[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 77 (Friday, April 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20899-20900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8122]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[R06-OAR-2005-TX-0018; FRL-7902-7]


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

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 
the on-road motor vehicle emissions budgets contained in the revision 
to the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria severe 1-hour 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 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area.

DATES: These budgets are effective May 9, 2005.

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, E-mail 
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 Texas 
to revise its mobile source budgets for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 
1-hour ozone nonattainment area with MOBILE6. (MOBILE6 is the most 
recent emissions factor model, released by EPA on January 29, 2001.)
    In December 2004, we received the MOBILE6 SIP revision for the 
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 8-county 1-hour ozone nonattainment area. 
There are two motor vehicle emissions budgets found in this plan for 
2007. The emissions budget for VOCs is 89.99 tons/day; the 
NOX emissions budget is

[[Page 20900]]

186.13 tons/day. On January 12, 2005, the availability of these budgets 
was posted on EPA's Web site for the purpose of soliciting public 
comments. The comment period closed on February 11, 2005, and we 
received no comments.
    Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. EPA Region 6 sent a letter to the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality on March 23, 2005, finding that the motor vehicle 
emissions budgets in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 8-county 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.

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

    Dated: April 14, 2005.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 05-8122 Filed 4-21-05; 8:45 am]
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