E7-6148. Adequacy Status of the Dayton-Springfield, OH, Submitted 8-Hour Ozone Redesignation and Maintenance Plan for Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of adequacy.

SUMMARY:

In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found that the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for 8-hour ozone in Dayton-Springfield (Clark, Greene, Miami, and Montgomery Counties), Ohio-which were submitted as part of a redesignation request and maintenance plan for this area-are adequate for conformity purposes. As a result of our finding, Dayton-Springfield must use the MVEBs from the submitted 8-hour ozone redesignation and maintenance plan for future conformity determinations.

DATES:

This finding is effective April 18, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anthony Maietta, Life Scientist, Criteria Pollutant Section (AR-18J), Air Programs Branch, Air and Radiation Division, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document, whenever “we”, “us” or “our” is used, we mean EPA.

Background

Today's action is simply an announcement of a finding that we have already made. EPA Region 5 sent a letter to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on February 9, 2007, stating that the 2005 and 2018 MVEBs in the Dayton-Springfield area are adequate. Ohio submitted the budgets as part of the 8-hour ozone redesignation request and maintenance plan for this area. This submittal was announced on EPA's conformity Web site, and received no comments: http://www.epa.gov/​otaq/​stateresources/​transconf/​adequacy.htm,, (once there, click on “What SIP submissions are currently under EPA adequacy review?”).

The 2005 and 2018 MVEBs, in tons per day (tpd), for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NO_X) for Dayton-Springfield are as follows:

	2005 MVEB (tpd)	2018 MVEB (tpd)
VOC	29.19	14.73
NOX	63.88	21.42

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 State Implementation Plan (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). We have described our process for determining the adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in our July 1, 2004, preamble starting at 69 FR 40038, and we used the information in these resources while making our adequacy determination. 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.

The finding and the response to comments are available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/​otaq/​stateresources/​transconf/​adequacy.htm.

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

Dated: March 21, 2007.

Gary Gulezian,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.