Ozone Standard Compliance Status San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA, (as of June 2, 2016)

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "Ozone Standard Compliance Status San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA, (as of June 2, 2016)"

Transcription

1 Transportation Conformity: Regionally Significant Definition Ozone Standard Compliance Status San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA, (as of June 2, 2016) Regulatory Monitor Site 4th Highest Reading, ppb Current 3 Year Average Camp Bullis C San Antonio NW C Calaveras Lake C As of April 8, the San Antonio area s ozone values exceeded the 2015 ozone threshold of 70 ppb. This places the area in violation of the standard and, if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designates areas in 2017 based on the averaging period as scheduled, this indicates the San Antonio area would be designated nonattainment for ozone. Source: Alamo Area Council of Governments 2 1

2 Transportation Conformity A non attainment designation for ozone will require the MPO to undertake Transportation Conformity Transportation Conformity means evaluating future transportation projects to ensure they do not cause further harm to air quality 3 Transportation Conformity Process Metropolitan Transportation Plan Perform Regional Analysis For MTP Transportation Improvement Program Perform Regional Analysis For TIP TPB action on Conformity TPB action on Conformity 4 2

3 Interagency Consultation and Responsibilities The MPO has primary responsibility for demonstrating transportation conformity For this process to be completed it requires significant interagency consultation that includes the: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) MPO, VIA, AACOG, local governments and the general public 5 When is Conformity Required? If designated as non attainment for ozone: There is a one year timeframe in which to complete, submit and approve transportation conformity Then conformity would be required: Every time a new or amended MTP or TIP, which includes new projects, is adopted (unless only exempt projects are added) Currently, the TIP is updated every two years and amended quarterly. If designated non attainment, such amendments could trigger conformity determinations making it very difficult to continue amending the TIP on a quarterly basis 6 3

4 Conformity Lapse If conformity is not demonstrated the region enters into a lapse : Federal funds for highway and transit improvements can be delayed Only a few projects can move forward in a lapse: Safety Projects Rehabilitation Projects 7 Current Schedule October 2016 State s recommendations on areas of nonattainment designation are due to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) October 2017 Formal non attainment designations are scheduled to be made by the EPA May June 2018 The MPO will be required to complete and submit a transportation conformity determination on its Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) October 2018 Transportation conformity will need to be approved in order to avoid a lapse 8 4

5 Federal Regulation 23 CFR Regionally significant project means a major transportation project that is on a facility which serves regional transportation needs. At a minimum, this includes all principal arterial highways and all fixed guideway transit facilities that offer a significant alternative to regional highway travel. We must include all regionally significant facilities in our travel demand model for analysis purposes. 9 Regionally Significant Roadways Regionally significant roadways are those corridors that are likely to have the most impact on regional travel and therefore, air quality Regionally significant roadways are not: locally eligible for more funding than other functionally classified roadways necessarily more congested necessarily targeted for transportation improvements 10 5

6 Regionally Significant Definitions 11 AAMPO Draft Local Definition Regionally Significant Projects include: Facilities federally functionally classified as interstate freeways, other freeways, or principal arterials Roadways and intermodal connectors included in the federally adopted National Highway System Roadways designated as SH or US routes Fixed guideway transit facilities 12 6

7 7/28/2016 Interstate freeways, other freeways or expressways 13 Intermodal connectors and roadways designated as SH or US routes 14 7

8 DRAFT Regionally Significant Facilities 15 Next Steps Consultative partners will provide input into our proposed definition Technical Advisory Committee review and input will continue January 8, 2016 May 6, 2016 June 3, 2016 Transportation Policy Board action is scheduled for the Regionally Significant definition in the September 2016 timeframe 16 8