Withdrawal of Approval and Disapproval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; San Joaquin Valley; Contingency Measures for the 1997 PM2.5 Standards

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is withdrawing a May 22, 2014 final action approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of California under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to address contingency measure requirements for the 1997 annual and 24-hour national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>) in the San Joaquin Valley. Simultaneously, EPA is disapproving this SIP submission. These final actions are in response to a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Committee for a Better Arvin v. EPA, 786 F.3d 1169 (9th Cir. 2015)) remanding EPA's approval of a related SIP submission and rejecting EPA's rationale for approving plan submissions that rely on California mobile source control measures to meet SIP requirements such as contingency measures, which was a necessary basis for the May 22, 2014 final rule. Finally, EPA is issuing a protective finding for transportation conformity determinations for the disapproval.