Adequacy Status of the Submitted 2009 and 2025 PM2.5 Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for Transportation Conformity Purposes for New Jersey |
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Judith A. Enck
Environmental Protection Agency
June 24, 2013
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 121 (Monday, June 24, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37717-37719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14908]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[Docket No. EPA-R02-OAR-2012-0889; FRL-9826-9]
Adequacy Status of the Submitted 2009 and 2025 PM2.5
Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for Transportation Conformity Purposes
for New Jersey
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of adequacy.
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SUMMARY: In this action, EPA is notifying the public that we have found
that the motor vehicle emissions budgets for PM2.5 and
NOX in the submitted maintenance plans for the New Jersey
portions of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT, and
Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE, PM2.5 nonattainment areas
to be adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The
transportation conformity rule requires that the EPA conduct a public
process and make an affirmative decision on the adequacy of budgets
before they can be used by metropolitan planning organizations in
conformity determinations. As a result of our finding, two metropolitan
planning organizations in New Jersey (the North Jersey Transportation
Planning Authority and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning
Commission) must use the new 2009 and 2025 PM2.5 budgets for
future transportation conformity determinations.
DATES: This finding is effective July 9, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Laurita, Air Programs Branch,
Environmental Protection Agency--Region 2, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor,
New York, New York 10007-1866, (212) 637-3895, laurita.matthew@epa.gov.
The finding and the response to comments will be available at EPA's
conformity Web site: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 26, 2012, New Jersey submitted redesignation requests
and maintenance plans to EPA for both the New York-Northern New Jersey-
Long Island, NY-NJ-CT (Northern New Jersey), and Philadelphia-
Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE (Southern New Jersey), PM2.5
nonattainment areas. The purpose of New Jersey's submittal was to
request a redesignation to attainment for both the 1997 and 2006
PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and
submit a state implementation plan to provide for maintenance of the
standard for the first ten years of a 20-year maintenance period. New
Jersey's request was pursuant to EPA's findings that that the Northern
New Jersey area had attained the 1997 (75 FR 69589) and 2006 (77 FR
76867) PM2.5 NAAQS, and that the Southern New Jersey area
had attained the 1997 (77 FR 28782) and 2006 (78 FR 882)
PM2.5 NAAQS, based on ambient air quality monitoring data.
New Jersey's submittal included motor vehicle emissions budgets
(``budgets'') for 2009 and 2025 for use by the State's metropolitan
planning organizations in making transportation conformity
determinations. On September 12, 2012, EPA posted the availability of
the budgets our Web site for the purpose of soliciting public comments.
The comment period closed on October 12, 2012, and we received no
comments.
New Jersey developed these budgets, as required, for the last year
of its maintenance plan, 2025, and an additional year, 2009, for the
purpose of establishing budgets for the near-term based on EPA's MOVES
model. Previously established and approved budgets had been based on
MOBILE6.2. New Jersey also determined that budgets based on annual
emissions of direct PM2.5 and NOX, a precursor,
are appropriate for the 2006 daily standard because exceedences of the
standard were not isolated to one particular season; therefore, the
budgets being found adequate today will be used by transportation
agencies to meet conformity requirements for both the annual and daily
standards.
The 2009 budgets were developed without an accompanying full
emissions inventory. EPA believes that this approach is approvable and
is consistent with attainment and maintenance of both the 1997 and 2006
PM2.5 standards because of our earlier determinations that
both the Northern New Jersey and Southern New Jersey PM2.5
nonattainment areas had attained the standards based on monitored air
quality that included the year 2009.
The budgets for 2025 reflect the total on-road emissions for 2025,
plus an allocation from the available NOX and
PM2.5 safety margins. Under 40 CFR 93.101, the term ``safety
margin'' is the difference between the attainment level (from all
sources) and the projected level of emissions (from all sources) in the
maintenance plan. The safety margin can be allocated to the
transportation sector; however, the total emissions must remain below
the attainment level. New Jersey chose to add 8% of the available
safety margin to
[[Page 37718]]
both the PM2.5 and NOX budgets for 2025 for both
the Northern New Jersey and Southern New Jersey nonattainment areas.
The NOX and PM2.5 budgets and safety margin
allocations were developed in consultation with the transportation
partners and were added to accommodate expected future improvements to
MOVES model inputs and methodologies.
In the submittal, the State has also established ``sub-area
budgets'' for the two metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) within
the Northern New Jersey nonattainment area: the North Jersey
Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) and the Delaware Valley
Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). These sub-area budgets allow each
MPO to work independently to demonstrate conformity by meeting its own
PM2.5 and NOX budgets. Each MPO must still
verify, however, that the other MPO currently has a conforming long
range transportation plan and transportation improvement program (TIP)
prior to making a new plan or TIP conformity determination. The budgets
for both the Northern New Jersey and Southern New Jersey areas are
defined in Tables 1 and 2 below.
Adequacy Process
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 SIPs and establishes the
criteria and procedures for determining whether or not they conform.
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.
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). 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.
We have described our process for determining the adequacy of
submitted SIP budgets in 40 CFR 93.118(f). We have followed this rule
in making our adequacy determination. The motor vehicle emissions
budgets being found adequate today are listed in Tables 1 and 2 and
include direct PM2.5 and its precursor, NOX.
EPA's finding will also be announced on EPA's conformity Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/adequacy.htm.
EPA Review
EPA's adequacy review of New Jersey's submitted budgets indicates
that the budgets meet the adequacy criteria set forth by 40 CFR
93.118(e)(4), as follows:
(i) The submitted control strategy implementation plan revision or
maintenance plan was endorsed by the Governor (or his or her designee)
and was subject to a State public hearing: The SIP revision was
submitted to EPA by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, who is the Governor's designee.
(ii) Before the control strategy implementation plan or maintenance
plan was submitted to EPA, consultation among federal, State, and local
agencies occurred; full implementation plan documentation was provided
to EPA; and EPA's stated concerns, if any, were addressed: New Jersey
conducted an interagency consultation process involving EPA and USDOT,
the New Jersey Department of Transportation and affected MPOs. All
comments and concerns were addressed prior to the final submittal.
(iii) The motor vehicle emissions budget(s) is clearly identified
and precisely quantified: The budgets were clearly identified and
quantified and are presented here in Tables 1 and 2.
(iv) The motor vehicle emissions budget(s), when considered
together with all other emissions sources, is consistent with
applicable requirements for maintenance: Both the 2009 and 2025 budgets
are less than the on-road mobile source inventory for 2007 that was
shown to be consistent with attainment of the standards. In addition,
the 2009 budgets are for a year in which EPA has determined that New
Jersey attained the applicable air quality standards and are therefore
consistent with maintenance of the respective standards.
(v) The motor vehicle emissions budget(s) is consistent with and
clearly related to the emissions inventory and the control measures in
the submitted control strategy implementation plan revision or
maintenance plan: The budgets were developed from the on-road mobile
source inventories, including all applicable state and Federal control
measures. Inputs related to inspection and maintenance and fuels are
consistent with New Jersey's Federally-approved control programs.
(vi) Revisions to previously submitted control strategy
implementation plans or maintenance plans explain and document any
changes to previously submitted budgets and control measures; impacts
on point and area source emissions; any changes to established safety
margins (see Sec. 93.101 for definition); and reasons for the changes
(including the basis for any changes related to emission factors or
estimates of vehicle miles traveled): The submitted maintenance plan
establishes new 2009 and 2025 budgets to ensure continued maintenance
of the standards; therefore, this is not applicable.
Adequacy Finding
Today's action is simply an announcement of a finding that we have
already made. EPA Region 2 sent a letter to New Jersey on May 14, 2013,
stating that the 2009 and 2025 motor vehicle emissions budgets in New
Jersey's SIPs for both the Northern New Jersey and Southern New Jersey
PM2.5 nonattainment areas are adequate because they are
consistent with the required maintenance demonstration. In our letter
we noted that there are existing approved and adequate budgets for
2009, but that the 2009 budgets contained in the submitted maintenance
plans will be the most recent budgets in place to satisfy the latest
Clean Air Act requirement and therefore will be the applicable 2009
budgets to be used in future transportation conformity determinations
for analysis years prior to 2025.
Table 1--2009 PM2.5 Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for New Jersey
[Tons per year]
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Metropolitan planning organization Direct PM2.5 NOX
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North Jersey Transportation Planning 2,736 67,272
Authority..............................
Delaware Valley Regional Planning 224 5,835
Commission (Mercer County only)........
Delaware Valley Regional Planning 680 18,254
Commission (Burlington, Camden, and
Gloucester Counties)...................
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[[Page 37719]]
Table 2--2025 PM2.5 Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for New Jersey
[Tons per year]
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Metropolitan planning organization Direct PM2.5 NOX
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North Jersey Transportation Planning 1,509 25,437
Authority..............................
Delaware Valley Regional Planning 119 2,551
Commission (Mercer County only)........
Delaware Valley Regional Planning 363 8,003
Commission (Burlington, Camden, and
Gloucester Counties)...................
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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: June 10, 2013.
Judith A. Enck,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2013-14908 Filed 6-21-13; 8:45 am]
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