[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 53925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21198]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[CO-001-0069; FRL-7262-1]


Adequacy Status of the Aspen, Colorado PM10 Maintenance Plan for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this document, EPA is notifying the public that we have 
found that the motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Aspen maintenance 
plan for particulate matter of 10 micrograms in size or smaller 
(PM10) submitted on November 9, 2001, are adequate for 
conformity purposes. On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled 
that submitted State Implementation Plans (SIPs) cannot be used for 
conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them 
adequate. As a result of our finding, the City of Aspen and Pitkin 
County, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the U.S. 
Department of Transportation are required to use the motor vehicle 
emissions budgets from this submitted maintenance plan for future 
conformity determinations.

DATES: This finding is effective September 4, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Kimes, Air & Radiation Program 
(8P-AR), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, 999 
18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466, (303) 312-6445. 
The letter documenting our finding is available at EPA's conformity 
website: http://www.epa.gov/oms/transp/conform/adequacy.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we'', 
``us'', or ``our'' are used we mean EPA.
    This action is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. We sent a letter to the Colorado Air Pollution Control 
Division on May 16, 2002, stating that the motor vehicle emissions 
budgets in the submitted Aspen PM10 maintenance plan are 
adequate. This finding has also been announced on our conformity 
website at http://www.epa.gov/oms/transp/conform/adequacy.htm.
    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 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). Please note that an adequacy review is separate 
from our completeness review, and it also should not be used to 
prejudge our ultimate approval of the SIP. Even if we find a budget 
adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved, and vice versa.
    We've described our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in a memo entitled, ``Conformity Guidance on 
Implementation of March 2, 1999 Conformity Court Decision,'' dated May 
14, 1999. We followed this guidance in making our adequacy 
determination.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: August 6, 2002.
Robert E. Roberts,
Regional Administrator, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. 02-21198 Filed 8-19-02; 8:45 am]
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