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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 82 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23972-23973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09719]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9910-10-Region 3]

Adequacy Status of the Submitted Maintenance Plan for the 
District of Columbia Portion of the Metropolitan Washington, DC, (DC-
MD-VA) 1997 Fine Particulate National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
Nonattainment Area for Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 
notifying the public that EPA has found that the motor vehicle 
emissions budgets (MVEBs) in the District of Columbia portion of the 
Metropolitan Washington, DC, (DC-MD-VA) 1997 Fine Particulate 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) 
Nonattainment Area (hereafter, the Washington Area) Maintenance Plan, 
submitted as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision by District of 
Columbia Department of the Environment (DDOE), are adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes.

DATES: This finding is effective on May 14, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Becoat, Physical Scientist, 
Office of Air Program Planning (3AP30), United States Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 
19103, (215) 814-2036; becoat.gregory@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Today's notice is simply an announcement of 
a finding that EPA has already made. EPA Region III sent a letter to 
DDOE on March 25, 2014, stating that EPA has found that the MVEBs in 
the Washington Area's Maintenance Plan for budget years 2017 and 2025, 
submitted on June 3, 2013 by DDOE, are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the District of 
Columbia must use the 2017 and 2025 Tier 1 MVEBs shown in Table 1 from 
the Washington Area's Maintenance Plan for future conformity 
determinations for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. The Tier 2 MVEBS 
shown in Table 2 adds a twenty percent (20%) transportation buffer to 
the mobile

[[Page 23973]]

emissions inventory projections for PM2.5 and nitrogen 
oxides (NOX) in 2017 and 2025. The Tier 2 MVEBs will become 
effective if it is determined that technical uncertainties primarily 
due to model changes and to vehicle fleet turnover, which may affect 
future motor vehicle emissions inventories, lead to motor vehicle 
emissions estimates above the Tier 1 MVEBs. The determination will be 
made through the interagency consultation process and fully documented 
within the first conformity analysis that uses the Tier 2 MVEBs. 
Receipt of the submittal was announced on EPA's transportation 
conformity Web site. No comments were received. The findings letter is 
available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm. The adequate direct particulate 
matter (PM) and NOX MVEBs for Tier 1 and Tier 2 are provided 
in Table 1 and Table 2.

    Table 1--Tier 1 On-Road MVEBs Contained in the Washington Area Maintenance Plan for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS
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                                                         Motor vehicle emissions      Mobile vehicle emissions
                        Year                            budget for PM2.5 on-road       budget for NOX on-road
                                                        emissions (tons per year)     emissions (tons per year)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017................................................                         1,787                        41,709
2025................................................                         1,350                        27,400
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 2--Tier 2 On-Road MVEBs Contained in the Washington Area Maintenance Plan for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS
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                                                         Motor vehicle emissions      Mobile vehicle emissions
                        Year                            budget for PM2.5 on-road       budget for NOX on-road
                                                        emissions (tons per year)    emissions  (tons per year)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017................................................                         2,144                        50,051
2025................................................                         1,586                        32,880
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation 
plans, transportation improvement 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 we determine whether a SIP's MVEBs are 
adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). 
EPA described the process for determining the adequacy of submitted SIP 
budgets in a July 1, 2004 preamble starting at 69 FR 40038 and used the 
information in these resources in making this adequacy determination. 
The District of Columbia did not provide emission budgets for sulfur 
dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or ammonia 
for the Washington Area's Maintenance Plan because it concluded that 
emissions of these precursors from motor vehicles are not significant 
contributors to the area's PM2.5 air quality problem. The 
transportation conformity rule provision at 40 CFR 93.102(b)(2)(v) 
indicates that conformity does not apply for these precursors, due to 
the lack of motor vehicle emissions budgets for these precursors and 
state's conclusion that motor vehicle emissions of SO2, 
VOCs, and ammonia do not contribute significantly to the area's 
PM2.5 nonattainment problem. This provision of the 
transportation conformity rule predates and was not disturbed by the 
January 4, 2013 decision in the litigation on the PM2.5 
implementation rule.
    EPA has preliminarily concluded that the District's decision to not 
include budgets for SO2, VOCs, and ammonia is consistent 
with the requirements of the transportation conformity rule. That 
decision does not affect EPA's adequacy finding for the submitted 
direct PM and NOX MVEBs for the Washington Area's 
Maintenance Plan.
    Please note that an adequacy review is separate from EPA's 
completeness review, and should not be used to prejudge EPA's ultimate 
approval action for the SIP. Even if EPA finds the budgets for the 
Washington Area's Maintenance Plan adequate, the SIP could later be 
disapproved. The finding and the response to comments are available at 
EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: April 11, 2014.
W. C. Early, Acting
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2014-09719 Filed 4-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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