Air Pollution Control; Proposed Actions on Clean Air Act Grants to the Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6117-8]

Air Pollution Control; Proposed Actions on Clean Air Act Grants

to the Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed determination with request for comments and notice of

opportunity for public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. EPA has made a proposed determination under section

105(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that a reduction in expenditures of

non-Federal funds for the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control

District (SBAPCD, or ``District'') in Santa Barbara, California is the

result of a non-selective reduction in expenditures. This

determination, when final, will permit the SBAPCD to keep the financial

assistance awarded to it by EPA for FY-98 under section 105(c) of the

CAA.

DATES: Comments and/or requests for a public hearing must be received

by EPA at the address stated below by July 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: All comments and/or requests for a public hearing should be

mailed to: Sara Bartholomew, Grants and Program Integration Office

(AIR-8), Air Division, U.S. EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San

Francisco, California 94105-3901; FAX (415) 744-1076.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Bartholomew, Grants and Program

Integration Office (AIR-8), Air Division, U.S. EPA Region 9, 75

Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901 at (415) 744-

1250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of section 105 of the

CAA, EPA provides financial assistance (grants) to the SBAPCD to aid in

the operation of its air pollution control programs. In FY-97 EPA

awarded the SBAPCD $328,732, which represented approximately 8% of the

District's budget. In FY-98, EPA awarded the SBAPCD $307,000, which

represented approximately 7.6% of the District's budget.

Section 105(c)(1) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7405(c)(1), provides that

``[n]o agency shall receive any grant under this section during any

fiscal year when its expenditures of non-Federal funds for recurrent

expenditures for air pollution control programs will be less than its

expenditures were for such programs during the preceding fiscal year.

In order for [EPA] to award grants under this section in a timely

manner each fiscal year, [EPA] shall compare an agency's prospective

expenditure level to that of its second preceding year.'' EPA may still

award financial assistance to an agency not meeting this requirement,

however, if EPA, ``after notice and opportunity for public hearing,

determines that a reduction in expenditures is attributable to a non-

selective reduction in the expenditures in the programs of all

Executive branch agencies of the applicable unit of Government.'' CAA

section 105(c)(2). These statutory requirements are repeated in EPA's

implementing regulations at 40 CFR 35.210(a).

In its FY-98 Sec. 105 application, which EPA reviewed in the fall

of 1997, the SBAPCD projected expenditures of non-Federal funds for

recurrent expenditures (or its maintenance of effort (MOE)) of

$3,678,150. This MOE at the time of the grant award was sufficient to

meet the requirements of the CAA because it was higher than the

projected FY97 MOE of $3,570,793. Based on this information, EPA

awarded SBAPCD its FY98 grant in December, 1997. In January of 1998,

SBAPCD submitted an actual FY97 MOE of $3,701,408. This resulted in the

projected FY98 MOE level of $3,678,150 not being sufficient to meet the

MOE requirements of the CAA because it is lower than the actual FY-97

MOE, with a shortfall of $23,258 between the MOE for FY-97 and FY98. In

order for the District to be eligible to keep its FY98 grant and to

receive the additional EPA funding which has become available to SBAPCD

for FY98, EPA must make a determination under Section 105(c)(2).

The SBAPCD is a single-purpose agency whose primary source of

funding is permit fee revenue. Fees associated with permits issued by

the SBAPCD go directly to the district to fund its operations. It is

the ``unit of Government'' for Section 105(c)(2) purposes. The SBAPCD

submitted documentation to EPA which shows that since FY97 air permit

fee revenues decreased because of declining economic conditions which

caused the business community to curtail operations, resulting in fewer

permits issued and fees collected. As a result, the SBAPCD's overall

budget and its MOE decreased. The SBAPCD also submitted documentation

to EPA which shows that the District lost 12.25 staff positions since

FY97. These reductions in fees and staff have been non-selective in

that all programs within SBAPCD have been impacted.

In summary, the SBAPCD's MOE reductions resulted from budget cuts

stemming from a loss of fee revenues due to circumstances beyond the

District's control. EPA proposes to determine that the SBAPCD's lower

FY-98 MOE level meets the Sec. 105(c)(2) criteria as resulting from a

non-selective reduction of expenditures. Pursuant to 40 CFR 35.210,

this determination will allow the SBAPCD to keep the funds received

from EPA for FY-98.

This notice constitutes a request for public comment and an

opportunity for public hearing as required by the Clean Air Act. All

written comments received by July 30, 1998 on this proposal will be

considered. EPA will conduct a public hearing on this proposal only if

a written request for such is received by EPA at the address above by

July 30, 1998.

If no written request for a hearing is received, EPA will proceed

to the final determination. While notice of the final determination

will not be published in the Federal Register, copies of the

determination can be obtained by sending a written request to Sara

Bartholomew at the above address.

Dated: June 17, 1998.

David P. Howekamp,

Director, Air Division, Region 9.

[FR Doc. 98-17377 Filed 6-29-98; 8:45 am]

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