### ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-R04-0AR-2010-0666-201032; 

### FRL- ] Adequacy Status ofthe Knoxville, Tennessee 1997 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan MotorVehicle Emission Budgetsfor Transportation Conformity Purposes
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

### ACTION: Notice ofAdequacy. 

### SUMMARY: EPA is notifying.the public that ithas found that the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) contained in the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for the Knoxville, Tennessee 1997 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan are adequate for transportation confonnity purposes. This revision was submitted on July 14,2010, by the Tennessee Department ofEnvironment and Conservation (IDEC). The Knoxville 1997 8-Hour ozone nonattainment area (hereafterreferred to as "the Knoxville Area") for which MVEBs are established in today's notice is comprised ofthe entire counties of Anderson, Blount, Jefferson, Knox, Sevier, and Loudon as well as the portion ofCocke County that falls within the boundaries ofthe Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On March 2, 1999, the United States Court ofAppeals for the District ofColumbia Circuit (DC Circuit) ruled that submitted.sIPs cannotbe used for transportation conformity detenninations until EPA has affmnatively found them adequate. As aresult ofEPA's finding, the Knoxville Area must use the MVEBs for future confonnity detenninations for the 1997 8-hourozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).


### DATES: These MVEBs are effective [Insert date 15 days afterpublication].

### FOR FURTHERINFORMATION CONTACf: Kelly Sheckler, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Ms. Shecklercan also be reached by telephone at (404) 562-9222, or viaelectronic mail at sheckler.kelly@epa.gov. The fmding is available at EPA's confonnity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq!stateresources/transconf!currsips.htm.


### SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is simply an announcement ofa finding that EPA has already made. EPA, Region 4, sent a letterto TDEC onJuly 20, 2010, stating that the MVEBs identified for Knoxville in Tennessee's maintenance SIP revision, submitted onJuly 14,2010, are adequate and mustbeused for transportation conformity detenninations in the Knoxville Area. Originally, onJune 11,2010, TDEC submitted its maintenance plan for parallel processing which allowed EPA to initiate our public commentperiod for adequacy ofthe MVEBs contained inTennessee's maintenance plan.
EPA posted the availability ofthe Knoxville Area MVEBs on EPA's Web site on June 14,2010, as part ofthe adequacy process, for the purpose ofsoliciting comments. The adequacy comment period ran from June 15,2010, through July 14,2010. During EPA's adequacy commentperiod, no comments were received on the Knoxville Area MVEBs. Through this notice, EPA is infonning the public that these MVEBs are adequate for transportation confonnity. This finding has also been announced on EPA's confonnity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq!stateresources/transconf!pastsips.htm. The adequate MVEBs are provided in the following table:



### 2KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 8-HOUR OZONE MVEBS [Tons per day]

l 

### 2024- 

## NOx 36.32 

## VOC 25.19 Transportation confonnity is required by section 176(c) ofthe Clean Air Act. EPA's confonnity rule, 40 CFR Part93, requires thattransportation plans, programs and projects confonn to state air quality implementation plans and establishes the criteria and procedures for detennining whether or not they do so. Confonnity to a SIP means that transportation activities will notproduce new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, ordelay timely attainmentofthe NAAQS. The criteriaby which EPA detennines whether a SIP's MVEBs are adequate for transportation confonnity purposes are outlined in40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). We have also described the process for detennining the adequacy ofsubmitted SIP budgets in ourJuly 1,2004, final rulemaking entitled, "Transportation Confonnity Rule Amendments for the New 8-Hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing Areas; Transportation Confonnity Rule Amendments: Response to CourtDecision and Additional Rule Changes" (69 FR40004). Please note that an adequacy review is separate from EPA's completeness review, and it should notbeused to prejudge EPA's ultimate approval ofTennessee's 1997 8-hour
ozone SIP revision for the Knoxville Area. Even ifEPA finds a budget adequate, the SIP revision could laterbe disapproved.



### 3Within 24 months from the effective date ofthis notice, the transportation partners will need to demonstrate conformity to the new MVEBs, 

### ifthe demonstration has not already been made, pursuantto 40 CPR 93.l04(e). See 73 PR 4419 (January 24, 2008).

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Dated: 

# 1/**~J~IIJ** j) Sep 3, 2010

# 12~(k A. Stan}ey Meiburg Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.



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