The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
A Summary of Eighth-Year Activities
(FY 1999) October 1998 - September 1999
Eighth-Year Results
In FY 1999, the States obligated approximately $1.14 billion for proposals funded under the CMAQ program. The nationwide apportionments during this same time period increased to $1.51 billion as recorded by FHWA under the Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS) for an overall obligation rate of 75.5 percent nationwide. This obligation rate is 26 percent higher than the rate reported in the FY 1998 annual report. This is an increase in obligation percentage, although it is below the historical CMAQ obligation rate due to the fact that TEA-21 made a substantial increase in funds available for obligation.
Under TEA-21, the levels of CMAQ funding to States increased nationally by 35 percent over the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) levels with $8.1 billion authorized over 6 fiscal years (FY 1998 to FY 2003) to assist States in their efforts to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standards2. The CMAQ annual reports submitted by States for FY 1999 reflected the new provisions and apportionment formulae codified under TEA-21.
Additional sources of CMAQ funding (e.g., funds derived from the Minimum Guarantee provision under TEA-21 and the Revenue Aligned Budget Authority) will provide an even higher funding ceiling for CMAQ-related projects for nonattainment and maintenance areas across the Nation. The CMAQ funding increases under TEA-21 may also assist toward increasing the diversity of project categories and proposals selected by States in the next several years and will also expand the range of potential project sponsorships with many new players. Based on the second year of TEA-21 apportionments, the following Figure 1 (next page) shows the distribution of CMAQ funds obligated for each of seven project categories funded during FY 1999.3
Figure 1 indicates that the largest share of CMAQ support was reported for the transit category (51.6 percent) based on data provided by the States in their annual reports for FY 1999. The second largest category of CMAQ funded activities was shown to be traffic flow improvement, at 23.3 percent of the total CMAQ obligations. The other categories of CMAQ funding accounted for approximately 29 percent of the total CMAQ obligations for FY 1999, down from 34.8 percent in FY 1998. While the overall funding patterns are similar to those reported in FY 1998, the total number of proposals and obligation levels regarding the transit category were found to differ.
During FY 1999, the number of projects and level of funding for the traffic flow improvement category was similar to those funded in FY 1998. However, there were approximately 246 proposals funded under the transit category at $589 million in FY 1999 compared to 194 proposals funded at $206 million in FY 1998. This represents a 27 percent increase in the number of proposals funded in the transit category from FY 1998 to FY 1999 and an 86 percent increase in the funding level.
* NOTE: Surface Transportation Program (STP)/CMAQ funds are obligated in States with no nonattainment or maintenance areas.
Figure 2 (above) identifies the total amounts of funds obligated by CMAQ funding category, in terms of both the number of projects and amount of funding obligated for each of the categories for FY 1999. It shows the categories of transit and traffic flow improvements categories together with about 75 percent of the funding. These two categories had accounted for nearly 66 percent of the total CMAQ program expenditures reported for FY 1998.
The number of projects and amount of funding obligated in FY 1999 for the transit category indicates a significant increase from FY 1998 (246 versus 194 for the number of projects and $589 million versus $206 million in funding). The shared ride and "other" categories (representing inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs and other transportation control measues (TCMs)) also showed increases in both the number of projects and the amount of funding obligated with a large dollar increase, of approximately 50 percent ($80 million to $150 million) in the "other" category. In FY 1999, the traffic flow improvement category reflects slightly fewer projects, but an increase in funding of $19 million ($266 million versus $247 million). The pedestrian/bicycle and demand management categories both experienced a decrease in the number of projects and an increase in the amount of funding obligated. The pedestrian/bicycle category had a drop in the number of projects (145 to 82) with only a $1 million difference in the amount of funding obligated. The total number of STP/CMAQ proposals dropped slightly from FY 1998 to FY 1999 and total funds obligated in that category decreased from $72 million to $50 million.
Table 1 (below) provides funding data for the top 13 States receiving the largest CMAQ apportionments between October 1, 1998 and September 30, 1999 (FY 1999). These 13 States received 70.5 percent of the FY 1999 CMAQ apportionments. Only two of these States with the largest apportionments, Illinois and Ohio, were able to obligate their entire CMAQ apportionments. 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).
Table 1 - States Receiving the Largest CMAQ Apportionments During FY 1999 (October 1998-September 1999)*
| State |
Amount Apportioned |
Amount Obligated** |
FY 1999 Obligation Rate |
| Illinois*** |
$74 |
$101 |
137 percent |
| Ohio |
$56 |
$57 |
103 percent |
| California |
$308 |
$296 |
96 percent |
| Michigan |
$36 |
$29 |
80 percent |
| Arizonia |
$31 |
$24 |
78 percent |
| New York |
$135 |
$104 |
77 percent |
| Connecticut |
$40 |
$29 |
72 percent |
| New Jersey |
$83 |
$55 |
66 percent |
| Texas |
$97 |
$61 |
62 percent |
| Maryland |
$45 |
$28 |
62 percent |
| Florida |
$45 |
$27 |
59 percent |
| Pennsylvania |
$63 |
$22 |
35 percent |
| Massachusetts |
$56 |
$6 |
11 percent |
NOTES:
* in millions.
** amounts obligated shown from State annual reports submitted for FY 1999.
*** Bold type denotes greater than 100 percent obligation rates for States. |
During FY 1999, FHWA and FTA approved funding for 1,045 CMAQ proposals, slightly fewer than the 1,053 proposals funded during FY 1998. The total obligation rate for the life of CMAQ remains unchanged at 76 percent, the same as through FY 1998. A total of 7,527 CMAQ proposals have been reported by States as being funded during the 8 years since ISTEA created CMAQ. Table 2 summarizes the historical obligation rates for each State based on data provided by FHWA's FMIS.
TABLE 2 - Status of Obligation Rates by State Over 8-Year Existence of CMAQ (FY 1992 - FY 1999)** Dollars Shown Rounded to Nearest Million
| State |
Total Available |
Total Obligated |
Unpaid Obligations |
Obligation Rate |
| South Dakota* |
41 |
40 |
2 |
98 percent |
| Oklahoma* |
41 |
39 |
13 |
95 percent |
| Iowa* |
40 |
37 |
1 |
93 percent |
| Arizona |
129 |
118 |
11 |
91 percent |
| Mississippi* |
41 |
37 |
8 |
90 percent |
| Illinois |
404 |
355 |
148 |
88 percent |
| New Jersey |
470 |
413 |
133 |
88 percent |
| North Dakota* |
41 |
36 |
7 |
88 percent |
| Missouri |
92 |
80 |
58 |
87 percent |
| New York |
841 |
720 |
309 |
86 percent |
| Rhode Island |
50 |
42 |
18 |
84 percent |
| Kansas |
40 |
33 |
6 |
83 percent |
| Kentucky |
63 |
52 |
13 |
83 percent |
| West Virginia |
41 |
34 |
3 |
83 percent |
| Georgia |
144 |
117 |
53 |
81 percent |
| California |
1,378 |
1,105 |
425 |
80 percent |
| Connecticut |
203 |
160 |
58 |
79 percent |
| Pennsylvania |
468 |
343 |
70 |
79 percent |
| Washington |
128 |
101 |
29 |
79 percent |
| Maine |
41 |
32 |
20 |
78 percent |
| North Carolina |
91 |
70 |
16 |
77 percent |
| Alabama |
42 |
32 |
15 |
76 percent |
| Delaware |
42 |
32 |
12 |
76 percent |
| Utah |
45 |
34 |
6 |
76 percent |
| Nebraska* |
40 |
30 |
1 |
75 percent |
| Virginia |
170 |
128 |
50 |
75 percent |
| Michigan |
225 |
166 |
38 |
74 percent |
| South Carolina |
42 |
31 |
7 |
74 percent |
| Ohio |
338 |
246 |
65 |
73 percent |
| Oregon |
51 |
38 |
9 |
73 percent |
| Florida |
244 |
176 |
61 |
72 percent |
| New Hampshire |
42 |
30 |
13 |
71 percent |
| New Mexico |
42 |
30 |
13 |
71 percent |
| Vermont* |
40 |
28 |
4 |
70 percent |
| Louisiana |
42 |
29 |
10 |
69 percent |
| District of Columbia |
40 |
27 |
11 |
68 percent |
| Idaho* |
37 |
25 |
6 |
68 percent |
| Maryland |
247 |
169 |
41 |
68 percent |
| Montana |
44 |
29 |
6 |
66 percent |
| Wyoming* |
41 |
27 |
2 |
66 percent |
| Wisconsin |
100 |
65 |
20 |
65 percent |
| Massachusetts |
339 |
209 |
18 |
62 percent |
| Tennessee |
85 |
53 |
25 |
62 percent |
| Texas |
719 |
447 |
137 |
62 percent |
| Arkansas* |
42 |
25 |
3 |
60 percent |
| Hawaii* |
42 |
25 |
10 |
60 percent |
| Colorado |
66 |
38 |
9 |
58 percent |
| Nevada |
48 |
27 |
6 |
56 percent |
| Alaska |
48 |
26 |
22 |
54 percent |
| Minnesota |
63 |
26 |
9 |
41 percent |
| Total (Nationwide) |
8,245 |
6,265 |
2,056 |
76 percent |
NOTES:
* States with no nonattainment or maintenance areas
** Data Source: FHWA's FMIS.
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 areas4. 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.
2 The CMAQ eligibility provisions under TEA-21 ensure that any areas designated nonattainment as a result of the new 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 standards promulgated in 1997 will also be eligible for CMAQ funding. However, these new nonattainment areas are not included in the current apportionment formula codified under TEA-21. At this time, new ozone nonattainment designations are expected to be promulgated within the next few years.
3 These figures do not include project overruns and underruns associated with previously obligated CMAQ proposals.
4 Each State is guaranteed at least 1/2 of 1 percent of each year's CMAQ authorized funding regardless of whether the State has any nonattanment or maintenance areas. States without nonattainment or maintenance areas may use its minimum apportionment for any projects in the State eligible under either the CMAQ program or the STP. Such States are encouraged to give priority to the use of CMAQ program funds for projects that will relieve congestion or improve air quality in areas that are at risk of being designated nonattainment.
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