[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 14, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8376-8377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3610]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5154-2]


Air Pollution Control; Proposed Action on Clean Air Act Grant to 
the South Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

ACTION: Proposed determination with request for comments and notice of 
opportunity for public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The USEPA has made a proposed determination that a reduction 
in expenditures of non-Federal funds for the South Coast Air Quality 
Management District (SCAQMD) in Diamond Bar, California is a result of 
a non-selective reduction in expenditures. This determination, when 
final, will permit the SCAQMD to keep the financial assistance awarded 
to it for FY-94 by EPA under section 105(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Comments and/or requests for a public hearing must be received 
by EPA at the address stated below by March 16, 1995.

ADDRESSES: All comments and/or requests for a public hearing should be 
mailed to: Douglas K. McDaniel, Air Grants Section (A-2-3), Air and 
Toxics Division, USEPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, 
California 94105-3901; FAX (415)744-1076.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas K. McDaniel, Air Grants 
Section (A-2-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901 at (415) 744-
1246.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of Section 105 of the 
CAA, EPA provides financial assistance to the SCAQMD, whose 
jurisdiction includes Los Angeles and Orange Counties in southern 
California, to aid in the operation of its air pollution control 
programs. In FY-94, EPA awarded the [[Page 8377]] SCAQMD $6,670,831, 
which represented approximately 6% of the SCAQMD'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 non-
selective 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-94 section 105 application, which EPA reviewed in early 
1994, the SCAQMD projected expenditures of non-Federal funds for 
recurrent expenditures (or its maintenance of effort (MOE)) of 
$92,365,069. This MOE would have been sufficient to meet the MOE 
requirements of the CAA. In January of 1995, however, the SCAQMD 
submitted to EPA documentation which shows that its actual FY-94 MOE 
was $80,505,495. This amount represents a shortfall of $11,228,569 from 
the MOE of $91,734,064 for the preceding fiscal year (FY-93). In order 
for the SCAQMD to be eligible to keep its FY-94 grant, EPA must make a 
determination under section 105(c)(2).
    The SCAQMD is a single-purpose agency whose primary source of 
funding is emission fee revenue. It is the ``unit of Government'' for 
section 105(c)(2) purposes. The SCAQMD submitted documentation to EPA 
which shows that over the last three years emission reductions brought 
on by a combination of economic recession and more restrictive emission 
rules have reduced fee revenues from stationary sources from a high of 
$74,433,331 in 1990-1991 to $64,923,181 in 1993-1994. As a result of 
this revenue loss, the SCAQMD has instituted hiring/salary freezes, 
furloughs, and layoffs, has reduced its equipment purchases and 
contract expenditures, and has instituted new programs to reduce costs 
such as permit streamlining, computer-assisted permit processing, and 
privatization efforts.
    The SCAQMD's MOE reductions resulted from a loss of fee revenues 
due to circumstances beyond its control. The SCAQMD did not, on its own 
authority, reduce its operating budget. EPA proposes to determine that 
the SCAQMD's lower FY-94 MOE level meets the section 105(c)(2) criteria 
as resulting from a non-selective reduction of expenditures. Pursuant 
to 40 CFR 35.210, this determination will allow the SCAQMD to keep the 
funds received from EPA for FY-94.
    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 March 16, 1995 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 
March 16, 1995. If no written request for a hearing is received, EPA 
will proceed to a final determination.

    Dated: February 6, 1995.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-3610 Filed 2-13-95; 8:45 am]
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