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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Proposed Rules NAAQS are observed only at monitors in the hot spot counties.232 The corresponding potential NOX emissions reduction would be in the range of 0.002
tpd to 0.060 tpd, respectively, but once again, there would be no emissions reduction if the violations are monitored in the hot spot counties only.233 The EPA has already approved Rule 4901, as amended in 2019, as a revision to the California SIP.234

Valley nonattainment area for the 1997
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, for the reasons discussed below.
Attainment contingency measures under 172c9 are triggered upon the EPAs determination that an area failed to attain a given NAAQS by its applicable attainment date. CAA section 179c requires the EPA to determine whether the area attained the NAAQS
by its applicable attainment date. As part of this proposed action, we are 3. The EPAs Review of the States proposing to determine that the San Submission Joaquin Valley nonattainment area As noted above, the EPA previously attained the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS
proposed to find that the contingency by the December 31, 2020 attainment provision of Rule 4901 section 5.7.3
date projected by the Plan. Based on our does not satisfy the CAA requirements proposed finding of attainment by the for contingency measures for the 1997
applicable attainment date, we are also annual PM2.5 NAAQS.235 As part of that proposing to determine that the CAA
proposal, the EPA found that the requirement for the SIP to provide for measure meets some, but not all, of the attainment contingency measures will applicable requirements for contingency no longer apply to the San Joaquin measures under CAA section 172c9
Valley for the 1997 24-hour PM2.5
and 40 CFR 51.1014. One of the NAAQS. Under CAA section 172c9, deficiencies outlined in our proposal attainment contingency measures are was that the contingency provisions of implemented only if the area fails to Rule 4901 do not address the potential attain by the attainment date. Therefore, for State failures to meet RFP, to meet if we finalize the determination that the a quantitative milestone, or to submit a San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area quantitative milestone report. In has attained the 1997 24-hour PM2.5
addition, the contingency measure NAAQS, attainment contingency provisions of Rule 4901 are not measures for this NAAQS would never structured to achieve any additional be required to be implemented. Because emissions reductions if the EPA were to there are no circumstances under which find that the monitoring locations in the CAA section 172c9 attainment hot spot counties i.e., Fresno, Kern, contingency measures could ever be or Madera are the only counties in the triggered, we think it is a reasonable San Joaquin Valley that are violating the interpretation of the CAA that these 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS as of the measures are no longer required to be attainment date. To qualify as a submitted.236
contingency measure, a measure must Similarly, we are proposing to find be structured to achieve emissions that, upon finalization of the reductions if triggered; however, the determination of attainment by the contingency provisions of Rule 4901
attainment date, the RFP related provide for such reductions only under contingency measure requirement i.e., certain circumstances.
for failure to meet RFP, to submit a Consistent with our proposal for the quantitative milestone report, or to meet 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS and for these the quantitative milestone would also same reasons, we are proposing to no longer apply to the San Joaquin disapprove the contingency measure Valley nonattainment area for the 1997
element of the SJV PM2.5 Plan for the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The purpose of 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS as not the RFP and related quantitative meeting the requirements of 172c9
milestone requirements under the CAA
and 40 CFR 51.1014 for Serious area and is to ensuree attainment of the section 189d attainment plans.
applicable NAAQS by the applicable However, the EPA is also proposing to date. 237 Because the sole purpose of find that the contingency measures are RFP contingency measures is to provide no longer required for the San Joaquin continued progress if an area fails to meet its RFP or quantitative milestone 232 See Table B13 in Appendix B from the requirements, a final determination of Districts Final Staff Report June 20, 2019 for attainment by the attainment date serves revisions to Rule 4901.
233 NO emissions reductions from the as demonstration that RFP requirements X
contingency measure are based on the Districts for the area have been met, and that estimates for direct PM2.5 emissions using the ratio there is no need for any later of direct PM2.5 to NOX in Table 1, page 8, of the Districts Final Staff Report June 20, 2019 for revisions to Rule 4901.
234 85 FR 44206.
235 86 FR 38652.

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236 See Bahr v. Regan, No. 2070092, 9th Cir.
July 28, 2021, slip op. 4551.
237 CAA section 171c.

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quantitative milestone or milestone report, and thus the RFP related contingency measures are no longer needed. Accordingly, because we are proposing to determine that the San Joaquin Valley has attained the 1997 24hour PM2.5 NAAQS by the December 31, 2020 attainment date, and that therefore the RFP and quantitative milestone requirements would no longer apply, we are now also proposing to determine that RFP contingency measures are no longer required for this area.238
Under section 179a of the CAA, final disapproval of a SIP submission that addresses a requirement of part D, title I of the CAA, or is required in response to a finding of substantial inadequacy as described in CAA section 110k5 SIP
Call, starts sanctions clocks. The SJV
PM2.5 Plan, including the contingency measure element, does address requirements of part D. However, if we finalize our determinations that the requirements for contingency measures no longer apply to the San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area for the 1997
24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, then the contingency measure element of the SJV
PM2.5 Plan would no longer be required to address any part D requirement for the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
Therefore, final disapproval of the contingency measure element of the SJV
PM2.5 Plan would not trigger sanctions clocks. Similarly, final disapproval would not trigger any obligation for the EPA to promulgate a federal implementation plan FIP under CAA
section 110c because there would be no deficiency for such a FIP to correct.239
Because we are proposing to approve the RFP analysis, the modeled attainment demonstration, and the motor vehicle emissions budgets, we are also proposing to issue a protective finding under 40 CFR 93.120a3 in the event we finalize the disapproval of the 238 With respect to the 2017 RFP contingency measure requirement specifically, we note that, as explained in section IV.E.2 of this proposed rule, on December 20, 2018, CARB submitted a quantitative milestone report demonstrating that the 2017 quantitative milestones in the SJV PM2.5 Plan have been achieved, and the EPA has determined that this milestone report is adequate. Because the State and District have demonstrated that the San Joaquin Valley area has met its 2017 quantitative milestones, RFP contingency measures for the 2017
milestone year would never be triggered.
239 This is the case for both the Serious area plan and the section 189d plan. Because the purpose of contingency measures is to ensure continued progress toward attainment in the event that an area fails to attain the NAAQS or meet RFP
requirements, and we are proposing to find that the area has meet the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, there is no purpose to triggering sanction and FIP
obligations for the State to submit measures to achieve the goal of attaining the 1997 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS when this goal has already been met.

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