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AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the demonstration portions of the comprehensive State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by New Jersey that certify that the State has satisfied the requirements for an emission statement program, certify that the State has satisfied the requirements for an ozone nonattainment new source review program, certify that the State has satisfied the requirements for a nonattainment emission inventory, and certify that the State has satisfied the requirements for clean fuels for fleets. The EPA is approving New Jersey's reasonable further progress plans and associated motor vehicle emission budgets for both the Moderate and Serious classifications of the 2008 ozone NAAQS. These actions are being taken in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.
DATES:
This rule is effective on October 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID Number EPA-R02-OAR-2022-0647 at https://www.regulations.gov. 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., Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) (formally referred to as 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 electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Fausto Taveras, Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, New York, New York 10007-1866, at (212) 637-3378, or by email at Taveras.Fausto@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean EPA.
Table of Contents:
I. What is the background for this action?
II. What comments were received in responses to the EPA's proposed action?
III. What action is the EPA taking?
IV. Environmental Justice Considerations
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is the background for this action?
On July 10, 2024, the EPA proposed to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of New Jersey on November 23, 2021, for purposes of addressing planning elements for the 2008 and 2015 ozone 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for the New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) nonattainment area (also referred to as the New York Metro Area or NYMA) and the New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City (PA-NJ-MD-DE) nonattainment area (also referred to as the Philadelphia area) (the Proposal). See89 FR 56683. In the Proposal, the EPA proposed to approve New Jersey's reasonable further progress plan and motor vehicle emission budgets for New Jersey's portion of the NYMA for the 2008 ozone Serious classification, New Jersey's certification that the State has satisfied the requirements for an ozone nonattainment new source review (NNSR) program for the 2015 ozone NAAQS in both nonattainment areas and statewide pursuant to requirements for States located in the Ozone Transport Region (OTR), New Jersey's certification that the statewide NNSR also satisfies the requirements for the State's Serious classification in the NYMA area for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS, New Jersey's certification that the State has satisfied the requirements for a nonattainment emission inventory for the 2015 ozone NAAQS in both nonattainment areas, New Jersey's certification that the State has satisfied the requirements of an emission statement program for the 2008 ozone Serious classification for the NYMA nonattainment area, and New Jersey's certification that the State has satisfied the requirements for clean fuels for fleet for the NYMA.
In the Proposal, the EPA also proposed to approve portions of a comprehensive SIP revisions submitted by the State on New Jersey on January 2, 2018. And the EPA proposed to approve New Jersey's reasonable further progress plan and motor vehicle emission budgets for the 2008 ozone Moderate classification of the State's portion of the NYMA. Planning elements addressed in this final action from New Jersey's comprehensive January 2, 2018, and November 23, 2021, SIP submissions along with the respective ozone NAAQS classification and nonattainment areas are outlined in Table 1.
The specific details of New Jersey's SIP submittals and the rationale for the EPA's approval action are explained in the EPA's proposed rulemaking and are not restated in this final action. For this detailed information, the reader is referred to the Proposal.
Table 1—SIP Elements That the EPA Is Approving That Are Addressed in New Jersey's Comprehensive SIP Revision Submitted on January 2, 2018, and November 23, 2021
| Ozone NAAQS & classification | SIP element | Nonattainment areas | SIP submission date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 Ozone NAAQS—Moderate Classification | Reasonable Further Progress plan and Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets | New Jersey's portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) | January 2, 2018 |
| 2008 Ozone NAAQS—Serious Classification | Reasonable Further Progress plan and Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets | New Jersey's portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) | November 23, 2021 |
| 2008 Ozone NAAQS—Serious Classifications | New Source Review Program (NNSR) certification | New Jersey's portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) | November 23, 2021 |
| 2008 Ozone NAAQS—Serious Classification | Certification of the State's Emission Statement Program | New Jersey's portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) | November 23, 2021 |
| 2008 Ozone NAAQS—Serious Classification | Clean Fuels for Fleets | New Jersey's portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) | November 23, 2021 |
| 2015 Ozone NAAQS—Marginal & Moderate Classifications | New Source Review Program (NNSR) | New Jersey's portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City (PA-NJ-MD-DE) & New Jersey's portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) | November 23, 2021 |
| 2015 Ozone NAAQS—OTR | New Source Review Program (NNSR) | Statewide | November 23, 2021 |
| 2015 Ozone NAAQS—Marginal & Moderate Classifications | Nonattainment emission inventory under CAA section 182(a)(1) | New Jersey's portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City (PA-NJ-MD-DE) & New Jersey's portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) | November 23, 2021 |
Table 2—Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets in New Jersey's 2008 Ozone Moderate RFP Plans
| Description | NO X (tons/summer day) | VOC (tons/summer day) |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 8-Hour Ozone Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets: NJ portion of NY-NJ-CT area | 103.22 | 48.69 |
Table 3—Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets in New Jersey's 2008 Ozone Serious RFP Plans
| Description | NO X (tons/summer day) | VOC (tons/summer day) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 8-Hour Ozone Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets: NJ portion of NY-NJ-CT area | 76.77 | 42.46 |
EPA-Approved New Jersey Nonregulatory And Quasi-Regulatory Provisions
| SIP element | Applicable geographic or nonattainment area | New Jersey submittal date | EPA approval date | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| * * * * * * * | ||||
| 2008 8-hour Ozone Reasonable Further Progress Plan (RFP) for milestone year 2017; 2017 motor vehicle emission budgets used for planning purposes | New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 01/02/2018 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |
| 2008 8-hour Ozone Reasonable Further Progress Plan (RFP) for milestone year 2020; 2020 motor vehicle emission budgets used for planning purposes | New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |
| 2008 8-hour Ozone Serious Nonattainment New Source Review Requirements Certification | New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |
| 2008 8-hour Ozone Serious Emission Statement Program Certification | New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |
| 2008 8-hour Ozone Clean Fuel for Fleets | New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |
| 2015 8-hour Ozone Marginal Nonattainment New Source Review Requirements Certification | New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE, 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |
| 2015 8-hour Ozone Moderate Nonattainment New Source Review Requirements Certification | New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. • Certifies New Jersey's commitment to implement NNSR requirements statewide within the Ozone Transport Region (OTR) for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS. |
| 2015 8-hour Ozone Nonattainment New Source Review Requirements OTR Certification | State-wide | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. • Certifies New Jersey's commitment to implement NNSR requirements statewide within the Ozone Transport Region (OTR) for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS. |
| 2015 8-hour Ozone Marginal nonattainment emission inventory | New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE, 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |
| 2015 8-hour Ozone Moderate nonattainment emission inventory | New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone nonattainment area | 11/23/2021 | 9/4/2024, [insert Federal Register citation] | • Full approval. |