Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 50643 

1 ‘‘Improving Air Quality with Economic 

Incentive Programs’’ (EPA–452/R–01–001, January 

2001). 

section 3134 advanced or paid on or 

after July 1, 2021. 

Douglas W. O’Donnell, 

Deputy Commissioner for Services and 

Enforcement. 

Approved: August 18, 2021. 

Mark J. Mazur, 

Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 

(Tax Policy). 

[FR Doc. 2021–19524 Filed 9–8–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2021–0333; FRL–8609–02– 

R9] 

Air Plan Limited Approval and Limited 

Disapproval, California; Mojave Desert 

Air Quality Management District 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is finalizing a limited 

approval and limited disapproval of a 

revision to the Mojave Desert Air 

Quality Management District’s 

(MDAQMD or District) portion of the 

California State Implementation Plan 

(SIP). This revision concerns oxides of 

nitrogen (NOX) emissions from 

stationary internal combustion engines. 

Under the authority of the Clean Air Act 

(CAA or the ‘‘Act’’), this action approves 

a local rule that regulates these emission 

sources into the federally-enforceable 

SIP, thereby strengthening the SIP, 

while identifying deficiencies with the 

rule that must be corrected by the 

MDAQMD in order for the EPA to grant 

full approval of the rule. 

DATES: This rule will be effective on 

October 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket No. 

EPA–R09–OAR–2021–0333. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the https://www.regulations.gov 

website. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available through https://

www.regulations.gov, or please contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section for 

additional availability information. If 

you need assistance in a language other 

than English or if you are a person with 

disabilities who needs a reasonable 

accommodation at no cost to you, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin Gong, EPA Region IX, 75 

Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 

94105. By phone: (415) 972–3073 or by 

email at gong.kevin@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Proposed Action 

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses 

III. EPA Action 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Proposed Action 

On June 1, 2021 (86 FR 29227), the 

EPA proposed a limited approval and 

limited disapproval of the following 

rule that was submitted for 

incorporation into the California SIP. 

TABLE 1—SUBMITTED RULE

Rule # Rule title Amended Submitted 

1160 ................................................. Internal Combustion Engines .................................................................... 01/22/2018 05/23/2018 

We proposed a limited approval 

because we determined that this rule 

improves the SIP and is largely 

consistent with the relevant CAA 

requirements. We simultaneously 

proposed a limited disapproval because 

some rule provisions conflict with 

section 110 and part D of the Act. The 

following provisions do not satisfy the 

requirements of section 110 and part D 

of title I of the Act and prevent full 

approval of the SIP revision. 

1. MDAQMD Rule 1160 section 

(C)(2)(b) allows for engines to comply 

with an alternative emission reduction 

provision instead of the concentrationbased emission limits for NOX. 

Specifically, this alternative provision 

allows for owners or operators of 

applicable equipment to submit a plan 

for alternative emissions reduction that 

would achieve an 80% or 90% 

reduction of emissions from a baseline 

emission rate. Because the rule does not 

clearly specify how to calculate the 

baseline emission rate, the rule is not 

sufficiently clear to constitute an 

enforceable emission limitation, control 

measure, means or technique, as 

required under section 110(a)(2) of the 

Act. Furthermore, the rule leaves the 

approval of the NOX emission reduction 

alternative to the District without EPA 

review or approval of the alternative 

into the SIP. Because the rule is not 

clear with respect to how to calculate 

the baseline emission rate, and the 

approval of an alternative limit lies 

solely with the District, this provision 

allows for overbroad discretion on the 

part of the Director to modify 

requirements of the SIP without the 

procedures required under section 110 

of the Act. In addition, the ambiguous 

alternative emission reduction provision 

could allow many units to emit more 

than the concentration limit in the rule 

by, in some cases, more than two times. 

Additionally, the alternative limits have 

not been justified as meeting the 

reasonably available control technology 

(RACT) requirement. 

2. Under section (C)(2)(b)(v), the 

alternative emission reduction option 

also allows for units operating at the 

same facility to aggregate their 

emissions in order to comply with the 

percentage reduction. This type of 

provision (emissions aggregation) 

constitutes an economic incentive 

program (EIP) under the EPA’s 2001 EIP 

guidance.1 As discussed in the proposed 

rule, the rule provisions do not meet the 

criteria for EIP integrity because they 

fail to require that any excess emission 

reductions credited through the 

provision be surplus (i.e., not required 

by any other federally enforceable 

provision). This omission could allow 

reductions that are otherwise federally 

required to be aggregated and therefore 

allow greater emissions at other units. 

3. The compliance determination 

requirements described in section 

(E)(1)(c) do not require adequate source 

testing for emission units without 

emission control equipment. The 

requirements do not specify any 


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50644 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

frequency for testing beyond the initial 

compliance test, and do not specify 

what criteria must be met for certified 

manufacturer emission rates to be 

evidence of compliance. 

II. Public Comments and EPA 

Responses 

The EPA’s proposed action provided 

a 30-day public comment period. During 

this period, we received one comment 

from the MDAQMD expressing concern 

regarding the EPA’s communication 

with the District in advance of the 

proposed action, indicating that these 

issues could have been raised sooner to 

give the District an opportunity to 

address them in the local rulemaking 

process. Although the comment 

expressed concern about the EPA’s 

communications with the District 

during the rule development process, 

the comment did not criticize the 

substance of the deficiencies identified 

by the EPA in the proposed rulemaking 

and described the EPA’s concerns as 

‘‘legitimate.’’ The District also stated 

they would be initiating a local 

rulemaking process in the near future to 

resolve these issues. Accordingly, we 

acknowledge the concerns raised by the 

District, but do not consider the 

comment to be suggesting that the EPA 

take a different course of action in the 

current rulemaking. 

III. EPA Action 

No comments were submitted that 

change our assessment of the rule as 

described in our proposed action. 

Therefore, as authorized by the grant of 

authority to approve and disapprove SIP 

submissions contained in sections 

110(k)(3) and 301(a) of the Act, the EPA 

is finalizing a limited approval and 

limited disapproval of the submitted 

rule. Our limited approval incorporates 

the submitted rule into the California 

SIP, including those provisions 

identified as deficient. 

As a result of the limited disapproval, 

the EPA must promulgate a Federal 

implementation plan (FIP) under 

section 110(c) unless we approve 

subsequent SIP revisions that correct the 

rule deficiencies within 24 months. 

In addition, the offset sanction in 

CAA section 179(b)(2) will be imposed 

18 months after the effective date of this 

action, and the highway funding 

sanction in CAA section 179(b)(1) six 

months after the offset sanction is 

imposed. A sanction will not be 

imposed if the EPA determines that a 

subsequent SIP submission corrects the 

identified deficiencies before the 

applicable deadline. 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing 

regulatory text that includes 

incorporation by reference. In 

accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 

51.5, the EPA is finalizing the 

incorporation by reference of the 

MDAQMD rule described in the 

amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth 

below. The EPA has made, and will 

continue to make, these documents 

available through www.regulations.gov 

and at the EPA Region IX Office (please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this preamble for more information). 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Additional information about these 

statutes and Executive orders can be 

found at http://www.epa.gov/lawsregulations/laws-and-executive-orders. 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a significant 

regulatory action 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 because this action does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. 

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 beyond those imposed by state 

law. 

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 does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. 

Accordingly, no additional costs to 

State, local, or tribal governments, or to 

the private sector, will result from this 

action. 

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: Coordination 

With Indian Tribal Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175, because the SIP is not 

approved to apply on any Indian 

reservation land or in any other area 

where the EPA or an Indian tribe has 

demonstrated that a tribe has 

jurisdiction, and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law. 

Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not 

apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks 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. This action is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not impose additional 

requirements beyond those imposed by 

state law. 

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 (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. The EPA believes that this 

action is not subject to the requirements 

of section 12(d) of the NTTAA 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 

The EPA lacks the discretionary 

authority to address environmental 

justice in this rulemaking. 

K. Congressional Review Act (CRA) 

This action is subject to the CRA, and 

the EPA will submit a rule report to 

each House of the Congress and to the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 50645 

Comptroller General of the United 

States. This action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ 

as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

L. Petitions for Judicial Review 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean 

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of 

this action must be filed in the United 

States Court of Appeals for the 

appropriate circuit by November 9, 

2021. Filing a petition for 

reconsideration by the Administrator of 

this final rule does not affect the finality 

of this rule for the purposes of judicial 

review nor does it extend the time 

within which a petition for judicial 

review may be filed, and shall not 

postpone the effectiveness of such rule 

or action. This action may not be 

challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements (see section 

307(b)(2)). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

Dated: September 1, 2021. 

Deborah Jordan, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency amends part 52, chapter I, title 

40 of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart F—California 

■ 2. Section 52.220 is amended by 

adding paragraphs (c)(207)(i)(D)(5) and 

(c)(518)(i)(A)(7) to read as follows: 

§ 52.220 Identification of plan-in part. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(207) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(D) * * * 

(5) Previously approved on November 

1, 1996 in paragraph (c)(207)(i)(D)(3) of 

this section and now deleted with 

replacement in paragraph 

(c)(518)(i)(A)(6) of this section, Rule 

1160, adopted on October 26, 1994. 

* * * * * 

(518) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(7) Rule 1160, ‘‘Internal Combustion 

Engines,’’ amended on January 22, 2018. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–19435 Filed 9–9–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2020–0476; FRL–8777–02– 

R9] 

Air Plan Approval; California; Antelope 

Valley Air Quality Management District, 

Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control 

District, and Yolo-Solano Air Quality 

Management District; Combustion 

Sources 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking final action to 

approve revisions to the Antelope 

Valley Air Quality Management District 

(AVAQMD), Eastern Kern Air Pollution 

Control District (EKAPCD), and YoloSolano Air Quality Management District 

(YSAQMD) portions of the California 

State Implementation Plan (SIP). These 

revisions concern emissions of oxides of 

nitrogen (NOX) from boilers, steam 

generating units, process heaters, and 

stationary internal combustion engines. 

We are approving local rules that 

regulate these emission sources under 

the Clean Air Act (CAA or the ‘‘Act’’). 

DATES: This rule will be effective on 

October 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R09–OAR–2020–0476. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the https://www.regulations.gov 

website. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., Confidential Business 

Information or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available through https://

www.regulations.gov, or please contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section for 

additional availability information. If 

you need assistance in a language other 

than English or if you are a person with 

disabilities who needs a reasonable 

accommodation at no cost to you, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin Gong, EPA Region IX, 75 

Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 

94105. By phone at (415) 972–3073 and 

by email at gong.kevin@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Proposed Action 

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses 

III. EPA Action 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Proposed Action 

On April 5, 2021 (86 FR 17567), the 

EPA proposed to approve the following 

rules into the California SIP. 

TABLE 1—SUBMITTED RULES

Local agency Rule # Rule title Local action Submitted 

AVAQMD ........... 1110.2 Emissions from Stationary, Non-Road and Portable Internal Combustion Engines.Amended 09/18/2018 ........................ 10/30/2018 

EKAPCD ............ 425.2 Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters (Oxides of Nitrogen).Amended ...........................................

01/11/2018 .........................................

08/22/2018 

YSAQMD ........... 2.27 Large Boilers .................................................................... Revised 05/15/2019 ........................... 08/19/2019 

In our proposed rule, we erroneously 

stated that an earlier version of EKAPCD 

Rule 425.2 had been approved into the 

SIP on October 28, 1999 (64 FR 57991). 

That version of the rule was approved 

into the SIP on September 24, 1999 (64 

FR 51688). We proposed to approve 

these rules because we determined that 

they comply with the relevant CAA 


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