Adequacy Determination for the St. Louis Area Ozone Maintenance
State Implementation Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes; State
of Missouri
[Federal Register: January 26, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 16)]
[Notices]
[Page 3701-3702]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ja05-70]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[R07-OAR-2005-MO-0001; FRL-7863-4]
Adequacy Determination for the St. Louis Area Ozone Maintenance
State Implementation Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes; State
of Missouri
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of adequacy determination.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is informing the public that we have found
the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEB) for volatile organic
compounds and nitrogen oxides in the Missouri portion of the St. Louis
area adequate for conformity purposes. The State of Missouri
established MVEBs for 2007. The emission estimates for 2007 were
included in the 1-hour ozone maintenance plan based on projected
emission inventories for that year. This Notice formalizes the 2007
emissions estimates as budgets for future conformity determinations,
including the conformity determination that is required by June 15,
2005, under the 8-hour ozone standard.
DATES: This rule is effective February 10, 2005.
ADDRESSES: The finding and the response to comments will be available
at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/traqconf.htm
(click on ``Adequacy Web Pages'').
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may also contact Heather Hamilton,
Environmental Protection Agency, 901 N. 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas
66101, or by e-mail at hamilton.heather@epa.gov, telephone (913) 551-
7039.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act. EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation
plans, programs, and projects conform to State Implementation Plans
(SIPs) and established the criteria and procedures for determining
whether or not they do. Conformity to a SIP means that transportation
activities will not produce new air quality violations, worsen existing
violations, or delay timely attainment of the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards. The SIPs must establish MVEBs to ensure that
conformity is achieved.
The criteria by which we determine whether SIP motor vehicle
emission budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in
40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). We applied these criteria in finding that the
submitted budgets are adequate.
We sent a letter to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on
December 17, 2004, stating that the motor vehicle emissions budgets in
the St. Louis area for 2007 were found to be adequate. These budgets
were projected emissions in the 1-hour ozone maintenance plan for St.
Louis, although EPA approved a MVEB for
[[Page 3702]]
2014 as part of its approval of the maintenance plan. Because St. Louis
must achieve the 8-hour ozone standard by 2010, budgets for an earlier
year were determined to be necessary. The State's budgets for 2007 were
approved through the adequacy process to be used for future conformity
determinations. A conformity determination is required by June 15,
2005, for the 8-hour ozone standard. The 2007 budget will be used in
that determination.
On March 2, 1999, the DC Circuit Court ruled that submitted SIPs
cannot be used for conformity determinations until EPA has
affirmatively found them adequate. As a result of our adequacy finding,
the St. Louis area may use the 2007 budget for future conformity
determinations.
We described our process for determining the adequacy of submitted
SIP budgets in a guidance memorandum dated May 14, 1999, entitled,
``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999, Conformity
Court Decision.'' We followed this guidance in making our adequacy
determination. The proposed budget was posted on the Adequacy Web site
on November 3, 2004. The comment period closed on December 2, 2004, and
no comments were received. This action provides notice that the 2007
MVEB for the Missouri portion of the St. Louis area is adequate for
conformity purposes.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: January 11, 2005.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 05-1372 Filed 1-25-05; 8:45 am]
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