In 1988, Colorado Governor Roy Romer designated the North Front Range Transportation & Air Quality Planning Council (NFRT & AQPC) as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The original seven voting members and the State Highway Commissioner were joined in 1993 by four other local governments and the Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) of the Colorado Department of Health and the Environment (CDPHE).
Governor Romer designated the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO) as the lead air quality planning organization for Carbon Monoxide (CO) for the North Front Range in 1993, giving the voting members (Planning Council) additional responsibilities in transportation-related air quality planning. By 2007, four more local governments had joined the NFRMPO, bringing the local government members to 15.
The NFRMPO goal is to enhance mobility and air quality within the North Front Range Region. This goal is achieved by developing cooperative, working relationships and financial partnerships among member governments, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and other public agencies as well as the private sector.
The NFRMPO is a public agency whose funding comes primarily from federal and local government sources. The NFRMPO allocates federal funding for projects through periodic calls for projects, which require the local sponsoring agencies to provide the local match.