National Academies Press: OpenBook

Airport Air Quality Management 101 (2018)

Chapter: Section 2 - Overview of Air Quality Management Functions

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Suggested Citation:"Section 2 - Overview of Air Quality Management Functions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Airport Air Quality Management 101. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25180.
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Suggested Citation:"Section 2 - Overview of Air Quality Management Functions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Airport Air Quality Management 101. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25180.
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Suggested Citation:"Section 2 - Overview of Air Quality Management Functions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Airport Air Quality Management 101. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25180.
×
Page 6
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Suggested Citation:"Section 2 - Overview of Air Quality Management Functions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Airport Air Quality Management 101. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25180.
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4 This section presents an overview of air quality laws and describes why air quality manage- ment is important to airport managers, staff, and other airport stakeholders. The various func- tions of air quality management are discussed along with how they relate to one another and their regulatory context. These functions likely fall under the responsibility of an environmental manager or airport executive. 2.1 Highlights of Air Quality Laws Pertinent to Airports The fundamental role of an airport air quality manager is to ensure that the airport is in compliance with U.S. air quality laws pertinent to airports, specifically the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), two U.S. national environmental laws that apply very broadly. Both laws were adopted to protect the health and welfare of citizens and the environment. From provisions of these two laws, a regulatory structure has developed that sets limits on pollutant emissions from aviation activities and imposes requirements that either limit the growth of or reduce emissions (see Section 6: Air Environmental Regulations Applicable to Airports). Current air quality regulations give airports great flexibility to manage and control their emissions under specific thresholds or limits rather than setting specific restrictions or limits on airports directly. The CAA specifies six criteria pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), PM, carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and lead (Pb), which primarily result from fuel combustion. Two other important classes of pollutants are HAPs and GHGs. HAPs are toxic chemicals, suspected of causing cancer in humans, which are products of fuel combustion. Additionally, HAPs evaporate from maintenance and cleaning supplies. GHGs are chemicals that contribute to climate change. Although not currently limited by regulation, policies have been adopted at the national and state level to reduce GHG emissions in addition to requiring emissions reporting. The aviation industry has actively been targeting these emissions as well through sustainability and carbon management programs. Carbon dioxide (CO2), a product of fuel combustion, is the most significant GHG for airports. Actions to track, manage, and limit or reduce the emissions of these pollutants now and in the future make up the primary activities of an airport air quality program. Multiple specialists are needed to properly address these issues. The key functions involved include planning, tracking, analysis, permitting and compliance, and reporting. The functional job responsibilities, described below, may be divided or combined differently depending on the size, resources, and priorities of the airport. S E C T I O N 2 Overview of Air Quality Management Functions

Overview of Air Quality Management Functions 5 2.2 Planning The planning role is a crucial function for ensuring future airport operations are not constrained by environmental impacts. Planning may involve evaluating alternative designs/ processes/equipment/fuels for existing or new facilities, setting goals, developing and implementing environmental strategies and action plans, anticipating changes in operations or regula- tions, forecasting emissions, or devising a roadmap to ensure continuous future compliance. It may also include developing environmental policies, practices, and priorities for the airport organization based on the results of an emissions inventory analysis. 2.3 Tracking Tracking emissions and related airport operations often pro- vides the data used in other air quality management activities. The tracking activity may include measuring the activity of emis- sion sources (see Section 3: Airport Emissions and Sources) as well as their actual emissions. From this data, performance met- rics can be developed to track emissions through related opera- tional data, which may be easier to gather on an ongoing basis. For example, relating emissions to number and type of aircraft operations, number of passengers, gallons of fuel consumed, or number of vehicles in roadways/parking lots may make the task of tracking emissions easier on a day-to-day basis. Maintaining a compendium of conversion factors is also an important way to translate activity into emissions. Examples include grams of CO2 produced per gallon of fuel used, boiler emissions per million British thermal units (MMBTU) of fuel consumed, or grams of nitrogen oxides (NOx) per mile of vehicle travel. Establishing baseline data is essential to tracking performance over a given period of time. Airports should track their emissions over a specified period (typically a calendar year or fiscal year) to establish a baseline. A specified employee can conduct tracking or staff can be identi- fied for tracking, analyzing, planning, permitting, and reporting annual emissions. Tracking tools are available for monitoring and reporting emissions data (see Section 5: Tools for Airport Air Quality Analysis). Other tracking functions might include inspecting emission sources, evaluating complaints of odors or dust, or coordinating actual field measurements of emissions. 2.4 Analysis Analyzing emissions and related operations is an essential part of managing air quality. Analysis begins with compiling and reviewing emissions inventories, which is an essential basic function of the analysis role (see Section 4: Air Quality Analysis). Another basic part of the analysis role is exercising models or analyzing model results produced by others. This is

6 Airport Air Quality Management 101 essential for understanding whether actions to reduce emissions are needed or whether permits or compliance reports may be required (see Section 5: Tools for Airport Air Quality Analysis). The analyst may also be well suited to manage grant applications for environmen- tal or emission mitigation projects. 2.5 Permitting and Compliance Knowing and tracking environmental compliance requirements is another essential air quality management function. This may include having a complete understanding of environmental legis- lation and regulatory provisions; developing permit applications; working with federal, state, and local regu latory authorities; and understanding the risks and costs of non-compliance. The identi- fied staff responsible for this function should identify and develop a list of air quality permits and regulations applicable to the airport. This information will vary based on geographic location, region, and state/local government (see Section 6: Air Environmental Regulations Applicable to Airports). 2.6 Reporting There are many reporting requirements that are essential components of an air quality management program. Reporting may begin with auditing and analyzing environmental performance to prepare appropriate information. Internal reports may go to airport manage- ment or operating departments. External reports may go to regulatory or permitting agencies, stakeholder groups, or the media. These reports may include summary dashboards, checklists,

Overview of Air Quality Management Functions 7 or detailed reports. The reporting function may also be part of responding to citizen or media inquiries or representing the airport at public hearings or meetings. Reporting may be completed by developing an annual report specifically for air quality and emissions from the airport; however, it may also be tied into other annual reports for the airport. If the airport is developing a sustainability report, air quality and emissions reductions are a key component. Since communities are typically most concerned about emissions from the airport and aircraft, as well as noise, it is important to report to airport employees and the surrounding community the successes of the airport in terms of emissions reductions. Some airports also develop report cards to demonstrate their successes. While these are typically for sustainability, air quality can be shown in this format as well. Air Quality Report Card Air Quality Indicators Nitrogen oxides Sulfur oxides Carbon monoxides Unburned hydrocarbons Particulate matter Greenhouse gases Renewable energy Energy intensity Legend A B C D No grade Q2-17 Q1-17 Q4-16 Q3-16 Q2-16 Q1-16 Q4-15 Q3-15 Q2-15 Essential References for Section 2: Overview of Air Quality Management Functions • Aviation Emissions and Air Quality Handbook, Version 3, Update 1, FAA Office of Environment & Energy, January 2015 • Airport Air Quality Manual, International Civil Aviation Organization, 2011

Next: Section 3 - Airport Emissions and Sources »
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TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 185: Airport Air Quality Management 101 introduces airport employees who are not environmental specialists to airport air quality issues. Airport air quality management is highly complex and technical, with many different stakeholders, including the local community and local, state, and federal regulators.

Larger airports have dedicated environmental experts; however, at most airports, environmental management is carried out by employees who are engaged in other aspects of airport operations or provide oversight of external environmental consultants who are executing the work.

This report is accompanied by ACRP WebResource 4: Airport Air Quality Resource Library.

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