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[Federal Register: February 19, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 33)]
[Notices]               
[Page 7474-7475]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19fe10-69]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0019; FRL-9114-2]

 
Adequacy Status of the North Carolina Portion of the Charlotte-
Gastonia-Rock Hill Bi-State Area Reasonable Further Progress Plan 8-
Hour Ozone Sub-Area Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for Transportation 
Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Adequacy.

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SUMMARY: EPA is notifying the public that it has found that the sub-
area motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the North Carolina 
portion of the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill bi-state area (hereafter 
referred to as the Charlotte bi-state area) in the 1997 8-Hour Ozone 
Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) plan, submitted on November 30, 2009, 
by the North Carolina Department of Air Quality (NC DAQ), are adequate 
for transportation conformity purposes. The bi-state Charlotte moderate 
1997 8-hour ozone area is comprised of Charlotte-Gastonia in North 
Carolina; and Rock Hill (a portion of York County), South Carolina. The 
North Carolina portion of the Charlotte bi-state area is comprised of 
the following sub-areas or counties: Cabarrus, Gaston, partial of 
Iredell (Davidson and Coddle Creek Townships), Lincoln, Mecklenburg, 
Rowan, and Union. North Carolina's RFP plan includes the required MVEBs 
for volatile organic compounds (VOC), and voluntary MVEBs for nitrogen 
oxides (NOX). This action relates only to the North Carolina 
portion of the Charlotte bi-state area. EPA is considering South 
Carolina's RFP for the applicable portion of York County in a separate 
action. As a result of EPA's finding, which is being announced in this 
notice, the North Carolina portion of the Charlotte bi-state area must 
use the sub-area MVEBs for future conformity determinations for the 
1997 8-hour ozone standard.

DATES: These sub-area MVEBs are effective March 8, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dianna Smith, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, 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@epa.gov. The 
finding is available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is simply an announcement of a 
finding that EPA has already made. EPA Region 4 sent a letter to NC DAQ 
on January 12, 2010, stating that the sub-area MVEBs identified for the 
North Carolina portion of the Charlotte bi-state area in the 1997 8-
hour ozone RFP plan, submitted on November 30, 2009, are adequate and 
must be used for transportation conformity determinations in the North 
Carolina portion of the Charlotte bi-state area.
    EPA posted the availability of the sub-area MVEBs contained in the 
North Carolina RFP plan on EPA's Web site on December 3, 2009, as part 
of the adequacy process, for the purpose of soliciting comments. EPA's 
adequacy comment period ran from December 3,

[[Page 7475]]

2009, through January 3, 2010. During EPA's adequacy comment period, no 
adverse comments were received on the MVEBs for North Carolina portion 
of the Charlotte bi-state area. Through this notice, EPA is informing 
the public that these sub-area MVEBs are adequate for transportation 
conformity. This finding has also been announced on EPA's conformity 
Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/pastsips.htm. The adequate sub-area MVEBs are provided in the following 
table:

          CHARLOTTE (North Carolina Portion) 8-Hour Ozone MVEBS
                             [kilograms/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      County                           VOC        NOx
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           2008 Sub-Area MVEBS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cabarrus..........................................      6,941      7,324
Gaston............................................      5,132      7,647
Iredell*..........................................      3,601      5,637
Lincoln...........................................      2,726      2,948
Mecklenburg.......................................     26,368     34,526
Rowan.............................................      6,149      7,193
Union.............................................      6,299      5,660
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Iredell County MVEB for nonattainment area only.

    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act. EPA's conformity rule, 40 CFR Part 93, 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 so. Conformity to a 
state implementation plan (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 transportation conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 
93.118(e)(4). EPA has also described the process for determining the 
adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in a 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). Please note that an adequacy review is 
separate from EPA's completeness review, and it should not be used to 
prejudge EPA's ultimate approval of the RFP plan for the North Carolina 
portion of the Charlotte bi-state area. Even if EPA finds a budget 
adequate, the RFP plan submittal could later be disapproved.
    Within 24 months from the effective date of this notice, the 
transportation partners will need to demonstrate conformity to the new 
MVEBs, if the demonstration has not already been made, pursuant to 40 
CFR 93.104(e). See, 73 FR 4419 (January 24, 2008).

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: February 3, 2010.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2010-3239 Filed 2-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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