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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 154 / Friday, August 13, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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Kern,4 Sacramento Metro,5 and Western Nevada 6 areas under the CAA as Moderate nonattainment for the 2015
ozone NAAQS.7 The EPAs classification of these areas as Moderate ozone nonattainment established a requirement that each area attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than six years from the date of designation as nonattainment, i.e., August 3, 2024.8
In August 2020, CARB submitted to the EPA a request from the air districts in the Sacramento Metro area 9 to voluntarily reclassify the Sacramento Metro ozone nonattainment area from Moderate to Serious nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.10 In May 2021, CARB submitted to the EPA requests from the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District and the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District to voluntarily reclassify the Eastern Kern and Western Nevada ozone nonattainment areas, respectively, from Moderate to Serious nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.11 In this 4 Kern County is located in the southernmost portion of Californias Central Valley. The Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area, which lies within the Mojave Desert air basin, covers the eastern portion of Kern County, excluding Indian Wells Valley. The western portion of Kern County lies within the San Joaquin Valley air basin and is included within the San Joaquin Valley ozone nonattainment area. For more detail on the boundaries of the Eastern Kern ozone nonattainment area, see the entry for Kern County Eastern Kern, CA in the 2015 ozone table in 40
CFR 81.305.
5 The Sacramento Metro nonattainment area includes Sacramento and Yolo Counties, the eastern portion of Solano County, the western portions of Placer and El Dorado counties outside of the Lake Tahoe Basin, and the southern portion of Sutter County. For more detail on the boundaries of the Sacramento Metro ozone nonattainment area, see the entry for Sacramento Metro, CA in the 2015
ozone table in 40 CFR 81.305.
6 Nevada County is located in the north-central Sierra Nevada Range and includes portions of Tahoe National Forest. The easternmost portion of Nevada County is excluded from the Western Nevada ozone nonattainment area and is designated unclassified or attainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. For more detail on the boundaries of the Western Nevada ozone nonattainment area, see the entry for Nevada County Western part, CA in the 2015 ozone table in 40 CFR 81.305.
7 83 FR 25776 June 4, 2018.
8 See 40 CFR 51.1303a.
9 The Sacramento Metro area is regulated by five local air districts: The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District AQMD, the Feather River AQMD, the El Dorado County AQMD, the Yolo-Solano AQMD, and the Placer County Air Pollution Control District.
10 Letter dated August 3, 2020, from Richard W.
Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to John Busterud, Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX, requesting voluntary reclassification of Sacramento Metro to Serious nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
11 Letters, dated April 30, 2021 and May 15, 2021, from Richard W. Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to Deborah Jordan, Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX, requesting voluntary reclassification of Western Nevada and Eastern
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document, we refer to the air districts in the Sacramento Metro, Eastern Kern, and Western Nevada nonattainment areas collectively as the districts.
Under the EPAs ozone implementation rules at 40 CFR 51.1303b, the EPA
must approve a states request, for any reason, for a higher classification for an ozone nonattainment area, in accordance with CAA section 181b3.12 We find that the plain language of CAA section 181b3 and 40 CFR 51.1303b mandates that we approve these voluntary reclassification requests, and thus, the EPA proposes in this action to grant CARBs request to reclassify the Eastern Kern, Sacramento Metro, and Western Nevada nonattainment areas from Moderate to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.
II. Serious Area Requirements and Proposed Schedule In this action, we are proposing to reclassify the Eastern Kern, Sacramento Metro, and Western Nevada nonattainment areas from Moderate to Serious for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. We are also proposing to establish a schedule for the State to submit SIP
revisions to address the planning requirements made applicable to each area as a result of its higher classification, including both the general air quality planning requirements under CAA section 172c and the specific requirements for Serious areas under CAA section 182c, as interpreted and described in the final SIP Requirements Rule for the 2015
ozone NAAQS 2015 Ozone SRR.13
Deadlines for the submittal of specific planning elements are described in Section II of this notice. Upon the effective date of a final action granting the reclassification, the areas would be required to attain the 2015 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than nine years from the effective date of designation as nonattainment, i.e., no later than August 3, 2027.
A. Serious Area Plan Requirements in General The 2015 Ozone SRR requires states to submit a SIP revision including a Serious area attainment demonstration, reasonable further progress demonstration, reasonably available control measures, and contingency measures for the 2015 ozone NAAQS no Kern to Serious nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, respectively.
12 CAA section 181b3 provides that the EPA
shall grant the request of any state to reclassify an ozone nonattainment area to a higher classification.
13 The EPA promulgated the 2015 Ozone SRR at 40 CFR part 51, subpart CC.

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later than four years from the areas date of designation as nonattainment.14
Additionally, for the Sacramento area, California would be required to certify that its current motor vehicle inspection and maintenance I/M program meets the requirements for an enhanced I/M
program as required by the CAA and the EPAs I/M regulations.15 CARB would also need to either submit a SIP revision that addresses the CAAs requirements for a clean fuel vehicle program or certify that that its currently approved substitute measure continues to meet CAA requirements.16 Neither Eastern Kern nor Western Nevada meet the minimum population-based applicability thresholds for the enhanced I/M and clean fuel vehicle program requirements.17 We are proposing not to alter the four-year schedule for submittal of Serious area SIP revisions under the 2015 Ozone SRR. Therefore, following the EPAs final reclassification of Eastern Kern, Sacramento Metro, and Western Nevada to Serious ozone nonattainment, CARB
would be required to submit a SIP
revision addressing the Serious area elements listed in this section by August 3, 2022 i.e., four years from the areas designation as nonattainment.
B. New Source Review and Title V
Program Revisions Typically, when we reclassify an area to a higher ozone classification, the state must amend its new source review NSR rules for the area to reflect the lower NSR major source threshold, lower major modification threshold as applicable, and higher NSR offset ratio corresponding to the higher classification. Under CAA 182c, the major source threshold for areas reclassified from Moderate to Serious is lowered from 100 tons per year tpy to 50 tpy. Under the EPAs NSR
regulations, the significant emissions rates that define major modifications for NOX and VOC in areas reclassified from Moderate to Serious are lowered from 40 tpy to 25 tpy.18 Under CAA section 182c10, the VOC and NOX offset ratios for major sources and modifications in a Serious nonattainment area must be at least 1.2
to 1. Reclassification to Serious ozone nonattainment would typically also 14 See CAA section 182c and 83 FR 62988. We encourage CARB and the districts to work with EPA
Region IX staff to confirm the specific planning requirements applicable to each area.
15 CAA section 182c3 and 40 CFR part 51
subpart S.
16 CAA sections 182c4 and 246a.
17 CAA section 182c3A and 246a, respectively.
18 40 CFR 51.165a1x.

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