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A Summary of Ninth-Year Activities

(FY 2000) October 1999 - September 2000

Introduction

This report summarizes the ninth-year (FY 2000) of program expenditures associated with the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program. For additional copies of this and prior CMAQ annual reports prepared by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), for fiscal years 1992 through 1999, please contact the FHWA's Office of Natural and Human Environment at (202) 366-6724. The reports can also be found on the FHWA web site at: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/index.cfm.

This summary for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, (FY 2000) includes information collected from State departments of transportation (DOT) in their annual CMAQ reports submitted to FHWA in 2001. The annual CMAQ reports provided data related to project types and categories, project descriptions, and potential air quality benefits in terms of emissions removed from the atmosphere. For additional guidance related to CMAQ annual reporting requirements, please refer to the FHWA/FTA's Guidance on the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program Under the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21), dated April 28, 1999, which can be found on the FHWA web site listed above.

As reported previously, TEA-21 made many program changes that were reflected in the final guidance released by FHWA and FTA in the spring of 1999. Some of the programs made eligible for CMAQ funding under TEA-21 included: a) extreme low-temperature cold-start programs; b) magnetic levitation transportation technologies; and c) public-private initiatives (including private sector and/or non-profit entities). Special eligibility for costs related to privately-owned vehicles or fleets using alternative fuels is limited to the incremental cost of an alternative fueled vehicle compared to a conventionally fueled vehicle under the new TEA-21 provisions. In addition, TEA-21 allowed up to 100 percent funding of transit vehicle priority control systems in addition to traffic signalization and carpool/vanpool programs.

A $1 million study, commissioned under TEA-21 and performed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on the cost-effectiveness of the CMAQ program, was completed in April 2002. The NAS report concluded that there was strong support for the CMAQ program among a broad range of regional transportation planners, operating agency staff, air quality officials, and interest groups consulted for the study. However, because of the limited methods for measuring project effects on outcomes and the localized character of the program, it was not possible to undertake a credible scientific quantitative evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of the program at the national level.

At the time of this writing, Congress is working to develop the Department's next 6-year transportation funding bill. TEA-21 expired on September 30, 2003. The Administration delivered its reauthorization proposal, known as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA) to Congress in May 2003. On September 29, 2003, Congress passed a 5-month extension to TEA-21 (until the end of February 2004), which provides for continued funding of transportation programs. Please refer to the Department's SAFETEA web site for information regarding the progression of the reauthorization bill. Information can be found at: www.fhwa.dot.gov/reauthorization/

Over the last 2 years FHWA has been working to implement the FHWA internet-based CMAQ Tracking System. The Tracking System is now fully functional, and many areas have begun submitting CMAQ annual reports through the Tracking System. One of the goals of the system is to accelerate communication of data among MPOs, States, divisions and Headquarters. The system allows States and MPOs to enter data electronically and allows headquarters to quickly and easily review and approve the data in the same format. We strongly encourage States to submit reports through the electronic CMAQ Tracking System. We expect it to significantly speed up and streamline the process, and improve the accuracy of the annual reports.

The following report summarizes data collected from all 50 States and the District of Columbia. FY 1998 was the last year Puerto Rico was included in this report. Changes in Congressional funding legislation mean that CMAQ apportionments will no longer be broken out separately from other categories of funding for Puerto Rico so that CMAQ projects and expenditures will no longer be tracked separately. General findings and conclusions based upon the review of the State-submitted data for FY 2000 are shown below.

FY 2000 CMAQ Annual Report Findings

• The nationwide obligation rate of CMAQ funds rose to 107 percent, up from 75.5 percent in FY 1999, a 42 percent increase. There was an increase in dollars obligated from $1.14 billion to $1.76 billion, or 54 percent.

• The percentage of CMAQ funds obligated for transit was higher than that of any other category in FY 2000. The total CMAQ funds obligated toward transit accounted for 52.2 percent of the total amount of funds obligated nationwide, a very slight increase in CMAQ share from FY 1999 (from 51.6 percent to 52.2 percent). Traffic flow improvement projects were the second largest category at 28 percent, up from 23 percent in FY 1999.

• For all other CMAQ funding categories, including demand management, shared ride, pedestrian/bicycle, Surface Transportation Program/CMAQ, and I/M and other TCMs, obligations represented approximately 20 percent of overall CMAQ obligations and a 14 percent increase in dollars from FY 1999.

• In FY 2000, approximately 74 percent of CMAQ funded proposals reported emissions benefits. Of these, 1,092 proposals out of a total of 1,631 (67 percent) submitted had performed a quantitative analysis for volatile organic compounds (VOC), 950 out of the total (58 percent) performed a quantitative analysis for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and 549 out of the total (34 percent) performed a quantitative analysis for carbon monoxide (CO).

Ninth-Year Results

Obligation Rates

In FY 2000, the States obligated approximately $1.76 billion for proposals funded under the CMAQ program. The nationwide apportionments during this same time period increased to $1.65 billion as recorded by FHWA under the Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS) for an overall obligation rate of 107 percent nationwide. This obligation rate is 42 percent higher than the rate reported in the FY 1999 annual report.

Figure 1 indicates that the largest share of CMAQ support was reported for the transit category (52.2 percent) based on data provided by the States in their annual reports for FY 2000. The second largest category of CMAQ funded activities was shown to be traffic flow improvement, at 27.9 percent of the total CMAQ obligations. The other categories of CMAQ funding accounted for approximately 20 percent of the total CMAQ obligations for FY 2000, down from 27.0 percent in FY 1999. While the overall funding patterns are similar to those reported in FY 1999, the total number of proposals and obligation levels (with the exception of obligations for shared ride and I/M and other TCM projects) reflected increases.

Figure 1 - CMAQ Obligations for FY 2000

* NOTE: Surface Transportation Program (STP)/CMAQ funds are obligated in States with no nonattainment or maintenance areas

FIGURE 2 - Type of Proposals Funded by Category in FY 2000

Figure 2 (above) identifies the total amounts of funds obligated by CMAQ funding category, in terms of both the number of proposals and amount of funding obligated for each of the categories for FY 2000. It shows the categories of transit and traffic flow improvements together comprised about 80 percent of the funding. These two categories had accounted for nearly 75 percent of the total CMAQ program expenditures reported for FY 1999.

The number of proposals and amount of funding obligated in FY 2000 for the transit category indicates an increase from FY 1999 (318 versus 246 for the number of projects and $927 million versus $589 million in funding). The traffic flow improvements category also showed an increase in the number of proposals and amount of funding obligated (741 versus 401 for the number of proposals and $495 million versus $266 million in funding). With the exception of the amount of funding obligated for shared ride and "other" categories (representing I/M programs and other TCMs), the number of all proposals and amounts of funding obligated in FY 2000 showed an increase.

Table 1 (below) provides funding data for the top 13 States receiving the largest CMAQ apportionments between October 1, 1999 and September 30, 2000 (FY 2000). These 13 States received 71.0 percent of the FY 2000 CMAQ apportionments. Six of the 13 States were able to obligate their entire CMAQ apportionments. Those States are listed in Table 1 and designated in bold. Several States with smaller programs were able to obligate their entire CMAQ apportionments. Those States were Alabama (141 percent), Maine (182 percent), Mississippi (187 percent), New Hampshire (141 percent), North Dakota (133 percent), Rhode Island (135 percent), South Dakota (125 percent), and Utah (108 percent).

NOTES:
* in millions.
** amounts obligated shown from State annual reports submitted for FY 2000.
*** Bold type denotes greater than 100 percent obligation rates for States.

Program Activities

During FY 2000, FHWA and FTA approved funding for 1,631 CMAQ proposals, 586 additional proposals then funded during FY 1999. The total obligation rate for the life of CMAQ has increased in FY 2000 to 79 percent, the FY 1999 number was 76 percent. A total of 9,158 CMAQ proposals have been reported by States as being funded during the 9 years since ISTEA created CMAQ. Table 2 summarizes the historical obligation rates for each State based on data provided by FHWA's FMIS.

NOTES:
* States with no nonattainment or maintenance areas
** Data Source: FHWA's FMIS.
*** Total excludes approximately $900,000 in FTA transfers. Puerto Rico was allocated $27 million under ISTEA, which has all been obligated.

Appendix A of this report provides a summary of each CMAQ proposal funded by each State with CMAQ funding amounts, estimated emissions benefits, as well as individual project descriptions. All 50 States and the District of Columbia have been included in the Appendix A table, including States with no nonattainment or maintenance areas.

As in previous years, the CMAQ annual expenditures for FY 1999 have been listed according to their different project categories. These categories include: a) transit; b) traffic flow improvements; c) shared ride; d) demand management; e) pedestrian/bicycle; f) and other TCMs. There were 15 experimental pilot projects and four public/private partnership projects reported in FY 1999. This may be an indication that State and local agencies are starting to become more comfortable with proposals outside of the normal realm of highway, transit, and other routine projects.

Analysis of Air Quality Emission Benefits

Overall Analysis

Based on the State annual reports submitted to FHWA, the total number of proposals with accompanying emissions reductions analyses was 1,092 for VOC, 549 for CO, 950 for NOx and 136 for PM-10. The range of emissions reduction potential for each of the major transportation-related emission types is provided on the following pages as shown in Figures 3 through 6 (x-axis represents the number of projects and the y-axis represents kilograms per day).

Emission reduction estimates provided for projects with particulate matter emissions increased in FY 2000 (136 versus 52 in FY 1999). Seventy-seven of these projects were estimated to reduce less than 1 kilogram per day. However, 12 were estimated to reduce over 100 kilograms per day and 4 were estimated to produce benefits of over 1000 kilograms per day.

As in the FY 1999 report, there are two additional types of projects that do not have current reported benefits. They are termed the Qualitative Assessment and the Previously Reported projects. Not every air quality beneficial proposal is able to have calculated numerical emission reductions. Some projects can logically be considered to have air quality benefits but not lend themselves to numerical quantification. Such proposals can be eligible for CMAQ funding if the project sponsor submits an acceptable description of how the project would lead to emission reductions. Such a description is called a Qualitative Assessment and, each year, there are a number of projects that become eligible for CMAQ support in this manner.

Many projects are large enough that they cannot be completed in 1 year or for other reasons are funded in phases over 2 or more years. Such projects have normally had their emissions benefits reported in their first year of funding (which is, in fact preferable, to avoid any possibility of double-counting). In subsequent years, they may not have their emission reductions re-reported. However, they are eligible for continued funding to accomplish their purposes. Thus, each year a number of projects are funded without having a new listing of emissions benefits.

FIGURE 3 - Expected VOC Emissions Reductions (FY 2000)

FIGURE 4 - Expected CO Emissions Reductions (FY 2000)

FIGURE 5 - Expected NOx Emissions Reductions (FY 2000)

FIGURE 6 - Expected PM-10 Emissions Reductions (FY 2000)

Table 3 (below) provides an overview of the project benefit analyses submitted by the States according to category of proposal. As indicated in Table 3, a majority of proposals submitted for CMAQ funding have been reviewed for emissions reductions for smog-related pollutants (e.g., CO, VOC and NOx emissions).

As shown in Figures 3 through 6, the majority of proposals submitted under the CMAQ program have less than 5 kg/day emission reduction potential based on estimates provided by States in their annual CMAQ reports. Over half of VOC emission estimates provided by States (644 of 1,092 reporting VOC emissions reductions), yield 5 kg/day or less, and 93 percent yield less than 100 kg/day. However (as shown in Figure 4) a substantial number of CMAQ-funded proposals submitted with emission estimates for CO (21 percent) target emissions reductions in the 100 to 1000 kg/day emissions range, due primarily to the larger amount of CO emitted from the tailpipe relative to VOC or NOx emissions.

A summary (Table 4, next page) provides an overview of the four major transportation-related pollutants in terms of the number of analyses, as well as minimum, maximum, and median ranges of emission reduction estimates provided by States in their FY 2000 annual reports. The range of minimum, maximum, and median emissions estimates are consistent with those estimates reported in previous CMAQ annual reports.

NOTES:
¹The number of projects submitted with VOC, CO, PM-10 and/or NOx emissions analysis respectively.
²The median, rather than the mean, is a better representation of average effectiveness because the mean is unduly influenced by relatively few projects with large emissions reductions. The median is the point above or below which 50 percent of all observations lie when ranked highest to lowest. Emissions reductions are provided without comment as to their accuracy.

Table 5 (below) provides VOC emission information gathered from State CMAQ annual reports that suggests that the greatest median air quality emissions reductions occur in the demand management category. The lowest level of benefits reported is in the pedestrian/bicycle category. However, the emission reductions of these projects is comparable to others on average, and these are also likely to be the least expensive projects reported. Out of the 1,092 CMAQ proposals submitted with VOC emission reductions estimates, the traffic flow improvement category has the largest single share of projects (536) with quantitative estimates (median value of 5 kg/day VOC emissions removed from the atmosphere). The largest amount of VOC emissions reductions are associated with the "Other TCMs" category (e.g., enhanced I/M programs, etc.) as noted in previous CMAQ annual reports.

NOTES:
¹The number of projects submitted with VOC emissions analysis respectively.

Table 6 (below) shows the emissions benefits of 549 CMAQ-funded proposals in kg/day of CO removed from the atmosphere. The category of demand management is shown to have the highest median value for CO (94 kg/day) significantly higher than the median estimates of CO reductions for other categories.

NOTES: ¹The number of projects submitted with CO emissions analysis respectively.

Table 7 (below) shows the minimum, median, and maximum emissions benefits for NOx based on data provided by States in their FY 2000 annual reports. Out of 950 CMAQ proposals submitted with NOx emissions reductions estimates, the category of projects with the most NOx emissions reductions estimates is again shown to be traffic flow improvements.

NOTES:
¹ The number of projects submitted with NOx emissions analysis respectively.

However, the highest median value of NOx emission reductions potential (11 kg/day) is again shown to be in the demand management category. In fact, the demand management category accounted for the highest median values in all three pollutant types shown in Tables 5-7, although the number of projects in this category is small compared to the others.

Table 8 (below) shows the emissions benefits of 136 CMAQ-funded proposals in kg/day of PM-10 removed from the atmosphere. The category of I/M and other TCMs is shown to have the highest median value for PM-10 (11 kg/day).

NOTES:
¹ The number of projects submitted with PM-10 emissions analysis respectively.

Table 9 (below) summarizes the top CMAQ-funded proposals with at least 500 kg/day VOC emission reduction potential based on data provided by States in their annual reports. As shown in this table the projects resulting in the greatest VOC reductions occurred in the same project category as in the FY 1999 report, which were related to enhanced I/M programs. The total number of CMAQ-funded proposals with at least 500 kg/day VOC emission reductions was 21 for 2000, up eight from FY 1999.

Areas Needing Improvement

Based on review of the State annual reports submitted for FY 2000, the following areas will need additional improvement as the CMAQ program evolves throughout its existence under the TEA-21 and SAFETEA, and as we migrate towards the electronic reporting system. As found in previous reviews of State annual reports, additional efforts to provide more than minimal project descriptions would assist FHWA and FTA in the future. In some cases, project descriptions were found to be inadequate, and thus required follow up phone conversations to State and local officials to better identify the CMAQ projects and their potential air quality benefits. Too many projects are submitted without the associated air quality benefits. The estimates of emissions benefits that were used to determine CMAQ eligibility for the projects must be submitted in the State reports.

Finally, the resulting emission reductions from a number of projects were reported with large negative emissions impacts or large emission reductions. These projects are not eligible for CMAQ funding unless other emissions for which the area is in nonattainment are reduced. Further, it strains creditability that a project which increases emissions substantially is considered eligible for CMAQ funding if it is offset by only a small decrease in another emission type. We would like to remind both States and FHWA division offices that the resulting emission benefits from CMAQ proposals should be carefully reviewed for accuracy and consistency purposes before funding is awarded. Stakeholder inquiries on these projects will be directed back to the FHWA division or FTA Region office.

This information is gathered to respond to Congressional inquiries and to support briefings to higher ranking Administration officials, and other major stakeholders that are routinely provided by FHWA/FTA. Because the basis for the information provided is often derived from annual CMAQ reports they must be as accurate as possible.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Based on information collected by FHWA/FTA as part of FY 2000 CMAQ annual reports, the following observations are offered to States and local agencies for purposes of developing future CMAQ annual reports:

• FHWA/FTA has observed that a fairly large percentage of projects listed in the State-submitted reports do not have calculations of emissions reductions. Project sponsors are reminded that CMAQ program funding is limited, by law, to projects that reduce air pollution. Projects that do not reduce emissions are not legally eligible to receive CMAQ funding.

• Many of the project descriptions are very brief, to the point where it is not possible to tell what type of work was funded or for which eligibility category. Other descriptions seem to be inaccurate. For example, projects are sometimes reported as a "study" with an associated emission reduction. While implementing the findings of a study might result in emissions reductions, studies themselves do not cause emission reductions and a project that is only a study is not eligible for CMAQ funding. So, a project description of "study" should also explain what other actions were taken that caused real-world emission reductions. This will also help in navigating the electronic database, as it requires users to populate the database with project type information.

• FHWA/FTA finds that the funds reported are often based on planned amounts or on actual or partial expenditures or on some other State or local tracking mechanism. For the sake of national consistency, the funds reported in the CMAQ reports are to be based on amounts of Federal funds obligated to a specific project. States and FHWA Division offices are asked to ensure that accurate financial reports (consistent with FHWA's FMIS figures) are provided that include only the CMAQ portion of funds for each project. State, local or private funds should be identified separately.

• FHWA/FTA also finds that the State reports are often late or incomplete. The final information needed to complete this report, which was due February 1, 2001, was not received by FHWA/FTA until 2002. As of this writing, March 2004, there are 2 States which have not yet submitted their FY 2001 reports (due February 1, 2002), 18 States that have not yet submitted their FY 2002 reports (due February 1, 2003), and only 6 States have submitted completed reports for FY 2003 (due February 1, 2004). In addition, several States have been asked for more complete information. Therefore, States are asked to submit each annual report to the FHWA/FTA by February 1 of each calendar year to show only those projects for which CMAQ funds were obligated in the previous fiscal year. Again, the migration to the electronic report submission should make this entire process more timely and more manageable.