Document
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
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 Y...
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 (PM2.5) maintenance area. We announced availability of New York's LMP on the EPA's transportation conformity website on April 22, 2025, (
https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/state-implementation-plans-sip-submissions-currently-under-epa#new-york-state-portion) 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 PM2.5Nonattainment Areas and PM2.5 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.” []
Additionally, the PM2.5
LMP guidance suggests “an LMP may be particularly appropriate for a second maintenance plan, as the area will have demonstrated attainment of the PM2.5
NAAQS for at least 8 years.” []
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 PM2.5
air quality trends and its historical and projected vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Since the New York Metropolitan area has been attaining the PM2.5
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.[]
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, PM10, and PM2.5
areas, is still required for these maintenance areas with an approved or adequate LMP.[]
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.