[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 102 (Wednesday, May 28, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 31700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13253]



[[Page 31700]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7503-6]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Budgets in Submitted State 
Implementation Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes; 
Pennsylvania; Revised Attainment Plan for Pennsylvania Portion of the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton 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 emission budgets 
(budgets) for Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks 
Counties contained in the revised 2005 Attainment Plan (Plan) are 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The Plan was submitted 
to EPA by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 
(PADEP) as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision on January 17, 
2003. EPA has found that the Plan's budgets for those five counties, 
which comprise the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area, are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes.

DATES: The findings that the budgets are adequate were made in a letter 
dated April 24, 2003 from EPA Region III to the PADEP. These adequacy 
findings are effective on June 12, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Budney, U.S. EPA, Region III, 
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 at (215) 814-2184 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 Attainment Plan for the Pennsylvania portion of the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area submitted to 
EPA as a SIP revision on January 17, 2003.
    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. On 
January 17, 2003, PADEP formally submitted a SIP revision to EPA 
consisting of a revised 2005 Attainment Plan (Plan) for the 
Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone 
Nonattainment Area (Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and 
Bucks Counties). On February 25, 2003, we posted the availability of 
the Plan and the budgets for Southeast Pennsylvania on our conformity 
Web site for the purpose of soliciting public comment on the adequacy 
of the budgets. EPA's public comment period closed on March 27, 2003. 
We did not receive any comments.
    On April 24, 2003, EPA Region III sent a letter to PADEP that 
constituted final Agency action on the adequacy of the budgets 
contained in the Plan submitted by PADEP. That action was EPA's 
findings that the Plan's budgets for Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, 
Montgomery and Bucks Counties are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. As a result of our April 24, 2003 findings, the 
revised Plan budgets contained in Pennsylvania's January 17, 2003 SIP 
submittal for Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks 
Counties (the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-
Trenton Ozone Nonattainment Area) may be used for future conformity 
determinations.
    This is an announcement of adequacy findings that we already made 
on April 24, 2003. The effective date of these findings is June 12, 
2003. These findings will also be announced on EPA's Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp.htm (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' 
button). The Web site will contain a detailed analysis of our adequacy 
findings.
    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 national ambient air quality standards. 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) through (5).
    On July 28, 2000, EPA proposed (65 FR 46383) to clarify its 
December 16, 1999 proposal to approve or conditionally approve and 
disapprove in the alternative attainment demonstration SIPs for ten 
areas, including the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone 
Nonattainment area, (64 FR 70317). In that proposal we stated that even 
though the approved SIP would contain budgets, once we found newly 
revised budgets based on MOBILE6 adequate, they would apply instead of 
the previously approved budgets. In the October 26, 2001 approval (66 
FR 54143) of the attainment demonstration for the Pennsylvania portion 
of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Ozone Nonattainment area we 
approved that proposal. Therefore, this adequacy finding will allow the 
replacement of the mobile budgets in the one-hour ozone SIP previously 
approved by EPA.
    Please note that this adequacy finding for the mobile budgets for 
the revised SIP is separate from EPA's completeness determination of 
the revised SIP submission, and separate from EPA's action to approve 
or disapprove the revised SIP. Even though we have found these budgets 
adequate and they are replacing the previously approved mobile budgets, 
the revised mobile budgets contained in the revised SIP still have to 
be approved or disapproved.

    Dated: May 7, 2003.
James W. Newsom,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 03-13253 Filed 5-27-03; 8:45 am]
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