Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 34 / Monday, February 22, 2016 / Notices 8711 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9942–60–Region 3] 

Adequacy Status of the Baltimore 1997 

8-Hour Ozone Standard Reasonable 

Further Progress Budgets for Volatile 

Organic Compounds and Nitrogen 

Oxides for 2012 for Transportation 

Conformity Purposes 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of adequacy. 

SUMMARY: In this notice, the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

is notifying the public that EPA has 

found that the Baltimore 1997 8-hour 

ozone standard reasonable further 

progress budgets for volatile organic 

compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides 

(NOX) for 2012 are adequate for 

transportation conformity purposes. As 

a result of EPA’s finding, the Baltimore 

1997 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area 

must use these budgets for future 

conformity determinations. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

March 8, 2016. 

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: On July 

22, 2013, EPA received a State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) revision from 

Maryland Department of the 

Environment (MDE). This revision 

consisted of 2012 reasonable further 

progress (RFP) motor vehicle emission 

budgets (MVEBs) for the Baltimore 1997 

8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area. This 

submission established MVEBs for the 

Baltimore 1997 8-Hour Ozone 

Nonattainment Area for the year 2012. 

The MVEBs are the amount of emissions 

allowed in the SIP for on-road motor 

vehicles; it establishes an emissions 

ceiling for the regional transportation 

network. The MVEBs are provided in 

Table 1: 

TABLE 1—2012 RFP MOBILE BUDGETS FOR THE BALTIMORE NONATTAINMENT AREA

Year 

Motor vehicle 

emissions 

budgets for 

NOX in tons 

per day 

Motor vehicle 

emissions 

budgets for 

VOCs in tons 

per day 

2012 .......... 93.5 40.2 

On November 23, 2015, EPA posted 

the availability of the Baltimore 1997 8- 

Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area 

MVEBs on EPA’s Web site for the 

purpose of soliciting public comments 

as part of the adequacy process. The 

comment period closed on November 

23, 2015 and EPA received no 

comments. 

Today’s notice is simply an 

announcement of a finding that EPA has 

already made. EPA Region III sent a 

letter to MDE on January 14, 2016, 

finding that the 2012 RFP MVEBs in the 

Baltimore 1997 8-Hour Ozone 

Nonattainment Area SIP, submitted on 

July 22, 2013 by MDE, are adequate and 

must be used for transportation 

conformity determinations in the 

Baltimore 1997 8-Hour Ozone 

Nonattainment Area. The finding and 

associated letter is available at EPA’s 

conformity Web site: http://www.epa.

gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/

adequacy.htm. 

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 EPA determines 

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. 

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 Baltimore 1997 8-Hour 

Ozone Nonattainment Area 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/state

resources/transconf/adequacy.htm. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q. 

Dated: February 4, 2016. 

Shawn M. Garvin, 

Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03609 Filed 2–19–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[9940–91–OEI] 

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting: 

Authorized Program Revision 

Approval, State of Arizona 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA’s 

approval of the State of Arizona’s 

request to revise/modify certain of its 

EPA-authorized programs to allow 

electronic reporting. 

DATES: EPA’s approval is effective 

February 22, 2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Seeh, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Office of 

Environmental Information, Mail Stop 

2823T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20460, (202) 566–1175, 

seeh.karen@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 13, 2005, the final Cross-Media 

Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) 

was published in the Federal Register 

(70 FR 59848) and codified as part 3 of 

title 40 of the CFR. CROMERR 

establishes electronic reporting as an 

acceptable regulatory alternative to 

paper reporting and establishes 

requirements to assure that electronic 

documents are as legally dependable as 

their paper counterparts. Subpart D of 

CROMERR requires that state, tribal or 

local government agencies that receive, 

or wish to begin receiving, electronic 

reports under their EPA-authorized 

programs must apply to EPA for a 

revision or modification of those 

programs and obtain EPA approval. 

Subpart D provides standards for such 

approvals based on consideration of the 

electronic document receiving systems 

that the state, tribe, or local government 

will use to implement the electronic 

reporting. Additionally, § 3.1000(b) 

through (e) of 40 CFR part 3, subpart D 

provides special procedures for program 

revisions and modifications to allow 

electronic reporting, to be used at the 

option of the state, tribe or local 

government in place of procedures 

available under existing programspecific authorization regulations. An 

application submitted under the subpart 

D procedures must show that the state, 

tribe or local government has sufficient 

legal authority to implement the 

electronic reporting components of the 

programs covered by the application 

and will use electronic document 

receiving systems that meet the 

applicable subpart D requirements. 

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