U.S. EPA FACT SHEET

Final Approval of San Joaquin Valley Contingency Measures for the 1997 PM2.5 National

Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

April 28, 2014

Summary

•	The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to adopt and submit for the EPA's approval
contingency measures that will be triggered in the event that an area fails to meet reasonable
further progress (RFP) milestones or fails to attain the national ambient air quality standards
(NAAQS) by the required date.

•	The EPA is approving fine particulate matter (PM2.5) contingency measures for the San
Joaquin Valley in California. These contingency measures-which include reductions from
California's clean car program, the San Joaquin Valley Air District's residential
woodburning rule, and incentive grant programs-will assure continued progress toward clean
air should the San Joaquin Valley fail to meet the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS in 2015.

•	This rule is the first time the EPA is approving the use of emission reductions generated
through California's incentive grant programs to meet Clean Air Act requirements in the San
Joaquin Valley.

•	This approval corrects the EPA's 2011 disapproval of the contingency measure provisions in
the San Joaquin Valley's plan for attainment of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS and terminates the
Clean Air Act sanctions and sanction clocks that resulted from the disapproval.

Background

•	In 1997, the EPA promulgated annual and 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS of 15 micrograms per
cubic meter (|ig/m3) and 65 |ig/m3, respectively. In 2005, the San Joaquin Valley was
designated "nonattainment" for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS.

•	In 2008, the State of California submitted a PM2.5 State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the
San Joaquin Valley and in November 2011 (effective January 9, 2012), the EPA approved all
elements of this SIP except for the contingency measures, which the EPA disapproved. The
EPA disapproved the contingency measures because they did not provide for sufficient
emission reductions.

•	In July 2013, the State submitted a contingency measure SIP to correct this disapproval. The
contingency measure SIP contains a demonstration that the area has met its 2012 RFP
milestone emissions targets and quantifies additional reductions from a number of adopted
measures and from incentives funds. Under EPA policy, contingency measures should
provide emission reductions approximately equal to one year's worth of progress towards
attainment.


-------
•	The EPA proposed approval of the revised contingency measures in August 2013 and
received comments in both support and opposition to the proposal. The final rule includes the
EPA's responses to these comments.

•	The EPA's disapproval of the contingency measures started an 18-month new source review
off-set sanction clock and 2-year highway sanction and FIP clocks. The off-set sanctions
began on July 9, 2013 and the highway funding sanctions would have begun on January 9,
2014. These sanctions are currently stayed/deferred and will be terminated permanently 30
days after the final approval of the contingency measures is published in the Federal
Register.

For More Information:

Please see the EPA's website at: http://www.epa.gOv/region9/air/actions/ca.html#siv


-------