[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 49265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19629]



[[Page 49265]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R04-OAR-2013-0129; FRL-9900-02--Region4]


Adequacy Status of the North Carolina Portion of the Charlotte-
Gastonia-Rock Hill Bi-State Area Maintenance Plan 8-Hour Ozone Sub-Area 
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 the Agency has determined 
that the sub-area motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the North 
Carolina portion of the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill bi-state area 
(hereafter referred to as the bi-state Charlotte Area) are adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes. These MVEBs were submitted by the 
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC 
DENR) as part of the state's 1997 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance plan on 
November 2, 2011, and later supplemented on February 8, 2013. The bi-
state Charlotte moderate 1997 8-hour ozone area is comprised of 
Charlotte-Gastonia in North Carolina, and Rock Hill (a portion of York 
County), South Carolina. The North Carolina portion of the bi-state 
Charlotte Area is comprised of the following sub-areas or counties: 
Cabarrus, Gaston, partial of Iredell (Davidson and Coddle Creek 
Townships), Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, and Union. North Carolina's 
maintenance plan includes the required MVEBs for volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). This action 
relates only to the North Carolina portion of the bi-state Charlotte 
Area. EPA approved MVEBs for South Carolina's portion of York County in 
a separate action. As a result of EPA's finding, which is being 
announced in this notice, the North Carolina portion of the bi-state 
Charlotte Area must use the sub-area MVEBs for future conformity 
determinations for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard.

DATES: These sub-area MVEBs are effective August 28, 2013.

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 NC 
DENR on July 25, 2013, stating that the sub-area MVEBs identified for 
the North Carolina portion of the bi-state Charlotte area in the 1997 
8-hour ozone maintenance plan, submitted on November 2, 2011, and later 
supplemented on February 8, 2013, are adequate and must be used for 
transportation conformity determinations in the North Carolina portion 
of the bi-state Charlotte Area.
    EPA posted the availability of the sub-area MVEBs contained in the 
North Carolina maintenance plan on EPA's Web site on February 21, 2013, 
as part of the adequacy process, for the purpose of soliciting 
comments. During EPA's adequacy comment period from February 21, 2013, 
through March 25, 2013, no comments, adverse or otherwise, were 
received on the MVEBs for the North Carolina portion of the bi-state 
Charlotte Area. Through this notice, EPA is informing the public that 
these sub-area 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 
sub-area MVEBs are provided in the following table:

      Charlotte (North Carolina Portion) 8-Hour Ozone Sub-Area MVEB
                             [Kilograms/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        2013      2025
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Cabarrus-Rowan MPO
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.................................................    10,849     6,510
NOX.................................................    21,822    11,953
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Gaston Urban Area MPO/Lake Norman RPO
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.................................................    11,610     7,047
NOX.................................................    22,168    12,541
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Mecklenburg-Union MPO/Rocky River RPO
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.................................................    28,252    17,378
NOX.................................................    61,501    35,728
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 
state implementation plan (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). EPA has also described the process for determining the 
adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in a 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 the maintenance plan for the North 
Carolina portion of the bi-state Charlotte Area. Even if EPA finds a 
budget adequate, the maintenance plan 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: August 5, 2013.
Beverly H. Banister,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2013-19629 Filed 8-12-13; 8:45 am]
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