Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 12, June 25, 2024
Section 20.11.3.7 - DEFINITIONSTerms used but not defined in 20.11.3 NMAC shall have the meaning given to them by the CAA, Titles 23 and 49 U.S.C., other EPA regulations, or other DOT regulations, in that order of priority. In addition to the definitions in Section 20.11.3.7 NMAC, the definitions in 20.11.1 NMAC shall apply unless there is a conflict between definitions, in which case the definition in 20.11.3 NMAC shall govern.
F. "Air agency" means the air quality division (AQD) of the city of Albuquerque environmental health department (EHD). The EHD, or its successor agency or authority, as represented by the department director or his designee, is the lead air quality planning agency for Albuquerque-Bernalillo county nonattainment/ maintenance areas. The EHD serves as staff to the AQCB and is responsible for administering and enforcing AQCB regulations.G. "Albuquerque metropolitan planning area (AMPA)" means the portion of New Mexico state planning and development district 3 that comprises the area for which federal transportation funding allocated for areas of a 200,000 or greater population is expended. The AMPA is described in the MPO's most recent transportation planning documents.I. "Applicable implementation plan" is defined in Section 302(q) of the CAA and means the portion (or portions) of the implementation plan, or most recent revision thereof, which has been approved under Section 110, or promulgated under Section 110(c), or promulgated or approved pursuant to regulations promulgated under Section 301(d) and which implements the relevant requirements of the CAA.J. "CAA" means the Clean Air Act, as amended ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).K. "Cause or contribute to a new violation" for a project means:(1) to cause or contribute to a new violation of a standard in the area substantially affected by the project or over a region which would otherwise not be in violation of the standard during the future period in question if the project were not implemented; or(2) to contribute to a new violation in a manner that would increase the frequency or severity of a new violation of a standard in such an area.L. "Clean data" means air quality monitoring data determined by EPA to meet the applicable requirements of 40 CFR Parts 50 and 58 and to indicate attainment of a national ambient air quality standard.M. "Conformity analysis" means any regional emissions analysis or localized hot-spot computer modeling assessments or any other analyses, which serve as the basis for the conformity determination.N. "Conformity determination" means the demonstration of consistency with motor vehicle emissions budgets or with the appropriate interim emissions test identified at 20.11.3.118 NMAC for each pollutant and precursor identified in the applicable SIP. The conformity determination is the affirmative written documentation declaring conformity with the applicable implementation plan, which is submitted to FHWA and FTA for approval with EPA consultation. An affirmative conformity determination means conformity to the plan's purpose of eliminating or reducing the severity and number of violations of the national ambient air quality standards and achieving expeditious attainment of such standards; and that such activities shall not:(1) cause or contribute to any new violations of any standard in any area;(2) increase the frequency or severity of any existing violation of any standard in any area; or(3) delay timely attainment of any standard or any required interim emission reductions or other milestones in any area.O. "Consultation" means the process by which the affected agencies identified in 20.11.3.105 NMAC confer with each other, provide to the agencies all relevant information needed for meaningful input and, prior to taking any action, consider the views of the other agencies and (except with respect to those actions for which only notification is required and those actions subject to Subsection C of 20.11.3.105 NMAC and Subparagraph (g) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of 20.11.3.105 NMAC) respond in writing to substantive written comments in a timely manner prior to any final decision on such action.P. "Control strategy implementation plan revision" means a revision to the implementation plan that contains specific strategies for controlling emissions of and reducing ambient levels of pollutants in order to satisfy CAA requirements for demonstrations of reasonable further progress and attainment (including implementation plan revisions submitted to satisfy CAA Sections 172 (c) , 182(b)(1), 182(c)(2)(A), 182(c)(2)(B), 187(a)(7), 187(g), 189(a)(1)(B), 189(b)(1)(A) and 189(d); Sections 192(a) and 192(b), for nitrogen dioxide; and any other applicable CAA provision requiring a demonstration of reasonable further progress or attainment).Q. "Design concept" means the type of facility identified by the project, e.g., freeway, expressway, arterial highway, grade-separated highway, reserved right-of-way rail transit, mixed-traffic rail transit, exclusive busway, etc.R. "Design scope" or "scope" means the design aspects that shall affect the proposed facility's impact on regional emissions, usually as they relate to vehicle or person carrying capacity and control, e.g., number of lanes or tracks to be constructed or added, length of project, signalization, access control including approximate number and location of interchanges, preferential treatment for high-occupancy vehicles, etc.S. "Donut areas" means geographic areas outside a metropolitan planning area boundary, but inside the boundary of a nonattainment or maintenance area that contains any part of a metropolitan area(s). These areas are not isolated rural nonattainment and maintenance areas.T. "DOT" means the United States department of transportation.U. "EPA" means the United States environmental protection agency.V. "FHWA" means the federal highway administration of the DOT.W. "FHWA/FTA project" means any highway or transit project that is proposed to receive funding assistance and approval through the federal-aid highway program or the federal mass transit program, or requires federal highway administration (FHWA) or federal transit administration (FTA) approval for some aspect of the project, such as connection to an interstate highway or deviation from applicable design standards on the interstate system.X. "Fiscally constrained" means, consistent with DOT's metropolitan transportation planning regulations at 23 CFR Part 450.Y. "Forecast period" means, with respect to a transportation plan, the time period covered by the transportation plan pursuant to 23 CFR Part 450.Z. "FTA" means the federal transit administration of the DOT.AA. "Highway project" means an undertaking to implement or modify a highway facility or highway-related program. Such an undertaking consists of all required phases necessary for implementation. For analytical purposes, it shall be defined sufficiently to: (1) connect logical termini and be of sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad scope;(2) have independent utility or significance, i.e., be usable and be a reasonable expenditure even if no additional transportation improvements in the area are made; and(3) not restrict consideration of alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation improvements.BB. "Horizon year" means a year for which the transportation plan describes the envisioned transportation system according to 20.11.3.106 NMAC.CC. "Hot-spot analysis" means an estimation of likely future localized CO, PM10 and PM2.5 pollutant concentrations and a comparison of those concentrations to the national ambient air quality standards. Hot-spot analysis assesses impacts on a scale smaller than the entire nonattainment or maintenance area including, for example, congested roadway intersections and highways or transit terminals, and uses an air quality dispersion model to determine the effects of emissions on air quality.DD. "Increase the frequency or severity" means to cause a location or region to exceed a standard more often or to cause a violation at a greater concentration than previously existed or would otherwise exist during the future period in question if the project were not implemented.EE. "Isolated rural nonattainment and maintenance areas" mean areas that do not contain or are not part of any metropolitan planning area as designated under the transportation planning regulations. Isolated rural areas do not have federally required metropolitan transportation plans or TIPs and do not have projects that are part of the emissions analysis of any MPO's metropolitan transportation plan or TIP. Projects in such areas are instead included in statewide transportation improvement programs. These areas are not donut areas.FF. "Lapse" means that the conformity determination for a transportation plan or a TIP has expired, and thus there is no currently conforming transportation plan and TIP.GG. "Limited maintenance plan" means a maintenance plan that EPA has determined meets EPA's limited maintenance plan policy criteria for a given NAAQS and pollutant. To qualify for a limited maintenance plan, for example, an area shall have a design value that is significantly below a given NAAQS, and it shall be reasonable to expect that a NAAQS violation will not result from any level of future motor vehicle emissions growth.HH. "Local publicly-owned transit operator" means the current transit operator, the city of Albuquerque.II. "Maintenance area" means any geographic region of the United States previously designated nonattainment pursuant to the CAA Amendments of 1990 and subsequently redesignated to attainment subject to the requirement to develop a maintenance plan under Section 175A of the CAA, as amended.JJ. "Maintenance plan" means an implementation plan under Section 175A of the CAA, as amended.KK. "Metropolitan planning organization (MPO)" means the policy board of an organization created as a result of the designation process in 23 U.S.C. 134(d).LL. "Mid-region council of governments (MRCOG)" means the association of local governments within New Mexico state planning and development district 3 (Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties) that is designated by the governor of New Mexico, in consultation with the elected officials of the area, as the MPO for the Albuquerque metropolitan planning area.MM. "Milestone" has the meaning given in CAA Sections 182(g)(1) and 189(c) for serious and above ozone nonattainment areas and PM10 nonattainment areas, respectively. For all other nonattainment areas, a milestone consists of an emissions level and the date when that level shall be achieved as required by the applicable CAA provision for reasonable further progress towards attainment. NN. "Motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB)" means the portion of the total allowable emissions defined in the submitted or approved control strategy implementation plan revision or maintenance plan for a certain date for the purpose of meeting reasonable further progress milestones or demonstrating attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS, for any criteria pollutant or its precursors, allocated to highway and transit vehicle use and emissions.OO. "National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)" are those standards established pursuant to Section 109 of the CAA.PP. "NEPA" means the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).QQ. "NEPA process completion" means, with respect to the FHWA and the FTA, the point at which there is a specific action to make a determination that a project is categorically excluded, to make a finding of no significant impact or to issue a record of decision on a final environmental impact statement under NEPA.RR. "Nonattainment area" means any geographic region of the United States that has been designated as nonattainment under Section 107 of the CAA for any pollutant for which a national ambient air quality standard exists.SS. "Project" means a highway project or a transit project.TT. "Protective finding" means a determination by EPA that a submitted control strategy implementation plan revision contains adopted control measures or written commitments to adopt enforceable control measures that fully satisfy the emissions reductions requirement relevant to the statutory provision for which the implementation plan revision was submitted, such as reasonable further progress or attainment.UU. "Public involvement committee (PIC)" means the permanent advisory committee established by the MRCOG to provide proactive public input to the transportation planning process.VV. "Recipient of funds designated under Title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Laws" means any agency at any level of state, county, city, or regional government that routinely receives Title 23 U.S.C. or federal transit laws funds to construct FHWA/FTA projects, operate FHWA/FTA projects or equipment, purchase equipment or undertake other services or operations via contracts or agreements. This definition does not include private landowners or developers or contractors or entities that are only paid for services or products created by their own employees.WW. "Regionally significant project" means a transportation project (other than an exempt project) that is on a facility which serves regional transportation needs (such as access to and from the area outside of the region, major activity centers in the region, major planned developments such as new retail malls, sports complexes, etc. or transportation terminals) and would normally be included in the modeling of a metropolitan area's transportation network, including at a minimum all principal arterial highways and all fixed guideway transit facilities that offer an alternative to regional highway travel.XX. "Safety margin" means the amount by which the total projected emissions from all sources of a given pollutant are less than the total emissions that would satisfy the applicable requirement for reasonable further progress, attainment or maintenance.YY. "Standard" means a national ambient air quality standard.ZZ. "State implementation plan (SIP)" (see applicable implementation plan). AAA. "State DOT" means the New Mexico department of transportation or its successor agency or authority, as represented by the department secretary or his designee.BBB. "Title 23 U.S.C." means Title 23 of the United States Code.CCC. "Transit" is mass transportation by bus, rail or other conveyance that provides general or special service to the public on a regular and continuing basis. It does not include school buses or charter or sightseeing services.DDD. "Transit project" means an undertaking to implement or modify a transit facility or transit-related program; purchase transit vehicles or equipment; or provide financial assistance for transit operations. It does not include actions that are solely within the jurisdiction of local transit agencies, such as changes in routes, schedules or fares and may consist of several phases. For analytical purposes, a transit project shall be defined inclusively enough to: (1) connect logical termini and be of sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad scope;(2) have independent utility or independent significance, i.e., be a reasonable expenditure even if no additional transportation improvements in the area are made; and(3) not restrict consideration of alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation improvements.EEE. "Transportation conformity technical committee (TCTC)" means the group that provides interagency consultation and consists of transportation, planning and air quality staff of the MPO, local government staff, staff from the state DOT, EPA, FHWA, FTA, and staff from the air agency, and that is responsible for evaluating and establishing the assumptions and circumstances for the application of transportation and air quality models.FFF. "Transportation control measure (TCM)" means any measure that is specifically identified and committed to in the applicable implementation plan, including a substitute or additional TCM that is incorporated into the applicable SIP through the process established in CAA Section 176(c)(8), that is either one of the types listed in Section 108 of the CAA, or any other measure that reduces emissions or concentrations of air pollutants from transportation sources by reducing vehicle use or changing traffic flow or congestion conditions. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this definition, vehicle technology-based, fuel-based and maintenance-based measures that control the emissions from vehicles under fixed traffic conditions are not TCMs for the purposes of 20.11.3 NMAC.GGG. "Transportation improvement program (TIP)" means a transportation improvement program developed by a metropolitan planning organization under 23 U.S.C. 134(j).HHH. "Transportation plan" means the official 20-year fiscally constrained intermodal metropolitan transportation plan (MTP) that is developed for the metropolitan planning area through the metropolitan planning process, pursuant to 23 CFR Part 450.III. "Transportation project" is a highway project or a transit project.JJJ. "Written commitment" means a written commitment that includes a description of the action to be taken; a schedule for the completion of the action; a demonstration that funding necessary to implement the action has been authorized by the appropriating or authorizing body; and an acknowledgment that the commitment is an enforceable obligation under the applicable implementation plan.KKK. Acronyms (1) AMPA-Albuquerque metropolitan planning area(2) AQCB-Albuquerque-Bernalillo county air quality control board(3) CAA-Clean Air Act, as amended(4) CFR-code of federal regulations(6) DOT-U.S. department of transportation(7) EHD-Albuquerque environmental health department(8) EPA-U.S. environmental protection agency(9) FHWA-federal highway administration, DOT(10) FTA-federal transit administration, DOT(11) MPO-metropolitan planning organization(12) MRCOG-mid-region council of governments(13) MTB-metropolitan transportation board(14) MTP-metropolitan transportation plan(15) MVEB-motor vehicle emissions budget(16) NAAQS-national ambient air quality standards(17) NEPA-National Environmental Policy Act(18) NOx -oxides of nitrogen(19) PIC-public involvement committee(20) PM2.5-particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter(21) PM10-particulate matter less than or equal to 10 micrometers in diameter(22) SIP-state implementation plan (applicable implementation plan)(23) State DOT-New Mexico department of transportation(24) STIP-state transportation improvement program(25) TCC-transportation coordinating committee(26) TCM-transportation control measure(27) TCTC-transportation conformity technical committee(28) TIP-transportation improvement program(29) VOC-volatile organic compound(30) VMT-vehicle miles traveled7/1/98; 20.11.3.7 NMAC - Rn, 20 NMAC 11.03.I.7, & A, 6/1/02; A, 6/13/05; A, 12/17/08; A, 11/15/10; A, 10/15/12