[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 81 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23349-23350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09580]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9910-08-Region 3]


Adequacy Status of the Submitted Maintenance Plan for the 
Maryland Portion of the Metropolitan Washington, DC, (DC-MD-VA) 1997 
Fine Particulate National Ambient Air Quality Standard Nonattainment 
Area for Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 
notifying the public that EPA has found that the motor vehicle 
emissions budgets (MVEBs) in the Maryland portion of the Metropolitan 
Washington, DC, (DC-MD-VA) 1997 Fine Particulate (PM2.5) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) Nonattainment Area 
(hereafter, the Washington Area) Maintenance Plan, submitted as a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision by the Maryland Department of the 
Environment (MDE), are adequate for transportation conformity purposes.

DATE: This finding is effective on May 13, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Becoat, Physical Scientist, 
Office of Air Program Planning (3AP30), United States Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 
19103, (215) 814-2036; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that EPA has 
already made. EPA Region III sent a letter to MDE on March 25, 2014, 
stating that EPA has found that the MVEBs in the Washington Area's 
Maintenance Plan for budget years 2017 and 2025, submitted on July 10, 
2013 by MDE, are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a 
result of EPA's finding, the State of Maryland must use the 2017 and 
2025 Tier 1 MVEBs shown in Table 1 from the Washington Area's 
Maintenance Plan for future conformity determinations for the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS. The Tier 2 MVEBS shown in Table 2 adds a twenty 
percent (20%)

[[Page 23350]]

transportation buffer to the mobile emissions inventory projections for 
PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NOX) in 2017 and 2025. 
The Tier 2 MVEBs will become effective if it is determined that 
technical uncertainties primarily due to model changes and to vehicle 
fleet turnover, which may affect future motor vehicle emissions 
inventories, lead to motor vehicle emissions estimates above the Tier 1 
MVEBs. The determination will be made through the interagency 
consultation process and fully documented within the first conformity 
analysis that uses the Tier 2 MVEBs. 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. 
The adequate direct particulate matter (PM) and NOX MVEBs 
for Tier 1 and Tier 2 are provided in Table 1 and Table 2.

     Table 1--Tier 1 On-Road MVEBs Contained in the Washington Area
                Maintenance Plan for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Motor vehicle  Mobile vehicle
                                             emissions       emissions
                                            budget for    budget for NOX
                  Year                     PM2.5 on-road      on-road
                                             emissions       emissions
                                             (tons per       (tons per
                                               year)           year)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017....................................           1,787          41,709
2025....................................           1,350          27,400
------------------------------------------------------------------------


     Table 2--Tier 2 On-Road MVEBs Contained in the Washington Area
                Maintenance Plan for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Motor vehicle  Mobile vehicle
                                             emissions       emissions
                                            budget for    budget for NOX
                  Year                     PM2.5 on-road      on-road
                                             emissions       emissions
                                             (tons per       (tons per
                                               year)           year)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017....................................           2,144          50,051
2025....................................           1,586          32,880
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation 
plans, transportation improvement programs, and projects conform to 
SIPs and establishes 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 standards.
    The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP's MVEBs are 
adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4). 
EPA described the process for determining the adequacy of submitted SIP 
budgets in a July 1, 2004 preamble starting at 69 FR 40038 and used the 
information in these resources in making this adequacy determination. 
Maryland did not provide emission budgets for sulfur dioxide 
(SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or ammonia for the 
Washington Area's Maintenance Plan because it concluded that emissions 
of these precursors from motor vehicles are not significant 
contributors to the area's PM2.5 air quality problem. The 
transportation conformity rule provision at 40 CFR 93.102(b)(2)(v) 
indicates that conformity does not apply for these precursors, due to 
the lack of motor vehicle emissions budgets for these precursors and 
state's conclusion that motor vehicle emissions of SO2, 
VOCs, and ammonia do not contribute significantly to the area's 
PM2.5 nonattainment problem. This provision of the 
transportation conformity rule predates and was not disturbed by the 
January 4, 2013 decision in the litigation on the PM2.5 
implementation rule. EPA has preliminarily concluded that the State's 
decision to not include budgets for SO2, VOCs, and ammonia 
is consistent with the requirements of the transportation conformity 
rule. That decision does not affect EPA's adequacy finding for the 
submitted direct PM and NOX MVEBs for the Washington Area's 
Maintenance Plan.
    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 EPA finds the budgets for the 
Washington Area's Maintenance Plan adequate, the SIP could later be 
disapproved. The finding and the response to comments are available at 
EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.

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

    Dated: April 11, 2014.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2014-09580 Filed 4-25-14; 8:45 am]
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