Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the New 8-Hour Ozone and PM2.5

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule; correction.

SUMMARY:

EPA issued a final rule on July 1, 2004 (69 FR 40004) that amended the transportation conformity rule to include criteria and procedures for the new 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or “standards”). The final rule also addressed a March 2, 1999 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA, et al., 167 F. 3d 641, D.C. Cir. 1999). The preamble to the final rule contains two errors. This notice is intended to correct these errors. All other preamble and regulatory text printed in the July 1, 2004 final rule is correct.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is EPA's federal partner in implementing the transportation conformity regulation. We have consulted with DOT on the development of these corrections, and DOT concurs.

DATES:

Effective Date: August 2, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Meg Patulski, State Measures and Conformity Group, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, patulski.meg@epa.gov, (734) 214-4842; Rudy Kapichak, State Measures and Conformity Group, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, kapichak.rudolph@epa.gov, (734) 214-4574; or Laura Berry, State Measures and Conformity Group, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, berry.laura@epa.gov, (734) 214-4858.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA issued a final rule on July 1, 2004 (69 FR 40004) that amended the transportation conformity rule to include criteria and procedures for the new 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or “standards”). The final rule also addressed a March 2, 1999 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA, et al., 167 F. 3d 641, D.C. Cir. 1999). The preamble to the July 1, 2004 final rule contains two errors. This notice is intended to correct these errors.

First, the table in Section II. D. What Parts of the Final Rule Apply to Me? (69 FR 40006-7), which lists the issues addressed in the final rule, is incomplete and contains a number of incorrect references to other sections of the rule. The table provides a roadmap for determining whether a specific final rule revision included in the July 1, 2004 rulemaking would apply in your area. The table illustrates which parts of the final rule are relevant for various pollutants and standards.

The following is the corrected table:

Second, a paragraph was omitted from the end of Section XXIII.G. Use of Adequate and Approved Budgets in Conformity (69 FR 40066). The missing paragraph was intended to explain that we are not changing all of the PM₁₀ requirements in § 93.109(g). We are reprinting the entire paragraph in the regulatory section of the July 1, 2004 final rule to ensure that the Code of Federal Regulations is updated correctly.

The following paragraph should be inserted at the end of Section XXIII.G.:

The final rule includes some of the existing conformity rule's text for PM₁₀ requirements in § 93.109(g) to ensure that the Code of Federal Regulations is updated correctly. For example, § 93.109(g)(3)(ii) is not being changed in this final rule, but is affected by the reorganization of paragraph (g) in this section. EPA notes that this and other such parts of paragraph (g) have been addressed through past rulemakings and are not being reopened through this final rule.

No changes are being made to the final rule language or other preamble language published on July 1, 2004. EPA finds good cause to make this correction notice effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The final rule published July 1 will become effective August 2, 2004. Today's correction notice does not make any changes to the final rule. This correction notice only clarifies explanatory text in the preamble to the final rule which were intended to aid conformity implementors in implementing the rule. Therefore EPA concludes that it will be in the public interest to have this correction notice also become effective on August 2, 2004.

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