Current through February 27, 2024
(a) Before issuing
a final transportation conformity determination or transportation-related state
implementation plan revision under
18 AAC 50.700 -
18 AAC 50.750, the sponsoring
agency described in
18 AAC 50.705(b)
shall
(1) contact the office or the local
governing body to determine if that office is aware of any plans for
construction or a regionally significant project that is not funded under 23
U.S.C. (highways) or 49
U.S.C. 5301 -
5340, including any project for
which alternative locations, design concept and scope, or the no-build option
are still being considered;
(2)
prepare a preliminary interagency discussion draft, a public review draft, and
a final draft of the conformity determination or transportation-related state
implementation plan revision through the interagency consultation process
described in (b) - (g) of this section with staff of
(A) the department;
(B) the local air quality planning agency or
government;
(C) the Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities;
(D) the local transportation committee,
agency, or government;
(E) any
agency created under state law that sponsors or approves transportation
projects;
(F) the United States
Environmental Protection Agency;
(G) the United States Department of
Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA);
(H) the United States Department of
Transportation, Federal Transit Administration (FTA);
(I) the metropolitan planning organization
and any other regional transportation planning organization; and
(J) any participant listed in the
State Air Quality Control Plan, Volume II, Section III.I.3;
and
(3) make the public
review draft of the conformity determination or transportation-related state
implementation plan revision available for public review and comment as
required in
18 AAC 50.720.
(b) A staff member of the
sponsoring agency shall
(1) consult with staff
of the agencies listed in (a)(2) of this section to prepare a preliminary
interagency discussion draft of the conformity determination or transportation
related state implementation plan revision, including necessary supporting in
formation;
(2) ensure that all
documents, including transportation-related state implementation plan
revisions. and in formation relevant to the preliminary interagency discussion
draft are available to staff from the participating agencies; and
(3) consider the comments of staff from
participating agencies and respond in writing to those comments in a timely,
substantive manner before making a final decision on the preliminary
inleragency discussion draft; written agency comments and written responses
must be included in the record of any conformity decision or action or
transportation-related state implementation plan revision.
(c) In preparing the preliminary interagency
discussion draft, a staff member of the responsible agency shall consult with
the staff of the agencies listed in (a)(2) of this section to
(1) evaluate and choose a traffic demand
model and associated methods and assumptions to be used in a hot-spot analysis
or a regional emissions analysis;
(2) determine which minor arterials and other
projects should be considered regionally significant projects for purposes of a
regional emissions analysis, in addition to those functionally classified as
principal arterial or higher or fixed guide-way systems or extensions that
offer an alternative to regional highway travel;
(3) determine which projects should be
considered to have a significant change in design concept and scope from the
transportation plan or transportation improvement program;
(4)
discuss whether a project that is otherwise exempt from the requirements of
18 AAC 50.700 -
18 AAC 50.750 under
40 C.F.R.
93.126 and
93.127, revised as of July 1,
2013, and adopted by reference, should be treated as nonexempt if potential
regional emissions impacts or other adverse emissions impacts might exist for
any reason;
(5) determine, as
required under 40 C.F.R.
93.113(c)(1), revised as of'
July 1, 2013, and adopted by reference, whether past obstacles to
implementation of a transportation control measure that is behind the schedule
established in the state implementation plan have been identified and are being
overcome, and whether state and local agencies with influence over approvals or
funding for transportation control measures are giving maximum priority to
approval or funding for transportation control measures to be initiated by the
sponsoring agency in accordance with
18 AAC 50.700 -
18 AAC 50.750 and the
State Air Quality Control Plan, Volume II, Section III.I.3;
the interagency consultation process must also consider whether delays in
transportation control measure implementation necessitate a revision to the
state implementation plan to remove or to substitute a transportation control
measure or other emission reduction measures;
(6) determine, as
required under 40 C.F.R.
93.121, revised as of July 1, 2013, and
adopted by reference in
18 AAC 50.710,
(A) that a regionally significant project
(i) is included in a regional emissions
analysis supporting the currently conforming transportation improvement
program's conformity determination, even if the project is not included in the
transportation improvement program for the purposes of project selection or
endorsement; and
(ii) design
concept and scope have not changed significantly from those included in the
transportation plan, transportation improvement program, or regional emissions
analysis; or
(B) that,
based on the requirements for a project that is not from a conforming
transportation plan and transportation improvement program, as specified in
40 C.F.R.
93.118 and
93.119, revised as of July 1,
2013, and adopted by reference,
(i) there is
a currently conforming transportation plan and transportation improvement
program, and a new regional emissions analysis that includes the regionally
significant project; and
(ii) the
currently conforming transportation plan and transportation improvement program
will still conform if the regionally significant project is
implemented;
(7) identify, as
required under 40 C.F.R.
93.123(b), revised as of
July 1, 2013, and adopted by reference, projects located at sites
(A) within a PM- 10 or PM-2.5 nonattainment
or maintenance area identified in
18 AAC 50.015(b)(3) or
(e); and
(B) that have vehicle and roadway emission
and dispersion characteristics essentially identical to those at sites that
have air quality violations verified by monitoring, and that, therefore,
require a quantitative PM-10 or PM-2.5 hot-spot analysis;
(8) notify staff of participating agencies of
any revision or amendment to a transportation plan or transportation
improvement program that merely adds or deletes an exempt project listed in
40 C.F.R.
93.126 and
93.127, revised as of July 1,
2013, and adopted by reference; and
(9) develop a list of transportation control
measures for inclusion in the state implementation plan and distribute that
list to those agencies described in (a)(2) of this section.
(d) In addition to the consultation described
in (c) of this section, a staff member of the sponsoring agency shall consult
with staff of the state and local agencies listed in (a)(2) of this section to
(1) evaluate events that will trigger new
conformity determinations in addition to those triggering events established in
40 C.F.R. 93.104, revised as of July 1, 2013, and adopted by
reference;
(2) consider an
emissions analysis for transportation activities that extend beyond the
boundaries of a local governing body, nonattainment area, maintenance area, or
air basin;
(3) determine the
design, schedule, and funding of research and data collection efforts and
regional transportation model development by the local governing body, such as
household or travel transportation surveys;
(4) ensure that plans for construction of
regionally significant projects that are not FHW A or FTA projects, including
projects for which alternative locations, design concept and scope, or the
no-build option are still being considered and including all those projects by
recipients of funds designated under 23 U.S.C., are disclosed to the
metropolitan planning organization on a regular basis and to ensure that any
changes to those plans are disclosed within 10 business days;
(5) request that participants in the
interagency consultation process identify all non-FHW A and non-FTA
transportation projects and their design concept and scope, including those
projects where detailed design features have not yet been decided, to determine
which projects are regionally significant projects for regional emissions
modeling; a person who is "a recipient of funds designated under title 23 U.S.C
or the Federal Transit Laws" within the meaning given the term in
40 C.F.R.
93.101, revised as of July 1, 2013, and
adopted by reference, shall disclose to the metropolitan planning organization
information regarding all non-FHW A and non-FT A regionaJly significant
projects; any changes to these plans shall be disclosed within 10 business
days; and
(6) choose conformity
tests and methodologies for isolated rural nonattainment and maintenance
areas.
(e) If the
metropolitan planning area does not include the entire nonattainment or
maintenance area, the interagency consultation must include staff of the local
governing body and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities to determine conformity of all projects outside the metropolitan
planning area and within the nonattainment or maintenance area.
(f) After completing the interagency
consultation process, the sponsoring agency shall prepare the public review
draft of the conformity determination, based on changes made to the preliminary
draft during the consultation process, and shall make the public review draft
available for public review and comment as required in
18 AAC 50.720.
(g) After opportunity for public review and
comment on the public review draft of the conformity determination, the
sponsoring agency shall
(1) prepare a final
draft of the conformity determination in consultation with staff of the
participating agencies; and
(2)
after the consultation described in (1) of this subsection, issue the final
conformity determination to the agencies listed in (a)(2) of this section and
provide the supporting information upon request.
(i) In this section, "business day" means a
day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a state or federal holiday.
Authority:AS
46.03.020
AS
46.14.030