MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY EVALUATIONS 

CONDUCTED UNDER THE 8-HOUR OZONE STANDARD BY AND BETWEEN 

THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT, 

THE DENVER REGIONAL AIR QUALITY COUNCIL, THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF 

TRANSPORTATION, THE UPPER FRONT RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING REGION, 

THE NORTH FRONT RANGE TRANSPORTATION AND AIR QUALITY PLANNING COUNCIL 

(a.k.a. the North Front Range MPO), AND THE DENVER REGIONAL COUNCIL OF 

GOVERNMENTS 

March 14, 2008 

Abbreviations Guide 

APCD - Air Pollution Control Division 

AQCC - Air Quality Control Commission, ("the Commission") 

CDPHE - Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 

COOT - Colorado Department of Transportation 

DR COG - Denver Regional Council of Governments 

MOA - Memorandum of Agreement 

MPA - Metropolitan Planning Area 

MPO - Metropolitan Planning Organization 

NFR - North Front Range 

NFRT& AQPC - North Front Range Transportation & Air Quality Planning Council (the NFR MPO) 

NOx- Nitrogen Oxides 

RAQC - (Denver) Regional Air Quality Council 

SIP - State Implementation Plan 

UFR - Upper Front Range 

TIP - Transportation Improvement Program 

TPR- Transportation Planning Region 

USDOT - United States Department of Transportation 

USEPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency 

VOC - Volatile Organic Compounds 

Terminology 

Consulting parties- Those agency parties involved in data and document review for the purposes making 

or commenting on a Conformity Determination. Includes the Air Quality Control Commission, USDOT, 

and USEP A, who are not signatory parties to this MOA. Signatories/Signatory parties -The parties 

signatory to this document. This group of six agencies does not include US DOT or USEP A. 

On-road motor vehicle - Refers to cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, vans and other motorized vehicles that 

use public highways, streets and roadways; to be distinguished from motor vehicles that may be designed 

for off-road use, e.g., all-terrain vehicles, and from agricultural and construction equipment. 

A. Background and Purpose 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has designated an area (See map, Attachment A) 

inclusive of the Denver Metro Area and portions of both the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning 

area and the Upper Front Range Transportation Planning Region as nonattainment under the 8-hour ozone 

standard. The nonattainment designation became effective November 20, 2007. The Upper Front Range 

TPR is not represented by a Metropolitan Planning Organization as it comprises a largely rural area. 

Furthermore, the TPR lacks the expertise and wherewithal to provide or purchase transportation and 

modeling forecasts as part of the Conformity Determination process for the 8-hour ozone area. 

Federal Transportation Regulations at 23CFR 450.314 (b) state that where a metropolitan planning area 

does not include an entire nonattainment area or maintenance area: 
"there shall be written agreement among the State Department of Transportation, State air quality 

agency, affected local agencies, and the MPO describing the process for cooperative planning and 

analysis of all projects outside the MP A within the nonattainment or maintenance area. The 

agreement must also indicated how the total transportation-related emissions for the nonattainment 

or maintenance area, including areas outside the MPA, will be treated for the purposes of 

determining conformity in accordance with EPA's transportation conformity rule (40 CFR Part 

93). The agreement shall address policy mechanisms for resolving conflicts concerning 

transportation-related emissions .. . (and) (c): In nonattainment or maintenance areas, if the MPO is 

not the designated agency for air quality planning ... there shall be a written agreement between the 

MPO and the designated air quality planning agency describing their respective roles and 

responsibilities for air quality related transportation planning. (d) If more than one MPO has been 

designated to serve an urbanized area, there shall be written agreement among the MPOs, the 

State(s), and the public transportation operator(s) describing how the metropolitan transportation 

planning processes will be coordinated to assure the development of consistent metropolitan 

transportation plans and TIPs across the MP A boundaries .... " 

Similarly, EPA regulations at 40 CFR 93.105(e) and 51.390 require states to create consultation 

procedures in the SIP whereby MPO representatives, state and local air quality planning agencies, state 

and local transportation agencies and other organizations must consult with each other and with U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and U.S. Department ofTransportation (USDOT) regarding 

development of State Implementation Plans (SIPs), transportation plans, transportation improvement 

programs (TIPs), and Conformity Determinations. This Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is designed 

to allow for and to guide cooperative transportation planning in conformance with State air quality plans, 

and related review and analysis in the pursuit of transportation Conformity Determinations associated 

with the 8-hour ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP). 

B. Conformity Determinations Prior to/In Lieu of the Establishment of On-Road Motor Vehicle 

Emission Budgets 

The first Conformity Determination for the area of concern is due November 20, 2008, as required by the 

federal Conformity Rule at 40 CFR 93.1 02( d). Since adequate or approved motor vehicle emission 

budgets will not be available until late 2009, one or more Conformity Determinations for the 

nonattainment or maintenance area of concern must follow the procedures at 40 CFR 93.1 09( e )(2)(iii). 

The Denver Regional Council of Governments and the North Front Range MPO shall perform 

transportation emissions forecasting for the respective areas described in Section C.1 and C.2 for 

Conformity Determinations, regardless of whether emission budgets have been established, and regardless 

of whether overall nonattainment-or maintenance area emission budgets or sub-area emission budgets are 

used. 

C. Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for the 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment (or Maintenance) Area 

and Sub-Areas 

In the SIP development process, the Air Pollution Control Division (APCD), the North Front Range 

Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO), and the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) shall 

work together to propose overall area motor vehicle emission budgets for volatile organic compounds 

(VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) for the 8-hour ozone nonattainment or maintenance area. Said budgets 

must be adopted by the Commission and affirmed via USEP A adequacy determinations in order to 

become viable for use in Conformity Determinations. Sub-area emission budgets for ozone precursors 

under the 8-hour ozone standard may also be proposed to the AQCC for the following two sub-areas: 

1. The combined areas of the Denver Metro Region and the southern portion of the Upper Front Range 

Transportation Planning Region (TPR) as designated nonattainment by USEP A, i.e., the area south of the 

north line of Township 3 north of the 6th Principal Meridian; said line is the southern boundary of the 
North Front Range MPO extended to the east line of Weld County. For this sub-area, the budgets for 

NOx and VOC shall be proposed during SIP development for the federal 8-hour ozone standard by the 

RAQC with input from the APCD, CDOT, DRCOG, and UFR to be considered for adoption by 

the Commission. 

2. The combined areas of the North Front Range MPO area and the northern portion of the Upper Front 

Range TPR, as designated nonattainment by USEPA, i.e., the area north ofthe north line ofTownship 3 

north of the 61

h Principal Meridian; said line is the southern boundary of the North Front Range MPO 

extended to the east line of Weld County. For this sub-area, the budgets for NOx and VOC shall be 

proposed determined during SIP development for under the federal 8-hour ozone standard by the NFR 

MPO in consultation with the APCD and the RAQC, with input from CDOT and UFR, to be considered 

for adoption by the Commission. 

Sub-area budgets, agreed to by the signatories and approved by the Commission, may be used to measure 

the conformity of plans and programs for the respective areas, once determined adequate by the USEP A. 

Sub-areas as described above and Conformity procedures described in this document shall remain the 

same when and if the 8-Hour Nonattainment Area is re-designated an "Attainment/Maintenance Area. 

D. Granting of Authority, Responsibilities 

The Upper Front Range TPR lacks the expertise and wherewithal to provide or purchase transportation 

and modeling forecasts as part of the Conformity Determination process for the 8-hour ozone area. By 

this agreement: 

1. The DRCOG agrees to provide transportation forecasts and make Conformity Determinations for the 

area described in Section C.l above. The area includes the DRCOG MPO area and other 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas within the DR COG TPR, as well as a portion of the nonattainment area of the Upper 

Front Range TPR. 

2. The North Front Range MPO agrees to provide transportation forecasts and make Conformity 

Determinations for an area described in Section C.2 above. The area includes North Front Range MPO 8-

hour ozone nonattainment areas as well as portions of the Upper Front Range TPR nonattainment area. 

3. The Upper Front Range TPR authorizes the DRCOG and the NFR MPO to prepare transportation 

forecasts and make Conformity Determinations for the relevant nonattainment areas of the Upper Front 

Range as described in Section C ofthis document. 

4. The agreed-upon transportation forecasting authorities shall continue for the 8-Hour Ozone Area after it 

is re-designated "Attainment/Maintenance" status by USEP A. 

E. Compensation to MPOs for Additional Responsibilities 

It is anticipated that over the next one-to-four years, funding will be needed for enhanced transportation 

forecasting and to perform Conformity Determinations for the Upper Front Range areas of concern. The 

COOT has the responsibility to fund required Conformity Determinations and associated transportation 

modeling efforts for areas outside of the MPOs. As forecasting and modeling work for the UFR will 

extend beyond the MPO boundaries, the CDOT will provide necessary funding to DRCOG and NFR 

based upon a mutually agreeable course of action delineating tasks, schedule, and costs among the 

signatory agencies. The signatory agencies will look to the USEP A and US DOT to assure consistency 

with federal requirements regarding tasks. The CDOT will execute separate intergovernmental 

agreements with the NFRMPO and DRCOG detailing the specific work that will be done for the agreedto compensation. 

F. Conformity Review- Procedural 

The agencies shall follow the interagency consultation process and procedures identified in Colorado Air 

Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 10 for sharing information and conducting review of 

transportation data, projections, and determining Transportation Conformity to the State Implementation 

Plan under the 8-hour ozone standard, and generally the process outlined in memoranda of agreement for 
Transportation Conformity evaluations by and between the CDPHE and the Denver Regional Council of 

Governments (1998) and with the North Front Range Transportation and Air Quality Planning Council 

(2003). The DRCOG and NFR MPO shall provide forecasts for their respective areas as described in 

Section C. 1 and C.2. In cases where one Conformity finding is to be made for the overall 8-Hour Ozone 

Nonattainment (or Attainment/Maintenance) Area, and no sub-area emission budgets are to be used, the 

MPOs, in consultation with the other signatory parties and with USEPA and USDOT, shall sum the ozone 

precursor emissions from their respective areas for overall-Area totals ofVOC and NOx, to determine 

whether forecasted emissions meet the appropriate Conformity test(s). In such cases, the MPOs jointly 

shall produce one Conformity Determination document for the overall 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment (or 

Attainment/Maintenance) Area. The APCD will perform independent emission budget tests and other 

applicable analyses for the overall Nonattainment (or Attainment/Maintenance) region and, as well as for 

the sub-areas described in C.l and C.2 if sub-area budgets are to be used, within 30 days of receiving the 

final submittal of transportation data, although such data will be submitted to the APCD as early in the 

process as possible. The APCD may also assist with enhanced emissions forecasting for the Upper Front 

Range area, or provide other in-kind assistance to emissions forecasting efforts. 

The undcrsibned he eby agree Lt' ht: delegation , r spon i iluies and procedure~ 

de;cribcd a.hovc. 

Paul Tour.a.ngcau. Director. Air Pnllution C()ntrol Div1sion. DPJif- Date 

,Jennifer FincK Direct.or. Transportation De 1Cloprncnt Division.' CDOT

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