Transportation and air quality are tied together through federal legislation. The DVRPC region does not meet federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone and previously did not meet the standards for particle pollution. The Clean Air Act requires DVRPC to demonstrate that projects and programs in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and Long-Range Plan do not cumulatively prevent the region from meeting these standards. This is called air quality conformity. DVRPC also administers the Air Quality Action program.
Air Pollution
Air pollution comes from many types of engines, industries, and commercial operations. Pollution sources that move, such as cars, trucks, bulldozers, and diesel powered trains, are known as "mobile sources." Examples of non-mobile sources of air pollution include power plants, factories, and manufacturing processes.
Mobile sources pollute the air through combustion engines and fuel evaporation. These emissions contribute greatly to air pollution nationwide and are the primary cause of air pollution in many urban areas. Nationwide, mobile sources represent the largest contributor to air toxics. Air toxics are pollutants known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health or environmental effects. For more information on air quality, please visit the EPA webpage.
Air Quality Conformity
Transportation conformity is a federally mandated, analytical process through which Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) must demonstrate that the transportation investments, strategies and programs they choose have air quality impacts consistent with those contained in the State Air Quality Implementation Plan (SIP) for achieving the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and that emissions do not exceed the SIP targets ("budgets") for mobile sources. DVRPC carries out conformity analysis for each long-range plan and TIP. Learn more about the conformity process and view the latest conformity determination.
Air Quality Action Program
The Air Quality Action program is dedicated to raising awareness of air quality. Through this program, DVRPC and various partners disseminate air quality forecasts and advisories to notify the public and media when ground-level ozone or fine particle pollution levels reach unhealthy levels. The advisories offer suggestions on how to protect personal health and actions to take to reduce air pollution. Sign up for Air Quality Alerts.