FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Info: Kate McMahon, 570-891-4670, kmcmahon@nepa-alliance.org

NEPA MPO Announces Opening of Public Comment Period and Public Meeting on Draft Long Range Transportation Plan

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA), designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Carbon, Monroe, Pike, and Schuylkill counties, is the organization that considers and approves the plans and programs and the Federal and State funding for highway and transit systems in the four-county MPO area.  The NEPA MPO is developing its 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).  The NEPA MPO is holding a 30-day public comment period on the draft LRTP beginning on Friday, November 17, 2023 and ending on Monday, December 18, 2023. 

The draft LRTP identifies the major transportation projects, programs and policies needed for the next twenty-five years and establishes the vision and goals that will guide public decisions affecting transportation facilities, infrastructure and services in the region.   The draft LRTP also includes an updated air quality conformity analysis report which reflects the compliance of the transportation projects in the Carbon County portion of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton nonattainment area to the 2008 8-hour ozone standard as written within the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.  The Air Quality Conformity Analysis report also includes Monroe County designated as an Ozone Maintenance Area in accordance with guidance issued by EPA (EPA-420-B-18-050).

The draft plan can be viewed on the NEPA MPO website at https://www.nepa-alliance.org/additional-plans-and-programs/.   Paper copies of the draft plan can be requested by calling (570) 891-4670 or writing to the NEPA MPO at 1151 Oak St., Pittston, PA 18640.  Paper copies of the draft plan can also be viewed at the following locations:

Carbon Co. Office of Planning & Development   44 Susquehanna St., 2^nd Floor         Jim Thorpe, PA

Carbon County Transit/LANTA                                 1060 Lehigh Street                              Allentown, PA

Monroe County Planning Commission                  701 Main Street, Suite 405               Stroudsburg, PA

Monroe County Transportation Authority           134 MCTA Drive                                   Swiftwater, PA

Pike County Planning Commission                         506 Broad Street                                  Milford, PA

Schuylkill County Planning Commission               401 N. Second St. (Courthouse)     Pottsville, PA

Schuylkill Transportation System                             300 Wade Road                                     St. Clair, PA

PennDOT District 4-0                                                   55 Keystone Industrial Park              Dunmore, PA

PennDOT District 5-0                                                   1002 Hamilton Street                        Allentown, PA

NEPA Alliance                                                                  1151 Oak Street                                   Pittston, PA

A public meeting to provide comments on the draft plan will be held on Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 10:00 AM at the following locations:

Monroe County Transportation Authority, 134 MCTA Drive, Swiftwater, PA 18370

44 Susquehanna Street Building, 44 Susquehanna St., Jim Thorpe, PA 18229

Pike County Training Center, 135 Pike County Blvd., Lords Valley, PA 18428

Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation, Union Station, 2^nd Floor, 1 Progress Circle, Pottsville, PA 17901 

The public meeting will also be available via phone and video conference.  A link to the video conference can be found on the NEPA website at https://www.nepa-alliance.org/additional-plans-and-programs/.

Comments on the draft plan can also be submitted by mail to the NEPA MPO at the 1151 Oak Street, Pittston, PA 18640, or by emailing Kate McMahon, Senior Transportation Services Manager, at kmcmahon@nepa-alliance.org.

###