TEA-21 - Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century Moving Americans into the 21st Century
	Fact Sheet
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OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER STANDARDS

Purpose

The Environmental Protection Agency issued revised standards for ozone and particulate matter under the Clean Air Act in 1997, including a new fine particulate matter (PM-2.5) standard. TEA-21 ozone and particulate matter standards provisions call for full Federal funding of a monitoring network for fine particles, and ensure that schedules for planning to control fine particulate matter under the 1997 standards and to improve visibility are harmonized.

Funding

Surface transportation funding programs are not involved.

Directs EPA to provide Federal funding to States to establish, purchase, operate and maintain a PM-2.5 fine particle monitoring network to gather data used in designating whether areas meet national standards for particulate matter.

Funds grants under section 103 of the Clean Air Act at 100% Federal share for equipment, set-up and operation and maintenance.

If other Clean Air Act State grant funds have already been used for PM-2.5 monitors, EPA must restore those funds in FY 1999 from non-air sources, including Federal air programs. [6102(a)]

The full PM-2.5 monitoring network must be in place by December 31, 1999. [6102(b)]

Implementation

Title VI of TEA-21 essentially codifies the schedule in the President's memo regarding implementation of the new ozone and PM 2.5 standards. EPA is to designate areas with regard to their attainment of the PM 2.5 standard no later than December 31, 2005, (or earlier if sufficient data is available) and of the revised ozone standard no later than July 2000.

EPA is to require States to submit visibility improvement plans related to regional haze at the same time as State implementation plans for areas designated nonattainment for PM-2.5 are required to be submitted. For areas designated as attainment or unclassifiable for PM 2.5, EPA is to require States to submit visibility improvement plans one year after such designation. [6102(c)]

EPA is to conduct a field study of the ability of current monitoring methods to differentiate particle size, and report to Congress by June, 2000. [6102(e)]

September 14, 1998