[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24799-24800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11585]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R05-OAR-2017-0147; FRL-9978-66--Region 5]


Adequacy Status of the Indiana Portion of the Chicago-Naperville, 
IL-IN-WI Area for the Submitted 2008 Ozone Standard Fifteen Percent 
Rate of Progress Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of finding of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the EPA is notifying the public that we find 
the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for volatile organic 
compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in the 15% 
Rate of Progress Plan for the Indiana portion of the Chicago-
Naperville, IL-IN-WI 2008 ozone standard nonattainment area (Lake and 
Porter Counties) adequate for use in transportation conformity 
determinations. On February 28, 2017, the Indiana Department of 
Environmental Management (IDEM) submitted a 2008 ozone standard 15% 
Rate of Progress Plan for Lake and Porter Counties, which included the 
MVEBs for 2017. IDEM provided further clarification to the Plan on 
January 9, 2018. As a result of our finding, this area must use these 
MVEBs from the submitted 15% Rate of Progress Plan for future 
transportation conformity determinations.

DATES: This finding is applicable June 14, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Maietta, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Control Strategies Section (AR-18J), Air 
Programs Branch, Air and Radiation Division, United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-8777, [email protected].

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

Background

    On February 28, 2017, IDEM submitted to EPA a 15% Rate of Progress 
Plan for the Indiana portion of the 2008 8-hour ozone Chicago-
Naperville, IL-IN-WI nonattainment area, and provided further 
clarification to the Plan on January 9, 2018. This plan included MVEBs 
for VOC and NOX for the year 2017. On March 8, 2018, EPA 
sent a letter to IDEM stating that the MVEBs are adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes. Receipt of these MVEBs was 
announced on EPA's transportation conformity website: https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/adequacy-review-state-implementation-plan-sip-submissions-conformity. The finding and other 
relevant information are also available on EPA's transportation 
conformity website.
    The 2017 MVEBs for Lake and Porter Counties are 16.68 tons per day 
(tpd) of NOX and 6.85 tpd of VOCs.
    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 do conform. Conformity to a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) means that transportation activities will not 
produce new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or 
delay

[[Page 24800]]

timely attainment of the national ambient air quality standards.
    The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP's MVEBs are 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes are outlined in 40 CFR 
93.118(e)(4). Please note that an adequacy review is separate from 
EPA's completeness review, and is also a separate action from EPA's 
evaluation of and decision whether to approve a proposed SIP revision.

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

    Dated: May 16, 2018.
Cathy Stepp,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2018-11585 Filed 5-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P