3745-101-02 Definitions.

 

3745-101-02                Definitions.

 

 

 

(A)   Terms used but not defined in this chapter shall have the meaning given them by the CAAA, Titles 23 and 49 USC, other USEPA regulations, other USDOT regulations, or other state or local air quality or transportation rules, in that order of priority. Except as otherwise provided in this rule, the definitions in rule 3745-15-01 of the Administrative Code shall apply to this chapter.

 

(B)  As used in Chapter 3745-101 of the Administrative Code:

 

(1)   "Action scenario" means the future transportation system that would result from the implementation of the proposed transportation plan, program, and projects.

 

(2)    "Applicable implementation plan" as defined in section 302(q) of the CAAA means the portion, or portions, of the state's implementation plan, or most recent revision thereof, which has been approved under section 110 of the CAAA, or promulgated under section 110(c) of the CAAA, or promulgated or approved pursuant to regulations promulgated under section 301(d) of the CAAA and which implements the relevant requirements of the CAAA.

 

(3)   "Baseline scenario" means the transportation system that would result from the continued implementation of current programs, as specified in rule 3745-101-12 of the Administrative Code.

 

(4)    "CAAA" means the Clean Air Act of 1990, 42 USC 7401 et seq. (1990), as amended.

 

(5)   "Cause or contribute to a new violation" for a project means:

 

(a)     To cause or contribute to a new violation of a standard in the area substantially affected by the project or over a region which would otherwise not be in violation of the standard during the future period in question, if the project were not implemented, or

 

(b)    To contribute to a new violation in a manner that would increase the frequency or severity of a new violation of a standard in such area.

 

 

 

 

(6)          "CERCLA" means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 USC 9601 et seq., as amended.

(7)   "Clean data" means air quality monitoring data determined by EPA to meet the requirements of 40 CFR part 58 that indicate attainment of the national ambient air quality standard.

(8)     "Consultation" means that one party confers with another identified party, provides all appropriate information to that party needed for meaningful input, and prior to taking any action, considers the views of that party and, except with respect to those actions for which only notification is required and those actions subject to paragraph (C)(1)(f) of rule 3745-101-04 of the Administrative Code, responds to those views in a timely, substantive written manner prior to any final decision on such action.

(9)       "Control strategy implementation plan revision" means the applicable implementation plan which contains specific strategies for controlling the emissions of and reducing ambient levels of pollutants in order to satisfy CAAA requirements for demonstrations of reasonable further progress and attainment (sections 182(b)(1), 182(c)(2)(A), 182(c)(2)(B), 187(a)(7), 189(a)(1)(B), and 189(b)(1)(A) of the CAAA; and sections 192(a) and 192(b) of the CAAA, for nitrogen dioxide).

(10)    "Design concept" means the type of facility identified by the project, e.g., freeway, expressway, arterial highway, grade-separated highway, reserved right-of-way rail transit, mixed-traffic rail transit, exclusive busway, etc.

(11)    "Design scope" means the design aspects of a facility which will affect the proposed facility's impact on regional emissions, usually as they relate to vehicle or person carrying capacity and control, e.g., number of lanes or tracks to be constructed or added, length of project, signalization, access control including approximate number and location of interchanges, preferential treatment for high occupancy vehicles, etc.

(12)   "DOT" means the United States department of transportation.

(13)    "EMFAC" means a computer-based mathematical model used by the state of California to calculate motor vehicle emissions.

(14)   "EPA" Means the environmental protection agency.

(15)    "Facility" means any building, structure, roadway, installation, operation, or combination thereof.

(16)   "FHWA" means the federal highway administration of USDOT.

(17)   "FHWA/FTA project", for the purpose of this chapter, means any highway or transit project which is proposed to receive funding assistance and approval through the federal-aid highway program or the federal mass transit program or requires federal highway administration (FHWA) or federal transit administration (FTA) approval for some aspect of the project, such as connection to an interstate highway or deviation from applicable design standards on the interstate system.

(18)   "FTA" means the federal transit administration of USDOT.

(19)    "Fiscally constrained" means that full funding is reasonably anticipated to be available within the time period contemplated for completion of the projects in the transportation plan or in the TIP in accordance with the metropolitan planning regulations at 23 CFR Part 450.

(20)   "Forecast period" with respect to a transportation plan or TIP means the period covered by the transportation plan or TIP pursuant to 23 CFR Part 450.

(21)    "Highway project" means an undertaking to implement or modify a highway facility or highway-related program. Such an undertaking consists of all required phases necessary for implementation. For analytical purposes,  it shall be defined sufficiently to:

(a)       Connect logical termini and be of sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad scale;

(b)      Have independent utility or significance, i.e., be usable and be a reasonable expenditure even if no additional transportation improvements in the area are made; and

(c)   Not restrict consideration of alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation improvements.

(22)   "Horizon year" means a year for which the transportation plan or TIP describes the envisioned transportation system in accordance with rule 3745-101-05 of the Administrative Code.

(23)    "Hot-spot analysis" means an estimation of likely future localized CO and PM10 pollutant concentrations and a comparison of those concentrations to the national ambient air quality standards. Hot-spot analysis assesses impacts on a scale smaller than the entire nonattainment or maintenance area, including, for example, congested roadway intersections and highways or transit terminals, and uses an air quality dispersion model to determine the effects of emissions on air quality.

(24)   "HPMS" means highway performance monitoring system.

(25)    "Incomplete data area" means any ozone nonattainment area which USEPA has classified, in 40 CFR Part 81, as an incomplete data area.

(26)    "Increase the frequency or severity" means to cause a location or region to exceed a standard more often or to cause a violation at a greater concentration than previously existed and/or would otherwise exist during the future period in question, if the project were not implemented.

(27)    "Lapse" means that the conformity determination for a transportation plan or TIP has expired, and thus there is no currently conforming transportation plan and TIP.

(28)    "Lead agency" means the agency responsible for preparing the document, as referred to in paragraph (B)(2) of rule 3745-101-04 of the Administrative Code, unless otherwise provided by MOU or contract.

(29)   "Level of service" is a qualitative measure describing operational conditions of traffic, generally described in terms of speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort, convenience, and safety. The following six levels of service define a facility's operating condition:

(a)   Level of service A-free flow, no restrictions on operating speed.

(b)   Level of service B - stable flow, few speed restrictions

(c)    Level of service C - stable flow, higher volumes, some restricted speed and lane changing

(d)     Level  of  service  D  -  approaching  unstable  flow,  little  freedom  to maneuver

(e)   Level of service E - unstable flow, lower speed with some stops

(f)  Level of service F - forced flow, low speed with many stops

(30)    "Local air agency" means an agency that has been delegated air pollution control responsibilities by the director of the Ohio environmental protection agency pursuant to section 3704.03 of the Revised Code.

(31)      "Maintenance area" means any geographic region of the United States previously designated nonattainment pursuant to the CAAA and subsequently redesignated to attainment subject to the requirement to develop a maintenance plan under section 175a of the CAAA.

(32)   "Maintenance plan" means an implementation plan under section 175A of the CAA, as amended.

(33)    "Memorandum of understanding" or "MOU" means an agreement among the agencies required to perform consultation under this chapter defining their respective responsibilities in air quality and transportation planning processes for each nonattainment area.

(34)     "Metropolitan planning organization" or "MPO" means that organization designated as being responsible, together with the state, for conducting the continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive transportation planning process under 23 USC 134 and 49 USC 16075303 within the MPO boundary as recognized by the governor of Ohio. It is the forum for cooperative transportation decision-making.

(35)    "Milestone" has the meaning given in sections 182(g)(1) and 189(c) of the CAAA. A milestone consists of an emissions level and the date on which it is required to be achieved.

(36)    "Motor vehicle emissions budget" means that portion of the total allowable emissions allocated by the applicable implementation plan to highway and transit vehicles. Such portion of the total allowable emissions is defined in a revision to the applicable implementation plan for a certain date for the purpose of meeting reasonable further progress milestones, or attainment or maintenance demonstrations, for any criteria pollutant or its precursors. Such portion can also be defined in an implementation plan revision which was endorsed by the governor or by the Ohio EPA, subject to a public hearing, and submitted to, but not yet approved by, the USEPA. The applicable implementation plan for an ozone nonattainment area may also designate a

motor vehicle emissions budget for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) for a reasonable further progress milestone year if the applicable implementation plan demonstrates that this NOx budget will be achieved with measures in the implementation plan (as an implementation plan shall do for VOC milestone requirements). The applicable implementation plan for an ozone nonattainment area includes a NOx budget if NOx reductions are being substituted for the reductions in VOC in milestone years which are required for reasonable further progress.

(37)   "National ambient air quality standards" or "NAAQS" means those standards established pursuant to section 109 of the CAAA.

(38)    "NEPA" means the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 USC 4321 et seq.).

(39)   "NEPA process completion", for the purposes of this chapter, with respect to FHWA or FTA, means the point at which there is a specific action to make a formal final determination that a project is categorically excluded, to make a finding of no significant impact, or to issue a record of decision on a final environmental impact statement under NEPA.

(40)   "Nonattainment area" means any geographic region of the United States which has been designated as nonattainment under section 107 of the CAAA for any pollutant for which a national ambient air quality standard exists.

(41)    "Not classified area" means any carbon monoxide nonattainment area which USEPA has not classified as either moderate or serious.

(42)   "Ohio DOT" means the Ohio department of transportation.

(43)   "Ohio EPA" means the Ohio environmental protection agency.

(44)    "PM10" means particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to ten microns.

(45)   "Project" means a highway project or transit project.

(46)   "Protective finding" means a determination by USEPA that the control strategy contained in a submitted control strategy implementation plan revision would have been considered approvable with respect to requirements for emissions reductions if all committed measures had been submitted in enforceable form as required by CAAA section 110(a)(2)(A).

(47)   "Recipient of funds designated under Title 23 USC or the Federal Transit Act" means any agency at any level of state, county, city or regional government that routinely receives Title 23 USC or Federal Transit Act funds to construct FHWA/FTA projects, operate FHWA/FTA projects or equipment, purchase equipment, or undertake other services or operations via contracts or agreements. This definition does not include private landowners or developers, or contractors or entities that are only paid for services or products created by their own employees.

(48)    "Regionally significant project" means a transportation project, other than an exempt project, that is on a facility which serves regional transportation needs (such as access to and from the area outside of the region, major activity centers in the region, major planned developments such as new retail malls, sports complexes, etc., or transportation terminals as well as most terminals themselves) and would normally be included in the modeling of a metropolitan area's transportation network. A regionally significant project serves regional transportation needs that include access to and from the area outside of the region, major activity centers in the region, major planned developments such as new retail malls, sports complexes, etc., or transportation terminals, as well as most terminals themselves, but which shall include, at a minimum:

(a)   All principal arterial highways,

(b)    All fixed guideway transit facilities that offer an alternative to regional highway travel,

(c)   Any project that Ohio EPA identifies as having the potential to affect air quality on a regional basis.

(49)   "Rural area" means an area external to all metropolitan planning organization boundaries recognized by the governor of Ohio.

(50)    "Safety margin" means the amount by which the total projected emissions from all sources of a given pollutant are less than the total emissions that would satisfy the applicable requirement for reasonable further progress, attainment, or maintenance.

(51)   "Standard" means a national ambient air quality standard.

(52)    "State project" means any highway or transit project which is proposed to receive   funding   assistance   or   approval   through   any   state   or   local

transportation program.

(53)    "Statewide transportation improvement program" or "STIP" means a staged, multi-year, intermodal program of transportation projects covering the state, or the nonattainment area, attainment area, or maintenance area, which is consistent with the statewide transportation plan and metropolitan transportation plans, and developed pursuant to 23 CFR Part 450.

(54)      "Statewide transportation plan" means the official intermodal statewide transportation plan that is developed through the statewide planning process for the state, developed pursuant to 23 CFR part 450.

(55)    "Submarginal area" means any ozone nonattainment area which USEPA has classified as submarginal in 40 CFR part 81.

(56)   "Title 23 USC" means Title 23 of the United States Code.

(57)    "Transit" means mass transportation by bus, rail, or other conveyance which provides general or special service to the public on a regular and continuing basis. It does not include school buses or charter or sightseeing services.

(58)     "Transit project" means an undertaking to implement or modify a transit facility or transit-related program, purchase transit vehicles or equipment, or provide financial assistance for transit operations. It does not include actions that are solely within the jurisdiction of local transit agencies, such as changes in routes, schedules, or fares. It may consist of several phases. For analytical purposes, it shall be defined inclusively enough to:

(a)       Connect logical termini and be of sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad scope;

(b)   Have independent utility or independent significance, i.e., be a reasonable expenditure even if no additional transportation improvements in the area are made; and

(c)   Not restrict consideration of alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation improvements.

(59)    "Transitional area" means any ozone nonattainment area which USEPA has classified as transitional in 40 CFR Part 81.

(60)     "Transportation control measure" or "TCM" means any measure that is specifically identified and committed to in the applicable implementation plan that is either one of the types listed in section 108 of the CAAA, or any other measure for the purpose of reducing emissions or concentrations of air pollutants from transportation sources by reducing vehicle use or changing traffic flow or congestion conditions. Notwithstanding the above, vehicle technology-based, fuel-based, and maintenance-based measures which control the emissions from vehicles under fixed traffic conditions are not TCMs for the purpose of this chapter.

(61)    "Transportation improvement program" or "TIP" means a staged, multi-year, intermodal program of transportation projects covering a metropolitan planning area which is consistent with the metropolitan transportation plan, and developed pursuant to 23 CFR Part 450.

(62)      "Transportation plan" means the official intermodal metropolitan transportation plan that is developed through the metropolitan planning process for the metropolitan planning area, developed pursuant to 23 CFR Part 450.

(63)   "Transportation project" means a highway project or a transit project.

(64)   "USDOT" means the United States department of transportation.

(65)   "USEPA" means the United States environmental protection agency.

(66)   "VMT" means total miles traveled by all vehicles on a given roadway.

(67)    "VOC" means volatile organic compound as defined in paragraph (B)(6) of rule 3745-21-01 of the Administrative Code.

(68)     "Written commitment" for the purposes of this chapter means a written commitment that includes a description of the action to be taken; a schedule for the completion of the action; a demonstration that funding necessary to implement the action has been authorized by the appropriating or authorizing body; and an acknowledgment that the commitment is an enforceable obligation under the applicable implementation plan.

Effective:                                9/23/2002

R.C. 119.032 review dates:    2/5/2002 and 12/31/2004

CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY

Certification

09/12/2002 09:03 AM

Date

Promulgated Under:   119.03

Statutory Authority:   3704

Rule Amplifies:           3704.03

Prior Effective Dates: 08/21/95, 06/19/97, 02/16/99