[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 61622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-24916]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[UT-001-0050; FRL-7388-2]


Adequacy Status of the Utah County, Utah PM10 State 
Implementation Plan Revision 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 (for 2010 and 2020) in 
the Utah County, Utah particulate matter of 10 micrograms in size or 
smaller (PM10) State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted on July 3, 2002, are adequate for conformity purposes. On 
March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that submitted SIPs cannot 
be used for conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found 
them adequate. As a result of our finding, the Mountainland Association 
of Governments, the Utah Department of Transportation, and the U.S. 
Department of Transportation are required to use the 2010 and 2020 
motor vehicle emissions budgets from this submitted SIP revision for 
future conformity determinations.

DATES: This finding is effective October 16, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kerri Fiedler, Air & Radiation Program 
(8P-AR), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, 999 
18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466, (303) 312-6493.
    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 Utah Department of Environmental 
Quality on September 5, 2002 stating that the 2010 and 2020 
PM10 and NOX motor vehicle emissions budgets in 
the submitted Utah County PM10 SIP revision 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: September 23, 2002.
Robert E. Roberts,
Regional Administrator, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. 02-24916 Filed 9-30-02; 8:45 am]
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