Adequacy Status of the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, North Carolina 1997 PM2.5, 9204-9205 [2010-4146]

Download as PDF 9204 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 39 / Monday, March 1, 2010 / Notices 26, 2010. Registration may be submitted either online at https://www.ferc.gov/ whats-new/registration/mbr-03–03–10form.asp or by faxing a copy of the form (found at the referenced online link) to (202) 208–0353. A free webcast of the technical conference will be available. Registration to view the webcast is not required. webcast viewers will not be permitted to participate during the technical conference. Anyone with Internet access interested in viewing this conference can do so by navigating to https://www.ferc.gov’s Calendar of Events and locating the appropriate event in the Calendar. The events will contain a link to the applicable webcast option. The Capitol Connection provides technical support for the webcasts and offers the option of listening to the conferences via phonebridge for a fee. If you have any questions, visit https:// www.CapitolConnection.org or call (703) 993–3100. FERC conferences are accessible under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please send an e-mail to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free (866) 208–3372 (voice) or (202) 502– 8659 (TTY), or send a fax to (202) 208– 2106 with the required accommodations. For further information, please contact Ryan Anderson at (202) 502– 8122 or e-mail ryan.anderson@ferc.gov. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission BILLING CODE 6717–01–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of adequacy. [Docket No. RM01–5–000] Electronic Tariff Filings; Notice of Rescheduled Technical Conference February 19, 2010. mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES [FR Doc. 2010–4095 Filed 2–26–10; 8:45 am] Adequacy Status of the HickoryMorganton-Lenoir, North Carolina 1997 PM2.5 Attainment Demonstration Motor Vehicle Emissions Budget for Transportation Conformity Purposes BILLING CODE 6717–01–P As a result of inclement weather closing the Federal Government in Washington, DC, a technical conference scheduled for February 9, 2010 could not occur. Take notice that that this event has been rescheduled for February 26, 2010. The conference will last from 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. EST that day. Please refer to the notice of technical conferences issued on December 16, 2009 in this proceeding for details related to the originating Commission action for this conference, as well as the topics that will be covered. 16:46 Feb 26, 2010 Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [EPA–R04–OAR–2009–0561–201006; FRL– 9119–9] [FR Doc. 2010–4096 Filed 2–26–10; 8:45 am] VerDate Nov<24>2008 The conference will be held at the Commission’s offices, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC. All interested persons are invited to attend. The documents that will be discussed are located at https://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/etariff.asp. Teleconferencing will be available. The number and instructions for teleconferencing in these meetings is posted on https://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/etariff.asp and an RSS alert related to this rescheduled event will be issued. The meeting is open to the public. No preregistration is required. FERC meetings are accessible under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please send an e-mail to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free (866) 208–3372 (voice) or (202) 502– 8659 (TTY), or send a fax to (202) 208– 2106 with the required accommodations. For more information about these conferences, please contact Keith Pierce, Office of Energy Market Regulation at (202) 502–8525 or send an e-mail to ETariff@ferc.gov. Jkt 220001 SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public of its finding that the nitrogen oxides (NOx) motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) in the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, North Carolina (hereafter referred to as the Hickory Area) attainment demonstration for the 1997 PM2.5 standard, submitted on August 21, 2009, by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), is adequate for transportation conformity purposes. EPA is also making an insignificance finding for direct particulate matter (PM) through the transportation conformity adequacy process for the Hickory Area. The PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Hickory Area is comprised of the entire county of Catawba in North Carolina. On March 2, 1999, the District of Columbia Circuit Court ruled that submitted state implementation plans (SIPs) cannot be used for transportation conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them adequate. As a result of EPA’s finding, the Hickory Area must use the NOX MVEB from the submitted Hickory, North Carolina 1997 PM2.5 attainment demonstration for future conformity determinations, and the Hickory Area is not required to perform a regional emissions analysis for direct PM2.5 in future PM2.5 transportation conformity determinations for the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard. DATES: The adequacy finding for the NOX MVEB and the insignificance finding for direct PM2.5 are effective March 16, 2010. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanetta Somerville, Environmental Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, Air Quality Modeling and Transportation Section, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Ms. Somerville can also be reached by telephone at (404) 562–9025, or via electronic mail at somerville.amanetta@epa.gov. The finding is available at EPA’s conformity Web site: https://www.epa.gov/otaq/ transp.htm (once there, click on the ‘‘Transportation Conformity’’ text icon, then look for ‘‘Adequacy Review of SIP Submissions’’). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Today’s notice is simply an announcement of findings that EPA has already made. EPA Region 4 sent a letter to NCDENR on January 20, 2010, stating that the 2009 NOX MVEB in the 1997 PM2.5 attainment demonstration for Hickory, dated August 21, 2009, is adequate. The letter also states that direct PM2.5 is insignificant for the Hickory Area, therefore no regional emissions analysis is required. EPA posted the availability of the Hickory Area MVEB and insignificance demonstration on EPA’s Web site on September 8, 2009, as part of the adequacy process, for the purpose of soliciting comments. The comment period ran from September 8, 2009, through October 8, 2009. EPA’s findings have also been announced on EPA’s conformity Web site: https:// www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/ index.htm (once there, click ‘‘Transportation Conformity’’ text icon, then look for ‘‘Adequacy Review of SIP E:\FR\FM\01MRN1.SGM 01MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 39 / Monday, March 1, 2010 / Notices Submissions’’). The adequate NOX MVEB is provided in the following table: HICKORY AREA NOX MVEB [kilograms per day] 2009 mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES Catawba County ....................... 2,887,955 Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990. 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 (NAAQS). The criteria by which EPA determines whether a SIP’s MVEB is adequate for transportation conformity purposes are outlined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 93.118(e)(4). Additionally, the criteria by which EPA determines whether a particular pollutant/precursor is an insignificant contributor to the air quality problem in an area can be found at 40 CFR 93.109(k). Insignificance findings are based on a number of factors, including the percentage of motor vehicle emissions in context of the total SIP inventory, the current state of air quality as determined by monitoring data for that NAAQS, the absence of SIP motor vehicle control measures, and historical trends and future projections of the growth of motor vehicle emissions. EPA’s rationale for the allowance of insignificance findings can be found in the July 1, 2004, revision to the transportation conformity rule at 69 Federal Register (FR) 40004. Specifically, the rationale is explained on page 40061 under the subsection entitled ‘‘B. Areas With Insignificant Motor Vehicle Emissions.’’ 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 EPA finds the MVEB adequate or makes an insignificance finding through the adequacy process, the Agency may later disapprove the SIP. EPA has described the process for determining the adequacy of submitted SIP budgets in a May 14, 1999, memorandum entitled ‘‘Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 Conformity Court Decision.’’ EPA has followed this guidance in VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:46 Feb 26, 2010 Jkt 220001 making this adequacy determination. This guidance is incorporated into EPA’s July 1, 2004, final rulemaking entitled ‘‘Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the New 8-hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing Areas; Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments: Response to Court Decision and Additional Rule Changes’’ (69 FR 40004). Within 24 months from the effective date of this notice, the transportation partners will need to demonstrate conformity to the new MVEB if the demonstration has not already been made, pursuant to 40 CFR 93.104(e). (See 73 FR 4419 (January 24, 2008).) Additionally, the Transportation Conformity Rule at 40 CFR 93.109(k) states that a regional emissions analysis is no longer necessary for direct PM2.5 if EPA finds, through the adequacy or approval process, that regional motor vehicle emissions are an insignificant contributor to the air quality problem for that pollutant/precursor as demonstrated in the SIP. The insignificance finding should be noted in all future conformity determinations, and does not relieve the area of meeting all other transportation conformity requirements. Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. Dated: February 17, 2010. Beverly H. Banister, Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4. [FR Doc. 2010–4146 Filed 2–26–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL–9120–3] Science Advisory Board Staff Office Notification of a Public Meeting of a Workgroup of the Chartered Science Advisory Board AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of a workgroup of the chartered Science Advisory Board to conduct an expedited and focused review of EPA’s draft ‘‘Toxicological Review of Inorganic Arsenic: In Support of the Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)’’ (EPA/635/R–10/001). The SAB workgroup will assess the adequacy of EPA’s implementation of the SAB previous recommendations regarding PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 9205 the cancer risk assessment of inorganic arsenic. DATES: The meeting will be held on April 6, 2010 from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) and April 7, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Eastern Time). ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the St. Regis Hotel, 923 16th and K Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20006. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to obtain general information concerning this public meeting should contact Dr. Sue Shallal, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail: (202) 343–9977; fax: (202) 233–0643; or e-mail at Shallal.suhair@epa.gov. General information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found on the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/ sab. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific and technical advice to the Administrator on the technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The SAB is a Federal advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App 2. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies. Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92–463, notice is hereby given that a workgroup of the chartered SAB will hold a public meeting to lead the review of the implementation of SAB’s previous recommendations for the revision of EPA’s cancer risk assessment of inorganic arsenic. Background: The EPA is currently in the process of updating the 1988 IRIS cancer assessment for inorganic arsenic (iAs). The EPA evaluated and implemented the National Research Council (2001) recommendations and in 2005 requested that the SAB review the Agency’s draft cancer assessment for iAs. The SAB review report was finalized in 2007 and is available at the following URL: https://yosemite.epa.gov/ sab/sabproduct.nsf/ 02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/ EADABBF40DED2A08852 57308006741EF/$File/sab-07–008.pdf. EPA’s Office of Research Development has completed a 2010 draft ‘‘Toxicological Review of Inorganic Arsenic: In Support of the Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)’’ (EPA/635/R– 10/001). This draft assessment includes an evaluation and characterization of E:\FR\FM\01MRN1.SGM 01MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 39 (Monday, March 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9204-9205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4146]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R04-OAR-2009-0561-201006; FRL-9119-9]


Adequacy Status of the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, North Carolina 
1997 PM2.5 Attainment Demonstration Motor Vehicle Emissions Budget for 
Transportation Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In this notice, EPA is notifying the public of its finding 
that the nitrogen oxides (NOx) motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) in 
the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, North Carolina (hereafter referred to as 
the Hickory Area) attainment demonstration for the 1997 
PM2.5 standard, submitted on August 21, 2009, by the North 
Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), is 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes. EPA is also making an 
insignificance finding for direct particulate matter (PM) through the 
transportation conformity adequacy process for the Hickory Area. The 
Hickory Area is comprised of the entire county of Catawba in North 
Carolina. On March 2, 1999, the District of Columbia Circuit Court 
ruled that submitted state implementation plans (SIPs) cannot be used 
for transportation conformity determinations until EPA has 
affirmatively found them adequate. As a result of EPA's finding, the 
Hickory Area must use the NOX MVEB from the submitted 
Hickory, North Carolina 1997 PM2.5 attainment demonstration 
for future conformity determinations, and the Hickory Area is not 
required to perform a regional emissions analysis for direct 
PM2.5 in future PM2.5 transportation conformity 
determinations for the 1997 annual PM2.5 standard.

DATES: The adequacy finding for the NOX MVEB and the 
insignificance finding for direct PM2.5 are effective March 
16, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanetta Somerville, Environmental 
Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning 
Branch, Air Quality Modeling and Transportation Section, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Ms. Somerville can also be reached 
by telephone at (404) 562-9025, or via electronic mail at 
somerville.amanetta@epa.gov. The finding is available at EPA's 
conformity Web site: https://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp.htm (once there, 
click on the ``Transportation Conformity'' text icon, then look for 
``Adequacy Review of SIP Submissions'').

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Today's notice is simply an announcement of findings that EPA has 
already made. EPA Region 4 sent a letter to NCDENR on January 20, 2010, 
stating that the 2009 NOX MVEB in the 1997 PM2.5 
attainment demonstration for Hickory, dated August 21, 2009, is 
adequate. The letter also states that direct PM2.5 is 
insignificant for the Hickory Area, therefore no regional emissions 
analysis is required. EPA posted the availability of the Hickory Area 
MVEB and insignificance demonstration on EPA's Web site on September 8, 
2009, as part of the adequacy process, for the purpose of soliciting 
comments. The comment period ran from September 8, 2009, through 
October 8, 2009. EPA's findings have also been announced on EPA's 
conformity Web site: https://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/index.htm 
(once there, click ``Transportation Conformity'' text icon, then look 
for ``Adequacy Review of SIP

[[Page 9205]]

Submissions''). The adequate NOX MVEB is provided in the 
following table:

                          Hickory Area NOX MVEB
                           [kilograms per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 2009
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catawba County.............................................    2,887,955
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990. 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 (NAAQS).
    The criteria by which EPA determines whether a SIP's MVEB is 
adequate for transportation conformity purposes are outlined in 40 Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) 93.118(e)(4). Additionally, the criteria 
by which EPA determines whether a particular pollutant/precursor is an 
insignificant contributor to the air quality problem in an area can be 
found at 40 CFR 93.109(k). Insignificance findings are based on a 
number of factors, including the percentage of motor vehicle emissions 
in context of the total SIP inventory, the current state of air quality 
as determined by monitoring data for that NAAQS, the absence of SIP 
motor vehicle control measures, and historical trends and future 
projections of the growth of motor vehicle emissions. EPA's rationale 
for the allowance of insignificance findings can be found in the July 
1, 2004, revision to the transportation conformity rule at 69 Federal 
Register (FR) 40004. Specifically, the rationale is explained on page 
40061 under the subsection entitled ``B. Areas With Insignificant Motor 
Vehicle Emissions.'' 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 EPA finds the MVEB 
adequate or makes an insignificance finding through the adequacy 
process, the Agency may later disapprove the SIP.
    EPA has described the process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in a May 14, 1999, memorandum entitled 
``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 Conformity 
Court Decision.'' EPA has followed this guidance in making this 
adequacy determination. This guidance is incorporated into EPA's July 
1, 2004, final rulemaking entitled ``Transportation Conformity Rule 
Amendments for the New 8-hour Ozone and PM2.5 National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards and Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing 
Areas; Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments: Response to Court 
Decision and Additional Rule Changes'' (69 FR 40004).
    Within 24 months from the effective date of this notice, the 
transportation partners will need to demonstrate conformity to the new 
MVEB if the demonstration has not already been made, pursuant to 40 CFR 
93.104(e). (See 73 FR 4419 (January 24, 2008).)
    Additionally, the Transportation Conformity Rule at 40 CFR 
93.109(k) states that a regional emissions analysis is no longer 
necessary for direct PM2.5 if EPA finds, through the 
adequacy or approval process, that regional motor vehicle emissions are 
an insignificant contributor to the air quality problem for that 
pollutant/precursor as demonstrated in the SIP. The insignificance 
finding should be noted in all future conformity determinations, and 
does not relieve the area of meeting all other transportation 
conformity requirements.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: February 17, 2010.
Beverly H. Banister,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2010-4146 Filed 2-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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