Air Quality Conformity Determination (AQCD)
Two pollutants are a concern in the Rogue Valley, and must be addressed in transportation planning: carbon monoxide (CO) in Medford, and particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10) in the RVMPO.
Federal rules require completion of an air quality conformity determination as part of the RTP and TIP approval process. The determination must show that the region’s transportation plans will not degrade air quality. In metropolitan areas, the policy board of the MPO must formally make a conformity determination on its transportation plan and Transportation Improvement Program before submitting them to the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) for an independent review and conformity determination.
These tasks and documents must be kept up-to-date or the Rogue Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization would lose its eligibility for federal transportation funds.
