BMC staff and the Maryland Department of the Environment both use a computer model to estimate future vehicle emissions that may result from the transportation system in the Baltimore region. Prior to emissions modeling by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), BMC staff run a travel demand model to estimate the level of future travel on the region's roadways and transit ways. The information is used in the federally-required transportation conformity process.
Air quality modeling provides estimates of emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which are both precursors to ground-level ozone pollution. The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board must work to ensure that emissions from the region's transportation network are below a limit, or "budget" set in the State Implementation Plan (SIP).
See the estimated on-road transportation network emissions for the Baltimore region.
To learn more about the EPA's air quality model for vehicle emissions, visit https://www.epa.gov/moves