[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 237 (Friday, December 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 69266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32077]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[AZ-020-NOA; FRL-6506-8]


Adequacy Status of the Maricopa County, Arizona Submitted PM-10 
Attainment Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Inadequacy Determination.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found 
that the submitted Maricopa County (Phoenix, Arizona) serious area 
particulate matter (PM-10) attainment plan is inadequate for 
transportation conformity purposes. As a result of our finding, the 
Maricopa Association of Governments and the Federal Highway 
Administration cannot use the PM-10 motor vehicle emissions budget from 
the submitted plan for future conformity determinations.

DATES: This determination is effective December 27, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding is available at EPA's 
conformity website: http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq, (once there, click on 
the ``Conformity'' button, then look for ``Adequacy Review of SIP 
Submissions for Conformity''). You may also contact Karina O'Connor, 
U.S. EPA, Region IX, Air Division AIR-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94105; (415) 744-1247 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background:

    This notice announces our finding that the MAG 1999 Serious Area 
Particulate Plan for PM-10 for the Maricopa County Nonattainment Area, 
submitted by the Arizona on July 8, 1999, is inadequate for 
transportation conformity purposes. EPA Region IX made this finding in 
a letter to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the 
Maricopa Association of Governments on December 1, 1999. We are also 
announcing this finding on our conformity website: http://www.epa.gov/
oms/traq, (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' button, then look 
for ``Adequacy Review of SIP Submissions for Conformity'').
    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act. Our conformity rule requires that transportation plans, 
programs, and projects conform to state air quality implementation 
plans (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 we determine whether a SIP's motor vehicle 
emission budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 
40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). One of these criterion is that the plan provide 
for attainment of the relevant ambient air quality standard by the 
applicable Clean Air Act attainment date. We have preliminarily 
determined that the Maricopa County PM-10 plan does not provide for 
attainment of the PM-10 standards and therefore, cannot be found 
adequate.
    This inadequacy finding is separate from and does not affect our 
August 4, 1999 finding that the plan is complete under section 
110(k)(1) of the Clean Air Act.
    We have described our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in guidance (May 14, 1999 memo titled 
``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 Conformity 
Court Decision''). We followed this guidance in making our inadequacy 
determination on the Maricopa County PM-10 plan.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671 q.

    Date December 1, 1999.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 99-32077 Filed 12-9-99; 8:45 am]
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