[House Report 107-649]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Rept. 107-649
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 1
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PROVIDING A TEMPORARY WAIVER FROM CERTAIN TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY
REQUIREMENTS AND METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING REQUIREMENTS
UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT AND UNDER OTHER LAWS FOR CERTAIN AREAS IN NEW
YORK WHERE THE PLANNING OFFICES AND RESOURCES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY
ACTS OF TERRORISM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
September 9, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Tauzin, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3880]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3880) to provide a temporary waiver from certain
transportation conformity requirements and metropolitan
transportation planning requirements under the Clean Air Act
and under other laws for certain areas in New York where the
planning offices and resources have been destroyed by acts of
terrorism, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that
the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Amendment........................................................ 2
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 3
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 3
Hearings......................................................... 4
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 5
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 5
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 5
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 6
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 6
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 6
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 8
Exchange of Committee Correspondence............................. 8
AMENDMENT
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. CLEAN AIR TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY; TEMPORARY WAIVER FOR
NEW YORK AREAS.
(a) Temporary Waiver.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
until September 30, 2005, the provisions of section 176(c) of the Clean
Air Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, shall not apply to
transportation projects, programs, and plans (as defined in 40 C.F.R.
Part 93, Subpart A) for the counties of New York, Queens, Kings, Bronx,
Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, or the towns
of Blooming Grove, Chester, Highlands, Monroe, Tuxedo, Warwick, and
Woodbury in Orange County, New York. The preceding sentence shall not
apply to the regulations under section 176(c)(4)(B)(i) of such Act
relating to Federal and State interagency consultation procedures.
(b) Interim Progress Report.--Not later than January 1, 2004, the
Governor of New York shall submit to the Committees on Energy and
Commerce and Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
Senate, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and
the Secretary of Transportation a report regarding the status of the
State's progress towards achieving compliance with the provisions of
law and regulation subject to the temporary waiver provided by
subsection (a). Such report shall explain in detail the steps that the
State has taken towards achieving such compliance and identify the
necessary steps that remain to be taken by September 30, 2005, in order
for the transportation projects, programs, and plans for the counties
referred to in subsection (a) to be in compliance with the provisions
of section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act, and the regulations promulgated
thereunder, by September 30, 2005. The report shall also include a
regional emissions analysis generally consistent with the requirements
of 40 CFR 93.122, together with the relevant air quality data.
SEC. 2. METROPOLITAN PLANNING REQUIREMENTS; TEMPORARY WAIVER FOR NEW
YORK AREAS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, until September 30, 2005,
the provisions of sections 134(h)(1)(D), 134(i)(3), 134(i)(5), and
134(l)(1) of title 23 of the United States Code and sections
5304(a)(1), 5305(c), and 5305(e)(1) of title 49 of the United States
Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder, shall not apply to the
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council or to the Metropolitan
Planning Organization designated under section 134(b) of title 23 of
the United States Code.
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Prohibition on Capacity Expansion.--During the period of the
temporary transportation conformity waiver for transportation plans,
programs, and projects under section 1, no regionally significant
capacity expanding highway project shall be added to the Regional
Transportation Plan for the counties referred to in section 1 and no
such project may be advanced from the out years of the Plan into the
TIP, except as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Exception.--Any regionally significant capacity expanding highway
project south of Canal Street and West of Broadway in Manhattan may be
added to the Plan referred to in subsection (a) if--
(1) the project is part of a redevelopment plan for lower
Manhattan subject to NEPA and the New York State Environmental
Quality Act, as applicable; and
(2) any projected increases in transportation related
emissions resulting from the project are offset by
corresponding reductions within the affected county, with best
efforts made to secure reductions from within the immediate
area affected by the project's emissions.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H.R. 3880 is to provide the State of New
York a temporary waiver from certain Clean Air Act (CAA)
transportation conformity requirements and related metropolitan
planning requirements of the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA-21) until September 30, 2005, so that New
York can implement adjustments necessary after the September
11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. In
addition, the bill requires that New York file an Interim
Progress Report no later than January 1, 2004, detailing the
manner in which the State will achieve compliance with the
transportation conformity requirements no later than the
expiration of the temporary waiver.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Section 176(c) of the CAA requires that transportation
activities ``conform'' to State air quality plans before the
federal government funds these activities. This conformity
determination is made when the state adopts a transportation
plan or transportation improvement program (TIP) and is based
on a complex computer model of emissions from regional
transportation activity known as a ``regional emissions
analysis.'' The CAA requires that the regional emission
analysis used for a conformity determination must be less than
three years old. New York's current regional emissions analysis
will reach its three year expiration date on October 1, 2002.
Accordingly, unless the State submits a conformity
determination using an updated regional emissions analysis, New
York's conformity determination will ``lapse'' on October 1,
2002. After a conformity lapse, only certain exempt
transportation projects are eligible to receive federal
funding.
New York State officials have concluded that the aftermath
of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center tragedy makes it
impossible for New York to meet the October 2002 conformity
determination deadline. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) agree with
that assessment. As explained below, New York's transportation
planning offices have suffered a tremendous loss of personnel
and resources. Moreover, the regional transportation landscape
has been so significantly altered after September 11 that the
State cannot simply update its old regional emission analysis
to reflect new trends, but must instead build an entirely new
computer model, a task that New York officials, EPA, and DOT
agree cannot be completed by the current October 2002 deadline.
The headquarters of New York Metropolitan Transportation
Council (NYMTC) were located on the 82nd floor of One World
Trade Center. NYMTC offices, equipment, and files were
destroyed when the tower collapsed. Three staff members are
still missing and presumed dead. NYMTC has set up temporary
offices in Long Island City, but it will take over a year for
NYMTC to be able to function effectively again.
In addition to the destruction of the office and the loss
of staff, the terrorist attack changed the economic geography
of the New York City region. For example, New York State
officials estimate that up to 50 million square feet of office
space was destroyed or damaged as a result of the World Trade
Center attack, more than all of the office space in Columbus,
Ohio. Consequently, tens of thousands of workers are now
commuting to other parts of the region. This movement has
significant short-term and long-term impacts on the
distribution of jobs in the region. NYMTC estimates that it
will take two to three years to understand how these shifts in
employment concentrations will affect local and regional travel
patterns. Additionally, new federal security procedures are
likely to alter the movement of goods via air, water, and land
in the region. Until this extraordinary period of uncertainty
passes, NYMTC believes that it will be impossible to collect
the data and identify the inputs needed to develop an accurate
computer model for the regional emissions analysis.
Without temporary relief from the requirement for an
updated regional emissions analysis, New York will be in a
conformity lapse on October 1, 2002, and, after that date,
could receive federal transportation funding only for certain
exempt projects. This would have a significant effect on the
region, as NYMTC estimates the total value of highway and
transit projects that would not proceed during a conformity
lapse at $4.6 billion.
HEARINGS
The Committee on Energy and Commerce has not held hearings
on the legislation.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On July 24, 2002, the Subcommittee on Energy and Air
Quality met in open markup session and approved H.R. 3880 for
Full Committee consideration, without amendment, by a voice
vote, a quorum being present. On Thursday, September 5, 2002,
the Committee on Energy and Commerce met in open markup session
and favorably ordered reported H.R. 3880, as amended, by a
voice vote.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto.
There were no record votes taken in connection with ordering
H.R. 3880 reported. A motion by Mr. Tauzin to order H.R. 3880
reported to the House, as amended, was agreed to by a voice
vote.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
The Committee has not held oversight or legislative
hearings on this legislation.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of H.R. 3880 is to provide the State of New York
with a temporary waiver from certain CAA transportation
conformity requirements and related metropolitan planning
requirements of TEA-21 so that the State can implement
adjustments necessary in response to these unique
circumstances.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R.
3880 would result in no new or increased budget authority,
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate
provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 6, 2002.
Hon. W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3880, a bill to
provide a temporary waiver from certain transportation
conformity requirements and metropolitan transportation
planning rerquirements under the Clean Air Act and under other
laws for certain areas in New York where the planning offices
and resources have been destroyed by acts of terrorism, and for
other purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Susanne S.
Mehlman (for federal costs), and Susan Tompkins (for the state
and local impact).
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3880--A bill to provide a temporary waiver from certain
transportation conformity requirements and metropolitan
transportation planning requirements under the Clean Air Act
and under the laws for certain areas in New York where the
planning offices and resources have been destroyed by acts of
terrorism, and for other purposes
H.R. 3880 would waive certain Clean Air Act provisions that
require transportation programs to conform with approved state
air quality plans in order to receive federal funding until
September 30, 2005, for certain areas in the state of New York.
This legislation also would exempt certain areas of New York
(until September 30, 2005) from several reporting requirements
under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
Based on information from the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Transportation, CBO estimates that
enacting H.R. 3880 would not have a significant effect on the
federal budget. Without the waiver from current law that is
contained in this legislation, it is possible that New York
City would become ineligible to receive certain federal
transportation funds. In that event, such funds would be spent
on transportation projects in other areas of the state. Because
the bill would not affect direct spending or receipts, pay-as-
you-go procedures would not apply.
H.R. 3880 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state or local governments. Overall,
the bill would benefit both the state of New York and New York
City by preserving the flow of federal highway funding. If the
reporting requirements under current law were not met, the New
York metropolitan region could lose as much as $1 billion
funding for certain highway and transit projects during fiscal
years 2003 and 2004.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Susanne S.
Mehlman (for federal costs), and Susan Tompkins (for the state
and local impact). This estimate was approved by Peter H.
Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the
Constitutional authority for this legislation is provided in
Article I, section 8, clause 3, which grants Congress the power
to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several
States, and with the Indian tribes.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Clean air transportation conformity; temporary waiver for
New York areas
Section 1 provides a waiver from CAA section 176(c)
transportation conformity requirements until September 30, 2005
for the relevant New York City area. It is the intent of the
Committee that the operation of H.R. 3880 and current law will
require that New York complete the development and adoption of
a revised regional transportation plan and TIP no later than
September 30, 2005, that will achieve the budgets for motor
vehicle emissions contained in the applicable implementation
plan for the New York metropolitan nonattainment area for 2005
and 2007. The Committee intends that the waiver provided in
this section applies only to transportation conformity
requirements; the waiver does not apply to the general
conformity requirements established by regulation promulgated
pursuant to CAA section 176(c). This intent is expressed by the
use of the phrase ``transportation projects, programs, and
plans'' that contains terms used and defined in transportation
conformity regulation issued by EPA and promulgated at 40 CFR
Part 93 Subpart A.
Section 1 also requires that New York continue certain
Federal and State interagency consultation procedures and that,
not later than January1, 2004, the Governor of New York submit
an interim progress report to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, EPA, and DOT.
The report shall explain in detail the steps that the State has taken
towards achieving compliance and identify the necessary steps that
remain to be taken by September 30, 2005. It is the intent of the
Committee that the Interim Progress Report contain information
demonstrating the manner in which New York will meet the following
milestones:
(a) Not later than April 1, 2003, the collection and
analysis of new travel surveys, along with new job,
labor force, and household data to describe the revised
travel and activity patterns in the New York
metropolitan area and support refined validation of the
Best Practices transportation model for the region;
(b) Not later than February 1, 2004, the development
of revisions to the Best Practices transportation model
needed to reliably replicate observed travel patterns
in the New York metropolitan area;
(c) Not later than September 1, 2004, preliminary
modeling analyses of motor vehicle emissions using the
latest travel survey data, the revisions to the Best
Practices model, and the latest iteration of EPA's
MOBILE model to demonstrate expected emissions of
pollutants subject to the requirements of 40 CFR
Sec. 93.118 in 2005, 2007, 2015 and 2025, with
applicable models and data available for independent
public oversight;
(d) Not later than April 1, 2005, the submission of
the proposed regional transportation plan, TIP and
emissions analyses to the public for review and comment
pursuant to 40 CFR Sec. 93.105; and
(e) Not later than October 1, 2005, the adoption of
such additional measures as may be necessary to achieve
the levels of motor vehicle emissions required by the
emissions budgets contained in the applicable
implementation plan no later than the year by which
such budget is to be attained, and such additional
measures as may be necessary to maintain the latest
budget during the years following the last budget year.
Section 2. Metropolitan planning requirements; temporary waiver for New
York areas
Section 2 provides New York with a waiver until September
30, 2005 of certain transportation conformity-related
metropolitan planning requirements for the relevant New York
City area. The Committee notes that these waivers do not affect
environmental review requirements such as those established by
the National Environmental Policy Act.
Section 3. Additional requirements
Section 3 provides that, generally, during the period of
the transportation conformity waiver established by section 1,
New York cannot add regionally significant capacity expanding
highway projects to the Regional Transportation Plan for the
New York City area, and that no such project may be advanced
from the out years of the Plan into the TIP. However, section 3
does not affect regionally significant capacity expanding
highway projects taking place in the immediate area of the
World Trade Center reconstruction. These projects are subject
to specific emissions offset requirements.
It is the understanding of the Committee that New York will
undertake other, additional air quality related measures to
reduce emissions in the region. For example, the Committee
understands that New York will require ultra low sulfur diesel
(15 ppm sulfur or less) and best available retrofit technology
to reduce emissions of fine particulate matter and
NOx from construction machinery used instate agency
and authority fleets and contracts in the reconstruction of
lower Manhattan. The Committee also views favorably New York's
commitment to work with the environmental community and other
stakeholders to identify and implement transportation control
measures and other control strategies to further reduce
emission in the region.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation does not amend any existing Federal
statute.
EXCHANGE OF COMMITTEE CORRESPONDENCE
House of Representatives,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Washington, DC, September 9, 2002.
Hon. W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives,
Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Tauzin: I am writing with regard to H.R.
3880, which was ordered reported with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute by the Committee on Energy and Commerce
on September 5, 2002. As you know, the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure was named as an additional
Committee of jurisdiction upon the bill's introduction.
I recognize your desire to bring this bill before the House
in an expeditious manner. Accordingly, I will not exercise my
Committee's right to a sequential referral of the legislation.
By agreeing to waive its consideration of the bill, however,
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure does not
waive its jurisdiction over H.R. 3880. In addition, the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reserves its
authority to seek conferees on provisions of the bill that are
within its jurisdiction during any House-Senate conference that
may be convened on this legislation. I ask for your commitment
to support any request by the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee for conferees on H.R. 3880.
I request that you include a copy of our exchange of
letters in your Committee's report on H.R. 3880 and in the
Congressional Record during consideration on the House Floor.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Don Young,
Chairman.
------
House of Representatives,
Committee on Energy and Commerce,
Washington, DC, September 5, 2002.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of
Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Young: Thank you for your letter regarding to
H.R. 3880, a bill to provide a temporary waiver from certain
transportation conformity requirements and metropolitan
transportation planning requirements under the Clean Air Act
and under other laws for certain areas in New York where the
planning offices and resources have been destroyed by acts of
terrorism.
As the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was
named as an additional Committee of jurisdiction upon the bills
introduction, I acknowledge and appreciate your willingness not
to exercise your full referral on the bill. In doing so, I
agree that your decision to waive consideration of the bill
will not prejudice the Committee on Transportation and
infrastructure with respect to its jurisdictional prerogatives
on this legislation or similar legislation. Further, I
recognize your right to request conferees on those provisions
within the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's
jurisdiction should they be the subject of a House-Senate
conference.
I will include your letter and this response in the
Committee's report on H.R. 3880.
Sincerely,
W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin,
Chairman.