[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 113 (Monday, June 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33614-33615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14209]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[Docket No. EPA-R02-OAR-2010-0482; FRL-9161-5]
Adequacy Status of the Submitted 2009 PM2.5 Motor
Vehicle Emission Budgets for Transportation Conformity Purposes for New
Jersey
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
that the motor vehicle emissions budgets for PM2.5 and
NOX in the submitted attainment demonstration state
implementation plans for the New Jersey portions of the New York-
Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT, and Philadelphia-Wilmington,
PA-NJ-DE, PM2.5 nonattainment areas to be adequate for
transportation conformity purposes. The transportation conformity rule
(40 CFR part 93) requires that the EPA conduct a public process and
make an affirmative decision on the adequacy of budgets before they can
be used by metropolitan planning organizations in conformity
determinations. As a result of our finding, two metropolitan planning
organizations in New Jersey (the North Jersey Transportation Planning
Authority and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission) must
use the new 2009 PM2.5 budgets for future transportation
conformity determinations.
DATES: This finding is effective June 29, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Laurita, Air Programs Branch,
Environmental Protection Agency--Region 2, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor,
New York, New York 10007-1866, (212) 637-3895, [email protected].
The finding and the response to comments will be available at EPA's
conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On April 1, 2009, New Jersey submitted attainment demonstration
state implementation plans to EPA for both the New York-Northern New
Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT (New York), and Philadelphia-Wilmington,
PA-NJ-DE (Philadelphia), PM2.5 nonattainment areas. The
purpose of New Jersey's submittal was to demonstrate the State's
progress toward attaining the 1997 PM2.5 National Ambient
Air Quality Standard (62 FR 38652, July 18, 1997). New Jersey's
submittal included motor vehicle emissions budgets (``budgets'') for
2009 for use by the State's metropolitan planning organizations in
making transportation conformity determinations. On August 19, 2009,
EPA posted the availability of the budgets our Web site for the purpose
of soliciting public comments. The comment period closed on September
18, 2009, and we received no comments.
Today's notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have
already made. EPA Region 2 sent a letter to New Jersey on May 4, 2010,
stating that the 2009 motor vehicle emissions budgets in New Jersey's
SIPs for both the New York and Philadelphia PM2.5
nonattainment areas are adequate because they are consistent with the
required attainment demonstration. In the letter we also clarified that
the adequate 2009 budgets do not replace previously approved ``early
progress'' budgets for either NJTPA (71 FR 38770, July 10, 2006) or the
Mercer County portion of DVRPC (73 FR 24868, May 6, 2008). However,
since the previously approved budgets were established voluntarily
(i.e. not to satisfy a specific Clean Air Act requirement), and the
budgets submitted on April 1, 2009, were part of a required attainment
demonstration, the budgets being found adequate today will co-exist
with the previously approved budgets, and the more protective budgets
will take precedence in any regional emissions analysis performed by
either MPO.
Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act. EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation
plans, programs, and projects conform to SIPs and establishes the
criteria and procedures for determining whether or not they conform.
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 also 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.
We have described our process for determining the adequacy of
submitted SIP budgets in 40 CFR 93.118(f). We have followed this rule
in making our adequacy determination. The motor vehicle emissions
budgets being found adequate today are listed in Table 1. EPA's finding
will also be announced on EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.
Table 1--2009 Attainment PM2.5 Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for New
Jersey
[Tons per year]
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Metropolitan planning organization PM2.5 NOX
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North Jersey Transportation Planning 842 44,321
Authority..........................
Delaware Valley Regional Planning 105 5,323
Commission (Mercer County only)....
Delaware Valley Regional Planning 341 17,319
Commission (Burlington, Camden, and
Gloucester Counties)...............
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[[Page 33615]]
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: June 2, 2010.
Judith A. Enck,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2010-14209 Filed 6-11-10; 8:45 am]
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