E7-8278. Adequacy Status of the Columbus and Toledo, OH, Submitted 8-Hour Ozone Redesignation and Maintenance Plans 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 volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NO_X) in the Columbus, Ohio area (Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Knox, Licking, and Madison Counties) and the Toledo, Ohio area (Lucas and Wood Counties) are adequate for use in transportation conformity determinations. Ohio submitted the Columbus budgets with an 8-hour ozone redesignation request and maintenance plan on December 28, 2006, January 10, 2007, and March 9, 2007. Ohio submitted the Toledo budgets with an 8-hour ozone redesignation request and maintenance plan on December 22, 2006, and March 9, 2007. As a result of our finding, Columbus and Toledo, Ohio must use the MVEBs from the submitted 8-hour ozone redesignation and maintenance plan for future transportation conformity determinations.

DATES:

This finding is effective May 16, 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 notice is simply an announcement of a finding that we have already made. On April 5, 2007, EPA Region 5 sent a letter to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency stating that the 2009 and 2018 MVEBs for the Columbus and Toledo areas, which were submitted with the 8-hour ozone redesignation request and maintenance plans, are adequate. Receipt of these MVEBs was announced on EPA's transportation conformity website, and no comments were submitted. The finding is available at EPA's conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/​otaq/​stateresources/​transconf/​adequacy.htm.

The adequate 2009 and 2018 MVEBs, in tons per day (tpd), for VOC for Columbus and Toledo are as follows:

	2009 MVEB (tpd)	2018 MVEB (tpd)
Columbus	72.16	41.50
Toledo	18.99	11.20

The adequate 2009 and 2018 MVEBs, in tons per day (tpd), for NO_X for Columbus and Toledo are as follows:

	2009 MVEB (tpd)	2018 MVEB (tpd)
Columbus	125.43	56.30
Toledo	33.75	14.11

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 transportation 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 transportation conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/​otaq/​stateresources/​transconf/​adequacy.htm.

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

Dated: April 19, 2007.

Bharat Mathur,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.