Skip Maine state header navigation
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
DEP > Air Bureau > EIP > Air-Inventory List Server > August 2004 Digest
-----Original Message-----
From: Gould, Tammy [mailto:Tammy.Gould@maine.gov]
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2004 8:29 AM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Subject: air-inventory FW: chief digest: July 30, 2004
To Air-Inventory List:
I am forwarding this post from EPA's CHIEF Digest.
FYI - Tammy Gould, DEP
CHIEF Digest for Friday, July 30, 2004.
Call for Participants
To take part in either of TWO Emissions Factors Improvement Workshops
Conducted by:
Emissions Factors and Policy Applications Group
Emissions Monitoring and Analysis Division
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
8:30 am to 4:30 pm, August 25, 2004 and 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, August 26,
2004
LOCATION: Washington, D.C. EPA East Conference room 1153
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Are there emissions factors that you need but can not find?
2. Would you like to know data quality (e.g., accuracy, precision) of
emissions factors and how to use that information?
3. Are there published emissions factors that you know are out of date?
4. Do you know of applications for which emissions factors are simply not
the right tools for the job?
If you answer 'yes' to any of these questions, this workshop is an
opportunity for you to be part of a major shift in how the air pollution
emissions factors program proceeds. The Emissions Factors and Policy
Applications Group and OAQPS management have assessed the state of
emissions factors development and applications and, as a result, have
planned significant changes to the program. These changes are intended to
ensure that users have the emissions quantification tools and information
needed, recognizing that EPA can no longer be the major emissions factors
provider.
You can play an important role in the future of the program. To help
determine that role, you are invited to participate in a one-day workshop
either August 25 or 26. The workshop is designed to engage you and your
colleagues in resolving issues important to you. Representatives from
OAQPS will summarize the results of months of stakeholder discussions and
strawman plans to advance the emissions factors program both in data
development and in applications. The bulk of the workshop will be
interactive sessions focused on identifying and exploring means to make
the emissions factors program self-sustaining and to better address users'
needs.
Please obtain registration forms for the workshops at
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/meetnw/workshoppromo2.html and e-mail the
completed form to us at myers.ron@epa.gov
For more information contact Ron Myers at (919) 541-5407; or Sean
Mulligan of MACTEC Federal Programs at (919) 941-0333.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us [mailto:owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us] On Behalf Of David Dixon
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 8:53 AM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Subject: air-inventory Grouping small emission units
In other years, the guidance has been that it is acceptable to group similar small emission units such as emergency diesel generators. Facilities generally only have a total fuel consumption for all of the units. What I have done is add the individual capacities and list the unit as “generators” emphasis on plural and use a typical stack for stack data. I guess it would be better to add a note saying that this represents a group of so many generators. Is this procedure still acceptable for the 2003 reports?
Were you planning to post the DEP responses on the various issues that were written on the flip charts during the training? I think that would be helpful.
As I recall, you said at training that the small boiler greenhouse gas calculator spreadsheet should only be used by facilities burning something like 50,000 gallons and that another spreadsheet would be posted to be used by larger fuel burning sources. I have not seen it yet. When will the added spreadsheet be available?
Mike said that staff were looking at the biomass greenhouse gas emission factor to address the moisture question. Has that been resolved yet?
Is there a way that we can keep i-STEPs records for multiple years in i-STEPS itself or is the only way to retain a copy of previous years data to keep the dbf files in a separate folder and then load that into i-STEPS if we ever want to refer back to previous data? (That of course would replace the current year and it could get pretty confusing as to which year of record we are dealing with, especially this year when we have two versions of 2002 data, the files as submitted and the files as edited and sent to facilities as a starting point for 2003 reporting.)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us
[mailto:owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us] On Behalf Of Gould, Tammy
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 9:58 AM
To: David; air-inventory@informe.org
Cc: Hodsdon, Becky S; Karagiannes, Mike
Subject: RE: air-inventory Grouping small emission units
In response to David's questions below:
1. Generally, yes, it's acceptable to group similar small emissions. I
would advise anyone doing so to check with their Licensing Unit Project
Manager. They'll help determine what is appropriate to group as far as
emissions reporting is concerned. We have seen examples where people get a
little carried away on "grouping" and group emission units that are not
similar. Also, I would strongly recommend that you use the Note field on
the Group/Area page of i-Steps to list each source, horsepower, and maybe
even location.
2. Yes. We just finished the second training program yesterday and we will
be posting responses to the list. Also, I am adding a monthly digest of
list server messages to our list server page (
http://www.maine.gov/dep/air/emissions/listserver.htm). The monthly
digest will capture postings and information for people who choose not to
subscribe to the list.
3. The expanded combustion worksheet will be available when the monthly
digest is available -- as soon as our webmaster returns from vacation! For
anyone who needs it immediately, contact me by e-mail.
4. No, the moisture issue for biomass has not yet been addressed.
5. Not easily. To have multiple sets open or available, you need to change
one of the primary identifying fields -- the state, county or plant ID --
and the facility name -- for each dataset you want to open. I don't
recommend it because it can cause confusion and you still can only view
and/or edit one facility at a time!
If you want to compare information from one dataset to the other, print the
Facility Detail Report for one and compare that report to the other loaded
in i-Steps. I've heard complaints about the Detail Report as being too
long, but it does contain most of the fields that need to be looked at.
Also, you can use the <Alt><PrtScn> (alt-print screen) to capture i-Steps
screen images, paste them to MS Word (or other word processor or publishing
software) and print those pages for comparison.
- Tammy Gould, DEP
-----Original Message-----
From: Gould, Tammy [mailto:Tammy.Gould@maine.gov]
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 10:04 AM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Cc: Karagiannes, Mike; Hodsdon, Becky S
Subject: air-inventory Updates to DEP Emissions Inventory Website
The Emissions Inventory Program has made several recent updates to its
website.
1) Greenhouse Gas Expanded Combustions Worksheet -- Designed for facilities
that burn wood and/or more than 50,000 gallons of fuel oil. It contains
emission factors for methane and nitrous oxide. It is available at
http://www.state.me.us/dep/air/emissions/ghg-tools.htm.
2) Air-Inventory Digests -- Monthly compilations of our list server posting
are now available. May, June and July 2004 have been posted. See
http://www.state.me.us/dep/air/emissions/listserver.htm.
3) Chapter 137 -- A Microsoft Word version of Chapter 137, "Emission
Statements," is now available on the Recently Adopted Regulations page of
the DEP website. You'll find it at
http://www.state.me.us/dep/air/regulations/recentlyadopted.htm. NOTE: The
Secretary of State's rulemaking website has yet to be updated, so the only
electronic copy of the current Ch. 137 is at the link above.
Mike Karagiannes and I also want to thank everyone who attended training. It was nice to meet you all in person. Thank you to everyone who completed and evaluation form. We're looking at your responses and planning how best to meet your training needs! -----Original Message-----
From: owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us
[mailto:owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us] On Behalf Of Gould, Tammy
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 4:06 PM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Cc: Karagiannes, Mike
Subject: air-inventory Refridgerant Synonyms
I received two calls today about refridgerants and their common names. Most facilities are receiving maintenance reports with "R22" or "R404a" as the name of the refridgerant and can't figure out which greenhouse gas on the DEP list is is.
R22 = HCFC-22 (Chlorodifluoromethane, CAS No. 75-45-6)
R404a = HFC-134a (1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane, CAS No. 811-97-2)
R409A = a mixture of three reportable gases:
HCFC-22 (Chlorodifluromethane) 60%
HFC-142b (1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane) 25%
HCFC-124 (2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) 15%
I used a web search engine to find this information. If you get stuck on
one, please let me know.
- Tammy Gould, DEP -----Original Message-----
From: owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us
[mailto:owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us] On Behalf Of Gould, Tammy
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 10:29 AM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Subject: air-inventory Greenhouse Gas Emission Factors and 2002 Draft
MANE-VU Inventory Available
[See the end of this message for instructions on unsubscribing from this list]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. DOE Carbon Dioxide Emission Factors Website
2. 2002 Draft MANE-VU Inventory Available for Comment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. DOE Carbon Dioxide Emission Factors
The Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration has posted on
their website a list of CO2 emission factors for all types of fuels,
including fossil fuels and biomass. The website is
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/factors.html.
2. 2002 Draft MANE-VU Inventory Available for Comment
You are invited to review a draft of a regional emissions inventory being
compiled for purposes of modeling air quality and regional haze in the
Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US.
The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Visibility Union (MANE-VU) is charged with
improving visibility in major national parks and wilderness areas called
Class I areas. Class I areas are characterized by their natural beauty,
cultural significance and relative isolation from human impacts. However,
human activities that produce air pollution and regional haze are affecting
these areas.
Many Class I areas have reduced visibility due to human-caused air
pollutants (sulfates, nitrates, etc.). These pollutants have produced an
average visual range of 15-30 miles, which is one-third of the visual range
under natural conditions. Many vacationers are disappointed by the regional
haze that affects the vistas in these areas.
In order to effectively address and curtail regional haze, MANE-VU is
developing a 2002 emissions inventory of existing sources of air pollution
in the region. The inventory includes point sources (e.g. power plants),
area sources (e.g. dry cleaning, residential fuel combustion), nonroad
mobile sources (e.g. construction equipment), and onroad mobile sources
(i.e. cars & trucks). Improving the completeness and accuracy of the
inventory is an ongoing and iterative process, and we are offering you an
opportunity to review and comment on the inventory as part of that process.
MANE-VU is encouraging your participation as part of their commitment to
stakeholder participation.
A description of the inventory process can be found at
http://www.marama.org/visibility/EmissionsInventory/index.htm. The Maine
inventory data is available in summary form at
http://www.marama.org/visibility/EmissionsInventory/ME.xls. Detailed NIF
files (National Emissions Inventory Input Format, exported as Microsoft
Access database files) for each state and source category are available for
download from an associated ftp site.
If you have any comments or questions regarding Maine's emissions and
calculation methods, please contact DEP's David Wright at (207)287-6104 or
by e-mail david.w.wright@Maine.gov <mailto:david.w.wright@Maine.gov>.
Please send any comments on the inventory to Katie Sheen Abbott
(ksheen@marama.org <mailto:ksheen@marama.org>) at MARAMA by September
3,
2004.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us
[mailto:owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us] On Behalf Of Gould, Tammy
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 12:05 PM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Cc: Karagiannes, Mike
Subject: air-inventory CORRECTION: Refrigerant Mixture Composition and
Refrigerant Refer ences
To the list:
On 8/9/04, I posted a short list of refrigerants and their synonyms. The
mixture for R404a was inaccurate. The correct mixture is:
R404a = HFC-125 (44%)
HFC-143a (52%)
HFC-134a (4%)
I continue to receive numerous calls about refrigerants and their blend
names. Here are some web resources for you to use:
International Institute of Refrigeration
Classification of Refrigerants
http://www.iifiir.org/2endossiers_fiches_classification.htm
Refron.com
Info Center - MSDS Sheets, Technical Data
http://www.refron.com/InfoCenter/Home.asp
in particular, see their Refridgerant Data Summary
http://www.refron.com/InfoCenter/TechData/Refrig_Data_Sum.pdf
I apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused.
- Tammy Gould, DEP
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us
[mailto:owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us] On Behalf Of Gould, Tammy
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 4:05 PM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Cc: Karagiannes, Mike; Hodsdon, Becky S
Subject: air-inventory Answers To Questions Asked During Training
Programs
To the Air-Inventory list and training participants:
In late July and early August, the Department held two Emissions Inventory
Training Programs, one in Augusta and one in Bangor. Several questions were
asked during those programs for which Mike Karagiannes and I did not have
an
immediate response. Here are answers to those questions.
Question 1: How do you express hours of operation for an emergency generator
that runs only 1/2 hour per week?
Answer 1: i-Steps does not allow you to enter Operating Hours/Day as a
fraction (only whole numbers, please). However, entering 1 Hour/Day, 1
Day/Week and 52 Weeks/Year and entering 26 Hours/Year will lead to EPA
identifying it as an "Incorrect Hours Per Year (CALC) Error." The
average
annual hours per year must equal the hours/day x days/week x weeks/year.
(U.S. EPA, "NEI Quality Assurance and Data Augmentation for Point Sources,"
pp. 58) For equipment that does not operate 24/7/365, a mathematical
equation (using only whole numbers) equalling actual annual hours of
operation should be used, even if it doesn't reflect average hourly, daily
or weekly usage. To answer the question asked, an emergency generator that
is tested for 1/2 hour every week for 50 weeks per year would have an actual
hours/year operation of 25 hours. For EPA and i-Steps purposes, the
following should be done:
Operating Schedule - Hrs/Day - 1
Operating Schedule - Days/Wk - 1
Operating Schedule - Wks/Yr - 25
Operating Schedule - Hrs/Yr - 25
On the reverse side, if your equipment does operate 24/7/365 then the
operating hours/year is 8760. Please double check your multiplication as
EPA identified 147 "Incorrect Hours Per Year (CALC) Errors" at 57
facilities
in our 2002 NEI submission.
Question 2: Reporting emissions from insignificant sources? (We didn't get
the complete thought.)
Answer 2: I'm guessing that this question arose from "What is an
insignificant source?" When Ch. 137 was being amended, we discussed at
length with the Board of Environmental Protection if and how we address
really small sources of emissions. The Board rejected using the
"insignificant sources" list in Ch. 115 and instead adopted a de minimus
threshold that was a percentage of the minimum reporting threshold (for
criteria pollutants it is 1% of minimum reporting threshold and for
greenhouse gases it is 1 ton per year CO2 equivalents).
Obviously, it would have been easier for both of us to have a specific list
of activities or equipment for which you did not need to calculate
emissions. The current de minimus threshold gives facilities some leeway to
not report emissions from really small combustion source, but, at what point
do all those sources begin to exceed the de minimus threshold?
I don't believe this issue is gone away and I expect us to take a closer
look at it in future rulemaking.
Question 3: What happened to our Notes in the Satellite i-Steps data that
was returned to us?
Answer 3: We are not sure why, but many of you are not finding the Notes
you left on several i-Steps screens in past years. We are still
investigating, but it may have to do with a slight change we made to some
of
the backend Oracle tables that we store your data in here at DEP. We still
have past years Notes available to us and can provide you hard-copies of
what was previously written.
Question 4: Where does the name, "i-Steps," come
from?
Answer 4: Not a clue.
Question 5: Is control equipment accounted for in the emission factor?
Answer 5: Depends on the emission factor. Check the FIRE (Factor
Information REtrieval) database or speak with your Licensing Unit Project
Engineer. We want to ensure that control equipment is not being "double
counted".
Question 6: Control equipment selection per process unit emission
(NOTE: This was all that was scribbled down and I can't figure out what the
question is now. If this is still a pressing concern, would the person who
asked this please provide more information. Thank you.)
Question 7: List of useful websites, including EPA Chief.
Answer 7: Here goes:
EPA - Clearinghouse for Inventories and Emission Factors (CHIEF)
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/
AP-42 - Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/index.html
FIRE - Factor Information REtrieval Data System - great for looking up
emission factors
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/software/fire/index.html
Emission Inventory Related Codes - Where to find SCC, MACT, NAICS and SIC
Codes
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/codes/index.html
DEP's Greenhouse Gas Calculation Tools
http://www.state.me.us/dep/air/emissions/ghg-tools.htm
I'm sure you'll let me know if I missed any.
Question 8: The CO2, CH4, and N20 emission factors for wood do not take
into account the moisture of the wood. What is the assumed moisture content
for the given emission factors?
Answer 8: Mike Karagiannes reported back to me that is 12% moisture
(kiln-dried). (If anyone wishes to pursue this further, contact Mike and he
can give you the source of his information.)
Question 9: Do we need to report methane emissions from landfills?
Answer 9: No, that is considered an indirect emission.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us
[mailto:owner-air-inventory@lists.state.me.us] On Behalf Of Gould, Tammy
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 12:58 PM
To: Karagiannes, Mike; air-inventory@informe.org
Subject: air-inventory New NCASI Greenhouse Gas Calculation Tool Website
To All:
NCASI has moved their greenhouse gas calculation tool website. It is now:
http://www.ncasi.org/programs/areas/other/ghgtools/default.aspx. The link
on Maine DEP's Greenhouse Gas Calculation Tool page will be updated later
this week.
Thanks to all who gave me a heads up.
- Tammy Gould, DEP
-----Original Message-----
From: Gould, Tammy [mailto:Tammy.Gould@maine.gov]
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 12:51 PM
To: air-inventory@informe.org
Cc: Wright, David W; Higgins, Lisa; Greves, Rich; Saball, Doug; Hodsdon,
Becky S; Karagiannes, Mike; Cone, Marc A; Roberts, Mark
Subject: air-inventory Seasonal Throughputs
A question was asked during our Bangor training session about seasonal
throughputs. For those using i-Steps, you'll know that under each
Group/Area, you are asked for the seasonal throughput for the equipment or
process. The dates given are:
December - February
March - May
June - August
September - November
It was asked how do you report emissions for a calendar year when you're
being asked for throughputs on a non-calendar year? I responded that
facilities could go back to the previous calendar year and grab the December
data to calculate the percent throughput.
After some additional questions were raised about this issue, I went to the
source: EPA's Consolidated Emissions Reporting Rule (CERR) (67 FR 39602).
If we were asking facilities for this information, it must be because EPA
was asking for it and they (EPA) would certainly be able to provide
clarification.
EPA defines Winter Throughput (%) as follows: Part of throughput or
activity for the three winter months (December, January, February, all from
the same year, e.g. Winter 2000 = January 2000 + February 2000 + December
2000).
I was in error when I told facilities to reach back to calculate percent
throughput. As odd as it may seem to use non-consecutive months, this is
consistent with EPA's requirement to do emissions reporting on a calendar
year.
For those who may have done it differently in the past or even on data
submitted for 2003, we will not be requiring any recalculation for past
year's data submitted. In Maine, it is not the Winter Throughput which is
important, but the Summer Throughput % -- June, July, and August --
particularly for facilities in ozone non-attainment areas. There should be
no doubt that those months will be from the same calendar year.
Please keep this in mind for the 2004 inventory due next year. Remember:
We are part of a continuously improving process.