[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 111 (Thursday, June 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36438-36439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14598]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6713-4]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in Submitted 
State Implementation Plans for Transportation Conformity Purposes; 
Pennsylvania; Revised Attainment and ROP Plans for the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the revised motor vehicle emissions 
budgets (budgets) contained in the revised attainment plan for the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area and in the 
revised Rate of Progress Plans (ROP) for the Pennsylvania portion of 
the area submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. The Commonwealth submitted the revised plans to 
EPA on February 25, 2000. The plans consist of the 2005 attainment 
demonstration for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone 
Nonattainment Area and the 1999, 2002, and 2005 ROP plans for the 
Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone 
Nonattainment Area. EPA has found the budgets for the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area in the revised attainment 
and ROP plans submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection (DEP) on February 25, 2000 adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes.

DATES: The findings that the budgets are adequate were made in a letter 
dated May 31, 2000 from EPA Region III to the Pennsylvania Department 
of Environmental Protection and are effective on June 23, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Budney, U.S. EPA, Region III, 
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 at (215) 814-2184 or by e-mail 
at: Budney.Larry @epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document the terms ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' refer to EPA. The word ``budgets'' refers to the 
motor vehicle emission budgets for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 
and nitrogen oxides (NO<INF>X</INF>). The words ``revised SIP'' in this 
document refers to the revised attainment plan for the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area and the revised ROP plans 
for the Pennsylvania portion of the area submitted to EPA by the 
Pennsylvania DEP on February 25, 2000. The revised SIP includes the 
revised attainment demonstration for the one-hour National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area and the revised ROP plans (1999, 2002 
and 2005) for the Pennsylvania portion of the area. The Pennsylvania 
portion of the nonattainment area consists of Philadelphia, Delaware, 
Chester, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties.
    On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that the budgets 
contained in submitted SIPs cannot be used for transportation 
conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them 
adequate.
    By a transmittal letter dated February 25, 2000, PADEP submitted 
its revised SIP for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone 
Nonattainment Area. On March 13, 2000, we posted the

[[Page 36439]]

availability of the revised SIP and motor vehicle emission budgets on 
our conformity website for the purpose of soliciting public comment on 
the adequacy of the mobile budgets. The comment period closed on April 
24, 2000.
    On May 31, 2000, we sent a letter to the Pennsylvania DEP that 
constituted final Agency actions on the adequacy of the budgets 
contained in the revised SIP. Those actions were EPA's findings that 
the budgets in the revised SIP are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. As a result of our findings, the budgets contained 
in the revised SIP submitted on February 25, 2000 by Pennsylvania DEP 
for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area may be 
used for future conformity determinations. This is an announcement of 
adequacy findings that we already made on May 31, 2000. The effective 
date of these findings is June 23, 2000. These findings will also be 
announced on EPA's 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 website will contain a detailed 
analysis of our adequacy findings and our responses to the public 
comments received.
    Transportation conformity is required by section 176 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 so. Conformity to a 
SIP means that transportation activities will not produce new air 
quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely 
attainment of the NAAQS. The criteria by which we determine whether a 
SIP's budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 40 
CFR 93.118(e)(4).
    Please note that an adequacy finding of mobile budgets in a 
submitted SIP is separate from EPA's completeness determination on that 
SIP, and separate from EPA's final action as to whether or not the SIP 
is approvable. Even if we find budgets adequate, the SIP could later be 
disapproved. We describe 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 findings for the budgets contained in the revised SIP 
submitted on February 25, 2000 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. You 
may obtain a copy of this guidance from EPA's conformity website 
referred to above or by calling the contact name listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.


    Dated: June 1, 2000.
Bradley M. Campbell,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 00-14598 Filed 6-7-00; 8:45 am]
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