______________________________________________________________________________

TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY WORKING GROUP

of the 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS

September 25, 2012

Minutes

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3.1-1 TCWG Minutes September 25, 2012

THE FOLLOWING MINUTES ARE A SUMMARY OF THE MEETING OF THE 

TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY WORKING GROUP. A DIGITAL RECORDING

OF THE ACTUAL MEETING IS AVAILABLE FOR LISTENING IN SCAG’S OFFICE.

The Meeting of the Transportation Conformity Working Group was held at the SCAG office in 

Los Angeles. 

 

In Attendance:

Abrishami, Lori Metro

Brotcke, Kurt OCTA

Cooper, Keith ICF

Garber, Natalya Metro

Kulkarni, Anup OCTA

Nord, Greg OCTA

Sherwood, Arnie ITS/OCTA

Smolke, Brian OCTA

Young, Stephanie VCTC

SCAG

Au, Anita

Luo, Rongsheng

Via Teleconference:

Behtash, Arman Caltrans, District 12

Brady, Mike Caltrans Headquarters

Cacatian, Ben VCAPCD

Chang, Paul Caltrans, District 12

Chien, Kelly RBF Consulting

Crow, Jason ARB

Drummonds, Eyvonne SCAQMD

Ernie, Tim AECOM

Gallo, Ilene Caltrans, District 11

Goodson, Jeff AECOM

Malisos, Achilles RBF Consulting

O’Connor, Karina EPA, Region 9

Odufalu, Olufemi Caltrans, District 8

Tax, Wienke EPA, Region 9

Torres, Eddie RBF Consulting

Walecka, Carla TCA

Yoon, Andrew Caltrans, District 7
______________________________________________________________________________

TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY WORKING GROUP

of the 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS

September 25, 2012

Minutes

______________________________________________________________________________

3.1-2 TCWG Minutes September 25, 2012

1.0 CALL TO ORDER 

Greg Nord, OCTA, called the meeting to order at 10:05 am.

2.0 PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

There were no comments. 

3.0 CONSENT CALENDAR

3.1 TCWG July 24, 2012 Meeting Minutes

The minutes were approved via email after the meeting.

3.2 TCWG August 28, 2012 Meeting Minutes

The minutes were approved via email after the meeting.

4.0 INFORMATION ITEMS

4.1 Review of PM Hot Spot Interagency Review Forms

1) LA0C8046

It was determined that this is not a POAQC.

(FWHA concurrence received via email after the meeting)

2) ORA130061

It was determined that this is not a POAQC.

(FWHA concurrence received via email after the meeting)

3) RIV110122

The project sponsor will revise the hot spot review form to address TCWG 

comments and will resubmit a revised hot spot review form.

4) 2H0703 (SBD)

The project sponsor will revise the hot spot review form to address TCWG 

comments and will resubmit a revised hot spot review form. 
______________________________________________________________________________

TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY WORKING GROUP

of the 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS

September 25, 2012

Minutes

______________________________________________________________________________

3.1-3 TCWG Minutes September 25, 2012

4.2 Review of PM Hot Spot Qualitative Analyses

1) LA0B951 (revised)

The analysis was deemed acceptable for NEPA circulation.

(FWHA and EPA concurrence received via email after the meeting)

2) ORA111801

The project sponsor will revise the qualitative analysis to address TCWG comments 

and will resubmit a revised analysis for review via email. 

The revised qualitative analysis was deemed acceptable for NEPA circulation via 

email on November 13, 2012.

4.3 TCM Substitution Request

Kurt Brotcke, OCTA, presented a TCM substitution request to replace the purchase 

of 71 buses for bus service expansion with ten regional traffic signal 

synchronization projects throughout Orange County.

In response to comments, Mr. Brotcke stated that OCTA would provide TCWG 

with the necessary documentation, including emission analyses of all criteria

pollutants for further discussion at the next TCWG meeting.

4.4 FTIP Update

Rongsheng Luo, SCAG, reported the following on behalf of John Asuncion, SCAG:

 2013 FTIP had been approved by the SCAG Executive Administration 

Committee on behalf of the Regional Council and submitted to funding 

agencies for review. Federal approval of the 2013 FTIP was still anticipated to 

be in mid-December 2012.

 Project submittal for the last scheduled administrative modification to the 2011 

FTIP was due to SCAG by October 2nd, 2012.

4.5 RTP Update

Rongsheng Luo, SCAG, reported the following on behalf of Ryan Kuo, SCAG:

 The six Subcommittees formed by the Regional Council to guide the 

implementation of the 2012-2035 RTP/SCS begin their meetings this and next 

month, with the first Goods Movement Subcommittee meeting taking place on 

September 24.
______________________________________________________________________________

TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY WORKING GROUP

of the 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS

September 25, 2012

Minutes

______________________________________________________________________________

3.1-4 TCWG Minutes September 25, 2012

 Tentative schedule for the 2012-2035 RTP/SCS Amendment #1:

 Solicit RTP amendment requests from all six county transportation 

commissions in November 2012.

 Perform a completeness review of amendment requests, code the regional 

transportation demand model, and perform the conformity and the fiscal 

constraint analyses between December 2012 and February 2013.

 Release the Draft RTP Amendment for public review and comment in 

March 2013, bring the proposed final RTP Amendment to the CEOs’ AB 

1246 Consultation Group for review and approval in April 2013, and adopt 

the Amendment and submit it to the federal reviewing agencies for 

conformity determination in May 2013.

4.6 EPA Update

Wienke Tax, EPA, reported the following:

 Two Federal Register notices were published on September 19th, proposing,

respectively, a call for a 1-hour Ozone SIP and withdrawal of previous approval 

of the VMT emissions offset demonstration for the 1-hour and 8-hour Ozone

standards in the South Coast. The comment period for the proposed actions 

would end on October 19th.

 Also released on August 30th was Guidance on the VMT emissions offset

demonstration.

 The comment period for the Settlement Agreement for the Imperial County 

mediation ended last week. Two sets of comments were received concerning 

the proposed rule changes.

In response to questions, Ms. Tax reported that Imperial County Air Pollution 

Control District held two workshops last Monday and Thursday regarding 

Regulation VIII; the adoption public hearing was planned to be held on October 

16th; these actions were on schedule as committed in the Settlement Agreement; 

EPA is committed to issuing a proposed rule on the revised dust regulations within 

60 days after receiving the submittal; and the anticipated length of the highway 

sanctions remains about four to six months.

 A sanctions clock is running in South Coast because of the partial disapproval 

of PM 2.5 contingency measures last November. Unless approval is obtained, 

stationary source offset sanctions would start in July 2013 and highways 

sanctions would begin in December 2013. 
______________________________________________________________________________

TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY WORKING GROUP

of the 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS

September 25, 2012

Minutes

______________________________________________________________________________

3.1-5 TCWG Minutes September 25, 2012

In response to questions, Ms. Tax stated that EPA was in the process of reviewing a 

PM2.5 SIP revision submittal but was not able to provide information about 

outstanding issues or EPA action timelines. Ms. Tax confirmed that public 

processes would be needed should SCAQMD be required to correct any 

discrepancies in the submittal and that EPA was aware of stakeholder concern for a 

timely resolution.

4.7 ARB Update

Jason Crow, ARB, reported the following:

 ARB and SCAQMD started working on developing new transportation 

conformity budgets for the 24-hour PM2.5 standard earlier this month.

 ARB would meet with EPA and Caltrans next week to finalize the Draft PM 

Hotspot Procedures for use with EMFAC 2011.

In response to a question, Mr. Crow stated that EPA approval of EMFAC 2011 is 

anticipated by December 31, 2012. Karina O’Connor, EPA, confirmed that EPA 

still hoped to meet the timeline and EPA would meet with FHWA as the next step.

4.8 Air Districts Update

Eyvonne Drummonds, SCAQMD, reported the following:

 The 2012 AQMP Socio-economic Report was anticipated to be released this 

week for a 45-day public review period.

 New regional hearings were being scheduled for mid-November 2012.

 SCAQMD Governing Board adoption of the 2012 AQMP is anticipated in 

December 2012.

In response to questions, Ms. Drummonds confirmed that the 2012 AQMP would 

be adopted by the AQMD Governing Board and then submitted to ARB in 

December 2012 and that the VMT emissions offset demonstration was expected to

be released soon.

5.0 INFORMATION SHARING

In response to a question, Mr. Jason Crow, ARB, confirmed that ARB had started the 

process to develop new 8–hour ozone transportation conformity budgets for Mojave Desert 

Air Basin (MDAB) and Coachella Valley.
______________________________________________________________________________

TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY WORKING GROUP

of the 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS

September 25, 2012

Minutes

______________________________________________________________________________

3.1-6 TCWG Minutes September 25, 2012

In response to a question, Ms. Wienke Tax, EPA, confirmed that the VMT emissions offset 

requirement apply to extreme as well as severe ozone nonattainment areas; the EPA 

Guidance on VMT emissions offset covers both areas.

In response to a request, Mr. Rongsheng Luo, SCAG, confirmed that updates on the 

Imperial County Highway Sanctions, the South Coast Sanctions clock, the EMFAC2011 

approval, and the new 8-hour ozone transportation conformity budgets for WDAB and 

Coachella Valley will be standing items on future TCWG agendas.

In response to a question, Mike Brady, Caltrans Headquarters, confirmed that the next 

Statewide Conformity Working Group Meeting would be held on October 16, 2012 from 9

am to 12 pm. Mr. Brady requested that any agenda items from TCWG members be sent to 

him as soon as possible.

6.0 ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 11:17am.

The next Transportation Conformity Working Group meeting will be held on Tuesday 

October 23, 2012 at the SCAG office in downtown Los Angeles.