Orange County opens comment period on air quality conformity update

Orange County residents still have a say in how the county’s next transportation projects line up with air-quality rules, and the clock is already running. The Orange County Transportation Council opened public comment on its draft Air Quality Conformity Determination update on May 15, and comments are due by 5 p.m. Sunday, June 14, 2026.

The review sits at the intersection of transportation planning, environmental compliance and federal approval. Orange County says the updated Air Quality/Transportation Conformity Determination was completed as part of the 2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Program update, the document that helps steer road, transit and related investments while showing they remain consistent with air-quality requirements. The county prepared the update with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council and the Dutchess County Transportation Council.

That makes the comment period important for residents, municipal leaders, advocates and commuters who are watching traffic growth, development pressure and pollution levels. Orange County says the county is part of the New York-NJ-CT PM2.5 maintenance area and the 1997 Poughkeepsie ozone nonattainment area, which gives the conformity review significance well beyond a single local planning file. The county’s prior resolution also said transportation conformity review is required when significant revisions are made to Transportation Improvement Program or long-range transportation plan projects.

The draft is posted on Orange County’s Air Quality Conformity page, and the county has given two ways to weigh in. Comments may be emailed to OCTC@orangecountygov.com or mailed to Orange County Transportation Council, Department of Planning, 124 Main Street, Goshen, NY 10924. The process is meant to remain public, not buried inside technical planning language that can shape future approvals.

This is not the first time Orange County has moved through this cycle. The Orange County Transportation Council held a 30-day public comment period from August 17, 2023 through September 15, 2023 for an earlier draft Air Quality/Transportation Conformity Determination. The spring 2026 update continues that same compliance track, linking local transportation planning in Goshen to regional air-quality obligations in Poughkeepsie and across the Hudson Valley.