Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards
On July 1, 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule in the Federal Register to amend the transportation conformity rule to include criteria and procedures for the 1997 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or "standards"). The final rule also addresses a March 2, 1999 court decision by incorporating into the transportation conformity rule the EPA and U.S. DOT guidance that has been used in place of certain regulatory provisions since the court decision. The final rule also includes several miscellaneous rule revisions to clarify the existing regulation and improve implementation. On July 20, 2004, EPA published a technical correction notice to correct two minor errors in the July 1st notice. Neither of these changes affects the regulatory language that was published on July 1st, or substantively changes the preamble in the July 1st notice.
On May 6, 2005, EPA published a final rule in the Federal Register to amend the transportation conformity rule to add provisions for addressing PM2.5 precursors in conformity determinations. On June 1, 2005, EPA published a technical correction notice to correct two minor errors in the May 6th notice. Neither of these changes affects the regulatory language that was published on May 6th.
On March 10, 2006, EPA published a final rule in the Federal Register to amend the transportation conformity rule to add provisions regarding PM2.5 hot-spot analyses and to revise provisions regarding PM10 hot-spot analyses.
These rulemakings finalize provisions from two separate notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) and a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking. On June 30, 2003, EPA published an NPRM to address the March 2, 1999 Court Decision (issued by U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA, et al.). On November 5, 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published another NPRM to amend the transportation conformity rule to include criteria and procedures for the 1997 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or "standards"). The proposals also included several miscellaneous rule revisions to clarify the existing regulation and improve implementation. A supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking was published on December 13, 2004 to request additional comment on options related to PM2.5 and PM10 hot-spot requirements.
Court Decision on Transportation Conformity Rule, October 20, 2006 New 10/26/06
PM2.5 Project-Level Conformity and Hot-Spot Analyses Frequently Asked Questions
2006 PM2.5 and PM10 Hot-Spot Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments Summary
Transportation Conformity and the New Air Quality Standards - Frequently Asked Questions
2004 Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments Highlights
2004 Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments Summary
If you have any questions, please contact Cecilia Ho (202) 366-9862 or Gary Jensen (202) 366-2048.
