[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 82 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23972-23973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09719]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9910-10-Region 3]
Adequacy Status of the Submitted Maintenance Plan for the
District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia 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 District of
Columbia Department of the Environment (DDOE), are adequate for
transportation conformity purposes.
DATES: This finding is effective on May 14, 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
DDOE 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 June 3, 2013 by DDOE, are adequate for transportation
conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the District of
Columbia 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%) transportation buffer to
the mobile
[[Page 23973]]
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
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Motor vehicle emissions Mobile vehicle emissions
Year budget for PM2.5 on-road budget for NOX on-road
emissions (tons per year) emissions (tons per year)
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2017................................................ 1,787 41,709
2025................................................ 1,350 27,400
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Table 2--Tier 2 On-Road MVEBs Contained in the Washington Area Maintenance Plan for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS
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Motor vehicle emissions Mobile vehicle emissions
Year budget for PM2.5 on-road budget for NOX on-road
emissions (tons per year) emissions (tons per year)
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2017................................................ 2,144 50,051
2025................................................ 1,586 32,880
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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.
The District of Columbia 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 District'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. 2014-09719 Filed 4-28-14; 8:45 am]
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