Attachment F Air Quality Technical Report

1 Attachment F:Air Quality Technical Report AIR Quality Technical Report US 29 Bus Rapid Transit Improvements Project From Burtonsville to Silver Spring Transit Center montgomery county , maryland May 2017 i Table of Contents Project 1 Purpose and Need .. 1 Regulatory Context .. 1 Existing Conditions .. 3 Carbon Monoxide Assessment .. 6 Fine Particulate Matter Assessment .. 7 Mobile Source Air Toxics Assessment .. 7 Greenhouse Gas Assessment .. 10 Construction Emissions Assessment .. 10 References .. 11 Tables Table 1: National Ambient Air Quality Standards .. 1 Table 2: EPA Monitored Carbon Monoxide Concentrations 2012 -2015 .. 4 Table 3: Existing (2015) and Future No Build (2040) Average Daily Traffic .. 6 Table 4: Average Annual Daily Traffic and Truck 7 Figures Figure 1: Study Corridor Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Areas.

2 5 Figure 2: Ozone Air Quality Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Region .. 6 Figure 3: Heavy Truck Traffic .. 8 Figure 4: FHWA Projected National MSAT Trends 2010 - 2050 .. 9 ii List of Acronyms ADT Average daily traffic BRT Bus Rapid Transit CAA Clean Air Act CLRP Constrained Long-Range Plan CO Carbon monoxide FHWA Federal Highway Administration FTA Federal Transit Administratoin GGRA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act GHG Greenhouse Gas MCCC MD Climate Change Commission MCDOT montgomery county Department of Transportation MDOT maryland Department of Transportation MOVES Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator MSAT Mobile source air toxics MTA maryland Transit Administration NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NO2 Nitrogen dioxide NOx Nitrogen O3 Ozone Pb Lead Fine particulate matter PM10 Coarse particulate matter PPM Parts per million iii SIP State implementation plan SO2 Sulfur dioxide TIGER

3 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery TIP Transportation Improvement Program USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency VMT Vehicle miles traveled VOCs Volatile organic compounds 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION The project proposes a new, 14-mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service along US 29 from the Silver Spring Transit Center (SSTC) to the Burtonsville Park and Ride. The project includes new BRT service along existing travel lanes and shoulders; design and construction of eleven station stops along the corridor; implementation of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) at several signalized intersections; and improvements to landscapes, sidewalk, and bicycle facilities. This project is to receive a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the FTA.

4 PURPOSE AND NEED The purpose of the project is to improve mobility options by accommodating a high frequency, reliable transit service operating within existing right-of -way (ROW) on US 29 between the SSTC and the Burtonsville Park and Ride. The project will satisfy the following study corridor needs: growing transit demand and attractiveness; impeded bus and rider mobility due to traffic congestion; and lack of transit system connectivity and choice. REGULATORY CONTEXT Transportation projects are regulated by the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA) of 1990 and the Final Transportation Conformity Rule [40 CFR Parts 51 and 93]. These regulations allow the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to implement policies in order to ensure and maintain acceptable levels of air Quality .

5 The CAA requires the USEPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), based on the latest science, to protect public health and welfare. These standards were put in place to control and minimize the escalating levels of pollution from the increase of motor vehicles and new stationary sources. The USEPA sets and revises the NAAQS for common and widespread pollutants. Currently, there are standards for six pollutants known as criteria pollutants . These include: carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), particulate matter (fine particulate matter [ ] and coarse particulate matter [PM10]), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), lead (Pb), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The NAAQS, as defined by the USEPA, are shown in Table 1. The primary standards are set to protect the public health which includes the health of sensitive subpopulations (where there is a safety margin built into the standard).

6 The secondary standards are set to protect adverse effects on soil, water, crops, and buildings, in addition to other aspects of the general welfare. Table 1: National Ambient Air Quality Standards1 Pollutant Averaging Time Primary Standards [1,2] Secondary Standards [1,3] CO 8- hour 9 ppm (10 mg/m3) None 1-hour 35 ppm Lead Rolling 3-Month Average[5] g/m3 Same as Primary 1 US Environmental Protection Agency. National Ambient Air Quality Standards Table. 2 Pollutant Averaging Time Primary Standards [1,2] Secondary Standards [1,3] NO2 Annual Arithmetic Mean ppm (100 g/m3) Same as Primary 1-hour ppm[6] None O3 8-hour (2015 standard)[10] ppm Same as Primary 8-hour (2008 standard) ppm Same as Primary 8-hour (1997 standard) ppm Same as Primary 8-hour (2015 standard)[10] ppm Same as Primary Annual Arithmetic Mean 12 g/m3,9 15 g/m3 24-hour 35 g/m3 Same as Primary PM10 Annual Arithmetic Mean 12 g/m3,9 15 g/m3 24-hour 35 g/m3 Same as Primary SO2 1-hour 75 ppb[8] None 3-hour None ppm Notes: 1.

7 National standards (other than ozone, particulate matter, and those based on annual averages) are not to be exceeded more than once per year. The ozone standard is attained when the fourth highest 8-hour concentration in a year, averaged over three years, is equal to or is less than the standard. For PM10, the 24-hour standard is attained when the expected number of days per calendar year with a 24-hour average concentration above 150 ug/m3 is equal to or is less than one. For , the 24-hour standard is attained when 98% of the daily concentrations, averaged over three years, are equal to or are less than the standard. 2. Lead is categorized as a toxic air contaminant with no threshold exposure level for adverse health effects determined. 3. National lead standard, rolling three-month average: final rule signed October 15, 2008.

8 4. To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of the daily maximum 1-hour average at each monitor within an area must not exceed ppm (effective January 22, 2010). 5. USEPA revoked the 1-hour ozone standard in all areas; however, some areas have continuing obligations under that standard. 6. Final rule signed June 2, 2010. To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the 99th percentile of the daily maximum 1-hour average at each monitor within an area must not exceed 75 ppb. 7. USEPA updated the NAAQS for to strengthen the primary annual standard to 12 ug/m3. 8. USEPA updated the NAAQS for Ozone to strengthen the primary 8-hour standard to ppm on October 1, 2015. An area will meet the standard if the fourth-highest maximum daily 8-hour ozone concentration per year, averaged over three years is equal to or less than 70 ppb.

9 The US EPA issues the determinations on whether or not areas (typically counties) meet the NAAQS. These determinations are based on air Quality monitoring data from stations located around the country. If an area does not meet the standard, it is classified as a nonattainment area. An area that meets the standard is classified as an attainment area. Areas that are nonattainment can be re-designated to attainment areas once they show they meet the standard. However, these areas are classified as maintenance areas for a period of ten years after the re-designation. Maintenance areas are subject to the same requirements as nonattainment areas. The nonattainment and attainment designations are completed for each criteria pollutant. 3 Transportation Conformity provisions require that transportation projects, plans, or programs funded or approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are consistent with air Quality goals set forth in the CAA.

10 Transportation Conformity applies to the previously mentioned transportation activities in areas that do not meet or previously have not met the NAAQS, nonattainment, and maintenance areas. The transportation activities must conform to the approved state implementation plan (SIP) for the nonattainment or maintenance areas. Federal actions occurring in areas that are in attainment of the NAAQS are not subject to the conformity rule. Conformity to an implementation plan means (USC 42 Sec. 7506): a) Conformity to an implementation plan s purpose of eliminating or reducing the severity and number of violations of the national ambient air Quality standards and achieving expeditious attainment of such standards; and b) that such activities will not i.