Publication Detail
Transportation Project-Level Carbon Monoxide Protocol
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UCD-ITS-RR-97-21 Research Report |
Suggested Citation:
Niemeier, Debbie A., Douglas Eisinger, Tom P. Kear, Daniel P. Chang, Yu Meng (1997) Transportation Project-Level Carbon Monoxide Protocol. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-97-21
Procedures and guidelines are provided in this project-level protocol (herein referred to as the Protocol) for use by agencies that sponsor transportation projects, to evaluate the potential local level carbon monoxide (CO) impacts of a project. The procedures and guidelines comply with the following regulations without imposing additional requirements: Section 176(c) of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, federal conformity rules, state and local adoptions of the federal conformity rules, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements [Cal. Code Regs., tit. 21, § 1509.3(25)].
Upon approval the procedures and guidelines described herein constitute a Protocol that is intended to replace the procedures for determining localized CO concentrations (hotspot analysis) that are given in 40 CFR § 93.131. Future versions of the Protocol will be issued to incorporate changes in the laws and regulations pertaining to CO project-level requirements and analysis. The Protocol may also be supplemented via the local consultation process to incorporate region-specific processes.
The Protocol has three sections. The first section constitutes the main body and provides a framework and roadmap for conducting a federal conformity determination at the project level as well as for NEPA and CEQA. The treatment of projects is very general and is not limited to a specific type of project. The second section, Appendix A, is intended to provide a procedure for conducting a "screening analysis" of local impacts of intersections. The procedure is intended to be simple, capable of being performed without familiarity with programs such as CT-EMFAC or CALINE4 from which it was developed. An example calculation is included to assist a novice as well as more experienced air quality analysts in conducting the analysis. A brief description of the assumptions used in the procedure is given. The third section, Appendix B, provides guidance to an experienced analyst conducting a more "detailed analysis" required when a project does not pass the screening analysis or in situations for which the screening analysis is not applicable. In that case, the analyst is assumed to have familiarity with programs such as CT-EMFAC and CALINE4, and availability of references and sources of data, e.g., the CALINE4 user's manual by Benson [1989] and other useful references. The purpose of Appendix B, similar to the Protocol itself, is to assist the analyst in making decisions regarding required modeling parameters. Unlike Appendix A, Appendix B is not intended to be a "cookbook" method. Additional screening procedure supplements similar to Appendix A and applicable to scenarios other than intersections are planned to be issued in the future.
Upon approval the procedures and guidelines described herein constitute a Protocol that is intended to replace the procedures for determining localized CO concentrations (hotspot analysis) that are given in 40 CFR § 93.131. Future versions of the Protocol will be issued to incorporate changes in the laws and regulations pertaining to CO project-level requirements and analysis. The Protocol may also be supplemented via the local consultation process to incorporate region-specific processes.
The Protocol has three sections. The first section constitutes the main body and provides a framework and roadmap for conducting a federal conformity determination at the project level as well as for NEPA and CEQA. The treatment of projects is very general and is not limited to a specific type of project. The second section, Appendix A, is intended to provide a procedure for conducting a "screening analysis" of local impacts of intersections. The procedure is intended to be simple, capable of being performed without familiarity with programs such as CT-EMFAC or CALINE4 from which it was developed. An example calculation is included to assist a novice as well as more experienced air quality analysts in conducting the analysis. A brief description of the assumptions used in the procedure is given. The third section, Appendix B, provides guidance to an experienced analyst conducting a more "detailed analysis" required when a project does not pass the screening analysis or in situations for which the screening analysis is not applicable. In that case, the analyst is assumed to have familiarity with programs such as CT-EMFAC and CALINE4, and availability of references and sources of data, e.g., the CALINE4 user's manual by Benson [1989] and other useful references. The purpose of Appendix B, similar to the Protocol itself, is to assist the analyst in making decisions regarding required modeling parameters. Unlike Appendix A, Appendix B is not intended to be a "cookbook" method. Additional screening procedure supplements similar to Appendix A and applicable to scenarios other than intersections are planned to be issued in the future.