On December 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a proposed rule to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy for light-duty vehicles for Model Years (MY) 2017-2025 (76 Fed. Reg. 74854,75420). The agencies announced the proposed standards in a Supplemental  Notice of Intent (NOI) in late July, and originally hoped to issue the proposed rule by late September.

NHTSA’s proposed corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards would require an average fleet-wide basis of 49.6 mpg by 2025, while EPA’s proposed standards would require lower fleet-wide emissions of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 54.5 mpg if this level were achieved solely through improvements in fuel efficiency. The combined standards under the proposed rule will achieve an average fleet-wide fuel efficiency of 54.5 mpg by 2025, an increase of roughly five percent annually for passenger cars. Light trucks will have a lower target of 44 mpg, and passenger cars will have a higher goal of 62 mpg by 2025. The combined standards would reduce the amount of GHG emissions by half for MY 2025 light-duty vehicles, compared to MY 2010 vehicles, and EPA estimates that the standards will save four billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of MY 2017-2025 vehicles. CAFE standards are currently set at just over 27 mpg, and are scheduled to reach 35.2 mpg by 2016.

NHTSA has the authority to establish CAFE standards under the Energy Policy Conservation Act, and EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas as pollutants under Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, (549 U.S. 497 (2007)). EPA and NHTSA have worked closely with the California Air Resources Board (ARB), and ARB recently released a proposal for MY 2017-2025 emissions standards that are consistent with the proposed national standards. California has unique authority under the Clean Air Act to seek a waiver to implement more stringent air pollution standards for motor vehicles, and EPA granted California a waiver for GHG regulations for MY 2009-2016 light duty vehicles on July 8, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 32,744). At the same time California worked with EPA and NHTSA to develop a single nationwide federal standard for MY 2012-2016, and subsequently accepted the federal standards that were finalized May 7, 2010 (Joint Light-Duty Vehicle GHG Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, 75 Fed. Reg. 25,324).

NHTSA and EPA will jointly hold three public hearings in January to accept comments to the rulemaking documents, and NHTSA will also accept comments to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) at these hearings. Comments must be received no later than 60 days after the December 1, 2011 publication in the Federal Register. A final rule is expected by July 31, 2012.
 

On November 9, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously passed S. 1813, “Moving Head for Progress in the 21st Century Act,” or “MAP-21” (Boxer, D-CA), a two-year surface transportation bill that will allow greater flexibility for state spending and tighter accountability measures for state Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO).

MAP-21 will maintain current baseline surface transportation spending, plus inflation, for two years.  The EPW committee’s portion of the bill covers the “highways” section, while the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is responsible for writing the “transit” section, and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is responsible for writing the sections pertaining to “rail” and “safety.” Banking and Commerce have not yet released their portions of the bill.  Funding for the highway programs will be drawn from the Highway Trust Fund, and EPW is waiting for the Senate Committee on Finance to identify sources to pay for the bill. Another $12 billion must be identified for the bill to be fully funded.

MAP-21 makes several changes to existing surface transportation programs, including increasing funding for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program (TIFIA) and authorizing a program to fund major projects of national and regional significance. Of particular significance to the states are the reduction of the number of core highway programs from seven to five, and the incorporation of performance measures that would track progress toward specific targets. 

Five Core Programs

1. National Highway Performance Program: This new core program consolidates the Interstate Maintenance, National Highway System, and Highway Bridge programs. The new program will require states to develop asset management plans and establish performance targets in response to nationally set performance measures that will assess the condition of roads and bridges, and the performance of the system.  This program will provide states with more flexibility to apply funds to the most needed projects by eliminating barriers between existing programs. However, the bill also requires that states spend a certain amount of funding on the repair of interstate pavement and national highway system bridges if they fall below minimum standards established by U.S. Department of Transportation.
    
2. Transportation Mobility Program: This new core program replaces the Surface Transportation Program, and will continue to provide states and localities with flexibility to fund projects that fit their needs. The program will allow states and regions to invest in highways, transit projects, freight rail projects, and bicycle and pedestrian projects, in addition to other activities.
    
3. National Freight Program: This new core program will provide funding to states by formula for projects to improve regional and national freight movements on highways, including intermodal connectors.  This program will make it easier for freight mobility improvement projects to receive funding since they will compete in their own program, and not against all highway projects.
    
4. Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program: CMAQ is an existing program that provides funds to states for transportation projects designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. MAP-21 will expand the program by including particulate matter as one of the pollutants addressed and requiring large metropolitan areas to develop performance plans. In addition, MAP-21 will reform the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program by consolidating Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, Recreational Trails, environmental mitigation, and certain types of road projects into a “reserved” pot.  While this consolidation will provide states with greater spending flexibility, it may result in a decrease in bicycle and pedestrian projects that had previously received their own dedicated funding source.
    
5. Highway Safety Improvement Program: MAP-21 will substantially increase the amount of funding for this existing core program, and will require states to develop and implement a safety plan that identifies highway safety programs and a strategy to address them. In addition, states will be required to create a database containing information on safety issues for all public roads, and will be required to develop performance targets on fatalities and serious injuries. States will also be required to develop a strategic highway safety plan within a year, and are required to spend additional funding on safety projects if they do not meet this deadline.

Performance Measures: As mentioned above, MAP-21 will establish performance measures related to the National Highway System, NHS performance, safety, freight, congestion mitigation and air quality.  In response to these performance measures, states and MPOs will establish performance targets which will be incorporated into transportation plans.  Statewide transportation improvement programs (STIP) and metropolitan transportation improvement programs (TIP) must include performance measures and targets as well, and a system performance report must include progress toward achieving each state’s performance targets. These performance targets will assist states and MPOs in targeting limited resources on projects that will improve their transportation system.

The EPW committee also adopted 18 amendments.  Senator Mike Crapo’s third amendment allows states with policy plans to continue to follow their current approach, rather than creating a new long-range transportation plan. Several other amendments affect states, including an amendment that provides for the timely provision by Department of Energy of state requests for data and technical support, and an amendment that would provide states ample time to comment on a DOT regulation establishing minimum standards for states to use in developing and operating pavement and bridge systems.
 

Eleven U.S. states and the District of Columbia announced today the creation of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) – a new regional transportation approach that will help states build the clean energy economy of the future.

The group, which includes top environment, energy and transportation officials from participating states, will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize the transportation system’s reliance on high-carbon fuels, promote sustainable growth and address the challenges of vehicle-miles traveled.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia will participate, help shape the initiative’s work plan and develop project proposals for consideration.

The effort will build upon ongoing federal, state and regional collaborations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the recently announced initiative to develop a framework for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard among many of the same Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. In addition, the initiative will seek to coordinate with Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) partners already engaged in similar efforts in their role as metropolitan transportation planning agencies.

The collaboration is expected to significantly benefit individual states by boosting the effectiveness of existing state programs, maximizing the impact of future transportation investments through regional planning, increasing private and public sector innovation and accelerating the growth of clean energy jobs.

The transportation sector is responsible for about 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States.

Through its Declaration of Intent statement, participating TCI states agreed to take concrete actions to address the region’s climate and transportation needs:

“At a time when countries around the world are engaged in a race to build the clean energy economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, U.S. states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions are once again poised to lead the way.

The Transportation and Climate Initiative provides our states with the opportunity to expand safe and reliable transportation options, attract federal investment, lower transportation costs, improve overall air quality and public health, and mitigate the transportation sector’s impact on climate change. Additionally, the TCI provides our states with the opportunity to further our collaboration on the research and development of advanced transportation technologies.

We further believe that this collaboration will aid our current efforts to:

- Reduce traffic congestion;

- Encourage job growth and accommodate the flow of goods and services;

- Establish state and local land use strategies that increase commercial and residential housing density and encourage transit-friendly design;

- Improve the performance of existing highway, transit and other transportation modes while enhancing neighborhoods and urban centers; and

- Promote mixed-use development that supports viable alternatives to driving.

We understand that the future of transportation and job growth in our states requires forward thinking, the early adoption and deployment of clean energy technologies and a regional approach to clean transportation. We also understand that talking about the future is not enough. We must act.”

TCI states will provide in-kind resources to the initiative through a staff work group, which will lay the groundwork for the TCI’s next meeting and seek public and private funding to support the initiative’s future work.

The Georgetown Climate Center facilitated the TCI’s initial meeting this week in Wilmington, Delaware, with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation.

Transportation, environment and energy agency heads from 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic jurisdictions released an Agreement to Support Sustainable Communities on June 8.

The states will work together to promote sustainable communities that expand transportation options, promote economic prosperity, enhance natural resource protection, strengthen communities, and minimize environmental impacts. They will promote these communities through enhancement of state-level transportation policies that combine a smart growth land use planning approach with sustainable development concepts, and will work in partnership with community development, economic growth, and housing and land use agencies at the federal, local, and regional levels to foster this development.

Click here to download a copy of the sustainable communities agreement.