Public Comment Period
DVRPC invites the public to review and comment on the Draft Transportation Conformity Demonstration: Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan and Draft FY2025 TIP for Pennsylvania” This conformity finding was developed in cooperation with DVRPC’s planning partners and the Transportation Conformity Interagency Consultation Group. We have opened a public comment period (ending 5:00 pm local time on July 8, 2024) to allow the public an opportunity to comment on the draft conformity finding.
Connections 2050 Plan for Greater Philadelphia Draft Amendment 3
Draft FY2025 TIP for Pennsylvania
There will be two public information sessions for this conformity finding, one online and one hybrid:
Online only meeting:
Monday, June 10, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Registration via:
https://bit.ly/June10mtg or by visiting DVRPC’s events calendar at: https://www.dvrpc.org/calendar/.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Hybrid meeting:
Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Registration for in-person and online attendees via:
https://bit.ly/3yj9iAU or by visiting DVRPC’s events calendar at: https://www.dvrpc.org/calendar/.
DVRPC Conference room
190 N Independence Mall W
Philadelphia, PA 19139
Directions: https://www.dvrpc.org/directions/
The meeting presentations will be recorded and posted on the DVRPC website for additional access to the public.
Public comments must be submitted in writing in order to be incorporated into the public record. DVRPC encourages the public to submit comments on the Draft Transportation Conformity Demonstration: Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan and Draft FY2025 TIP for Pennsylvania by submitting comments on this webpage; by email to airconformity@dvrpc.org; or by mailing to DVRPC at the address at the bottom of this page, Attention: Conformity Comments. If you are unable to submit comments by these standards, please contact DVRPC at (215) 592-1800 for assistance. After consideration of public comment, the DVRPC Board may adopt the conformity determination with any recommended changes at its July 25, 2024 meeting.
The Federal Clean Air Act and the transportation planning provisions of Title 23 and Title 49 of the United States Code are intended to ensure that integrated transportation and air quality planning occurs in the areas that do not or previously have not met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These areas, known as nonattainment or maintenance areas respectively, require a process to demonstrate that transportation projects included in the region’s Long-Range Plan (Plan) or Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) will not impede a region’s progress towards meeting or maintaining the federal air quality standards.
Transportation conformity is the federally mandated analytical process through which Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) demonstrate that the transportation investments, strategies, and programs included in the Plan and TIPs are consistent with air quality goals established in State Implementation Plans (SIP) for achieving the NAAQS. Conformity demonstrations show that emissions from projects in transportation plans and programs do not exceed the SIP targets ("budgets") for emissions from mobile sources.
The nine-county DVRPC planning area is part of the:
- Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Ozone Nonattainment Area
- Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE PM2.5 Maintenance Area
- New York - Northern New Jersey - Long Island, NY-NJ-CT PM2.5 Maintenance Area
- Delaware County PM2.5 Maintenance Area
On September 28, 2023, the DVRPC Board adopted the “Transportation Conformity Determination: Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan, FY 2024 New Jersey and FY 2023 TIP for Pennsylvania.” This is the current transportation conformity determination for the New Jersey and Pennsylvania portions of the region.
The Air Quality Conformity presentation given to the DVRPC Board on September 28, 2023, is available at this link.
Adopted Conformity Documents
The DVRPC Board adopted the following documents in September 2023. This document demonstrates transportation conformity for:
- the Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan,
- the FY 2024-2027 TIP for New Jersey, and
- the FY 2023-2026 TIP for Pennsylvania
View the Transportation Conformity Determination: Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan, FY 2024 New Jersey and FY 2023 Pennsylvania TIPs and Executive Summary.
DVRPC procedures for developing a Transportation Conformity Determination are detailed in each conformity report. Further information on these procedures are available here:
PENNDOT Project Review and Classification Guidelines for Regional Air Quality Conformity
DVRPC Transportation Conformity Standard Operating Procedures for the New Jersey Subregion
For more information on transportation conformity, visit the FHWA or EPA webpages.