[Federal Register: March 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 58)]
[Notices]
[Page 15325-15326]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25mr04-64]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[CA116-NOA; FRL-7639-8]
Adequacy Status of the South Coast and Coachella Valley, CA;
Attainment and Maintenance Plans 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 California plans
for attainment of the 1-hour ozone, PM10, and carbon monoxide (CO)
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and maintenance of the
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) NAAQS in the South Coast, and attainment of the
PM10 NAAQS in the Coachella Valley, are adequate for transportation
conformity purposes. As a result of our finding, the Southern
California Association of Governments, the Federal Highway
Administration, and the Federal Transit Authority must use the motor
vehicle emissions budgets from the submitted plan for future conformity
determinations.
DATES: This determination is effective April 9, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding is available at EPA's
conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/reg9sips.htm.
You may also contact Dave Jesson, U.S. EPA, Region IX,
Air Division, AIR-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901;
(415) 972-3957 or jesson.david@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces our finding that the
following emissions budgets contained in the 2003 South Coast Air
Quality Management Plan and the 2003 Coachella Valley PM10 State
[[Page 15326]]
Implementation Plan, submitted by the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) on January 9, 2004, are adequate for transportation conformity
purposes: 1-hour ozone budgets for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) for the years 2005, 2008, and 2010, as
part of the 1-hour ozone attainment plan for the South Coast Air Basin;
PM10 budgets for VOC, NOX, and PM10 for the years 2003 and
2006, as part of the PM10 attainment plan for the South Coast; CO
budget for CO for the year 2002, as part of the CO attainment plan for
the South Coast; NO2 budget for NOX for the year 2003, as
part of the NO2 maintenance plan for the South Coast Air Basin; and
PM10 budgets for PM10 for the years 2003 and 2006, as part of the PM10
attainment plan for the Coachella Valley. EPA Region IX made these
findings in letters to CARB on March 11, 2004. We are also announcing
these findings on our conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/reg9sips.htm
.
The methodology for estimating paved road dust emissions in the
South Coast and Coachella Valley PM10 plans and budgets is consistent
with EPA's AP-42 emissions factors, with one exception: California did
not use correction factor C in the current version of AP-42, which
subtracts out MOBILE6.2 1980's fleet exhaust emissions, brake wear, and
tire wear. California-specific roadway silt loading inputs to the
emission factor equation were derived from measurements by Midwest
Research Institute. The unpaved road dust emissions factor was based on
measurements performed by the University of California, Davis, and the
Desert Research Institute. We are specifically approving the State's
reentrained dust methodologies for paved and unpaved roads for use in
future conformity analyses.
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 conform. 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
emissions budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in
40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). One of these criteria is that the plan provide for
attainment or maintenance (as appropriate) of the relevant ambient air
quality standard. We have preliminarily determined that the South Coast
SIP submittal provides for progress and attainment of the 1-hour ozone,
PM10, and CO NAAQS, and maintenance of the nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
NAAQS, and that the budgets associated with the plans are consistent
with the plan and, therefore, can be found adequate. Similarly, we have
preliminarily determined that the Coachella Valley SIP submittal
provides for progress and attainment of the PM10 NAAQS, and that the
budgets associated with the plan are consistent with the plan and,
therefore, can be found adequate.
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''). We followed this guidance in making our adequacy
determination on the budgets in the South Coast and Coachella Valley
SIP submittals.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: March 12, 2004.
Laura Yoshii,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 04-6696 Filed 3-24-04; 8:45 am]
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