[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 176 (Friday, September 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 54788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22942]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R08-OAR-2015-0450; FRL-9933-91-Region 8]


Adequacy Determination for the Cache County PM2.5 Attainment 
Plan's Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for Transportation Conformity 
Purposes; State of Utah

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 the EPA has found the following adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes: The Cache County, Logan, UT-ID 
PM2.5 Attainment Plan, Utah State Implementation Plan 
Section IX. Part A.23 and its motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEB). 
As more fully explained in the Supplementary Information section of 
this notice, this finding will affect future transportation conformity 
determinations.

DATES: This finding is effective on September 28, 2015.

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 the EPA. Whenever ``State'' is 
used, we mean the State of Utah.
    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.
    The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP revision's MVEBs 
are 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). 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:
    The Governor submitted the Cache County, Logan, UT-ID 
PM2.5 Attainment Plan, Utah SIP Section IX. Part A.23 \1\ to 
EPA on December 16, 2014. The State prepared the SIP revision submittal 
to meet the requirements of Part D of Title I of the CAA for 
PM2.5 attainment plans, subparts 1 and 4 for ``moderate'' 
areas. As part of our adequacy review, we posted the Cache County, 
Logan, UT-ID PM2.5 Attainment Plan, Utah SIP Section IX. 
Part A.23, with its identified MVEBs, for adequacy review on EPA's 
transportation conformity Web site on March 23, 2015 (see: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm). We requested 
public comments by April 22, 2015. We did not receive any comments. The 
EPA sent a letter to the Utah Division of Air Quality on June 17, 2015, 
stating that the submitted Cache County, Logan, UT-ID PM2.5 
Attainment Plan, Utah SIP Section IX. Part A.23 and its MVEBs were 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes.
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    \1\ PM2.5 refers to particulate matter less than or 
equal to 2.5 microns in diameter.
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    For the Cache County, Logan, UT-ID PM2.5 Attainment 
Plan, Utah SIP Section IX. Part A.23, the MVEBs we found adequate were 
0.32 tons per day (tpd) for PM2.5, 4.49 tpd for nitrogen 
oxides, and 3.23 tpd for volatile organic compounds. Following the 
effective date listed in the DATES section of this notice, the Cache 
County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Utah Department of 
Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation are required 
to use these MVEBs for future transportation conformity determinations 
for projects in the Cache County, Logan, UT-ID PM2.5 
nonattainment area.
    Please note that our adequacy review of the MVEBs as described 
above is separate from our future rulemaking action on the Cache 
County, Logan, UT-ID PM2.5 Attainment Plan, Utah SIP Section 
IX. Part A.23 revision discussed above and should not be used to 
prejudge our ultimate approval or disapproval of that SIP revision. 
Even if we find the Cache County, Logan, UT-ID PM2.5 
Attainment Plan and its MVEBs adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes now, we may later find it necessary to disapprove the SIP 
revision. Should this situation arise, we would then revisit our 
adequacy finding.

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

    Dated: August 26, 2015.
Shaun L. McGrath,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2015-22942 Filed 9-10-15; 8:45 am]
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