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Adequacy Status of the Atlanta Early Progress 8-Hour Ozone Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for Transportation Conformity Purposes

 
[Federal Register: April 9, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 67)]
[Notices]
[Page 17550-17551]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ap07-72]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[GA-78-200703; FRL-8296-1]

Adequacy Status of the Atlanta Early Progress 8-Hour Ozone Motor
Vehicle Emission Budgets for Transportation Conformity Purposes

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 Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs) in the Atlanta Early
Progress State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted on January 16,
2007, by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD) of the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, are adequate for
transportation conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the
Atlanta area must use the MVEBs from the January 16, 2007, Atlanta
Early Progress SIP for future conformity determinations for the 8-hour
ozone standard.

DATES: These MVEBs are effective April 24, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynorae Benjamin, Environmental
Engineer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning
Branch, Air Quality Modeling and Transportation Section, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Ms. Benjamin can also be reached
by telephone at (404) 562-9040, or via electronic mail at 
benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov. The finding is available at EPA's conformity
Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that EPA has
already made. EPA Region 4 sent a letter to GA EPD on January 24, 2007,
stating that the MVEBs in the Atlanta Early Progress SIP, submitted on
January 16, 2007, are adequate. The Atlanta 8-hour ozone nonattainment
area is comprised of the following twenty counties: Barrow, Bartow,
Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette,
Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale,
Spalding and Walton. EPA's adequacy comment period ran from October 30,
2006, through November 29, 2006. During EPA's adequacy comment period
no adverse comments were received. This finding has also been announced
on EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/
transconf/pastsips.htm. The adequate MVEBs are provided in the
following table:

                       Atlanta 8-Hour Ozone MVEBs
                             [Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC..........................................................     306.75
NOX..........................................................     172.27
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990. EPA's conformity rule requires that
transportation plans, programs and projects conform to state air
quality implementation plans 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 whether a SIP's MVEBs are
adequate for

[[Page 17551]]

transportation conformity purposes are outlined in 40 Code of Federal
Regulations 93.118(e)(4). We have described the process for determining
the adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in our July 1, 2004, final
rulemaking entitled, `` Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for
the New 8-hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards and Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing Areas;
Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments: Response to Court Decision
and Additional Rule Changes'' (69 FR 40004). Please note that an
adequacy review is separate from EPA's completeness review, and it also
should not be used to prejudge EPA's ultimate approval of the SIP. Even
if EPA finds the MVEBs adequate, the Agency may later determine that
the SIP itself is not approvable.
    On December 22, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit issued a decision on EPA's Phase I rule implementing
the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)
(D.C. Cir. No. 04-1200). EPA is currently analyzing the decision in
detail. EPA's adequacy finding on the MVEBs in the Early Progress SIP
for the Atlanta 8-hour nonattainment area is not affected by the
court's decision and does not address any other requirements that may
be affected by the decision. EPA's adequacy finding determines only
that the budgets are adequate for the specific purpose submitted, and
provides no conclusions on what requirements may ultimately apply in
the area as a result of the court decision.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: March 29, 2007.
J.I. Palmer, Jr.,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. E7-6620 Filed 4-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 

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