Welcome to the Emission Inventory (EI)/Tribal Emission Inventory Software Solution (TEISS) s1

Welcome to the Emission Inventory (EI)/Tribal Emission Inventory Software Solution (TEISS) Training Curriculum: Course 1-EI Fundamentals

Module 6-Importing NEI Data

SLIDE 1: This module discusses the NEI and covers how to import NEI data into TEISS, including a demonstration. Learning objectives for this session:

·  Know what the NEI is.

·  Know the differences between NEI state data files and NEI GPR data files.

·  Know how to import NEI data into TEISS.

SLIDE 2: Discuss the answers to the homework questions.

SLIDE 3: What is the NEI?

The NEI is a national emissions data set compiled and maintained by the U.S. EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS). The NEI covers all areas of the U.S. It is a national database of air emissions information with input from state, local, and tribal air pollution control agencies. EPA also contributes to the data. NEI data are used for air dispersion modeling, regional strategy development, setting regulations, air toxics risk assessment, and tracking trends in emissions over time. The NEI is THE source for emissions data in the U.S. If someone wants to know how much of a certain kind of air pollutant is coming from what kind of sources, the NEI is their first stop for that information.

SLIDE 4: Differences Between EIS and NEI

The Emission Inventory System (EIS) is the actual database which holds the State/Local/Tribal (S/L/T) and EPA submitted emission data used to create the National Emission Inventory. EIS can contain annual, monthly, or daily emissions data for sources. You must register for an EIS Gateway account to access the data from the password-protected website: https://eis.epa.gov/eis-system-web/welcome.html.

The National Emission Inventory (NEI) is a snapshot in time of the emissions data received for a specified inventory year. The NEI is shared with the public. The reporting cycle is annual for large (above a certain emission threshold) point sources. For all sources, the reporting cycle is every three years. The most current tri-annual inventory is 2011.

SLIDE 5: How is the NEI created?

S/L/T data that the agencies submit has priority in EPA selection of what emissions data to include in the NEI. In most cases, EPA estimates are only used in the NEI if data are missing from the S/L/T data file. In these cases, EPA augments the data for the NEI General Purpose Release (GPR). For example, if for a source, a state data file includes PM10 emissions, but not PM2.5 emissions, EPA estimates the PM2.5 emissions based on the PM10 emissions and adds those emissions to the NEI GPR data. Another example is that if a state data file does not contain certain nonpoint sources, for example, residential heating emissions, EPA estimates emissions for those sources based on default activity data and adds those emissions to the NEI GPR data.

SLIDE 6: Who has access to EIS and the NEI?

S/L/T users of the EIS Gateway have access to their data and any national public releases, such as the GPR data. States may authorize tribes that have an EIS Gateway account read access to their data. This allows you to download State data files for direct import into TEISS. Tribes can also authorize states to access their data. The general public does not have access to the NEI data until the data are released on a public website.

SLIDE 7: Different Types of NEI Data

We are going to discuss two types of NEI data that we have already touched on. These are two types of data sets you can import into TEISS to see the county-level emissions. Importing the county-level emissions into your TEISS project is a big step to completing a Level 4 EI.

The first are State data files. These are the data files submitted to the NEI by the state agency. To access these data files, you need to first register for an EIS Gateway account. Then you need to work with Sally Dombrowski, , at EPA to establish an agreement with the state agency to access their data. The data are already in the EIS XML format, the format that can be imported into TEISS.

The second are the General Purpose Release (GPR) data files. These files consist of a compilation of data submitted to the NEI by state agencies, local agencies, and EPA developed data. If you have an EIS Gateway account, you can access the GPR data, however it is not in a format that can be imported into TEISS. ITEP has reformatted the data for import into TEISS and has provided you with the data in this format.

SLIDE 8: State Data

There are advantages and disadvantages to using State data files in your EI.

One advantage to the State data is that once you have established the sharing agreement with the state agency, the data are accessible any time. This means that when the data are updated, you have easy access to the updated data. Another advantage is that if the state agency filled in any of the optional fields, such as the Emission Unit Description, those data are included in the State data file. Having this additional information imported into TEISS might give you more insight about the emissions data.

One disadvantage of the State data is that it might not be as robust as the GPR data. The State data files do not have any EPA estimated data. An example of this is airport emissions. EPA estimates emissions for airports and most agencies accept these emissions rather than calculating their own airport emissions. If there are airports in your area, it is likely that the airport emissions are not in the State data files. This also goes for any nonpoint sources that the state elected to use the EPA estimates for instead of calculating their own emissions. Another disadvantage is that multiple data files might need to be imported for each source category. For example, if in your area there are county agencies responsible for submitting NEI data to the EPA, the State data files might be lacking data for certain counties. If you wanted to include data for that county in your EI, you would have to work with EPA to establish a sharing relationship with that county to obtain that data. Then you would also need to import that data into TEISS.

SLIDE 9: GPR Data

There are advantages and disadvantages to using GPR data files in your EI.

One advantage to the GPR data is the robustness of the data. The GPR data is a compilation of data from various agencies and EPA. It is a one stop shop. It does not require importing multiple files into TEISS for each source category.

One disadvantage to the GPR data is it does not include data in optional fields. This means that any data that the state agency might have entered into the optional fields is not available for viewing in input view of TEISS. Another disadvantage is that GPR data does not contain release point apportionment data, meaning several TEISS reports pertaining to release points do not run.

SLIDES 10 and 11: Nonroad and Onroad Data

Nonroad and onroad data are readily available from the EIS Gateway in the EIS XML format. These data are the National Mobile Inventory Model (NMIM) County Database (NCD) files. These emissions are calculated by EPA with NMIM using state agency data. If the state agency did not supply data, EPA calculated emissions with NMIM using default activity data.

In the EIS Gateway report section, under the Emissions Snapshot filter, search for NCD. Use the most recent “EPA Nonroad…” or “EPA Onroad…” file for your area. If you do not have an EIS Gateway account, ITEP can also provide these data sets.

SLIDE 12: Instructions for Importing NEI GPR Data

Today I am going to demonstrate importing point and nonpoint NEI GPR data. The data that ITEP supplied you with for this training and to begin your Level 4 EI is also the GPR data. If you instead want to use the State data in your EI, first you need to establish an EIS Gateway account. Then work with Sally Dombrowski at EPA to establish a sharing relationship with the state agency. Does anyone have questions on the data sets?

SLIDE 13: Initial Steps for Importing NEI Data

The NEI data files that ITEP provides or you download from EIS are zipped files. First save the files into a folder. Then extract (unzip) the files.

Then open your TEISS project. From the TEISS menu, select NEI and then select Import from EIS XML.

SLIDE 14: Import EIS XML Files Window

The Import EIS XML Files window opens. The different tabs of this window allow you to import the data for the different categories, such as Point, Nonpoint, etc. We are going to start with Point data.

SLIDE 15: Importing Point Data

If you were importing State data files that you obtained from the EIS Gateway, for point sources, you would need to import two different data files. The first would be the facility inventory file. It has “Inventory_Snapshot” in its name. This file contains the facility, release point, emission unit, and emission process information. It does not contain the actual emissions data. The second file that you would need to import is the point emissions file. The name of that file starts with “Point_Emissions”. This file has the reporting period information and the emissions data. You must import the facility inventory file before the point emissions file. Also, you need to make sure you import data for the same counties for each file.

Since we are importing GPR data, there is only one point source file to import. This file contains the facility, release point, emission unit, emission process, and the reporting period information. It also contains the actual emissions data.

SLIDE 16: The Five Steps of Importing GPR Point Data

There are five basic steps of importing GPR point data with the Import EIS XML Files window of TEISS.

I am going to demonstrate this process when we complete this slideshow.

SLIDE 17: Waiting

Importing NEI data might take awhile, depending on how many sources are in the inventory and how many counties you imported. We recommend not importing more than three counties at a time unless you have time to let your computer work. Generally, while TEISS is importing data, other functions on your computer seem to take longer, so if you try to work on something else on your computer while TEISS is importing data, you might get frustrated. Make sure you do not select All Locations under Import Options in the Import EIS XML Files screen. This imports data for every county in the file. It could take hours to import data for every county, depending on the number of counties in the state and the number of sources in the inventory.

SLIDE 18: Success

When TEISS is done importing the data, you get the Import Successfully Completed message box. Click on the OK button.

SLIDE 19: Importing Other Data

Nonpoint, Nonroad, Onroad, and Event/Fire NEI data can be imported with the other tabs in the Import EIS XML Files screen. The process is similar for each tab. You can even import data from different categories concurrently, for example, point and nonpoint data can be imported by completing the five basic steps in each respective tab. However, you might want to import the data separately if you do not have time to let your computer work on the import.

Now I am going to demonstrate the process of importing the NEI GPR point and nonpoint data.

First, you want to save the NEI GPR point and nonpoint data files that ITEP provided to your course folder on the hard drive of your computer. Then, you need to extract (unzip) the NEI GPR point and nonpoint data files, using a zip utility program such as WinZip or ZipCentral. I use ZipCentral on a computer with a Windows XP operating system, so the process of extracting files that I demonstrate might be different depending on the zip utility program and operating system you have. When I extract a file, I right-click on it and select Extract Here.

If you have any issues with extracting the zipped files, please let the instructors know. The extracted files should be .xml files. Next, launch TEISS. Open the TEISS project you generated during the previous module. In my case, that is the EveryTribeArizona.tsp project. When you click on Open from the TEISS toolbar, you should see the most recent project you opened with TEISS. That should be the project you started during the previous module. Remember to select the .tsp file and not the .dat folder.

When you have your project opened, go to the NEI menu of TEISS and select Import from EIS XML.

The Import EIS XML Files window opens.

Begin by checking the Import Point Sources box. After you have checked that box, you can use the file browse button that looks like a folder to navigate to the course folder where you extracted the NEI GPR data files. Select the point XML file by clicking on it. Then click on the Open button of that screen.