Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Basin; 1-Hour and 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area Requirements

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve, or conditionally approve, all or portions of five state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of California to meet Clean Air Act (CAA or "the Act") requirements for the 1979 1-hour, 1997 8-hour, and 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or "standards") in the Los Angeles-- South Coast Air Basin, California ("South Coast") ozone nonattainment area. The five SIP revisions include the "Final 2016 Air Quality Management Plan," the "Revised Proposed 2016 State Strategy for the State Implementation Plan," the "2018 Updates to the California State Implementation Plan," the "Updated Federal 1979 1-Hour Ozone Standard Attainment Demonstration," and a local emissions statement rule. In today's action, the EPA refers to these submittals collectively as the "2016 South Coast Ozone SIP." The 2016 South Coast Ozone SIP addresses the nonattainment area requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, including the requirements for an emissions inventory, attainment demonstration, reasonable further progress, reasonably available control measures, contingency measures, among others; establishes motor vehicle emissions budgets; and updates the previously-approved control strategies and attainment demonstrations for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS and the 1997 ozone NAAQS. The EPA is taking final action to approve the 2016 South Coast Ozone SIP as meeting all the applicable ozone nonattainment area requirements except for the reasonable further progress contingency measure requirement, for which the EPA is finalizing a conditional approval.