Connecticut Tries to Avert Federal Highway Fund Sanctions
After a notice from the Federal Highway Administration, Connecticut officials have taken steps to revive their suspended motor vehicle emissions testing program and, they hope, avert having up to $230 million in federal highway funds withheld. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell said on Sept. 9 the state would launch the following day a two-week limited field trial of the emissions testing system.
Rell's announcement came the day after FHWA's Connecticut Division Administrator, Bradley Keazer, wrote her a letter, stating that if Connecticut could not show that its transportation projects will not worsen area air pollution, some highway projects won't be able to move forward, said Keazer. If federal officials were to decide to impose funding sanctions, they could withhold as much as $230 million in highway funding, or 52% of the annual amount Connecticut receives, says Chris Cooper, a spokesman for the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation.