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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Proposed Rules evidence from numerous health studies demonstrating that serious health effects are associated with exposures to PM2.5
concentrations above these levels.
Epidemiological studies have shown statistically significant correlations between elevated PM2.5 levels and premature mortality. Other important health effects associated with PM2.5
exposure include aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease as indicated by increased hospital admissions, emergency room visits, absences from school or work, and restricted activity dates, changes in lung function and increased respiratory symptoms, and new evidence for more subtle indicators of cardiovascular health. Individuals particularly sensitive to PM2.5 exposure include older adults, people with heart and lung disease, and children.7
Sources can emit PM2.5 directly into the atmosphere as a solid or liquid particle primary PM2.5 or direct PM2.5, or PM2.5 can form in the atmosphere secondary PM2.5 as a result of various chemical reactions from precursor emissions of nitrogen oxides NOX, sulfur oxides SOX, volatile organic compounds, and ammonia.8

miles from north to south and averaging 80 miles wide, it is partially enclosed by the Coast Mountain range to the west, the Tehachapi Mountains to the south, and the Sierra Nevada range to the east.
Under State law, the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District SJVUAPCD or District has primary responsibility for developing plans to provide for attainment of the NAAQS in this area. The District works cooperatively with the California Air Resources Board CARB in preparing attainment plans. Authority for regulating sources under state jurisdiction in the San Joaquin Valley is split under State law between the District, which generally has responsibility for regulating stationary and area sources, and CARB, which generally has responsibility for regulating mobile sources.
At the time of the initial designations for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, the EPA
interpreted the CAA to require implementation of the NAAQS under the general nonattainment plan requirements of subpart 1.12 Under subpart 1, states were required to submit nonattainment plan SIP submissions within three years of the effective date B. San Joaquin Valley PM2.5
of designations, that, among other Designations, Classifications, and SIP
things, provided for implementation of Revisions reasonably available control measures Following promulgation of a new or RACM, reasonable further progress revised NAAQS, the EPA is required RFP, contingency measures, and a under CAA section 107d to designate modeled attainment demonstration areas throughout the nation as attaining showing attainment of the NAAQS as or not attaining the NAAQS. Effective expeditiously as practicable but no later April 5, 2005, the EPA established the than five years from the designation in initial air quality designations for the this instance, no later than April 5, 1997 24-hour and annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 2010 unless the state justified an using air quality monitoring data for the attainment date extension of up to five three-year periods of 20012003 and years.13
20022004.9 The EPA designated the Between 2007 and 2011, California San Joaquin Valley as nonattainment for both the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS 65 submitted six SIP revisions to address nonattainment area planning mg/m3 and the 1997 annual PM2.5
requirements for the 1997 24-hour and NAAQS 15.0 mg/m3.10
annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the San Joaquin The San Joaquin Valley PM2.5
Valley,14 which we refer to collectively nonattainment area encompasses over as the 2008 PM2.5 Plan. On November 23,000 square miles and includes all or 9, 2011, the EPA approved the portions part of eight counties: San Joaquin, of the 2008 PM2.5 Plan, as revised in Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, 2009 and 2011, that addressed Tulare, Kings, and the valley portion of Kern.11 The area is home to four million attainment of the 1997 24-hour and people and is one of the nations leading annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the San Joaquin agricultural regions. Stretching over 250 Valley PM2.5 nonattainment area, except for the attainment contingency 7 EPA, Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, measures, which we disapproved.15 We No. EPA/600/P99/002aF and EPA/600/P99/
also granted the States request to 002bF, October 2004.
extend the attainment deadline for the 8
For example, see 72 FR 20586, 20589 April 25, 2007.
9 70 FR 944 January 5, 2005.
10 40 CFR 81.305.
11 For a precise description of the geographic boundaries of the San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area, see 40 CFR 81.305.

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FR 20586.
sections 172a2, 172c1, 172c2, and 172c9.
14 76 FR 69896, n. 2 November 9, 2011.
15 Id. at 69924.
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1997 PM2.5 NAAQS in the San Joaquin Valley to April 5, 2015.16
Following a January 4, 2013 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit D.C. Circuit remanding the EPAs 2007 implementation rule for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS,17 the EPA
published a final rule on June 2, 2014, classifying the San Joaquin Valley as a Moderate nonattainment area for the 1997 24-hour and annual PM2.5 NAAQS
under subpart 4, part D of title I of the Act.18 In this action, the EPA
acknowledged that states must meet both subpart 1 and subpart 4
requirements in nonattainment plan SIP
submissions for the 1997 24-hour and annual PM2.5 NAAQS and provided states with additional time to supplement or withdraw and resubmit any pending nonattainment plan SIP
submissions.
Effective May 7, 2015, the EPA
reclassified the San Joaquin Valley as a Serious nonattainment area for the 1997
PM2.5 NAAQS based on the determination that the State could not practicably attain these NAAQS in the San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area by the latest statutory Moderate area attainment date, i.e., April 5, 2015.19
Upon reclassification as a Serious area, the State became subject to the requirement of CAA section 188c2 to attain the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, as expeditiously as practicable but no later than ten years after designation, i.e., by no later than December 31, 2015.
California submitted its 1997 PM2.5
Serious area plan for the San Joaquin Valley in two submissions dated June 25, 2015 and August 13, 2015, including a request under section 188e to extend the attainment date for the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS by three years to December 31, 2018 and to extend the attainment date for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by five years to December 31, 2020. On February 9, 2016, the EPA proposed to approve most of the Serious area plan and to 16 Id.
17 Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA, 706
F.3d. 428 D.C. Cir. 2013 NRDC. In NRDC, the court held that the EPA erred in implementing the 1997 PM2.5 standards solely pursuant to the general implementation requirements of subpart 1, without also considering the requirements specific to nonattainment areas for particles less than or equal to 10 mm in diameter PM10 in subpart 4, part D
of title I of the CAA. The court reasoned that the plain meaning of the CAA requires implementation of the 1997 PM2.5 standards under subpart 4
because PM2.5 falls within the statutory definition of PM10 and is thus subject to the same statutory requirements as PM10. The court remanded the rule, without vacatur, and instructed the EPA to repromulgate these rules pursuant to Subpart 4
consistent with this opinion.
18 79 FR 31566.
19 80 FR 18528 April 7, 2015.

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