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Approval of Clean Air Plans; San Joaquin Valley, California; Contingency Measures for 1997 Ozone Standards
Plain English Summary
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved California's plan to improve air quality in the San Joaquin Valley, which has struggled with high ozone levels. This approval means California has met the necessary requirements to address ozone pollution as part of the Clean Air Act. Insurance agents should be aware of this development as it may impact environmental regulations and compliance requirements for businesses in the area.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve under the Clean Air Act (CAA or "Act") a state implementation plan (SIP) submission from the State of California as meeting the attainment-related contingency measure requirements for the 1997 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or "standards") in the San Joaquin Valley, California, Extreme ozone nonattainment area. The SIP revision is titled "California Smog Check Contingency Measure State Implementation Plan Revision" (September 15, 2023) ("Smog Check Contingency Measure SIP"). The EPA's approval relies on the previously approved contingency measure for the 1997 ozone NAAQS for the San Joaquin Valley and the justifications for not adopting additional contingency measures that provide for the recommended amount of emissions reductions for such measures. Based on our final approval, the EPA is also finalizing our determination that the State of California has fulfilled the commitment made by the State in connection with a previous approval action to develop, adopt, and submit attainment contingency measures for the San Joaquin Valley Extreme nonattainment area for the 1997 ozone NAAQS meeting the requirements of the CAA.