Input Guidelines for Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator Model, Volume 2: Practitioners’ Handbook: Project Level Inputs (2015)

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1.0 Introduction MOVES, the Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator Model, is the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) state-of-the-art tool for estimating emissions from highway vehicles. This handbook is a resource for MOVES users who wish to develop their own local input data for State Implementation Plan (SIP) development, or regional conformity analysis, project-level analysis, or any other purpose. The handbook provides information on alternative sources of local input data and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The handbook also provides sample datasets that users may use as a template for developing their own local data, or in some cases to represent local condi- tions if local data are not available. Finally, the handbook describes tools available to assist MOVES users in processing data to prepare MOVES inputs. The handbook was written for MOVES2010b but remains applicable to MOVES2014. This handbook supplements other MOVES documentation, guidance, and tools provided by EPA, including: • The MOVES user guide;1 • Guidance for use of the MOVES model in regional SIP and conformity analysis, green- house gas (GHG) analysis, and particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and carbon monoxide (CO) hot-spot analysis;2 and • Data processing tools, such as MOBILE6 to MOVES data converters, already devel- oped by EPA. These are available on EPA’s web site.3 The handbook does not supersede EPA guidance, and inclusion of a particular data source or method in this document does not imply EPA’s endorsement. EPA, through the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) or statewide interagency process, will need to 1 The most recent version at the time of preparation of this document was: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2012). Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) User Guide for MOVES2010b. EPA-420-B-12-001b. This document is referred to as “MOVES2010b User Guide” throughout this report. The User Guide for MOVES2014 was released in July 2014. 2 The most recent versions of the PM and CO guidance at the time of preparation of this document were: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2013). Transportation Conformity Guidance for Quantitative Hot-Spot Analyses in PM2.5 and PM10 Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas. EPA-420- B-13-053; and, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2010). Using MOVES in Project-Level Carbon Monoxide Analyses. EPA-420-B-10-041. These documents are referred to as “PM Hot-Spot Analysis Guidance” and “CO Analysis Guidance,” respectively, throughout this report. 3 http://www.epa.gov/otaq/models/moves/. 1-1

approve any data or methods when MOVES is used for regulatory purposes, and MOVES practitioners should ensure they follow standard requirements for consulting with EPA and other agencies in such situations. The handbook is presented in two volumes, addressing the use of MOVES at different domains/scales: • Volume 1 provides resource material on developing inputs for a “regional” (county, multicounty, or state) level of application, using the County Domain/Scale of MOVES. This is the scale that must be used when doing State Implementation Plan or regional conformity analysis. The model replaces national “default” allocations for each input with user-supplied data for each county and year to be analyzed. • Volume 2 provides resource material on developing inputs for a project level of analy- sis, using the Project Domain/Scale of MOVES. This scale allows the user to model the emission effects from a group of specific roadway links and/or a single off- network location. The resource material is relevant to the use of MOVES for both inventory and emission rate development (calculation types). In a few cases, the choice of calculation type affects the input requirements. Differences in input requirements for inventory and emission rate calculations are noted. The remaining sections of this volume of the handbook include: • Section 2.0 – Overview of MOVES Inputs. • Section 3.0 – Sensitivity of Model Outputs to Inputs. This section provides infor- mation on the relative impact of different inputs on outputs (emissions inventories or rates), to help the user in determining where to focus resources on developing and refining inputs. • Section 4.0 – Options for Developing Local Input Data. This section provides detailed information on each MOVES input required for county-/regional-scale analy- sis, including alternative data sources, data processing methods, tools, and examples. • Section 5.0 – Examples. This section provides an example illustrating the develop- ment of a complete set of MOVES inputs for project-level application. • Section 6.0 – References. • Section 7.0 – List of Acronyms. 1-2