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Data Analysis Matrix Data Sources, Tools for Analysis and Collaboration, Products and Decision Support. sagfsdh. National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy ( NAAMS ): New approach AQ monitoring. Flexible response to national/local, present/future and public/scientific/health needs

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  1. Data Analysis MatrixData Sources, Tools for Analysis and Collaboration, Products and Decision Support • sagfsdh

  2. National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy (NAAMS): New approach AQ monitoring • Flexible response to national/local, present/future and public/scientific/health needs • Improved scientific and technical competency of networks • More effectively informing the public • Responsible management in a resource constrained environment

  3. Ambient Air Monitoring Applications Assessments (from NAAMS) • NAAQS setting (health/welfare effects) • NAAQS attainment status • Air quality trends • Control strategy effectiveness • Source characterization • EPA Air Monitoring system effectiveness • Provide information to the public

  4. Specific 12 objectives of National Monitoring Strategy • Address health issues, optimize efficiency, and accommodate future needs, within the constraints of funding. • The new paradigm couples minimum level of required national monitoring with flexible local monitoring. • Provides timely air quality information to the public, including the mapping forecasting. • Promotes network efficiencies through the reevaluation of regulations and quality assurance procedures. • Fosters the utilization of new measurement method technologies. • Periodically assess the network relevance and efficiency from national and local/regional perspectives • Encourage multi-pollutant measurements for better AQ management and scientific/health-based data. • Provide base monitoring to support regulatory needs (SIP, Source-apport., Model eval., Track progress) • Develop and implement public information and outreach program. • Seek input from the scientific community as to the merit/value of proposed changes. • Provide data support for other purposes (Eco-Assessment, Global Issues, Research, Bio-Sensing) • Periodically assess and recommend monitoring network funding levels

  5. Recommendations of NMSC • The networks need to produce more insightful data by: • including a greater level of multi-pollutant monitoring sites in • representative urban and rural areas across the Nation • expanding use of advanced continuously operating instruments and new • information transfer technologies • investing in hazardous air pollutant (HAPs) measurements • supporting advanced research level stations • A new national monitoring network design (called NCore) should accommodate these recommendations and the major demands of air monitoring networks, such as: • trend determinations; • reporting to the public; • assessing the effectiveness of emission reduction strategies; • providing data for health assessments and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) review; • determinations of attainment and nonattainment status. • Flexibility must be maintained and even increased for State and local agencies and Tribes to address local and area-specific issues including, for example, environmental justice concerns, episodic PM and ozone events, and “local” or hot pot air toxics problems. • Periodic assessments of air monitoring networks must be performed to determine if the existing network structure is optimally meeting national and local objectives. The current national review of the networks indicate that many criteria pollutant measurements (e.g., nitrogen and sulfur dioxides, carbon monoxide, PM10) are providing limited value which, through divestments, present opportunities to invest in more relevant areas (e.g., HAPs, continuous PM2.5). Such assessments and network decisions are best addressed through regional level evaluations. • The network modifications, including NCore, should be conducted within current resource allocations used to support monitoring (e.g., with respect to staffing). However, there needs to be modest investments in new equipment to upgrade monitoring systems to meet new priorities and accommodate advanced technologies. • Recommendations for network changes should engage the public. A strong public communications program is advocated, both at the national and local levels. • Existing monitoring regulations require modifications and promulgation by EPA to accommodate recommended network changes.

  6. NAAMS – Satellite link • Incorporation of non-NCOre datasets • There is currently monitoring being conducted to assess welfare effects which has not been coordinated with the NAAMS. For example, the National Acid Deposition Program (NADP) network is measuring the composition and fluxes of acid precipitation to provide the data needed to assess the impacts of acid deposition on ecosystems. It would be useful to initiate discussions with the NADP management so as to coordinate their measurements with components of the EPA ambient air monitoring such as CASTNET and IMPROVE in order to maximize the information content of the resulting data. The principles and procedures of incorporating non-NCore datasets such as NADP, satellite data and surface visibility data into the monitoring program should be explicitly considered by the Strategy. • Application of Spatial Analysis • The Subcommittee was specifically asked to comment on the use of spatial analysis in network design and the utilization of the resulting data. Currently, the Strategy has very little detail on the use of spatial analysis as part of the monitoring network assessment, design, or application of the resulting data. It may not be useful to put a lot more detail on spatial analysis methods into the Strategy, but the detailed discussion of these methods will be critical as part of the network assessment guidance as well as future guidance on the interpretation of the resulting network data. The Subcommittee supports the use of a number of well-established spatial analysis tools such as kriging, empirical orthogonal function analysis and related techniques, and geographical information system (GIS) approaches that can be used for these purposes. These tools can also be used in the regulatory decision-making process, such as establishing the spatial • domain of non-attainment areas for the criteria pollutants. • In addition to data analysis tools for the monitoring network, there are a variety of other data sources than can be used to assist in the spatial analyses. These include satellite images and remote sensing data that can be combined with the ground level monitoring data to provide a richer source of information that can be exploited as input to a variety of air quality decisions. At this time, there are a variety of approaches used for defining the region over which a monitor measurements apply. Again, there will be a need for clear guidance that describe the well documented spatial tools and how they can and should be applied to the interpretation of data from the monitoring network, for network assessment and design, and, eventually, for regulatory decisions. • In addition to the data obtained through NCORE, there are a variety of other data sources that can be used to assist in the spatial analyses. These include data from several satellites, surface visibility data from weather stations and other remote sensing data. These data can be combined with the ground level monitoring data from NCORE sites, to provide a richer source of information that can be exploited as input to a variety of air quality decisions.

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