Air quality planning requires coordination among federal, state and local agencies. The Interagency Consultation Group meets monthly to discuss regional air quality issues.
State Implementation Plan
Individual states must develop plans to reduce air pollution to acceptable levels in the timeframe prescribed by the Clean Air Act. These air quality plans are referred to as the State Implementation Plans (SIP). Mobile (transportation-related) emissions, as estimated by the ARC, must conform to established limits or Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEB) for nonattainment pollutants and/or their precursors. MVEB are set by the State Air Agency, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), in the SIP and are approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) as adequate for use in the transportation conformity process.
Transportation Conformity
A positive conformity determination must be made for transportation plans and programs within air quality nonattainment areas in order for federal transportation funding to be allocated, without restriction, to the region. This determination is provided by the US DOT with concurrence provided by US EPA. For more information on transportation conformity, please visit Federal Highway Administration.
A conformity determination was provided as part of the PLAN 2040 RTP and FY 2012-2017 TIP. A positive conformity determination was provided for both the ozone and particulate matter standards on September 6, 2011. For more information on the conformity analysis, reference Volume II of PLAN 2040 Documentation. Additionally, a list of projects outside the MPO boundary that are included in the conformity analysis can be found here.