PM DESIGNATIONS MAPPING TOOL

Doug Solomon, U.S. EPA OAQPS

2014 National Air Quality ConferenceDurham, NC

February 12, 2014

Presentation Overview PM2.5 Designations Background Mapping Software Purpose and Specs Mapping Software Demonstration

Initial Area Designations Process After promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, the CAA

requires EPA to designate all areas of the country as to whether the areas are meeting or not meeting that NAAQS (this effort is known as the initial area designations process)

Designation Categories Nonattainment Area – An area that that does not meet or that

contributes to a nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS Attainment Area – An area that is meeting the NAAQS and is not

contributing to a nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS Unclassifiable Area – An area that cannot be designated based

on available information as meeting or not meeting the NAAQS Designations focus is on defining Nonattainment Area

boundaries

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Initial Area Designations Process EPA develops nonattainment boundary recommendations on

an evaluation of five factors (and recommends that states and tribes use the same analyses when developing their recommendations): Air quality data (e.g., monitoring data, does the area/county have a

violating monitoring site?) Emissions and emissions-related data (e.g., source emissions

data, traffic and commuting patterns, population and degree of urbanization)

Meteorology (i.e., weather/transport patterns) Geography/topography (i.e., physical features of the land that

might affect the distribution of the pollutant or precursors over the area)

Jurisdictional boundaries (e.g., counties, air districts, existing nonattainment areas, townships, Indian country, metropolitan planning organizations)

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2012 PM2.5 NAAQS Implementation Timeline

Milestone DateEPA promulgates 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS rule December 14, 2012

Issue Designations Guidance April 16, 2013

States and tribes submit recommendations for PM2.5 designations to the EPA No later than December 13, 2013

EPA notifies states/tribes re: any intended modifications to their recommendations (120-day letters)

No later than August 14, 2014 (120 days prior to final PM2.5 area designations)

EPA publishes public notice of state recs and EPA’s intended modifications, if any; EPA initiates 30-day public comment period

No later than August 29, 2014

End of 30-day public comment period No later than September 29, 2014

States/tribes submit additional information to respond to EPA’s modification of a recommended designation No later than October 29, 2014

EPA promulgates final PM2.5 area designations December 2014 (effective early 2015)

PM Designations Mapping Tool Developed and introduced in the spring of 2013 to assist air agencies in developing

their area designation and nonattainment boundary recommendations for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS

Data that can be visualized with the PM Designations Mapping Tool: Factor 1: Air quality data

○ Design values○ PM2.5 compositional data (CSN and IMPROVE)○ Urban increment

Factor 2: Emissions and Emissions‐related data○ PM2.5 and precursor emissions (point, county and gridded)○ VMT○ Population

Factor 3: Meteorology○ Windroses○ HYSPLIT results

Factor 4: Geography/topography Factor 5: Jurisdictional boundaries

○ Current PM2.5 nonattainment and maintenance areas○ State, county, and tribal boundaries○ Class I areas

PM Designations Mapping Tool Maps created with ESRI ArcGIS for

Desktop Maps shared as service on ESRI ArcGIS

Server Application developed with ESRI ArcGIS

Viewer for Flex – Application Builder Applications and services hosted on

EPA Geoplatform http://geoplatform2.epa.gov/PM_MAP/