Environmental assessment section on physical resources, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

The NYMTC recently approved a Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) covering October 1, 2001 through September 30,2004. Without relief from transportation conformity requirements and metropolitan planning requirements, New York is locked into the transportation priorities that were set prior to September 11,2001. NYMTC cannot delay a pre-disaster prior non-exempt project and substitute another non-exempt project that would better address transportation needs without voiding the current conformity determinaticn. In effect, the $20 billion, five-year transportation program is locked into a pre-disaster condition. Furthermore, the conformity analysis for the new TIP expires on September 30, 2002. Since the NY. 4TC will not be able to update the conformity analyses in the coming year, as planned, conformity will lapse on October 1, 2002. After that time, only exempt projects, projects that have no impact on air quality, can move forward. There are in excess of $1 billion in non-exempt highway and transit projects in the NYMTC region in fiscal year (FY) 03 and FY 04 that would not progress during a conformity lapse. As a result, Senator Clinton has introduced legislation to grant New York a three-year extension to meet transportation conformity and transportation planning requirements of the SIP (Legislative Amendment 2001). The draft legislation states that Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act would be further amended by adding the following statement:

• “(7) Beginning October 1,2002, paragraph (4)(B)(ii) suspended for the New York State portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey - Long Island Severe Ozone Nonattainment Area until October 1, 2005 for all criteria pollutants with respect to transportation plans, transportation improvement programs, and projects funded or approved by the Federal Highway Administration or the Federal Transit Administration. Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 23 USC 134(h)(1)(D) and 134(h)(2)(A), from October 2, 2002 to October 1,2005, the area’s current plan adopted September 30,1999, and current Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) adopted October 1, 2001, will remain viable. From now until October 1, 2005, exempt projects may be added to this plan and TIP. Any transportation projects necessary as a result of the disruption caused by the terrorist attack on lower Manhattan of September 11,2001, may also be considered exempt projects, as decided through interagency coordination. The consideration of air quality impacts of Putnam county as Jiey relate to conformity determinations made by the Poughkeepsie and Newburgh Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) shall be determined through interagency consultation.”

The provisions would grant a waiver from the CAA transportation conformity requirements and selected Metropolitan Planning requirements of (TEA)-21 through September 2005, for areas under the planning juiisdiction of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC), the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for New York City, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley.

Construction-related impacts would include temporary increases in dust emissions in the immediate vicinity of construction sites. Fugitive dust from construction and demolition can be prevented from becoming airborne through adherence to local ordinances and implementation of dust control measures such as watering disturbed areas, maintaining and

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