Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Gila County Reasonably Available Control Technology
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve, under the Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act"), revisions to the Arizona state implementation plan (SIP). Th...
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve, under the Clean Air Act (CAA or “Act”), revisions to the Arizona state implementation plan (SIP). These revisions concern the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's (ADEQ's) demonstration regarding reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or “standards”) within the Gila County portion of the Phoenix-Mesa ozone nonattainment area.
DATES:
This rule is effective June 22, 2026.
( printed page 30215)
ADDRESSES:
The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2025-2961. 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
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Proposed Action
On February 12, 2026 (91 FR 6557), the EPA proposed to approve the following submittal into the Arizona SIP.
Table 1—Submitted Document
Local agency
Document title
Adopted
Submitted
ADEQ
SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS
03/24/2025
03/26/2025
We proposed to approve the ADEQ's submittal, “SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS” (“2025 RACT SIP”), because we determined that it complies with the relevant CAA requirements. Our proposed action contains more information on the submittal 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 Act, the EPA is approving the 2025 RACT SIP into the Arizona SIP.
IV. 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 underExecutive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501et 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. 601et 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);
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 CAA, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by July 21, 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 section 307(b)(2).)
2. Section 52.120 is amended by adding in paragraph (e), table 1, under the subheading “Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas” an entry for “SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS” after the entry for “Revision of Rule 322 of the Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations, Appendix 12: RACT Analyses Submitted to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department from the Arizona Public Service and the Salt River Project, only.” The revision reads as follows:
Table 1—EPA-Approved Non-Regulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
[Excluding certain resolutions and statutes, which are listed in tables 2 and 3, respectively] 1
Name of SIP provision
Applicable geographic or nonattainment area or title/
subject
State submittal date
EPA approval date
Explanation
The State of Arizona Air Pollution Control Implementation Plan
* * * * * * *
Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas
* * * * * * *
SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS
Gila County portion of Phoenix-Mesa nonattainment area for 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS
March 26, 2025
May 22, 2026, 91 FR [insert
Federal Register
page where the document begins]
Adopted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on March 24, 2025.
* * * * * * *
1
Table 1 is divided into three parts: Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2) State Implementation Plan Elements (excluding Part D Elements and Plans), Part D Elements and Plans (other than for the Metropolitan Phoenix or Tucson Areas), and Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas.
* * * * *
3. Section 52.122 is amended by adding paragraph (a)(4) to read as follows:
(i) The following negative declarations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS were adopted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for the Gila County portion of the Phoenix-Mesa 2015 ozone nonattainment area.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 30214
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Gila County Reasonably Available Control Technology,” thefederalregister.org (May 22, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-10280/air-plan-revisions-arizona-arizona-department-of-environmental-quality-gila-county-reasonably-available-control-technolo.