35586 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 / Notices

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6117–8]

Air Pollution Control; Proposed

Actions on Clean Air Act Grants to the

Santa Barbara 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 U.S. 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 Santa Barbara

County Air Pollution Control District

(SBAPCD, or ‘‘District’’) in Santa

Barbara, California is the result of a nonselective reduction in expenditures.

This determination, when final, will

permit the SBAPCD to keep the

financial assistance awarded to it by

EPA for FY–98 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 30,

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 SBAPCD to aid in the

operation of its air pollution control

programs. In FY–97 EPA awarded the

SBAPCD $328,732, which represented

approximately 8% of the District’s

budget. In FY–98, EPA awarded the

SBAPCD $307,000, which represented

approximately 7.6% 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 section 105(c)(2).

These statutory requirements are

repeated in EPA’s implementing

regulations at 40 CFR 35.210(a).

In its FY–98 § 105 application, which

EPA reviewed in the fall of 1997, the

SBAPCD projected expenditures of nonFederal funds for recurrent expenditures

(or its maintenance of effort (MOE)) of

$3,678,150. This MOE at the time of the

grant award was sufficient to meet the

requirements of the CAA because it was

higher than the projected FY97 MOE of

$3,570,793. Based on this information,

EPA awarded SBAPCD its FY98 grant in

December, 1997. In January of 1998,

SBAPCD submitted an actual FY97

MOE of $3,701,408. This resulted in the

projected FY98 MOE level of $3,678,150

not being sufficient to meet the MOE

requirements of the CAA because it is

lower than the actual FY–97 MOE, with

a shortfall of $23,258 between the MOE

for FY–97 and FY98. In order for the

District to be eligible to keep its FY98

grant and to receive the additional EPA

funding which has become available to

SBAPCD for FY98, EPA must make a

determination under Section 105(c)(2).

The SBAPCD is a single-purpose

agency whose primary source of funding

is permit fee revenue. Fees associated

with permits issued by the SBAPCD go

directly to the district to fund its

operations. It is the ‘‘unit of

Government’’ for Section 105(c)(2)

purposes. The SBAPCD submitted

documentation to EPA which shows

that since FY97 air permit fee revenues

decreased because of declining

economic conditions which caused the

business community to curtail

operations, resulting in fewer permits

issued and fees collected. As a result,

the SBAPCD’s overall budget and its

MOE decreased. The SBAPCD also

submitted documentation to EPA which

shows that the District lost 12.25 staff

positions since FY97. These reductions

in fees and staff have been non-selective

in that all programs within SBAPCD

have been impacted.

In summary, the SBAPCD’s MOE

reductions resulted from budget cuts

stemming from a loss of fee revenues

due to circumstances beyond the

District’s control. EPA proposes to

determine that the SBAPCD’s lower FY–

98 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 SBAPCD to keep the funds

received from EPA for FY–98.

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 30, 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 30,

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 17, 1998.

David P. Howekamp,

Director, Air Division, Region 9.

[FR Doc. 98–17377 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6117–9]

Clean Air Act Advisory Committee;

Mobile Sources Technical Review

Subcommittee Notification of Public

Advisory Subcommittee Open Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal

Advisory Committee Act, Pub. L. 92–

463, notification is hereby given that the

Mobile Sources Technical Review

Subcommittee of the Clean Air Act

Advisory Committee will meet on July

15, 1998 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Eastern Standard Time (pre-registration

at 8:30 a.m.) at the U.S. EPA National

Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory

Office Building located at 2000

Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI

48105, Ph. 734/214-4200 (adjacent to

the Lab Building located at 2565

Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105).

This is an open meeting and seating will

be on a first-come basis. During this

meeting, the subcommittee will hear

progress reports from its workgroups

and be briefed on and discuss other

current issues in the mobile source