Other Activities

Other Activities of Research and Modeling Section

• Supporting the District's permitting activities. Air dispersion modeling may be required for some projects in order to demonstrate compliance with applicable requirements. These projects include those subject to “New Source Review of Toxic Air Contaminants” (BAAQMD Regulation 2-5), the California Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Program (AB2588), and Prevention of Significant Deterioration “PSD” (BAAQMD Regulation 2-2-304, 40 CFR 51.116). The intent of the modeling analysis is to demonstrate that emissions from a given facility or project do not or will not adversely impact the maintenance of air quality standards within the District, be they acceptable levels of toxic air contaminants (TAC), the California or National Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS), or applicable PSD increments.
  
  For permit applications involving air toxics, modeling may be required as part of a health risk screening analysis (HRSA). In most cases this modeling is performed by the BAAQMD with input from the applicant. For projects where the applicant is responsible for modeling, in particular for a PSD analysis, the BAAQMD Permit Modeling Guidance document should be followed. This document has been prepared by the Engineering Division of the BAAQMD to give the permit applicant specific assumptions, requirements, conventions, and procedures for the preparation of a modeling analysis. Because this guidance cannot cover every aspect of the analysis needed for a proposed source without becoming unwieldy, the applicant should submit a modeling plan (protocol) for BAAQMD comment before beginning the analysis.
  
  BAAQMD Modeling Support Documents
  • BAAQMD Modeling Guidance
  • Permit Handbook, General Evaluation Guidance
  • Air Toxics Programs
  • PSD Increment Consumption Reports
  
  EPA Modeling Guidance
  • Support Center for Regulatory Atmospheric Modeling (SCRAM)
  
  
• Participating in the Technical and Policy Committee meetings of the Central California Ozone Study and the California Regional Particulate Air Quality Study and providing in-kind support to their modeling and data analysis efforts
• Preparing meteorological inputs to the AERMOD model for permit and risk assessment modeling and applying AERMOD to the District’s non-PSD modeling needs
• Supporting the CARE program through data analysis, emissions inventory evaluation, dispersion (CALPUFF) modeling, regional toxics modeling, Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping, field work, participation in the CARE Task Force meetings
• Supporting grant programs by creating and updating maps that are being used for ranking the projects for allocation of funds
• Managing the District's data analysis and modeling-related contracts including reviewing and evaluating contractors' progress
• Implementing quality assurance and quality control programs for aerometric data
• Maintaining a real-time air quality and meteorological data web site
• Operating and maintaining a wind profiler with Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) in the Livermore Valley that collects wind and temperature data in aloft layers (up to 4 kilometers above the surface of earth). These data are used for analyzing meteorology in aloft layers which impacts air quality and for evaluating model performance at that level
• Analyzing the Bay Area's status relative to national and state air quality standards and studying air quality trends