Action
Notice; final decision on CMAQ eligibility for high speed rail projects.
Summary
This notice announces a decision regarding the eligibility of Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) funds for projects outside nonattainment or maintenance area boundaries. A request for comments on this issue was published at 65 FR 16997 on March 30, 2000. Eligibility under the CMAQ program has already been granted for high speed rail improvements located within air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas. The issue raised by several States was if, and under what conditions, State departments of transportation (DOT) should be permitted to use their CMAQ allocations to fund high speed rail improvements located outside of nonattainment or maintenance areas. This notice summarizes the comments to the docket and addresses the key issues and concerns raised by respondents. In this notice, the FHWA and the FTA reaffirm the current policy which allows CMAQ funding for projects in close proximity to nonattainment and maintenance areas where it is determined that the air quality benefits will be realized primarily within such areas. Intercity rail lines, including high speed rail projects, compete equally with other types of projects under these criteria and have been funded under CMAQ in some places.