Air Plan Approval; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District; Portland Cement Kilns

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 73 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20363-20365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07398]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0058; FRL-12609-03-R9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control 
District; Portland Cement Kilns

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a revision to the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control 
District (EKAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of oxides 
of nitrogen (NOX) from Portland cement kilns. We are 
approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the 
Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'').

DATES: This rule is effective May 18, 2026.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2025-0058. 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., 
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 through https://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information. If you need assistance 
in a language other than English or if you are a person with a 
disability who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, 
please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elijah Gordon, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; telephone number: (415) 972-
3158; email address: gordon.elijah@epa.gov.

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

[[Page 20364]]

IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On June 4, 2025 (90 FR 23653), the EPA proposed to approve the 
following rule into the California SIP.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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            Local agency                 Rule No.             Rule title              Amended        Submitted
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EKAPCD..............................           425.3  Portland Cement Kilns           11/13/2024      12/12/2024
                                                       (Oxides of Nitrogen).
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    We proposed to approve this rule because we determined that it 
complies with the relevant CAA 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, we received no comments.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted. Therefore, as authorized in section 
110(k)(3) of the Clean Air Act, the EPA is approving this rule into the 
California SIP. The November 13, 2024 version of Rule 425.3 will 
replace the previously approved version of this rule in the SIP. This 
approval resolves all deficiencies forming the basis for our previous 
limited disapproval in 2023 of the prior version of Rule 425.3.\1\ The 
deficiencies, which related to exemptions from NOX emission 
limitations, have been remedied by replacing the exemptions during 
startup and shutdown periods with alternative NOX emission 
limits and removing the exemption during breakdown conditions. This 
action also permanently terminates all sanctions clocks and FIP clocks 
triggered by our June 5, 2023 limited disapproval action.
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    \1\ 88 FR 36479 (June 5, 2023).
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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 EKAPCD 
Rule 425.3, ``Portland Cement Kilns (Oxides of Nitrogen),'' amended on 
November 13, 2024, which regulates emissions of NOX from 
Portland cement kilns. Therefore, these materials have been approved by 
the EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference 
by the EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under 
sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final 
rule of the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in 
the next update to the SIP compilation.\2\ The EPA has made, and will 
continue to make, these documents available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region IX Office (please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information).
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    \2\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, 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, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, 
this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements 
and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by 
state law. For that reason, this action:
    •  Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
    •  Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065, 
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under 
Executive Order 12866;
    •  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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
    •  Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
    •  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 CAA.
    In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian Tribe 
has demonstrated that a Tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 
Indian country, the 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).
    This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA 
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the 
Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a ``major 
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by June 15, 2026. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of 
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for 
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness 
of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See CAA section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.


[[Page 20365]]


    Dated: April 3, 2026.
Michael Martucci,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental 
Protection Agency amends part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations 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. Amend Sec.  52.220a, paragraph (c), under the subheading ``Table 
10--EPA-Approved Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District 
Regulations; Kern County Air Pollution Control District Regulations,'' 
by revising the entry for ``425.3,'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220a   Identification of plan--in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

    Table 10--EPA-Approved Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District Regulations; Kern County Air Pollution
                                          Control District Regulations
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                                                                                                 Additional
  District  citation        Title/subject       State effective date    EPA approval date        explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
425.3.................  Portland Cement Kilns  November 13, 2024....  4/16/2026, 91 FR      Submitted on
                         (Oxides of Nitrogen).                         [INSERT FEDERAL       December 12, 2024.
                                                                       REGISTER PAGE WHERE
                                                                       THE DOCUMENT
                                                                       BEGINS].
 
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[FR Doc. 2026-07398 Filed 4-15-26; 8:45 am]
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