[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 111 (Thursday, June 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36441-36442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14601]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6713-6]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Budgets in Submitted State 
Implementation Plans for Transportation Conformity Purposes; Maryland; 
Revised Phase II Plan for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone 
Nonattainment Area (Cecil County)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the revised motor vehicle emissions 
budgets (budgets) contained in the revised Phase II Plan for the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area submitted by 
the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) as State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. The revised Phase II Plan was submitted to EPA on 
December 21, 1999. Maryland's revised Phase II Plan consists of the 
2005 attainment demonstration for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton 
nonattainment area and the 2002 and 2005 Post 99 Rate-of-Progress (ROP) 
plans for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton 
Nonattainment Area, Cecil County. EPA has found the budgets in 
Maryland's revised Phase II Plan for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Trenton nonattainment area adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes.

DATES: The findings that the budgets are adequate were made in a letter 
dated May 31, 2000 from EPA Region III to the Maryland Department of 
the Environment. These adequacy findings are effective on June 23, 
2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul T. Wentworth, P.E., U.S. EPA, 
Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 at (215) 814-2183 
or by e-mail at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or 
``our'' refer to EPA. The word ``budgets'' refers to the motor vehicle 
emission budgets for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen 
oxides (NOX). The word ``SIP'' in this document refers to 
the revised Phase II Plan for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton 
nonattainment area submitted on December 21, 1999. The revised Phase II 
Plan includes the 2005 attainment demonstration for the one-hour 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone for the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton nonattainment area and the Post 99 ROP 
plans (2002 and 2005) for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Trenton nonattainment area, Cecil County.
    On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that budgets 
contained in submitted SIPs cannot be used for conformity 
determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them adequate. By a 
transmittal letter dated December 21, 1999, the Maryland Department of 
the Environment formally submitted revisions to the Phase II Plan for 
the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area. On March 
2, 2000, we posted the availability of the Revised Phase II Plan and 
the budgets on our conformity website for the purpose of soliciting 
public comment on the adequacy of the budgets. The comment period 
closed on April 3, 2000.
    On May 31, 2000, EPA Region III sent a letter to the Maryland 
Department of the Environment which constitute final Agency actions on 
the adequacy of the budgets contained in the revised Phase II SIP. 
Those actions were EPA's findings that the budgets of the revised Phase 
II plan submitted by MDE for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton area 
are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a result of our 
May 31, 2000 findings, the attainment budgets and the ROP budgets 
contained in Maryland's December 21, 1999 revised Phase II SIP for the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton nonattainment area may be used for 
future conformity determinations.
    This is an announcement of adequacy findings that we have already 
made on May 31, 2000. The effective date of these findings is June 23, 
2000. These findings will also be announced on EPA's website: http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' button, 
then look for ``Adequacy Review of Submissions for Conformity''). The 
website will contain a detailed analysis of our adequacy findings and 
our responses to the public comments.
    Transportation conformity is required by section 176 of the Clean 
Air Act. EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation plans, 
programs, and projects conform to SIPs and establishes the criteria and 
procedures for determining whether or not they do so. Conformity to a 
SIP means that transportation activities will not produce new air 
quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely 
attainment of the NAAQS. The criteria by which we determine whether a 
SIP's budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 40 
CFR 93.118(e)(4).
    Please note that an adequacy finding for budgets contained in a SIP 
is separate from EPA's completeness determination of the SIP 
submission, and separate from EPA's action to approve or disapprove the 
SIP. Even if we find budgets adequate, the SIP could later be 
disapproved. We describe our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in guidance memorandum dated May 14, 1999 and 
titled ``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 
Conformity Court Decision''. We followed this guidance in making these 
adequacy findings of the budgets in Maryland's revised Phase II plan. 
You may obtain a copy of this guidance from EPA's conformity web site: 
http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' 
button) or by calling the contact name listed in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.



[[Page 36442]]


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

    Dated: June 1, 2000.
Bradley M. Campbell,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 00-14601 Filed 6-7-00; 8:45 am]
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