1 / 18

Resources and needs for technical information to support a 2008-13 Strategic Plan

Resources and needs for technical information to support a 2008-13 Strategic Plan. Technical Analysis Forum May 22-23, 2007. Partnership. The WRAP partnership has facilitated many successful dialogues on air quality issues

sison
Download Presentation

Resources and needs for technical information to support a 2008-13 Strategic Plan

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Resources and needs for technical information to support a 2008-13 Strategic Plan Technical Analysis Forum May 22-23, 2007

  2. Partnership • The WRAP partnership has facilitated many successful dialogues on air quality issues • These exchanges have included the regulated and environmental communities, FLMs, EPA, tribes, and states • Shared experiences and exchange of cultural values have enhanced air quality efforts by states and tribes to develop regulatory programs and strategies that benefit the environment and solve problems for both tribes and states

  3. Tribal Caucus/TDDWG list of issues from September 2006 Board Meeting • Transport/characterization/impacts of PM in rural communities • PM health impacts and risk analysis • Dust emissions and air quality modeling • Climate change – emissions inventories • Oil and gas development and production emissions • Atmospheric deposition – mercury and sulfur/nitrogen • PSD consumption – systematic tracking and management • Tribal emissions and air quality data • Ozone – especially rural areas

  4. 3.) Assessing Status and Measuring Progress 1.) Setting Standards and Objectives • Emissions trends • Air quality trends • Health effects trends • Ecosystem trends • Institutional accountability • Emissions standards • Ambient air quality standards • Reducing acid deposition • Reducing regional pollution • Protecting visibility • Monitoring • Emissions • Ambient air quality • Health and exposure • Ecosystems • Meteorology • Analysis • Models (e.g. air quality, emissions) • Economics • Health and ecological risk assessment • Research • Public health and ecosystem studies • Laboratory studies (e.g., air chemistry, toxicology) • Development • Source control technology • Monitoring technology Scientific and Technical Foundation 2.) Designing and Implementing Control Strategies • Source control technology requirements • Emissions caps and trading • Voluntary or incentive-based programs • Energy efficiency • Pollution prevention (e.g., product substitution and process alteration) • Compliance assurance Source:National Academy of Science http://www.nap.edu/books/0309089328/html

  5. 2007 Haze SIP Same categories as 2002, based on Federal Programs, other State rules, plus BART and any additional measures (growth/control projections for some categories, others held constant) Narrative Visibility conditions (2000-04 baseline) Current Natural Emissions (mostly 2002) Point Area Mobile Fire, Dust, et cetera International Emissions (2018) Visibility Goals (2018) 2013 SIP Check Approach Monitoring Data Trends Emissions Trends In-state* All contributing states Other (fire, dust, international) Estimated using modeling of the “Reasonable Progress” strategies for most and least impaired days, then adjusted using monitoring Relative Response Factors – exact value of final visibility goals are SIP decisions by each state Review completeness and trends in monitoring data Based on latest & best regional emissions inventories: 1) Examine how trends in various emissions types and scales compares with the narrative prepared for SIP submittal* 2) Examine what is “now” On-The-Books and re-project 2018 3) Adjust SIP (measures and / or goal)  Identify needs for comprehensive regional emissions tracking and complete/representative Class I area monitoring data Assess post-2013 need for additional regional analysis and planning to begin now for 2018 SIP submittal Measures On-The-Books Specific to RHR BART Other point ? Area ? Smoke Management ?  These measures may include non-BART emissions limits, emission limits on source categories, and modification to smoke management plans, et cetera. * – This analysis for the 2013 SIP check will establish accountability for emissions reductions/management strategies for that state identified in each 2007 haze SIP – did they track as anticipated? The 2007 SIP should require the state to complete a review of its emissions and spell out the circumstances of how a SIP revision prior to 2018 would be triggered. If things have changed enough, that State needs to re-do the projections based on its changed emissions and either re-affirm that it will be on target for 2018, or make the needed changes to emissions strategies and / or the SIP RP goals written into each state’s 2007 SIP.

  6. What kinds of regional technical work and capabilities have been completed to date?Needs beyond 2007…

  7. What Emissions Analysis & Control Work has the WRAP Done? • Diverse interests working together through the WRAP have made great progress to reduce air pollution across the West in recent years. Some of the highlights include: • Emissions of sulfur dioxide from Western coal-fired power plants declined 40% between 1998 and 2005. A reduction of ~50% is projected with full implementation of state and tribal Regional Haze Plans over the next ten years. • Working through the WRAP, the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming submitted the nation’s first State Implementation Plans under the Regional Haze Rule. These plans implement the recommendations of the Grand Canyon Commission. • New EPA standards for engines and fuel will greatly reduce emissions from motor vehicles and off-road equipment in coming years. Mobile sources are the largest source of nitrogen oxide emissions in the West. These new standards will reduce mobile source emissions of nitrogen oxides by 70% over the next 15 years, even as the West continues to grow. • Western states and tribes, working closely with federal land managers, continue to improve their smoke management programs to ensure that air quality impacts are minimized when prescribed burns are necessary on public and private land. The WRAP is implementing a fire tracking system to help land managers and air quality planners manage controllable smoke impacts on a regional basis.

  8. WRAP region Emissions Analysis & Control Work, continued • The state Regional Haze Plans due to EPA in December 2007 will address the long-standing issue of emissions from grandfathered sources. The sulfur dioxide emission reductions mentioned above are part of the solution. The 2007 regional haze plans will also implement Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) for nitrogen oxide emissions. • In 2005, the WRAP completed the first-ever regional inventory of emissions from oil and gas sources. Phase II of that effort is now underway. Phase II will yield better estimates of current and future emissions and identify ways to reduce emissions from this sector. • WRAP is providing direct assistance to state and local governments and fleet owners in an effort to reduce diesel emissions through retrofit programs.

  9. Challenges Remain • The West is a vibrant and rapidly growing region. Even as we make progress on some air quality issues, new challenges emerge. • Population growth, increased energy development, and tighter federal standards must be addressed if we are to see continued air quality improvements and meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act. • In recent years, drought and warmer temperatures have resulted in degraded air quality due to increased dust emissions and wildfires. • The members of WRAP (states, tribes, and federal agencies) along with key stakeholders (industry, environmental interests, local governments, and academia) remain committed to working together through WRAP to address these challenges. States and tribes are also using the WRAP as a forum to share information on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, including development of a greenhouse gas inventory and a voluntary registry.

  10. Technical air quality studies using WRAP data – a working list • Rocky Mountain National Park Sulfur and Nitrogen Study (RoMANS) – National Park Service and State of Colorado • Rural Ozone Impacts from Oil & Gas emissions in the 4 Corners Region – NPS modeling study • Rural Ozone Impacts from Oil & Gas in northeast UT/southwest WY – States of Utah and Wyoming • Emissions reductions options analysis – 4 Corners AQ Task Force Cumulative Effects WG • Pilot Dust Regional Haze SIP for Salt Creek Wilderness – State of New Mexico • Nested BART CalPuff modeling using regional modeling data as background – State of North Dakota • 2018 emissions projections as basis for Columbia Gorge air quality planning • Providing consistent, free data for permit analyses by sources and consulting firms

  11. WRAP Technical Support History • 15+ years of collaboration • Analyses of last 5+ years for haze planning provide a broad basis for: • Future studies • Continued regional analyses at various scales • Addressing emerging topics • In-kind support and staff participation by members invaluable • Nature and content of studies are member-defined • WRAP members will face ongoing air management issues • Changes to health standards and exposure measures • Multiple values of ecosystem and aesthetic protection • How can WRAP adapt, or enhance, technical services to meet these needs in the future?

  12. In addition to Regional Haze, WRAP members face a variety of air quality management challenges • Some are locally-oriented such as exceeding the 24-hour PM standard along the Wasatch Front or other populated areas • What is the regional contribution to a local problem? • Others have been scoped out as sub-regional • 4 Corners AQ Task Force, NE UT/SW WY rural ozone, et cetera • Also important to continue to analyze and understand the regional response to emissions control and management programs over time • Haze, ozone, acid deposition, mercury, greenhouse gases, et cetera

  13. WRAP has built a useful and robust technical support capability • Monitoring data analysis efforts • Emissions data at appropriate spatial, temporal, and chemistry scales • Tribal Emissions Inventory Software Solution (TEISS) • Emissions Data Management System (EDMS) • Fire Emissions Tracking System (FETS) • Modeling assistance by RMC • Visualization and data analysis of regionally consistent data and information in the TSS

  14. TSS Goals • Provide a single web-based location for: • Access and display of regional haze technical data • Reference location to support individual regional haze plans • Document technical methods for regional haze plans

  15. TSS Goals • Ongoing tracking and assessment • Emissions reductions • Monitoring data for regional haze and other air quality programs • Adapt to and serve future regional technical needs of WRAP members

  16. WRAP Technical Data Information Centers Visibility Information Exchange Web System (VIEWS): VIEWS provides on-line access to monitoring data, research results and special studies related to visibility. http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/views/ Regional Modeling Center: The WRAP’s Regional Modeling Center at the University of California Riverside provides state and tribal agencies with sophisticated modeling of regional haze in the Western United States. http://pah.cert.ucr.edu/aqm/308/ Emissions Data Management System: An emission inventory data warehouse for states and tribes. The system provides a consistent, complete and regional approach to emissions data management and tracking. http://www.wrapedms.org/ Causes of Haze Assessment: A detailed analysis of ambient monitoring data for regional haze in the WRAP region. http://www.coha.dri.edu/ The Technical Support System integrates a number of different information resources under one web-based umbrella. http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/tss

  17. WRAP Data Centers Support the TSS

  18. What happens next? • Haze SIPs/FIPs + BART are due December 2007 into early ‘08 • WRAP role(s) beyond regional haze? • Present recommendations in 2008-13 Strategic Plan • From WRAP Board • From TDDWG and Tribal Caucus • From Technical Forums • Partnership

More Related