Notice2025-16926
Adequacy Status of the New York Portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island submitted PM2.5 Limited Maintenance Plan, 2006 24 Hour PM2.5 Maintenance Area
Primary source
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Published
September 4, 2025
Effective
September 19, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is notifying the public that we have found that the Limited Maintenance Plan for PM<INF>2.5</INF> for the New York portion of the New York-N New Jersey- Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) PM<INF>2.5</INF> maintenance area, submitted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on October 15, 2024, is adequate for transportation conformity purposes. This revision to the State Implementation Plan is associated with the second ten-year PM<INF>2.5</INF> Limited Maintenance Plan.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 169 (Thursday, September 4, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 169 (Thursday, September 4, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42762-42763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16926]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R02-OAR-2025-0619; FRL-12907-01-R2]
Adequacy Status of the New York Portion of the New York-Northern
New Jersey-Long Island submitted PM2.5 Limited Maintenance Plan, 2006
24 Hour PM2.5 Maintenance Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of adequacy.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is notifying the
public that we have found that the Limited Maintenance Plan for
PM<INF>2.5</INF> for the New York portion of the New York-N New Jersey-
Long Island (NY-NJ-CT) PM<INF>2.5</INF> maintenance area, submitted by
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on October
15, 2024, is adequate for transportation conformity purposes. This
revision to the State Implementation Plan is associated with the second
ten-year PM<INF>2.5</INF> Limited Maintenance Plan.
DATES: This finding is effective on September 19, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Publicly available docket materials, identified by Docket ID
Number EPA-R02-OAR-2025-0619, are available either electronically
through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center,
WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington,
DC. The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.,
Monday-Friday (except
[[Page 42763]]
Federal Holidays). For further information on the EPA Docket Center
services and the current status, see: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>. You
may access this Federal Register document electronically from <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov">https://www.federalregister.gov</a>. This finding will also be available at the
EPA's conformity website: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/conformity-adequacy-review-region-2">https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/conformity-adequacy-review-region-2</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lily Black, Environmental Protection
Agency Region 2, Air and Radiation Division, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor,
New York, New York 10007-1866; (212) 637-3884, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d3b1bfb2b0b8fdbfbabfaa93b6a3b2fdb4bca5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="06646a67656d286a6f6a7f4663766728616970">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.
This notice is an announcement of a finding that we have already
made. On October 15, 2024, the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) submitted a State Implementation
Plan (SIP) revision establishing the second ten-year maintenance plan
as a limited maintenance plan (LMP) for the New York portion of the New
York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT 2006 24-hour fine
particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>) maintenance area. We announced
availability of New York's LMP on the EPA's transportation conformity
website on April 22, 2025, (<a href="https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/state-implementation-plans-sip-submissions-currently-under-epa#new-york-state-portion">https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/state-implementation-plans-sip-submissions-currently-under-epa#new-york-state-portion</a>) and requested comments by May 22,
2025. We received no comments in response to the adequacy review
posting. On June 16, 2025, EPA Region 2 sent a letter to NYSDEC stating
that the LMP for the New York Metropolitan maintenance area is adequate
for transportation conformity purposes.
In October 2022, EPA issued Guidance on the Limited Maintenance
Plan Option for Moderate PM<INF>2.5</INF> Nonattainment Areas and
PM<INF>2.5</INF> Maintenance Areas (EPA-420-B-22-044). The
transportation conformity regulations require that ``[a] limited
maintenance plan would have to demonstrate that it would be
unreasonable to expect that such an area would experience enough motor
vehicle emissions growth for a [national ambient air quality standards
(NAAQS)] violation to occur.'' \1\ Additionally, the PM<INF>2.5</INF>
LMP guidance suggests ``an LMP may be particularly appropriate for a
second maintenance plan, as the area will have demonstrated attainment
of the PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS for at least 8 years.'' \2\
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\1\ Citing 69 FR 40063, July 1, 2004. See also 40 CFR 93.109(e)
and EPA's ``Guidance on the Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
Moderate PM<INF>2.5</INF> Nonattainment Areas and PM<INF>2.5</INF>
Maintenance Areas.''
\2\ See EPA's ``Guidance on the Limited Maintenance Plan Option
for Moderate PM<INF>2.5</INF> Nonattainment Areas and
PM<INF>2.5</INF> Maintenance Areas.''
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To meet the transportation conformity regulations (40 CFR part 93,
subpart A), an LMP submission for an area's second maintenance plan
should again address the area's PM<INF>2.5</INF> air quality trends and
its historical and projected vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Since the
New York Metropolitan area has been attaining the PM<INF>2.5</INF>
NAAQS for 10 years, with a low risk of future exceedances, we find the
LMP adequate for transportation conformity purposes. Under 40 CFR
93.109(e), if an area has an adequate or approved LMP for a specific
pollutant and NAAQS, the area is not required to satisfy the regional
emissions analysis for 40 CFR 93.118 and/or 40 CFR 93.119.\3\ A
conformity determination that meets the requirements outlined for 40
CFR 93.109(b)(Table 1), including the hot-spot requirements for
projects in CO, PM<INF>10</INF>, and PM<INF>2.5</INF> areas, is still
required for these maintenance areas with an approved or adequate
LMP.\4\
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\3\ See also EPA's ``Guidance on the Limited Maintenance Plan
Option for Moderate PM<INF>2.5</INF> Nonattainment Areas and
PM<INF>2.5</INF> Maintenance Areas.''
\4\ Id.
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Transportation conformity is required by Clean Air Act section
176(c). EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation plans,
transportation improvement programs, and projects conform to SIPs, and
it 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 NAAQS.
The criteria by which we determine whether a SIP's Limited
Maintenance Plan is adequate can be found in 40 CFR 93.109(e). Please
note that an adequacy review is separate from EPA's completeness review
and should not be used to prejudge EPA's ultimate approval action for
the SIP. Even if we find a limited maintenance plan adequate, the SIP
could later be disapproved.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Michael Martucci,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2025-16926 Filed 9-3-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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