[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 44 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11004-11005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5666]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6238-2]
Air Pollution Control; Proposed Actions on Clean Air Act Grants
to the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice; proposed determination with request for comments and
notice of opportunity for public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. EPA has made a proposed determination under section
105(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that a reduction in expenditures of
non-Federal funds for the San Diego County Air Pollution Control
District (SDAPCD, or ``District'') in San Diego County, California is
the result of a non-selective reduction in expenditures. This
determination, when final, will permit the SDAPCD to keep the financial
assistance awarded to it by EPA for FY-98 under section 105(c) of the
CAA.
DATES: Comments and/or requests for a public hearing must be received
by EPA at the address stated below by April 7, 1999.
ADDRESSES: All comments and/or requests for a public hearing should be
mailed to: Sara Bartholomew, Grants and Program Integration Office
(AIR-8), Air Division, U.S. EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San
Francisco, California 94105-3901; FAX (415) 744-1076.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Bartholomew, Grants and Program
Integration Office (AIR-8), Air Division, U.S. EPA Region 9, 75
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901 at (415) 744-
1250.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of Section 105 of the
CAA, EPA provides financial assistance (grants) to the SDAPCD to aid in
the operation of its air pollution control programs. In FY-97 EPA
awarded the SDAPCD $1,354,056, which represented approximately 11% of
the District's budget. In FY-98, EPA awarded the SDAPCD $1,201,811,
which represented approximately 9% of the District's budget.
Section 105(c)(1) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7405(c)(1), provides that
``[n]o
[[Page 11005]]
agency shall receive any grant under this section during any fiscal
year when its expenditures of non-Federal funds for recurrent
expenditures for air pollution control programs will be less than its
expenditures were for such programs during the preceding fiscal year.
In order for [EPA] to award grants under this section in a timely
manner each fiscal year, [EPA] shall compare an agency's prospective
expenditure level to that of its second preceding year.'' EPA may still
award financial assistance to an agency not meeting this requirement,
however, if EPA, ``after notice and opportunity for public hearing,
determines that a reduction in expenditures is attributable to a non-
selective reduction in the expenditures in the programs of all
Executive branch agencies of the applicable unit of Government.'' CAA
section 105(c)(2). These statutory requirements are repeated in EPA's
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 35.210(a).
In its FY-98 section 105 application, which EPA reviewed in the
fall of 1997, the SDAPCD projected expenditures of non-Federal funds
for recurrent expenditures (or its maintenance of effort (MOE)) of
$12,361,507. This MOE at the time of the grant award was sufficient to
meet the requirements of the CAA because it was higher than the actual
FY97 MOE of $12,356,625. Based on this information, EPA awarded SDAPCD
its FY98 grant in February, 1998. In December of 1998, SDAPCD reported
an actual FY98 MOE of $12,050,625. This MOE level is not sufficient to
meet the MOE requirements of the CAA because it is lower than the
actual FY97 MOE, with a shortfall of $306,000 between the MOE for FY97
and FY98. In order for the District to be eligible to keep its FY98
grant and to receive the additional EPA funding which has become
available to SDAPCD for FY99, EPA must make a determination under
section 105(c)(2).
The SDAPCD is a single-purpose agency whose primary source of
funding is permit fee revenue. Fees associated with permits issued by
the SDAPCD go directly to the district to fund its operations. It is
the ``unit of Government'' for section 105(c)(2) purposes. The reason
for the lower MOE level in FY98 is a series of efficiencies that SDAPCD
has implemented over the past three years, resulting in decreased
district costs while maintaining service levels. The SDAPCD submitted
documentation to EPA which states that the district MOE reductions
resulted from agency process streamlining and automation improvements.
As a result, the SDAPCD's overall budget and its MOE decreased. The
District shows that it has been able to reduce its administrative
expenditures in its programs through cost saving measures which do not
affect the performance of its air programs or reduce its expenditures
for substantive environmental program activities. For example, San
Diego has reduced its expenditures by $630,600 through streamlining
measures including elimination of positions not required to perform
these jobs. These cost saving measures were taken not because fee
revenues had declined, but because San Diego wanted to operate more
efficiently. This budget reduction has been non-selective in that all
programs within SDAPCD have been impacted.
In summary, the SDAPCD's MOE reductions resulted from agency
process streamlining, automation improvements, and position reductions,
leading to decreased district costs while maintaining service levels.
EPA proposes to determine that the SDAPCD's lower FY-98 MOE level meets
the section 105(c)(2) criteria as resulting from a non-selective
reduction of expenditures. Pursuant to 40 CFR 35.210, this
determination will allow the SDAPCD to keep the funds received from EPA
for FY-98.
This document constitutes a request for public comment and an
opportunity for public hearing as required by the Clean Air Act. All
written comments received by April 7, 1999 on this proposal will be
considered. EPA will conduct a public hearing on this proposal only if
a written request for such is received by EPA at the address above by
April 7, 1999.
If no written request for a hearing is received, EPA will proceed
to the final determination. While notice of the final determination
will not be published in the Federal Register, copies of the
determination can be obtained by sending a written request to Sara
Bartholomew at the above address.
Dated: February 25, 1999.
Matthew Haber,
Acting Director, Air Division, Region 9.
[FR Doc. 99-5666 Filed 3-5-99; 8:45 am]
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