Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program

In 1990, Congress amended the Clean Air Act (CAA) to bolster America's efforts to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The amendments required further reductions in the amount of permissible tailpipe emissions, initiated more stringent control measures in areas that still failed to attain the NAAQS (nonattainment areas), and provided for a stronger, more rigorous linkage between transportation and air quality planning. In 1991, Congress adopted the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). This law authorized the CMAQ program, and provided $6.0 billion in funding for surface transportation and other related projects that contribute to air quality improvements and reduce congestion. The CAA amendments, ISTEA and the CMAQ program together were intended to realign the focus of transportation planning toward a more inclusive, environmentally-sensitive, and multimodal approach to addressing transportation problems.

The CMAQ program, jointly administered by the FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), was reauthorized in 1998 under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The TEA-21 CMAQ program provides over $8.1 billion dollars in funds to State DOTs, MPOs, and transit agencies to invest in projects that reduce criteria air pollutants regulated from transportation-related sources over a period of six years (1998-2003). The TEA-21 CMAQ program is similar to its ISTEA predecessor, but it features greater program flexibility, several new program options, an expansion of eligible activities available for funding and the statutory formula for apportioning funds was redesigned to provide a more equitable distribution.

The CMAQ program is one source of funds for Transportation Control Measures (TCMs) employed for the purposes of reducing congestion and improving air quality. See also our webpages on TCM Methods and Models and TCM Effectiveness.

Guidance Documents

• Program Guidance - April 28, 1999. This is the main guidance document that reflects the changes brought about by TEA-21.
• Guidance on Federal-aid Eligibility of Operating Costs for Transportation Management System - January 3, 2000
• FHWA Program Guidance on HOV Lanes - March 28, 2001
• CMAQ Notice on High Speed Rail Eligibility - January 18, 2002
• Eligibility of Freight Projects and Diesel Engine Retrofit Programs - January 29, 2003
• Eligibility of Transit Station Rehabilitation for CMAQ Funding - January 30, 2003
• Eligibility of Truck Stop Electrification (TSE) and Other Idle-Reduction Measures - August 25, 2003
• EPA Guidance: For information on using emission reductions from truck idling reduction projects view EPA's "Guidance for Quantifying and Using Long Duration Truck Idling Emission Reductions in State Implementation Plans and Transportation Conformity" (EPA420-B-04-001, January 2004). Available as PDF at www.epa.gov/smartway/idlingimpacts.htm

CMAQ Project Reporting, Annual Reports, Weighted Populations and Apportionments

• CMAQ Tracking System: User's Manual and Annual Report Guidance (February 2004) States and MPOs can now submit CMAQ data via the web based data collection system. The system makes reporting project data faster and more accurate, and also features detailed reporting options based on the States' individual CMAQ programs.

• CMAQ Annual Reports
  • Ninth Year (FY 2000) - Memo and report
    Data by state, by project type denoting air quality effect
  • Eighth Year (FY 1999) - Memo and report
    Data by state, by project type denoting air quality effect
  • FY 1992 - 1998 Reports
  
  
• CMAQ Weighted Populations By State, Nonattainment Area, and County
  • FY 2003
  • FY 2002
  • FY 2001 (PDF - 52 KB) This file is in Adobe PDF format. Download Adobe Reader here.
  
  
  
• FY 2003 CMAQ Program Apportionments by State

CMAQ Related Reports

• CMAQ: Advancing Mobility and Air Quality (May 2003)
  This document provides some examples of mobility enhancements attributed to the CMAQ program.

• The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program: Assessing 10 Years of Experience (PDF - 2 MB) (June 2002)
  In a recent study, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) endorsed the CMAQ program and found that there is "strong support for the CMAQ Program among a broad range of regional transportation planners, operating agency staff, air quality officials, and interest groups consulted for the study." The final report notes that the Program "has value" and should be reauthorized. It also recommends that projects that improve air quality should remain CMAQ's primary focus, suggests that local air quality agencies be more directly involved in project selection and recommends that other pollutants regulated under the CAA (particularly PM2.5) be covered.

• The CMAQ Brochure (HTML or PDF - 1.1 MB) (2000)
  This FHWA and FTA publication provides information regarding the CMAQ program under TEA-21. The brochure is written in an easy-to-read format providing background and general information regarding the CMAQ program as well as more specific information concerning funding, eligibility, the project approval process and contacts for more information.