81 FR 6761 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California; San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District; Employer Based Trip Reduction Programs

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 26 (February 9, 2016)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a regulation submitted for incorporation into the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD or District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). The regulation, Rule 9410 (Employer Based Trip Reduction), establishes requirements for employers in the San Joaquin Valley to implement programs encouraging employees to use ridesharing and alternative transportation methods to reduce air pollution. The effect of this action is to make the requirements of Rule 9410 federally enforceable as part of the California SIP.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 9, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6761-6763]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02411]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0715; FRL-9941-16-Region 9]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California; 
San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District; Employer 
Based Trip Reduction Programs

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a 
regulation submitted for incorporation into the San Joaquin Valley 
Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD or District) portion 
of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). The regulation, Rule 
9410 (Employer Based Trip Reduction), establishes requirements for 
employers in the San Joaquin Valley to implement programs encouraging 
employees to use ridesharing and alternative transportation methods to 
reduce air pollution. The effect of this action is to make the 
requirements of Rule 9410 federally enforceable as part of the 
California SIP.

DATES: This rule will be effective on March 10, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0715 
for this action. Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 
at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-
3901. While all documents in the docket are listed at http://www.regulations.gov, some information may be publicly available only at 
the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material, large maps, multi-
volume reports), and some may not be available in either location 
(e.g., confidential business information (CBI)). To inspect the hard 
copy materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business 
hours with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Buss, EPA Region IX, (415) 
947-4152, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On August 24, 2015 at 80 FR 51153, the EPA proposed to approve the 
following rule into the California SIP.

[[Page 6762]]



                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Local agency               Rule No.               Rule title               Adopted         Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SJVUAPCD......................            9410   Employer Based Trip Reduction        12/17/09         05/17/10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We proposed to approve this rule because we determined that it 
complied with the relevant Clean Air Act (``CAA'' or ``Act'') 
requirements. Our proposed action contains more information on the rule 
and our evaluation.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, which ended on September 23, 2015, we received one 
comment from a member of the public. We are summarizing that comment 
and providing our response below.
    Comment: The commenter supports the rule and the District's goal of 
encouraging transportation alternatives to driving to work alone. But 
the commenter states that, although the supporting documents provide 
satisfactory information about how commuter programs can reduce air 
pollution, ``when reviewing the available information in the docket 
folder, [the commenter] noticed a lack of solutions to the problem of 
this particular facet of pollution in the primary document.'' The 
commenter asks whether this means that ``solutions have yet to be 
identified or fully planned.''
    Response: Section 5 of Rule 9410 suggests trip reduction strategies 
that covered employers may choose to implement, including transit 
programs and ride-sharing opportunities, among others. Employers must 
identify which of these specific trip reduction strategies they will 
adopt, and report the results of their efforts annually to the 
SJVUAPCD. In today's action, EPA is not approving specific trip 
reduction plans for individual employers, but is approving the general 
requirements in Rule 9410 that direct employers to develop trip 
reduction plans.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted that change our assessment of the rule 
as described in our proposed action. Therefore, as authorized in 
section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is fully approving this rule into 
the California SIP.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the 
SJVUAPCD rule described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth 
below. The EPA had made, and will continue to make, these documents 
available electronically through www.regulations.gov and in hard copy 
at the appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES section of this 
preamble for more information).

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and 
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely proposes to approve state law as 
meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this 
proposed action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the proposed rule does not have tribal implications and will 
not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt 
tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 
9, 2000).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of 
nitrogen, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: December 11, 2015.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 52, Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(379)(i)(C)(7) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (379) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) * * *

[[Page 6763]]

    (7) Rule 9410, ``Employer Based Trip Reduction,'' adopted on 
December 17, 2009.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2016-02411 Filed 2-8-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P