Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program
Important information! |
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 2005 under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The SAFETEA-LU CMAQ program provides over $8.6 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 five years (2005-2009). The current CMAQ program is similar to its TEA-21 predecessor. Funding is available for areas that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (nonattainment areas) as well as former nonattainment areas that are now in compliance (maintenance areas). The formula for distribution of funds, which considers an area's population by county and the severity of its ozone and carbon monoxide problems within the nonattainment or maintenance area, with greater weight given to areas that are both carbon monoxide and ozone nonattainment/maintenance areas, is continued.
The SAFETEA-LU requires States and MPOs to give priority in distributing CMAQ funds to diesel engine retrofits, and other cost-effective emission reduction and congestion mitigation activities that provide air quality benefits. SAFETEA-LU also requires the Secretary to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of a representative sample of CMAQ projects to determine the direct and indirect impact of the projects on air quality and congestion levels, and to ensure the effective implementation of the program.
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.
To view PDF files, you need the Acrobat® Reader®.
Welcome to the CMAQ Photo Gallery
Our collection of photographs provides an informative cross section of the types of projects that the program has supported since its creation with the ISTEA in 1991. Fifteen years later, the program is going strong, having been reauthorized in SAFETEA-LU. While the Photo Gallery is not close to a full record of the 16,000 CMAQ projects, we have managed to gather more than 600 quality photos from five cities around the country.
More importantly, this database is not meant to be static: we plan to add quality digital photos from other cities and regions to continue our showcase of effective CMAQ projects. Please take some time to query our gallery data base by clicking the link above and take a look at what CMAQ has to offer. Enjoy!
Guidance Documents
- Program Guidance - October 31, 2006. This is the main guidance document that reflects the changes brought about by SAFETEA-LU.
- Program Guidance (canceled) - April 1999
- 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/documents/420b04001.pdf
- New Guidance on CMAQ and Revocation of the 1-Hour Ozone Standard, December 13, 2004
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
- Ninth Year (FY 2000) - Memo and report
- CMAQ Weighted Populations By State, Nonattainment Area, and County
- FY 2006 (ALABAMA to HAWAII; IDAHO to MONTANA; NEBRASKA to PENNSYLVANIA; and RHODE ISLAND to WYOMING with PUERTO RICO) - The same weighted populations were used to calculate both the 2005 and 2006 CMAQ apportionments.
- FY 2004 (ALABAMA to HAWAII; IDAHO to MONTANA; NEBRASKA to PENNSYLVANIA; and RHODE ISLAND to WYOMING with PUERTO RICO)
- FY 2003
- FY 2002
- FY 2001 (PDF - 52 KB)
Other CMAQ-Related Documents
"CMAQ and..." Brochures (October 2005)
This series of publications provides information regarding the CMAQ program as it pertains to topics about which FHWA is frequently asked questions. All of the brochures give general information about the CMAQ program and funding requirements. Each topic-specific brochure provides background information on the topic and examples of successful projects, programs, and/or partnerships.
- Alternative Fuel Vehicle Projects (PDF - 808 KB)
- Idle Reduction Techniques (PDF - 782 KB)
- Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) (PDF - 1.16 MB)
- Intermodal Freight Transportation (PDF - 882 KB)
- Public-Private Partnerships (PDF - 857 KB)
- SAFETEA-LU (PDF - 297 KB)
- Telecommute Programs (PDF - 769 KB)
- Transit and Public Transportation Programs (PDF - 1.0 MB)
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 (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.
