Nonattainment Area Requirements

If an area does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) then the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designates and classifies nonattainment areas to protect people's health and the environment.

Requirements are based on how bad the air quality is in your area. Designated counties in the San Antonio region would most likely receive the classification of marginal, the lowest level of classifications.

The EPA would make sure that the state has a general plan to attain air quality standards in all areas of the country and a specific plan for each nonattainment area. These “plans” demonstrate how the NAAQS will be achieved, maintained, and enforced.  In our state these “plans” are developed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and are referred to as State Implementation Plans (SIPs). The following would be required through the SIP:

• Nonattainment New Source Review - New or modified industrial sources, like power plants would be restricted to lowers levels of pollutants.
  
  
• General Conformity - Federal projects with estimated emissions above established levels must demonstrate that the expected emissions will not jeopardize an area's ability to achieve air quality standards.
  
  
• Transportation Conformity - The estimated emissions from the area's short-range and long-range transportation plans must be less than specified levels of pollutants. If emissions look to be higher than allowed, a conformity “lapse” occurs and only certain transportation projects can proceed, like safety projects. If a conformity lapse occurs, an area can lose federal funding for its transportation projects.

For additional information visit:

• Nonattainment Requirements
• Clean Air Plan
  
• Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG)
• San Antonio Early Action Compact Area