[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31351-31352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12797]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[R08-CO-2012-0001; FRL-9676-4]


Adequacy Determination for Aspen PM[bdi1][bdi0] and Fort Collins 
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plans' Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes; State of Colorado

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 the following adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes: The ``Revised PM10 Maintenance Plan for the Aspen 
Attainment/Maintenance Area'' \1\ and its motor vehicle emissions 
budget, and the ``Revised Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort Collins 
Attainment/Maintenance Area.'' As more fully explained in the 
Supplementary Information section of this notice, this finding will 
affect future transportation conformity determinations.
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    \1\ PM10 refers to particulate matter less than or 
equal to 10 microns in size.

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DATES: This finding is effective June 11, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Russ, Air Program, Mailcode 8P-AR, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, 
Colorado 80202-1129, telephone number (303) 312-6479, fax number (303) 
312-6064, or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our,'' are used, we mean EPA.
    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA). The conformity rule provisions at 40 CFR 93 
require that transportation plans, programs, and projects conform to a 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) and establish 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 timely attainment of 
the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).
    The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP revision's motor 
vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) is adequate for conformity purposes are 
outlined in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4), which was promulgated August 15, 1997 
(62 FR 43780). We described our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP MVEBs in our July 1, 2004 Transportation Conformity Rule 
Amendments (69 FR 40004). In addition, in certain areas with monitored 
ambient carbon monoxide (CO) values significantly below the NAAQS, EPA 
has allowed states to use limited maintenance plans (LMPs), which 
contain no future year maintenance projections and, therefore, no 
MVEBs. (See ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable CO 
Nonattainment Areas,'' signed by Joseph Paisie, Group Leader, 
Integrated Policy and Strategies Group (MD-15), October 6, 1995, also 
known as EPA's ``LMP Policy.'') In an area covered by an approved 
carbon monoxide LMP, the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and 
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) are presumed to automatically 
satisfy the emissions budget test requirement, and no regional 
emissions analysis with respect to a MVEB under sections 40 CFR 93.118 
or 93.119 (i.e., MVEB(s), build less than no-build, or build less than 
base year) of the conformity rule is required for RTP and TIP 
conformity. We used these resources in making our adequacy 
determinations announced in this notice.
    This notice is simply an announcement of findings that we have 
already made and are as described below:
    Aspen (PM10): The State submitted the ``Revised PM10 
Maintenance Plan for the Aspen Attainment/Maintenance Area'' on May 25, 
2011. The State prepared the submittal to meet the requirements of 
section 175A(b) of the CAA for a second 10-year maintenance plan. EPA 
sent a letter to the Colorado Department of Public Health and 
Environment (CDPHE) on August 11, 2011, stating that the submitted 
Aspen PM10 second 10-year maintenance plan and the 2023 
p.m.10 MVEB were adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes. We posted the ``Revised PM10 Maintenance Plan for 
the Aspen Attainment/Maintenance Area'' for adequacy review on EPA's 
transportation conformity Web site on June 20, 2011. The public comment 
period closed on July 20, 2011, and we did not receive any comments in 
response to the adequacy review posting (see http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm#aspen).
    Fort Collins (Carbon Monoxide): The State submitted the ``Revised 
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort Collins Attainment/Maintenance 
Area'' on May 25, 2011. The State prepared the submittal to meet the 
requirements of section 175A(b) of the CAA for a second 10-year 
maintenance plan and used, as appropriate, the provisions of EPA's CO 
LMP policy. Thus, the LMP contains no MVEB. EPA sent a letter to the 
CDPHE on August 9, 2011, stating that the submitted Fort Collins second 
10-year maintenance plan was adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes. We posted the ``Revised Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort 
Collins Attainment/Maintenance Area'' for adequacy review on EPA's 
transportation conformity Web site on June 20, 2011. The public comment 
period closed on July 20, 2011, and we did not receive any comments in 
response to the adequacy review posting (see http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm#ftcollins).
    For the Aspen PM10 maintenance area, the MVEB we found 
adequate is 1146 pounds of PM10 per day in 2023. Following 
the effective date listed in the DATES section of this notice, the 
Colorado Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of 
Transportation are required to use this motor vehicle emissions budget 
for future transportation conformity determinations for projects in the 
Aspen PM10 maintenance area. As noted above, the ``Revised 
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort Collins Attainment/Maintenance 
Area'' contains no MVEB, and, under EPA's LMP interpretation, the North 
Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Colorado Department 
of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation may 
presume that RTPs and TIPs satisfy the emissions budget test 
requirement with respect to such revised plan. However, prior MVEBs may 
apply as we described in our adequacy letter to the State.
    Please note that our adequacy review described above is separate 
from our rulemaking action on the two maintenance plans discussed above 
and should not be used to prejudge our ultimate approval or disapproval 
of each

[[Page 31352]]

of the SIP revisions. Even if we find a maintenance plan or a 
maintenance plan and its MVEB adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes, we may later disapprove the SIP revision.

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

    Dated: April 30, 2012.
James B. Martin,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2012-12797 Filed 5-24-12; 8:45 am]
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