Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 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 PhiladelphiaWilmington-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]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6713–3]

Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle

Budgets in Submitted State

Implementation Plans for

Transportation Conformity Purposes;

District of Columbia, Maryland,

Virginia; Revised Phase II Plans for the

Metropolitan Washington D.C. 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 Plans for the Metropolitan

Washington D.C. Ozone Nonattainment

Area submitted by the Maryland

Department of the Environment,

Virginia Department of Environmental

Quality and the District of Columbia

Environmental Regulation

Administration as State Implementation

Plans (SIPs) revisions are adequate for

transportation conformity purposes. The

revised Phase II Plans were submitted to

EPA on February 9, 2000 (VA), February

14, 2000 (MD) and on February 16, 2000

(DC). The revised Phase II SIPs consist

of the revised attainment demonstration

(attainment plan) for the Metropolitan

Washington D.C. Ozone Nonattainment

Area. EPA has found the attainment

budgets in the submitted revised Phase

II SIPs for the Metropolitan Washington

D.C. area adequate for transportation

conformity purposes.

DATES: The finding that the budgets of

the revised attainment plan are adequate

were made in letters dated May 31, 2000

from EPA Region III to the Maryland

Department of the Environment,

Virginia Department of Environmental

Quality and the District of Columbia

Environmental Regulation

Administration 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 SIPs submitted on

February 9, 2000, February 14, 2000 and

February 16, 2000 by Virginia, Maryland

and the District, respectively. The

revised Phase II SIPs include the revised

attainment plan for the one-hour

National Ambient Air Quality Standard

(NAAQS) for ozone for the Metropolitan

Washington D.C. Nonattainment Area.

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 transmittal letters dated as shown

below, the Virginia Department of

Environmental Quality, the Maryland

Department of the Environment, and the

Washington D.C. Department of Health,

Air Quality Division each formally

submitted revisions to the attainment

plan consisting of changes to the

budgets for the Metropolitan

Washington D.C. Ozone Nonattainment

Area. The revised Phase II SIPs

submittal dates are:

Virginia—February 9, 2000

Maryland—February 14, 2000

Washington D.C.—February 16, 2000

On March 2, 2000, we posted the

availability of the revised Phase II SIPs

and their 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

letters to the Virginia Department of

Environmental Quality, the Maryland

Department of the Environment, and the

Washington D.C. Department of Health,

Air Quality Division which constituted

final Agency actions on the adequacy of

the budgets contained in the revised

Phase II SIPs. Those actions were EPA’s

finding that the mobile budgets

contained in the revised attainment plan

are adequate for transportation

conformity purposes. As a result of our

finding, the attainment budgets

contained in the submitted revised

Phase II SIPs for the Metropolitan

Washington D.C. Nonattainment Area

may be used for future conformity

determinations. This is an

announcement of an adequacy finding

that we already made on May 31, 2000.

The effective date of this finding is June

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