Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; Redesignation Request, Maintenance Plan and Mobile Emissions Budget for the Richmond Ozone Nonattainment Area

EPA is approving the redesignation request and two State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia. On July 26, 1996, the Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality submitted a maintenance plan as a revision to the SIP and a request to redesignate the Richmond moderate ozone nonattainment area from nonattainment to attainment. EPA's action is based upon the Commonwealth's submittal satisfying all five criteria for redesignation in the Clean Air Act (the Act), including the fact that the Richmond area has more than three years of complete, quality- assured ambient air monitoring data which demonstrates that the 1-hour .12 part per million (ppm) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone has been attained. The Richmond area has continued to attain the standard while its redesignation request was pending before the Agency. On July 30, 1996, the Commonwealth submitted another revision to the SIP modifying the mobile source emission budgets in the Richmond area maintenance plan in support of the area's transportation plans for the period after the year 2015. EPA is redesignating the Richmond ozone nonattainment area from nonattainment to attainment and approving the maintenance plan and mobile source emissions budget as revisions to the Virginia SIP.