Quiero saber acerca de...

49124

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS2

contingency measures are sufficient.206
Recently, CARB withdrew the enhanced enforcement contingency measure of the December 2018 SIP submission as it pertained to the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS in the SJV.207 In addition, the 2018 PM2.5
Plan does not include updated emissions estimates for the years following the 2019 and 2022 RFP
milestone years with which to evaluate the sufficiency of contingency measure intended to address the applicable Moderate area requirements for the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS. Rather, with respect to the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS, the contingency measure element of the 2018 PM2.5 Plan only includes estimates for the year 2026 following the Serious area attainment year 2025, and thus, these estimates are not relevant for evaluating the sufficiency of contingency measures submitted to comply with the Moderate area requirements for the 2012 PM2.5
NAAQS.
Accordingly, we have evaluated the relevant portions of the 2018 PM2.5 Plan and District Rule 4901 specifically, section 5.7.3 of Rule 4901, and the contingency measure element in the 2016 PM2.5 Plan as discussed above, for compliance with the applicable requirements for Moderate areas for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. However, while the 2018 PM2.5 Plan does not provide updated emissions estimates for the years following the 2019 and 2022 RFP
milestone years, the updated emission estimates in the 2018 PM2.5 Plan do provide the basis for an updated estimate of one years worth of RFP for the purposes of evaluating the sufficiency of contingency measures to meet the applicable Moderate area requirements for the 2012 PM2.5
NAAQS. The updated estimates of emissions one years worth of RFP based on the updated emissions estimates in the 2018 PM2.5 Plan are 0.5 tpd direct PM2.5 and 15.3 tpd NOX.208 This is slightly more reductions than the 0.4
tpd direct PM2.5 and 14.8 tpd NOX
emission reductions estimated as one years RFP within the 2016 PM2.5 Plan, consistent with the slightly faster pace of emission reductions reflected in the 2018 PM2.5 Plan and discussed in section IV.G.3 of this proposed rule.
206 2018 PM
2.5 Plan, App. H revised February 11, 2020, H24 to H26.
207 Letter dated March 19, 2021, from Richard W.
Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to Deborah Jordan, Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX, with enclosures.
208 The estimate of one years RFP is based on difference between the annual average base year 2013 emissions and the corresponding emissions in the 2022 RFP milestone year, per Appendix B of the 2018 PM2.5 Plan, divided by nine i.e., the number of years between 2013 and 2022.

VerDate Sep<11>2014

17:22 Aug 31, 2021

Jkt 253001

With respect to the District contingency measure, the 2018 PM2.5
Plan calls for the District to amend District Rule 4901 Wood Burning Fireplaces and Wood Burning Heaters to include a requirement in the rule with a trigger that would be activated should the EPA issue a final rulemaking that the SJV failed to meet a regulatory requirement necessitating implementation of a contingency measure. In response to the commitment made in the 2018 PM2.5 Plan, in June 2019, the District adopted amendments to Rule 4901 including a contingency measure in section 5.7.3 of the amended rule, and, as an attachment to a letter dated July 19, 2019, CARB
submitted the amended rule to the EPA
for approval.209 The EPA has taken final action to approve amended Rule 4901, but in that approval, we noted that we were not evaluating the contingency measure in section 5.7.3 of revised Rule 4901 for compliance with all requirements of the CAA and the EPAs implementing regulations that apply to such measures.210 Rather, we approved the measure into the SIP because it strengthened the rule by providing a possibility of additional curtailment days, and thus potentially additional emissions reductions. We indicated that we would evaluate whether this provision, in conjunction with other submitted provisions, meets the statutory and regulatory requirements for contingency measures in future actions. In this proposal, we are now evaluating District Rule 4901, specifically, section 5.7.3, for compliance with the requirements for contingency measures for Moderate areas that cannot practicably attain the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS by the applicable Moderate area attainment date.
District Rule 4901 is designed to limit emissions generated by the use of wood burning fireplaces, wood burning heaters, and outdoor wood burning devices. The rule establishes requirements for the sale/transfer, operation, and installation of wood burning devices and for advertising the sale of seasoned wood consistent with a moisture content limit within the SJV.
The rule includes a two-tiered, episodic wood burning curtailment requirement that applies during four winter months, November through February. During a level one episodic wood burning curtailment, section 5.7.1
prohibits any person from operating a 209 Letter from Richard W. Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to Mike Stoker, Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX, July 19, 2019.
210 85 FR 44206 July 22, 2020 final approval of District Rule 4901; 85 FR 1131, 113233 January 9, 2020 proposed approval of District Rule 4901.

PO 00000

Frm 00026

Fmt 4701

Sfmt 4702

wood burning fireplace or unregistered wood burning heater but permits the use of a properly operated wood burning heater that meets certification requirements and has a current registration with the District. Sections 5.9 through 5.11 impose specific registration requirements on any person operating a wood burning fireplace or wood burning heater and section 5.12
imposes specific certification requirements on wood burning heater professionals. During a level two episodic wood burning curtailment, operation of any wood burning device is prohibited by section 5.7.2.
Prior to the 20192020 wood burning season, the District imposed a level one curtailment when the PM2.5
concentration was forecasted to be between 2065 mg/m3 and imposed a level two curtailment when the PM2.5
concentration was forecasted to be above 65 mg/m3 or the PM10
concentration was forecasted to be above 135 mg/m3. In 2019 the District adopted revisions to Rule 4901 to lower the wood burning curtailment thresholds in the hot spot counties of Madera, Fresno, and Kern. The District lowered the level one PM2.5 threshold for these three counties from 20 mg/m3
to 12 mg/m3, and the level two PM2.5
threshold from 65 mg/m3 to 35 mg/m3.
The District did not modify the curtailment thresholds for other counties i.e., Kings, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties in the SJV, and those levels remained at 20 mg/m3 for level one and 65 mg/m3 for level two.
The Districts 2019 revision to Rule 4901 also included the addition of a contingency measure in section 5.7.3 of the rule, requiring that 60 days following the effective date of an EPA
final rulemaking that the SJV has failed to attain the 1997, 2006, or 2012 PM2.5
NAAQS by the applicable attainment date, the PM2.5 curtailment levels for any county that has failed to attain the applicable standard will be lowered to the curtailment levels in place for hot spot counties.
3. EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action We have evaluated the contingency measure element in the 2016 PM2.5 Plan, as amended in the 2018 PM2.5 Plan, and we find that the fact that the element focuses only on direct PM2.5 and NOX
and not ammonia, SO2, and VOC is acceptable in light of our proposed approval of the precursor demonstration in section IV.B of this document.
PM2.5 attainment plan SIP submission for Moderate areas that cannot practicably attain by the Moderate area attainment date must include
E:FRFM01SEP2.SGM

01SEP2