[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 128 (Monday, July 3, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41067-41068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16736]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6729-1]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Budgets in Submitted State 
Implementation Plans for Transportation Conformity Purposes; District 
of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia; Revised Phase II Plans for the 
Metropolitan Washington D.C. Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the motor vehicle emissions budgets for 
the out-years 2015 and 2020 (budgets) established in revised Phase II 
Plans for the Metropolitan Washington DC Ozone Nonattainment Area are 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The revised Phase II 
Plans which establish these out-year budgets were submitted by the 
District of Columbia on March 22, 2000, and by the State of Maryland 
and Commonwealth of Virginia on March 31, 2000 as State Implementation 
Plans (SIPs) revisions. These SIP revisions consist of revisions to the 
attainment plan for the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Ozone 
Nonattainment Area and have been made to establish revised out-year 
budgets for 2015 and 2020. EPA has found these out-year budgets 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes.

DATES: The finding that these out-year budgets of the revised 
attainment plan are adequate was made in letters dated June 22, 2000 
from EPA Region III to the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland 
and the Commonwealth of

[[Page 41068]]

Virginia. This adequacy finding is effective on July 18, 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) for the out-years 2015 and 2020. The word 
``SIP'' in this document refers to the revised Phase II SIPs submitted 
on March 22, 2000, March 31, 2000 and March 31, 2000 by the District, 
Maryland and Virginia , respectively. The revised Phase II SIPs consist 
of the revised attainment plan for the one-hour National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone for the Metropolitan Washington DC 
Nonattainment Area.
    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 
transmittal letters dated as shown below, the District, Maryland, and 
Virginia each formally submitted revisions to the attainment plan for 
the purpose of establishing out-year budgets for 2015 and 2020 for the 
Metropolitan Washington DC Ozone Nonattainment Area. The revised Phase 
II SIPs submittal dates are:

The District of Columbia--March 22, 2000;
Maryland--March 31, 2000;
Virginia--March 31, 2000.

    On April 24, 2000, we posted the availability of these revised 
Phase II SIPs and their budgets on our conformity website for the 
purpose of soliciting public comment on the adequacy of the budgets. 
The comment period closed on May 24, 2000.
    On June 22, 2000, EPA Region III sent letters to the District of 
Columbia, the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia which 
constituted final Agency actions on the adequacy of the budgets 
contained in the revised Phase II SIPs. Those actions were EPA's 
finding that the mobile budgets contained in the revised attainment 
plan are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a result 
of our finding, the budgets contained in the submitted revised 
attainment plans for the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Nonattainment 
Area may be used for future conformity determinations. This is an 
announcement of an adequacy finding that we already made on June 22, 
2000. The effective date of this finding is July 18, 2000. This finding 
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 finding and our responses 
to 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 of the mobile budgets of a 
submitted SIP is separate from EPA's completeness determination on that 
SIP, and separate from EPA's final action as to whether or not the SIP 
is approvable. 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 this 
adequacy finding for the budgets contained in the revised Phase II SIPs 
submitted on March 22, 2000, March 31, 2000 and March 31, 2000 by the 
District, Maryland, and Virginia, respectively. 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.

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

    Dated: June 23, 2000.
Bradley M. Campbell,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 00-16736 Filed 6-30-00; 8:45 am]
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