Welcome to the Emission Inventory (EI)/Tribal Emission Inventory Software Solution (TEISS)
Welcome to the Emission Inventory (EI)/Tribal Emission Inventory Software Solution (TEISS) Training Curriculum: Course 1-EI Fundamentals
Module 5 - EI Codes
SLIDE 1: This module covers codes used in EIs. It also includes an interactive demonstration on opening a new TEISS project and finding codes in TEISS. Learning objectives for this session:
· Know what common codes are used in EI data.
· Know how to open a new TEISS project.
· Know how to search for codes in TEISS.
SLIDE 2: Discussion of Homework: Does anyone have questions on the TEISS installation?
SLIDE 3: Why do we need codes? We need codes because of computers. EI data are stored in databases. Databases are most efficient when they store information by codes, instead of long text descriptions. Codes also allow standardization of descriptions and categories. In TEISS, you often see the code and the associated description of what the code means. This makes reviewing and entering data easier.
Examples: The state of Colorado can be written in many ways, for example Colorado, CO, Co, Colo., each of these are different to a computer. A database needs a standard format, 08 is the FIPS code for Colorado and is the only entry that the database recognizes for Colorado.
SLIDE 4: FIPS Codes
FIPS = Federal Information Processing Standard. States, counties, and tribes each have a distinct FIPS code in TEISS. The state FIPS code is two digits, while the county and tribe FIPS code is three digits.
Examples:
Kansas FIPS code = 20
Brown County FIPS code = 013
Kickapoo Tribe FIPS code = 861
SLIDE 5: Source Classification Codes (SCCs)
SCCs are very important in EI data. They describe the source you are reporting emissions for. SCCs are the primary identifying data element in the EPA National Emission Inventory (NEI) database. SCCs are assigned at the process level. Every process in TEISS must have an SCC. There are approximately 9000 valid SCCs maintained by EPA. Assigning an SCC to a process is similar to a biologist assigning a species to a life form. It is a classification system. Point source SCCs are eight characters and SCCs for the other data categories are ten characters.
The next few slides show how SCCs are structured. Knowing how the codes are put together can make them easier to search for in TEISS.
SLIDE 6: Example SCC for a Point Source
30200501-In this eight character SCC, there are four level of descriptions.
· SCC Level 1 Description: The first character, 3, tells us it is an “Industrial Process”
· SCC Level 3 Description: The next two characters, 02, tell us it is a “Food and Agriculture” process
· SCC Level 6 Description: The next three characters, 005, tell us it is a process associated with “Feed and Grain Terminal Elevators”
· SCC Level 8 Description: The last two characters, 01, tell us it is a process associated with “Shipping and Receiving”
The descriptions start general and get more specific. Each builds off of the previous description, for example, by the SCC Level 3 Description, we know that the food and agriculture process is in the industrial arena.
If you have a wheat elevator on your reservation and you search for "wheat elevator", the TEISS SCC search engine may not find the exact code you are looking for. You could then scroll through the list of "Food and Agriculture" codes that the search did bring up until you came to the SCC Level 6 Description of "Feed and Grain Terminal Elevators". Once you've found those codes, you could look to see what kinds of processes have SCCs at grain terminal elevators and pick the one that best describes the emissions producing process you are including in your EI. In this example it is "Shipping and Receiving."
SLIDE 7: Example SCC for a Nonpoint Source
2610030000-In this ten character SCC, there are four levels of description.
· SCC Level 2 Description: The first two characters, 26, tell us it is a process associated with “Waste Disposal, Treatment, and Recovery”
· SCC Level 4 Description: The next two characters, 10, tell us it is a process associated with “Open Burning”
· SCC Level 7 Description: The next three characters, 030, tell us it is a “Residential” process
· SCC Level 10 Description: The last three characters, 000, tell us it is a process associated with “Household Waste”
You want to include home burn barrels as an emission source in your EI, but when you search for "burn barrels", the TEISS SCC search engine may not find the exact code you are looking for. You could then quickly scroll to the "Waste Disposal, Treatment, and Recovery" codes that the search did bring up, then scroll through those until "Open Burning" catches your eye. Within the "Open Burning" codes, you would look at the SCC Level 7 Description and the SCC Level 10 Description to find the exact code to use for people burning their residential household trash.
Remember during the previous module when I gave a demonstration of TEISS. These SCC level descriptions correspond with the TEISS reports that are specific to SCC, as I showed for nonpoint sources. Remember when I specified the SCC Level to get the more specific residential heating emissions. These are the same SCC levels that I used to get more specific data.
You cannot have duplicate SCCs in one location for Nonpoint sources. In other words, there cannot be two of the same nonpoint SCCs in a county inventory or tribe inventory. This makes sense when you think about it. Remember that nonpoint sources are sources whose individual emissions do not qualify them as a point source, however collectively these sources can emit significant amounts of a pollutant. The key word here is collectively. Since these sources are inventoried collectively, you would not have duplicate nonpoint sources in the same inventory. For example, you might have an EPA certified catalytic woodstove source in your inventory. That would be a collection of every EPA certified catalytic woodstove in your inventory area. You might have a similar source in your inventory, such as an EPA certified non-catalytic woodstove, but you would not have two of the same sources with the same SCC. Having duplicate nonpoint SCCs in the same inventory would be like reading a book that had two characters with the exact same name; it would not make sense.
For nonroad and onroad sources, you can have duplicate SCCs if the assigned emission type (evaporative, refueling, exhaust, etc.) is different. For point sources, you can have duplicate SCCs, as long as they are for different processes, units, or facilities. For example, you can have a reciprocating internal combustion natural gas engine SCC at several different facilities, or for several different units at the same facility.
SLIDE 8: SIC and NAICS Codes
SIC = Standard Industrial Classification.
NAICS = North American Industrial Classification System
These are economic sector codes that only apply to point sources. In 1997, NAICS replaced SIC. NAICS organizes business categories on production/process-oriented basis. Every point source in TEISS must have a NAICS Code.
SLIDE 9: Example of a TEISS code screen
This screen shows the NAICS code selection screen in TEISS. There are many available NAICS codes, so to find the code you are looking for, you can type text in the Text to Search field. Then you would click on the binoculars icon. Then, only codes containing the text you specified in their description are shown. To see every code again, press the Show All button.
The defaults for the search are the Search Using All Fields selection and the Any Word Starting With selection. For your first search, I recommend leaving these default selections. These selections give the most records. If the first search gives too many records, you might want to adjust these selections. I am going to demonstrate searching for codes in TEISS, but first I need to start a new project.
SLIDES 10 and 11: Starting a new TEISS project and finding codes demonstration
If you want and it is not too confusing for you, you can follow along with me and start a TEISS project (it is fine to only watch instead, too). This is the project you are going to use to develop your EI. You can also wait to start the project until after you have watched me demonstrate how to do it.
First, I recommend making a folder on your hard drive for this training if you have not already done that. I suggest naming the folder something obvious, like EITraining. TEISS projects must be started on the hard drive of your computer instead of on a network drive or some other external location, like a memory stick. Second, I recommend starting a TEISS logbook. This is where you can log things such as the project name, project location, and updates you make to your project. It can be a simple notebook. If you do not have a blank notebook readily available at the moment, you can start your logbook with a blank piece of paper and then copy it into the notebook when you have it.
Find the TEISS View icon in the Start menu of your computer and click it to launch TEISS. If the TEISS View icon is not shown, you can select All Programs, then Lakes Environmental, and then select TEISS View. You can also generate a shortcut to TEISS on your desktop.
A splash screen will appear with an image of the Grand Canyon, and the current version. Click the OK button.
A blank screen will appear with the icons New and Open active in the TEISS toolbar at the top of the screen.
For this demonstration, I am going to start a new project, so I am going to click on New. In the next box, navigate to the folder that you generated for this training. If you have not yet generated this folder, you can do that by first navigating to your hard drive in the Save in field, and then clicking the New folder icon that looks like a folder with the star in the upper portion of the box. Type a name for your project in the File name field. I recommend you name this project something you can remember such as YourTribeEI, but do NOT use any special characters (such as #, $, %, etc.) or spaces in the name because this could cause issues when you try to make a back-up copy of your TEISS project. I am going to name my project EveryTribeAZ. Log the name and location of the TEISS project in your TEISS logbook. Then click the Save button.
NOTE: DO NOT store your project in the C:\TEISSVw folder, this folder is replaced when a new version of TEISS is installed.
The New Project Wizard screen opens up, and asks you to define the year of your EI. Type in 2011 and click the Next button.
NOTE: The reason I recommend specifying 2011 as the inventory year is because this is the year of the most current NEI data available. Since you are going to start your EI by importing county-level NEI data, it makes sense to start with 2011 as the inventory year. If you are planning on developing a Level 1, 2, or 3 EI and you plan on collecting activity data from a different inventory year, you can start a new inventory year in this TEISS project and enter your data there. Starting a new inventory year in an existing TEISS project is covered in Course 2-EI Advanced.
You are now asked to define the state and tribe for your EI. Scroll down to your state, if necessary, and check the box to its left.
Now check the Import Tribes box. You can now select your tribe by clicking on the Select Tribes (##) button to open a new screen that lists the tribes in the chosen state. Here you can see the FIPS codes. In your TEISS logbook, log the FIPS code for your tribe in case you need it for something. Uncheck all but the tribe you are interested in. Click the OK button to close this screen and take you back to the previous screen. Then click the Next button.
The last screen in Creating a New Project allows you import Class I air sheds in your state, major road system, and also start your Inventory Preparation Plan (IPP). Keep the Import Class I Area Coverage box and the Import Roads Coverage box checked, but do not check the Display IPP Wizard box for this demonstration. If you want to use the IPP Wizard at some other time, you still have that option. Click on the Finish button.
Before creating the project, TEISS View will prompt you for Database Login information. You will need to specify the Database Name and Password.
Database Parameters:
· Server Name: This is the name of your computer. You cannot modify this.
· Database Name: This is the name of the project database. Enter the name you gave to the project here. For my project, it is EveryTribeAZ. Log the database name in your TEISS logbook.
· User Name: This is the name of the account you are going to use to create the database. It is set as sa. Do not change this.
· Password: This is the database password. Enter eiview.
After specifying these parameters, click the OK button.
NOTE: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is automatically installed with the TEISS View installation. This allows you to create databases for your projects. Lakes Environmental has pre-set the User Name and Password for the Database Login.
TEISS works for awhile setting up the project data tables. Once it is done, the log in screen appears. The default User Name and Password are set by Lakes Environmental. The User Name is already populated as Administrator. The Password is Teiss and it is case-sensitive. The “T” must be capitalized. Make sure the Caps Lock is not on when entering the password. Then click on the OK button.