What is a general conformity determination?

General Conformity ensures that the actions taken by federal agencies do not interfere with a state’s plans to attain and maintain national standards for air quality.

What is conformity analysis?

The conformity analysis must demonstrate that the emissions resulting from the long-range regional transportation plan or TIP meet the requirements of (i.e., “conform to”) the regulations governing air quality. Interagency consultation is required under the transportation conformity rule, as described in 40 CFR 51.402.

What is meant by air quality standards?

An air quality standard defines the maximum amount of a pollutant averaged over a specified period of time that can be present in outdoor air without harming public health, and thus, it defines clean air.

What are the two types of air quality standards?

The NAAQS are health based and the EPA sets two types of standards: primary and secondary. The primary standards are designed to protect the health of ‘sensitive’ populations such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly. The secondary standards are concerned with protecting the environment.

What is a Clean Air Act maintenance area?

Maintenance area means any geographic region of the United States that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) previously designated as a nonattainment area for one or more pollutants pursuant to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and subsequently redesignated as an attainment area subject to the requirement to …

What are the six levels of air quality?

These six pollutants are carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, ground-level ozone, particle pollution (often referred to as particulate matter), and sulfur oxides.

What is the difference between SOx and SO2?

Sulfur dioxide (SO2), a colorless, bad-smelling, toxic gas, is part of a larger group of chemicals referred to as sulfur oxides (SOx). These gases, especially SO2, are emitted by the burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil, and diesel — or other materials that contain sulfur.

What are the 6 criteria pollutants?