Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part III - Air › Chapter 14 - Conformity › Subchapter B - Conformity to State or Federal Implementation Plans of Transportation Plans, Programs, and Projects Developed, Funded, or Approved under Title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act › Section III-1434 - Consultation

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Pursuant to
				  40
				  CFR 93.105 interagency consultation (federal,
				  state, and local) shall be undertaken before making conformity determinations
				  and before adopting applicable State Implementation Plan (SIP)
				  revisions.
B. Interagency
				  Consultation: General Procedures
1.
				  Representatives of the MPOs, DEQ, and the state and local transportation
				  agencies shall collectively undertake an interagency consultation process in
				  accordance with this Section with local or regional representatives of EPA,
				  FHWA, and FTA on the development of the applicable implementation plan, the
				  list of TCMs in the applicable implementation plan, the unified planning work
				  program under  Title 23 CFR Section 450 . 314, the transportation plan (TP), the
				  TIP, any revisions to the preceding documents, and associated conformity
				  determinations required by this regulation.
2. For the purposes of regular consultation,
				  the affected agencies shall include:
a. DEQ
				  (Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality);
b. DOTD (Louisiana Department of
				  Transportation and Development);
c.
				  EPA Region 6 (Environmental Protection Agency);
d. FHWA Region 6 (Federal Highway
				  Administration);
e. FHWA Louisiana
				  Division Office;
f. FTA (Federal
				  Transit Administration);
g. local
				  publicly-owned transit agencies in nonattainment or maintenance areas;
				  and
h. MPOs (Metropolitan Planning
				  Organizations) in nonattainment or maintenance areas.
3. The MPO, as the lead transportation
				  planning agency, shall have the primary responsibility in the designated
				  nonattainment or maintenance metropolitan area for developing the TP, the TIP,
				  and project-level technical analyses by employing travel-demand modeling
				  techniques, acquiring all necessary data, and coordinating these activities
				  with agencies specified in Paragraph B.2 of this Section. The MPO shall work in
				  consultation with DOTD and local publicly-owned transit agencies in developing
				  these documents. The MPO shall be responsible for providing written
				  notification of all regularly scheduled meetings concerning transportation and
				  related air quality issues to each of the agencies specified in Paragraph B.2
				  of this Section. Notification shall be not less than seven calendar days prior
				  to the meeting and any scheduling changes shall be coordinated in a timely
				  manner. When the MPO is not the lead transportation planning agency, DOTD shall
				  have the same responsibilities as the MPO in fulfilling all applicable
				  provisions of the consultative process and transportation conformity
				  determinations.
4. The MPO shall
				  notify each agency in Paragraph B.2 of this Section of all transportation
				  planning activities for nonfederal projects that are regionally significant and
				  therefore need to be included in regional emissions analysis when estimating
				  emissions from mobile sources in nonattainment and maintenance areas.
5. DEQ, as air quality lead agency, shall
				  have primary responsibility for developing transportation-related SIPs, air
				  quality modeling demonstrations, emissions inventories, and related activities.
				  Transportation-related SIPs shall be prepared by DEQ with the assistance of the
				  agencies specified in Paragraph B.2 of this Section. DEQ shall distribute
				  documents to all agencies specified in Paragraph B.2 for review and comment.
				  DEQ shall schedule public hearings to receive public comment on
				  transportation-related SIPs. Comments and responses to comments shall be
				  included in applicable SIP submittals to EPA.
6. For purposes of regular consultation,
				  organizational representation shall be defined as follows:
a.
MPO
-executive director or
				  designee;
b.
DEQ
-secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality, or
				  designee;
c.
DOTD
-assistant secretary of the Office of Planning and
				  Programming, or designee;
d.
FHWA
-division administrator or designee;
e.
FTA
-director, Office of
				  Program Development or designee;
f.
EPA
-regional administrator or designee; and
g.
Local Publicly-Owned Transit
				  Agencies
-general manager or designee.
7. Before adoption and approval of conformity
				  analyses prepared for plans, Transportation Improvement Plans (TIPs), and
				  projects, the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and/or Department of
				  Transportation and Development (DOTD) shall distribute a final draft of the
				  documents, including supporting technical materials, to the consulting agencies
				  for review and comments. Lead agencies shall respond to significant comments
				  made by the consulting agencies on plans, TIPs, projects, or SIPs in writing
				  within 30 working days. Comments and responses to comments shall be distributed
				  for review by all agencies identified in Paragraph B.2 of this Section.
				  Following resolution of all significant issues, final documents shall be
				  revised accordingly and submitted to the designated lead agency for formal
				  adoption and approval.
8. Meetings
				  of the group of agencies as a whole (as found in Paragraph B.6 of this Section)
				  shall convene for the specific purpose of considering issues with regard to the
				  conformity of TPs, TIPs, and projects with the transportation conformity SIP.
				  The frequency of these meetings shall be determined jointly by the specified
				  transportation and air quality lead agencies. Agencies shall meet on a regular
				  basis, at least quarterly, unless the lead agencies decide there is a need for
				  an earlier meeting or, alternatively, that there is no need for the regularly
				  scheduled meeting. If the comments and issues on draft documents are
				  substantial and warrant a group meeting, the lead agency may schedule a meeting
				  where consultation with all agencies concerned can be accomplished
				  simultaneously for the resolution of comments and issues. Meeting agendas are
				  the responsibility of the designated lead agency.
9. Where TCMs are to be included in
				  applicable SIPs in urbanized nonattainment or maintenance areas, a list of TCMs
				  shall be selected and developed by the MPO in cooperation with other agencies
				  specified in Paragraph B.2. This list of TCMs shall be distributed to all
				  cooperating agencies by DEQ after its review and consultation with the MPO. The
				  list of TCMs shall be made available for inspection or copying for all
				  interested persons and agencies.