[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14466-14467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5399]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R01-OAR-2008-0107; A-1-FRL-8543-3]


Adequacy Status of the Massachusetts 8-Hour Ozone Motor Vehicle 
Emissions Budgets for Transportation Conformity Purposes; Massachusetts

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: EPA is notifying the public that EPA has found that the 2008 
and 2009 motor vehicle emissions budgets in the January 31, 2008 
Massachusetts 8-hour ozone State Implementation Plan revision are 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The submittal includes 
2008 and 2009 motor vehicle emission budgets for the Boston-Lawrence-
Worcester (Eastern Massachusetts) and Springfield (Western 
Massachusetts) 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas. As a result of our 
finding, Massachusetts must use these motor vehicle emission budgets 
for future conformity determinations.

DATES: This finding is effective April 2, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald O. Cooke, Environmental 
Scientist, Air Quality Planning Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, One Congress Street, Suite 
1100 (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023, (617) 918-1668, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Today's action is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. EPA New England sent a letter to the Massachusetts 
Department of Environmental Protection on March 7, 2008, stating that 
the 2008 and 2009 motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) in the 
Boston-Lawrence-Worcester (Eastern Massachusetts) and Springfield 
(Western Massachusetts) 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas are adequate. 
Massachusetts submitted the budgets on January 31, 2008, as part of the 
8-hour ozone attainment demonstration and reasonable further progress 
plan for Eastern and Western Massachusetts. This submittal was 
announced on EPA's conformity website, and received no comments. (See 
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm. Once 
there, click on ``What SIP submissions are currently under EPA adequacy 
review?'')
    The 2008 and 2009 MVEBs, in tons per summer day (tpsd), for 
volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX) for Eastern and Western Massachusetts, are as follows:

                                    Adequate Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
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                                                     Boston-Lawrence-Worcester         Springfield  (Western
                                                   (Eastern Massachusetts) Area         Massachusetts) Area
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    VOC (tpsd)      NOX (tpsd)      VOC (tpsd)      NOX (tpsd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year 2008.......................................           68.30          191.30           11.80           31.30
Year 2009.......................................           63.50          174.96           10.73           27.73
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act. EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation 
plans, programs, and projects conform to state air quality 
implementation plans 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

[[Page 14467]]

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). We have described our process for determining the 
adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in our July 1, 2004, preamble 
starting at 69 FR 40038, and we used the information in these resources 
while making our adequacy determination. Please note that an adequacy 
review is separate from EPA's completeness review, and it also 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. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: March 10, 2008.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
[FR Doc. E8-5399 Filed 3-17-08; 8:45 am]
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