Secondary Pollutant Formation and the Impacts of TMDL-Related Primary and Secondary Atmospheric Pollutants

Proposals under this subtheme should yield results that inform issues related to the processes leading to gaseous and particulate secondary pollutants in the Lake Tahoe basin, lead to the development of an air quality model, estimate primary pollutant carrying capacities, or increase our understanding of TMDL pollutant transport and deposition. Potential modeling and measurement studies must relate to: (1) the development and validation of an air quality model to: (i) predict secondary pollutant formation, and as feasible, (ii) estimate the transport and deposition of TMDL-related primary and secondary pollutants to the lake; (2) conducting focused studies to quantify the precursor sources and pathways leading to the formation of these secondary species; (3) the development of "carrying capacity" estimates for the primary and secondary pollutant precursors (i.e., hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, ammonia, etc.), which can be used by agencies to develop acceptable level of emissions (i.e., carrying capacities) to help ensure the Tahoe Basin meets the most stringent pollution standards. Research to develop carrying capacities also should include an assessment of how much of each pollutant needs to be removed in order to attain and maintain standards. Research proposals for the development of TMDL pollutant transport and deposition estimates also should include the development of protocols to estimate, track, and report on the effectiveness of atmospheric pollutant load reduction actions.