Transportation Air Quality Conformity Analysis Report

for
2001 Regional Transportation Plan
and
2001 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Amendment 01-32

DOWNLOAD: (in PDF) FINAL Transportation Air Quality Conformity Analysis APPENDIX A: List of Projects To Be Amended Into 2001 Transportation Improvement Program APPENDIX B: Travel Forecasting Assumptions APPENDIX C: Roadway and Transit Network Definitions APPENDIX D: Letter From ARB Concerning CO Analysis

This report assesses the conformity of the 2001 Regional Transportation Plan and a future TIP amendment to the federal ozone attainment plan. This is in response to the 1990 federal Clean Air Act which requires that transportation plans, programs, and projects conform to the federal air quality plan. The means by which transportation plans, program, and projects are found to conform are defined in regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The US Department of Transportation (i.e. Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration) make the actual conformity finding based on the analysis prepared by the MTC.

This report reviews the transportation emission budgets that are the basis for the conformity analysis and then compares the projected motor vehicle emissions to this budget. An emission budget is the amount of a particular pollutant which is associated with attaining the federal air quality standard, and future on road motor vehicle emissions must be lower than this budget to conform. The major ozone precursors for which motor vehicle emissions are calculated are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and oxides of Nitrogen.

In addition, the federal ozone attainment plan contains certain motor vehicle emission control strategies which are adopted as part of the plan. These are called Transportation Control Measures. Because they are included in the federal ozone plan and are federally enforceable, the conformity analysis includes a discussion of their implementation status. There are 24 such measures in the current ozone plan, most of which have been completed, and the latest ozone attainment plan includes five new measures which will become effective once EPA approves this plan.