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| Regional Technical Center Activities Updated April 24, 2002 |
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| March 21, 2002 | - Conference call to discuss the options and priorities for RTC projects funded by Region III and Region II grant dollars. Committee agreed to design a project to compare emissions data and calculation methods for petroleum refineries in the region. Modelers from New York will be conducting in-house mobile source sensitivity runs. A third project will be designed to prepare a booklet (including regional ozone, haze, and PM). This will be a short and graphics intensive document targeted for both commissioners and public outreach activities. |
| September 27, 2001 | - Conference call to review highway mobile source data that will be used for emissions modeling sensitivity runs. |
| September 5, 2001 | - Meeting in Baltimore, MD. RTC Committee met to make final preparations to use the ozone inventory in regional modeling and to review regional haze work products and identify priorities for next steps. |
| July 20, 2001 | - Conference call to review draft final report for the ozone inventory project, to finalize preparations for the next RTC meeting to take place on September 5, 2001, and to discuss state progress regarding CMU ammonia inventory database use for regional haze emissions inventory activities. |
| July 16, 2001 | - PES submitted Draft Report for comments. |
| July 16, 2001 | - PES submitted Point Source Foundation files. |
| June 30, 2001 | - CMU submitted a final draft report on ammonia inventory development. Report was distributed to member agencies for comments. |
| June 28, 2001 | - PES submitted Highway Foundation files. |
| June 25, 2001 | - PES submitted Non-Road Foundation files. |
| June 23, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #17, 3rd Area Source QA Report. |
| June 22, 2001 | - PES submitted Area Foundation files. |
| June 19, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #16, 2nd Non-EGU Point Source QA Report. |
| June 14, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #15, 3rd Off-Road Sources QA Report. |
| June 4, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #14, 2nd Highway Mobile Sources QA Report. |
| June 4, 2001 | - Conference call to coordinate state data submittals for the ozone inventory project and regional haze emissions inventory development. |
| May 25, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #13, 3rd EGU Cross-Reference Table Matching 1997 NET and EGRID 97 Database. |
| May 17, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #12, 2nd Area Source QA Report. |
| May 15, 2001 | - Conference call to coordinate state data submittals for the ozone inventory project, to discuss RTC priorities for the year 2001-2002, and to discuss workplan development for regional haze emissions inventory activities. |
| May 1, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #11, 2nd Off-Road Source QA Report. |
| April 24, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #10, Non-EGU Point Source QA Report. |
| April 16, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #9, Area Source QA Report. |
| March 30, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #8, 2nd EGU Cross-Reference Table matching 1997 NET and EGRID 97 Database for a Crosswalk. |
| March 30, 2001 | - Conference call to coordinate state data submittals for highway mobile source portion of the ozone inventory project. |
| March 26, 2001 | - MARAMA sent a letter to EPA asking their assistance in resolving concerns raised in regards to off-road and point source data in version 4 of the EPA's NET. |
| March 21, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #7 identifying needed VMT and Mobile5 data and asking states to provide the data. |
| March 20, 2001 | - MARAMA circulated Memo #6 summarizing the revised schedule and next steps of the ozone inventory project. |
| March 19, 2001 | - MARAMA sent a letter to the Air Directors of the neighboring states of MARAMA and NESCAUM requesting that they provide their data for our ozone emissions inventory project. |
| March 15, 2001 | - Conference call to review the status of the ongoing ozone inventory project and coordinate upcoming work. |
| March 12, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #5 building an EGU cross-reference table matching 1997 NET and EGRID97 database for a crosswalk. States were being asked to provide state identifiers to include in the table and to check the basic data included. |
| February 23, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #4 summarizing results of QA/QC checks of EPA's NON-ROAD emissions inventory data. Several concerns were raised by this memorandum. |
| January 8, 2001 | - PES circulated Memo #3 December 1, 2000 meeting notes. |
| December 8, 2000 | - MARAMA terminated the contract with XENECA which was to obtain and process Canadian emissions data as part of the Ozone Precursors Inventory Project, at the conclusion of Phase I on the advise of technical staff. |
| December 1, 2000 | - Meeting in Baltimore, MD. Area and mobile source emission inventory experts met with the contractor preparing the 1997 emissions inventory. Participants worked on achieving broad agreements on methods for calculating area source and mobile VOC emissions. Participants also heard updates of CMU ammonia inventory project and inventory work plan development for regional haze work. |
| November 30, 2000 | - CMU submitted a draft user guide for the ammonia inventory database. The inventory program and all necessary files will be downloadable from an anonymous ftp server, and the user guide explains how to go about downloading and installing the program. |
| November 28, 2000 | - PES circulated Memo #2 identifying the methods for creating the highway vehicle inputs. |
| November 17, 2000 | - Conference call to finalize area source calculation options for the ongoing Ozone Precursors Inventory Project. |
| November 9, 2000 | - PES circulated Memo #1 requesting first round of data. |
| October 20, 2000 | - MARAMA signed a contract (Ozone Precursors Inventory Project) with PES, Inc. for an improved ozone precursors emissions inventory to be used for a 1997 modeling exercise. |
| October 18, 2000 | - CMU submitted their third progress report. A new, updated inventory has been nearly completed including all US States. The report summarizes the structure of the inventory (spatial and temporal resolution) and various sources of ammonia included in the inventory (livestock, fertilizer application, soil and minor sources). |
| October 6, 2000 | - Conference call to coordinate mobile source calculation options for the upcoming contract. |
| September 26, 2000 | - MARAMA signed a Phase I contract with XENECA to determine feasibility of obtaining and processing Canadian emissions data as part of the Ozone Precursors Inventory Project. |
| September 8, 2000 | - Conference call to coordinate recommended regional area source calculation methods and data needed for point sources for the upcoming contract. |
| Aug. - Sept., 2000 | - Several conference calls were held with a committee of state representatives to select the contractor. |
| July 28, 2000 | - Four proposals were received, from PES, Inc., E.H. Pechan, Alpine Geophysics and XENECA Corp. |
| June 29, 2000 | - MARAMA posted an RFP concerning emissions inventory work to support ozone modeling. |
| June 16, 2000 | - Conference call to discuss the draft RFP. |
| May-June, 2000 | - To prepare to contract emission inventory work for ozone in the region, states recommended areas where the contractor needs to adjust the EPA data. MARAMA staff worked on development of a draft RFP. |
| May 1, 2000 | - Conference call to follow up on the previous meeting including information sharing on speciation and temporalization issues. The committee decided not to proceed with two additional area source categories (Industrial Processes and Open Burning) due to uncertainities of the emission factors in these categories. |
| March 23, 2000 | - Meeting in Baltimore, MD. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia presented their findings and analysis of the best emission calculation methods for the following area source categories: Consumer Commercial Solvent, Architectural Coating, Auto Refinishing, Graphic Arts, Degreasing, and Gasoline Marketing. For most of the categories, states reached a consensus on a specific emission calculation method. The committee decided to look into off-road emissions and two additional area source categories (Industrial Processes and Open Burning) in a similar fashion. |
| March 16, 2000 | - CMU submitted their second progress report on ammonia inventory development. CMU is compiling the most up-to-date existing emission factors for livestock activities. They are funded by EPA to develop an improved emission factor for confined feeding of dairy cattle. They are formulating a questionnaire to obtain improved information on the level of activities in dairy farming. |
| February 27, 2000 | - Conference call to identify lead agencies for reviewing source categories and to agree on agenda for March meeting. |
| January 12, 2000 | - Meeting in Wilmington, DE. Region III Directors agreed to set aside funds for a contractor to help develop an improved modeling inventory for ozone. The committee established plans to discuss area source VOC emission calculation methods in detail in order to increase regional consistency and develop agreements on how to proceed to develop a modeling inventory. |
| January 5, 2000 | - Conference call to continue review of area source data and draft RFP for emissions inventory work. |
| November 30, 1999 | - Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, at the Region III EPA Conference Center. Designed a matrix to compare area source inventory calculations for the largest area source VOC emissions categories. Reviewed in detail a process for creating a 1997 modeling inventory and tasks for which contractor assistance will be needed. |
| November 8, 1999 | - CMU submitted their second progress report on ammonia inventory development. A literature search has been completed and the most recent information on ammonia emission factors and activity levels has been compiled. Critical information gaps have been identified. Because of high uncertainty in emissions from fertilizer application, a new inventory has been developed with updated activity levels and emissions factors and improved temporal and spatial allocation. Next steps will address emissions from livestock. |
| September 27, 1999 | - Meeting in Virginia Beach, VA. The Committee agreed to use the 1996 inventory as the basis for a modeling inventory and asked MARAMA to prepare an RFP to assess the cost of compiling and quality assuring a regional inventory. The Committee reviewed area source inventory categories to determine the largest sources and concluded there were differences between states in calculation methods. The Committee asked MARAMA to schedule training in EMS 95. Ellis Cowling, Director of the Southern Oxidant Study, encouraged Committee members to review SOS findings. |
| July 26, 1999 | - Conference call. Mark Janssen of LADCO reviewed the functions of EMS-95 and announced plans to develop an EMS-2000 version by the end of 1999. EMS-95 is used to develop a gridded modeling inventory. In addition to spatially allocating data, it calculates a temporal and species distribution for emissions. It also uses VMT estimates and MOBILE emissions factors to perform mobile source emissions modeling. Mark emphasized the importance of inventory QA prior to running EMS-95 or 2000. Bill Gillespie of OTC encouraged the RTC to help develop a more specific work plan for developing a modeling inventory. Mark advised that inventory development be planned for at least three cycles. |
| July 2, 1999 | - MARAMA signed a contract with Carnegie Mellon University for preparation of an improved ammonia inventory. |
| June 8, 1999 | - Meeting in Arlington, VA. The Committee discussed progress to date, a list of future tasks, agreed to form a small group to work on developing a modeling inventory, and reviewed the status of defining a modeling domain for 8-hour ozone modeling. Wick Havens and Susan Wierman agreed to work on defining the scope of work for an emissions inventory project. |
| May 28, 1999 | - Representatives of NESCAUM and MARAMA met with researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for a briefing on the ammonia inventory project. LADCO participated by phone. |
| May 15, 1999 | - Status report to Directors at MARAMA Board Meeting. The Directors do not wish to allocate funds to specific contracts until an overall plan is developed for 8-hour modeling, including cost estimaates. The OTC is in the lead on this effort. |
| May 11, 1999 | - Conference call. The Committee reviewed progress to date with regard to 1999 Priorities. A discussion of how to compile a 1996 modeling inventory resulted in general agreement that a contractor would be needed to run the pre-processor to create a modeling inventory. Because a similar inventory will be needed by other regions, a collaborative effort will be needed. Committee members reviewed how their agencies will be participating in the ozone modeling effort. Pennsylvania agreed to take the lead on inventory development, and Maryland will take the lead on meteorological modeling. New York is the regional modeling lead. |
| April 9, 1999 | - Conference call. Doug Solomon and Greg Stella of EPA briefed the committee on EPA's two major national inventories that may provide a basis for a modeling inventory: the NOx SIP Call Inventory, and the National Emissions Trends Inventory. The Committee reviewed results of the NESCAUM-MARAMA survey concerning the status of 1996 state/local emissions inventories. |
| March 16-24, 1999 | - MARAMA and NESCAUM circulated a survey requesting information on the status of state and local agencies 1996 emissions inventories in order to determine whether these inventories would be available for use in 8-hr ozone modeling. |
| March 9, 1999 | - Committee meeting in the District of Columbia. Reviewed information about 1997 episodes, influence of episode on relative reduction factor, need for large domain and length episode, and alternative models. Shared information on periodic inventories and analysis of inventory data. |
| February 24, 1999 | - MARAMA participated in CenSARA Emissions Inventory Committee call to coordinate regarding ammonia inventory project. |
| February 10, 1999 | - Committee chair provided status report to Air Directors at OTC meeting in Hershey, PA. |
| February 8, 1999 | - DataZoid completed draft work plan. |
| February 5, 1999 | - Recommendation made to Directors to fund ammonia inventory project provided that NESCAUM participates. MARAMA circulated draft RFP for project to other regional organizations and EPA for comment and potential participation. |
| February 3, 1999 | - Conference call to review work plan. Committee agreed to recommend ammonia inventory project. |
| January 20, 1999 | - Subcommittee of regional modelers held conference call with LADCO, NY, MD, VA, NC, and MA. General agreement on preference for using MM5 for meteorological modeling and on outer domain boundaries. |
| January 14, 1999 | - At MARAMA Board meeting, Region III directors approved working principles and priorities for the year, with minor changes. |
| January 12-13, 1999 | - MARAMA Workshop on Data Analysis, Modeling, and Toxics in Baltimore. Reviewed recommendations from NC on model domain, from MD on episodes, and from NY on model platform for 8-hr ozone analysis. Coordinated with LADCO regarding work plans. |
| January 6, 1999 | - Conference call to review draft work plan, agree on final lists of priorities and working principles. |
| December 21, 1998 | - Conference call to review summary of EPA guidance. |
| December 16, 1998 | - MARAMA contracts with DataZoid for assistance in preparing for January workshop, including work on summary of EPA schedules and preparation of draft work plan. |
| December 3, 1998 | - Conference call to review priorities and working principles. |
| November 2, 1998 | - Committee meeting in northern VA to review priorities for year. |
| October 10, 1998 | - Status report to Board members at MARAMA Board meeting. |
| September 21, 1998 | - Technical Committee organizational meeting at MARAMA. Wick Havens agreed to serve as Committee Chair. |
| August 6, 1998 | - Region III awarded RTC funds to MARAMA. |
| June 9, 1998 | - At MARAMA Board meeting, Region III Directors decided to pool RTC funds and ask MARAMA to convene staff committee to make recommendations concerning use of funds. |