[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 189 (Thursday, September 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 60492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25080]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R05-OAR-2011-0468; FRL-9473-1]


Adequacy Status of the Ohio Portion of the Huntington/Ashland 
Submitted Annual Fine Particulate Matter Maintenance Plan for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have made 
insignificance findings through the transportation conformity adequacy 
process, under the Clean Air Act, for directly emitted fine particulate 
matter (PM2.5) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in 
the Ohio portion of the Huntington/Ashland WV-KY-OH area. Ohio 
submitted the insignificance findings with the redesignation and 
maintenance plan submittal on May 4, 2011. As a result of our findings, 
the Ohio portion of the Huntington/Ashland area is no longer required 
to perform a regional emissions analysis for either directly emitted 
PM2.5 or NOX as part of future PM2.5 
conformity determinations for the 1997 annual PM2.5 air 
quality standard.

DATES: These findings are effective October 14, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Morris, Environmental 
Scientist, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch, Air and 
Radiation Division, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 
353-8656, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we'', 
``us'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

Background

    Today's notice is simply an announcement of findings that we have 
already made. On August 11, 2011, EPA Region 5 sent a letter to the 
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency stating that we have made 
insignificance findings, through the adequacy process, for 
PM2.5 and NOX for the Ohio portion of the 
Huntington/Ashland area, as the state had requested in its 
redesignation and maintenance plan submittal. Receipt of the submittal 
was announced on EPA's transportation conformity Web site. No comments 
were received. The findings letter is available at EPA's conformity web 
site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.
    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 conform. Conformity to a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) indicates 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 transportation 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 in making our adequacy determination. 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 the SIP. Even 
if we find a budget adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved.
    The findings are available at EPA's transportation conformity Web 
site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: September 19, 2011.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2011-25080 Filed 9-28-11; 8:45 am]
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