[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 323-324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-83]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 93

[OAR-2003-0049, FRL-7857-2]


Options for PM2.5 and PM10 Hot-Spot Analyses in the 
Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the New PM2.5 and 
Existing PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standards; Extension of 
Comment Period

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rule; extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is extending the comment 
period for the supplemental proposal that included additional options 
for assessing localized impacts of individual transportation projects 
in particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) 
nonattainment and maintenance areas and requested comment on all 
options proposed. The supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking was 
published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2004 (69 FR 72140). 
EPA is extending the comment period for the proposed rule to January 
27, 2005.

DATES: Written comments on this supplemental proposal (69 FR 72140) 
must be received on or before January 27, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OAR-2003-
0049 by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET, 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred 
method for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-1741.
     Mail: Air Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 6102T,

[[Page 324]]

1200 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID 
No. OAR-2003-0049.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, room B102, EPA West 
Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington DC. Such deliveries 
are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0049. 
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through EDOCKET, regulations.gov, or e-
mail. The EPA EDOCKET and the federal regulations.gov websites are 
``anonymous access'' systems, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through EDOCKET or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit EDOCKET on-line or see the Federal Register of May 31, 
2002 (67 FR 38102). For additional instructions on submitting comments, 
go to Unit I.C. of the Supplementary Information section of this 
document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index 
at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in EDOCKET or in hard 
copy at the Air Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rudy Kapichak, State Measures and 
Conformity Group, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Road, Ann Arbor, MI 
48105, e-mail address: [email protected], telephone number: 
(734) 214-4574, fax number 734-214-4052; or Laura Berry, State Measures 
and Conformity Group, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Road, Ann Arbor, 
MI 48105, e-mail address: [email protected], telephone number: (734) 
214-4858, fax number 734-214-4052.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA published a supplemental notice of 
proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) in the Federal Register on December 13, 
2004 (69 FR 72140). That notice included a deadline for written 
comments of January 12, 2005. Since that time we have received requests 
for an extension of that deadline to allow additional time to review 
and comment on the proposed options for hot-spot analyses in 
PM2.5 and PM10 nonattainment and maintenance 
areas. As a result of these requests, EPA is extending the comment 
period on the supplemental proposal to January 27, 2005.
    The requests received by EPA regarding an extension of the comment 
period focus on the ability of transportation conformity stakeholder 
groups to coordinate with their members and prepare meaningful comments 
during a 30-day comment period which includes two federal holidays. 
Stakeholder groups representing state and local air quality and 
transportation agencies and environmental and transportation advocacy 
groups frequently submit significant comments on proposed changes to 
the transportation conformity rule.
    In the SNPRM, EPA requested comment on a wide range of options for 
hot-spot analyses in PM2.5 and PM10 nonattainment 
and maintenance areas both before and after state implementation plans 
are submitted. Specifically, we asked commenters to submit research and 
data that indicate the existence and prevalence of PM2.5 and 
PM10 hot-spots as well as legal rationale to support options 
that they preferred. Many of the options proposed in the SNPRM require 
state and local agencies to make decisions regarding the existence of 
hot-spots in their area as well as decisions regarding the specific 
types of locations within a nonattainment or maintenance area that are 
most susceptible to a localized violation of the PM2.5 or 
PM10 air quality standard. As such, commenters were 
requested to submit information indicating whether or not they would 
have sufficient data to make the decisions required by each of these 
options. Finally, commenters were asked to submit information on 
whether the U.S. Department of Transportation should be allowed to make 
categorical conformity determinations for certain types of highway 
projects and on what types of highway projects could be eligible for a 
categorical conformity determination.
    It should be noted that EPA was requested to extend the comment 
period by 30 days to February 11, 2005. EPA believes that it is 
necessary to strike a balance between the additional time that was 
requested to complete and submit comments and the need to finalize 
these requirements in sufficient time so that state and local 
transportation planners are prepared to implement them by the end of 
the one year conformity grace period that applies in PM2.5 
nonattainment areas. Given the timing of the publication of the SNPRM 
and the significant amount of information that is requested from 
commenters, EPA is extending the comment period to January 27, 2005.

    Dated: December 28, 2004.
Jeffrey Holmstead,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 05-83 Filed 1-3-05; 8:45 am]
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