[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30221-30222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14725]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[AMS-FRL-6106-2]


Air Pollution Control; Nonroad Vehicle and Equipment Emission 
Inventories

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Public Workshop.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of 
developing a nonroad mobile source emissions inventory model (the 
NONROAD model). This notice announces a public workshop for the purpose 
of discussing the various issues involved in creating a model for this 
diverse collection of vehicles and equipment that comprise the nonroad 
mobile source sector, and provides a formal opportunity for comment and 
reaction to the release of the draft NONROAD model and its associated 
technical documentation. This notice also announces a hands-on 
demonstration of the model immediately following the public workshop.

DATES: The workshop will be held Thursday, June 25, 1997. The times are 
from 8:30 am to 4 pm. A demonstration of the NONROAD model will be held 
on the same day from approximately 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. All times are 
Central Daylight Time.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held in the Metcalf Federal Building, 
17 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL, Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario 
Rooms--12th Floor, Great Lakes Conference and Training Center. The 
Metcalf building is located in the heart of the downtown area. The 
model demonstration will be held at the same location. Directions to 
the workshop and model demonstration can be obtained through the EPA 
OMS World Wide Web (WWW) site, or otherwise requested from the EPA 
contact person. Information on how to electronically access the web 
site or on the EPA contact person appears immediately below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Gertrude Venlet, U. S. EPA, Office 
of Mobile Sources, Assessment and Modeling Division, Scientific 
Assessment Group, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48105. Telephone: 
(734) 214-4892; fax (734) 214-4939. Email: [email protected].
    This notice, as well as related information concerning the 
workshop, may be found at the EPA OMS web site. The electronic address 
for this site is: http://www.epa.gov/omswww/nonrdmdl.htm.
    Workshop-related files, including a copy of this notice, additional 
information on the location of the workshop and model demonstration, 
hotels, technical reports, the draft NONROAD model, and later 
additional information that may become available as described in the 
body of this announcement, will be found at the web site location or 
may otherwise be obtained from the EPA contact person.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Nonroad mobile sources are a significant source of air pollutants 
in many areas of the United States. This broad category is comprised of 
a diverse collection of vehicles and equipment, including vehicles and 
equipment in the following nine categories:

--Recreational vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles and off-road 
motorcycles;
--Logging equipment, such as chain saws;
--Agricultural equipment, such as tractors;
--Construction equipment, such as graders and back hoes;
--Industrial equipment, such as fork lifts and sweepers;
--Residential and commercial lawn and garden equipment, such as leaf 
and snow blowers;
--Recreational and commercial marine vessels, such as power boats and 
oil tankers;
--Locomotive equipment, such as train engines; and
--Aircraft, such as jets and prop planes.

    Current nonroad inventory development practices are based on EPA's 
Nonroad Engine and Vehicle Emissions Study (NEVES), done under the 1990 
Clean Air Act Amendment requirements, and ``Procedures for Emission 
Inventory Preparation, Volume IV: Mobile Sources'' (EPA-450/4-81-026d 
(revised), 1992). In consideration of the increased recognition of the 
importance of emissions from nonroad sources in terms of overall 
emissions and air quality, and the considerable practical difficulty of 
implementing the current guidance, EPA is developing a nonroad 
emissions inventory model (NONROAD) to meet the needs of the modeling 
audience.

NONROAD Emission Inventory Model

    EPA has completed a draft version of NONROAD, an accompanying 
detailed user's guide, and a number of technical reports describing the 
model's data inputs and assumptions. This version of the model covers 
all nonroad vehicle and equipment types, except aircraft, locomotives, 
and commercial marine. The Agency will develop modeling modules for 
aircraft and locomotives sometime in the future. As for commercial 
marine, a module for this source category is under construction and 
will be released for public review later this year.
    The draft model is intended to easily create and project accurate, 
reproducible inventories of nonroad emissions. It has a number of uses, 
but should be especially important to state and local pollution control 
agencies in satisfying the State Implementation Plan (SIP) requirements 
of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
    Structurally, the model is made up of three specific components: a 
graphical user interface (GUI) which allows the user to easily input 
model parameters,

[[Page 30222]]

the core model which contains all computational algorithms, and a 
reporting utility for viewing and summarizing modeled emissions 
estimates. The model has been designed to allow the user a high degree 
of flexibility. As such, the model will:

--Calculate and report emissions in total for the United States, and 
for individual states and counties;
--Calculate emissions for a variety of time periods (e.g., an entire 
year, any particular month, any combination of months, or daily weekday 
or weekend day);
--Report emissions of six pollutants: hydrocarbons (HC), carbon 
monoxide (CO), NOX, sulfur oxides (SOX ), and PM. 
The model will report both exhaust and non-exhaust HC emissions, the 
latter of which includes crankcase, diurnal, refueling, etc;
--Estimate current and future year emissions in a specified geographic 
area. In estimating future year emissions, the model includes growth 
and scrappage and can accommodate a variety of control program options; 
and
--View model results in different formats such as an Emission Pre-
Processor System 2 (EPS-2) input file, spreadsheet, and preformatted 
reports.

    The public workshop being announced today provides a valuable 
opportunity for EPA to receive assistance in developing the final 
NONROAD model through review and comment by all interested users. The 
workshop will focus on all aspects of the model including user 
convenience, data inputs and modeling assumptions, computational 
structure, and reporting options and formats. Presentations on each 
subject will be followed by a short discussion/question and answer 
period, and there should be some time left at the end of the day for 
more general open discussion of the material that has been presented. A 
detailed draft agenda for the workshop will be posted on the EPA OMS 
web site or may be obtained from the EPA contact person (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Availability of Technical Reports and NONROAD

    EPA anticipates the workshop will be highly interactive. To 
facilitate this goal, all participants are encouraged to review the 
draft technical reports on data inputs and assumptions, as well as the 
draft NONROAD model and accompanying user's guide. These documents and 
the model are posted on the EPA OMS web site or are otherwise available 
on CD ROM from the EPA contact person (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT). Please visit this site often to check for additional 
information or model documentation which may be posted between now and 
the workshop date.

Comment Period

    The Agency is providing a 60-day public comment period on the draft 
model and associated documents. This period should be adequate for 
interested parties to thoroughly review the available information, and 
is consistent with the guidelines for public review of EPA emission 
models the Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee of the Clean 
Air Act Advisory Committee established under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act. The comment period will be initiated at the time the 
draft NONROAD model is posted on the EPA OMS web site, which EPA 
projects to be on or around June 15, 1998.

Model Demonstration

    The Agency will hold a hands-on demonstration of the model on the 
same day, at the same location immediately after the public workshop. 
The facility is capable of seating approximately 20 people at 
individual personal computers. This demonstration will be held on a 
first come, first serve basis. Please contact EPA via the NONROAD E-
mail box or the EPA contact person (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

Additional Information

    To the extent possible, EPA will post material at the EPA OMS web 
site, as described under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, in advance of 
the workshop. Those planning to attend, and those interested in 
following the progress of workshop planning more closely, should 
periodically visit the EPA OMS web site.

    Dated: May 28, 1998.
Donald E. Zinger,
Acting Director, Office of Mobile Sources.
[FR Doc. 98-14725 Filed 6-2-98; 8:45 am]
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