Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 121 /Wednesday, June 24, 1998 / Notices 34381

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6115–6]

Air Pollution Control; Proposed

Actions on Clean Air Act Grants to the

Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution

Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed determination with

request for comments and notice of

opportunity for public hearing.

SUMMARY: The EPA has made a

proposed determination under section

105(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that

a reduction in expenditures of nonFederal funds for the Monterey Bay

Unified County Air Pollution Control

District (MBUAPCD, or ‘‘District’’) in

Monterey, California is the result of a

non-selective reduction in expenditures.

This determination, when final, will

permit the MBUAPCD to keep the

financial assistance awarded to it by

EPA for FY–97 under section 105(c) of

the CAA.

DATES: Comments and/or requests for a

public hearing must be received by EPA

at the address stated below by July 24,

1998.

ADDRESSES: All comments and/or

requests for a public hearing should be

mailed to: Sara Bartholomew, Grants

and Program Integration Office (AIR–8),

Air Division, U.S. EPA Region 9, 75

Hawthorne Street, San Francisco,

California 94105–3901; FAX (415) 744–

1076.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara

Bartholomew, Grants and Program

Integration Office (AIR–8), Air Division,

U.S. EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, California 94105–

3901 at (415) 744–1250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the

authority of Section 105 of the CAA,

EPA provides financial assistance

(grants) to the MBUAPCD to aid in the

operation of its air pollution control

programs. In FY–96 EPA awarded the

MBUAPCD $272,869, which

represented approximately 7% of the

District’s budget. In FY–97, EPA

awarded the MBUAPCD $255,265,

which represented approximately 8% of

the District’s budget.

Section 105(c)(1) of the CAA, 42

U.S.C. 7405(c)(1), provides that ‘‘[n]o

agency shall receive any grant under

this section during any fiscal year when

its expenditures of non-Federal funds

for recurrent expenditures for air

pollution control programs will be less

than its expenditures were for such

programs during the preceding fiscal

year. In order for [EPA] to award grants

under this section in a timely manner

each fiscal year, [EPA] shall compare an

agency’s prospective expenditure level

to that of its second preceding year.’’

EPA may still award financial assistance

to an agency not meeting this

requirement, however, if EPA, ‘‘after

notice and opportunity for public

hearing, determines that a reduction in

expenditures is attributable to a nonselective reduction in the expenditures

in the programs of all Executive branch

agencies of the applicable unit of

Government.’’ CAA § 105(c)(2). These

statutory requirements are repeated in

EPA’s implementing regulations at 40

CFR 35.210(a).

In its FY–97 § 105 application, which

EPA reviewed in early 1997, the

MBUAPCD projected expenditures of

non-Federal funds for recurrent

expenditures (or its maintenance of

effort (MOE)) of $2,888,803. This MOE

would have been sufficient to meet the

MOE requirements of the CAA because

it was not lower than the FY–96 MOE

of $2,701,629. In October of 1997,

however, the MBUAPCD submitted to

EPA documentation which shows that

its actual FY–97 MOE was $2,561,303.

This amount represents a shortfall of

$140,326 from the MOE for FY–96. In

order for the District to be eligible to

keep its FY–97 grant, EPA must make a

determination under § 105(c)(2).

The MBUAPCD is a single-purpose

agency whose primary source of funding

is permit fee revenue. Fees associated

with permits issued by the MBUAPCD

go directly to the district to fund its

operations. It is the ‘‘unit of

Government’’ for § 105(c)(2) purposes.

The MBUAPCD submitted

documentation to EPA which indicates

that the reduction of actual

expenditures is primarily composed of

declining fee revenues. Due to shortfalls

in revenues, the Board has directed the

district to control costs and reduce the

existing fund balance.

In summary, the MBUAPCD’s MOE

reductions resulted from budget cuts

stemming from a loss of revenues due to

circumstances beyond the District’s

control. EPA proposes to determine that

the MBUAPCD’s lower FY–97 MOE

level meets the § 105(c)(2) criteria as

resulting from a non-selective reduction

of expenditures. Pursuant to 40 CFR

35.210, this determination will allow

the MBUAPCD to keep the funds

received from EPA for FY97.

This notice constitutes a request for

public comment and an opportunity for

public hearing as required by the Clean

Air Act. All written comments received

by July 24, 1998, on this proposal will

be considered. EPA will conduct a

public hearing on this proposal only if

a written request for such is received by

EPA at the address above by July 24,

1998.

If no written request for a hearing is

received, EPA will proceed to the final

determination. While notice of the final

determination will not be published in

the Federal Register, copies of the

determination can be obtained by

sending a written request to Sara

Bartholomew at the above address.

Dated: June 11, 1998.

David P. Howekamp,

Director, Air Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9.

[FR Doc. 98–16769 Filed 6–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[AD–FRL–6115–3]

Industrial Combustion Coordinated

Rulemaking; Federal Advisory

Committee Notice of Upcoming

Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Industrial Combustion

Coordinated Rulemaking (ICCR);

Federal Advisory Committee notice of

upcoming meeting.

SUMMARY: As required by section 9(a)(2)

of the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2, section 9(c),

EPA gave notice of the establishment of

the ICCR Federal Advisory Committee

(hereafter referred to as the ICCR

Coordinating Committee) in the Federal

Register on August 2, 1996 (61 FR

40413).

The public can follow the progress of

the ICCR through attendance at

meetings (which will be announced in

advance) and by accessing the

Technology Transfer Network (TTN),

which serves as the primary means of

disseminating information about the

ICCR.

DATES: The next meeting of the ICCR

Coordinating Committee is scheduled

for July 28–29, 1998. Also, most of the

ICCR Work Groups—which report to the

Coordinating Committee—have

meetings scheduled in July, 1998. The

dates of these Work Group meetings are

summarized below. Further information

on the dates of the Coordinating

Committee meeting and the Work Group

meetings may be obtained by accessing

the TTN or by calling EPA (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:).

ADDRESSES: The Coordinating

Committee meeting on July 28–29, 1998

will be held at the Renaissance Long