[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 95 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28110-28112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10901]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0378; FRL-8566-4]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Budgets in Submitted South Coast 
8-Hour Ozone and PM2.5 Attainment and Reasonable Further Progress Plans 
for Transportation Conformity Purposes; California

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy and inadequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that the Agency 
has found that the ``baseline'' reasonable further progress motor 
vehicle emissions budgets for 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 in the 
2007 South Coast State Implementation Plan (2007 South Coast SIP), as 
amended on April 30, 2008, are adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes. In this notice, EPA is also notifying the public that the 
Agency has found that the ``SIP-based'' motor vehicle emissions budgets 
for 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 in the amended 2007 South Coast 
SIP are inadequate for transportation conformity purposes. The 2007 
South Coast SIP was submitted to EPA on November 28, 2007 by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB) as a revision to the California 
SIP, and includes reasonable further progress and attainment 
demonstrations for the 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 national 
ambient air quality standards. On February 1, 2008, CARB submitted 
supplemental technical information related to reasonable further 
progress for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The 2007 South Coast SIP was 
amended by a submittal dated April 30, 2008 that replaces the original 
motor vehicle emissions budgets for 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 
and distinguishes between ``baseline'' budgets and ``SIP-based'' 
budgets. As a result of our findings, the Southern California 
Association of Governments and the U.S. Department of Transportation 
must use the South Coast 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 ``baseline'' 
motor vehicle emissions budgets, and cannot use the ``SIP-based'' 
budgets, in the amended 2007 South Coast SIP for future conformity 
determinations.

DATES: This finding is effective May 30, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Rosen, U.S. EPA, Region IX, 
Air Division AIR-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901; 
(415) 947-4152 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Receipt of the motor vehicle emissions budgets for 8-hour ozone and 
PM2.5 in the 2007 South Coast SIP submitted on November 28, 
2007 was announced on EPA's transportation conformity Web site on 
February 12, 2008. Receipt of the motor vehicle emissions budgets in 
the amended 2007 South Coast SIP was announced on March 27, 2008 based 
on a submittal from CARB dated March 26, 2008 that requested parallel 
adequacy processing of draft amendments to the 2007 South Coast SIP. 
The draft amendments to the

[[Page 28111]]

2007 South Coast SIP included two sets of budgets, and CARB labeled 
these sets as ``baseline'' and ``SIP-based'' budgets. CARB also 
requested that EPA consider both sets of budgets simultaneously but 
approve all of the ``baseline'' budgets only if the Agency could not 
approve or find adequate in their entirety the ``SIP-based'' budgets. 
We received comments in response to the adequacy review posting of the 
original 2007 South Coast SIP motor vehicle emissions budgets, and 
comments were also received in response to the adequacy review posting 
of the amended 2007 South Coast SIP motor vehicle emissions budgets. 
The final, adopted amendments to the 2007 South Coast SIP submitted by 
CARB on April 30, 2008 are the same as those submitted by CARB for 
parallel processing on March 26, 2008.
    Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. EPA Region IX sent a letter to the CARB on May 7, 2008 
stating that the ``baseline'' motor vehicle emissions budgets in the 
amended 2007 South Coast SIP for the reasonable further progress (RFP) 
milestone years of 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020 (for 8-hour ozone) 
and 2009 and 2012 (for PM2.5) are adequate. The adequate 
motor vehicle emissions budgets are provided in the following table:

       Adequate 8-Hour Ozone ``Baseline'' Motor Vehicle Emissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          8-hour ozone--summer day, tons
                                                      per day
               Budget year               -------------------------------
                                                ROG             NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008....................................             215             427
2011....................................             176             354
2014....................................             150             287
2017....................................             131              32
2020....................................             116             190
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                           Adequate PM2.5 ``Baseline'' Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        PM2.5--annual average, tons per day
                           Budget year                           -----------------------------------------------
                                                                        ROG             NOX            PM2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009............................................................             196             413              38
2012............................................................             163             337              38
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Our letter dated May 7, 2008 also states that the ``SIP-based'' 
motor vehicle emissions budgets in the amended 2007 South Coast SIP are 
inadequate for transportation conformity purposes. The amended 2007 
South Coast SIP included ``SIP-based'' budgets for 2008, 2011, 2014, 
2017, 2020, and 2023 (for ozone) and for 2009, 2012, 2014, 2023, and 
2030 (for PM2.5). The State has included additional on-road 
mobile source emissions reductions in the ``SIP-based'' budgets from 
the 2007 State Strategy for the California SIP. The ``baseline'' 
budgets include no such reductions but rather reflect emissions 
reductions from CARB rules that were adopted as of October 2006. EPA 
has determined that the ``SIP-based'' budgets are inadequate because 
all of the ``SIP-based'' budgets after 2009 include new emission 
reductions that do not result from specific or enforceable control 
measures. As a result, three of the transportation conformity rule's 
adequacy criteria are not met (40 CFR 93.118(e)(4)(iii), (iv), and (v)) 
for these ``SIP-based'' budgets. The inadequate motor vehicle emissions 
budgets are provided in the following table:

      Inadequate ``SIP-Based'' 8-Hour Ozone Motor Vehicle Emissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          8-hour ozone--summer day, tons
                                                      per day
               Budget year               -------------------------------
                                                ROG             NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008....................................             215             427
2011....................................             162             320
2014....................................             125             196
2017....................................             111             167
2020....................................             101             145
2023....................................              93             128
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                         Inadequate ``SIP-Based'' PM2.5 Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        PM2.5--annual average, tons per day
                           Budget year                           -----------------------------------------------
                                                                        ROG             NOX            PM2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009............................................................             196             413              38
2012............................................................             139             276              37
2014............................................................             122             201              33
2023............................................................              89             131              37

[[Page 28112]]

 
2030............................................................              75             121              39
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    EPA notes that the 2008 8-hour ozone and 2009 PM2.5 
motor vehicle emissions budgets in the state's ``SIP-based'' approach 
are the same as the adequate budgets in the state's ``baseline'' 
approach.
    The finding and the response to comments are available at EPA's 
transportation conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm. Transportation conformity is 
required by Clean Air Act section 176(c). EPA's conformity rule 
requires that transportation plans, transportation improvement 
programs, and projects conform to state air quality implementation 
plans and establishes the criteria and procedures for determining 
whether or not they do 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 
emission budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 
40 CFR 93.118(e)(4), which was promulgated on August 15, 1997 final 
rule (62 FR 43780, 43781-43783). We have further described our process 
for determining the adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in our July 1, 
2004 final rule (69 FR 40004, 40038), and we used the information in 
these resources in making our adequacy findings. Please note that an 
adequacy review is separate from EPA's completeness review, and should 
not be used to prejudge EPA's ultimate approval action for the SIP. 
Even if we find a budget adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved.

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

    Dated: May 6, 2008.
Laura Yoshii,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
 [FR Doc. E8-10901 Filed 5-14-08; 8:45 am]
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