[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 105 (Monday, June 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32748-32749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13718]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[LA-68-1-7599; FRL-7506-3]


Adequacy Status of Submitted State Implementation Plans (SIP) for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes: MOBILE6 Motor Vehicle Emissions 
Budgets for the Baton Rouge 1-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found 
the on-road motor vehicle emissions budget contained in the revision to 
the Baton Rouge serious ozone nonattainment area attainment 
demonstration SIP adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a 
result of our finding, the budgets from the submitted attainment 
demonstration SIP revision must be used for future conformity 
determinations in the Baton Rouge area.

DATES: These budgets are effective June 17, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The essential information in this 
notice will be available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/oms/transp/conform/adequacy.htm. You may also contact Ms. 
Peggy Wade, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-7247, Email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refers to EPA. The word ``budget(s)'' refers to the mobile 
source emissions budget for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the 
mobile source emissions budget for nitrogen oxides (NOX). 
The word ``SIP'' in this document refers to the State Implementation 
Plan revision submitted to satisfy the commitment of the State of 
Louisiana to revise its mobile source budgets for the Baton Rouge ozone 
nonattainment area with MOBILE6. (MOBILE6 is the most recent emissions 
factor model, released by EPA on January 29, 2001.)
    On January 21, 2003, we received the MOBILE6 SIP revision for the 
Baton Rouge 5-Parish ozone nonattainment area. There are two motor 
vehicle emissions budgets found in this plan for 2005. The emissions 
budget for VOCs is 18.82 tons/day; the NOX emissions budget 
is 30.00 tons/day. On January 31, 2003, the availability of these 
budgets was posted on EPA's Web site for the purpose of soliciting 
public comments.

[[Page 32749]]

The comment period closed on March 3, 2003, and we received no 
comments.
    Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. EPA Region 6 delivered a letter to the Louisiana 
Department of Environmental Quality on March 27, 2003, finding that the 
motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Baton Rouge 5-Parish ozone 
nonattainment area are adequate and must be used for transportation 
conformity determinations.
    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act. EPA's conformity rule, 40 CFR part 93, 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 EPA determines 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 such an adequacy 
review is separate from EPA's completeness review, and it should not be 
used to prejudge EPA's ultimate approval of the SIP. Even if we find a 
budget adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved.
    On March 2, 1999, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that 
budgets contained in submitted SIPS cannot be used for conformity 
determinations unless EPA has affirmatively found the conformity budget 
adequate. We have described our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in the policy guidance dated May 14, 1999, and 
titled Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999, 
Conformity Court Decision. We followed this guidance in making our 
adequacy determination. You may obtain a copy of this guidance from 
EPA's conformity website or by contacting us at the address above.

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

    Dated: May 16, 2003.
Lawrence E. Starfield,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 03-13718 Filed 5-30-03; 8:45 am]
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