2010-11140. Adequacy Status of the Chicago, Illinois Area 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 (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NO_X) in the Chicago, Illinois ozone nonattainment area are adequate for use in transportation conformity determinations. Illinois submitted a redesignation request and maintenance plan for the Illinois portion of the Chicago ozone nonattainment area on July 23, 2009. As a result of our finding, this area must use the MVEBs from the submitted ozone maintenance plan for future transportation conformity determinations.

DATES:

This finding is effective May 26, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Leslie, Environmental Engineer, 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 22, 2010, EPA Region 5 sent a letter to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency stating that the 2009 and 2020 MVEBs for the Chicago, Illinois 8-hour ozone nonattainment area are adequate. Receipt of these MVEBs was announced on EPA's transportation conformity Web site, 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 2020 MVEBs, in tons per day (tpd), for VOCs and NO_X for the Chicago, Illinois area are as follows:

Chicago area	NOX (tpd)	VOCs (tpd)
2009	284.65	133.78
2020	88.17	73.68

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 conform. 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 MVEBs 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. 7401-7671q.

Dated: April 29, 2010.

Walter W. Kovalick Jr.,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.