Transportation and Air-Quality:
Mobile-Source Emissions Regulations
Seungju Yoon, Rosa Chi,
Monique Latalladi, Amit Marmur
Georgia Institute of Technology
Overview
Transportation and air-quality history
 National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
Clean Air Act
Transportation Conformity Act (TCA)
Current example: Atlantic Station
Transportation and
Air Quality History
Transportation and AQ
History
 1886: The first gasoline powered automobile
(Benz)
 1900: World production stands at ~20,000
vehicles per year (compared to almost 30 million
in 1999)
 1909: First Ford Model-T manufactured (15
million by 1927). Top speed: 30mph
Transportation and AQ History
1966: First tailpipe emissions standards
(CO and HC, in CA), achieved by engine
modifications
1975: The catalytic converter is
introduced (post combustion control)
1990s: ~500 million cars worldwide
(~120 in USA).
Emit 77% of national CO, 49% of NOx
and 40% of HC
Emission reductions
 A 1993 car, compared to a 1960 car,
emits:
 4% of CO
 11% of NOX
 3% of HC
Current Regulations: Low Emissions
Vehicle (LEV) Program
In 1990, CARB approved standards for
Low and Zero Emissions Vehicles that
would apply from 1994 to 2003.
Four classes of vehicles were introduced,
each with increasingly stringent
emissions requirements:
TLEV transitional low emissions vehicles
LEV low emissions vehicles
ULEV ultra low emissions vehicles
ZEV zero emissions vehicles
Current Regulations:
LEV II Program
 CARB approved new proposals in November
1998, referred to as LEV II, for a
strengthening of the regulations.
 The new standards will require light trucks,
including sports utility vehicles (SUVs), pickups and small vans, as well as some vehicles
currently in the medium duty class, to meet
the same emissions standards as passenger
cars.
 A further significant ruling is that diesels will
be subject to the same standards as gasoline
powered vehicles.
Current Regulations:
Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV)
As part of its 1990 LEV Program, CARB
mandated that 2% of passenger cars
produced and offered for sale in
California in 1998 by the seven major
auto manufacturers should be zero
emissions vehicles.
This percentage was to rise gradually
and reach 10% in 2003.
Current Regulations:
Emission Factors for Passenger Cars
Class
NMOG
CO
(g/mile)
(g/mile)
(g/mile)
TLEV
0.156
4.200
0.600
LEV
0.090
4.200
0.300
ULEV
0.055
2.100
0.300
ZEV
zero
zero
zero
based on 100,000 miles durability
NOX
National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA)
National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
The first written law to establish broad
national framework for protecting
environment
Basic policy to assure all government
agencies to give proper consideration to
the environment prior to undertaking
any major federal action, significantly
affecting the environment.
NEPA Requirements
 The policies, regulations, and laws of the
Federal Government be interpreted and
administered in accordance with its
environmental protection goals
 Interdisciplinary approach in planning and
decision-making for any action that adversely
impacts to the environment
 The examination and avoidance of potential
impacts to the social and natural environment
when considering approval of proposed
transportation projects.
NEPA Umbrella
 Title VI of Civil Rights Act of
1964
 Americans with Disabilities Act
 Clean Air Act
 Safe Water Drinking Act
 Farmland Protection Policy Act
 Solid Waste Disposal Act
 Highway Noise Standards
 Transportation Equity Act
for 21-centuries
 Emergency Planning and
Community Right to Know Act
of 1986
 Executive Order 12898
(Environmental Justice)
 Economic, Social and
Environmental Effects of
Highways
 Economic, Social and
Environmental Effects of Transit
 Public Hearing Requirements
 And more……
NEPA Implementation
NEPA
CEQ
TEA-21
FHWA Decision Making To
Meet NEPA Requirements
Balanced transportation decisionmaking that takes into account the
potential impacts on the human and
natural environment and the public's
need for safe and efficient
transportation.
Project Development
Planning
NEPA Process
NEPA Approval
Final Design
Construction
System considerations, coordination,
conformity, project need
Need, alternatives and impact analysis,
public / agency coordination,
documentation (CE, EA/FONSI, EIS/ROD)
Elements in Decision-Making
Impacts
Alternatives
Mitigation
Public Involvement
Interagency Coordination
Documentation
Documentations for
Decision-Making
Proposed Action
Coordination and Analysis
NO
YES
Significant Impact ?
Unknown
Listed
CE
Documented
CE
Coordination and
analysis as needed
Document
appropriately
Environmental
Assessment
Significant
impact
Notice of Intent & Scoping
Process
Draft EIS
No significant
impacts
Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI)
Public Comment
Final EIS
Record of Decision (ROD)
Agency Action
Agency Action
Agency Action
Transportation Equity Act for
21st Centuries (TEA-21)
 To meet the challenges of improving safety,
protecting and enhancing communities and the
natural environment, and advancing national
economic growth and competitiveness domestically
and internationally through efficient and flexible
transportation.
 Major components
 Rebuilding infrastructure (surface transportation)
 Improving safety
 Protecting the environment
1) Congestion mitigation and air quality improvement
program (CMAQ)
2) PM2.5 monitoring program
 Advancing research and technology
Environmental Justice (EJ)
 Environmental justice is for fair treatment for people
of all races, cultures, and incomes, regarding the
development of environmental laws, regulations, and
policies.
 The principals are
 To avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and
adverse human health and environmental effects, including
social and economic effects, on minority populations and
low-income populations. Rebuilding infrastructure (surface
transportation)
 To ensure the full and fair participation by all potentially
affected communities in the transportation decision-making
process.
 To prevent the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in
the receipt of benefits by minority and low-income
populations.
Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act History
 1955 – First national air pollution legislation:
Air Pollution Control Act of 1955
 1963 – First Clean Air Act
 Amendments in 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969
 1970 – Major revision of Clean Air Act
 Amendments in 1977
 1990 – Second major revision of Clean Air Act
CAA of 1963 and Mobile
Sources
 Original did not legislate mobile source emissions!
 1965 Amendments – established automobile emission
standards
 1967 Amendments - established Air Quality Control
Regions (AQCRs), dictated the timetable for state
implementation plans (SIPs), and recommended
control technologies for use in the SIPs.
 1969 Amendments – included more research funding
for low-emission strategies involving fuels and
automobiles
CAA of 1970 and Mobile
Sources
 Complete revision of CAA
 Health-based NAAQS
 Set new automobile emission standards
 Required the preparation of Transportation
Control Plans (TCPs) in ozone non-attainment
areas.
 Allowed citizens the right to sue over noncompliance
 1977 Amendments – Extended deadline for
meeting automobile emission standards
CAA of 1990 and Mobile
Sources
 Emissions
 Set stricter automobile emissions standards
 Set diesel particulate standards
 Allowed EPA to regulate non-road engine emissions
 Fuels
 low-sulfur fuels
 Required reformulated gasoline in most severely polluted areas
 Control Strategies and Enforcement
 Required non-attainment areas to encourage transportation
alternatives to reduce number driving trips
 Established more SIP requirements
 Gave EPA the power to withhold highway grants from states
not in compliance with regulations
State Implementation Plans
 Plan for how a state will attain/maintain
NAAQS
 Additional requirements for non-attainment areas
 Must include:
 emission inventories
 monitoring network
 air quality analysis and modeling
 attainment demonstration
 control strategies and enforcement
 state regulations
Transportation
Conformity Act
Transportation Conformity
Act
 Under the 1990 CAA amendments, the US DOT
cannot fund, authorize, or approve Federal actions to
support programs or projects which are not first
found to conform to the CAA requirements.
 Aims:
 Establish a connection between transportation planning and
emission reductions from transportation sources
 Ensure federal funding and approval are given to those
transportation activities that are consistent with air quality
goals.
Transportation Conformity
Act
 According to the CAA, transportation activities cannot:
 Create new violations of the Federal air quality standards
 Increase the frequency or severity of existing violations of
the standards, or
 Delay attainment of the standards
 The FHWA and the FTA jointly made conformity
determinations within air quality nonattainment and
maintenance areas to ensure Federal actions conform
to the purpose of the State Implementation Plans
(SIPs).
 August 15, 1997: EPA issued regulations pertaining to
the criteria and procedures for transportation
conformity
Transportation Conformity
Rule
 Actions Subject to the TCR:
 Applies to projects in nonattainment or maintenance areas
 Transportation plans, programs and projects funded or
approved by the FHWA or the FTA
 Regionally significant transportation projects not funded or
approved by the FHWA or the FTA, but which are sponsored
by traditional recipients of FHWA/FTA funds.
 “Regionally Significant Project” means one that is on a facilty
which serves regional transportation needs and would normally
be included in the modeling of a metropolitan area’s
transportation network (Ex: all principal arterial highways or all
fixed guide way transit facilities that offer a significant
alternative to regional highway travel.)
Transportation Conformity
Rule
 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP):
 A multi-year prioritized list of projects (3 yrs at minimum) proposed
to be funded or approved by the FHWA/FTA
 Under Titles 23 and 49 of USC, MPO’s must have a TIP in place
that present a 20-yr perspective in their region
 TIP must be found to conform to the SIP
 Project Level Conformity:
 They must come from a conforming TIP
 The design concept and scope of project that was in place at the
time of the conformity finding must be maintained through
implementation
 The project design concept and scope must be sufficiently defined
to determine emissions at the time of the conformity determination.
 If project does not meet above criteria, its emissions cannot cause
the program to exceed the emissions budget in the SIP.
Transportation Conformity
Rule
 Emissions Budgets
 Emissions budget for motor vehicles is the total of all motor
vehicle emissions identified in the SIP that an area can
produce and still achieve the SIP’s purpose which is to
demonstrate attainment/maintenance of the air quality
standards
 i.e. “Carrying capacity of region for each pollutant type.”
 The principals are:
 Budgets are developed based upon the emissions inventory
in the SIP and depend upon variables such as: number of
vehicles in region, age of vehicle, rate of fleet turnover to
newer/cleaner vehicles, seasonal temperature changes, ext
 Budgets reflect effects of control measures and increases
due to population growth and expected increases in vehicle
miles traveled.
Transportation Conformity
Rule
 Modeling
CAA requires that the latest planning assumptions be
used in the conformity analysis
 Travel Demand Models: used in certain nonattainment and
maintenance areas to estimate how much travel will occur in
the region based on travel characteristics and growth
assumptions
 Emission Models: used to estimate regional emissions (these
estimates are derived from grams of pollutant per mile
traveled) and are based upon the output of the latest travel
demand models
 Air Quality Dispersion Models: used to evaluate localized
impacts (project level impacts)
Transportation Conformity
Rule
 Reduction Targets
 Vehicle Controls:
 Implementation of nationwide emissions control strategies have
resulted in doubling of VMT nationwide btw 1970 and 1990
 Tier II: Both cars and light-duty trucks are subject to the same
national pollution control system (take effect 2004)
 Fuel Based Standards:
 Stricter Fuel Volatility Requirements
 Use of Reformulated & Oxygenated Gasoline
 Stage I & II Vapor Recovery
 I&M Programs:
 CAA requires I&M to be adopted in certain O3 and CO
nonattainment areas
 Reduction potential is substantial and critical in many areas.
Transportation Conformity
Rule
 Reduction Targets (cont.)
 Transportation Control Measures:
 Ridesharing/Bicycling Programs
 Expanded Transit Services
 CAA Section 108(f)(1)(A) – (for severe or extreme):
 Restriction of Roads
 Programs for removal of pre-1980 vehicles
 Trip Reduction ordinances
 Market-Based TCM’s:




Road Pricing
Congestion Pricing
VMT Fees
Parking Pricing
Current Example:
Atlantic Station
Atlantic Station
 A 140-acre mixed-use project is built just
west of I-75/85, north of 14th street, on the
former Atlantic Steel mill site.
 1.5 million square feet of retail-entertainment
space;
 1,000 hotel rooms;
 5 million square feet of high-rise office space;
 up to 4,000 housing units;
 2 million square feet of roads, parks, monuments
and a lake.
 17th st bridge
Atlantic Station
The first urban redevelopment under
EPA Project XL (eXcellence and
Leadership), with a total budget
estimated at $2-billion.
Its developers are trying to "create a
model for smart growth and urban
revitalization“
“live, work, and play” – fewer travels,
fewer emissions
The problem
Atlanta is a non-attainment area (ozone
standard), therefore doesn’t receive
federal funding for transportation
projects (such as the 17th St Bridge)
Overcoming the problem
Through Project XL, Atlantic Station
becomes a model for Smart Growth and
brown-field redevelopment
1998 EPA study found that VMT could
be reduced by as much as 61 percent
by developing at infill sites compared to
outlying greenfields
Overcoming the problem
Results of study using the Atlanta regional
transportation model and MOBILE5 to
compare development at the Atlantic Steel
site to similar development at outlying
greenfields showed Atlantic Steel project
produced:
 34 percent fewer VMT and
up to 45 percent fewer NOx emissions.
Modeling also indicated no CO hot spot
problems.
Atlantic Steel 1HR-CO
Concentration Analysis (1998)
Atlantic Steel 1HR-CO
Concentration Analysis(2005)
Summary and
Conclusions
Summary/Conclusion
Mobile emissions are major sources to
the atmosphere and cause various
adverse environmental impact such as
ozone and particular matters
NEPA process helps federal agencies
not commit actions causing significant
environmental impact from mobile
sources
Summary/Conclusion
CAA requires federal and state actions
in transportation follow guidance to
meet the goal of NAAQS
TCR guides agencies follow the
environmental impact analysis and
decision making processes before they
do transportation actions
Real-Life Environmental Decision Making