[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 58 (Thursday, March 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15325-15326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-6696]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[CA116-NOA; FRL-7639-8]


Adequacy Status of the South Coast and Coachella Valley, CA; 
Attainment and Maintenance Plans for Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy determination.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found 
that the motor vehicle emissions budgets contained in California plans 
for attainment of the 1-hour ozone, PM10, and carbon monoxide (CO) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and maintenance of the 
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) NAAQS in the South Coast, and attainment of the 
PM10 NAAQS in the Coachella Valley, are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. As a result of our finding, the Southern 
California Association of Governments, the Federal Highway 
Administration, and the Federal Transit Authority must use the motor 
vehicle emissions budgets from the submitted plan for future conformity 
determinations.

DATES: This determination is effective April 9, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding is available at EPA's 
conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/reg9sips.htm. You may also contact Dave Jesson, U.S. EPA, Region IX, 
Air Division, AIR-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901; 
(415) 972-3957 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces our finding that the 
following emissions budgets contained in the 2003 South Coast Air 
Quality Management Plan and the 2003 Coachella Valley PM10 State

[[Page 15326]]

Implementation Plan, submitted by the California Air Resources Board 
(CARB) on January 9, 2004, are adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes: 1-hour ozone budgets for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) for the years 2005, 2008, and 2010, as 
part of the 1-hour ozone attainment plan for the South Coast Air Basin; 
PM10 budgets for VOC, NOX, and PM10 for the years 2003 and 
2006, as part of the PM10 attainment plan for the South Coast; CO 
budget for CO for the year 2002, as part of the CO attainment plan for 
the South Coast; NO2 budget for NOX for the year 2003, as 
part of the NO2 maintenance plan for the South Coast Air Basin; and 
PM10 budgets for PM10 for the years 2003 and 2006, as part of the PM10 
attainment plan for the Coachella Valley. EPA Region IX made these 
findings in letters to CARB on March 11, 2004. We are also announcing 
these findings on our conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/reg9sips.htm.
    The methodology for estimating paved road dust emissions in the 
South Coast and Coachella Valley PM10 plans and budgets is consistent 
with EPA's AP-42 emissions factors, with one exception: California did 
not use correction factor C in the current version of AP-42, which 
subtracts out MOBILE6.2 1980's fleet exhaust emissions, brake wear, and 
tire wear. California-specific roadway silt loading inputs to the 
emission factor equation were derived from measurements by Midwest 
Research Institute. The unpaved road dust emissions factor was based on 
measurements performed by the University of California, Davis, and the 
Desert Research Institute. We are specifically approving the State's 
reentrained dust methodologies for paved and unpaved roads for use in 
future conformity analyses.
    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 state air quality implementation 
plans (SIPs) and establishes the criteria and procedures for 
determining whether or not they 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.
    The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP's motor vehicle 
emissions budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 
40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). One of these criteria is that the plan provide for 
attainment or maintenance (as appropriate) of the relevant ambient air 
quality standard. We have preliminarily determined that the South Coast 
SIP submittal provides for progress and attainment of the 1-hour ozone, 
PM10, and CO NAAQS, and maintenance of the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 
NAAQS, and that the budgets associated with the plans are consistent 
with the plan and, therefore, can be found adequate. Similarly, we have 
preliminarily determined that the Coachella Valley SIP submittal 
provides for progress and attainment of the PM10 NAAQS, and that the 
budgets associated with the plan are consistent with the plan and, 
therefore, can be found adequate.
    We have described our 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''). We followed this guidance in making our adequacy 
determination on the budgets in the South Coast and Coachella Valley 
SIP submittals.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: March 12, 2004.
Laura Yoshii,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 04-6696 Filed 3-24-04; 8:45 am]
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