[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 111 (Friday, June 8, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 26598-26599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12388]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2018-0319; FRL-9979-11--Region 7]
Adequacy Determination for the St. Louis Area 2008 8-Hour Ozone
Redesignation Request and Maintenance State Implementation Plan, Motor
Vehicle Emissions Budgets for Transportation Conformity Purposes; State
of Missouri
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notification of adequacy determination.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the EPA is notifying the public that the St.
Louis area 2008 8-hour ozone redesignation request and maintenance plan
motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are adequate for
transportation conformity purposes. As a result, these budgets must be
used by the State of Missouri for future transportation conformity
determinations for the St. Louis area.
DATES: This finding is effective June 22, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Hamilton, at (913) 551-7039,
by email at [email protected], or by mail at U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 11201 Renner
Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' refer to EPA. The word ``budget(s)'' refers to the motor
vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for volatile organic compounds and
nitrogen oxides. For the purposes of this document, ``SIP'' refers to
the St. Louis Area 2008 8-Hour Ozone Redesignation Request and
Maintenance State Implementation Plan, submitted by Missouri Department
of Natural Resources to EPA as a SIP revision on September 12, 2016.
The Plan was revised on February 16, 2018.
This document is an announcement of a finding that EPA has already
made. EPA Region 7 sent a letter to Missouri Department of Natural
Resources on May 15, 2018, stating that the MVEBs contained in the
Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan are adequate for
transportation conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the
State of Missouri must use the MVEBs from the February 16, 2018,
Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for
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future transportation conformity determinations for the St. Louis area.
The finding is available at EPA's conformity website: https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation.
Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990. EPA's conformity rule requires that
transportation plans, programs and projects conform to state air
quality implementation plans and establishes the criteria and procedure
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 motor vehicle
emission budgets are adequate for 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 it should not be used to prejudge
EPA's ultimate approval of the SIP. EPA plans to take action on the SIP
at a later date. We have described our process for determining the
adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in 40 CFR 93.118(f), and have
followed this rule in making our adequacy determination.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: May 25, 2018.
James B. Gulliford,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 2018-12388 Filed 6-7-18; 8:45 am]
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