Adequacy Determination for the Kansas City Area Ozone Maintenance
State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Transportation Conformity Purposes
[Federal Register: June 5, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 108)]
[Notices]
[Page 33690]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05jn03-57]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7507-6]
Adequacy Determination for the Kansas City Area Ozone Maintenance
State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Transportation Conformity Purposes
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of adequacy determination.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is informing the public that we have found
the motor vehicle emissions budgets for volatile organic compounds and
nitrogen oxides in the Kansas City area adequate for conformity
purposes. The budgets were submitted with the Kansas City Maintenance
Plan for Control of Ozone which addresses the second ten-year period
from the years 2003 through 2012. The Plan was submitted under two
separate SIP submittals by the state of Kansas and the state of
Missouri. The motor vehicle emissions budgets in each SIP were for the
Kansas City Maintenance area and the budgets were the same for both
states. We have determined that the budget submitted by the state of
Kansas is adequate, and that the budget submitted by the state of
Missouri is adequate.
DATE: This finding is effective June 20, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding and the response to
comments will be available at EPA's conformity Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/traqconf.htm (click on ``Adequacy
Web Pages'').
You may also contact Heather Hamilton, Environmental Protection
Agency, 901 N. 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101, or e-mail at
hamilton.heather@epa.gov, telephone (913) 551-7039.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
We sent a letter to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment
and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on March 17, 2003,
stating that the motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Kansas City
area submitted with the Kansas City Maintenance Plan for Control of
Ozone were adequate. The Kansas City Maintenance Plan for Control of
Ozone addresses the second ten-year period from the years 2003 through
2012.
On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that submitted SIPs
cannot be used for conformity determinations until EPA has
affirmatively found them adequate. As a result of our adequacy finding,
the Kansas City Area must use the motor vehicle emissions budgets from
the submitted Kansas City Maintenance Plan for Ozone for future
conformity determinations.
We described our process for determining the adequacy of submitted
SIP budgets in a guidance memorandum dated May 14, 1999, entitled,
``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999, Conformity
Court Decision.'' We followed this guidance in making our adequacy
determination.
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.
The criteria by which we determine whether SIP motor vehicle
emission budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in
40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). We applied these criteria in finding that the
submitted budgets are 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 SIP. Even if we find a
budget adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671 q.
Dated: May 22, 2003.
James B. Gulliford,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 03-14195 Filed 6-4-03; 8:45 am]
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