About Us

COG is the one place in metropolitan Washington that regularly brings leaders together to develop solutions to the region's major challenges. COG prepares plans enabling the region to receive federal funding, provides members with research and data to inform decision-making, and offers a wide range of programs, including commuter services, cooperative purchasing, technical assistance and grants, and public outreach campaigns.

Transportation

Through the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), area officials, planners, and engineers ensure a well-managed and maintained transportation system. The TPB, which is staffed by COG, conducts the federally mandated transportation planning process for the region and ensures the uninterrupted flow of federal transportation funds that area jurisdictions receive.

Environment

COG's work engages leaders in various environmental fields from water quality experts to climate scientists. Together, they are advancing regional efforts to restore local waterways, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change, promote recycling, and enhance and preserve green space and agriculture.

Community

Area officials and experts, including planning and housing directors and child welfare and health officials, work together with their counterparts at COG to help shape stronger communities throughout the region.

Homeland Security & Public Safety

COG brings police chiefs, fire chiefs, emergency managers, and other leaders together as part of its work to strengthen regional public safety coordination, homeland security planning, and emergency communication.

Transportation

Air Quality Geography

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines the geographic boundaries of areas that do not meet federal standards for air quality. These are called “non-attainment areas." The Washington-DC-MD-VA non-attainment area includes the TPB Planning Area (except for a very small portion of Fauquier County, Virginia) plus Calvert County, Maryland. Calvert County is part of the Calvert-St. Mary’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (C-SMMPO). The TPB and C-SMMPO have a formal agreement wherein the TPB includes Calvert County in its air quality conformity analysis.

The Washington DC-MD-VA non-attainment area (shown below) is currently designated as “marginal” non-attainment for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards. It is this area that is the focus of air quality plans developed for the region.