[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 37368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15030]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6715-7]


Adequacy Status of Submitted State Implementation Plans for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes: Houston-Galveston Area (HGA) 
Attainment Demonstration SIP for Ozone

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the EPA is announcing that the motor vehicle 
emissions budgets contained in the submitted HGA Attainment 
Demonstration State Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone are adequate 
for transportation conformity purposes. As a result of this 
determination, the budgets from the submitted attainment SIP must be 
used for transportation conformity determinations in the HGA. The EPA 
received two public comment letters.

DATES: These budgets are effective June 29, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. J. Behnam, P. E., The U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202; 
telephone (214) 665-7247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Transportation conformity is required by 
section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act. The EPA's conformity rule, 40 CFR 
part 93, 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 EPA determines 
whether a SIP's motor vehicle emission budgets are adequate for 
conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). An adequacy 
review is separate from EPA's completeness review, and it 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.
    On March 2, 1999, the D. C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that 
budgets contained in submitted SIPs cannot be used for conformity 
determinations unless EPA has affirmatively found the conformity budget 
adequate. We have described our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in the policy guidance dated May 14, 1999, and 
titled Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 
Conformity Court Decision. You may obtain a copy of this guidance from 
EPA's conformity web site: http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq (once there, 
click on ``conformity'' and then scroll down) or by contacting us at 
the address above.
    By this notice, we are simply announcing the adequacy determination 
that we have already made. On November 15, 1999, we received the HGA 
attainment SIP which contained a volatile organic compounds budget of 
79.00 tons/day and a nitrogen oxides budget of 195.00 tons/day. The 
public comment period closed on May 1, 2000. We received two public 
comment letters. We responded to all comments. After the public comment 
process, we sent a letter to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation 
Commission stating that these budgets are adequate and they must be 
used for transportation conformity determinations, and we enclosed a 
copy of our response to comments.
    Therefore, the budgets contained in the submitted HGA attainment 
SIP as referenced above must be used for transportation conformity by 
the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Houston-Galveston Area.

    Dated: May 31, 2000.
Gregg A. Cooke,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 00-15030 Filed 6-13-00; 8:45 am]
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