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44 This section includes some questions that may arise with regard to airport air quality. A short answer is provided along with additional guidance for finding more detailed information. What are the four largest sources of air emissions at airports? For most large commercial airports, the four largest sources of air emissions are aircraft main engines, GSE, public vehicles, and boilers or other heating and cooling equipment. However, the ranking of large airport emission sources will vary according to airport size, geographic location, and pollutant. (See also Section 3: Airport Emissions and Sources.) What are NAAQS and what does it mean for my airport? NAAQS are set under the authority of the CAA by the EPA. NAAQS are set for pollutants that are considered harmful to public health and the environment. There are two types of NAAQS: primary standards (public health protection to include âsensitiveâ populations such as children, the elderly, and asthmatics) and secondary standards (public welfare protection such as decreased visibility and environmental damage). There are six criteria pollutants with NAAQS: CO, Pb, NO2, O3, PM, and SO2. Airports must consider NAAQS as it relates to airport operations and construction activity. It is important to understand how the airport is meeting the NAAQS. If a region does not meet the NAAQS, it is designated as a nonattainment area. If a region does meet the NAAQS, it is designated as an attainment area. A region that was previously designated as a nonattainment area but is in the process of being redesignated as an attainment area is designated as a maintenance area. How can I find out whether my airport is in an air quality nonattainment or maintenance area? FAA maintains a list of airport air quality designations. Click the link for âEligible Airportsâ at http://www.faa.gov/airports/environmental/vale/ for an excel spreadsheet of U.S. commercial services airports and their attainment status. (See also Section 6: Air Environmental Regulations Applicable to Airports.) Can my airport provide specific estimated emissions for inclusion in the SIP rather than the regulators making that estimate? Where an airport has calculated its future emissions inventory using a rigorous, quantita- tive process, such as part of an environmental assessment, environmental impact statement, or general conformity analysis, it can offer its results to the state to be included in the SIP as a representation of the airportâs future emissions. This will ease the path for future growth by ensuring increased airport emissions are already accepted within the stateâs plan for achieving or maintaining clean air. The state is not obligated to accept the airportâs estimate, however, and may rely on a simplified and potentially more restrictive estimate prepared by state envi- ronmental staff. S E C T I O N 1 1 Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions 45 Is AEDT always used for airport air quality modeling? AEDT is FAAâs required model for airport air quality analysis; however, it is not required for all airport air quality studies. Compiling a GHG emissions inventory, for example, could easily be done using a simple spreadsheet. (See also Section 4: Air Quality Analysis.) Can an emissions inventory be prepared using EDMS or does the AEDT model need to be used? EDMS, the legacy model that was in common use prior to the development of AEDT, is familiar to many airport staff. It remains a powerful tool that can be used for airport emission inventory development and tracking emission changes over time. However, for regulatory sub- missions like an environmental analysis or environmental impact statement FAA requires that AEDT be used. When is dispersion modeling necessary? Dispersion modeling is used to compute pollutant concentrations particularly when it is nec- essary to evaluate an airportâs compliance with NAAQS. [See also discussion of modeling in Section 4: Air Quality Analysis and the air quality modeling decision tree (Figure 2) in Section 8: Decision Support for Air Quality Management.] How does air quality relate to sustainability? Air quality is considered within the environmental portion of sustainability. Airports may consider indoor and outdoor air quality as part of a sustainability study or sustainability improve- ments. A sustainability study may include data collection and analysis of airport emissions from equipment such as construction equipment, GSE, ground transportation, airport vehicle emis- sions, aircraft, etc. In some sustainability studies, a greenhouse gas emissions inventory may be conducted to support this analysis. How should the airport respond to air quality complaints from the public or nearby citizens? Airports should have citizen outreach or community engagement plans and protocols readily available for addressing community complaints of all sorts. (See also Section 9: Stakeholder Engagement Strategies.) How should the airport respond to complaints about odors? Odors are not uncommon around airports. Common sources of odors include smoke from fire training activities, jet fuel from aircraft fueling and fuel storage tank management, solvents from maintenance and repair activities, and cleaning supplies from routine maintenance. There are no specific federal regulations related to odors that apply to airports, although many states and local municipalities have nuisance ordinances. However, responding to community com- plaints is an important component of an airportâs community engagement. (See also Section 9: Stakeholder Engagement Strategies.) What are the leading health concerns from airport emissions? Airport risk assessment studies have shown that fine PM dominates the overall health risks posed by airport emissions. The risk for fine particles is orders of magnitude higher than that for the closest HAP. Studies indicate that secondary PM (that is, PM not directly emitted from a source but formed from chemical interactions of airport emissions) may form at significant distances downstream from an airport (many miles) adding to health impacts. NOx emissions are important precursors to O3 formation and are typically considered the second most signifi- cant contributor to health impacts from airport emissions. (See also Section 10: Emerging Issues in Airport Air Quality.)
