Air Quality Contacts
For more information, please contact Victoria Martinez (787-771-2524).
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EPA Issues Guidance on Impacts of the Court Decision on the Phase 1 Ozone Implementation Rule. On March 19, EPA's Acting Assistance Administrator William Wehrum issued a memo to EPA Regional Administrators with answers to four questions related to the December 22, 2006 D.C. Circuit Court Decision which upheld certain aspects of EPA's implementing framework for the 8-Hour ozone standard and rejected certain aspects of EPA's plan. The four questions address SIP obligations as a result of the decision (unsure of impact at this time); the schedule for development of 8-hour ozone SIPs which are due June 2007 (EPA urges states to continue to develop the 8-hour ozone SIPs and submit them expeditiously to EPA); changing designations due to clean data for 2004-2006 (EPA believes the court decision does not alter the requirements for redesignation under its Clean Data Policy of May 1995); and, what transportation and general conformity requirements and NSR requirements must be met at this time (at a minimum, the 8-hour ozone requirements should be addressed). For questions on transportation conformity, contact: Meg Patulski at (734) 214-4842 or Rudy Kapichak at (734) 214-4574. The guidance memorandum may be seen at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/env/air/state_cwg/OtherInfo/Scan%20Signed%20Response%20to%20Existing%20Control_31.pdf.
CTE National Broadcast Series - April 19, 2007.The Center for Transportation and the Environment at North Carolina State University is sponsoring a nationally broadcast program on the Overview of the Final Rule on Metropolitan and Statewide Transportation Planning. The broadcast will be from 1:00-3:00 EDT. Speakers will include Charlie Goodman from FTA, Larry Andersen from FHWA, and Victor Austin from FTA will be the moderator. For more information visit: http://cte.ncsu.edu.
EPA Proposes New Rule to Reduce PM Emissions from Locomotive and Marine Engines.On March 2, EPA announced a proposed a three part program that would dramatically reduce emissions from diesel locomotives of all types; line-haul, switch, and passenger rail. The proposal aims to cut PM emissions from these engines by 90 percent and NOx emissions by 80 percent. The Clean Air Locomotive and Marine Diesel Rule would tighten emisson standards for existing locomotives when they are remanufactured. Additionally, the rule sets stringent emission standards for new locomotive and marine diesel engines and sets long-term regulations that require the use of advanced technology to reduce emissions. For more information about the proposal and how to submit comments see: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/locomotv.htm.
Transportation and Air Quality Committee Summer Meeting - July 9-11. 2007. The Transportation Land-Use, Development and Air Quality Conference will be held in Orlando, Florida in July 2007. This conference is co-chaired by several organizations and will be held in conjunction with the summer meeting of the Transportation and Air Quality Committee. The conference price is tentatively set at $250. For more information, see: http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/educweb/transaq/transaq2007.htm.
STAQS Conference Scheduled. The Southern Transportation and Air Quality Summit 2007 is an event sponsored by the FHWA and EPA Regions 3, 4, and 6. It will be held August 28-30, 2007 in Savannah, Georgia, at the Hilton Savannah DeSoto Hotel. The purpose of the summit is to bring together stakeholders from both the transportation and air quality communities to discuss current and coming regulatory environment, technologies and current practices vital to the field of air quality and transportation. The summit is geared to practitioners involved with public agencies at all levels. A host of speakers from within the southern and eastern regions will present a number of key topics, best practices and latest information vital to transportation, planning, and air quality professionals. Contact: Mike Roberts, 404-562-3928, Michael.Roberts@dot.gov.
FHWA Resource Center Training Activities. FHWA's Resource Center Air Quality Technical Services Team is available to offer air quality-related training opportunities and information is available at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/airquality/courses.cfm. The following specific training opportunities are currently scheduled for this spring. Mobile6.2 Modeling Workshop - April 3-4, Montpelier, VT. For further information, contact: Mike Roberts at 404-562-3928 or at Michael.Roberts@dot.gov.
If you have any suggestions for future monthly conformity highlights, please email: ssiwek@aol.com.
FHWA Resource Center Air Quality Team Contacts:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/airquality/index.cfm.
