36440 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices

23, 2000. This finding 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

Submissions for Conformity’’). The

website will contain a detailed analysis

of our adequacy finding and our

responses to the public comments.

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

SIP’s budgets are adequate for

conformity purposes are outlined in 40

CFR 93.118(e)(4).

Please note that an adequacy finding

of the mobile budgets of 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 guidance

memorandum dated May 14, 1999 and

titled ‘‘Conformity Guidance on

Implementation of March 2, 1999

Conformity Court Decision’’. We

followed this guidance in making this

adequacy finding for the budgets

contained in the revised Phase II SIPs

submitted on February 9, 2000,

February 14, 2000 and February 16,

2000 by Virginia, Maryland, and the

District, respectively. You may obtain a

copy of this guidance from EPA’s

conformity web site: http://

www.epa.gov/oms/traq (once there,

click on the ‘‘Conformity’’ button) or by

calling the contact name listed in 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. 00–14599 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6713–5]

Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle

Emissions Budgets in Submitted State

Implementation Plans for

Transportation Conformity Purposes;

Delaware; Revised Phase II SIP for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the

revised motor vehicle emissions budgets

(budgets) contained in the revised Phase

II Plan for the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton Ozone Nonattainment Area

submitted by the State of Delaware as a

State Implementation Plan (SIP)

revision are adequate for transportation

conformity purposes. The State of

Delaware submitted its revised 2005

attainment demonstration (attainment

plan) for the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton Ozone Nonattainment Area on

January 24, 2000. On February 3, 2000,

Delaware submitted and its Post 1999

Rate-of-Progress (ROP) Plan (for

milestone year 2002) for the Delaware

portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton area , Kent and New Castle

Counties. The combination of the

attainment plan and Post 99 ROP plan

are commonly referred to as the Phase

II plan. EPA has found the budgets in

the revised Phase II Plan submitted by

the State of Delaware for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

Ozone Nonattainment Area 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

Delaware Department of Natural

Resources and Environmental Control

(DNREC) 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 (NOX). The words

‘‘revised Phase II SIP’’ in this document

refers to the 2005 attainment

demonstration for the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Trenton Ozone

Nonattainment Area submitted to EPA

by the DNREC on January 24, 2000 and

the Post 1999 ROP plan (2002) for the

Delaware portion of the area submitted

to EPA by DNREC on February 3, 2000.

The Phase II SIP includes the attainment

demonstration for the one-hour National

Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)

for ozone for the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Trenton Ozone

Nonattainment Area and the Post 99

ROP plan (2002) for the Delaware

portion of the area.

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.

The State of Delaware submitted a

revised 2005 attainment plan for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

Ozone Nonattainment Area to EPA on

January 24, 2000 and a Post 1999 ROP

plan (2002) for the Delaware portion of

the area on February 3, 2000. On March

2, 2000, we posted the availability of the

revised Phase II plan and the budgets

contained in the plan on our conformity

website for the purpose of soliciting

public comment on the adequacy of the

mobile budgets. The comment period

closed on April 3, 2000.

On May 31, 2000, we sent a letter to

DNREC that constituted final Agency

actions on the adequacy of the budgets

contained in the revised Phase II SIP.

Those actions were EPA’s findings that

the budgets are adequate for

transportation conformity purposes. As

a result of our findings, the budgets

contained in Delaware’s revised Phase II

SIP for the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton 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

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 36441

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 budgets in a submitted SIP is separate

from EPA’s completeness determination

of that SIP, and separate from EPA’s

final action as to approve or disapprove

the SIP. 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

May 31, 2000 adequacy findings for the

budgets contained in the Delaware’s

January 24, 2000 submittal of its revised

2005 attainment plan for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

Ozone Nonattainment Area and in its

February 3, 2000 submittal of its Post

1999 ROP plan (2002) for the Delaware

portion of the area. 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. 00–14600 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6713–6]

Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle

Budgets in Submitted State

Implementation Plans for

Transportation Conformity Purposes;

Maryland; Revised Phase II Plan for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

Ozone Nonattainment Area (Cecil

County)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the

revised motor vehicle emissions budgets

(budgets) contained in the revised Phase

II Plan for the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton Ozone Nonattainment Area

submitted by the Maryland Department

of the Environment (MDE) as State

Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions are

adequate for transportation conformity

purposes. The revised Phase II Plan was

submitted to EPA on December 21,

1999. Maryland’s revised Phase II Plan

consists of the 2005 attainment

demonstration for the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Trenton nonattainment area

and the 2002 and 2005 Post 99 Rate-ofProgress (ROP) plans for the Maryland

portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton Nonattainment Area, Cecil

County. EPA has found the budgets in

Maryland’s revised Phase II Plan for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

nonattainment area 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

Maryland Department of the

Environment. These adequacy findings

are effective on June 23, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

T. Wentworth, P.E., U.S. EPA, Region

III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA

19103 at (215) 814–2183 or by e-mail at:

wentworth.paul@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document ‘‘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

(NOX). The word ‘‘SIP’’ in this

document refers to the revised Phase II

Plan for the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton nonattainment area submitted

on December 21, 1999. The revised

Phase II Plan includes the 2005

attainment demonstration for the onehour National Ambient Air Quality

Standard (NAAQS) for ozone for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

nonattainment area and the Post 99 ROP

plans (2002 and 2005) for the Maryland

portion of the Philadelphia-WilmingtonTrenton nonattainment area, Cecil

County.

On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit

Court ruled that budgets contained in

submitted SIPs cannot be used for

conformity determinations until EPA

has affirmatively found them adequate.

By a transmittal letter dated December

21, 1999, the Maryland Department of

the Environment formally submitted

revisions to the Phase II Plan for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

Ozone Nonattainment Area. On March

2, 2000, we posted the availability of the

Revised Phase II Plan and the budgets

on our conformity website for the

purpose of soliciting public comment on

the adequacy of the budgets. The

comment period closed on April 3,

2000.

On May 31, 2000, EPA Region III sent

a letter to the Maryland Department of

the Environment which constitute final

Agency actions on the adequacy of the

budgets contained in the revised Phase

II SIP. Those actions were EPA’s

findings that the budgets of the revised

Phase II plan submitted by MDE for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton area

are adequate for transportation

conformity purposes. As a result of our

May 31, 2000 findings, the attainment

budgets and the ROP budgets contained

in Maryland’s December 21, 1999

revised Phase II SIP for the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

nonattainment area may be used for

future conformity determinations.

This is an announcement of adequacy

findings that we have 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 Submissions for

Conformity’’). The website will contain

a detailed analysis of our adequacy

findings and our responses to the public

comments.

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

for budgets contained in a SIP is

separate from EPA’s completeness

determination of the SIP submission,

and separate from EPA’s action to

approve or disapprove the SIP. 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 guidance

memorandum dated May 14, 1999 and

titled ‘‘Conformity Guidance on

Implementation of March 2, 1999

Conformity Court Decision’’. We

followed this guidance in making these

adequacy findings of the budgets in

Maryland’s revised Phase II plan. You

may obtain a copy of this guidance from

EPA’s conformity web site: http://

www.epa.gov/oms/traq (once there,

click on the ‘‘Conformity’’ button) or by

calling the contact name listed in FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of

this notice.