[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31351-31352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12797]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[R08-CO-2012-0001; FRL-9676-4]
Adequacy Determination for Aspen PM[bdi1][bdi0] and Fort Collins
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plans' Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for
Transportation Conformity Purposes; State of Colorado
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of adequacy.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that the Agency
has found the following adequate for transportation conformity
purposes: The ``Revised PM10 Maintenance Plan for the Aspen
Attainment/Maintenance Area'' \1\ and its motor vehicle emissions
budget, and the ``Revised Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort Collins
Attainment/Maintenance Area.'' As more fully explained in the
Supplementary Information section of this notice, this finding will
affect future transportation conformity determinations.
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\1\ PM10 refers to particulate matter less than or
equal to 10 microns in size.
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DATES: This finding is effective June 11, 2012.
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 EPA.
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 (NAAQS).
The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP revision's motor
vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) is 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). In addition, in certain areas with monitored
ambient carbon monoxide (CO) values significantly below the NAAQS, EPA
has allowed states to use limited maintenance plans (LMPs), which
contain no future year maintenance projections and, therefore, no
MVEBs. (See ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable CO
Nonattainment Areas,'' signed by Joseph Paisie, Group Leader,
Integrated Policy and Strategies Group (MD-15), October 6, 1995, also
known as EPA's ``LMP Policy.'') In an area covered by an approved
carbon monoxide LMP, the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) are presumed to automatically
satisfy the emissions budget test requirement, and no regional
emissions analysis with respect to a MVEB under sections 40 CFR 93.118
or 93.119 (i.e., MVEB(s), build less than no-build, or build less than
base year) of the conformity rule is required for RTP and TIP
conformity. 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:
Aspen (PM10): The State submitted the ``Revised PM10
Maintenance Plan for the Aspen Attainment/Maintenance Area'' on May 25,
2011. The State prepared the submittal to meet the requirements of
section 175A(b) of the CAA for a second 10-year maintenance plan. EPA
sent a letter to the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment (CDPHE) on August 11, 2011, stating that the submitted
Aspen PM10 second 10-year maintenance plan and the 2023
p.m.10 MVEB were adequate for transportation conformity
purposes. We posted the ``Revised PM10 Maintenance Plan for
the Aspen Attainment/Maintenance Area'' for adequacy review on EPA's
transportation conformity Web site on June 20, 2011. The public comment
period closed on July 20, 2011, and we did not receive any comments in
response to the adequacy review posting (see http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm#aspen).
Fort Collins (Carbon Monoxide): The State submitted the ``Revised
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort Collins Attainment/Maintenance
Area'' on May 25, 2011. The State prepared the submittal to meet the
requirements of section 175A(b) of the CAA for a second 10-year
maintenance plan and used, as appropriate, the provisions of EPA's CO
LMP policy. Thus, the LMP contains no MVEB. EPA sent a letter to the
CDPHE on August 9, 2011, stating that the submitted Fort Collins second
10-year maintenance plan was adequate for transportation conformity
purposes. We posted the ``Revised Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort
Collins Attainment/Maintenance Area'' for adequacy review on EPA's
transportation conformity Web site on June 20, 2011. The public comment
period closed on July 20, 2011, and we did not receive any comments in
response to the adequacy review posting (see http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm#ftcollins).
For the Aspen PM10 maintenance area, the MVEB we found
adequate is 1146 pounds of PM10 per day in 2023. Following
the effective date listed in the DATES section of this notice, the
Colorado Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of
Transportation are required to use this motor vehicle emissions budget
for future transportation conformity determinations for projects in the
Aspen PM10 maintenance area. As noted above, the ``Revised
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Fort Collins Attainment/Maintenance
Area'' contains no MVEB, and, under EPA's LMP interpretation, the North
Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Colorado Department
of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation may
presume that RTPs and TIPs satisfy the emissions budget test
requirement with respect to such revised plan. However, prior MVEBs may
apply as we described in our adequacy letter to the State.
Please note that our adequacy review described above is separate
from our rulemaking action on the two maintenance plans discussed above
and should not be used to prejudge our ultimate approval or disapproval
of each
[[Page 31352]]
of the SIP revisions. Even if we find a maintenance plan or a
maintenance plan and its MVEB adequate for transportation conformity
purposes, we may later disapprove the SIP revision.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: April 30, 2012.
James B. Martin,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2012-12797 Filed 5-24-12; 8:45 am]
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