[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 217 (Thursday, November 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58277-58278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27170]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R04-OAR-2009-0164-200917; FRL-8980-1]


Adequacy Status of the Tennessee Portion of the Bi-State Memphis 
Maintenance Plan 8-Hour Ozone Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: EPA is notifying the public that it has found that the motor 
vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for Shelby County, Tennessee in the 
1997 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision, submitted on February 26, 2009, by the Tennessee Department 
of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), are adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. Shelby County is one of the counties in the bi-
state Memphis Area for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. Crittenden 
County, Arkansas is the other county in the bi-state Memphis Area. 
Through a separate action EPA has already found the Crittenden County 
budgets adequate for transportation conformity purposes. This action 
relates only to the Shelby County, Tennessee budgets. As a result of 
EPA's finding, Shelby County must use the MVEBs for future conformity

[[Page 58278]]

determinations for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard.

DATES: These MVEBs are effective November 27, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dianna Smith, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, 
SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Ms. Smith can also be reached by telephone 
at (404) 562-9207, or via electronic mail at [email protected]. The 
finding is available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is simply an announcement of a 
finding that EPA has already made. EPA Region 4 sent a letter to TDEC 
on
    September 18, 2009, stating that the MVEBs identified for Shelby 
County in Tennessee's maintenance plan SIP revision for their portion 
of the bi-state Memphis Area, submitted on February 26, 2009, are 
adequate and must be used for transportation conformity determinations 
in Shelby County, Tennessee. The bi-state Memphis, Tennessee 8-hour 
ozone nonattainment area is comprised of Shelby County in Tennessee and 
Crittenden County in Arkansas. Tennessee's redesignation request and 
maintenance plan submittal addresses only MVEBs for the Tennessee 
portion of this Area (i.e., Shelby County). The MVEBs for the Arkansas 
portion of this Area are addressed in a separate submittal provided by 
the State of Arkansas. In a previous action, EPA found the MVEBs 
associated with Crittenden County (as a part of the bi-state Memphis 
1997 8-hour ozone area) adequate for transportation conformity purpose. 
More details on EPA's finding for the Crittenden County MVEBs can be 
obtained at the EPA Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/pastsips.htm.
    EPA posted the availability of the Shelby County MVEBs on EPA's Web 
site on March 12, 2009, as part of the adequacy process, for the 
purpose of soliciting comments. The adequacy comment period ran from 
March 12, 2009, through April 13, 2009. During EPA's adequacy comment 
period, no adverse comments were received on the Shelby County MVEBs. 
Through this notice, EPA is informing the public that these MVEBs are 
adequate for transportation conformity. This finding has also been 
announced on EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/pastsips.htm. The adequate MVEBs are provided 
in the following table:

                                   Shelby County, Tennessee 8-Hour Ozone MVEBs
                                                 [Tons per day]
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                                                2006              2009              2017              2021
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NOX.....................................            55.878            55.620            55.173            54.445
VOC.....................................            25.216            27.240            18.323            13.817
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    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 state air 
quality implementation plans 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 MVEBs are 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 
93.118(e)(4). We have also described the process for determining the 
adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in our July 1, 2004, final rulemaking 
entitled, ``Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the New 8-
hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and 
Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing Areas; Transportation Conformity 
Rule Amendments: Response to Court Decision and Additional Rule 
Changes'' (69 FR 40004). Please note that an adequacy review is 
separate from EPA's completeness review, and it should not be used to 
prejudge EPA's ultimate approval of Tennessee's maintenance plan SIP 
revision submittal for Shelby County. Even if EPA finds a budget 
adequate, the maintenance plan SIP revision submittal could later be 
disapproved.
    Within 24 months from the effective date of this notice, the 
transportation partners will need to demonstrate conformity to the new 
MVEBs, if the demonstration has not already been made, pursuant to 40 
CFR 93.104(e). See, 73 FR 4419 (January 24, 2008).

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

    Dated: October 29, 2009.
Beverly H. Banister,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. E9-27170 Filed 11-10-09; 8:45 am]
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