It also includes numerous environmental provisions, including language to codify the Administration's schedule for implementing new air quality standards for ozone and fine particulates and regional haze requirements. While CMAQ projects focus on air quality, enhancements are broader and may address bicycle and pedestrian travel, historic preservation, scenic easements, highway runoff, and other issues. Funding for most federal surface transportation programs, including CMAQ projects and enhancements, comes from the Federal Highway Trust Fund. Federal taxes on gasoline and diesel fuels generate most of the revenues for the trust fund. The CMAQ program funds transportation projects that lower emissions to assist states in complying with federal air quality standards for carbon monoxide, ozone, and particulate matter.
CMAQ projects attempt to lower emissions by providing alternatives to conventional highway travel.
The CMAQ program is based on the concept that lowering the number of miles traveled by motor vehicles and reducing congestion to make vehicles operate more efficiently can reduce pollutants and assist states in complying with federal air quality standards. Most transportation control measures listed under Section 108 of the Clean Air Act are eligible for CMAQ funds. States with nonattainment and maintenance areas receive funding according to a formula based on the severity of air pollution in those areas and the population residing in them. States have the flexibility to spend funding under STP for most measures listed under Section 108 of the Clean Air Act, and the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Assistance Program is another source of funding. For example, a landscaping project could be eligible for funding if it restores natural surroundings altered in the construction of a highway.