BACKGROUND

Transportation conformity is being established for the FY 2020-2024 Delaware-Muncie Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) adopted by the MPO Transportation Policy Board. The conformity is needed as a result of a recent decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. District v. EPA (“South Coast II,” 882 F.3d 1138), which struck down portions of the 2008 Ozone NAAQS State Implementation Plan Requirements Rule concerning the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) as well as the anti-backsliding requirements associated with the revocation of the 1997 Ozone NAAQS.

Areas such as Delaware County that were maintenance areas for the 1997 Ozone NAAQS at the time of revocation and are designated as attainment for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS, have not been required to make transportation conformity determinations for any Ozone NAAQS since the 1997 Ozone NAAQS was revoked in April 2015. Under the recent court decision, these areas, referred to as orphan areas rather than non-attainment or maintenance areas, necessitate new regional conformity determinations.

CONFORMITY

The concept of transportation conformity was introduced in the Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1977, which included a provision to ensure that transportation investments conform to a State implementation plan (SIP) for meeting the Federal air quality standards. Conformity requirements were made substantially more rigorous in the CAA Amendments of 1990. The transportation conformity regulations that detail implementation of the CAA requirements were first issued in November 1993, and have been amended several times. The regulations establish the criteria and procedures for transportation agencies to demonstrate that air pollutant emissions from metropolitan transportation plans, transportation improvement programs and projects are consistent with (“conform to”) the State’s air quality goals in the SIP. This document has been prepared for State and local officials who are involved in decision making on transportation investments.

Transportation conformity establishes the framework for improving air quality to protect public health and the environment. Conformity to the purpose of the SIP means Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding and approvals are given to highway and transit activities that will not cause new air quality violations, worsen existing air quality violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant air quality standard, or any interim milestone.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued guidance to assist in the implementation of the February 16, 2018, decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. District v. EPA (“South Coast II,” 882 F.3d 1138). The guidance addresses how transportation conformity determinations can be made in areas that were either non-attainment or maintenance for the 1997 Ozone NAAQS when the standard was revoked, depending on their designations for the subsequent 2008 and 2015 Ozone NAAQS.