[Federal Register: June 7, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 110)]
[Notices]
[Page 30737-30738]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07jn01-52]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[AL-056-200106; FRL-6993-4]
Adequacy Status of the Birmingham, AL, Ozone Attainment
Demonstration 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 in the Birmingham, Alabama
ozone attainment demonstration submitted on November 1, 2000, are
adequate for conformity purposes. On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit
Court ruled that submitted State Implementation Plans (SIPs) cannot be
used for conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found
them adequate. As a result of our finding, the Birmingham ozone
nonattainment area must use the motor vehicle emissions budgets from
the submitted ozone attainment demonstration for future conformity
determinations.
DATES: This finding is effective June 22, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding and the response to
comments will be available at EPA's conformity website: http://
www.epa.gov/oms/traq, (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' button,
then look for ``Adequacy Review of SIP Submissions for Conformity'').
The SIP is available for public viewing at the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta,
Georgia, 30303. You can request a copy of the SIP submission by
contacting Kelly Sheckler, Regulatory Planning Section, United States
Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta,
Georgia 30303, Phone: (404) 562-9042, Fax: (404) 562-9019, E-mail:
Sheckler.Kelly@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have
already made. EPA Region 4 sent a letter to the Alabama Department of
Environmental Management on May 22, 2001, stating that the motor
vehicle emissions budgets in the Birmingham, Alabama, ozone attainment
demonstration for 2003 are adequate. This finding has been announced on
EPA's conformity website referenced above.
EPA Region 4 received comments on the motor vehicle emissions
budget for transportation conformity purposes contained in the
Birmingham, Alabama, 1-hour ozone attainment demonstration. EPA Region
4 has prepared a response to those comments and has posted the response
on the website referenced above.
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 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.
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 was used in making our adequacy
determination. 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). 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 action to approve or disapprove the SIP. The
SIP could later be disapproved for reasons unrelated to the
transportation conformity even though the budgets have been deemed
adequate.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
[[Page 30738]]
Dated: May 21, 2001.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 01-14375 Filed 6-6-01; 8:45 am]
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