Good news for all in Conn. - the air is cleaner, meaning the emission of particulate matter (PM) is at or below federal EPA levels. PM is primarily the soot and smog from vehicle emissions, including cars, trucks, heavy construction equipment. Periodically, Conn. has to update its EPA State Implementation Plan (SIP) for various air quality standards. EPA's recent SIP approval on October 16, is critical to keeping Conn.'s highway and bridge projects eligible for federal FHWA and U.S. DOT funding.