[Federal Register: February 15, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 30)]
[Notices]
[Page 7734]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15fe05-63]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[CA 313-0476; FRL-7872-9]
Adequacy Status of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution
Control District, California, Submitted Ozone Attainment Plan for
Transportation Conformity Purposes
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of adequacy determination.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found
that the motor vehicle emissions budgets contained in the submitted
2004 State Implementation Plan for Ozone in the San Joaquin Valley are
adequate for transportation conformity purposes.
As a result of our finding, the various transportation planning
agencies in the San Joaquin Valley and the Federal Highway
Administration must use the VOC and NOX motor vehicle
emissions budgets from the submitted 2004 State Implementation Plan for
Ozone in the San Joaquin Valley for future conformity determinations.
DATES: This determination is effective March 2, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding is available at EPA's
conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/oms/transp/traqconf.htm (once
there, click on the ``Transportation Conformity'' link, then look for
``Adequacy Web Pages'').
You may also contact David Wampler, U.S. EPA, Region IX, Air
Division AIR-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; (415)
972-3975, or wampler.david@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces our finding that the
emissions budgets contained in the 2004 State Implementation Plan \1\
for Ozone in the San Joaquin Valley (``Ozone Plan''), submitted by the
State of California on behalf of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air
Pollution Control District on November 15, 2004, are adequate for
transportation conformity purposes. EPA Region IX made this finding in
a letter to the State of California, Air Resources Board on February 7,
2005. We are also announcing this finding on our conformity Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/oms/transp/traqconf.htm (once there, click on the
``Transportation Conformity'' link, then look for ``Adequacy Web
Pages'').
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\1\ The submitted Ozone Plan includes a rate-of-progress
demonstration for milestone years 2008 and 2010 and a demonstration
that the San Joaquin Valley will attain by no later than the 2010
attainment date for areas classified ``extreme'' under the federal
1-hour ozone standard.
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Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act. Our conformity rule requires that transportation plans,
programs, and projects conform to state air quality implementation
plans (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 we determine whether a SIP's motor vehicle
emission budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in
40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). One of these criteria is that the motor vehicle
emissions budgets, when considered together with all other emission
sources, is consistent with applicable requirements for the reasonable
further progress plan. We have preliminarily determined that the 2004
State Implementation Plan for Ozone in the San Joaquin Valley plan
meets the necessary rate of progress reductions for milestone years
2008 and 2010 and demonstrates attainment by no later than 2010.
Therefore, the motor vehicle emissions budgets can be found adequate.
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 submitted plan itself. Even if we find a budget
adequate, the submitted plan could later be disapproved.
We have described our process for determining the adequacy of
submitted SIP budgets in guidance (May 14, 1999 memo titled
``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 Conformity
Court Decision''). This guidance is now reflected in the amended
transportation conformity rule, July 1, 2004 (69 FR 40004), and in the
correction notice, July 20, 2004 (69 FR 43325). We followed this
process in making our adequacy determination on the motor vehicle
emissions budgets contained in the 2004 State Implementation Plan for
Ozone in the San Joaquin Valley.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: February 8, 2005.
Karen Schwinn,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 05-2890 Filed 2-14-05; 8:45 am]
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