New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION › Chapter III - AIR RESOURCES › Subchapter A - PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF AIR CONTAMINATION AND AIR POLLUTION › Part 240 - Transportation Conformity › Subpart 240-1 - TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 240-1.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) The general
					 definitions of Part 200 of this Title apply to this Part unless they are
					 inconsistent with the specific definitions in subdivision (b) of this
					 section.
(b) The following specific
					 definitions apply to this Part:
(1) Affected
					 MPO. A metropolitan planning organization (MPO) with a planning boundary that
					 includes a nonattainment or maintenance area.
(2) Applicable State implementation plan
					 (SIP) revision. The portion (or portions) of the State implementation plan, or
					 most recent revision thereof, which has been approved under section 110, or
					 promulgated under section 110(c), or promulgated or approved pursuant to
					 regulations promulgated under section 301(d) of the act, and which implements
					 the relevant requirements of the act for the purpose of determining conformity
					 of federally funded transportation plans, programs or projects to State
					 implementation plans, and meets the requirements of an implementation plan as
					 defined in section 302(q) of the act (see Table 1, section
					 200.9  of this
					 Title).
(3) Consultation. The
					 process by which involved agencies confer with each other, provide appropriate
					 information needed for meaningful input, and consider the views of other
					 involved agencies prior to any final decisions made pursuant to this Part. At a
					 minimum, consultation means substantial compliance with the requirements of
					 Subpart 240-2 of this Part.
(4)
					 Design concept. The type of facility identified by the project, e.g., freeway,
					 expressway, arterial highway, grade-separated highway, reserved right-of-way
					 rail transit, mixed-traffic rail transit, exclusive busway, etc.
(5) Design scope. The design aspects which
					 will affect the proposed facility's impact on regional emissions, usually as
					 they relate to vehicle or person carrying capacity and control, e.g., number of
					 lanes or tracks to be constructed or added, length of project, signalization,
					 access control including approximate number and location of interchanges,
					 preferential treatment for high-occupancy vehicles, etc.
(6) Facility. That which is built, installed,
					 established or operated to serve a transportation purpose.
(7) FHWA. The Federal Highway Administration
					 of USDOT.
(8) FHWA/FTA project. Any
					 highway or transit project which is proposed to receive funding assistance and
					 approval through the Federal-Aid Highway Program or the Federal Mass Transit
					 Program, or requires Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or Federal Transit
					 Administration (FTA) approval for some aspect of the project, such as
					 connection to an interstate highway or deviation from applicable design
					 standards on the interstate system.
(9) FTA. The Federal Transit Administration
					 of USDOT.
(10) Governor. The
					 Governor of the State of New York, or the Governor's designee.
(11) Highway project. An undertaking to
					 implement or modify a highway facility or highway-related program. Such an
					 undertaking consists of all required phases necessary for implementation. For
					 analytical purposes, it must be defined sufficiently to:
(i) connect logical termini and be of
					 sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad scope;
(ii) have independent utility or
					 significance, i.e., be usable and be a reasonable expenditure even if no
					 additional transportation improvements in the area are made; and
(iii) not restrict consideration of
					 alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation
					 improvements.
(12)
					 Hot-spot analysis. An estimation of likely future localized CO,
					 PM10, and/or PM2.5 pollutant
					 concentrations and a comparison of those concentrations to the national ambient
					 air quality standards (NAAQS). Hot-spot analysis assesses impacts on a scale
					 smaller than the entire nonattainment or maintenance area, including, for
					 example, congested roadway intersections and highways or transit terminals, and
					 uses an air quality dispersion model to determine the effects of emissions on
					 air quality.
(13) Involved
					 agencies. The department, NYSDOT, EPA, FHWA, FTA, affected MPOs, affected
					 counties in nonattainment or maintenance areas outside MPO planning boundaries,
					 affected local air agencies, and any other agencies responsible for project
					 level conformity.
(14) Lead
					 conformity agency. Any agency primarily responsible for the development of a
					 transportation plan, a transportation improvement program (TIP), a
					 transportation project or the associated conformity determinations.
(15) Local air agency. A local agency
					 responsible for air quality issues which has been specifically identified in
					 the state implementation plan as a local air agency.
(16) Maintenance area. Any geographic region
					 of the United States previously designated nonattainment pursuant to the act
					 and subsequently redesignated to attainment subject to the requirement to
					 develop a maintenance plan under section 175A of the act (see Table 1, section
					 200.9  of this
					 Title).
(17) Maintenance plan. An
					 applicable SIP revision meeting the requirements of section 175A of the act
					 (see Table 1, section
					 200.9  of this
					 Title).
(18) Metropolitan planning
					 organization (MPO). That organization designated as being responsible, together
					 with the State, for conducting the continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive
					 planning process under
					 23 U.S.C. section
					 134 and
					 49 U.S.C. section
					 5303 (see Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title). It is the forum for cooperative transportation decision-making. The
					 metropolitan planning organizations in New York are the Adirondack-Glens Falls
					 Transportation Council, Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study, Capital
					 District Transportation Committee, Elmira-Chemung Transportation Council,
					 Genesee Transportation Council, Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation
					 Council, Herkimer-Oneida Counties Transportation Study, Ithaca-Tompkins County
					 Transportation Council, Orange County Transportation Council, New York
					 Metropolitan Transportation Council, Poughkeepsie-Dutchess County
					 Transportation Council, Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council and the
					 Ulster County Transportation Council.
(19) Milestone. A milestone has the meaning
					 given in section 182(g)(1) or section 189(c) of the act (see Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title) for serious and above ozone nonattainment areas and
					 PM10 nonattainment areas, respectively. For all other
					 nonattainment areas, a milestone consists of an emissions level and the date on
					 which that level is to be achieved as required by the applicable act provision
					 for reasonable further progress towards attainment.
(20) Motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB).
					 That portion of the total allowable emissions defined in the applicable
					 submitted or approved control strategy SIP revision or maintenance plan for a
					 certain date for the purpose of meeting reasonable further progress milestones
					 or demonstrating attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS, for any criteria
					 pollutant or its precursors, allocated to highway and transit vehicle use and
					 emissions.
(21) National ambient
					 air quality standards (NAAQS). Those standards established pursuant to section
					 109 of the act (see Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title).
(22) NEPA. The National
					 Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
					 4321 et seq.).
(23) Nonattainment area. Any geographic
					 region of the United States which has been designated as nonattainment under
					 section 107 of the act (see Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title) for any pollutant for which a national ambient air quality standard
					 exists.
(24) NYSDOT. The New York
					 State Department of Transportation.
(25) Project. Highway project or transit
					 project.
(26) Recipient of funds
					 designated under title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Laws. Any State,
					 county, city, or regional government agency that routinely receives title 23
					 U.S.C. or Federal Transit Laws funds to construct FHWA/FTA projects, operate
					 FHWA/FTA projects or equipment, purchase equipment, or undertake other services
					 or operations via contracts or agreements. This definition does not include
					 private landowners or developers, or contractors or entities that are only paid
					 for services or products created by their own employees.
(27) Regionally significant project. A
					 transportation project (other than an exempt project as defined in
					 40 CFR 93.126 and
					 93.127
					 [see Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title]) that is on a facility which serves regional transportation needs (such
					 as access to and from transportation terminals, the area outside of the region,
					 major activity centers in the region, and major planned developments such as
					 new retail malls, sports complexes, etc., or transportation terminals) and
					 would normally be included in the modeling of a metropolitan area's
					 transportation network, including, at a minimum, all principal arterial
					 highways and all fixed guideway transit facilities that offer an alternative to
					 regional highway travel.
(28) SEQR.
					 The State Environmental Quality Review Act, article 8 of the Environmental
					 Conservation Law.
(29) Transit.
					 Mass transportation by bus, rail, or other conveyance which provides general or
					 special service to the public on a regular and continuing basis. It does not
					 include school buses or charter or sightseeing services.
(30) Transit project. An undertaking to
					 implement or modify a transit facility or transit-related program, purchase
					 transit vehicles or equipment, or provide financial assistance for transit
					 operations. It does not include actions that are solely within the jurisdiction
					 of local transit agencies, such as changes in routes, schedules, or fares. It
					 may consist of several phases. For analytical purposes, it must be defined
					 inclusively enough to:
(i) connect logical
					 termini and be of sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad
					 scope;
(ii) have independent
					 utility or independent significance, i.e., be a reasonable expenditure even if
					 no additional transportation improvements in the area are made; and
(iii) not restrict consideration of
					 alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation
					 improvements.
(31)
					 Transportation control measure (TCM). Any measure that is specifically
					 identified and committed to in the applicable SIP revision, including a
					 substitute or additional TCM that is incorporated in the applicable SIP
					 revision through the process established in section 176(c)(8) of the act (see
					 Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title), that is either one of the types listed in section 108 of the act (see
					 Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title), or any other measure for the purpose of reducing emissions or
					 concentrations of air pollutants from transportation sources by reducing
					 vehicle use or changing travel flow or congestion conditions. Notwithstanding
					 the above, vehicle technology-based, fuel-based, and maintenance-based measures
					 which control the emissions from vehicles under fixed traffic conditions are
					 not TCMs for the purposes of this Part.
(32) Transportation Improvement Program
					 (TIP). A transportation improvement program developed by a MPO under
					 23 U.S.C.
					 134(j) (see Table 1, section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title). A statewide transportation improvement program (STIP) is not a TIP
					 subject to this Part.
(33)
					 Transportation plan. The official intermodal metropolitan transportation plan
					 that is developed through the metropolitan planning process for the
					 metropolitan planning area, developed pursuant to  23 CFR part 450  (see Table 1,
					 section
					 200.9 of this
					 Title). A statewide transportation plan is not a transportation plan subject to
					 the conformity requirements.
(34)
					 Transportation project. A highway project or a transit project.
(35) USDOT. The United States Department of
					 Transportation.
(36) Written
					 commitment. A written commitment that includes a description of the action to
					 be taken, a schedule for the completion of the action; a demonstration that
					 funding necessary to implement the action has been authorized by the
					 appropriating or authorizing body; and an acknowledgment that the commitment is
					 an enforceable obligation under the applicable SIP revision.