Development of Emission Inventory Improvements in El Paso, Texas

Wen-Whai Li, Ph.D., P.E.1; Huiyan Yang, Ph.D.2, George Pinal, EIT, M.S.3 ; Victor Valenzuela, M.S. 4; Hector Olvera, Ph.D., P.E.1; Kelvin Cheu, Ph.D., P.E.1;

Rosa Fitzgerald, Ph.D.2; Hongling Yang, Ph.D.5

The Stakeholder Meeting of the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization

El Paso, TexasMarch 8, 2012

1Dept. Of Civil Eng.; 2Dept. Of Physics; 3El Paso MPO; 4TCEQ, Region 6; 5Dept. Of Mathematics; UTEP

Review of Emission Inventories

El Paso NOx Emissions (tons/year)

onroad area nonroad point0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

200220052008

El Paso VOC Emissions (tons/year)

onroad area nonroad point0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

200220052008

1996 Regional Emissions

Emission Inventory Improvements for El Paso

Development of Onroad Emissions

Based on the transportation network used by the El Paso MPO

NOx Emissions from Major Nonroad Mobile Sources in El Paso

9 GASOLINE COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT 14 DIESEL COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT

10 LPG INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT 15 DIESEL AIRPORT GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT

11 DIESEL CONSTRUCTION & MINING EQUIPMENT 16 COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT

12 DIESEL INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT 17 GENERAL AVIATION

13 DIESEL AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT 18 RAILROAD EQUIPMENT DIESEL

Identified Emission Inventory Improvement Targets for El Paso

• Light duty and heavy duty vehicles at the El Paso-Juarez international ports of entry

• Extended idling of heavy duty truck at truck stops and rest areas

• Tactical operations at Ft Bliss Military Reservation• Locomotives• Aircraft, auxiliary power units, and airport

ground support equipment• Dry cleaners

Example: Method of Estimating Emissions from Locomotives

• EMISSION FACTORS: derived from EPA Emission Factors for Locomotives (EPA-420-F-09-025, 2009)

• ACTIVITY DATA: Gross Ton-miles (GTM) from line haul locomotives operating in El Paso in 2005 and 2008 (Union Pacific (UP) and Burlington-Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)); Number of switch locomotives operated in El Paso in 2005 and 2008 (UP and BNSF)

Summary

• Reviewed and documented existing El Paso emission sources for significant ozone precursors

• Identified 6 emission sources for improvement in the EI database

• Provided methodologies to improve the data quality

• Developed work plan for further data collection or quantification (not discussed in this presentation)

Questions and Answers

Air Quality Study

U.S. CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE PROGRAM OFFICE, 2003