Missouri Air Quality Issues

Stephen Hall

Air Quality Analysis Section

Air Pollution Control Program

Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (AQAST)

9th Semi-Annual Meeting

June 2, 2015

St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO

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Outline

Current and Emerging Air Quality Issues

Examples by Pollutant (SO2, PM2.5)

Value in AQAST Projects

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Current and Emerging Air Quality IssuesCurrent Issues: Due to Revised NAAQS for Lead, SO2, NO2, PM2.5:

• Ambient Monitoring- Network Revisions- Remove sites to add new monitoring sites. Lower ambient concentrations need better/newer methods & monitors.

• Permitting- Difficult to permit new sources in some areas- No margin for historically ‘conservative’ dispersion modeling. Need it done yesterday!

• Emission Inventory- How well do we know the source parameters? Where to focus quality assurance efforts and over which source categories.

• Enforcement- Keeping up with current compliance and new compliance plans.

• Planning- New Rules, new emissions limit agreements with facilities, modeling demonstrations, what sources contribute to violation?, etc…

• Fiscal & Budget- How are we going to pay for all this?!?3

Current and Emerging Air Quality IssuesEmerging Issues: 2015 Ozone NAAQS, Carbon Pollution:

2015 Ozone NAAQS Proposal- • No new Ozone sites but many rural sites near 65-70 ppm range. • New PAMS requirement for NCore sites in nonattainment areas.• Potential for increase in # of nonattainment areas depending on

final standard and 2015 Ozone season.

Carbon Pollution- “Clean Power Plan” • Significant ‘interest’. • New stakeholder interaction.• Non-traditional implementation approach. • What’s next...?

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Industry Monitoring-SO2, Lead

Two new industry SO2 monitoring areas for 2015.

Six facilities monitoring:3 SO2 & Meteorology3 Lead & Meteorology

More expected pending final SO2 DRR. How many???

Modeling/monitoring involves coordination with neighboring states.

Missouri borders 8 states. 5

2012 PM2.5 NAAQS:

Missouri currently meets the NAAQS, but…

St. Louis MO area monitors ‘close’ to the annual NAAQS. (Annual Design Value about: 11 µg/m3)

If the St. Louis area were to be designated nonattainment complex technical analysis will be needed to determine contributing sources and develop control strategies.

New continuous (hourly) monitoring for PM:

Black Carbon, Organic Carbon, Elemental Carbon, Total Carbon, PM10-2.5, PM10, ‘PM2.5 Volatiles’, Metals. 6

PM2.5 Episodes-

A combination of local emissions & ‘transport’: The Challenge: It’s not always the ‘same PM’ for every episode. 24-hour PM2.5 Speciation only 1-in-3 or 1-in-6 days.

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March 3, 2014, 24-hour PM2.5 9.3 µg/m3 (Forest Park site)

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March 6, 2014, 24-hour PM2.5 36.5 µg/m3 (Forest Park site)

High PM has both health and welfare effects

Poor Urban Visibility

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March 8, 2014, 24-hour PM2.5 54.6 µg/m3 (Forest Park site)

1-hour PM2.5 Concentration at Noon CST:

70.8 µg/m3

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Historical PM2.5 Speciation Data for Similar Episodes (March 2014) indicate Ammonium Nitrate is a dominant PM Species during these winter/spring episodes.

TEOM-1405-DF

In absence of speciation data-

PM2.5 reference (Volatile) channel good indicator of secondary PM formation

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Sunset OC/EC Semi-continuous carbon monitor.Organic & ElementalCarbon, 1-hour averages.

TEOM-1405-DFPM2.5, PM10, PM10-2.5,PM2.5 semi-volatile

1-hour averages

Blair St. Site, St. Louis MOAQS # 29-510-0085

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48 hour episode March 11th and 12th 2015March 11th - Smoke transport likely from prescribed burns in neighboring states. (No 24-hour PM2.5 Exceedance)

Source: http://www.airnowtech.org/navigator

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March 12th 2015- No pronounced ‘smoke plume’ but monitored a 24-hour PM2.5 Exceedance.

Source: http://www.airnowtech.org/navigator

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Blair St. St. Louis Ncore Site Data.

(Unfortunately March 11th & 12th were not PM2.5 speciation sampling days.)

However- We have continuous PM monitoring data “24-7”.

High PM2.5 semi-volatile channel concentrations.

Indicator of secondary semi-volatile aerosol formation.

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NOY

How much is local vs. transport?

Wed. Thursday.

Local mobile NOx emissions are not trivial.

Exceedance ‘but for the event’?!?.

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Rural ‘background’ NOx Conc. was low over the period 3/10 through 3/12 2015

Source:http://www.epa.gov/air/emissions/

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Value of AQAST Tiger Team Projects

Provide example analysis projects for states to consider for air quality planning.

Evaluate pollutant contributions to air pollution episodes.

Leverage technical resources for episode analysis. (Some states do not have resources for significant research projects.)

Provide interpretation and application of remote sensing data.

Provide analysis which helps states inform future monitoring network design considerations and monitoring methodology.

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Sources for More Information: St. Louis Sunset organic & elemental carbon semi-continuous

monitoring project: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/files/2014conference/wedcsnwetherell.pdf

MDNR/APCP resources: http://dnr.mo.gov/env/apcp/airpollutants.htm

MO visibility cameras: http://dnr.mo.gov/env/esp/aqm/archcam-1.htm

National Air Monitoring Resources: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/

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Division of Environmental QualityDirector: Leanne Tippett Mosby

June 2, 2015

Nothing in this document may be used to implement any enforcement action or levy any penalty unless promulgated by rule under chapter 536 or authorized by statute.

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