Auto Air Pollution Impacts Transportation Planning and Land Use

Florida land use and transportation planning will most likely undergo dramatic changes to in order to comply with national air pollution regulations - particularly the lowering of the acceptable maximum level of ozone.

First EPA revised the acceptable ozone pollutant level from 0.080 parts per billion (ppb) to 0.075 ppb in March 2008. As a result, some Florida metropolitan areas are currently out of compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and are referred to as non-attainment areas.

Now EPA has proposed a revision to the rule (40 CFR Parts 50 and 58 in January 2010) to reduce the maximum acceptable ozone level to 0.070 ppb or possibly as low as 0.060 ppb. This regulatory change will require designation of most Florida metropolitan areas as non-attainment areas.
Florida will be required by the Clean Air Act to complete the following: First, we must formally designate the (non-attainment) areas that are out of compliance. Next, we must to revise the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and local Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTP) to indicate what actions are required to reduce ozone levels sufficient to comply with the NAAQS. And finally, we must scientifically demonstrate that the revised SIP (and LRTP) actions are sufficient to bring about compliance.

As many as 30 counties could be designated as nonattainment areas using 2007-2009 air quality data (click to see detailed map). These areas could include: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Orlando-Kissimmee-Melbourne, Gainesville-Ocala-Leesburg, Tampa-Sarasota, Fort Myers-Naples, Lakeland-Lake Placid, Jacksonville-St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Panama City, and Mobile-Pensacola.
Florida will take steps to increase the transportation efficiency and reduce the growth rate for vehicle miles traveled. Expect the adoption of California-like emission standards and activities to reduce congestion and delay. Urban sprawl will be further discouraged and high-density transit oriented development will be encouraged.
State, regional, and local transportation plans will be analyzed by computer modeling to demonstrate that plan policies will bring about compliance. The Florida Standard Urban Transportation Model Structure (FSUTMS) is the computer tool used to prepare all Florida transportation plans. FSUTMS is used to forecast transportation network congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.

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Pascal
Schreier CEO