Federal Clear Air Act Impacts on Transportation Funding: Sanctions, Lapses, and Freezes

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Federal Clear Air Act Impacts on Transportation
FundingSanctions, Lapses, and Freezes
September 18, 2003

• San Joaquin Valley
• Transportation
• Planning Agencies

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Federal Clean Air Act of 1990

• The Hammer falls on Federal Transportation
  Funding Rarely used
• Hammer triggered by failure to demonstrate
  attainment of Standards for
• Ozone
• PM10,
• CO
• New standards coming as science improves and
  studies are completed.

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Federal Clean Air Act Attainment Status For Kern
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2 Air Districts 3 Planning Areas
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Current Air Basin Attainment Classifications in
Kern

• San Joaquin Valley Air Basin Portion
• 1hr. Ozone (VOC NOx) Severe Nonattainment
  (Proposed bump up to Extreme by January 2004)
• PM10 (VOC NOx precursors) Serious
  Nonattainment
• CO Attainment Maintenance

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Proposed Air Basin Classifications in Kern

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

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Air Basin Attainment Classifications in East Kern

• Mojave Desert Air Basin
• 1hr. Ozone (VOC NOx) Serious Non- attainment
• Attainment demonstration to be considered by US
  EPA Spring 2004. Monitoring data demonstrates
  attainment of standard for past 3yrs.
• Proposed 8hr. Ozone Non-attainment
• Proposed PM2.5 Non-attainment likely
• Indian Wells Valley Planning Area
• PM10 Moderate reclassified as attainment for
  Federal
• Proposed PM2.5 Non-attainment likely
• Attainment for Ozone 1hr. And unclassified 8hr.

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Proposed Air Basin Attainment New 8 Hr. Ozone
Standard
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Proposed Air Basin Attainment For PM2.5 Standard
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Ozone Monitoring Sites
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Ozone 1hr. 8hr. Bear Mtn.
1hr. levels
1hr. Standard
8hr. levels
8hr. Standard
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PM10 Monitoring Sites
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PM10 - Golden State Hwy
24hr. levels
24hr. Standard
Ann. Avg. levels
Ann. Avg. Standard
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Sources of Air Pollution
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Sources of Ozone in Kern
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Sources of PM10 in Kern
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2001 Sources of Air Quality Emissions

• Ozone Top 3 Sources (tons per day)
• SJV SJV Kern E. Kern
• - Heavy Duty Diesel Trucks 80 18
  lt1
• - Light/Medium Duty Trucks 68 14
  2
• - Farm Equipment 65 5
  lt1
• PM-10 Top 3 Sources (tons per day)
• SJV SJV Kern E. Kern
• - Unpaved Roads 115 19
  10
• - Farm Operations 111 15
  7
• - Paved Roads 65 11
  1

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Avoiding The HammerHighway Sanctions and
Conformity Lapses/Freezes
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Two Types of Interruptions to Transportation
Funding

• Highway Sanctions on Air District Plans and Rules
• Conformity Lapse/Freeze of Planned Transportation
  Projects - The TIP and RTP must not make the air
  any worse.

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Two Areas for Invoking Highway Sanctions

• For Plans The Air Districts State
  Implementation Plans (SIP)
• For Rules The Air Districts Rules required by a
  SIP to demonstrate attainment

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Sanctions The 2-Year Clock

• The Clock
• 18 mo. 2-1 offsets
• for Stationary Sources
• 6 mo. later
• Highway Sanctions

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What Projects do Highway Sanctions Affect?

• Exempt projects may proceed. (Not capacity
  increasing)
• Transportation related Control Measures (TCMs,
  RACM, BACM) for improving air quality in approved
  SIPs may proceed.
• In general, Federal Title 49 projects (Transit,
  Aviation, ) may proceed (unless capacity
  increasing).
• In general, Federal Title 23 funded projects
  (Highways) will be halted. 2Billion in SJV

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Conformity Lapses and Freezes

• The eight San Joaquin Valley Transportation Plans
  for spending federal funds must show that they
  wont make the air any worse. This is called
  conformity with the air standards set by the
  Federal Clean Air Act.

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Conformity Lapses happen when

• A Region fails to submit a adequate analysis of
  its future transportation plans on time. A
  minimum of every 3 years or as significant
  capacity amendments to the plan occur.
• A Region is under highway sanctions.

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Conformity Lapse Funding Exemptions

• In general, both Title 23 (Highway) and Title
  49 (Transit, Aviation) projects will be halted.
• There are six types of transportation projects
  may proceed for purposes of funding

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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

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Conformity Freeze

• Conformity Freeze kicks-in when an Air District
  Plan (SIP) disapproval by EPA makes the budgets
  for demonstrating conformity invalid. Its not as
  bad as a full lapse.
• Exempt projects may proceed.
• Projects in the first 3 years of the TIP/RTP
  cycle may proceed.
• No new TIP/RTP conformity findings until EPA
  determines conformity budgets to be
• adequate.

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Kern COGs Proactive Approach

• Since 1993 Kern COG has allocated 20 million to
  replace 120 diesel transit vehicles with
  alternative fuels.
• Coordinated RACM/BACM Process for Local
  Government Control Measures
• Kern Regional Transportation Modeling Committee
  oversees Modeling of future projects for
  Conformity.
• San Joaquin Valley Transportation Air Quality
  Coordination MOU
• Valleywide Air Quality Coordinator