# T E C H N I C A L 

# S U P P O R T 

# D O C U M E N T

Departme nt of the Environment 

## Amendment to COMAR 26.11.26.05 Transp ort a tion Conf ormity

Purpose of this Amend m ent

The purpose of this am endm ent is to rem ove a subsection of a recen tly ad opted transp ortation confor m ity regulation. T h e subsectio n being rem oved has been deem ed not necessary by the U.S. Environm ental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA requested that Maryland m a ke this change to the regulation.

This am endm ent will be subm itted to the U.S. EPA as a revision to Ma ry land' s State Im ple m entation Plan.

Background

Section 176 of the Clean Air Act entitled "L im itations on certain Federal Assistance" ensures that federal funding, perm its and approvals go to ac tivities that are consis tent with air quality goals expressed in the State Im plem entation Plan (SIP). These activities cannot produce new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay tim e ly attainm e nt of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Since the m a jor applic ation of this provision is transportation plans and projects, EPA prom ulgated rules specifica lly addressing the process f o r m a king this determ ination. These provisions apply in nonattain m e nt and m a intenance areas to ensure that public health is protected by early consideration of transportati on decisions in areas with air quality challenges.

In general, federal funds for transportation plans, program s and projects are passed to the states through m e tropolitan planning organizations (MP O s) . The MPOs consist of local governm ents and the state Departm e nt of Transportation with other representatives as deem ed necessary by the spec if ic m e tropolitan area. The o t her r e pr e s e n tatives can include sta t e Departm e nts of Planning and the Environm ent, tr ans it au thorities

, etc. The F e deral Highway Adm i nistration (FHW A) and the Feder a l Trans it Ad m i nistrati on (FTA) certify the MPOs and their planning
processe s in cluding their ability to perform a regional analysis of the em issions expected from the reg i on’s transpo r ta tio n system

. The original 1993 federal tran sportation confor m ity rule * established the criteria and procedures by which the FHWA, FTA, and MPOs determ ine th e conform ity of federally funded or approved highway and transit plans, program s, and projects to s t ate air quality plan s. The rule basically sets forth several options for determ ining whether a plan or project conform s . The rule requires that the agencies involved in developing the SI P and involved in develo ping the transportation plans consult with each other on the processes us ed to prep are these p l ans

. The rule p r ovides penalties for noncom pliance with the rule.

1Through consultation, the affected agencies have ag reed that the test us ed in Maryland is the mobile source em issi ons budget test, which com p ares em issions generated by transportation plans to m obile source em ission budgets establishe d in the S I P. This test essentially caps

em issions from the transportation system at a leve l that allows the nonattainm e nt area to com p ly with f e deral air qua lity standards. Fa ilur e to m eet this test can delay or stop the transportation planning process.

Requirements

None. Maryland is am ending th is regulation based on a request from EPA to rem ove a subsection d ealing with PM2.5 hotsp ots that is no t necessary in the regu lation.

Agencies Affected by this Amendment

None. The rem oval of this subsectio n of the re gu lation will n o t affect the agencies res ponsible for transportation conform ity.

Economic I m pact on Affected Sources and th e Department

This am endm ent will not have an e c onom i c im pact bec a use it sim p ly removes a subse c tion that is not relevant to the regulation.

. Corresponding Federal Standard to this Propos ed Amendment

The federal transportation confor m ity regul ation issued in Novem b er 1993* and am ended

severa l tim e s, deta ils the process f o r transpo r ta tion agencies to dem onstrate and ensure em ission reductions from transportation sources of air pol lution. Maryland' s tran sportation confor m ity regulations m e rely incorporat e the federal requirem e nts.

This am endm ent is not more restrict ive than the f e deral r e quirem e nts.

* U.S

. EP A, Cr i t eri a and P r oced ures for Determining Conformity to State or Fed e ral Implemen tation Plans of Tran sportation Plans, Programs, and Projects F unded or Approv ed Under Title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Tr ansit Act, Titl e 40 C.F.R

. , Parts 51 and 93, November 24, 1993, as amended in August, 1995, November 1995, August 1997, July 1

, 2 004, May 6, 200 5, Mar c h 10

, 2006 and July 1 7 , 2006

.

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