Air Quality

The Colorado Transportation Commission proposed new transportation pollution reduction planning standards on August 16 that seek to cut greenhouse gas or GHG emissions from the state’s transportation sector while improving statewide air quality and reducing smog.

[Above photo by the Colorado DOT]

The proposed rule – known as the “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Planning Standard” – aims to “shape” how state and local governments plan projects to ensure future transportation infrastructure supports cleaner air and fights climate change, all while providing more “travel options” to Colorado residents.

Publication of this draft standard begins a 60-day public review period – running from August 13 through October 15 – during which the Colorado Department of Transportation plans to host both in-person and virtual public hearings as well as accept written comments.

The proposed rule would require the Colorado DOT and the state’s five Metropolitan Planning Organizations to determine total pollution and GHG emissions increase or decrease expected from future transportation projects while taking steps to ensure that total GHG emission levels do not exceed set reduction amounts.

This commission added that this approach would also help “streamline” the planning and delivery of innovations for improving quality of life and air quality, such as: Adding sidewalks, improving downtowns for active transportation with “complete streets,” improving local and intercity transit, and first-and-last-mile connectivity to transit facilities, and adding bike-sharing facilities.

“Transportation is our largest source of air pollutants, and this standard will help ensure that Coloradans have every possible ability to make a difference,” said Governor Jared Polis (D) in a statement.

The proposed rule would also implement a key provision of the state’s SB21-260 transportation legislation, which requires a number of steps to embed air quality and equity analysis and goals into transportation planning.  

“What we build matters. It matters for safety, for our economy, for resiliency, and for our ability to reduce air pollution and improve the quality of places where Coloradans across the state live and thrive,” explained Shoshana Lew, Colorado DOT’s executive director.

“From smoke-filled air to a confluence of fire and 500-year flooding in Glenwood Canyon, we are reminded that we have no time to waste in fighting climate change in the transportation sector – and this policy will be an important step,” she added. “This draft standard wouldn’t be possible without the hundreds of hours of input we’ve received over the last few months, and I look forward to hearing from all stakeholders on this draft.”

The Louisiana state government, which collects about $1.3 billion a year in taxes from the oil and gas industry, is studying whether alternative fuels and other environmental measures can help reduce greenhouse gas or GHG emissions.

[Photo by the Louisiana DOTD.]

Gov. John Bel Edwards has created a 23-member Climate Initiatives Task Force charged with creating a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 – with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development poised to do the heavy lifting on transportation strategies within that plan to move towards the state’s GHG reduction goals.

“I think it’s a worthy effort to at least start a discussion about what needs to happen in Louisiana,” explained Louisiana DOTD Deputy Secretary Eric Kalivoda, co-chair of the task force’s transportation committee.

Devastating hurricanes, coastal subsidence, and rising sea levels – blamed on global warming – are eating away at Louisiana’s coastline. According to the governor’s office, if no significant action is taken, Louisiana could lose another 4,000 square miles of coast by 2050.

Kalivoda sees the transportation committee addressing four issues: demand management, conservation, alternative fuels, and “natural sequestration through reforestation.” The alternative fuel issue is the one that gets the most attention, and it usually focuses almost exclusively on electric vehicles, he said.

“A lot of people are going down the path of all-battery-powered electric, but I think a variety of fuel sources is the way to go,” including natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels, and traditional gasoline, he noted. “Gas and diesel engines are going to be part of the mix, certainly for the foreseeable future.”

Ann Vail, executive director of Louisiana Clean Fuels and a member of the task force, agreed.

“Oil and gas aren’t going to go away,” Vail said. “We’re looking at more of a buffet of fueling options. We have to look at biofuels, electric, and we already have a half-decent natural gas vehicle infrastructure here.”

Louisiana DOTD’s Kalivoda added that many of the 88,000 registered government vehicles in Louisiana could be converted to run on a variety of alternative fuels “as a demonstration project to the private sector. We can enter into contracts for fuel at facilities also open to the public and show the maintenance records and the problems we run into.”

Demand management simply means promoting telecommuting, compressed workweeks, remote learning, and virtual business meetings and conferences, actions that a majority of people now are familiar with, thanks to the pandemic. “The genie is out of the bottle, and I don’t think it’s going back in,” he noted.

Kalivoda said Louisiana DOTD can work on faster traffic incident management and better traffic signal coordination to lessen congestion-related emissions, but more carpooling could make an immediate impact if people would do it. “There will be a list of excuses from Miami to Anchorage as to why we can’t do that, but we can.”

He pointed out that, if people really don’t want to carpool, “maybe we can get them to plant a tree. You can absorb a lot of carbon dioxide through natural sequestration. Public properties can be re-forested. Government agencies and schools can add trees to parking lots. This could be mitigation for transportation.”

Because Louisiana has so many chemical plants and refineries, transportation emissions make up only 26 percent of GHG emissions – much less than other states, Kalivoda said. Industry is responsible for 49 percent, power production makes up 23 percent, and homes and other businesses account for the rest. The panel is expected to produce interim recommendations by the end of April, and a final report and recommendations by February 2022.

The Federal Transit Administration is making up to $180 million in competitive grant funds through a notice of funding opportunity for its Low or No Emission or “Low-No” grant program.

[Photo courtesy of New Flyer.]

The FTA said its Low-No program helps eligible project sponsors purchase or lease low- or no-emission vehicles, while also supporting facilities that use advanced technologies to provide cleaner, more energy-efficient transit operations in communities across the country. This year’s NOFO will prioritize applications with an environmental justice component as well as those that will support workforce development activities to help America’s transit workers succeed, the agency said.

“The Biden Administration is committed to investing in clean transportation, and the Low or No Emission Program will put more American-made, energy-efficient buses into service across the country,” noted U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “This is an important step forward in ensuring that communities have access to high-quality, zero-emission transportation options.”

“Through the Low-No grant program, transit operators nationwide have the ability to replace aging buses near the end of their lifecycle with newer, cleaner models that are more efficient to operate and maintain,” added FTA Acting Administrator Nuria Fernandez.

In support of President Biden’s climate crisis executive order issued on January 20, FTA is placing a priority on projects that will help improve air quality in specific “non-attainment areas” around the country. 

FTA also said all capital procurements made via these funds must meet its Buy America requirements, which mandate that all iron, steel, and manufactured products be produced in the United States. It also requires that the cost of components and subcomponents of rolling stock produced in the United States must be more than 70 percent of the cost of all components.  Additionally, as part of FTA’s commitment to helping transit professionals keep up-to-date on technological advancements, the agency said Low-No recipients are permitted and encouraged to use up to 0.5 percent of these grant awards for workforce development activities, with an additional 0.5 percent available to cover costs associated with training at the National Transit Institute.

Two 100 percent renewable energy contracts between the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and BP Energy Company and Direct Energy LLC recently went into effect – reducing the agency’s carbon footprint and saving it over $3 million per year.

[Photo courtesy of the Massachusetts Governor’s Office.]

“These important investments in fully renewable energy, highlighted by the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits for the entirety of our electricity load, mean that the T has a dedicated commitment to electricity produced from renewable energy sources,” explained Steve Poftak, MBTA’s general manager, in a statement. “With the beginning of these new contracts, the T continues to expand its use of renewable energy in its portfolio, and furthers its commitment to supporting sustainable transit.”

MBTA – the public transit division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which provides subway, bus, commuter rail, ferry, and paratransit service to eastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island – finalized those two contracts in October 2020.

The total cost for those two contracts – which make the MBTA the largest transit agency in the United States to be 100 percent renewable – is approximately $12.13 million annually for a three-year term. The contracts include the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits or RECs for 100 percent of the MBTA’s electricity load as well as provisions for providing 70 percent of the electricity at a fixed price.

Purchasing RECs means the MBTA has bought electricity from a renewable power source with each certificate equivalent to the generation of one-megawatt hour or MWh of electricity, the agency said.

The MBTA added that it has a number of additional renewable energy projects completed and currently underway. One involves using two wind turbines in Kingston and Bridgewater help power MBTA facilities with electrical power; with the capability to sell unused power back to the electrical grid. Another involves small scale solar projects are complete at Orient Heights and Braintree Stations with solar canopy installation recently completed at three additional MBTA sites and more sites currently being explored.

Upcoming renewable energy projects to develop include the launch of a new solar power purchase agreement, the development of solar arrays at bus garages and train stations, along with further research into the potential for the MBTA to become an “anchor customer” for upcoming offshore wind projects.

The states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, along with the District of Columbia, signed a memorandum of understanding or MOU on December 21 committing themselves to a “multi-jurisdictional program” to pursue systematic and substantial reductions in motor vehicle greenhouse gas or GHG emissions while “re-investing” $300 million annually in cleaner transportation infrastructure.

[Graphic provided by the Connecticut Governor’s Office.]

The new Transportation and Climate Initiative Program or TCI-P is the outgrowth of collaboration between 12 Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast states and the District of Columbia known as the Transportation and Climate Initiative. Originally formed in 2019, the TCI issued a nine-page draft policy proposal in December 2019 for establishing a cap on GHG emissions from transportation fuels while investing millions of dollars annually to develop cleaner transportation systems and more resilient transportation infrastructure.

The signatories said the TCI-P’s funding would result from the mandated purchase of “emission allowances” by gasoline and diesel fuel suppliers. The total number of allowances would decline each year, resulting in less transportation pollution, they said, with each participating jurisdiction independently deciding how to invest program proceeds to achieve the goals of the MOU.

In a statement, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) said the TCI-P MOU should reduce transportation-related GHGs in his state by at least 26 percent from 2022 to 2032 and generate annual revenue due to emission allowances fees of up to $89 million in 2023 – increasing to as much as $117 million in 2032. Gov. Lamont said Connecticut would re-invest those funds in “equitable and cleaner transportation options,” creating an employment program across transit, construction, and green energy – serving as a “catalyst” for infrastructure development through the next decade and beyond.

“Engaging in this way with my fellow governors and Mayor Bowser accomplishes goals we have set for Connecticut for years,” the governor explained.

“Participating in the TCI-P will help grow our economy through a fresh injection of capital to provide for jobs and new infrastructure,” Gov. Lamont added. “This collaboration will cut our greenhouse gas emissions, and it will make our urban centers healthier, after decades of being adversely impacted by the emissions being released by traffic every day.”

“By partnering with our neighbor states with which we share tightly connected economies and transportation systems, we can make a more significant impact on climate change while creating jobs and growing the economy as a result,” added Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R).

“This first-of-its-kind program will provide $20 million annually for public transit, safe streets for bikers and pedestrians, and other green projects,” noted Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D). “Most importantly, it will provide much-needed relief for the urban communities who suffer lifelong health problems as a result of dirty air.”

The MOU also commits those three states and the District of Columbia to allot no less than 35 percent of annual emission allowances proceeds to assist communities “overburdened and underserved” by the current transportation system.

Efforts to “decarbonize” America’s transportation system to reduce greenhouse gas or GHG emissions could produce widespread health benefits, according to one report, but simultaneously face major cost and technological hurdles, a separate study noted.

[Photo courtesy of the New York State Department of Transportation.]

First, a report by the Transportation, Equity, Climate and Health or TRECH project headed by Harvard University analyzed the potential benefits of GHG reduction efforts being considered by the Transportation Climate Initiative – a regional coalition of 12 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, along with the District of Columbia, that is expected to finalize a memorandum of understanding this fall.

According to a statement, the TRECH project report said the estimated health benefits from changes in active mobility and on-road emissions under the TCI policy scenarios include up to about 1,000 deaths avoided and nearly 5,000 childhood asthma cases avoided annually, if full implementation of those policies occurs in 2032. Furthermore, the “monetized value” of the subset of total health benefits included in the report are “larger than the estimated annual TCI program proceeds in 2032” under all of the TCI policy scenarios.

The TRECH Project added that its analysis “does not include climate-related health benefits and other potential health benefits from improving transportation systems” such as those from reduced traffic congestion and noise pollution as well as improved traffic safety and access to jobs, healthcare, and education.

However, a separate study conducted by the Brookings Institution cautioned that there are major “decarbonization challenges” when it comes to transitioning medium- and heavy-duty vehicles away from petroleum-based fuels and propulsion systems, which generate large amounts of carbon emissions.

“The degree of difficulty in decarbonizing transport varies across the sector. Electrification is relatively easy for smaller vehicles that travel shorter distances carrying lighter loads,” the organization noted in a statement. “For these vehicles, the added weight of a battery is less of a hindrance and the inherently simpler and more efficient electric motor and drivetrain make up for some of the weight penalty. However, the heavier forms of transportation are among the fastest growing, meaning that we must consider solutions for these more difficult vehicles as well.”

The Brookings Institution noted in its report that while “technology exists to decarbonize the heavy transport sector,” many of those advanced technologies “are expensive and not proven at scale.”

The report added that the challenge for policymakers will be keeping technology advances and policy in alignment as the technology advances. “The COVID-19 pandemic adds a degree of difficulty since it is unclear how it may shift demand and consumer preferences in transport,” the group noted. “For example, consumers may remain reluctant to use urban public transport, and shorter supply chains may be attractive to businesses seeking to become more resilient in the face of a global disruption.”

The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement or CMAQ program offered via the Federal Highway Administration provides funding to state and local governments for transportation projects and programs that reduce emissions and help improve air quality and congestion. And to help those agencies track the emissions benefits of their projects, the FHWA developed and is now rolling out a new CMAQ Emissions Calculator Toolkit.

“CMAQ project justification as well as annual reporting require the development of reliable air quality benefit estimates,” the agency explained. “Realizing that every potential project sponsor may not have the capacity for developing independent air quality benefit estimates, the FHWA has undertaken the initiative of developing a series of spreadsheet based tools to facilitate the calculation of representative air quality benefit data.”

There are 10 tools currently available which cover a wide range of CMAQ-eligible project types, including: bicycle-pedestrian improvements; transit service and fleet expansion; alternative fuels and vehicles; diesel retrofit/repower; and traffic flow improvements.

More information about the new CMAQ tools can be found by clicking here.