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Adequacy Status of East St. Louis, Illinois Submitted Ozone Attainment Demonstration for Transportation Conformity Purposes

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[Federal Register: July 3, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 128)]
[Notices]
[Page 41068-41069]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03jy00-82]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[IL202-1; FRL-6728-4]


Adequacy Status of East St. Louis, Illinois Submitted Ozone
Attainment Demonstration for Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that EPA has found
that the motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Illinois portion of the
St. Louis ozone attainment demonstration are adequate for conformity
purposes. On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that submitted
State Implementation Plans (SIPs) cannot be used for conformity
determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them adequate. As a
result of our finding, the St. Louis area can use the motor vehicle
emissions budgets for volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen
from the submitted ozone attainment demonstration for future conformity
determinations.

DATES: These budgets are effective July 18, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The finding and the response to
comments will be available at EPA's conformity website: http://
www.epa.gov/oms/traq, (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' button,
then look for ``Adequacy Review of SIP Submissions for Conformity'').
    Patricia Morris, Environmental Scientist, Regulation Development
Section (AR-18J), Air Programs Branch, Air and Radiation Division,
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-8656,
morris.patricia@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Throughout this document, whenever ``we'', ``us'' or ``our'' is
used, we mean EPA. Today's notice is simply an announcement of a
finding that we have already made. EPA Region 5 sent a letter to the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on June 12, 2000, stating that
the motor vehicle emissions budgets for volatile organic compounds and
oxides of nitrogen in the Illinois portion of the St. Louis submitted
ozone attainment demonstration for 2003 are adequate. This finding will
also be announced on EPA's conformity website: http://www.epa.gov/oms/
traq, (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' button, then

[[Page 41069]]

look for ``Adequacy Review of SIP Submissions for Conformity'').
    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 state air quality
implementation plans 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 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've described our process for determining the adequacy of
submitted SIP budgets in guidance (May 14, 1999 memo titled
``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 Conformity
Court Decision''). We followed this guidance in making our adequacy
determination.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: June 16, 2000.
Francis X. Lyons,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 00-16757 Filed 6-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U

 
 

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