submitted a SIP revision for the DFW 

Serious area and a SIP revision for the 

HGB Serious area. Each of these 

submissions included baseline and 

future emissions inventories for all 

source categories that account for the 

impacts of control strategies in these 

areas; a photochemical modeling 

analysis and weight-of evidence 

analysis in which the State asserted that 

the area would attain by the July 20, 

2021, attainment date; a RACM analysis; 

budgets for VOC and NOX consistent 

with the emissions inventory for 

demonstrating attainment in the year 

2020; a RACT analysis; certifications 

addressing enhanced monitoring, the 

motor vehicle Enhanced Inspection and 

Maintenance (I/M) program, and 

Nonattainment New Source Review 

(NNSR); and contingency measures for 

failure to attain. On October 3, 2022, the 

EPA determined that the State fulfilled 

the CAA requirements for NNSR for the 

DFW and HGB Serious nonattainment 

areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (87 FR 

59697). On September 8, 2023, the EPA 

determined that the State fulfilled the 

CAA requirements for the motor vehicle 

Enhanced I/M program for the DFW and 

HGB Serious nonattainment areas for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS (88 FR 61971). 

On October 3, 2023, the EPA 

disapproved the submitted contingency 

measures for the DFW and HGB Serious 

areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (88 FR 

67957).7 We will address the enhanced 

monitoring and RACT analyses for the 

DFW and HGB Serious nonattainment 

areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS in a 

separate rulemaking action. This action 

concerns the portions of the May 2020 

SIP submissions for the DFW and HGB 

areas related to the attainment 

demonstration, RACM analysis, and 

budgets for 2020. 

D. What is the EPA proposing to 

disapprove and what is EPA’s rationale 

for disapproval? 

We are proposing to disapprove the 

DFW Moderate area attainment 

demonstrations submitted on July 10, 

2015, and August 5, 2016, and we are 

proposing to disapprove the HGB 

Moderate area attainment demonstration 

submitted on December 29, 2016. We 

are also proposing to disapprove the 

DFW and HGB Serious area attainment 

demonstrations submitted on May 13, 

2020. We are also proposing to 

disapprove the associated RACM 

analyses and NOX and VOC budgets that 

are included within each of these SIP 

submissions. CAA section 110(k) 

requires that EPA act on any submitted 

SIP revisions that have not been 

formally withdrawn by the State. 

Ozone nonattainment areas classified 

as Moderate and above are required to 

submit SIPs demonstrating that the 

nonattainment area will attain the ozone 

NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, 

but no later than the applicable 

attainment date.8 As explained in detail 

in section II. Background, the DFW and 


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9 40 CFR 51.1312(c). 

10 Id. 

11See 83 FR 62998, 63008 (December 6, 2018). 

12Memorandum 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.’’ This document is 

posted in the docket for this action and on the 

internet at https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ 

aqmguide/collection/cp2/20001214_seitz_

additional_racm_submissions.pdf. 

13 ‘‘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 

contains other relevant history concerning the 

RACM requirement. 14 87 FR 60926. 

HGB nonattainment areas did not attain 

by the various applicable attainment 

dates for the classification levels at issue 

in this action. Therefore, the attainment 

demonstrations at issue in this action do 

not, and cannot, show that the DFW and 

HGB nonattainment areas will attain by 

the attainment dates. The EPA is 

therefore proposing to disapprove the 

submitted attainment demonstrations 

identified in this action. 

As noted earlier, we are also 

proposing to disapprove the RACM 

analyses and budgets that are associated 

with the attainment demonstrations 

submitted in the SIPs for the DFW and 

HGB nonattainment areas on July 10, 

2015, August 5, 2016, December 29, 

2016, and May 13, 2020. 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.9 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 the required 

showing of Reasonable Further Progress 

(RFP).10 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.11 The 

determination of whether a SIP contains 

all RACM requires an area-specific 

analysis showing that there are no 

additional economically and 

technologically feasible control 

measures (alone or cumulatively) that 

will advance the attainment date.12 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.13 Thus, 

the basis for our proposal to disapprove 

the attainment demonstrations 

identified herein is applicable to the 

associated RACM analyses as well. The 

former classification’s attainment date is 

in the past and was not met. Thus, the 

RACM SIP submittal currently pending 

before the Agency does not and cannot 

show that attainment will be achieved 

by the attainment date or advanced. 

Regarding the motor vehicle 

emissions budgets, to be approvable, 

budgets must be consistent with an 

approvable attainment plan. In relevant 

part, as defined in 40 CFR 93.101, a 

budget is ‘‘that portion of the total 

allowable emissions defined in the 

submitted or approved control strategy 

implementation plan revision . . . for a 

certain date for the purpose of . . . 

demonstrating attainment . . . of the 

NAAQS, . . . allocated to highway and 

transit vehicle use and emissions.’’ A 

budget in a SIP provides the allowable 

on-road mobile emissions of a pollutant 

or precursor that an area can produce 

and continue to demonstrate attainment. 

The Federal transportation conformity 

rule, 40 CFR part 93 subpart A, requires 

that transportation plans, transportation 

improvement programs (TIPs), and 

projects conform to air quality SIPs and 

establishes the criteria and procedures 

for determining whether they do or do 

not conform. The regulation requires 

that budgets must be found adequate or 

approved before they can be used for 

transportation conformity purposes (40 

CFR 93.109(c)(1)). 

The criteria by which we determine 

whether budgets in a SIP submittal are 

adequate for conformity purposes are 

specified in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). These 

criteria also serve to determine whether 

budgets could be approved as part of a 

SIP submission. One of these criteria is 

that the budgets, when considered with 

other emission sources, are consistent 

with the submitted SIP’s purpose, in 

this case, attainment (see 40 CFR 

93.118(e)(4)(iv)). As noted earlier, the 

DFW and HGB areas did not attain the 

2008 ozone standard by the July 20, 

2018, Moderate attainment date, or by 

the July 20, 2021, Serious attainment 

date and accordingly, the DFW and HGB 

areas were reclassified by operation of 

law. Because these Moderate and 

Serious SIP submissions did not 

demonstrate attainment by the 

attainment dates, the budgets associated 

with them are not adequate or 

approvable, and accordingly, we are 

proposing to disapprove the budgets. 

E. What are the consequences of a 

disapproved SIP? 

Pursuant to CAA section 179(a), final 

disapproval of a SIP submittal or SIP 

revision required under part D, title I of 

the CAA triggers the imposition of 

sanctions under CAA section 179(b). 

See also 40 CFR 52.31. Additionally, 

final disapproval of a required SIP 

submission triggers the EPA’s obligation 

to promulgate a Federal Implementation 

Plan (FIP) under CAA section 

110(c)(1)(B). The State submitted the 

July 2015, August 2016, December 2016, 

and May 2020 attainment demonstration 

SIP submissions for the DFW and HGB 

areas to address ozone nonattainment 

area requirements under part D with 

respect to the Moderate and Serious 

classifications. 

Following mandatory reclassification 

upon failure to attain, the former, 

superseded classifications’ attainment 

dates are in the past and are no longer 

applicable, and it is no longer 

meaningful to evaluate whether the 

submitted plans for the prior 

classification demonstrate that the areas 

would attain by the superseded dates. 

Moreover, it is impossible for plans, 

including FIPs promulgated by EPA, to 

demonstrate that an area that has not 

attained would attain by the superseded 

dates—once the applicable attainment 

date has passed, an area cannot show 

that it will attain by the attainment date 

unless it has already attained. No 

changes could be made that would 

change facts that have already come to 

pass (i.e., that the areas failed to attain 

by their applicable attainment dates). 

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 classifications’ attainment 

dates are no longer applicable, it is 

therefore no longer relevant for the areas 

to demonstrate attainment with respect 

to such dates (just as it is not relevant 

for an area initially classified as Serious 

to provide an attainment demonstration 

for a Moderate attainment date). 

The EPA reclassified the DFW and 

HGB areas as Severe ozone 

nonattainment areas effective November 

7, 2022, after the DFW and HGB areas 

failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS 

by the date associated with the Serious 

classification, which was July 20, 

2021.14 As a result, the State’s new 

attainment date for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS is July 20, 2027. The State 

therefore no longer has an applicable 

attainment date associated with the 

Serious classification for the DFW and 

HGB areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. 

Thus, the attainment demonstrations 

and the associated RACM analyses for 

the DFW and HGC areas that the State 

submitted with respect to the Moderate 

and Serious classifications for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS are no longer considered 


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104480 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

15As noted earlier however, CAA section 110(k) 

requires that EPA act on any submitted SIP revision 

that has not been formally withdrawn by the state. 

to be required submissions under the 

CAA.15 Because the State no longer has 

a legal obligation to submit the SIP 

submissions that the EPA is proposing 

to disapprove, the EPA finds that this 

disapproval action, if finalized as 

proposed, would not trigger imposition 

of mandatory sanctions under CAA 

section 179 and 40 CFR 52.31, or a FIP 

obligation under CAA 110(c). 

In addition, the State submitted 

attainment demonstrations for the DFW 

and HGB Severe nonattainment areas for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS on May 7, 2024, 

and we will evaluate these Severe area 

submissions in a separate rulemaking. 

Similarly, if finalized as proposed, 

our final disapproval action on the DFW 

and HGB attainment demonstrations for 

the Moderate and Serious classifications 

for the 2008 ozone NAAQS would not 

result in the consequences for 

disapprovals of control strategy 

implementation plans under 40 CFR 

93.120(a). As described elsewhere in 

this document, the submitted 

attainment demonstrations for the 

Moderate and Serious classifications for 

the DFW and HGB areas are no longer 

considered to be required submissions 

under the CAA, in light of the 

reclassification of these nonattainment 

areas as Severe for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS. The Moderate and Serious area 

ozone attainment demonstrations are no 

longer required to satisfy CAA 

requirements for demonstrations of 

attainment, and therefore are not 

considered ‘‘control strategy 

implementation plan revisions’’ under 

the definition of that term found in the 

transportation conformity regulation at 

40 CFR 93.101. Therefore, the 

transportation conformity consequences 

in 40 CFR 93.120(a) would not occur, if 

finalized as proposed. 

III. Proposed Action 

The EPA is proposing to disapprove 

attainment demonstrations for the DFW 

area submitted to EPA on July 10, 2015, 

August 5, 2016, and May 13, 2020. The 

July 2015 and August 2016 SIP 

submissions address the attainment 

demonstrations for the DFW Moderate 

nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS and the May 2020 SIP 

submission addresses the attainment 

demonstration for the DFW Serious 

nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS. We are also proposing to 

disapprove the RACM and budgets 

associated with these attainment 

demonstrations for the DFW area. We 

are also proposing to disapprove 

attainment demonstrations for the HGB 

area, submitted to EPA on December 29, 

2016, and May 13, 2020. The December 

2016 SIP submission addresses the 

attainment demonstration for the HGB 

Moderate nonattainment area for the 

2008 ozone NAAQS and the May 2020 

SIP submission addresses the 

attainment demonstration for the HGB 

Serious nonattainment area for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS. We are also proposing to 

disapprove the RACM and budgets 

associated with these attainment 

demonstrations for the HGB area. 

IV. Environmental Justice 

Considerations 

Executive Order (E.O.) 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. 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.’’ 

The State did not evaluate 

environmental justice considerations as 

part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and 

applicable implementing regulations 

neither prohibit nor require such an 

evaluation. EPA did not perform an EJ 

analysis and did not consider EJ in this 

action. Consideration of EJ is not 

required as part of this action, and there 

is no information in the record 

inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 

12898 of achieving environmental 

justice for people of color, low-income 

populations, and Indigenous peoples. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

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

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the 

EPA’s role is to review State choices, 

and approve those choices if they meet 

the minimum criteria of the CAA. 

Accordingly, this proposed action to 

disapprove the attainment 

demonstrations and associated RACM 

and budgets for the DFW and HGB areas 

submitted to EPA on July 10, 2015, 

August 5, 2016, December 29, 2016, and 

May 13, 2020, disapproves State law as 

not meeting Federal requirements and 

does not impose additional 

requirements beyond those imposed by 

State law. 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review, Executive Order 

13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review, and Executive Order 

14094: Modernizing Regulatory Review 

This action is not a significant 

regulatory action as defined in 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993), as amended by E.O. 

14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023), 

and was therefore not submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

This action does not impose an 

information collection burden under the 

PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) because it 

does not contain any information 

collection activities. 

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 (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 

This action will not impose any 

requirements on small entities. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This action does not contain any 

unfunded mandate as described in 

UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, and does 

not significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. This 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 as specified in E.O. 13132 

(64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). 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. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This proposed action has no Tribal 

implications as specified in E.O. 13175 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Proposed Rules 104481 

(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This 

action will neither impose substantial 

direct compliance costs on federally 

recognized Tribal governments, nor 

preempt Tribal law. This action will not 

impose substantial direct compliance 

costs on federally recognized Tribal 

governments because no actions will be 

required of Tribal governments. This 

action will also not preempt Tribal law 

as it does not have applicable or related 

Tribal laws. 

G. Executive Order: 13045 Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health & 

Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets E.O. 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 merely proposes to 

disapprove SIP revisions. Furthermore, 

the EPA’s Policy on Children’s Health 

does not apply to this action. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution or Use 

This action is not subject to E.O. 

13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001), 

because it is not a significant regulatory 

action under E.O. 12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

Section 12(d) of the NTTAA directs 

the EPA to use voluntary consensus 

standards in its regulatory activities 

unless to do so would be inconsistent 

with applicable law or otherwise 

impractical. This action is not subject to 

the requirements of section 12(d) of the 

NTTAA (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA. 

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 

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. 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.’’ 

The air agency did not evaluate EJ 

considerations as part of the SIP 

submittals addressed in this proposed 

action; the CAA and applicable 

implementing regulations neither 

prohibit nor require such evaluation. 

The EPA did not perform an EJ analysis, 

as is described earlier in section IV 

titled, ‘‘Environmental Justice 

Considerations’’ of this document. In 

addition, there is no information in the 

record upon which this decision is 

based inconsistent with the stated goals 

of E.O.s 12898 or 14096. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

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

Dated: December 12, 2024. 

Earthea Nance, 

Regional Administrator, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29971 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 61 and 63 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2020–0086; FRL–12482– 

01–R6] 

National Emission Standards for 

Hazardous Air Pollutants; Delegation 

of Authority to Oklahoma 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Oklahoma Department of 

Environmental Quality (ODEQ) has 

submitted updated regulations for 

receiving delegation and approval of its 

program for the implementation and 

enforcement of certain National 

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 

Pollutants (NESHAP) for all sources as 

provided for under previously approved 

delegation mechanisms. The updated 

State regulations incorporate by 

reference certain NESHAP promulgated 

by the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) as they existed through June 30, 

2022. The EPA is proposing to approve 

ODEQ’s requested delegation update. 

The proposed delegation of authority 

under this action applies to sources 

located in certain areas of Indian 

country as discussed herein. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before January 22, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket No. EPA–R06– 

OAR–2020–0086, at https://

www.regulations.gov or via email to 

barrett.richard@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 Rick Barrett, 214–665–7227, 

barrett.richard@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-epa-dockets. 

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: Rick 

Barrett, EPA Region 6 Office, Air 

Permits Section (ARPE), 214–665–7227, 

barrett.richard@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. 


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