Tennessee Department of Transportation
John Schroer, Commissioner

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program

(scroll down page for CMAQ Program applications)

The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program provides funding for transportation projects that reduce mobile source air emissions (e.g., cars, trucks, construction equipment) in areas that do not meet federal air quality health standards for ozone, microscopic particles or carbon monoxide. Federal CMAQ funds are apportioned to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to be invested by the state and local metropolitan planning organizations in projects and programs that help achieve and maintain federal air quality health standards.

The primary purpose of the CMAQ program is to improve air quality in areas designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as “nonattainment” because air quality sometimes does not meet air quality health standards for certain pollutants, and the air is not always healthy to breathe. If the air quality in a designated nonattainment area improves and the area is reclassified as attaining the federal air quality health standard, it then becomes a “maintenance” area and must continue to take actions to maintain or keep air quality at a healthy level.

In 2004, EPA designated all or portions of 18 Tennessee counties as nonattainment for ozone and all or portions of six counties as nonattainment for microscopic particles, or PM 2.5. Four of these counties are nonattainment for both ozone and PM 2.5. Under federal CMAQ guidelines, 16 Tennessee counties are eligible to receive CMAQ funds.

Clean Transportation Innovations Incentives Fund

The 2005 federal transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) directs state transportation agencies to place priority on funding diesel retrofits for on-road diesel vehicles and non-road diesel-powered engines used in transportation-related construction projects. TDOT established the Clean Transportation Innovations Incentives Fund to encourage public and private sector organizations to reduce harmful emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines. TDOT is implementing three pilot partnership projects to reduce heavy-duty diesel emissions in urban nonattainment areas of the state. In each case, CMAQ will pay a share of the costs of purchasing and installing retrofit emission control equipment in on-road and off-road diesel engines. TDOT will seek reductions in PM 2.5, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons through the installation of retrofit devices (e.g., diesel oxidation catalysts), adoption of engine idling reduction policies and use of cleaner burning biodiesel fuel.

Competitive funding opportunities will be listed below as funds become available.

CMAQ Project Applications

School Bus Pilot Diesel Retrofit Project
Application Deadline: June 30, 2008