NOTICE: This is the text of a Federal Register notice announcing a NONROAD public workshop and model demonstration, and the availability of the draft NONROAD model for public review. Be advised that although NONROAD modeling team anticipates that the model will be released about the time this notice is published, it is currently unavailable. Please visit the EPA OMS web site often for the release of the draft model, or contact the EPA person identified below to be placed on a mailing list. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [AMS - FRL - _____ - __] Air Pollution Control; Nonroad Vehicle and Equipment Emission Inventories AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ACTION: Notice of Public Workshop SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is now in the process of developing a nonroad mobile source emissions inventory model (the NONROAD model). This notice announces a public workshop for the purpose of discussing the various issues involved in creating a model for this diverse collection of vehicles and equipment that comprise the nonroad mobile source sector, and provides a formal opportunity for comment and reaction to the release of the draft NONROAD model and its associated technical documentation. This notice also announces a hands-on demonstration of the model immediately following the public workshop. DATES: The workshop will be held Thursday, June 25, 1997. The times are from 8:30 am to 4 pm. A demonstration of the NONROAD model will be held on the same day from approximately 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. All times are Central Daylight Time. ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held in the Metcalf Federal Building, 17 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL, Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario Room- 12th, Great Lakes Conference and Training Center. The Metcalf building is located in the heart of the downtown area. The model demonstration will be held at the same location. Directions to the workshop and model demonstration can be obtained through the EPA OMS World Wide Web (WWW) site, or otherwise requested from the EPA contact person. Information on how to electronically access the web site or on the EPA contact person appears immediately below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Gertrude Venlet, U. S. EPA Office of Mobile Sources, Assessment and Modeling Division, Scientific Assessment Group, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48105. Telephone: (734) 214-4892; fax (743) 214-4939. Email: nonroad@epa.gov This notice, as well as related information concerning the workshop, may be found at the EPA OMS web site. The electronic address for this site is: http://www.epa.gov/omswww/nonrdmdl.htm Workshop-related files, including a copy of this notice, additional information on the location of the workshop and model demonstration, hotels, technical reports, the draft NONROAD model, and later additional information that may become available as described in the body of this announcement, will be found at the wet site location or may otherwise be obtained from the EPA contract person. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Nonroad mobile sources are a significant source of air pollutants in many areas of the United States. This broad category is comprised of a diverse collection of vehicles and equipment, including vehicles and equipment in the following nine categories: - recreational vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles and off- road motorcycles; - logging equipment, such as chain saws; - agricultural equipment, such as tractors; - construction equipment, such as graders and back hoes; - industrial equipment, such as fork lifts and sweepers; - residential and commercial lawn and garden equipment, such as leaf and snow blowers; - recreational and commercial marine vessels, such as power boats and oil tankers; - locomotive equipment, such as train engines; and - aircraft, such as jets and prop planes. Current nonroad inventory development practices are based on EPA's Nonroad Engine and Vehicle Emissions Study (NEVES), done under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment requirements, and "Procedures for Emission Inventory Preparation, Volume IV: Mobile Sources (EPA-450/4-81-026d (revised), 1992). In consideration of the increased recognition of the importance of emissions from nonroad sources in terms of overall emissions and air quality, and the considerable practical difficulty of implementing the current guidance, EPA is developing a nonroad emissions inventory model (NONROAD) to meet the needs of the modeling audience. NONROAD Emission Inventory Model EPA has completed a draft version of NONROAD, an accompanying detailed user's guide, and a number of technical reports describing the model's data inputs and assumptions. This version of the model covers all nonroad vehicle and equipment types, except aircraft, locomotives, and commercial marine. The Agency will develop modeling modules for aircraft and locomotives sometime in the future. As for commercial marine, a module for this source category is under construction and will be released for public review later this year. The draft model is intended to easily create and project accurate, reproducible inventories of nonroad emissions. It has a number of uses, but should be especially important to state and local pollution control agencies in satisfying the State Implementation Plan (SIP) requirements of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Structurally, the model is made up of three specific components: a graphical user interface (GUI) which allows the user to easily input model parameters, the core model which contains all computational algorithms, and a reporting utility for viewing and summarizing modeled emissions estimates. The model has been designed to allow the user a high degree of flexibility. As such, the model will: - Calculate and report emissions in total for the United States, and for individual states and counties. - Calculate emissions for a variety of time periods (e.g., an entire year, any particular month, any combination of months, or daily weekday or weekend day). - Report emissions of six pollutants: hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), NOx, sulfur oxides (SOx ), and PM. The model will report both exhaust and non-exhaust HC emissions, the latter of which includes crankcase, diurnal, refueling, etc. - Estimate current and future year emissions in a specified geographic. In estimating future year emissions, the model includes growth and scrappage and can accommodate a variety of control program options. - View model results in different formats such as an Emission Pre-Processor System 2 (EPS-2) input file, spreadsheet, and preformatted reports. The public workshop being announced today provides a valuable opportunity for EPA to receive assistance in developing the final NONROAD model through review and comment by all interested user's. The workshop will focus on all aspects of the model including user convenience, data inputs and modeling assumptions, computational structure, and reporting options and formats. Presentations on each subject will be followed by a short discussion/question and answer period, and there should be some time left at the end of the day for more general open discussion of the material that has been presented. A more detailed draft agenda for the workshop will be posted on the EPA OMS web site or may be obtained by from the EPA contact person (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Availability of Technical Reports and NONROAD EPA anticipates the workshop will be highly interactive. To facilitate this goal, all participants are encouraged to review the draft technical reports on data inputs and assumptions, as well as the draft NONROAD model and accompanying user's guide. These documents and the model are posted on the EPA OMS web site or are otherwise available on CD ROM from the EPA contact person (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Please visit this site often to check for additional information or model documentation which may be posted between now and the workshop date. Comment Period The Agency is providing a 60-day public comment period on the draft model and associated documents. This period should be adequate for interested parties to thoroughly review the available information, and is consistent with the guidelines for public review of EPA emission models the Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The comment period will be initiated at the time the draft NONROAD model is posted on the EPA OMS web site. Model Demonstration The Agency will hold a hands-on demonstration of the model on the same day, at the same location immediately after the public workshop. The facility is capable of seating approximately 20 people at individual personal computers. This demonstration will be held on a first come, first serve basis. Please contact EPA via the NONROAD E-mail box or the EPA contact person (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Additional Information To the extent possible, EPA will post material at the EPA OMS web site, as described under "FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT," in advance of the workshop. Those planning to attend, and those interested in following the progress of workshop planning more closely, should periodically visit the EPA OMS web site. ______________ __________________________________________ Dated Richard D. Wilson, Acting Assistant Administrator Office of Air and Radiation