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Conformity Laws and Regulations References Relevant to Working Group Activities

This information is provided pursuant to California Government Code Section 11364.

The Statewide Conformity Working Group does not act on regulations, and is not a regulatory body. It is an Interagency Consultation group within the meaning of the U.S. EPA Conformity Regulations at 40 CFR 93.105.

Key Federal/State Laws and Regulations

Key Websites for Applicable Regulations and Guidance

Announcements are courtesy of various conformity working group members. Most links on this page are to sites external to Caltrans. Exit Caltrans website PDF files require Acrobat Reader software from Adobe; DOC and XLS files require recent (generally 2000 version or later) Microsoft Office or compatible software, or Word or Excel viewer software from Microsoft. DOCX and XLSX files require Microsoft Office 2007 or later, or compatible software.

Note: PDF files may have been converted from word processing or spreadsheet formats supplied by Conformity Working Group members or others, for consistency of presentation and accessibility. PDF files should retain the print formatting of the original document. Files in other formats may not follow the original documents print formatting, and are provided for content accessibility only.

Electronic Mail List

The Statewide Conformity Working Group email list has moved to the Caltrans email lists web site. List subscriptions can be managed directly by users at that site rather than by sending emails to the group chair.

NOTE: Name change in group. Previous email group had to be removed due to system issues. Previous group archives are no longer available. (3/6/2013)

Key Transportation Conformity References

Conformity Rules References Nonattainment Area Maps PM Hot Spot Guidance

Quantitative analysis requirements are now in place (effective 12/20/2012) for new conformity analysis for projects of concern.

EMFAC 2011 must be used for hot spot analysis for new studies started after 9/6/2013.

Qualitative Analysis Guidance was published on EPA's website 3/29/2006. Quantitative analysis guidance was published in the Federal Register in December /2010 and updated in November 2013, replacing the qualitative (emission analysis) procedures for projects of concern. Project-level conformity resources can be found at EPA's project-level analysis page.

  • The 2010 & 2013 Guidance did not change the criteria for identifying projects of concern. See extracted page from 2006 guidance (PDF).
  • CE Conformity Checklist (DOCX) at Caltrans Standard Environmental Reference (SER) Forms & Templates web site includes basic findings regarding Particulate Matter (PM) hot spot analysis. For non-CE projects in areas subject to conformity requirements use the Air Quality Conformity Analysis Annotated Outline (DOCX)  from the SER web site.
  • SCAG Transportation Conformity Working Group web site (see Project-Level Conformity section)
  • PM Hot Spot Interagency Review Form (PDF) is used to present projects for interagency consultation in SCAG and several other MPOs.
EPA Webpage with Baseline Years for Various NAAQS (3/22/2010) FHWA Conformity Web0based Training Available (7/1/2009)
  • A short training session entitled "What is Transportation Conformity?" is now available from FHWA as an on-demand webinar. This session was developed by the FHWA Resource Center Air Quality Technical Services Team in coordination with the Office of Human and Natural Environment. Handouts are available for download at the same site.

    The training will provide an understanding of the basics of transportation conformity. It provides a general overview of the transportation conformity process and its major requirements. It is intended for transportation and air quality practitioners who are new to transportation conformity, those looking for a refresher, or others who only need a brief overview of the rule. The session is approximately 27 minutes long.
SIP Sanctions Clocks in California
  • FHWA Sanctions Clocks list

    EPA does not maintain a public summary of sanctions clocks. Caltrans and FHWA lists are maintained on a staff & time-available basis.

    A good description of how "sanctions" under the Clean Air Act work is at the FHWA Environmental web site. If highway sanctions go into effect (cutting off highway funding), a conformity lapse also occurs (cutting off other transportation funding) if the issue was a control strategy SIP disapproval. Otherwise, there is little connection between the sanctions process and conformity. The exception/exemption lists for transportation projects under sanctions and conformity are very different.

Other Items

News Items

  • January 30, 2014 - EPA PM10/2.5 Quantitative Hot Spot Analysis Guidance (Updated)

    Quantitative Analysis guidance was updated in November 2013. Always use the latest guidance. See EPA'S Project-level Conformity website for more information.

    On December 20, 2010, notice of EPA's final release of the quantitative PM hot spot guidance was published in the Federal Register. Publication starts a 2-year grace/phase-in period for use of the new emission models (MOVES in most of the country, EMFAC 2007 in California) and the new procedures. EPA and FHWA will deliver training during the first half of 2011 regarding the new procedures.

    This guidance replaces the 2006 guidance document, and qualitative (emission) analysis based cannot be started for Projects of Concern after 12/20/2012. Proponents of Projects of Concern that will not have final NEPA action before the end of the 2-year grace period should consider doing or re-doing PM hot spot analysis using the new procedures. Criteria for determining whether a project is a Project of Concern needing detailed analysis have not changed.

    For more information, see the PM Hot Spot Guidance item in the References section above, which has been updated to refer to EPA's current guidance and web pages.

  • April 17, 2013 - EPA Memo Regarding PM2.5 Area Boundary Determination Process

    EPA Region 9 signed a memo describing the PM2.5 (2012 standard) nonattainment area boundary-setting process. State recommendations are due in December 2013, and area designations based on existing monitors will be done in late 2014. Data from new near-road monitors is not expected to be available in time to be used for the initial area designations. For more information see (both FHWA - Environment and PDF files):

  • March 22, 2010 - EPA Publishes Final Rule for PM2.5 and PM10 Conformity Amendments

    From EPA: The final rule entitled, "Transportation Conformity Rule PM2.5 and PM10 Amendments" (aka "PM Amendments rule") was signed by the Administrator on March 10, 2010 and will be published in the Federal Register on March 24, 2010. You can find the signed version and a factsheet about the final rule on our EPA- State and Local Transportation Resources .

    As a reminder, conformity requirements apply for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS by December 14, 2010. On its effective date of April 23, the PM Amendments final rule will supersede the November 2009 Interim Guidance. The final rule's requirements for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS areas are consistent with the interim guidance; however, note that the final rule establishes 2008 as the baseline year for the 2006 PM2.5 areas that use the baseline year test.

  • June 15, 2009 - FHWA Clarification Document Regarding PM Hot Spot Analysis

    From FHWA: On March 29, 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued joint guidance on how to perform qualitative hot-spot analyses in PM2.5 and PM10 nonattainment and maintenance areas titled "Transportation Conformity Guidance for Qualitative Hot-spot Analysis in PM2.5 and PM10 Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas" (March 2006 guidance). The guidance provides information for State and local agencies to meet the PM2.5 and PM10 hot-spot analysis requirements established in the March 10, 2006, final transportation conformity rule (71 FR 12468). Since issuing the March 2006 guidance, a lawsuit was filed challenging a project’s conformity determination, including the project’s PM2.5 hot-spot analysis that relied on “Method A” (comparison to another location with similar characteristics). Method A is described in question 4.1 of the March 2006 guidance. As part of a settlement agreement on that lawsuit (Environmental Defense, et al. v. USDOT, et al., No. 08-1107 (4th Cir., dismissed Nov. 17, 2008)), FHWA agreed to issue a clarification on a specific schedule, in coordination with EPA, to the March 2006 guidance. This clarification does not supersede the March 2006 guidance or the March 10, 2006, final transportation conformity rule; it only further explains how to implement the existing guidance and the hot-spot analysis requirements in the final rule. The clarification also does not create any new requirements and does not serve as guidance for PM2.5 and PM10 quantitative hot-spot analyses.

    FHWA sent an email and the draft clarification on February 10, 2009, to certain transportation stakeholders and environmental interests groups for review and comment before FHWA finalized the guidance clarification. FHWA did not receive any comments during the comment period.

    Copies of the Final Clarification and the March 2006 guidance are attached. The final Clarification has been posted on FHWA's website. I encourage you to share this final document with your State and local transportation and air quality agencies.
  • January 7, 2009 - Updated Conformity Guidance on Use of Latest Planning Assumptions

  • April 17, 2008 - FHWA NEPA-RTP-TIP Guidance