[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51079-51080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18771]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[AZ-118-ADEQ; FRL-7801-9]


Adequacy Status of the Maricopa County, Arizona, Submitted One-
Hour Ozone Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes

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 
that the motor vehicle emissions budgets contained in the submitted 
One-Hour Ozone Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for the 
Maricopa County Nonattainment Area are adequate for conformity 
purposes.
    As a result of our finding, the Maricopa Association of Governments 
and the U.S. Department of Transportation must use the VOC and 
NOX motor vehicle emissions budgets from the submitted Ozone 
Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for future conformity 
determinations.

DATES: This determination is effective September 1, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding is available at EPA's 
conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/adequacy.htm (once there, click on the ``What SIP submissions has EPA 
already found adequate or inadequate?'' button).
    You may also contact Wienke Tax, U.S. EPA, Region IX, Air Division 
AIR-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901; (520) 622-
1622 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces our finding that the 
emissions budgets contained in the submitted One-Hour Ozone 
Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for the Maricopa County 
Nonattainment Area (March 2004) (``2004 MAG Ozone Maintenance Plan''), 
submitted by the State of Arizona on behalf of the Maricopa Association 
of Governments, are adequate for conformity purposes. EPA Region IX 
made this finding in a letter to the State of Arizona, Department of 
Environmental Quality, on August 3, 2004. We are also announcing this 
finding on our conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/adequate.htm (once there, click on the ``What SIP submissions 
has EPA already found adequate or inadequate?'' button).
    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 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 emissions budgets are adequate for 
conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). One of these 
criteria is that the motor vehicle emissions budgets, when considered 
together with all other emissions sources, are consistent with 
applicable requirements for a maintenance plan. We have preliminarily 
determined that the 2004 MAG Ozone Maintenance Plan meets the necessary 
emissions reductions and therefore, the motor vehicle emissions budgets 
can be found adequate. Please note that an adequacy review is separate 
from EPA's completeness review which is required by section 110(k)(1) 
of the Clean Air Act, and it also should not be used to prejudge EPA's 
ultimate action (approval or disapproval) on the submitted plan itself. 
Even if we find a budget adequate, the submitted plan could later be 
disapproved.
    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 emissions budgets contained in the 2004 MAG Ozone 
Maintenance Plan.

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


[[Page 51080]]


    Dated: August 10, 2004.
Wayne Nastri,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 04-18771 Filed 8-16-04; 8:45 am]
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