T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationMassachusetts. A regional pollutant, like O 3, encompasses extensive geographic areas (i.e., counties and states)unlike CO that only covers small areas (i.e., intersections and roadsides). This non-attainment area is within theNortheast U.S. Ozone Transport Region, where local O 3levels are influenced by emissions that are releasedelsewhere and transported regionally. As the Rhode Island portion of this regional O 3non-attainment area isdelineated by the state borders, the Study Area for this air quality assessment encompasses the entire state.While the Project Area for the air quality assessment has the same outer boundary as the Project Area for allother categories, the analysis further evaluates the areas where airport-related emissions have the potential tocause a measurable impact on air quality conditions. The boundaries of this area vary by source (i.e., aircraft,GSE, etc.) and type of pollutant (CO, NO x, PM 10/2.5). For example, GSE emissions of PM 10/2.5are mainly restrictedto the Airport main terminal aprons and cargo facilities. On-site motor vehicles emissions of CO are mostlyconfined to the on-site roadways, terminal curbsides and parking facilities. By comparison, aircraft emissionsduring the approach and climb-out modes of a landing-takeoff cycle (LTO) extend up to the atmospheric mixingheight. For this assessment, the atmospheric mixing height is assumed to be at an altitude of 2,226 feet and,based upon the type of aircraft that utilize the Airport this altitude is reached roughly 1.5 miles off the runwayends. Airport-related motor vehicle traffic traveling to and from T.F. Green Airport also has the potential toaffect air quality in the vicinity of off-site intersections located near the Airport.4.6.2 Affected EnvironmentThe following section provides a summary of the air quality assessment, which includes: an emissions inventoryof EPA criteria pollutants (or their precursors) for the Baseline Condition as well as airport-related HAPs; anatmospheric dispersion modeling of CO, NO 2, and PM 10/2.5and a CO “Hot-Spot” analyses to predict ambientconcentrations of pollutants on the Airport and in the neighboring community. A summary of the available airmonitoring data collected from monitoring stations closest to the Airport is also presented.4.6.2.1 Emissions InventoryThe results of the emissions inventory for the pollutants CO, VOC, NO x, SO xand PM 10/2.5are shown in Table 4-21 andare expressed in tpy for each pollutant type and emission source. The results can be easily compared to future-yearconditions as well as area-wide emissions data contained in Rhode Island’s State Implementation Plan (SIP). 195 Asshown in Table 4-21, in 2004, airport-related CO emissions were estimated to be produced in the greatestquantities followed by NO , VOC, SO and PM 10/2.5. For VOC and NO , aircraft were the dominant on-site sourcex x, xof these pollutants with GSE/APU being secondary sources. Lead (Pb) is both a criteria pollutant and a HAP, asreported in the DEIS Air Quality Technical Report.195 SIPs are the regulations and other materials for meeting clean air standards and associated Clean Air Act requirements (U.S. EPA,www.epa.gov/reg5oair/sips/, Accessed May 12, 2011.Chapter 4 – Affected Environment 4-36 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH04_Affected_Env_JUL_2011.doc