Air Pollution Control; Proposed Action on Clean Air Act Grant to the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6337-7]

Air Pollution Control; Proposed Action on Clean Air Act Grant to

the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; 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 be awarded

financial assistance for FY-99 by EPA, 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 June 7, 1999.

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-98, EPA

awarded the SBAPCD $422,000, which represented approximately 10% 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

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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-99 section 105 application, SBAPCD projected expenditures

of non-Federal funds for recurrent expenditures (or its maintenance of

effort (MOE)) of $3,285,988. This amount represents a shortfall of

$133,552 from the actual FY-98 MOE of $3,419,540. In order for the

District to be eligible to be awarded its FY-99 grant, EPA must make a

determination under Sec. 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 air permit fee revenues

have continued to decrease due to emission reductions from permitted

sources and a decline in oil and gas activity. 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 12.75

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-99 MOE level meets the section 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 be awarded financial

assistance for FY-99.

This document constitutes a request for public comment and an

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

written comments received by June 7, 1999 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

June 7, 1999.

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: April 23, 1999.

David P. Howekamp,

Director, Air Division, Region 9.

[FR Doc. 99-11563 Filed 5-6-99; 8:45 am]

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