96-3585. Air Pollution Control; Proposed Action on Clean Air Act Grant to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6240-6241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3585]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5423-7]


Air Pollution Control; Proposed Action on Clean Air Act Grant to 
the Bay Area Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed determination with request for comments and notice of 
opportunity for public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The EPA has made two proposed determinations that reductions 
in expenditures of non-Federal funds for the Bay Area Air Quality 
Management District (BAAQMD) in San Francisco, California are a result 
of non-selective reductions in expenditures. These determinations, when 
final, will permit the BAAQMD to keep the financial assistance awarded 
to it by EPA for FY-95 and to be awarded financial assistance for FY-96 
by EPA under section 105(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Comments and/or requests for a public hearing must be received 
by EPA at the address stated below by March 18, 1996.

ADDRESSES: All comments and/or requests for a public hearing should be 
mailed to: Valerie Cooper, Air Grants Section (A-2-3), Air and Toxics 
Division, U.S. EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, 
California 94105-3901; FAX [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Cooper, Air Grants Section (A-
2-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 
San Francisco, California 94105-3901 at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of Section 105 of the 
CAA, EPA provides financial assistance to the BAAQMD, whose 
jurisdiction includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San 
Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and part of Solano and Sonoma 
Counties in California, to aid in the operation of its air pollution 
control programs. In FY'94, EPA awarded the BAAQMD $1,608,900 which 
represented approximately 5% of the BAAQMD's budget, and in FY'95 

[[Page 6241]]
$1,320,885 which represented approximately 5% of the BAAQMD's budget.
    Section 105(c)(1) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7405(c)(1), provides that 
``[n]o 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-95 section 105 application, which EPA reviewed in July 
1994, the BAAQMD projected expenditures of non-Federal funds for 
recurrent expenditures (or its maintenance of effort (MOE)) of 
$26,757,937. This MOE would have been sufficient to meet the MOE 
requirements of the CAA. In January of 1996, however, the BAAQMD 
submitted to EPA documentation which shows that its actual FY-95 MOE 
was $26,471,610. This amount represents a shortfall of $286,327 from 
the MOE of the preceding fiscal year. In addition, the projected FY-96 
MOE of $24,778,132 represents a shortfall of $1,693,478 from the FY-95 
MOE of $26,471,610. In order for the BAAQMD to be eligible to keep its 
FY-95 grant and to be awarded an FY-96 grant, EPA must make a 
determination under section 105(c)(2).
    In FY-95, the BAAQMD determined that its MOE would decrease because 
revenues from property taxes and permit fees decreased. For FY-96 the 
BAAQMD once again determined that there would be continued reductions 
in these revenue sources. The reductions resulted in the loss of two 
permanent positions and the furlough of fifteen long-term temporary 
staff. In addition to the reduction in revenues, a general reserve and 
fund balance account were no longer available (because they had been 
depleted) to make up for shortages as they had in previous years. These 
were the contributing factors to a reduction in BAAQMD's FY-95 and FY-
96 MOE level.
    The BAAQMD's MOE reductions resulted from a loss of revenue from 
property taxes and permit fees. This loss of revenue and MOE reduction 
resulted from circumstances beyond the District's control. EPA proposes 
to determine that the BAAQMD's lower FY-95 and FY-96 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 BAAQMD to keep the funds received from EPA 
for FY-95 and to be eligible for an FY-96 award.
    This notice constitutes a request for public comment and an 
opportunity for public hearing as required by the Clean Air Act. All 
written comments received by March 18, 1996 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 
March 18, 1996. If no written request for a hearing is received, EPA 
will proceed to a final determination.

    Dated: February 6, 1996.
David P. Howekamp,
Director, Air and Toxics Division.
[FR Doc. 96-3585 Filed 2-15-96; 8:45 am]
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