AIR POLLUTION: EPA NEEDS MORE DATA FROM FHWA ON CHANGES TO HIGHWAY PROJECTS

This report addresses the implementation of the Clean Air Act requirement that federally funded highway projects conform to state implementation plans (SIPs) designed to reduce air pollution. Specifically, the General Accounting Office (GAO) examined how conformity was determined and the roles of the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in making this determination. Briefly, the GAO found that the Clean Air Act prohibits FHWA from approving any activity that does not conform to EPA-approved SIPs, but it does not specify how conformity should be determined. EPA and FHWA disagree on whether air quality analysis of individual highway projects is needed to determine conformity. An air quality analysis of the total highway system, including existing roads and planned projects is performed during SIP development. FHWA believes this analysis is sufficient and that subsequent analyses of individual projects are not necessary to determine conformity. It maintains that highway programs conform if they appropriately schedule and implement SIP measures designed to control transportation-related pollution. On the other hand, EPA believes that in addition to the analysis made when the SIP is developed, more air quality analysis of major individual highway projects should be performed before construction begins when the projects are better defined. GAO concludes that, although FHWA is acting within its authority by not performing additional air quality analysis, EPA's assurance that Clean Air Act goals are achieved could be enhanced if it had information on the extent to which plans and assumptions made during the SIP formulation have held true.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/summary.php?recflag=&rptno=RCED-90-72
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives.
• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. General Accounting Office

  441 G Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20548
• Publication Date: 1990-3

Media Info

• Features: Appendices;
• Pagination: 22 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality; Air quality management; Analysis; Conformity; Federal aid highways; Plan implementation; Programming (Planning); State government agencies
• Identifier Terms: Clean Air Act; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Federal Highway Administration
• Uncontrolled Terms: State implementation plans
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00497310
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: GAO/RCED-90-72
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 30 1990 12:00AM