ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

[EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0255-201017 ; FRL- ] 

Adequacy Status of the Kentucky Portion of the Huntington-Ashland Tri-State Area 1997 

Annual PM2,5 Attainment Demonstration Insignificance Finding 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 made an insignificance 

finding through the transportation conformity adequacy process for directly emitted fine 

particulate matter (PM2,5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions as contained in the 1997 PM2,5 

attainment demonstration for the Kentucky portion of the tri-state Huntington-Ashland 

nonattainment area. The tri-state Huntington-Ashland 1997 annual PM2,5 nonattainment area is 

comprised of Boyd County, Kentucky; Cabell and Wayne Counties, West Virginia ; Lawrence 

and Scioto Counties, Ohio; and the partial Counties of Lawrence in Kentucky; Mason in West 

Virginia ; and Adams and Gallia in Ohio. On December 5, 2008, the Commonwealth of 

Kentucky, through the Division of Air Quality (DAQ), submitted an attainment demonstration 

for the 1997 annual PM2,5 standard for the Kentucky portion of the tri-state Huntington-Ashland 

area (hereafter referred to as the Ashland Area). As a result of EPA's insignificance finding, the 

Ashland Area is no longer required to perform regional emissions analyses for either directly 

emitted PM2,5 or NOx as part of future PMZ,5 conformity determinations for the 1997 annual 

PM2,5 air quality standard . This finding only relates to the Kentucky portion of the tri-state 

Huntington-Ashland 1997 PM2,5 nonattainment area. In a letter dated October 23, 2009, EPA 
informed the State of Ohio that regional mobile emissions of direct PM2.5 and NOx are 

insignificant for transportation conformity purposes as well. That insignificance finding took 

effect on December 22, 2009. EPA will review the adequacy of the West Virginia submittal in a 

separate action . 

DATES: This insignificance finding for direct PM2.5 and NOx is effective [insert date 15 days 

after date of oublication in the Federal Register ]. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dianna Smith, Environmental Scientist, U.S . 

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, Air Quality Modeling and 

Transportation Section, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Ms . Smith can also be 

reached by telephone at (404) 562-9207, or via electronic mail at smith.dianna@e,.pa.gov. The 

finding is available at EPA's conformity website: 

httn : //wwtiv. epa-e-ov_lotac~Istateresorirces/tran sconf/adeguacy. htnt 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

This notice is simply an announcement of a finding that EPA has already made. EPA 

sent a letter to DAQ on March 23, 2010, stating that regional direct PM2,5 and NOx emissions are 

insignificant from mobile sources as provided in the Kentucky portion of the 1997 annual PM2,5 

attainment demonstration for the tri-state Huntington-Ashland area. The Commonwealth of 

Kentucky submitted the 1997 annual PM2.5 attainment demonstration for the Ashland Area on 

December 5, 2008. Ohio and West Virginia provided separate submittals for their portion of this 

Area and EPA is addressing these submissions in actions separate from today's action. EPA 
posted the availability of the insignificance finding for the Ashland Area on EPA's website on 

September 8, 2009, as part of the adequacy process, for the purpose of soliciting comments. The 

comment period for Kentucky's submission ran from September 8, 2009, through October 8, 

2009. During EPA's adequacy comment period for Kentucky's submission, no comments were 

received on the insignificance finding for the Ashland Area. Through this notice, EPA is 

informing the public of the insignificance finding for direct PM2,5 and NOx for the purpose of 

implementing transportation conformity in the Ashland Area for the 1997 PM2.5 standard . EPA's 

findings have also been announced on EPA's conformity website: 

http: //www. epa.gov/vtacg/stateresources/transconf%adequacw. htm . 

Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act, as amended 

in 1990 . 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. On March 2, 1999, the District of Columbia Circuit 

Court ruled that submitted State Implementation Plans (SIPs) cannot be used for transportation 

conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them adequate. 

The criteria by which EPA determines whether a SIP's motor vehicle budget is adequate 

for transportation conformity purposes are outlined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

93 .118(e)(4) . The Transportation Conformity Rule in 40 CFR 93 .109(k) states that a regional 

emissions analysis is no longer necessary if EPA finds through the adequacy or approval process 

that a SIP demonstrates that regional motor vehicle emissions are an insignificant contributor to 

the air quality problem for that pollutant/precursor. A finding of insignificance does not change 
the requirement for a regional analysis for other pollutants/precursors ; the area's obligation to 

meet other transportation conformity requirements (i .e ., other than the regional emissions 

analysis); and does not change the requirement for hot-spot analysis. (See 73 FR 4419, January 

24, 2008 .) 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 attainment demonstration 

plan for the Ashland Area. Even if EPA finds the insignificance finding for direct PM2,5 and 

NOx adequate, the attainment demonstration plan could later be disapproved. 

Transportation partners should note this insignificance finding in future transportation 

conformity determinations. Additionally, while this insignificance finding waives the 

requirements for regional emissions analyses for direct PM2,5 and NOx for the Ashland Area for 

the 1997 PM2.5 standard, as mentioned above, it does not waive other conformity requirements 

for the 1997 PM2.5 standard for the Ashland Area, nor does it waive transportation conformity 

requirements for other pollutants/precursors for which the Area may be designated 

nonattainment or redesignated to attainment with a maintenance plan. 

EPA has described the process for determining the adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in 

a May 14, 1999, memorandum entitled "Conformity Guidance on Implementation of 

March 2, 1999, Conformity Court Decision." EPA has followed this guidance in making this 

adequacy determination. This guidance is incorporated into EPA's July 1, 2004, final 

rulemaking entitled "Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the New 8-hour Ozone 

and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing 

Areas ; Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments: Response to Court Decision and 

Additional Rule Changes" (69 FR 40004). 

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

Jun 9, 2010 

Acting Regional Administrator, 

Region 4.