[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 101 (Friday, May 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 30098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11604]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0399; FRL-8570-6]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Budgets in Submitted Eight-Hour 
Ozone Attainment Plan for the San Diego County Nonattainment Area for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes; California

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that the Agency 
has found that the motor vehicle emissions budgets in the submitted 
Eight-Hour Ozone Attainment Plan for San Diego County (May 2007) 
(``2007 San Diego Eight-Hour Ozone Plan'') are adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes. The 2007 San Diego Eight-Hour Ozone 
Plan was submitted to EPA on June 15, 2007 by the California Air 
Resources Board as a revision to the California state implementation 
plan. As a result of our finding, the San Diego Association of 
Governments (SANDAG) and the U.S. Department of Transportation must use 
the motor vehicle emissions budgets from the submitted eight-hour ozone 
attainment plan for future transportation conformity determinations.

DATES: This finding is effective June 9, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John J. Kelly, U.S. EPA, Region IX, 
Air Division AIR-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901; 
(415) 947-4151 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. EPA Region IX sent a letter to the California Air 
Resources Board (ARB) on May 13, 2008 stating that the motor vehicle 
emissions budgets for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of 
nitrogen (NOX) in the submitted 2007 San Diego Eight-Hour 
Ozone Plan for 2008 are adequate. The budgets correspond to the San 
Diego County 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, which encompasses the 
entirety of the county, except for several excluded tribal areas in the 
southeastern portion of the county, in southwest California. Receipt of 
the 2007 San Diego Eight-Hour Ozone Plan and related motor vehicle 
emissions budgets was announced on EPA's transportation conformity Web 
site, and no comments were submitted. The finding is available at EPA's 
conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.
    The adequate motor vehicle emissions budgets for the San Diego 
County 8-hour ozone nonattainment area are provided in the following 
table:

                Adequate Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
                       [Summer day, tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                VOC motor     NOX motor
                                                 vehicle       vehicle
                 Budget year                    emissions     emissions
                                                 budget        budget
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008........................................           53            98
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    Transportation conformity is required by Clean Air Act section 
176(c). EPA's 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 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). The process for determining the adequacy of such 
budgets is set forth at 40 CFR 93.118(f). 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 13, 2008.
Wayne Nastri,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. E8-11604 Filed 5-22-08; 8:45 am]
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