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Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in Submitted State Implementation Plans for Transportation Conformity Purposes; Maryland; Phase II Plan for the Baltimore Ozone Nonattainment Area 



[Federal Register: February 22, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 35)]
[Notices]
[Page 8701-8702]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22fe00-49]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6541-4]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in Submitted
State Implementation Plans for Transportation Conformity Purposes;
Maryland; Phase II Plan for the Baltimore Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the revised motor vehicle emissions
budgets (hereafter referred to as ``budgets'') contained in the revised
Phase II Plan for the Baltimore Ozone Nonattainment Area submitted by
the State of Maryland as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision are
adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The State submitted
the revised Phase II plan to EPA for parallel processing on December 3,
1999, and then formally submitted it on December 21, 1999. The Phase II
SIP consists of the attainment demonstration and the two Post 99 Rate-
of-Progress (ROP) plans (2002 and 2005) for the Baltimore nonattainment
area. EPA has found the attainment budgets and the ROP budgets of the
submitted revised Phase II SIP for the Baltimore area adequate for
transportation conformity purposes.

DATES: The findings that the attainment and ROP budgets are adequate,
made in a letter dated February 15, 2000 to the Maryland Department of
the Environment, are effective on March 8, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul T. Wentworth, P.E., U.S. EPA,
Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19103 at (215) 814-2184
or by e-mail at: Wentworth.Paul@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document the terms ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' refer to EPA. The word ``budgets'' refers to the
motor vehicle emission budgets for volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and nitrogen oxides (NOX). The word ``SIP'' in this document
refers to the revised Phase II Plan for the Baltimore nonattainment
area submitted to EPA by the Maryland Department of the Environment
(MDE) for parallel processing on December 3, 1999 and formally
submitted on December 21, 1999. The Phase II Plan includes the
attainment demonstration for the one-hour National Ambient Air Quality
Standard (NAAQS) for ozone and the two Post 99 ROP plans (2002 and
2005) for the Baltimore nonattainment area.
    On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that the budgets
contained in submitted SIPs cannot be used for transportation
conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them
adequate. As a result of our findings, the attainment budgets and the
ROP budgets contained in the submitted revised Phase II SIP for the
Baltimore ozone nonattainment area may be used for future conformity
determinations.
    On April 29, 1998, MDE submitted its Phase II SIP for the Baltimore
area. That Phase II SIP contained mobile source vehicle emissions
budgets both for ROP and for attainment. On August 2, 1999, the
availability of the Phase II SIP and the motor vehicle emission budgets
was posted on EPA's conformity WEB site for the purpose of soliciting
public comment. The comment period closed on August 31, 1999, and no
comments were received. On October 26, 1999 EPA we sent a letter to MDE
which constituted final Agency actions on the adequacy of the budgets
contained in the Phase II SIP submitted on April 29, 1999. Those
actions were EPA's findings that the budgets were not adequate.
    On December 3, 1999, a revised Phase II plan with new attainment
and ROP budgets was submitted as a SIP revision by MDE for parallel
processing. The revised Phase II plan was formally submitted on
December 21, 1999. On December 21, 1999, we posted the availability of
the SIP and the motor vehicle emission budgets on our conformity
website for the purpose of soliciting public comment on the adequacy of
the mobile budgets. The comment period closed on January 20, 2000. EPA
received comments from the University of Maryland School of Law on
behalf of its client, an organization called the 1000 Friends of
Maryland.
    On February 15, 2000, we sent a letter to MDE which constituted
final Agency actions on the adequacy of the budgets contained in the
revised Phase II SIP. Those actions were EPA's findings that the
attainment budgets and the ROP budgets are adequate for transportation
conformity purposes. This is an announcement of adequacy findings that
we already made on February 15, 2000. The effective date of these
findings is March 8, 2000. These findings will also be announced on
EPA's website: http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq, (once there, click on the

[[Page 8702]]

``Conformity'' button, then look for ``Adequacy Review of SIP
Submissions for Conformity''). The website will contain a detailed
analysis of our adequacy finding and our responses to the public
comments received from the University of Maryland School of Law on
behalf of its client, the 1000 Friends of Maryland. Transportation
conformity is required by section 176 of the Clean Air Act. EPA's
conformity rule requires that transportation plans, programs, and
projects conform to SIPs and establishes the criteria and procedures
for determining whether or not they do so. Conformity to a SIP means
that transportation activities will not produce new air quality
violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of
the NAAQS. The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP's budgets
are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR
93.118(e)(4).
    Please note that an adequacy finding is separate from EPA's
completeness finding, and separate from EPA's finding whether or not
the SIP is approvable. Even if we find a budget adequate, the SIP could
later be disapproved. We describe 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 findings for the budgets contained in the revised Phase II
submitted on December 3, 1999 and December 21, 1999 by MDE. You may
obtain a copy of this guidance from EPA's conformity website referred
to above or by calling the contact name listed in the For Further
Information Contact section of this notice.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: February 15, 2000.
Bradley M. Campbell,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 00-4122 Filed 2-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 

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