Air Quality Contacts
For more information, please contact Victoria Martinez (787-771-2524).
U.S. EPA Responds to State Recommendations for PM2.5 Designations. On June 29 the EPA responded to States and tribes on their recommendations for attainment and nonattainment areas under the new PM2.5 standard. The EPA recommended that all or part of 243 counties nationwide be designated, which is considerably more than the 141 counties recommended by the States. The implementation rule for the PM2.5 standard will be released later this year as well as requirements for transportation conformity under the PM2.5 standard. More information can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/.
FHWA Workshops on New NAAQS and Transportation Conformity and CMAQ. The FHWA is hosting a series of four workshops on the new air quality standards and transportation conformity requirements. These 1-day workshops will cover the recent Transportation Conformity Rule amendments to address the 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 standards. They will also discuss the implications of the implementation of the new standards on the CMAQ program. The workshops will include presentations, discussions, and exercises, and will allow for questions and answers specific to areas in the region. Registration information is available from Maliek van Laar, Woodward Communications, (202) 234-7162 or mvanlaar@woodwwardcom.com. The workshops will be held in:
EPA Training on New NAAQS and Transportation Conformity. EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ), in cooperation with EPA Regional offices, is offering five regional transportation conformity training sessions this summer, in locations across the U.S. Contact: Laura Berry, phone: (734) 214-4858, email: berry.laura@epa.gov, or website: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/2004training.htm.
Federal Register Notice New Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments. On July 1, 2004 the Federal Register Notice (Volume 69, No. 126, pp.40003-40081) entitled, "Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments for the New 8-Hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and Miscellaneous Revisions for Existing Areas; Transportation Conformity Rule Amendments: Response to Court Decision and Additional Rule Changes" was published and can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/conf-regs.htm.
Meeting with AMPO Air Quality Subcommitteet. On July 19 and 20, the FHWA and EPA will meet with AMPO's Air Quality Subcommittee in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The EPA will host the meeting and the transportation conformity rule amendments will be discussed as well as a draft report on the transition to MOBILE6, which was developed by FHWA in collaboration with the Air Quality Subcommittee. Information can be obtained from Rich Denbow at www.ampo.org.
NCHRP Report on Evaluation of Mobile Models. The NCHRP report titled: "Evaluation of MOBILE Models: MOBILE6.1 (PM), MOBILE6.2 (Toxics), and MOBILE6/CNG" has been completed. This evaluation was requested by AASHTO and can be found at www.nas.edu.
If you have any suggestions for future monthly conformity highlights, please email: ssiwek@aol.com.
FHWA HQ Transportation Conformity Team Contacts:
FHWA Resource Center Air Quality Team Contacts:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/airquality/index.cfm.
