Clean Air Act Reclassification, San Joaquin Valley Nonattainment Area; California; Ozone

EPA is taking final action to grant a request by the State of California to voluntarily reclassify under the Clean Air Act ("CAA" or "the Act") the San Joaquin Valley Ozone Nonattainment Area ("San Joaquin Valley Air Basin" or "SJVAB") from a severe to an extreme 1- hour ozone nonattainment area. We are also taking final action to require the State to submit by November 15, 2004 an extreme area ozone plan for the areas within the SJVAB under the State's jurisdiction that provides for the attainment of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard ("NAAQS") as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than November 15, 2010. This plan must meet the specific provisions of CAA section 182(e). The State must also submit within 12 months of the effective date of this rule, revised Title V and New Source Review rules that reflect the extreme area statutory requirements. Once effective, this reclassification of the SJVAB terminates the federal offset sanction that was imposed on March 18, 2004 and also terminates the highway sanction and federal implementation plan clocks. The sanction and FIP clocks were started under CAA section 179(a) upon EPA's 2002 finding that the State failed to submit the statutorily required severe area attainment demonstration for the area.