[Federal Register: August 6, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 151)]
[Notices]               
[Page 46601-46602]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06au03-73]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[NM-46-1-7605; FRL-7540-1]

 
Adequacy Status of Submitted State Implementation Plans (SIP) for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes: MOBILE6 Motor Vehicle Emissions 
Budgets for the Albuquerque Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found 
the on-road motor vehicle emissions budget contained in the revision to 
the Albuquerque Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes. As a result of our finding, the 
budgets from the submitted attainment demonstration SIP revision must 
be used for future conformity determinations in the Albuquerque area.

DATES: These budgets are effective August 21, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The essential information in this 
notice will be available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/oms/transp/conform/adequacy.htm.
 You may also contact Ms. 
Peggy Wade, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214)665-7247, E-mail 
address: Wade.Peggy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA. The word

[[Page 46602]]

``budget(s)'' refers to the mobile source emissions budget for carbon 
monoxide (CO). The word ``SIP'' in this document refers to the State 
Implementation Plan revision submitted to satisfy the commitment of the 
City of Albuquerque to revise its mobile source budgets for the 
Albuquerque maintenance area with MOBILE6. (MOBILE6 is the most recent 
emissions factor model, released by EPA on January 29, 2001.)
    On May 15, 2003, we received the MOBILE6 SIP revision for the 
Albuquerque carbon monoxide maintenance area. The revised carbon 
monoxide budgets, reported in tons per day (tpd), are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               CO  (in
                            Year                                 tpd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996.......................................................       416.31
1999.......................................................       373.05
2002.......................................................       369.53
2005.......................................................       367.28
2006.......................................................       312.65
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On May 23, 2003, the availability of these budgets was posted on 
EPA's Web site for the purpose of soliciting public comments. The 
comment period closed on June 23, 2003, and we received no comments.
    Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have 
already made. EPA Region 6 sent a letter to the Albuquerque 
Environmental Health Department on July 15, 2003, finding that the 
motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Albuquerque carbon monoxide 
maintenance area are adequate and must be used for transportation 
conformity determinations.
    Transportation conformity is required by Section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act. EPA's conformity rule, 40 CFR part 93, requires that 
transportation plans, programs and projects conform to SIPs and 
establishes the criteria and procedures for determining whether or not 
they do so. 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 EPA determines 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 such 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. Even if we find a 
budget adequate, the SIP could later be disapproved.
    On March 2, 1999, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that 
budgets contained in submitted SIPS cannot be used for conformity 
determinations unless EPA has affirmatively found the conformity budget 
adequate. We have described our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in the policy guidance dated May 14, 1999, and 
titled Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999, 
Conformity Court Decision. We followed this guidance in making our 
adequacy determination. You may obtain a copy of this guidance from 
EPA's conformity Web site or by contacting us at the address above.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: July 29, 2003.
Lawrence E. Starfield,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 03-20032 Filed 8-5-03; 8:45 am]

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