The purpose of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program is to provide federal funding for projects and programs designed to assist nonattainment and maintenance areas in complying with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) is the Metropolitan Transportation Organization (MPO) established as the organization of elected officials, transportation agencies and operators to guide the transportation planning process in the New York Metropolitan area. Applications submitted for CMAQ funding in the NYMTC Transportation Coordinating Committees (TCCs) must be in compliance with regulations and guidance and provide adequate information to both understand the scope of the project and determine the potential air quality benefits of the project.

Projects for CMAQ funding are typically submitted as part of the update of the transportation improvement program. A CMAQ application is utilized to obtain information on scope, details, and inputs necessary to run the air quality analysis to determine the potential air quality benefits of the proposed project through CMAQTRAQ software. Projects are then selected for funding based on the results of the CMAQTRAQ analysis with funding awarded to those projects with the highest air quality benefits. Since funding is based on the data inputs, proper documentation is critical to funding decisions.

The first objective of this task assignment is to develop a CMAQ application and evaluation process that is consistent between the three NYMTC TCCs and that supports compliance with the NYSDOT 2011 CMAQ Guidance and FHWA’s Final Program Guidance on CMAQ (2008). The application should be delivered in an easy to navigate, CMAQ Application in software currently available to all TCCs, which can be filled and submitted electronically.

The second objective is to analyze the before and after air quality benefits of various work types of projects submitted for CMAQ funding including Alternative Fuel, Bike-Ped, Park and Ride, ITS and Transit etc.