Companion Guide to Video March 2016

www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials

The mobility of people and goods across our 

Nation is vital to our economy. Our highways 

and roads benefit everyone, whether 

transporting goods for sale or commuting to 

work. And while our citizens expect 

transportation agencies to continue to invest in 

worthwhile projects, they also expect them to 

address the ongoing impacts of automobile 

emissions to public health and the 

environment. 

To meet these challenges, some Federal funds 

have been dedicated to transportation projects 

that are also intended to improve air quality. 

This funding program is called the Congestion 

Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement 

Program, or CMAQ program. 

Here you will learn about CMAQ’s: 

• Eligibility requirements 

• Typical process for selecting projects for 

funding 

Federal law specifies how CMAQ program funds 

are distributed to transportation agencies,

along with the eligibility criteria that must be 

used when funding selected projects. 

Essentially, projects must be: 

• Related to transportation 

• Demonstrate a reduction in emissions

• Located in or benefit an area 

designated by the Environmental Protection 

Agency as a “nonattainment” or “maintenance” 

area. 

Federal-aid Program Overview

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) 

Program

Project eligibility criteria and selection process for using this special 

class of Federal funds
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

This means that the area either does not meet 

or previously did not meet Federal air quality 

standards for ozone, carbon monoxide, or 

particulate matter. 

Eligible transportation projects generally fall 

within one of 17 categories and include 

activities such as replacing an older diesel 

vehicle with a newer, cleaner one, reducing 

congestion by building high-occupancy-vehicle 

lanes, purchasing additional buses, adding 

bicycle lanes to existing roads, and installing 

electric vehicle charging stations. 

The Federal Highway Administration, the 

FHWA, encourages every transportation agency 

that administers CMAQ program funds to use a 

transparent process that is both written and 

publicly available when selecting eligible 

projects. 

To see how a typical project selection process 

works, let’s follow along as a city requests funds 

for a new sidewalk project to be located in an 

ozone nonattainment area. 

First, the city contacts the State department of 

transportation, or State DOT, to determine how 

the CMAQ program process works in its State. 

City personnel learn that their metropolitan 

planning organization, or MPO, will send out a 

call for proposed CMAQ projects in the fall, and 

to be considered, the city must submit a 

proposal. 

According to the selection process described on 

the MPO’s Web site, all proposals are first 

screened for eligibility. Then a subcommittee 

evaluates the eligible proposals and ranks them 

based on their potential for reducing 

emissions, overall cost-effectiveness, and 

feasibility, along with additional factors. 

Advance knowledge of the evaluation criteria 

helped the city develop a compelling proposal, 

and its project was funded. 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

However, before the city was authorized to 

proceed with the project, the MPO and State 

DOT will have to add the project to their shortterm and long-term planning documents, as 

appropriate. 

We have just seen how CMAQ project funds 

might be used by your agency to reduce 

emissions and aid in meeting Federal air quality 

standards. 

If you have a project in mind for funding, 

confirm that it meets eligibility requirements by 

referring to the CMAQ Program Guidance 

issued by FHWA. The guidance identifies eligible 

geographic areas and fully describes allowable 

and unallowable projects. 

After your project’s eligibility is confirmed, 

contact your State DOT for information on the 

application process in your State. Your 

knowledge about the selection process will 

assist your agency in getting your project 

funded with CMAQ program funds.
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

• FHWA home page for the CMAQ program with reference links

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/

• Laws and Regulations that established and govern the CMAQ program. 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/laws_and_regs/

• FHWA Policy and Guidance Web page for the CMAQ program 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/policy_and_guidance/

• CMAQ Fact Sheet for changes made by the FAST Act of 2015

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/fastact/factsheets/cmaqfs.cfm

• CMAQ Public Access system

https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/cmaq_pub/

• Listing of US EPA designated non-attainment or maintenance areas

https://www3.epa.gov/airquality/greenbook/

The content of this 

document is not a 

substitute for 

information obtained 

from State departments 

of transportation, 

appropriate FHWA 

Division Offices, and 

applicable laws. 

Scenarios have been 

simplified for emphasis 

and do not necessarily 

reflect the actual range 

of requirements 

applicable to the 

scenario or this topic. 

This document was 

created under contract 

number DTFH63-11-F00066 by the Federal 

Highway Administration, 

U.S. Department of 

Transportation, and is 

offered to the public to 

heighten and focus 

awareness of Federal-aid 

requirements within the 

local public agencies 

community and 

reinforces the 

importance of these 

necessary policies, 

procedures, and 

practices.

This Companion 

Resource is the script 

content for the video 

production of the same 

name. 

Additional Resources