The intent of Transportation Conformity is to fully coordinate transportation and air quality planning to ensure that the Regional Transportation Plan (the Plan) and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) projects will not cause or contribute to any new violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), increase the frequency or severity of any existing NAAQS violations, or delay timely attainment of the NAAQS.

What does a Transportation Conformity Determination involve?

Through Transportation Conformity Determinations, NYMTC quantitatively demonstrates how its Plan and TIP projects impact future motor vehicle emissions budgets. In general, NYMTC conducts transportation conformity once per year. To determine transportation conformity, NYMTC:

• Forecasts mobile source emissions for a Regional Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
• Compares mobile source emissions forecasts to emissions budgets set in the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Air Quality.
• Establishes that emissions budgets will not be exceeded.

Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas Addressed by NYMTC

NYMTC's Transportation Conformity Determinations address all nonattainment and maintenance areas that fall in whole or in part within the NYMTC planning area, including:

• The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT Ground-level Ozone (VOC, NOx) Nonattainment Area
• The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Maintenance Area
• Poughkeepsie Ozone Nonattainment Area (PONA), which includes Dutchess, Orange and Putnam counties

NYMTC prepares a Transportation Conformity Determination document to demonstrate that its RTP and TIP are in compliance with the mobile source emission budgets.

For more information contact Afolabi Aiyedun