SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR EPA INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST NUMBER 2130.01 TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY DETERMINATIONS FOR FEDERALLY FUNDED AND APPROVED TRANSPORTATION PLANS, PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS UNDER THE NEW 8 HOUR OZONE AND PM2.5 NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS November 25, 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION ............................. 1 1( a) Title and Number of the Information Collection .............................................. 1 1( b) Characterization of the Information Collection ................................................ 1 2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION ................................................... 2 2( a) Need and Authority for the Collection ............................................................. 3 2( b) Use and Users of the Data ................................................................................ 3 3. NON DUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION CRITERIA ............................................................................................................... 3 3( a) Non Duplication ............................................................................................... 3 3( b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB............................... 4 3( c) Consultations .................................................................................................... 4 3( d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection ................................................................. 5 3( e) General Guidelines ........................................................................................... 5 3( f) Confidentiality .................................................................................................. 5 3( g) Sensitive Questions ........................................................................................... 6 4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION COLLECTED ..................... 6 4( a) State and Local Respondents............................................................................. 6 4( b) Information Requested ..................................................................................... 6 5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED  FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS, COLLECTION METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ....................................................................... 8 5( a) Federal Agency Activities ................................................................................ 8 5( b) Collection Methodology and Management ...................................................... 9 5( c) Small Entity Flexibility .................................................................................... 9 1 5( d) Collection Schedule ......................................................................................... 10 6. ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION .................. 10 6( a) Estimating State and Local Respondent Burden................................................ 10 6( b) Estimating State and Local Respondent Costs.................................................. 24 6( c) Estimated Federal Burden and Cost ................................................................. 26 6( d) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs ............................................................. 37 6( e) Reasons for Change in Burden ......................................................................... 39 6( f) Burden Statement .............................................................................................. 39 APPENDIX A ...................................................................................................................... 41 APPENDIX B ...................................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX C ...................................................................................................................... 43 APPENDIX D ...................................................................................................................... 44 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION 1( a) Title and Number of the Information Collection This information collection request ( ICR) is entitled " Transportation Conformity Determinations for Federally Funded and Approved Transportation Plans, Programs and Projects Under the New 8 hour Ozone and PM 2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards," ICR number 2130.01.

1( b) Characterization of the Information Collection Transportation conformity determinations are 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 2 transportation activities will not cause new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant national ambient air quality standards.

Transportation conformity applies under EPA's conformity regulations at 40 CFR part 93, subpart A, to areas that are designated nonattainment and those redesignated to attainment after 1990 (" maintenance areas" with plans developed under Clean Air Act section 175A) for transportation related criteria pollutants. The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) published the original transportation conformity rule on November 24, 1993 ( 58 FR 62188), and subsequently published several revisions. EPA develops the conformity regulations in consultation with the Federal Highway Administration ( FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration ( FTA). The information collection requirements of EPA's existing transportation conformity rule are covered under the Department of Transportation's ( DOT's) ICR entitled, " Metropolitan and Statewide Transportation Planning," with the OMB Control Number 2132 0529. The DOT ICR accounts for conformity burden in 1 hour ozone, CO, PM 10, and NO 2 nonattainment and maintenance areas.

On November 5, 2003, EPA proposed conformity requirements for areas designated nonattainment under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards ( 68 FR 62690). This ICR only includes the additional burden associated with making conformity determinations for the new standards over the first three years after nonattainment designations, as described further in this document. Future ICR updates will consider any additional burden associated with doing conformity with SIPs for the new standards. The ICR does not include burden associated with the general development of transportation planning and air quality planning documents for meeting other federal requirements.

EPA considered the following in developing this ICR:

° Start up resources needed for brand new areas that have no previous conformity experience;

° Additional burden or efficiencies associated with doing conformity in brand new areas that are designated nonattainment for both new standards;

° Start up resources needed in experienced areas that are covered by a brand new pollutant or have expanding boundaries under the 8 hour ozone standard;

° Differences in conformity resource needs in large and small metropolitan areas and isolated rural areas; and ° Efficiencies gained by using existing transportation or air quality planning resources for conformity purposes.

As background, conformity determinations are required before federal approval or 1Projects that are exempt from all or certain conformity requirements include projects listed in 40 CFR 93.126 and 93.127 ( e. g., safety projects, maintenance of current roads) and traffic signal synchronization projects listed in 40 CFR 93.128. 3 funding is given to certain types of transportation planning documents as well as non exempt highway and transit projects. 1 In metropolitan areas, conformity determinations are required for transportation plan and TIP updates and amendments. A metropolitan transportation plan is a 20 year planning document that describes the policies, strategies and facilities that are proposed by State and local decision makers for future implementation in a metropolitan area. The TIP prioritizes and programs capital highway and transit projects for implementation in a metropolitan area over a minimum short term three year period, consistent with the transportation plan.

To meet the Clean Air Act's conformity requirements, once a SIP is established for a given pollutant and air quality standard, projected regional emissions from a nonattainment or maintenance area's transportation system must be at or below the motor vehicle emissions level or " budget" for transportation sources in the area's SIP. Prior to EPA finding a budget adequate or approving a SIP, the conformity rule provides emissions tests that ensure that Clean Air Act requirements in the interim are met. See Appendix A for a flowchart on the steps involved in the transportation conformity process.

2. Need for and Use of the Collection 2( a) Need and Authority for the Collection The Clean Air Act gives EPA the statutory authority to establish the criteria and procedures for determining whether transportation activities conform to the SIP. EPA promulgated the transportation conformity regulations under the authority of Clean Air Act section 176( c). The Federal government needs information collected under these regulations to ensure that Federal transportation actions are consistent with state air quality goals.

2( b) Use and Users of the Data Federal, state, and local transportation agencies use information collected under the conformity regulation to ensure that federally funded or approved transportation actions conform with attaining and maintaining clean air throughout the country. Specifically, transportation agencies use information they collect to demonstrate that:

° the applicability requirements of the transportation conformity requirements are met;

° regional emissions and/ or project level emissions analysis requirements are 4 satisfied;

° transportation control measures ( TCMs) in approved SIPs are implemented in a timely manner;

° state, local, and federal transportation and air quality agencies consult and resolve issues related to conformity determinations; and ° public comments are considered and responses to comments are documented prior to conformity actions.

3. NON DUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION CRITERIA 3 ( a) Non Duplication EPA wrote the transportation conformity regulation and the proposed revisions, in consultation with FHWA and FTA, to avoid duplicating the collection efforts required by other regulatory programs. The conformity regulation integrates existing transportation and air quality planning requirements from the Clean Air Act, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century ( TEA 21), and the National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA).

The conformity regulation relies on and does not duplicate DOT's transportation planning regulations for developing transportation plans, TIPs, and projects. Many nonattainment and maintenance areas can rely on travel, economic, or other forecasts that are already available for other planning purposes to complete regional conformity analyses. In addition, the conformity regulation does not create any new fiscal constraint or public participation requirements; the regulation simply relies upon existing transportation planning requirements.

Localized emissions analyses ( or " hot spot" analyses) are generated for project level conformity determinations for certain criteria pollutants. When hot spot analyses are required for both NEPA and conformity approvals, areas can rely on the same analysis, assuming that it meet all necessary requirements. Finally, although transportation actions are compared to SIP budgets for conformity determinations when they are available, SIPs are required to be submitted for other Clean Air Act purposes, and are not required by the conformity provisions.

3( b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB This section is not applicable because this is a rule related ICR.

3( c) Consultations 5 EPA requested burden hour information from our regional offices and the FHWA and FTA to prepare this ICR. Specifically, we collected information on the number of hours required to complete the following:

° developing transportation plan, TIP, and project conformity determinations;

° training new staff to perform conformity related duties;

° consulting with state, local, and federal agencies on conformity determinations;

° performing regional and hot spot emissions analyses;

° documenting that TCMs in approved SIPs are implemented on time; and ° conducting other miscellaneous administrative activities ( e. g., reviewing conformity documents, responding to public comments, etc.).

The EPA received responses to its inquiries from seven FTA Regional Offices, six FHWA Division offices, FHWA's Resource Center, and both the FHWA and FTA Headquarters offices. EPA also considered burden information collected from nine of its regional offices. Appendix B provides a list of the FTA, FHWA and EPA offices contacted for this ICR.

As discussed further in Section 6 of this document, EPA also reviewed studies completed on the transportation conformity process that could indicate the number of hours associated with doing conformity determinations. Appendix C provides a list of the studies that EPA considered in the development of this ICR.

3( d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection The Clean Air Act also requires conformity for transportation plans and TIPs to be determined at a minimum of every three years. This statutory requirement is typically satisfied when an area updates its long range transportation plan to meet the three year planning requirement for DOT's transportation planning regulations. TEA 21 and DOT's transportation planning regulations require TIPs to be updated every two years, and as a result, conformity determinations are also done for TIPs every two years. In addition, the conformity regulation requires a conformity determination for transportation plans and TIPs within 18 months of certain EPA SIP actions ( e. g., within 18 months of EPA's finding that an initial SIP budget is adequate for conformity purposes). Since a metropolitan area's plan, TIP and SIP budgets often change in many areas, reducing the frequency of required conformity determinations and consideration of transportation and air quality impacts in these would compromise the goals of the current Clean Air Act. 6 Conformity determinations in isolated rural areas are only required when a new project needs federal funding and approval. The Clean Air Act's minimum three year frequency requirement for transportation plans and TIPs and the conformity regulation's 18 month SIPrelated " triggers" do not apply in these areas. Therefore, these areas are not required to demonstrate conformity as often as metropolitan areas. However, to not complete a conformity determination before project approvals are made in isolated rural areas would also compromise the goals of the current Clean Air Act.

3( e) General Guidelines This ICR adheres to the guidelines stated in the 1995 Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB's implementing regulations, EPA's Information Collection Request Handbook, and none of these reporting or record keeping requirements violate any of the regulations established by OMB in 5 CFR 1320.5.

3( f) Confidentiality Respondents for the transportation conformity regulation do not submit confidential information for approval. All information collected and submitted in a conformity determination is already publically available, pursuant to 40 CFR 93.105( e) of the conformity regulation and 23 CFR 450.316( b) of the transportation planning regulations. 3( g) Sensitive Questions No questions of a sensitive nature are included in any of the information collection requirements for the transportation conformity regulation. Examples of sensitive information include information concerning sexuality or religious beliefs.

4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED 4( a) State and Local Respondents State and local respondents vary according to the type of conformity determination and the type of area involved. In metropolitan areas, metropolitan planning organizations ( MPOs) are the primary local respondent for transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations. Clean Air Act section 176( c)( 1) states that,"... No metropolitan planning organization designated under section 134 of Title 23, shall give its approval to any project, program, or plan which does not conform to an implementation plan approved or promulgated under section 7410 of this title...." In metropolitan areas, thepolicy board of each MPO must formally make a conformity determination on its transportation plan and TIP prior to submitting them to DOT for an independent review and conformity determination. State or local air agencies in some areas also provide technical assistance in supplying air quality data or performing emissions factor 7 modeling for regional conformity analyses.

State and local respondents for conformity determinations for projects within metropolitan areas can vary depending upon who is the project sponsor. A project sponsor within a metropolitan area may be the MPO, local transit agency, state department of transportation, or other state or local agency, depending upon the individual project. Conformity determinations for projects outside metropolitan boundaries are also the responsibility of the project sponsor, which is usually the State department of transportation.

The transportation conformity rule also requires that state, local, and federal transportation and air quality agencies develop interagency consultation procedures for discussing and resolving issues related to conformity determinations. Such agencies include the MPO, local transit agency, state department of transportation, state and local air agencies, EPA, FHWA, and FTA. Federal respondents for conformity determinations are discussed further in Section 5 of this ICR.

4( b) Information Requested The following paragraphs further describe the information requested for and roles conducted by state and local respondents for conformity determinations. Some of the information used in conformity determinations is also used for other transportation and air quality planning purposes. Specific roles of state and local agencies will vary from area to area.

Metropolitan Planning Organizations MPOs are the lead agency in making transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations in metropolitan areas. The level of information collection requirements for completing such determinations will vary with the size of the area and complexity of the air quality problem. The following list includes MPO activities for transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations:

° conduct regional emissions analyses using the latest planning assumptions and models to determine whether the emissions from the proposed transportation system are consistent with state air quality goals;

° ensure timely implementation of TCMs in approved SIPs;

° consult with other state, local, and federal transportation and air quality agencies throughout the conformity process;

° circulate draft plan/ TIP conformity determinations for interagency review and public comment; and 8 ° address comments from other agencies and respond to public comments on plan/ TIP conformity determinations.

State Departments of Transportation State departments of transportation are typically the lead agency in developing conformity determinations for projects in isolated rural areas. They can also be the lead agency for project level conformity determinations in metropolitan areas. The following list includes state transportation activities for project level conformity determinations:

° conduct regional emissions analyses on projects in isolated rural areas using the latest assumptions and models to determine whether the emissions from the proposed transportation system change is consistent with state air quality goals;

° ensure timely implementation of TCMs in approved SIPs;

° conduct hot spot analyses for projects when required;

° comment on draft plan and TIP conformity determinations;

° consult with other state, local, and federal transportation and air quality agencies throughout the conformity process; and ° circulate draft project conformity determinations for interagency review and public comment and respond to any comments as appropriate.

Local Transit Agencies Local transit agencies in metropolitan areas are typically the lead agency in developing project level conformity determinations for transit projects in metropolitan areas. The following list includes local transit agency activities for project level conformity determinations:

° conduct hot spot analyses for transit projects when required;

° comment on draft plan and TIP conformity determinations;

° consult with other state, local, and federal transportation and air quality agencies throughout the conformity process; and ° circulate draft project conformity determinations for interagency review and public comment and respond to any comments as appropriate. 9 State and Local Air Quality Agencies State and local air quality agencies provide technical assistance to transportation agencies in the development of conformity determinations. The following list includes state and local air agency activities for conformity determinations:

° provide air quality data or perform emissions factor modeling for regional emissions analyses for transportation plans and TIPs in metropolitan areas and projects in isolated rural areas;

° provide similar assistance for hot spot analyses for projects as appropriate;

° consult with state, local, and federal agencies throughout the conformity process; and ° comment on draft conformity determinations.

5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED   FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS, COLLECTION METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 5( a) Federal Agency Activities FHWA and FTA Activities The FHWA Division office and the FTA Regional office are involved in several aspects of the transportation conformity process. The FHWA Division office and the FTA Regional office are responsible for making conformity determinations for transportation plans, TIPs and projects in 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 areas. These offices are responsible for reviewing the relevant materials that are submitted to support the conformity determinations including comments submitted by the EPA Regional office. They are also responsible for issuing a letter to the appropriate MPO, State department of transportation or project sponsor indicating that they have made their conformity determination. FHWA Resource Centers provide technical assistance on an as needed basis.

FHWA and FTA field offices will also participate in the interagency consultation process for 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 areas. The interagency consultation process is used to discuss and resolve issues during the development of transportation plans, TIPs, projects, and conformity determinations. The frequency of meetings varies from area to area.

EPA Activities The EPA Regional office is involved in several aspects of the transportation conformity 10 process. Specifically, the Regional office will also participate in the interagency consultation process in 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 areas. The Regional office reviews and comments on conformity determinations for plans, TIPs and projects, including the travel or emissions modeling that was performed to support a conformity determination.

5( b) Collection Methodology and Management Federal agencies will review draft and final conformity determinations for the new standards in accordance with the rule's requirements and other related guidance, as is currently the case for conformity in existing areas. The interagency consultation process is used to discuss any outstanding issues on the accuracy or quality of data used in conformity analyses and determinations. The general public reviews MPO conformity determinations for transportation plans and TIPs, and federal agencies review MPO responses to these comments. The federal agencies will need to maintain records of their actions, in accordance with other federal record retention requirements. No special machines or processing technologies are employed in reviewing conformity determinations.

5( c) Small Entity Flexibility This section is not applicable because the regulation primarily affects MPOs, that, by definition, are designated under federal transportation laws only for metropolitan areas with a population of at least 50,000.

5( d) Collection Schedule The information collections described in this ICR must be completed before a transportation plan, TIP or project conformity determination is made. Transportation plans must be found to conform at least every three years. TEA 21 and DOT's planning regulations require that TIPs be updated at least every two years, therefore, a conformity determination on the TIP in metropolitan areas is required at least every two years. Conformity determinations on projects in metropolitan and isolated rural areas are required on an as needed basis.

6. ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION 6( a) Estimating State and Local Respondent Burden Scope of This ICR's Burden Hour and Cost Estimates This ICR will only include the additional burden associated with implementing conformity requirements under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards for the first three years after 2" Metropolitan and Statewide Transportation Planning," OMB Control Number 2132   0529. 11 nonattainment designations. For the purposes of this ICR, " additional burden" is the incremental work that occurs as a result of doing conformity determinations for the new standards and is not otherwise accounted for in an existing ICR. Consequently, the burden associated with doing conformity determinations for current 1 hour ozone, CO, PM 10, and NO 2 nonattainment and maintenance areas is not included in this ICR, since this burden is related to different air quality standards and is already addressed in DOT's existing ICR for the transportation planning regulations. 2 See below for further information regarding the types of areas and burden considered under EPA's ICR. 3 Information on 8 hour ozone hypothetical nonattainment areas ( based on 2000 2002 air quality monitoring data) is taken from " Background Information Document, Hypothetical Nonattainment Areas for Purposes of Understanding the EPA Proposed Rule for Implementing the 8 hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard in Relation to Re Opened Comment Period;" Illustrative Analysis Based on 2000 2002 Data; U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. Draft. October 2003. Information on PM 2.5 hypothetical nonattainment areas is also based on 2000 2002 air quality monitoring data. Individual county ozone and PM 2.5 design values for years 2000 2002 are available at http:// www. epa. gov/ airtrends/ values. html. 12 Variables for Estimating Additional Burden and Cost In simple terms, EPA calculated the additional burden and cost estimates for this ICR based on the following equation:

Number of new x number of burden hours x cost per hour nonattainment for all conformity areas/ counties determinations doing conformity The following paragraphs in Section 6( a) describe the information relied upon for the first two variables in this ICR for state and local burden hour estimates. Section 6( b) describes how state and local costs were estimated. Section 6( c) describes federal burden hours and costs for conformity under the new standards.

Number of New 8 hour Ozone and PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas and Counties with Additional Burden EPA anticipates making nonattainment designations for the 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards in April and December 2004, respectively. Since specific area boundaries and designations are still under discussion, the area information contained in this conformity ICR is based on the most recent ozone and PM 2.5 air quality data that is available. 3 EPA notes that the analysis and grouping of counties to determine hypothetical nonattainment areas for this ICR was done solely for the purpose of analyzing the additional burden of conformity under the new NAAQS. Although these hypothetical areas are based on actual air quality data ( 2000 2002), they should not be interpreted as either proposed or final nonattainment designations. State boundary recommendations and EPA's final nonattainment designations may include areas not considered for this ICR and/ or may exclude areas considered for this ICR. In addition, final designations may establish different area boundaries other than those assumed for this ICR. Final designations will be based on the most recent air quality data available, either 2000 2002 or 2001 2003. 4 Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area and Metropolitan Statistical Area ( CMSA/ MSA). For more information on CMSA/ MSAs see the U. S. Census Bureau website at http:// www. census. gov/ population/ www/ estimates/ metrodef. html. 13 Boundaries for hypothetical metropolitan areas that are considered in this ICR are based on the total CMSA/ MSA4 for that area, plus any surrounding counties that contain a monitor that shows a violation of the relevant standard. EPA believes these estimates are conservative since final area boundaries for metropolitan nonattainment areas may not include the entire CMSA/ MSA for a given area and will also consider States' recommendations and additional air quality data. Boundaries for isolated rural nonattainment areas assumed for this ICR consist of an entire county plus any adjacent counties that include a violating monitor. The ICR will not mention the details of individual nonattainment areas. As stated above, we do not need to know specifically how each area will be designated and what the boundaries will be for this ICR.

Based on 2000 2002 air quality data, Table 1 illustrates the number of hypothetical areas that EPA is assuming could be designated nonattainment for 8 hour ozone, PM 2.5 or both new standards for the purposes of this ICR. Note that references to " ozone" in this and other tables below are for the 8 hour ozone air quality standard.

Table 1: Total Hypothetical 8 hour Ozone and PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas Assumed For Conformity ICR Estimates Pollutant( s) That Apply Number of Hypothetical Nonattainment Areas Ozone only 55 PM 2.5 only 11 Ozone and PM 2.5 46 Total 112 As stated above, the purpose of this ICR is to estimate the additional burden of the conformity requirements under the new standards. Therefore, EPA is only estimating in this ICR the additional burden associated with conducting conformity determinations in the following types of areas:

° brand new nonattainment areas that have never demonstrated conformity for any pollutant and standard; 5 EPA considers an " existing nonattainment or maintenance area" to be any area that is currently designated nonattainment or maintenance for one or more transportation related mobile source criteria pollutants and subject to the conformity regulations. These existing areas are assumed to have previous experience with making conformity determinations. 14 ° existing nonattainment and maintenance areas5 that will be doing conformity for an additional pollutant ( e. g., existing areas that will also be doing conformity for PM 2.5, a new pollutant not previously covered by the rule); and ° the new nonattainment counties that may be added to some existing 1 hour ozone areas that expand under the 8 hour ozone standard.

Table 2 includes estimates for these different types of hypothetical nonattainment areas that are assumed to have additional conformity burden under the 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards.

Table 2: Which Hypothetical 8 hour Ozone and PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas Have New Conformity Burden?

Nonattainment Area Type Metropolitan Areas Isolated Rural Areas Total 200,000+ pop. 50,000 200,000 pop. < 50,000 pop.

Nonattainment for Ozone and/ or PM2.5 83 18 11 112 Brand New Nonattainmen t Areas Ozone or PM2.5 12 11 6 29 Ozone and PM2.5 1 1 1 3 Existing Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas that Will Demonstrate Conformity for One Additional Pollutant Under the New Standards 36 4 1 41 Expanding 1 hour Ozone Areas that Include New 8 hour Ozone Counties 32 4 0 36 Overall, 86 of the hypothetical 112 nonattainment areas for the new standards fall within one or more of the three categories of areas that will incur additional burden described above. Some existing 1 hour ozone nonattainment and maintenance areas are assumed to incur additional burden from having to demonstrate conformity for both an additional pollutant ( i. e., 6 EPA's policy for 8 hour EAC's are described in a November 14, 2002 memorandum entitled, " Schedule for 8 Hour Ozone Designations and its Effect on Early Action Compacts" and in EPA's June 2, 2003 proposal for the implementation of the 8 hour ozone standard ( 68 FR 32859 32860). Additional information on EACs and a list of areas that have submitted compacts is located on EPA's website at http:// www. epa. gov/ ttn/ naaqs/ ozone/ eac/

7 The populations of hypothetical nonattainment areas are based on 2000 census data. The populations of metropolitan areas was assumed to be for the entire CMSA/ MSA. The population data used for this ICR can be accessed from the U. S. Census Bureau website at http:// www. census. gov/ population/ www/ cen2000/ phc t3. html 15 PM 2.5) and for new counties that expand the areas' geographic size under the new standards. The remaining 26 hypothetical nonattainment areas are not expected to assume significant new burden under the new standards. For example, EPA assumes that no significant additional burden will be placed on 1 hour ozone nonattainment and maintenance areas that are attainment for the PM 2.5 standard, designated nonattainment for the 8 hour ozone standard and for which the 8 hour ozone nonattainment boundary will become smaller or remain the same.

EPA also assumes that 8 hour ozone nonattainment areas that may be treated as Early Action Compact ( EAC) areas6 and that are not violating the PM 2.5 standard will not incur additional burden under the new standard. Areas that were eligible for an EAC include areas that are violating the 8 hour ozone standard but are attaining the 1 hour ozone standard   including 1 hour ozone maintenance areas. For areas participating in an EAC, EPA plans to provisionally defer the effective date of the area's 8 hour ozone nonattainment designation into the future. Therefore, the conformity requirements will not apply for the 8 hour ozone standard in an EAC area as long as the area adheres to all the terms and milestones of its EAC and its nonattainment designation remains deferred.

For this ICR, EPA also assumes that additional conformity burden will differ among:

° larger metropolitan nonattainment areas ( urbanized area populations over 200,000);

° smaller metropolitan nonattainment areas ( urbanized area populations between 50,000 200,000); and ° isolated rural nonattainment areas ( populations under 50,000). 7 Since conformity requirements, complexity of air quality issues and geographic size can vary dependent on an area's population, EPA believes it is appropriate to distinguish the additional conformity burden among these different urbanized and rural areas. EPA also assumes that brand new areas that are designated nonattainment for both new standards will incur additional burden over those brand new areas that are designated nonattainment for only one of the new standards. Therefore, Table 2 distinguishes among these different types of urbanized and 8 The U. S. Census Bureau includes county information for its 2000 CMSA/ MSA population estimates; this information can be accessed at http:// www. census. gov/ population/ www/ cen2000/ phc t3. html. To determine the number of additional counties that 1 hour ozone nonattainment/ maintenance areas could gain under the 8 hour ozone standard, EPA compared the 2000 census county information to county information for existing areas. Such information for existing areas is included in the EPA Greenbook located on our website at http:// epa. gov/ oar/ oaqps/ greenbk/ anay. html. 16 isolated rural nonattainment areas as well.

Table 2 also includes information on the number of existing nonattainment and maintenance areas that will be required to demonstrate conformity for one additional pollutant under the new standards. EPA notes that no existing CO, PM 10 or NO 2 nonattainment or maintenance area that is currently subject to the conformity requirements for those mobile source pollutants is assumed to be designated for both ozone and PM 2.5 under the new standards based on 2000 2002 air quality data. In other words, we are not assuming that any hypothetical nonattainment area with conformity experience would " gain" two new pollutants for which conformity would be required under the new standards.

Finally, Table 2 includes information on the number of hypothetical large and small metropolitan areas that are currently designated nonattainment or maintenance for the 1 hour ozone standard and that could gain additional counties under the 8 hour ozone standard. Based on the latest county information for existing CMSA/ MSAs, these areas may grow in geographic area by an average of 40% ( or three additional counties) under the new 8 hour ozone standard. 8 However, as previously stated, EPA believes this estimate may be conservative since final area boundaries for all metropolitan nonattainment areas may not include the entire CMSA/ MSA for a given area and will also be based on States' recommendations and additional air quality data, where available.

Number of State and Local Burden Hours Associated With Doing a Conformity Determination For a Transportation Plan, TIP, or Project EPA is relying on information from several sources for this ICR's estimated state and local burden hours for conformity determinations under the new standards. First, we have reviewed the conformity burden hour and cost estimates that are assumed for existing nonattainment and maintenance areas in DOT's ICR for the transportation planning regulations. Second, as described in Section 3( c), EPA requested new burden information from FHWA and FTA field and headquarters' offices and the EPA regional offices. Finally, EPA reviewed existing conformity research studies and considered whether any information could be used as a proxy for conformity burden under the new air quality standards. These research studies are listed in Appendix C of this ICR.

The following paragraphs describe estimated state and local burden hours for conformity 9EPA has proposed two options for hot spot emissions analyses for individual projects in PM 2.5 areas. The first option would not require PM 2.5 hot spot analyses for any areas, while the second option would only require such analyses for certain types of project locations that are identified as problematic in an area's PM 2.5 SIP. If EPA finalizes the second proposed option, a PM 2.5 hot spot analysis requirement would only apply in certain areas once PM 2.5 SIPs are submitted and found adequate by EPA. 17 determinations in brand new and experienced metropolitan and isolated rural nonattainment areas. The ICR assumes that all conformity determination work is completed by State and local employees, although in practice some work may be completed by consultants. EPA also notes that transportation plan and TIP burden hour estimates are based on demonstrating conformity for 3 year transportation plan and 2 year TIP updates, rather than interim plan and TIP revisions or amendments.

For each burden hour estimated, EPA assumes that state and local agencies work only on conformity related activities. This ICR does not include burden for the general development of transportation plans, TIPs, project, or motor vehicle emissions budgets, since these documents are developed to meet other requirements. However, EPA is assuming that some data collection for transportation planning or SIP purposes could also be used in conformity without additional conformity related burden.

As described above, this ICR only includes burden associated with conformity determinations over the first three years after nonattainment designations for the new standards, and future ICR updates will consider conformity burden for subsequent time periods. Since SIPs for the new standards are proposed to be due starting in 2007, this ICR does not include conformity burden that may be created once SIPs are submitted or approved for the new air quality standards, such as timely implementation of TCMs in an approved SIP, compliance with PM 2.5 SIP control measures, or PM 2.5 hot spot analyses for individual projects. 9 EPA has also accounted for a one time start up cost for brand new nonattainment areas and counties that have no previous experience with demonstrating conformity. However, after these brand new areas and counties have gained experience and establish functional conformity procedures, EPA does not expect this start up burden to persist once the initial three year period after designations has concluded.

Plan and TIP Conformity Determinations in Brand New Metropolitan Areas Tables 3 and 4 include burden hour estimates per respondent for each required transportation plan and TIP conformity determination conducted in brand new metropolitan nonattainment areas. 10 State and local agency representatives from many new nonattainment areas may attend conformity training courses such as the National Transit Institutes' conformity training course entitled, " Introduction to Transportation/ Air Quality Conformity." This three day course offers an in depth overview of the criteria and procedures for implementing conformity and is designed for federal, State and local agencies involved in the conformity process. 18 Table 3: State and Local Burden Hours Associated with Each Transportation Plan Conformity Determination In Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Metropolitan Area Nonattainment Designation Start up Consultation Regional Emissions Analysis Other Misc. Activities Total Burden Hours Pop. 200,000+ ozone or PM2.5 120 45 280 45 490 ozone and PM2.5 140 60 375 60 635 Pop. 50,000 200,000 ozone or PM2.5 105 45 120 30 300 ozone and PM2.5 125 60 160 40 385 Table 4: State and Local Burden Hours Associated with Each TIP Conformity Determination In Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Metropolitan Area Nonattainment Designation Start up Consultation Regional Emissions Analysis Other Misc. Activities Total Burden Hours Pop. 200,000+ ozone or PM2.5 120 35 280 45 480 ozone and PM2.5 140 45 375 60 620 Pop. 50,000 200,000 ozone or PM2.5 105 35 120 30 290 ozone and PM2.5 125 45 160 40 370 EPA has distributed start up costs for brand new metropolitan nonattainment areas evenly between transportation plan and TIP burden estimates. For these areas with no previous conformity experience, EPA has estimated the burden hours per respondent associated with start up issues, such as reading the conformity regulations, attending conformity training, 10 developing transportation and emissions models and accumulating modeling expertise. Start up burden for brand new areas also considers the time needed to establish conformity consultation 19 procedures, however, EPA assumes that existing forums for most areas will be used to facilitate the development of such procedures, based on DOT and EPA field office feedback. Start up burden for brand new areas designated for both 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 is increased slightly to allow for additional time to adapt existing consultation processes. EPA generally assumes that start up burden hours will be relatively the same for large and small nonattainment areas, although larger areas are assumed to need some extra time to adapt existing transportation models for conformity purposes. Additional time is also included to integrate transportation models with emissions factor models for regional analyses for all areas.

For each plan and TIP conformity determination in brand new metropolitan nonattainment areas, EPA has approximated the number of burden hours for interagency consultation meetings. However, EPA is assuming that conformity related topics would be one of many issues discussed at such meetings. In addition, EPA has estimated the burden hours associated with conducting a regional emissions analysis and completing other miscellaneous conformity related activities. Such activities would include additional consultation and technical assistance, drafting the conformity determination and responding to State and local public comments that pertain to conformity.

EPA assumes that larger metropolitan nonattainment areas will incur more burden in conducting regional emissions analyses and miscellaneous activities for the new standards compared to smaller metropolitan areas, since larger areas often have more complex air quality issues with greater public interest, cover a larger geographic area and typically have more detailed and sophisticated transportation and emissions modeling capabilities. However, EPA has assumed that the number of agencies ( approximately 7 State and local agencies for each area) and amount of time allocated to interagency consultation meetings ( just over 6 hours for plan updates and 5 hours for TIP updates) are relatively the same in both large and small metropolitan areas.

In addition, brand new metropolitan areas that are designated nonattainment for both new standards are believed to incur more burden than areas that are designated for only one of the new standards, since these areas may be required to conduct a regional emissions analysis for one additional year and may have additional technical issues to resolve. As a result, we have increased the burden hours associated with consultation, conducting regional emissions analyses and performing miscellaneous activities in these areas by approximately one third of the total for areas that are designated nonattainment for only one of the new standards.

Finally, these estimates assume that transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations and regional emissions analysis are conducted separately, although EPA notes that the regional emissions analysis requirements in the conformity regulation are the same for plans and TIPs. Furthermore, many areas rely on the same regional emissions analysis and conformity determination when plan and TIP updates are done concurrently. Some areas also may rely on the previous regional emissions analysis and not perform a new analysis for TIP updates that make only minor changes. As a result, this ICR most likely overestimates the additional TIP conformity burden associated with state and local actions under the new 20 standards.

Plan and TIP Conformity Determinations in Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Tables 5 and 6 illustrate the additional burden hours associated with meeting the conformity requirements for a transportation plan and TIP update in an existing metropolitan nonattainment and maintenance area that is covered by the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards.

Table 5: State and Local Burden Hours Associated with Each Transportation Plan Conformity Determination In Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Metropolitan Nonattainment Area Start up Consultation Regional Emissions Analysis Other Misc. Activities Total Burden Hours Existing Area that Gains One Additional Pollutant Pop. 200,000+ 10 15 95 15 135 Pop. 50,000 200,000 10 15 40 10 75 1 hour Ozone Area with New Counties Pop. 200,000+ 50 20 110 20 200 Pop. 50,000 200,000 40 20 50 10 120 21 Table 6: State and Local Burden Hours Associated with Each TIP Conformity Determination In Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Metropolitan Nonattainment Area Start up Consultation Regional Emissions Analysis Other Misc. Activities Total Burden Hours Existing Area that Gains One Additional Pollutant Pop. 200,000+ 10 10 95 15 130 Pop. 50,000 200,000 10 10 40 10 70 1 hour Ozone Area with New Nonattainment Counties Pop. 200,000+ 50 15 110 20 195 Pop. 50,000 200,000 40 15 50 10 115 Consistent with the estimated burden hours associated with brand new nonattainment areas ( Tables 3 and 4), Tables 5 and 6 include only the burden associated with making a conformity determination for one additional pollutant in existing nonattainment and maintenance areas that are already subject to the conformity requirements. EPA assumes that significant new burden in these existing areas will be associated primarily with consultation, conducting regional emissions analyses and completing miscellaneous activities such as resolving technical issues and responding to public comments. No significant new burden is assumed for start up in these existing areas, except for reading the new conformity regulation. These areas already have experience with the conformity process and have established interagency consultation procedures and developed models for conducting plan and TIP conformity determinations.

For estimating the burden associated with demonstrating conformity for additional new counties in expanding 8 hour ozone nonattainment areas that were previously designated nonattainment or maintenance for the 1 hour standard, EPA has calculated the new burden for these areas to be approximately 40% of the burden hours associated with meeting the conformity requirements in brand new nonattainment areas ( Tables 3 and 4). Based on 2000 2002 air quality data and county information for existing CMSA/ MSAs, EPA is assuming that 36 large and small 1 hour ozone metropolitan areas ( out of the 112 hypothetical nonattainment areas for the new standards), could grow in geographic size if they become designated nonattainment for the 8 hour ozone standard. On average, these areas are assumed to grow by 40% or three additional counties per nonattainment area. Therefore, EPA believes it is reasonable to estimate the additional burden of resolving start up issues, holding consultation meetings, conducting regional emissions analyses and resolving technical issues in these areas to be 40% of the burden estimated for brand new large and small metropolitan areas. However, EPA notes that additional start up burden is evenly distributed between plan and TIP estimates, consistent with burden 11EPA estimates that 7 state and local agencies participate in 1 consultation meeting on each transportation project. 22 hour estimates assumed for brand new nonattainment areas.

Finally, Tables 5 and 6 assume that larger metropolitan nonattainment areas will incur more burden in conducting regional emissions analyses for the new standards compared to smaller metropolitan areas, and that transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations and regional emissions analysis are conducted separately. EPA made similar assumptions for burden estimates in brand new metropolitan areas, and as described above, TIP conformity burden hour estimates most likely are overestimated in this ICR for all metropolitan nonattainment areas.

Project Conformity Determinations in Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Table 7 estimates the minimal burden associated with doing conformity determinations for projects in metropolitan nonattainment areas prior to adequate SIP budgets being established for the new air quality standards. This table is intended to illustrate burden associated with a typical project level conformity determination.

Table 7: State and Local Burden Hours for Each Project level Conformity Determination in Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Metropolitan Area Nonattainment Designation Startup Consultation Other Misc. Activities Total Burden Hours Pop. 200,000+ and 50,000 200,000 Ozone and/ or PM2.5 0 4 1 5 Conformity determinations for projects in metropolitan nonattainment areas would be fairly straightforward, since projects would only need to come from a conforming plan and TIP to meet conformity requirements during the time period covered by this ICR. Consultation with other state and local agencies11 would be the main activity that would create only minimal conformity burden. EPA is assuming that conformity related consultation would be one of many issues discussed through consultation meetings as a project proceeds through the NEPA process. EPA is also assuming that an additional hour would be needed to document in the NEPA document that conformity requirements are met for each project. Projects in metropolitan areas that are from a conforming plan and TIP do not require additional regional emissions analyses. A project level hot spot analysis is not considered for any projects in this ICR, since ozone areas do not perform hot spot analyses and PM 2.5 hot spot analyses would not be required until three years into the future, if at all. See Footnote 9 for further information about EPA's proposed 12Isolated rural areas are not required by federal law to develop local transportation plans or TIPs. 23 options for PM 2.5 hot spot analyses.

Finally, EPA assumes that there will be no additional start up burden hours associated with doing project level conformity determinations in the next three years. Any start up burden for brand new 8 hour ozone areas or PM 2.5 metropolitan nonattainment areas is sufficiently reflected in start up estimates for doing transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations. Start up burden associated with doing project level hot spot analyses in PM 2.5 areas would be considered in future ICR updates if EPA finalizes a hot spot analysis requirement that is related to PM 2.5 SIP submissions. EPA is also assuming that the total burden hours for project level conformity determinations under the new standards would be approximately the same for larger metropolitan areas ( urbanized area populations over 200,000) and smaller metropolitan areas ( urbanized area populations of 50,000 200,000).

Project Conformity Determinations in Isolated Rural Nonattainment Areas Table 8 includes the additional burden estimated for doing a conformity determination for a typical regionally significant project in an isolated rural nonattainment area for the new standards. As with metropolitan areas, some isolated rural areas are expected to have conformity experience, while others will be covered by the conformity rule for the first time. In general, conformity determinations for projects in isolated rural areas are more extensive than for projects in metropolitan areas, since a regional emissions analysis is also performed when a regionally significant project " not from a conforming transportation plan and TIP" is to receive federal funding or approval. 12 Table 8: State and Local Burden Hours for Each Project Level Conformity Determination in Isolated Rural Nonattainment Areas Isolated Rural Area Nonattainment Designation Startup Consultation Regional Emissions Analysis Other Misc. Activities Total Burden Hours No Conformity Experience Ozone or PM2.5 140 5 60 15 220 Ozone and PM2.5 160 10 80 20 270 Previous Conformity Experience Ozone or PM2.5 10 5 60 15 90 13EPA estimates that 4 state and local agencies would participate in 1 consultation meeting on each transportation project. 24 EPA considered several factors in developing these estimates. As is currently the case, EPA assumes that state departments of transportation will continue to be the lead in doing conformity determinations in all isolated rural nonattainment areas under the new standards. Some state air quality agencies may also provide emissions modeling assistance to isolated rural areas, as is the case in some areas under the existing standards. And since many state transportation and air quality agencies already have experience implementing the conformity regulation and doing transportation and/ or emissions modeling, EPA did not assume that significant training of new staff is necessary for any isolated rural areas under the new standards. However, EPA did assume that local rural agencies in isolated rural nonattainment areas would need time to read the conformity regulation, and brand new areas would attend a conformity training course ( such as the National Transit Institute's three day course).

For isolated rural nonattainment areas that have no previous conformity experience, there would be some additional start up burden associated with developing an interagency consultation process and a reasonable method for estimating vehicle miles traveled. Based on responses received from DOT and EPA field offices, new isolated rural areas should be able to use existing available resources as starting points for meeting conformity requirements. Therefore, we have assumed some additional work will be needed to modify existing consultative forums and VMT estimation methods for regulatory purposes. EPA is assuming no additional emissions modeling start up burden for brand new isolated rural areas since EPA's MOBILE6 model was released about two years ago for most areas, and state transportation and air quality agencies should have MOBILE6 experience. In addition, data collection for local information on isolated rural areas may also be completed for SIP planning purposes, and if local information is not available, MOBILE6 provides national defaults for emissions analyses. No significant new burden is assumed for start up in existing areas, except for reading the new conformity regulation. Existing areas already have experience with the conformity process and established interagency consultation procedures and developed models for conducting plan and TIP conformity determinations.

It is also assumed that burden associated with conformity determinations for projects in isolated rural areas would be the same for areas with and without previous conformity experience for areas covered by one or two new pollutants. Consultation between state and local agencies would occur for each regionally significant project. 13 Like metropolitan projects, EPA is also assuming that conformity related topics would be one of many issues discussed through consultation meetings as a project proceeds through the NEPA process.

Brand new isolated rural areas that are designated nonattainment for both new standards are believed to incur more burden than brand new areas that are designated for only one of the new standards, since these areas may be required to conduct a regional emissions analysis for one additional year and may have additional technical issues to resolve. Therefore, we have increased the burden hours associated with consultation, conducting regional emissions analyses 14 January 2003 U. S. Office of Personal Management, Salary Table 2003 GS, 2003 General Schedule, http:// www. opm. gov/ oca/ 03tables/ html/ gs. asp. 25 and performing miscellaneous activities in these areas by approximately one third of the total for isolated rural areas that are designated nonattainment for only one of the new standards.

EPA notes that the estimates in this ICR may overestimate burden associated with completing regional emissions analyses for projects in isolated rural nonattainment areas, since conformity determinations for non regionally significant projects may not require that a new regional emissions analysis be completed every time. Finally, as for metropolitan projects, this ICR does not include estimated burden associated with project level hot spot analyses in PM 2.5 areas, since there will be no additional start up burden hours associated with doing PM 2.5 projectlevel hot spot analyses in the time period covered by this ICR.

6( b) Estimating State and Local Respondent Costs Appendix D includes Tables 9 through 14 that estimate state and local respondent costs associated with conformity determinations for transportation plans, TIPs, and projects in metropolitan and isolated rural areas. EPA is not including those tables here for the sake of brevity, and because these estimates are also reflected in the bottom line burden and costs in Section 6( d) below. The following paragraphs describe the assumptions used in the Appendix D estimates.

Estimating State and Local Agency Costs EPA will be relying upon cost estimates similar to what were assumed in DOT's existing ICR for the transportation planning regulations. Specifically, we are estimating that each state and local burden hour associated with conformity determinations is completed by an experienced technical staff person at a state or local agency or contractor. We believe that this will result in a conservative cost estimate, even though the actual conformity work may be done by a less experienced technical person or secretarial, management, or legal staff. In addition to salary costs, EPA is also including overhead costs associated with employing an experienced technical staff person, such as paid leave, health insurance, retirement savings, office space, computers, and other business expenses.

EPA is assuming that state and local burden hours would be completed by an experienced technical staff person being paid at a GS 13, Step 3 federal government employee salary of $ 65,335/ year. 14 EPA then divided the annual 2003 GS 13, Step 3 salary rate by 2080 ( the number of hours in a work year) and multiplied this number by the standard government overhead factor of 1.6. This calculation results in a state and local cost of $ 50.25/ burden hour. 26 State and Local Capital or Operating and Maintenance ( O & M) Burden In general, EPA is not expecting that additional computers, software, or other capital investments would be needed to do regional conformity analyses under the new standards. Planners should be able to adapt existing equipment and systems for conformity use.

The transportation conformity regulation does not contain any continuing record keeping or reporting requirements that require additional capital or O& M costs for individual state or local respondent actions. Thus, no capital or O& M cost is included for record keeping and reporting actions.

Frequency of Conformity Determinations and Annualizing Burden Estimates The tables included in Appendix D annualize the state and local burden and costs associated with conformity determinations in metropolitan and isolated nonattainment rural areas. EPA has assumed the following in annualizing estimates:

° Transportation plans: Estimates are annualized over a three year period, to correspond with the Clean Air Act requirement that transportation plans conform with a new regional emissions analysis every three years. It is assumed that only one plan conformity determination will be done for each metropolitan nonattainment area every three years. EPA is not considering additional burden from MPOs updating or revising transportation plans voluntarily on a more frequent basis.

° TIPs: Estimates are annualized over a two year period. Although the Clean Air Act similarly requires conformity every three years for TIPs, TEA 21 and DOT's transportation planning regulations require TIPs to be updated every two years. Since conformity is also required when TIPs are updated, conformity determinations are being completed in practice every two years. It is assumed that one TIP conformity determination is done in each metropolitan nonattainment area every two years. EPA is not considering additional burden from MPOs updating or revising TIPs voluntarily on a more frequent basis.

° Projects in metropolitan areas: Estimates are annualized over a two year period. This period accounts for the time for a typical project's development and completion of the NEPA process and conformity determination. Burden may be overestimated in the case of smaller, straightforward projects, whereas estimates may be underestimated for larger, more complex projects such as those that require an environmental impact statement ( EIS) through the NEPA process. It is assumed that 40 and 24 project conformity determinations are typically done in each large and small metropolitan nonattainment 15 The average number of project conformity determinations for large and small metropolitan nonattainment areas was based on DOT field office responses to a request for this ICR and represents a combined total of highway and transit projects. However, EPA notes that the information on which these averages are based contained much variation, and we will refine estimates if better information becomes available in the future.

16EPA is basing this assumption on the following research: 1) Draft report, " Transportation/ Air Quality Issues in Rural Areas," FHWA and Dye Management, Inc.; and 2) July 31, 2003, draft report, " Rural Conformity: A Survey of Practice," ICF consulting, NCHRPfunded effort.

17 January 2003 U. S. Office of Personal Management, Salary Table 2003 GS, 2003 General Schedule, http:// www. opm. gov/ oca/ 03tables/ html/ gs. asp. 27 area, respectively, every two years. 15 ° Projects in isolated rural areas: Estimates are annualized over a five year period. As is currently the case, it is assumed that conformity determinations will continue to occur less frequently in isolated rural nonattainment areas since such areas are smaller than metropolitan areas and have less developed transportation systems with fewer transportation projects. It is assumed that one project conformity determination is done in each isolated rural nonattainment area every five years. 16 Number of 8 hour Ozone and PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas Assumed The estimates in Appendix D include the assumptions for hypothetical 8 hour and PM 2.5 nonattainment areas that are described in Section 6( a) of this ICR.

6( c) Estimating Federal Burden and Cost EPA will be relying upon cost assumptions similar to what is assumed in DOT's existing ICR for the transportation planning regulations. Specifically, we are estimating that each DOT and EPA federal burden hour associated with conformity determinations is completed by an experienced technical staff person. We believe that this will result in a conservative cost estimate, even though EPA believes that the actual conformity work may be done by a less experienced technical person or secretarial, management, or legal staff. EPA is also including overhead costs associated with employing an experienced technical staff person, such as paid leave, health insurance, retirement savings, office space, computers, and other business expenses.

EPA is assuming that federal burden hours would be completed by an experienced technical staff person being paid at a GS 13, Step 3 federal government employee salary of $ 65,335/ year. 17 EPA then divided the annual 2003 GS 13, Step 3 salary rate by 2080 ( the 28 number of hours in a work year) and multiplied this number by the standard government overhead factor of 1.6. This calculation results in a federal cost of $ 50.25/ burden hour.

Federal Burden Hours and Costs For Transportation Plan and TIP Conformity Determinations in Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Tables 15 and 16 present the estimated federal burden hours per transportation plan and TIP conformity determination, respectively, in brand new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 metropolitan nonattainment areas. These estimates were drawn directly from FHWA, FTA and EPA responses to a recent request for new burden information for this ICR and represent the average response for a typical plan or TIP conformity determination in both large and small metropolitan areas. DOT and EPA burden associated with plan and TIP conformity determinations includes attending consultation meetings, providing technical and policy assistance prior to an MPO's determination and reviewing the final plan or TIP conformity documentation. It is generally assumed that DOT has significantly more burden than EPA since DOT is required to approve all transportation plan, TIP, and project conformity determinations. 29 Table 15: Federal Burden Hours Associated with Each Transportation Plan Conformity Determination for Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Nonattainment Designation of Metropolitan Area Activity FHWA FTA EPA Total Ozone or PM2.5 Attending Consultation Meetings 13 3 3 19 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 35 1 10 46 Reviewing Plan Conformity Determination 40 6 20 66 Total For Each Brand New Ozone or PM2.5 Area: 131 Ozone and PM2.5 Attending Consultation Meetings 17 4 4 25 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 47 1 13 61 Reviewing Plan Conformity Determination 53 8 27 88 Total For Each Brand New Ozone and PM2.5 Area: 174 30 Table 16: Federal Burden Hours Associated with Each TIP Conformity Determination for Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Nonattainment Designation of Metropolitan Area Activity FHWA FTA EPA Total Ozone or PM2.5 Attending Consultation Meetings 10 2 2 14 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 35 1 10 46 Reviewing TIP Conformity Determination 40 6 20 66 Total For Each Brand New Ozone or PM2.5 Area: 126 Ozone and PM2.5 Attending Consultation Meetings 13 3 3 19 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 47 1 13 61 Reviewing TIP Conformity Determination 53 8 27 88 Total For Each Brand New Ozone and PM2.5 Area: 168 For brand new areas designated nonattainment for both 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5, EPA assumes that the federal agencies will incur more burden from additional work prior to the MPO's determination and review of the plan or TIP conformity determination, than metropolitan areas designated nonattainment for only one of the new standards. Therefore, for areas designated for both new standards, EPA has assumed that the new federal burden will increase by one third over that assumed for areas designated for only one of the new standards consistent with State and local estimates for such areas.

As described above, EPA assumes a federal cost of $ 50.25/ burden hour for this ICR. Based on the total federal burden hours assumed for plan and TIP conformity determinations in metropolitan areas that are designated for either one or both new standards, Table 17 presents the total estimated federal annualized cost associated with making transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations in these areas. 31 Table 17: Federal Annual Cost Associated with Transportation Plan and TIP Conformity Determinations In Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Action Nonattainment Designation of Metropolitan Area Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost Plan Ozone or PM2.5 131 23 3 years 1004 $ 50.25 $ 50,451 Ozone and PM2.5 174 2 3 years 116 $ 50.25 $ 5,829 Total For All Transportation Plan Actions: 1120 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 56,280 TIP Ozone or PM2.5 126 23 2 years 1449 $ 50.25 $ 72,812 Ozone and PM2.5 168 2 2 years 168 $ 50.25 $ 8,442 Total For All TIP Actions: 1617 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 81,254 Federal Burden Hours and Costs For Plan and TIP Conformity Determinations in Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Tables 18 and 19 present the estimated federal burden per transportation plan and TIP conformity determination, respectively, in new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 nonattainment areas that have previous conformity experience ( i. e., areas that have been previously designated nonattainment or maintenance for one or more mobile source criteria pollutants and subject to the conformity requirements). New federal burden is estimated for existing nonattainment and maintenance areas that will " gain" one additional pollutant under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards. In addition, federal burden is assumed for additional new counties in 8 hour ozone nonattainment areas that were previously designated nonattainment or maintenance for the 1 hour standard. 32 Table 18: Federal Burden Hours Associated with Each Transportation Plan Conformity Determination In Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Metropolitan Nonattainment Area Activity FHWA FTA EPA Total Existing Area That Gains One Additional Pollutant ( Includes all areas with populations of 200,000+ and 50,000 200,000) Attending Consultation Meetings 4 1 1 6 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 12 > 0.5 3 15 Reviewing Plan Conformity Determination 13 2 7 22 Total For Each Existing Area With One Additional Pollutant: 43 Expanding 1 hour Ozone Area with New Counties ( Includes all areas with populations of 200,000+ and 50,000 200,000) Attending Consultation Meetings 5 1 1 7 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 14 > 0.5 4 18 Reviewing Plan Conformity Determination 16 2 8 26 Total For Each 1 hour Existing Area With New Counties: 51 33 Table 19: Federal Burden Hours Associated with Each TIP Conformity Determination In Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Metropolitan Nonattainment Area Activity FHWA FTA EPA Total Existing Area That Gains One Additional Pollutant ( Includes all areas with populations of 200,000+ and 50,000 200,000) Attending Consultation Meetings 3 1 1 5 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 12 > 0.5 3 15 Reviewing TIP Conformity Determination 13 2 7 22 Total For Each Existing Area With One Additional Pollutant: 42 Expanding 1 hour Ozone Area with New Counties ( Includes all areas with populations of 200,000+ and 50,000 200,000) Attending Consultation Meetings 4 1 1 6 Conformity Related Work Prior to MPO Determination 14 > 0.5 4 18 Reviewing TIP Conformity Determination 16 2 8 26 Total For Each Existing 1 hour Area With New Counties: 50 Consistent with the estimated federal burden hours associated with brand new areas ( Tables 15 and 16), Tables 18 and 19 include only the federal burden associated with making a conformity determination for one additional pollutant in existing metropolitan nonattainment and maintenance areas that are already subject to the conformity requirements. EPA assumes that new federal burden in these existing areas will be associated only with conformity related work prior to an MPO's determination and for reviewing plan and TIP conformity determinations. In addition, no significant new burden is assumed for consultation in these areas, as these areas already have established interagency consultation procedures with regularly scheduled meetings for discussing conformity issues. EPA also assumes no significant difference in the number of federal burden hours associated with making TIP conformity determinations for large and small metropolitan areas.

For reasons explained in Section 6( a) for estimating federal conformity burden for additional new counties in 8 hour ozone nonattainment areas that were previously designated nonattainment or maintenance for the 1 hour ozone standard, EPA has calculated the new federal burden to be approximately 40% of the burden hours associated with meeting the conformity requirements in brand new nonattainment areas ( Tables 15 and 16). See Section 6( a) for further background on assumptions for these types of areas.

Assuming $ 50.25 per federal burden hour, Table 20 presents the total federal annualized 34 cost associated with making transportation plan and TIP conformity determinations in metropolitan 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 nonattainment areas that have previous conformity experience.

Table 20: Federal Annual Cost Associated with Transportation Plan and TIP Conformity Determinations In Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Action Metropolitan Nonattainment Area Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost Plan Existing Area That Gains One Additional Pollutant 43 40 3 years 573 $ 50.25 $ 28,793 Expanding 1 hour Ozone Area with New Counties 51 36 3 years 612 $ 50.25 $ 30,753 Total For All Transportation Plan Actions: 1185 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 59,546 TIP Existing Area That Gains One Additional Pollutant 42 40 2 years 840 $ 50.25 $ 42,210 Expanding 1 hour Ozone Area with New Counties 50 36 2 years 900 $ 50.25 $ 45,225 Total For All TIP Actions: 1740 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 87,435 Federal Burden Hours and Costs For Project level Conformity Determinations in Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Table 21 estimates the minimal federal burden hours associated with doing conformity determinations for projects in metropolitan nonattainment areas prior to adequate SIPs being established for the new air quality standards. This table is intended to illustrate federal burden associated with a typical project level conformity determination. 35 Table 21: Federal Burden Hours for Each Project level Conformity Determination in Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Type of Project Activity FHWA or FTA EPA Total Projects in 8 hour Ozone and/ or PM2.5 Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas ( Includes all areas with populations of 200,000+ and 50,000 200,000) Attending Consultation Meetings 1 0.5 1.5 Reviewing Project level Conformity Determination 1 0.5 1.5 Total For Each Metropolitan Project Level Determination: 3 As previously explained, conformity determinations for projects in both large and small metropolitan nonattainment areas would be fairly straightforward, since projects would only need to come from a conforming plan and TIP to proceed. Consultation with state and local agencies would create some minimal conformity burden. EPA is assuming that conformity would be one of many issues discussed through consultation meetings as a project proceeds through the NEPA process. EPA is also assuming that minimal additional time would be needed to review and document that conformity requirements are met.

For FHWA and FTA burden associated with metropolitan project level conformity determinations, EPA is assuming that only one of these entities would be involved in consultation and review of the conformity documentation for any given project. In other words, FHWA would incur additional burden from only highway project level conformity determinations, while FTA would incur additional burden from only transit project determinations.

Based on the total federal burden hours assumed for each project level conformity determination in metropolitan nonattainment areas, Table 22 presents the estimated total federal annualized cost associated with these types of conformity actions. 18 The number of metropolitan nonattainment areas for which Federal burden and costs associated with project level conformity determinations are determined includes all metropolitan areas that will incur significant burden under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 air quality standards ( i. e., the 78 large and small metropolitan areas out of the 86 hypothetical new nonattainment areas that will assume additional burden under the new standards). This estimate includes all brand new metropolitan nonattainment areas and all existing metropolitan nonattainment/ maintenance areas that will gain an additional pollutant and/ or will gain additional ozone counties under the 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards. 36 Table 22: Federal Annual Cost Associated with Project level Conformity Determinations In Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Type of Project Burden Hours Per Action No. of Actions Freq. of Action No. of Areas 18 Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost Projects in 8 hour Ozone and/ or PM2.5 Metro. Nonattain . Areas Pop. 200,000+ 3 40 2 years 61 3660 $ 50.25 $ 183,915 Pop. 50,000 200,000 3 24 2 years 17 612 $ 50.25 $ 30,753 Total For All Project Level Conformity Determinations: 4272 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 214,668 Federal Burden Hours and Costs For Project level Conformity Determinations in Isolated Rural Nonattainment Areas Table 23 includes the additional federal burden estimated for doing conformity for a typical regionally significant transportation project in an isolated rural nonattainment area for the new standards. In general, conformity determinations for projects in isolated rural areas are more extensive than for metropolitan, since isolated rural areas also need to perform a regional emissions analysis when a regionally significant project is to receive federal funding or approval. 37 Table 23: Federal Burden Hours for Each Project Conformity Determination In Isolated Rural Nonattainment Areas Nonattainment Designation Activity FHWA FTA EPA Total Ozone or PM2.5 Attending Consultation Meetings 5 1 1 7 Conformity Related Work Prior to State DOT Determination 6 > 0.5 2 8 Reviewing Project Conformity Determination 20 3 10 33 Total For Each Ozone or PM2.5 Isolated Rural Area Project Determination: 48 Ozone and PM2.5 Attending Consultation Meetings 7 1 1 9 Conformity Related Work Prior to State DOT Determination 8 > 0.5 3 11 Reviewing Project Conformity Determination 27 4 13 44 Total For Each Ozone and PM2.5 Isolated Rural Area Project Determination: 64 It is assumed that federal burden hours associated with conformity determinations for projects in isolated rural nonattainment areas would be the same for areas with and without previous conformity experience. In addition, consultation between federal, state and local agencies would occur for each regionally significant project. Like metropolitan projects, EPA is also assuming that conformity related consultation would be one of many issues discussed through consultation meetings as a project proceeds through the NEPA process.

Federal burden associated with conformity determinations in isolated rural areas that are designated nonattainment for both new standards is believed to be greater than federal burden for areas that are designated for only one of the new standards, since EPA and DOT may need to provide additional technical assistance and allocate additional time to review conformity documentation in areas designated for both new standards. As a result, we have increased the federal burden hours associated with these activities for ozone and PM 2.5 areas by approximately one third of the total for isolated rural areas that are designated nonattainment for only one of the new standards. EPA notes that these assumptions may overestimate federal burden associated with assisting in and reviewing project conformity determinations in isolated rural areas, since conformity determinations for non regionally significant projects may not require a new regional emissions analysis to be completed every time. Finally, as for metropolitan projects, this ICR does not include estimated federal burden associated with project level hotspot analyses in PM 2.5 areas, since there will be no additional burden hours associated with doing project level conformity determinations in the time period covered by this ICR. 19 The number of metropolitan nonattainment areas for which the total average federal, state and local burden and costs under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards are determined includes all metropolitan areas that will incur significant burden under the new standards ( i. e., the 78 large and small metropolitan areas out of the 86 hypothetical new nonattainment areas that will assume additional burden under the new standards). This estimate of metropolitan nonattainment areas that will incur new burden includes all brand new metropolitan nonattainment areas and all existing metropolitan nonattainment/ maintenance areas that will gain an additional pollutant and/ or will gain additional ozone counties under the new standards. 38 Based on the total federal burden hours assumed for each conformity determination in isolated rural areas designated for one or both new standards, Table 24 presents the estimated total federal annualized cost associated with making determinations in all isolated rural nonattainment areas.

Table 24: Federal Annual Cost Associated with Project Conformity Determinations In Isolated Rural Nonattainment Areas Nonattainment Designation of Isolated Rural Area Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Burden Cost Ozone or PM2.5 48 7 5 years 67 $ 50.25 $ 3367 Ozone and PM2.5 64 1 5 years 13 $ 50.25 $ 653 Total For All Isolated Rural Areas: 80 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 4020 6( d) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs The bottom line annual burden for all State and local agencies is 25,669 hours, with a cost of $ 1,289,869. EPA assumes that 86 new nonattainment areas will have some additional conformity burden under the new air quality standards, and these areas will complete approximately 1,510 total conformity determinations every year.

EPA also estimates that the average state and local burden for conformity activities in each metropolitan nonattainment area that incurs additional burden under the new standards19 to be 325 hours/ year at a cost of $ 16,320/ year. Additional federal burden associated with conformity for each of these metropolitan nonattainment areas is estimated to be 127 hours/ year at a cost of $ 6400/ year. These average estimates on a per area basis include new burden associated with conducting transportation plan, TIP and project level conformity determinations. 20The number of isolated rural nonattainment areas for which the total average federal, state and local burden and costs under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards are determined includes all rural areas that will incur significant burden under the new standards ( i. e., the 8 isolated rural areas of the 86 hypothetical new nonattainment areas that will assume additional burden under the new standards). This estimate of isolated rural nonattainment areas that will incur new burden includes all brand new isolated rural nonattainment areas and all existing isolated rural nonattainment/ maintenance areas that will gain an additional pollutant under the new standards. 39 Average state and local burden associated with conformity for isolated rural nonattainment areas that incur new burden under the new standards20 is 42 hours/ year at a cost of $ 2111/ year. New federal burden associated with each of these areas is calculated to be 10 hours/ year at a cost of $ 503/ year.

Finally, the bottom line annual burden to all federal, state and local agency respondents over the 3 year period covered by this ICR is estimated at 35,683 hours, with a cost of approximately $ 1,793,072. The bottom line annual burden and cost to federal agency respondents is 10,014 hours and $ 503,203, respectively.

Tables 25 and 26 below summarize the annual bottom line burden hours and costs, respectively, for state, local, and federal respondents for additional conformity burden under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards.

Table 25: Total Annual Additional Burden Hours Associated With Conformity Determinations for the 8 hour Ozone and PM2.5 Standards Type of Conformity Determination Total Annual State and Local Burden Hours Total Annual Federal Burden Hours Total Annual Conformity Burden Hours Transportation Plan 7,413 2,305 9,718 TIP 10,800 3,357 14,157 Projects in Metropolitan Areas 7,120 4,272 11,392 Projects in Isolated Rural Areas 336 80 416 BOTTOM LINE BURDEN HOURS: 35,683 / year 40 Table 26: Total Additional Costs Associated With Conformity Determinations for the 8 hour Ozone and PM2.5 Standards Type of Conformity Determination Total Annual State and Local Cost Total Annual Federal Cost Total Annual Conformity Costs Transportation Plan $ 372,503 $ 115,826 $ 488,329 TIP $ 542,701 $ 168,689 $ 711,390 Projects in Metropolitan Areas $ 357,780 $ 214,668 $ 572,448 Projects in Isolated Rural Areas $ 16,885 $ 4,020 $ 20,905 BOTTOM LINE COST: $ 1,793,072 / year 6( e) Reasons for Change in Burden Not applicable. This is a new ICR submission, rather than a change to an existing EPA ICR.

6( f) Burden Statement The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 325 hours and 42 hours per response for metropolitan and isolated rural areas, respectively. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information. 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. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15. To comment on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including the use of automated collection techniques, EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. OAR 2003 0049, which is available for public viewing at the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, in the EPA Docket Center ( EPA/ DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room 41 is open from 8: 30 a. m. to 4: 30 p. m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is ( 202) 566 1744, and the telephone number for the Air Docket is ( 202) 566 1742. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets ( EDOCKET) at http:// www. epa. gov/ edocket. Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select " search," then key in the docket ID number identified above. Also, you can send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Office for EPA. Please include the EPA Docket ID No. ( OAR 2003 0049) in any correspondence. 21Figure 1, from DOT's " Transportation Conformity: A Basic Guide for State and Local Officials," June 19, 2000. 42 Appendix A: Steps in the Transportation Conformity Process21 43 Appendix B: DOT and EPA Field Offices Consulted for Burden Hour Estimates FTA:

Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Region 5 Region 6 Region 9 FTA Office of Human and Natural Environment FHWA:

FHWA Resource Center Massachusetts Division Office  Did not respond New York Division Office Pennsylvania Division Office North Carolina Division Office Georgia Division Office Kentucky Division Office Tennessee Division Office  Did not respond Texas Division Office FHWA Office of Natural and Human Environment EPA:

Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Region 5 Region 6 Region 7 Region 8 Region 9 Region 10  Did not respond 44 Appendix C: Conformity Related Research Considered for This ICR The following is the conformity research studies that were considered for this ICR. EPA has cited in the ICR when these studies were utilized as appropriate.

1. March 1999, " Linking Transportation and Air Quality Planning: Implementation of the Transportation Conformity Regulations in 15 Nonattainment Areas, Arnold M. Howitt and Elizabeth M. Moore.

2. April 2003, " Environmental Protection: Federal Planning for Transportation and Air Quality Protection Could Potentially Be More Efficient and Better Linked," Government Accounting Office, GAO 03 581.

3. February 1997, " Integrating Transportation and Clean Air Planning: An Overview of State Experiences with the Transportation Conformity Requirements," National Governors' Association Center for Best Practices.

4. April 2003, " Exhausting Options: Assessing SIP Conformity Interactions," Resources for the Future.

5. April 2003, " Transportation/ Air Quality Issues in Rural Areas," FHWA and Dye Management Group.

6. October 2003, " Rural Conformity: A Survey of Practice," NCHRP and ICF Consulting. 45 Appendix D: Annualized State and Local Respondent Costs Note: EPA estimates that the bottom line annual burden for all State and local agencies is 25,669 hours, based on EPA's assumption that 86 new nonattainment areas will have some additional conformity burden under the new air quality standards, and that these areas will complete approximately 1,510 total conformity determinations every year. See Section 6( a) for further background on the number of new nonattainment areas assumed, and Section 6( d) regarding the annual number of total burden hours for state and local agencies. Finally, EPA based its estimate for the number of total conformity determinations each year on the information in this appendix.

The following tables illustrate the annualized state and local respondent costs for various conformity determinations as described in Section 6( b) of this ICR. " Frequency of Action" columns refer to the interval of years required to be completed for each type of transportation action and associated conformity determination.

Table 9: State and Local Annual Cost for Transportation Plan Conformity Determinations In Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Metropolitan Area Nonattainment Designation Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost Pop. 200,000+ ozone or PM2.5 490 12 3 years 1960 $ 50.25 $ 98,490 ozone and PM2.5 635 1 3 years 212 $ 50.25 $ 10,636 Pop. 50,000 200,000 ozone or PM2.5 300 11 3 years 1100 $ 50.25 $ 55,275 ozone and PM2.5 385 1 3 years 128 $ 50.25 $ 6449 Total for All Transportation Plan Actions: 3400 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 170,850/ year Table 10: State and Local Annual Cost for TIP Conformity Determinations In Brand New Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Metropolitan Area Nonattainment Designation Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost 46 Pop. 200,000+ ozone or PM2.5 480 12 2 years 2880 $ 50.25 $ 144,720 ozone and PM2.5 620 1 2 years 310 $ 50.25 $ 15,578 Pop. 50,000 200,000 ozone or PM2.5 290 11 2 years 1595 $ 50.25 $ 80,149 ozone and PM2.5 370 1 2 years 185 $ 50.25 $ 9,296 Total for All TIP Actions: 4970 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 249,743/ year 47 Table 11: State and Local Annual Cost for Transportation Plan Conformity Determinations In Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Metropolitan Nonattainment Area Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost Existing Area that Gains One Additional Pollutant Pop. 200,000+ 135 36 3 years 1620 $ 50.25 $ 81,405 Pop. 50,000 200,000 75 4 3 years 100 $ 50.25 $ 5,025 1 hour Ozone Area with New Nonattainment Counties Pop. 200,000+ 200 32 3 years 2133 $ 50.25 $ 107,183 Pop. 50,000 200,000 120 4 3 years 160 $ 50.25 $ 8,040 Total for All Transportation Plan Actions: 4013 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 201,653/ year Table 12: State and Local Annual Cost for TIP Conformity Determinations In Existing Metropolitan Nonattainment/ Maintenance Areas Metropolitan Nonattainment Area Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost Existing Area that Gains One Additional Pollutant Pop. 200,000+ 130 36 2 years 2340 $ 50.25 $ 117,585 Pop. 50,000 200,000 70 4 2 years 140 $ 50.25 $ 7,035 1 hour Ozone Area with New Nonattainmen t Counties Pop. 200,000+ 195 32 2 years 3120 $ 50.25 $ 156,780 Pop. 50,000 200,000 115 4 2 years 230 $ 50.25 $ 11,558 Total for All TIP Actions: 5830 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 292,958/ year 22 The number of metropolitan nonattainment areas for which state and local burden and costs associated with project level conformity determinations are determined includes all metropolitan areas that will incur significant burden under the new 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 air quality standards ( i. e., the 78 large and small metropolitan areas out of the 86 hypothetical new nonattainment areas that will assume additional burden under the new standards). This estimate includes all brand new metropolitan nonattainment areas and all existing metropolitan nonattainment/ maintenance areas that will gain an additional pollutant and/ or will gain additional ozone counties under the 8 hour ozone and PM 2.5 standards. 48 Table 13: State and Local Annual Cost for Project level Conformity Determinations in Metropolitan Nonattainment Areas Metropolitan Area Burden Hours Per Action No. of Actions No. of Areas22 Freq. of Each Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost Nonattainment for Ozone and/ or PM2.5 Pop. 200,000 + 5 40 61 2 years 6,100 $ 50.25 $ 306,525 Pop. 50,000 200,000 5 24 17 2 years 1,020 $ 50.25 $ 51,255 Total for All Project level Actions: 7,120 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 357,780/ year Table 14: State and Local Annual Cost for Project Conformity Determinations in Isolated Rural Nonattainment Areas Isolated Rural Area Nonattainment Designation Burden Hours Per Action No. of Areas Frequency of Action Total Annual Burden Hours Cost Per Hour Total Annual Cost No Conformity Experience Ozone or PM2.5 220 6 5 years 264 $ 50.25 $ 13,266 Ozone and PM2.5 270 1 5 years 54 $ 50.25 $ 2,714 Previous Conformity Experience Ozone or PM2.5 90 1 5 years 18 $ 50.25 $ 905 Total Cost: 336 hours/ year x $ 50.25/ hour = $ 16,885/ year