Agenda - Council - 04/14/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE #' / CONSIDER RESOLUTION REQUESTING CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT OF A REALLOCATION/EXTENSION OF CMAQ GRANT AWARD By: Kurtis G. Ulrich, City Administrator Background: In 1990, Congress amended the Clean Air Act (CAA) to bolster America's efforts to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The amendments required further reductions in the amount of permissible tailpipe emissions, initiated more stringent control measures in areas that still failed to attain the NAAQS (nonattainment areas), and provided for a stronger, more rigorous linkage between transportation and air quality planning. In 1991, Congress adopted the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). This law authorized the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) program, and provided $6.0 billion in funding for surface transportation and other related projects that contribute to air quality improvements and reduce congestion. The CAA amendments, ISTEA and the CMAQ program together were intended to realign the focus of transportation planning toward a more inclusive, environmentally - sensitive, and multimodal approach to addressing transportation problems. The CMAQ program, jointly administered by the FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), was reauthorized in 2005 under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA -LU). The SAFETEA -LU - CMAQ program provides over $8.6 billion dollars in funds to State DOTs, MPOs, and transit agencies to invest in projects that reduce criteria air pollutants regulated from transportation- related sources over a period of five years (2005- 2009). Current CMAQ program funding is available for areas that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (nonattainment areas) as well as former nonattainment areas that are now in compliance (maintenance areas). The formula for distribution of funds, which considers an area's population by county and the severity of its ozone and carbon monoxide problems within the nonattainment or maintenance area, with greater weight given to areas that are both carbon monoxide and ozone nonattainment/maintenance areas, is continued. The SAFETEA -LU requires States and MPOs to give priority in distributing CMAQ funds to diesel engine retrofits, and other cost - effective emission reduction and congestion mitigation activities that provide air quality benefits. SAFETEA -LU also requires the Secretary to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of a representative sample of CMAQ projects to determine the direct and indirect impact of the projects on air quality and congestion levels, and to ensure the effective implementation of the program. Locally, the CMAQ program is administered by the Metropolitan Council in conjunction with MNDOT. In 2005, the City of Ramsey utilized assessments paid by the developer as well as other funding such as the Livable Communities grant ($2.2 million) administered by the -223-