[Federal Register: July 17, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 137)]
[Notices]
[Page 46970-46971]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jy02-71]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7247-1]
Adequacy Status of Submitted State Implementation Plans (SIP) for
Transportation Conformity Purposes: Baton Rouge Attainment
Demonstration SIP for Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of adequacy.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found
that the on-road motor vehicle emissions budgets contained in the Baton
Rouge serious ozone nonattainment area attainment demonstration SIP for
the Baton Rouge 5-Parish ozone nonattainment area are adequate for
transportation conformity purposes. As a result of our finding, the
budgets from the submitted attainment demonstration SIP must be used
for future conformity determinations in the Baton Rouge area.
DATES: These budgets are effective August 1, 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The essential information in this
notice will be available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://
www.epa.gov/oms/transp/conform/adequacy.htm. You may also contact Mr.
Kenneth W. Boyce, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445
Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202; telephone (214) 665-7259 or by e-mail
at: boyce.kenneth@.epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we'',
``us'', or ``our'' are used we mean EPA. The word ``budgets'' refers to
the mobile source emission budget for volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and the mobile source emissions budget for nitrogen oxides
(NOX). The word SIP in this document refers to the State
Implementation Plan revision submitted to satisfy the attainment
demonstration for ozone.
On December 28, 2001, we received the attainment demonstration SIP
for the Baton Rouge 5--Parish ozone nonattainment area. There are two
motor vehicle emissions budgets found in this plan for 2005. The
emissions budget for VOCs is 15.48 tons/day and the emissions budget
for NOX is 34.26 tons/day. On January 23, 2002, the
availability of these budgets was posted on EPA's web site for the
purpose of soliciting public comments. The comment period closed on
February 22, 2002, and we received no comments.
Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have
already made. EPA Region VI sent a letter to the Louisiana Department
of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on July 5, 2002, stating that the motor
vehicle emissions budgets in the Baton Rouge 5--Parish ozone
nonattainment area are adequate and they must be used for
transportation conformity determinations.
Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act. The EPA's conformity rule, 40 CFR part 93, requires that
transportation plans, programs, and projects conform to SIPs and
establishes 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 criteria by which EPA determines
[[Page 46971]]
whether a SIP's motor vehicle emission budgets are adequate for
conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). Please note
that an adequacy review is separate from EPA's completeness review, and
it should not be used to prejudge EPA's ultimate approval of the SIP.
Even if we find a budget adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved.
On March 2, 1999, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that
budgets contained in submitted SIPs cannot be used for conformity
determinations unless EPA has affirmatively found the conformity budget
adequate. We have described our process for determining the adequacy of
submitted SIP budgets in the policy guidance dated May 14, 1999, and
titled Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999
Conformity Court Decision. We followed this guidance in making our
adequacy determination. You may obtain a copy of this guidance from
EPA's conformity web site or by contacting us at the address above.
Dated: July 5, 2002.
Lawrence E. Starfield,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 02-17984 Filed 7-16-02; 8:45 am]
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