Determination To Defer Sanctions; Arizona; Maricopa County; Reasonably Available Control Technology-Combustion Sources
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making an interim final determination that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has submitted revised rules on behalf of the Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAQD or County) that correct deficiencies in its Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) state implementation plan (SIP) provisions concerning reasonably available control technology (RACT) ozone nonattainment requirements for controlling emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) from combustion equipment and internal combustion engines. This determination is based on a proposed approval, published elsewhere in this Federal Register, of MCAQD's Rules 323 and 324 which regulate these source categories. The effect of this interim final determination is that the imposition of sanctions that were triggered by two prior disapprovals by the EPA, the first in 2020 for these two rules, and the second in 2021 for the County's 2017 determination that it was implementing RACT for major sources of NOX, are now deferred. If the EPA finalizes its approval of MCAQD's submission, relief from these sanctions will become permanent.