SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through February 29, 2024. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on August 8, 2023 during a 60-day comment period (88 FR 53483). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Supporting documents which explain in detail the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit https://www.epa.gov/​dockets.

Abstract: Transportation conformity is required under Clean Air Act section 176(c) (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)) to ensure that federally supported transportation activities are consistent with (“conform to”) the purpose of the State Air Quality Implementation Plan (SIP). Transportation activities include transportation plans, transportation improvement programs (TIPs), and federally funded or approved highway or transit projects. Conformity to the purpose of the SIP means that transportation activities will not cause or contribute to new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)) or interim milestones.

Transportation conformity applies under EPA's conformity regulations at 40 CFR part 93, subpart A, to areas that are designated nonattainment and maintenance areas for the following transportation-related criteria pollutants: ozone, particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). EPA published the original transportation conformity rule on November 24, 1993 (58 FR 62188), and has subsequently published several revisions. EPA develops the conformity regulations in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The federal government needs information collected under these regulations to ensure that metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and federal transportation actions are consistent with state air quality goals.

Form numbers: None.

Respondents/affected entities: MPOs, local transit agencies, state departments of transportation, and state and local air quality agencies.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory pursuant to Clean Air Act section 176(c) (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)) and 40 CFR part 93.

Estimated number of respondents: 145 (total).

Frequency of response: Typically, once every four years for transportation plans and TIPs, and for the largest MPOs with three or more NAAQS, once every three years for transportation plans and TIPs. As needed for projects.

Total estimated burden: 42,481 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

Total estimated cost: $2,946,914 (per year), which includes $0 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

Changes in the estimates: There is a decrease of 6,190 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This decrease in burden was projected due to the requirement for transportation conformity ending in PM₁₀, NO_2, and CO maintenance areas that have reached the end of the 20-year maintenance period.

89 FR 14835