[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 151 (Monday, August 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38301-38302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16777]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0215; FRL-9981-71--Region 3]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets in Submitted 
State Implementation Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes; 
District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia; Washington, DC-MD-VA 2008 
8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard Nonattainment Area 
Maintenance Plan 2014, 2025, and 2030 Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets 
for Nitrogen Oxides and Volatile Organic Compounds

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or 
Agency) is notifying the public that the Agency has found that the 
2014, 2025, and 2030 motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the 
ozone precursors nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) contained in the maintenance plan for the Washington, 
DC-MD-VA 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 
nonattainment area (hereafter ``the Washington Area'' or ``the Area'') 
are adequate for conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the 
Washington Area must use the NOX and VOC MVEBs from the 
submitted maintenance plan for the Washington Area in future conformity 
determinations.

DATES: This finding is effective August 21, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Calcinore, (215) 814-2043, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    On March 12, 2018, January 29, 2018, and January 3, 2018, the 
District of Columbia (the District), State of Maryland (Maryland), and 
Commonwealth of Virginia (Virginia), respectively, formally submitted, 
as revisions to their SIPs, a maintenance plan for the Washington Area. 
The maintenance plan includes NOX and VOC MVEBs for the 
Washington Area for the years 2014 (the attainment year), 2025, and 
2030. Under 40 CFR part 93, a MVEB for an area seeking redesignation to 
attainment must be established, at minimum, for the last year of the 
maintenance plan. A state may adopt MVEBs for other years as well. The 
MVEBs are the amount of emissions allowed in the SIP for on-road motor 
vehicles and establishes an emissions ceiling for the regional 
transportation network. The most recently approved MVEBs for the 
Washington Area originate from the attainment plan for the 1997 ozone 
NAAQS, which EPA found adequate on February 7, 2013 (78 FR 9044). The 
maintenance plan includes two sets of NOX and VOC MVEBs, 
shown in Table 1 and Table 2. The MVEBs shown in Table 1 will be the 
applicable motor vehicle emissions budgets after the adequacy findings 
are effective. The MVEBs shown in Table 2 add a twenty percent (20%) 
transportation buffer to the mobile emissions inventory projections for 
NOX and VOC in 2025 and 2030. The MVEBs shown in Table 2 
that include a transportation buffer will be used only as needed in 
situations where the conformity analysis must be based on different 
data, models, or planning assumptions, including, but not limited to, 
updates to demographic, land use, or project-related assumptions, than 
were used to create the first set of MVEBs in the maintenance plan 
(Table 1). The technical analyses used to demonstrate compliance with 
the MVEBs and the need, if any, to use transportation buffers will be 
fully documented in the conformity analysis and follow the 
Transportation Planning Board's (TPB) interagency consultation 
procedures.

                          Table 1--Washington, DC-MD-VA Maintenance Plan On-Road MVEBs
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                                                                 MVEBs for NOX  on-road   MVEBs for VOC  on-road
                             Year                                 emissions  (tons per     emissions  (tons per
                                                                          day)                     day)
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2014 (Attainment Year)........................................                    136.8                     61.3
2025..........................................................                     40.7                     33.2
2030..........................................................                     27.4                     24.1
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[[Page 38302]]


            Table 2--Washington, DC-MD-VA Maintenance Plan On-Road MVEBs With Transportation Buffers
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                                                                 MVEBs for NOX  on-road   MVEBs for VOC  on-road
                             Year                                 emissions  (tons per     emissions  (tons per
                                                                          day)                     day)
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2014 (Attainment Year)........................................                    136.8                     61.3
2025..........................................................                     48.8                     39.8
2030..........................................................                     32.9                     28.9
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    On May 21, 2018, EPA posted the availability of the 2014, 2025, and 
2030 NOX and VOC MVEBs for the Washington Area on EPA's 
website for the purpose of soliciting public comments as part of the 
adequacy process. The comment period closed on June 20, 2018 and EPA 
received no comments.
    This document is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. EPA Region III sent letters to the District of Columbia 
Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), Maryland Department of the 
Environment (DOE), and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality 
(DEQ) on July 24, 2018 finding that the 2014, 2025, and 2030 
NOX and VOC MVEBs in the maintenance plan for the Washington 
Area submitted by the District, Maryland, and Virginia on March 12, 
2018, January 29, 2018, and January 3, 2018, respectively, are adequate 
and must be used for transportation conformity determinations in the 
Washington Area.\1\ The finding and associated letters are available at 
EPA's conformity website: https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation.
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    \1\ EPA originally informed the District, Maryland, and Virginia 
that the 2014, 2025, and 2030 MVEBs were adequate for use in 
transportation conformity analyses in letters dated July 18, 2018. 
EPA revised language in these letters and sent the revised letters 
to the District, Maryland, and Virginia on July 24, 2018. The 
original and revised letters are available online at http://www.regulations.gov as well as EPA's conformity website: https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation.
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    Transportation conformity is required by Clean Air Act (CAA) 
section 176(c). EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation 
plans, transportation improvement programs, and projects conform to 
state air quality implementation plans (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 NAAQS.
    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). 
We've described our process for determining the adequacy of submitted 
SIP budgets in our July 1, 2004 preamble starting at 69 FR 40038, and 
we used the information in these resources in making our adequacy 
determination. 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 we find a budget 
adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved.
    The finding for the 2014, 2025, and 2030 NOX and VOC 
MVEBs contained in the maintenance plan for the Washington Area and the 
response to comments are available at EPA's conformity website: https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation.

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

    Dated: July 24, 2018.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2018-16777 Filed 8-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P