41068 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 128 / Monday, July 3, 2000 / Notices

Virginia. This adequacy finding is

effective on July 18, 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) for

the out-years 2015 and 2020. The word

‘‘SIP’’ in this document refers to the

revised Phase II SIPs submitted on

March 22, 2000, March 31, 2000 and

March 31, 2000 by the District,

Maryland and Virginia , respectively.

The revised Phase II SIPs consist of the

revised attainment plan for the one-hour

National Ambient Air Quality Standard

(NAAQS) for ozone for the Metropolitan

Washington DC 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 District, Maryland, and

Virginia each formally submitted

revisions to the attainment plan for the

purpose of establishing out-year budgets

for 2015 and 2020 for the Metropolitan

Washington DC Ozone Nonattainment

Area. The revised Phase II SIPs

submittal dates are:

The District of Columbia—March 22,

2000;

Maryland—March 31, 2000;

Virginia—March 31, 2000.

On April 24, 2000, we posted the

availability of these 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 May 24, 2000.

On June 22, 2000, EPA Region III sent

letters to the District of Columbia, the

State of Maryland and the

Commonwealth of Virginia 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 budgets

contained in the submitted revised

attainment plans 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 June 22, 2000.

The effective date of this finding is July

18, 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 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

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 March 22, 2000, March 31,

2000 and March 31, 2000 by the District,

Maryland, and Virginia, 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 23, 2000.

Bradley M. Campbell,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 00–16736 Filed 6–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[IL202–1; FRL–6728–4]

Adequacy Status of East St. Louis,

Illinois Submitted Ozone Attainment

Demonstration for Transportation

Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is

notifying the public that EPA has found

that the motor vehicle emissions

budgets in the Illinois portion of the St.

Louis ozone attainment demonstration

are adequate for conformity purposes.

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

Court ruled that submitted State

Implementation Plans (SIPs) cannot be

used for conformity determinations

until EPA has affirmatively found them

adequate. As a result of our finding, the

St. Louis area can use the motor vehicle

emissions budgets for volatile organic

compounds and oxides of nitrogen from

the submitted ozone attainment

demonstration for future conformity

determinations.

DATES: These budgets are effective July

18, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

finding and the response to comments

will be available at EPA’s conformity

website: http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq,

(once there, click on the ‘‘Conformity’’

button, then look for ‘‘Adequacy Review

of SIP Submissions for Conformity’’).

Patricia Morris, Environmental

Scientist, Regulation Development

Section (AR–18J), Air Programs Branch,

Air and Radiation Division, United

States Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604,

(312) 353–8656,

morris.patricia@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Throughout this document, whenever

‘‘we’’, ‘‘us’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean

EPA. Today’s notice is simply an

announcement of a finding that we have

already made. EPA Region 5 sent a letter

to the Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency on June 12, 2000, stating that

the motor vehicle emissions budgets for

volatile organic compounds and oxides

of nitrogen in the Illinois portion of the

St. Louis submitted ozone attainment

demonstration for 2003 are adequate.

This finding will also be announced on

EPA’s conformity website: http://

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

click on the ‘‘Conformity’’ button, then

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 128 / Monday, July 3, 2000 / Notices 41069

look for ‘‘Adequacy Review of SIP

Submissions for Conformity’’).

Transportation conformity is required

by section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act.

EPA’s conformity rule requires that

transportation plans, programs, and

projects conform to state air quality

implementation plans 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 we determine

whether a SIP’s motor vehicle emission

budgets are adequate for conformity

purposes are outlined in 40 CFR

93.118(e)(4). Please note that an

adequacy review is separate from EPA’s

completeness review, and it also 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.

We’ve described our process for

determining the adequacy of submitted

SIP budgets in guidance (May 14, 1999

memo titled ‘‘Conformity Guidance on

Implementation of March 2, 1999

Conformity Court Decision’’). We

followed this guidance in making our

adequacy determination.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Dated: June 16, 2000.

Francis X. Lyons,

Regional Administrator, Region 5.

[FR Doc. 00–16757 Filed 6–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6728–3]

Community Based In-Home Asthma

Environmental Education and

Management

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Request for grant proposals.

SUMMARY: Request for Proposals for

Community Based In-Home Asthma

Environmental Education and

Management. This is an announcement

of the availability of FY 2000 grant

funds for the Environmental Protection

Agency’s (EPA) Indoor Environments

Division/Office of Radiation and Indoor

Air. Section 103(a)(1) of the Clean Air

Act authorizes the Administrator to

conduct and promote the coordination

and acceleration of research,

investigations, experiments,

demonstrations, surveys and studies

relating to the causes, effects (including

health and welfare effects), extent,

prevention, and control of air pollution

by ((b)(3)) making grants to air pollution

control agencies, to other public or

nonprofit private agencies, institutions,

and organizations, and to individuals,

for purposes stated in 103(a)(1). The

intended use of these funds is to

support pilot studies of asthma

education, including asthma

management and indoor asthma trigger

identification/mitigation, in existing

Community-Based In-Home

Environmental Management or

Education programs. EPA is awarding

these grants to support the recipients to

conduct pilot studies of in-home asthma

education and assess the effectiveness of

their in-home approaches to educating

children with asthma, their parents and/

or primary care givers, and other people

with asthma, including how to identify

the indoor triggers to which the

asthmatic(s) in the household may be

sensitive, and how to mitigate them.

EPA plans to award two grants to each

of two organizations for $100,000.00

each, however the final number of

awards and award amounts may vary

depending on proposal quality and

resource availability.

DATES: Letter of Intent due by July 7,

2000. Pre-application Assistance

Conference Call dates are:

1. July 11, 2000, 12 noon until 2pm

Eastern Daylight Time

2. July 14, 2000, 12 noon until 2pm

Eastern Daylight Time

Application Deadline: Postmarked no

later than August 7, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send Letter of Intent and

Applications to the attention of Sheila

Brown, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,

NW. (6609J), Washington, DC 20460

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sheila Brown (202) 564–9370

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The focus

for funding is to: (a) Reduce the impact

of in-home environmental asthma

triggers on children and adults with

asthma; (b) strengthen the capacity of

individual households to control inhome environmental asthma triggers;

and (c) assess the effectiveness and

sustainability of strategies for in-home

environmental asthma trigger

management and education within

communities. Completed applications,

including work plans and detailed

budgets, are due to the Indoor

Environments Division no later than

August 7, 2000. If you intend to apply,

you must send a letter of intent

postmarked no later than July 7, 2000 to

Attention: Sheila Brown,1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (6609J),

Washington, D.C. 20460, or an e-mail to

<brown.sheila@epa.gov> no later than 3

pm (EDT) on July 7, 2000, indicating the

name of your organization, the name

and phone number of a contact person

in the organization, whether you expect

to participate in one of the pre-award

technical assistance conference calls

(see page 5), and if so, on which day.

Should demand exceed capacity, we

will schedule an additional call and

inform you by telephone of the date and

time.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for funding, an

applicant must:

(1) Demonstrate the ability to

implement an in-home education

program which includes: In-home

identification and assessment of

potential indoor environmental asthma

triggers; direct one-on-one education in

the home on asthma, asthma

management, and mitigation of indoor

environmental triggers to which

household members with asthma may

be sensitive;

(2) Meet the standards for eligibility

as identified in Section 103 (3)(b) of the

Clean Air Act (page 1, paragraph 1);

(3) Request no more than $100,000.00

to accomplish pilot project objectives;

(4) Properly complete and submit

standard form SF–424 and a work plan

no greater than seven pages in length (in

no smaller than 12 point type) by the

established due date;

(5) Commit to complete the proposed

pilot project activities within 18–24

months of grant award.

Ranking Criteria

Applications will be ranked on the

basis of the criteria listed below.

Ranking for each criterion is based on a

scale of 1 (does not meet the

requirement) to 10 (exceeds the

requirement).

(1) Applicant organization currently is

established and operates within a base

community, performing community

level work. (1–10 points).

(2) Applicant organization currently

is, or is affiliated with, an established

in-home environmental management

and/or education program. (1–10 points)

(3) Education materials and

assessment tools developed or selected

for use in conducting in-home

education and assessment pilot project

activities address established indoor

environmental triggers of asthma

including: environmental (secondhand)

tobacco smoke, house dust mites,

cockroaches, molds, and animal dander.

Materials are compatible with the