Air Quality Contacts
For more information, please contact Victoria Martinez (787-771-2524).
Prepared by the Office of Natural and Human Environment Federal Highway Administration - Publication Number FHWA-HEP-11-025
EPA Releases New Post Processing Tools for Using MOVES in CO and PM Project-Level Analysis. EPA recently posted several new MySQL scripts that will help agencies to use MOVES more efficiently in project-level analysis. The scripts automate the process of calculating project-level emission factors for use in air quality modeling. The scripts allow the user to generate link-specific emission rates as either grams per vehicle-mile or grams per hour. The CO scripts also allow the user to generate link specific emission factors for CO for use in the CAL3QHC model. The scripts can be downloaded at: MOVES Project-level scripts.
STAQS Meeting, July 19-21 in Raleigh, NC. This year's Southern Transportation and Air Quality Summit (STAQS) will be held in Raleigh, NC from July 19-21 at the downtown Sheraton Hotel. The summit is sponsored by FHWA and EPA Regions 3, 4, and 6. Conference agenda and registration information are available at: STAQS 2011.
Presentations from 2011 Transportation Planning, Land Use, and Air Quality Conference Now Available. The 2011 Transportation Planning, Land Use, and Air Quality Conference was held on May 9 and 10 in San Antonio, TX and presentations are now available on line. The conference agenda was packed with sessions including: sustainability and livability, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, PM project-level modeling, truck/bus diesel issues, near roadside issues research results, transit strategies and others. To view the presentations, see: 2011 Conference Presentations.
Presentations from Health Effects Institute 2011 Annual Meeting Now Available. On May 1-3, the Health Effects Institute (HEI) conducted its annual meeting in Boston, MA. HEI, a nonprofit, independent research organization, works to provide impartial science on the health effects of air pollution. Presenters at the conference addressed scientific and policy perspectives on setting health-based air quality standards, statistical methods to assess health effects, and the health impacts of non-pulmonary systems, among other topics. To view the presentations, see: HEI 2011 Annual Meeting.
FHWA Clarifies Eligibility Issues Related to CMAQ Funds and Alternative Fuel Vehicles. FHWA recently clarified an issue related to the application of Federal, government-wide cost principles and the obligation and expenditure of Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) funds for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). To review the full memo on this topic, see: CMAQ and Federal Cost Principles.
Continuation of the CMAQ 100 percent Federal Share Flexibility and FY 2010 Supplementary Tables are Available. The Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 amended Title 23 to provide a temporary full Federal share (at 100 percent) for CMAQ projects obligated in Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009. This increased Federal share will continue to apply to CMAQ projects during the most recent SAFETEA-LU extension. In practice, the Federal share flexibility is continued as it was on September 30, 2009, when SAFETEA-LU expired. Any questions related to the CMAQ program should be directed to Mike Koontz at (202)366-2076.
MOVES/EMFAC 24-month Grace Period for Hot-Spot Analyses Started December 20, 2010. To access the Federal Register notice, guidance documents, and fact sheets, go to: EPA's Project Level Conformity.
MOVES2010's 24-Month Grace Period for Regional Conformity Analysis Started on March 2, 2010. For more information, see The Federal Register notice, EPA's guidance, and the MOVES website.
Transportation Conformity Training Courses. FHWA is sponsoring a two-day Introduction to Transportation Conformity training course in response to requests from various states. For more information or if you are interested in hosting a training session, please contact Sarah Siwek, FHWA's contractor for these courses at ssiwek@aol.com.
Conformity 101 Training Available On-Line. FHWA has made a short course titled "What is Conformity" available on-line. This course is intended for transportation and air quality practitioners who are new to transportation conformity, those looking for a refresher, or others who only need a brief overview of the rule. The session is approximately 27 minutes long. Handouts are available for download at the same site. This course can be accessed on FHWA's website.
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 the Resource Center website. For further information, contact: Mike Roberts at 404-562-3928.
EPA and FHWA Offer Two-Day MOVES2010 Training Course. EPA and FHWA have jointly developed a two-day training course on the MOVES2010 model that will be taught at various locations over the coming months. This is a detailed, two-day, hands-on course geared toward state and local agency staff that will use MOVES2010 for developing SIPs and conformity analyses. For additional information on the two-day training sessions, visit EPA's MOVES training website. The materials needed for the course are posted on the MOVES training site.
EPA and DOT Develop a Multi-day Hot-spot Analysis Training Course. This training course will be developed in accordance with EPA's "Transportation Conformity Guidance for Quantitative Hot-spot Analyses in PM2.5 and PM10 Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas". This technical, hands-on course is geared toward state and local agency staff and will focus on using emission models (including EPA's MOVES model) and air quality models (AERMOD and CAL3QHCR) for quantitative PM hot-spot analyses. Additional information with dates and locations for the in-person model training will be provided as they become available, as well as any additional EPA webinars that are scheduled for implementing the guidance. Please contact conformity-hotspot@epa.gov to suggest a location or express interest in hosting the hands-on modeling course. For additional information, visit EPA's Project Level Conformity website.
FHWA HQ Transportation Conformity Team:
FHWA Resource Center Air Quality Team:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/airquality/index.cfm.
Past issues are available at FHWA's website.If you have any suggestions for future monthly conformity highlights, please email: ssiwek@aol.com.
