New Mexico Administrative Code

A. A new TIP must be found to conform before the TIP is approved by the MPO (or NMDOT in the absence of an MPO) or accepted by the US DOT. B. A TIP amendment requires a new conformity determination for the entire TIP before the amendment is approved by the MPO (or NMDOT in the ab…

FHWA/FTA projects must be found to conform before they are adopted, accepted, approved, or funded. Conformity must be redetermined for any FHWA/FTA project if one of the following occurs: (A) a significant change in the project's design concept and scope; (B) three (3) years elap…

Conformity of existing transportation plans and TIPs shall be redetermined within two (2) years of the following, or after a twelve (12) month grace period (as described in 20.2.99.116 NMAC) the existing conformity determination will lapse, and no new project-level conformity det…

A. 20.2.99.116 NMAC through 20.2.99.124 NMAC provide procedures for the interagency (federal, state, and local) consultation process, resolution of conflicts, and public consultation. Public consultation procedures will be developed in accordance with the requirements for public …

Specific roles of the agencies participating in the interagency consultation process are listed below. Specific responsibilities of the agencies participating in the interagency consultation process are listed in 20.2.99.118 NMAC. For the purposes of this part, the lead agency fo…

A. The department shall be responsible for developing or providing: (1) emissions inventories; (2) emissions budgets; (3) air quality modeling; (4) attainment demonstrations; (5) control strategy implementation plan revisions; (6) regulatory TCMs; and (7) updated motor vehicle em…

The following are the responsibilities of lead and participating agencies at each stage of the consultation process: A. It shall be the affirmative responsibility of the lead agency to initiate the consultation process by: (1) Notifying other participants of the plan, program, or…

An interagency consultation process among the members of the lead and participating agencies shall be undertaken for the following specific major activities in accordance with all the procedures specified in 20.2.119 NMAC above. The lead agency for each activity shall be as speci…

An interagency consultation process among the lead and participating agencies shall be undertaken for the following routine activities in accordance with all the procedures specified in 20.2.99.119 NMAC. The lead agency for each activity shall be as specified, and the participati…

Notification of affected agencies (including those listed in Paragraph (1) of Subsection C of 20.2.99.116 NMAC) of transportation plan or TIP amendments which merely add or delete exempt projects listed in 20.2.99.149 NMAC, shall be the affirmative responsibility of NMDOT and/or …

A. Any conflict among state agencies or between state agencies and an MPO shall be escalated to the governor if the conflict cannot be resolved by the heads of the involved agencies. Prior to such escalation, such agencies shall make every effort to resolve any differences, inclu…

A. Affected agencies making conformity determinations on transportation plans, programs, and projects shall establish a proactive public involvement process which provides opportunity for public review and comment by, at a minimum providing reasonable public access to technical a…

A. Transportation plans adopted after January 1, 1997, in serious, severe, or extreme ozone nonattainment areas and in serious carbon monoxide nonattainment areas. If the metropolitan planning area contains an urbanized area population greater than two hundred thousand (200,000),…

The degree of specificity required in the transportation plan and the specific travel network assumed for air quality modeling do not preclude the consideration of alternatives in the NEPA process or other project development studies. Should the NEPA process result in a project w…

Transportation plans and TIPs must be fiscally constrained consistent with US DOT's metropolitan planning regulations at 23 CFR Part 450 in order to be found in conformity. The determination that a transportation plan or TIP is fiscally constrained shall be subject to consultatio…

A. In order for each transportation plan, program, and FHWA/FTA project to be found to conform the MPO and US DOT must demonstrate that the applicable criteria and procedures in this part are satisfied and the MPO and US DOT must comply with all applicable conformity requirements…

A. Except as provided in this paragraph, the conformity determination, with respect to all other applicable criteria in 20.2.99.130 NMAC through 20.2.99.138 NMAC, must be based upon the most recent planning assumptions in force at the time the conformity analysis begins. The conf…

A. The conformity determination shall be based on the latest emission estimation model available. This criterion is satisfied if the most current version of the motor vehicle emissions model specified by US EPA for use in the preparation or revision of implementation plans in the…

Conformity determinations must be determined according to the consultation procedures in this Part, and according to the public involvement procedures established in compliance with 23 CFR part 450 . Until this Part is fully approved by US EPA as an implementation plan revision, …

A. The transportation plan, TIP, or any FHWA/FTA project which is not from a conforming plan and TIP must provide for the timely implementation of TCMs from the SIP. B. For transportation plans, this criterion is satisfied if the following two conditions are met: (1) The transpor…

There must be a currently conforming transportation plan and currently conforming TIP at the time of project approval, or a project must meet the requirements in Subsection B of 20.2.99.111 NMAC during the twelve (12) month lapse grace period. Only one conforming transportation p…

A. The project must come from a conforming transportation plan and TIP. If this criterion is not satisfied, the project must satisfy all criteria in table 1 of Subsection B of 20.2.99.128 NMAC for a project not from a conforming transportation plan and TIP. A project is considere…

A. This subsection (Subsection A of 20.2.99.135 NMAC) applies at all times. The FHWA/FTA project must not cause or contribute to any new localized CO, PM10, and/or PM2.5 violations, increase the frequency or severity of any existing CO, PM10, and/or PM2.5 violations, or delay tim…

The FHWA/FTA project must comply with PM10and PM2.5 control measures in the applicable implementation plan. This criterion is satisfied if the project-level conformity determination contains a written commitment from the project sponsor to include in the final plans, specificatio…

A. The transportation plan, TIP, and project not from a conforming transportation plan and TIP must be consistent with the motor vehicle emissions budget(s) in the applicable control strategy implementation plan (or implementation plan submission). This criterion applies as descr…

A. The transportation plan, TIP, and project not from a conforming transportation plan and TIP must satisfy the interim emissions test(s) as described in Subsections C through N of 20.2.99.128 NMAC. This criterion applies to the net effect of the action (transportation plan, TIP,…

A. Disapprovals. (1) If US EPA disapproves any submitted control strategy implementation plan revision (with or without a protective finding), the conformity status of the transportation plan and TIP shall lapse on the date that highway sanctions as a result of the disapproval ar…

A. Except as provided in Subsection B of 20.2.99.140 NMAC, no recipient of federal funds designated under title 23 U.S.C. or the federal transit laws shall adopt or approve a regionally significant highway or transit project, regardless of funding source, unless the recipient fin…

A. The regional emissions analysis required by 20.2.99.137 NMAC and 20.2.99.138 NMAC for the transportation plan, TIP, or project not from a conforming plan and TIP shall include all regionally significant projects expected in the nonattainment or maintenance area, including FHWA…

Regional emissions analyses must meet the requirements of subsections A through C of 20.2.99.142 NMAC if their metropolitan planning area contains an urbanized area population over two hundred thousand (200,000). A. By January 1, 1997, estimates of regional transportation-related…

The requirements of 20.2.99.142 NMAC apply in such areas or portions of such areas that have not previously been required to meet these requirements for any existing NAAQS two years from the following: A. the effective date of US EPA's reclassification of an ozone or CO nonattain…

In all areas not otherwise subject to 20.2.99.142 NMAC, regional emissions analyses must use those procedures described in 20.2.99.142 NMAC if the use of those procedures has been the previous practice of the MPO. Otherwise, areas not subject to 20.2.99.142 NMAC may estimate regi…

A. For areas in which the implementation plan does not identify construction-related fugitive PM10 as a contributor to the nonattainment problem, the fugitive PM10 emissions associated with highway and transit project construction are not required to be considered in the regional…

A. For PM2.5 areas in which the implementation plan does not identify construction-related fugitive PM2.5as a significant contributor to the nonattainment problem, the fugitive PM2.5 emissions associated with highway and transit project construction are not required to be conside…

A. Conformity determinations for a new transportation plan and/or TIP may be demonstrated to satisfy the requirements of Section 20.2.99.137 NMAC ("Motor vehicle emissions budget") or Section 20.2.99.138 NMAC ("Emission reductions in areas without motor vehicle emissions budgets"…

A. CO Hot-spot Analysis. (1) The demonstrations required by 20.2.99.135 NMAC shall be based on quantitative analysis using the applicable air quality models, data bases, and other requirements specified in 40 CFR part 51 appendix W ("Guideline on Air Quality Models"). These proce…

A. In interpreting an SIP (or implementation plan submission) with respect to its motor vehicle emissions budget(s), the MPO (or NMDOT in the absence of an MPO) and the US DOT may not infer additions to the budget(s) that are not explicitly intended by the implementation plan (or…

A. Prior to determining that a transportation project is in conformity, the MPO, other recipient of funds designated under title 23 U.S.C. or the federal transit laws, FHWA, or FTA must obtain from the project sponsor and/or operator written commitments to implement in the constr…

A. Exempt projects. Notwithstanding the other requirements of this part, highway and transit projects of the types listed in table 2 of this section are exempt from the requirement to determine conformity. Such projects may proceed toward implementation even in the absence of a c…

Traffic signal synchronization projects may be approved, funded, and implemented without satisfying the requirements of this part. However, all subsequent regional emissions analyses required by 20.2.99.137 NMAC and 20.2.99.138 NMAC for transportation plans, TIPs, or projects not…

EPA and NMDOT may exempt no more than six areas for no more than three years from certain requirements of this subpart if these areas are selected to participate in a conformity pilot program and have developed alternative requirements that have been approved by EPA as an impleme…

The federal conformity rules under 40 CFR part 93 subpart A, in addition to any existing applicable state requirements, establish the conformity criteria and procedures necessary to meet the requirements of CAA Section 176(c) until such time as this conformity implementation plan…

Agencies affected by this part are: federal transportation agencies (the federal highway administration (FHWA) and the federal transit administration (FTA) of the United States department of transportation (US DOT)), and state and local agencies responsible for transportation pla…

Environmental Improvement Act, Paragraph (4) and (7) of Subsection A of Section 74-1-8 NMSA 1978 and Air Quality Control Act, Sections 74-2-1 NMSA 1978 et seq., including specifically, Subsections (A), (B) and (C) of Section 74-2-5 NMSA 1978. Subsection (B) of Section 74-2-5 NMSA…

Permanent.

September 15, 2014, except where a later date is cited at the end of a section. [The latest effective date of any section in this Part is 11/07/11.]

The purpose of this part is to implement Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the related requirements of 23 U.S.C. 109(j), and regulations under 40 CFR Part 93 Subpart A, with respect to the conformity of transportation plans, programs …