[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7904-7905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-2169]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[GA47-200003; FRL-6936-9]


Adequacy Status of the Atlanta, GA, Submitted Ozone Attainment 
State Implementation Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes; 
Withdrawal of Adequacy Finding

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Withdrawal of adequacy finding.

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SUMMARY: EPA has decided to withdraw our finding of adequacy for the 
motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Atlanta, Georgia, ozone 
attainment SIP submitted on October 28, 1999. We are withdrawing our 
adequacy finding for several reasons. The United States Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit decided on August 30, 
2000, that the implementation of the Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) Call rule could not be required before 
May 31, 2004. The emission levels in the Atlanta attainment SIP motor 
vehicle emissions budget for NOX were based in part on the 
assumption that transport of ozone recursors into Atlanta from upwind 
states would be addressed by May 2003 pursuant to EPA's NOX 
SIP Call. Further, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) 
recently requested that EPA withdraw its adequacy determination of the 
Atlanta ozone attainment SIP motor vehicle emissions budgets. The 
notice of the adequacy determination that is being withdrawn was made 
on February 15, 2000, in a letter to the State and was published in the 
Federal Register on February 28, 2000.

DATES: The notice of adequacy is withdrawn as of January 26, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Sheckler (404-562-9042).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 15, 2000, EPA Region 4 sent a letter to the Georgia 
Environmental Protection Division stating that the motor vehicle 
emissions budgets for nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs) in the October 28, 1999, Atlanta ozone 
attainment SIP for 2003 were adequate for the purpose of transportation 
conformity. EPA published a notice in the Federal Register on February 
28, 2000, [65 FR 10490] announcing that we had made an adequacy 
determination for the motor vehicle emissions budgets in Atlanta's 
attainment SIP. This finding was also announced on EPA's conformity 
website, http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq.
    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) 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 conform. 
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.
    EPA described the 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''). This guidance was used in making the adequacy 
determination on the motor vehicle emissions budgets contained in the 
attainment demonstration for Atlanta. The criteria by which EPA 
determines whether a SIP's motor vehicle emission budgets are adequate 
for conformity purpose are outlined in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). An adequacy 
review is separate from EPA's SIP completeness review, and it also 
should not be used to prejudge EPA's ultimate action to approve or 
disapprove the SIP. The SIP could later be disapproved for reasons 
unrelated to transportation conformity even though the budgets had been 
deemed adequate.
    The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on behalf of many 
petitioners, filed a lawsuit on April 28, 2000, with the 11th Circuit 
Court of Appeals seeking review of EPA's adequacy finding. On July 11, 
2000, the petitioners moved, on an expedited basis, to stay EPA's 
adequacy determination pending that Court's ruling on the merits of 
their April 28, 2000 Petition. On July 18, 2000, the 11th Circuit Court 
granted the motion for stay.
    Once the 11th Circuit stayed the attainment SIP adequacy 
determination on July 18, 2000, the United States Department of 
Transportation (USDOT) had to base any conformity determination on the 
prior approved motor vehicle emissions budgets contained in the VOC 15 
percent and NOX 9 percent rate of progress SIPs approved by 
EPA on April 26, 1999, and March 18, 1999, respectively (64 FR 20186 
and 64 FR 13348). Today's action does not affect USDOT's July 25, 2000, 
conformity determination since it was based on these approved budgets 
and not the submitted attainment budgets, which had been stayed prior 
to the conformity determination.
    EPA believes that a consequence of the D.C. Circuit's order 
delaying the implementation date of the NOX SIP Call rule is 
that the budget submitted by Georgia can no longer be considered 
adequate for purposes of transportation conformity. This belief is 
based on the fact that the attainment demonstration relied on the 
expected reductions from the NOX SIP call in 2003, whereas 
those reductions can not now be assumed prior to 2004.
    Furthermore, on December 21, 2000, Georgia sent a letter 
withdrawing the motor vehicle emission budgets contained in the October 
28, 1999, SIP submittal and asked that EPA not undertake any further 
consideration of these budgets until the State concludes the work 
necessary to submit a revised budget. The revised budget is expected to 
be based on the results of the recent study of vehicle speeds data, 
updated vehicle registration data, and modeling information relevant to 
the estimation of current and future motor vehicle emissions developed 
since submission of the previous budget. Based on these changes of fact 
and law, the parties filed a joint motion to the 11th Circuit to hold 
further proceedings on review of the adequacy determination in abeyance 
and for permission for EPA to withdraw the finding of adequacy. All 
parties in those proceedings have agreed that because it is not 
appropriate for the transportation agencies to rely upon the currently 
submitted budget for the purpose of making transportation conformity 
determinations, the stay entered by the Court on July 19, 2000,

[[Page 7905]]

should remain in effect pending EPA's completion of the withdrawal 
action. On January 12, 2001, the court granted EPA the motion to 
withdraw the adequacy determination.
    Consequently, EPA has decided to withdraw the February 15 adequacy 
determination. Even though adequacy determinations are not considered 
rulemaking subject to procedural requirements of the Administrative 
Procedures Act, EPA's policy is to provide a notice and comment period 
on adequacy determinations. However, we are not providing opportunity 
for comment on this withdrawal notice for two reasons. EPA is taking 
this action without prior notice and comment because adequacy 
determinations are not considered rulemaking subject to the procedural 
requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act. In addition, EPA 
does not believe further notice through EPA's conformity website is 
necessary in advance, since as a result of the stay issued by the 
court, the conformity determination made by USDOT on July 25, 2000, did 
not rely on the motor vehicle emission budgets submitted in the 
attainment SIP. Therefore, although EPA had found these budgets to be 
adequate, they were never used for transportation conformity purposes. 
Further, because of the delay in the NOX SIP Call 
implementation date, it is clear that the budgets can no longer be 
considered adequate, and Georgia has requested that EPA withdraw the 
adequacy determination. Consequently, further public comment would be 
unnecessary and not in the public interest. In this action, EPA is also 
withdrawing all statements and comments previously made in relation to 
its earlier determination of the adequacy of the budgets for 
transportation conformity purposes. The substance of the budgets and 
any revisions to them will be further reviewed by EPA as part of its 
final decision to approve or disapprove the 1-hour ozone attainment 
demonstration SIP for the Atlanta nonattainment area. This SIP was 
initially submitted to EPA on October 28, 1999, and was supplemented on 
January 31, 2000, and July 31, 2000. EPA will consider all of these 
submissions as well as all comments timely submitted as we decide 
whether to approve or disapprove the SIP.
    EPA will announce the withdrawal of the adequacy determination on 
its conformity website at http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Ozone.

    Dated: January 16, 2001.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 01-2169 Filed 1-25-01; 8:45 am]
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