DFW air quality planners outline projects to reduce air pollution from transportation through 2050

North Texas air quality planners are updating the region’s long-term air quality improvement plan to largely focus on reducing transportation emissions.

Since 2023, air quality planners with the North Central Texas Council of Governments have been drafting the Dallas-Fort Worth Air Quality Improvement Plan. The document outlines measures to improve air quality in North Texas across several sectors, including transportation, energy, water, waste management, agriculture, forestry and open space.

The plan is broken up into two parts: 

• The Priority Climate Action Plan is a short-term planning guide to improve air quality through 2030. 
• The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan projects emissions and targets sources of air pollution to improve air quality through 2050. 

In a June 5 meeting, council of governments air quality planners Savana Nance and Irlenia Hermosillo said the agency is working to add more measures to the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan to focus on emissions generated through transportation. 

The measures include reduced idling, improving traffic flow, reducing congestion, mitigating airplane emissions and using low emissions vehicles.

The agency’s air quality planners are working with other departments within the council of governments to ensure those new measures align with other regional projects, including the Unified Planning Work Program for Regional Transportation. The document summarizes the amount of funding available to go toward transportation and air quality activities planned by the region’s municipalities or agencies.

So far, the work program names 47 recommended projects, including those submitted by Trinity Metro and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. 

The second portion of the air quality improvement plan will include projects or initiatives to install more street lighting, add more sidewalks and bike routes, improve rail crossings and make public transit more accessible and convenient. 

Transportation and vehicles produced the most greenhouse gas emissions out of any other source, making up 41% of emissions in 2022, according to data from the council of governments.

Through 30 public meetings and a survey, Dallas-Fort Worth officials and residents ranked lack of public transportation as one of their biggest concerns in North Texas. Climate change and local air quality were among their top concerns, too.

“This reinforced our decision to make sure that the (air quality improvement plan) was 0comprehensive and addresses criteria pollutants and (greenhouse gases),” said Hermosillo.

The development of the air quality improvement plan has been largely supported by a $1 million grant the council of governments received from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program in 2022. 

In spring 2024, the council of governments sought a $199 million federal grant from the $4.6 billion awarded through the EPA’s Inflation Reduction Act. The only entity in Texas chosen to receive a portion of the funding was the city of Austin. 

The $199 million would have funded 19 of the 44 initiatives and projects outlined in the air quality improvement plan. 

One of the primary reasons that led the council of governments to participate in the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program is due to 10 North Texas counties currently failing to meet federal air quality standards, said Hermosillo. 

While the region is within attainment for air pollutants such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has exceeded federal ground-level ozone limits as far back as the 90s. 

The region has until 2027 to bring ozone levels to 70 parts per billion or under. If the region is in violation of air quality standards, polluters or major sources of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides could face annual fines of $45 million under the EPA’s Clean Air Act, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. 

The area could also be in violation of federal caps on particulate matter but air quality planners have not yet identified a designation due to pending standards on the air pollutant, said Hermosillo. 

Ground-level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds are released in the air and mix in sunlight. These emissions largely stem from several sources, such as vehicles, construction equipment, locomotives and aircraft, according to the council of governments. 

Particulate matter consists of microscopic solids or liquid droplets that can be inhaled and lead to serious health problems, according to the EPA. Particulate matter is often generated from construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires. 

Both ozone and particulate matter can lead to serious health problems, particularly respiratory conditions. 

While the air quality plan continues to undergo drafting, the council of governments has prioritized short-term projects to cut both greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants in North Texas, said Hermosillo. 

The council of governments will host meetings throughout the summer where the public is invited to provide feedback and comments on the transportation initiatives, according to Hermosillo. 

To continue to receive funding through the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, the air quality plan needs to be finalized and submitted by Dec. 1. 

More information on the plan can be found at the North Central Texas Council of Governments website.

Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.

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