Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Gila County Reasonably Available Control Technology

Federal RegisterMay 22, 2026

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2025-2961; FRL-13073-02-R9]

Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Gila County Reasonably Available Control Technology

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve, under the Clean Air Act (CAA or “Act”), revisions to the Arizona state implementation plan (SIP). These revisions concern the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's (ADEQ's) demonstration regarding reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or “standards”) within the Gila County portion of the Phoenix-Mesa ozone nonattainment area.

DATES:

This rule is effective June 22, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2025-2961. All documents in the docket are listed on the

https://www.regulations.gov

website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available,

e.g.,

Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available through

https://www.regulations.gov,

or please contact the person identified in the

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section for additional availability information. If you need assistance in a language other than English or if you are a person with a disability who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please contact the person identified in the

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elijah Gordon, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; telephone number: (415) 972-3158; email address:

gordon.elijah@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document, “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

III. EPA Action

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

On February 12, 2026 (91 FR 6557), the EPA proposed to approve the following submittal into the Arizona SIP.

Table 1—Submitted Document

Local agency

Document title

Adopted

Submitted

ADEQ

SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS

03/24/2025

03/26/2025

We proposed to approve the ADEQ's submittal, “SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS” (“2025 RACT SIP”), because we determined that it complies with the relevant CAA requirements. Our proposed action contains more information on the submittal and our evaluation.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. During this period, we received no comments.

III. EPA Action

No comments were submitted. Therefore, as authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is approving the 2025 RACT SIP into the Arizona SIP.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:

• Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);

• Is not an Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065, February 6, 2025) regulatory action because this action is not significant under Executive Order 12866;

• Does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.

);

• Is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

et seq.

);

• Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);

• Does not have federalism implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);

• Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;

• Is not a significant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and

• Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the CAA.

In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian Tribe has demonstrated that a Tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does not have Tribal implications and will not impose substantial direct costs on Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).

This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by July 21, 2026. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

Dated: May 8, 2026.

Michael Martucci,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 52 as follows:

PART 52—APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

1. The authority citation for Part 52 continues to read as follows:

Authority:

42 U.S.C. 7401

et seq.

Subpart D—Arizona

2. Section 52.120 is amended by adding in paragraph (e), table 1, under the subheading “Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas” an entry for “SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS” after the entry for “Revision of Rule 322 of the Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations, Appendix 12: RACT Analyses Submitted to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department from the Arizona Public Service and the Salt River Project, only.” The revision reads as follows:

§ 52.120

Identification of plan.

(e) * * *

Table 1—EPA-Approved Non-Regulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Measures

[Excluding certain resolutions and statutes, which are listed in tables 2 and 3, respectively]

Name of SIP provision

Applicable geographic or nonattainment area or title/

subject

State submittal date

EPA approval date

Explanation

The State of Arizona Air Pollution Control Implementation Plan

* * * * * * *

Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas

* * * * * * *

SIP Revision: Gila County, Arizona RACT Analysis and Negative Declarations for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS

Gila County portion of Phoenix-Mesa nonattainment area for 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS

March 26, 2025

May 22, 2026, 91 FR [insert

Federal Register

page where the document begins]

Adopted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on March 24, 2025.

* * * * * * *

Table 1 is divided into three parts: Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2) State Implementation Plan Elements (excluding Part D Elements and Plans), Part D Elements and Plans (other than for the Metropolitan Phoenix or Tucson Areas), and Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas.

3. Section 52.122 is amended by adding paragraph (a)(4) to read as follows:

§ 52.122

Negative declarations.

(a) * * *

(4) Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

(i) The following negative declarations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS were adopted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for the Gila County portion of the Phoenix-Mesa 2015 ozone nonattainment area.

CTG document No.