Keeping Tomorrows Air Clean: Conforming Transportation Plans with Air Quality Attainment Efforts

1
Keeping Tomorrows Air Clean Conforming
Transportation Plans with Air Quality Attainment
Efforts
Kern COG Workshop April 15, 2004 Rob Ball
Senior Planner

• San Joaquin Valley
• Transportation
• Planning Agencies

2
Conforminty Presentation Outline

• Overview of the Federal Clean Air Act
• The Hammer Conformity Lapse
• Conformity Determination Modeling Future Travel
  and Emissions
• Control Measure Strategies
• 2004 Transportation Expenditure Plans (TIP/RTP)
  Conformity Timeline
• Conclusions/Solutions

3
Federal Regulations1977 Federal Clean Air
Act,and 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act
4
Conformity

• Transportation Conformity is the process mandated
  by the Clean Air Act to ensure that Federal
  Highway Expenditures will not negatively effect
  attainment of Air Quality Standards in areas that
  do not meet the Federal Standards.

5
Categories of Emissions

• Natural or Biogenic Sources plants, etc.
• Stationary Sources power plants, refineries,
  factories, pumps, etc.
• Area Sources small stationary sources, dry
  cleaners, bakeries, etc.
• Mobile Sources
• On-road cars, trucks, busses
• Off-road trains, planes, lawnmowers,
  construction equipment
• Conformity deals w/ On-road Mobile

6
State Implementation Plan (SIP)

• Mandated by the Clean Air Act
• Prepared by the Air District and California Air
  Resources Board
• Contains procedures to monitor, control, maintain
  and enforce compliance with national air quality
  standard
• Sets Emissions Budget and deadlines required to
  attain Standards

7
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)

• Sets Healthy Air Standards
• Attainment Designations
• Attainment
• Areas that have always been in compliance of the
  NAAQS
• Attainment Maintenance
• Areas that were formerly non-attainment of NAAQS.
• Attainment Unclassified
• Insufficient data.
• Non-Attainment Classifications

8
Non-Attainment Area Classificationsand Required
Attainment Years
9
8 County San Joaquin Valley Air Basin
10
2 Air Districts 3 Planning Areas
11
Current Air Basin Attainment Classifications in
Kern

• San Joaquin Valley Air Basin Portion
• 1hr. Ozone (VOC NOx) Extreme 2010
• PM10 (VOC NOx precursors) Serious 2008
• CO Attainment Maintenance 2008

12
Proposed Air Basin Classifications in Kern

• San Joaquin Valley Air Basin
• Proposed 8hr. Ozone (VOC NOx) proposed Serious
  2013? Non-attainment (could replace 1hr.
  standard)
• Proposed PM2.5 (VOC, Ammonia, precursors)
  Non-attainment - highest readings in the valley
  in Kern.

13
Air Basin Attainment Classifications in East Kern

• Mojave Desert Air Basin
• 1hr. Ozone (VOC NOx) Serious Non-attainment
• Attainment Maintenance demonstration being
  considered by US EPA Spring 2004. Monitoring
  data demonstrates attainment of standard for past
  3yrs.
• Proposed 8hr. Ozone Serious 2013? Non-attainment
• Proposed PM2.5 Non-attainment likely
• Indian Wells Valley Planning Area
• PM10 attainment maintenance 2013?
• Proposed PM2.5 Non-attainment likely
• Ozone 1hr. Attainment and unclassified for 8hr.

14
The Clean Air Act Hammer Conformity Lapse
15
Conformity Lapse Bad

• No federally funded or non-federally funded or
  regionally significant project can proceed
  regardless of how far along it may be in the
  project development process.
• Grandfathering of projects is not allowed.
• Only TCMs in the SIP and exempt projects (i.e.,
  safety) will advance.

16
Conformity Lapse Funding Exemptions

• 1. Exempt Projects (non-capacity increasing)
• 2. TCMs in Approved SIPs
• 3. Non-Regionally Significant Non-federal
  Projects
• 4. Approved Regionally Significant Non-federal
  Projects
• 5. Previously Conformed Projects, which have
  received funding commitments for
• construction, Plans, Specifications Estimates
  (PSE) approval, Full Funding Grant
• Agreements (FFGA) or equivalent approvals.
• 6. Traffic Synchronization Projects

17
Conformity Lapses Frequentand Usually Short

• As of 2002, areas in 29 states have experienced a
  lapse of conformity at some time since 1993. Five
  areas, including Atlanta, Georgia.

18
Regionally Significant Projects

• Capacity Increasing Project greater than 1-mile
  in length
• All Regional Significant Projects must be
  conformed to the SIP

19
TIP/RTP Conformity

• Analysis of the Air Quality Impacts of our
  short-range (TIP) and long-range (RTP)
  transportation projects to show that our plans do
  not setback SIP clean air efforts.

20
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
21
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)
22
20-Year Population and Vehicle Miles Traveled
Historical Growth for the San Joaquin Valley
Portion of Kern County
23
Determining ConformityModeling Future Travel
and Emissions
24
Socio-Economic Data Forecast

• General Plan
• Population
• Households
• Employment
• Enrollment
• Income

25
Regional Transportation Model
26
(No Transcript)
27
Preliminary Conformity Results

• Kern San Joaquin Valley Portion
• PM10 2005 .5 ton under 10.6 ton budget
• Ozone 2005 NOx 1 ton under 37.6 ton budget
• CO 2005 10 tons under 162 ton budget
• E. Kern - IWV-Ridgecrest
• PM10 2030 .3 tons under 1.7 ton budget
• E. Kern Tehachapi - Mojave Desert
• Ozone 2005 NOx .5 ton under 7.1 ton budget

28
Control Measure Strategies
29
Sample Control Measures Cost/Benefit

• PM10
• Paving 3 miles of shoulder w/ 24,000 trips/day
• .45 tons per day or 1,376 per ton
• Paving 1 mile of Alley w/ 74 trips/day
• .09 tons per year or 527 per ton
• PM10 Efficient Street Sweepers
• .01 tons per year or 2,500 per ton

30
Sample Control Measures Cost/Benefit

• Ozone
• Replace one Diesel Vehicle that travels 1000,000
  miles annual in the region
• .0016 tons per day or 9.6 million (320 vehicles)
  per ton
• Replace one Passenger Vehicle that travels 15,000
  miles annually in the region
• .000048 tons per day or 140 million (14,000
  vehicles) per ton

31
2004 TIP/RTPConformity Timeline

• Draft Complete - May 17
• Public Review Period begins May 21
• Public Workshops May to June
• Public Review Period ends July 6
• COG Board July 15
• Due to Federal Highways August 1

32
Conclusions/Solutions/Questions?

• Plans are Conforming for now.
• Every effort needs to be made to achieve the
  future reductions in Ozone.
• Transportation efforts should focus on
• More Street Sweeping even on low volume roads
• Controling runoff/track-out onto streets
• Paving/controling dust from high volume roads w/
  dirt shoulders
• Paving high volume dirt public roads/alleys