Quarterly Management Report on Research Progress - Illinois ...

<strong>Quarterly</strong> Progress <strong>Report</strong>
Meeting Dates - Minutes Available?
11/3/2010 - Yes 12/8/2010 - Yes 1/14/2011 - Yes 2/10/2011 - Yes 2/23/2011 - Yes 4/14/2011 - Yes 5/25/2011 - Yes
7/14/2011 - Yes 9/28/2011 - Yes
Progress & Significant Results This Quarter:
(I) Completed the rural AERMOD model run and presented to the TRP on February 21, 2012
(II) A TRP meeting was held on Feb 21, 2012 to discuss the rural AERMOD modeling results, comparison between CAL3QHCR and AERMOD,
and worst case project site selection.
(III) Another TRP meeting was held on May 3, 2012 to discuss the candidate project sites. Four project sites were selected.
(IV) We are currently collecting data for those project sites from Districts 1 and 8.
(V) Dr. Linâ€s group has started drafting the project final report.
(VI) A TRB paper co-authored by Dr Lin and her student has been accepted for publication on TRR.
(VII) The project is applying for time extension to Oct 31, 2012 with budget increase.
Anticipated Work Next Quarter:
(I) Secure time extension to Oct 31, 2012
(II) Work on case studies
(III) Continue with final project report writing
Project Impediments & Recommended Solutions:
ecause PM hotspot quantitative analysis is a new requirement, MOVES is the new emission factor model to use, and AERMOD has not been used
by IDOT, the project itself has been a learning experience for both the research team and TRP. There have been many regulatory and technical
details and input data requirements for the emission and air dispersion models (MOVES and AERMOD) that the research team and TRP had
underestimated or were not aware of at the beginning of the project. At times, consensus was difficult to achieve with the TRP members and
additional modeling and conference calls were required to discuss and resolve modeling issues. In some cases, interagency consultation meetings at
the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning were held to resolve technical issues related to inputs required for the model runs. Furthermore, as
the research progressed, the TRP and the research team have come to the conclusion that the original work scope may need to be modified based on
what the research team and TRP have learned about the project. Currently, we are collecting data for four identified project case study sites (two in
Chicago and two in St Louis), after which we will need to perform modeling runs for each of the four sites. That is expected to take 4 months to
complete, plus the completion of the final project report. These issues lead to the schedule being pushed back and lead to a delay in the project
completion.
The research team and TRP have gained significant amount of knowledge and much better understanding of the regulatory requirements and model
inputs. Most of the technical modeling issues have been resolved at this point. The remaining work involves working with the TRP on finalizing
and agreeing to the AERMOD inputs, running a few worst-casefuture projects, and coordinating with the Chicago and St Louis Metropolitan
Planning Organizations. The output of these case studies will help define the statewide threshold values for "project of potential air quality
concern". These model runs are anticipated to be completed by end of September, 2012, and the project finalized on or before October 31, 2012.
Deliverables and Implementation Strategy:
Last Updated: 6/13/2012
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