Climate Resilience Dashboard
EIP Project Tracker
Lake Clarity Tracker
Monitoring Dashboard
Parcel Tracker
Threshold Dashboard
Transportation Tracker
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| Critical Definitions |
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Air Pollutants – Any substance in the atmosphere that can cause harm to humans or the environment. Emissions – Gases and particles which are put into the air by various sources, including point and mobile sources. Avoided Emissions – Emissions that would have been emitted under a business as usual scenario but were avoided due to the implementation of an emission reduction project. |
| Accounting Period and Scale |
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Air pollutant reduction accomplishments are reported as a standard part of project planning and completion for applicable projects. Information on expected pounds of air pollutants avoided or removed should be entered into the EIP Database by the implementing agency’s project manager once pre-project modeling is complete, and then updated once upon project completion. Both models present results in annual and daily emission totals. Project implementers should report annual emissions avoided in pounds. Final accomplishments for a reporting year should be reported by December 31st of that year. |
| Project Reporting |
| Project Reporting Guidance not yet defined |
| Subcategory | Subcategory Options |
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| Pollutant of Concern |
Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Ozone (O3), Particulate Matter less than 10 Microns (PM10), Particulate Matter less than 2.5 Microns (PM2.5)
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Show Results: By Year
| EIP Program | Is Primary EIP Program |
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| 03.02 - Transportation Program |
Analyses of air pollutant emissions and reductions should rest on a foundation of clear assumptions, definitions, and standard calculations. Using transparent methodologies allows EIP and agency staff to discuss, compare and evaluate air pollutant reductions with confidence.
Project implementers should use a standard, accepted modeling approach for project-level quantification and reporting of pounds of air pollutants removed or avoided. Planners should be engaged through the permitting process to report all relevant PMs. Project implementers may use one of the air quality models approved by the California Air Resources Board. The two recommended air quality models are CalEEMod and URBEMIS.
- CalEEMod: The “California Emissions Estimator Model” released February 2011, CalEEMod is meant to replace URBEMIS as the standard for CEQA air quality analysis. CalEEMod is a statewide land use emissions computer model designed to provide a uniform platform for government agencies, land use planners, and environmental professionals to quantify potential criteria pollutant emissions from a variety of land use projects. The model quantifies both direct and indirect emissions from construction and operation of projects. Further, the model identifies mitigation measures to reduce criteria pollutant emissions along with calculating the benefits achieved from measures chosen by the user. Parameters built into CalEEMod makes this model only applicable for projects in California.
- URBEMIS: The "Urban Emissions Model," URBEMIS estimates air pollution emissions in pounds per day or tons per year for various land uses, area sources, construction projects, and project operations. Mitigation measures can also be specified to analyze the effects of mitigation on project emissions. Although designed for California projects, URBEMIS allows out-of-state users to adjust emission outputs to accurately reflect conditions in their state.
Projects undergoing CEQA may use project alternative analysis to quantify the air pollution impacts of projects, since CEQA requires agencies to consider air pollutant emissions in pre-project analyses (SAQMD, 2011). Additionally, project implementers may propose an alternative but equivalent protocol or model for quantifying pounds of air pollutants removed or avoided from projects. However, these accomplishments will not be recorded until final approval is received from the EIP Working Group.