BC MOE AND ALBERNI AIR QUALITY SOCIETY (AAQS) PARTICULATE MATTER EMISSIONS INVENTORY FOR THE ALBERNI AIRSHED (2017 BASE YEAR) PREPARED FOR THE BC MOE AND THE PORT ALBERNI AIR QUALITY SOCIETY WSP SUITE 1000 840 HOWE STREET VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA V6Z 2M1 T: +1 604 685-9381 F: +1 604 683-8655 wsp.com PARTICULATE MATTER EMISSIONS INVENTORY FOR THE ALBERNI AIRSHED (2017 BASE YEAR) BC MOE AND ALBERNI AIR QUALITY SOCIETY (AAQS) PROJECT NO. 181-16776-00 MARCH 2019 SIGNATURES PREPARED BY 28. March.2019 Date Hong Zhang, M.A.Sc., P.Eng Senior Environmental Engineer 2j8 . March.2019 Jason Assam, M.Sc. Date Environmental Specialist APPROVED1 BY 28. March.2019 Anthony Dickinson, M.A.Sc., P.Eng Date Senior Environmental Engineer WSP Canada Inc. prepared this report solely for the use of the intended recipient, BC MOE and Alberni Air Quality Society (AAQS), in accordance with the professional services agreement. The intended recipient is solely responsible for the disclosure of any information contained in this report. The content and opinions contained in the present report are based on the observations and/or information available to WSP Canada Inc. at the time of preparation. If a third party makes use of, relies on, or makes decisions in accordance with this report, said third party is solely responsible for such use, reliance or decisions. WSP Canada Inc. does not accept responsibility for damages, if any, suffered by any third party as a result of decisions made or actions taken by said third party based on this report. This limitations statement is considered an integral part of this report. The original of this digital file will be conserved by WSP Canada Inc. for a period of not less than 10 years. As the digital file transmitted to the intended recipient is no longer under the control of WSP Canada Inc., its integrity cannot be assured. As such, WSP Canada Inc. does not guarantee any modifications made to this digital file subsequent to its transmission to the intended recipient. 1 Approval of this document is an administrative function indicating readiness for release and does not impart legal liability on to the Approver for any technical content contained herein. Technical accuracy and fit-for-purpose of this content is obtained through the review process. The Approver shall ensure the applicable review process has occurred prior to signing the document. PARTICULATE MATTER EMISSIONS INVENTORY FOR THE ALBERNI AIRSHED (2017 BASE YEAR) WSP Project No. 181-16776-00 March 2019 BC MOE and Alberni Air Quality Society (AAQS) Page iii March 28, 2019 BC MOE and Alberni Air Quality Society (AAQS) Environmental Protection Coast Region 2080-A Labieux Road Nanaimo, BC V9T 6J9 Attention: Mr. Earle Plain, Senior Air Quality Meteorologist Subject: Particular Matter (PM) Emissions Inventory for the Alberni Airshed - 2017 Base year WSP Canada Inc. (WSP) is pleased to submit the attached report to the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (BCMOE) and the Alberni Air Quality Society (AAQS) to provide an emissions inventory of Particulate Matter (PM) for the Alberni Airshed on Vancouver Island. The report provides detailed quantification approaches, summarizes assumptions used, and provides inventory results. We thank you for the opportunity to work on the project. Yours sincerely, Anthony Dickinson, M.A.Sc., P.Eng Senior Environmental Engineer WSP ref.: 181-16776-00 SUITE 1000 840 HOWE STREET VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA V6Z 2M1 T: +1 604 685-9381 F: +1 604 683-8655 wsp.com WSP Canada Inc. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WSP Canada Inc. acknowledges, and expresses its appreciation to, the following organizations and individuals for providing information and assistance during this study: Alberni Clayoquot Regional District Alex Dyer, Planner BC Ministry of Environment Earle Plain, Air Quality Meteorologist Guo Lin Li, Inventory Specialist Catalyst Paper Larry Cross, Manger Environment, Alberni Paper City of Port Alberni Timothy Pley, Chief Administrative Officer Davina Hartwell, City Clerk Emergency Management BC Liz England, Fire Reporting Officer, Office of the Fire Commissioner Environment Canada Navin Sundar, Project Engineer, Integrated Transportation Policy / Cross Sectoral Energy Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada Hupacasath First Nation Brandy Lauder, GIS, Councillor WSP staff who contributed to this project include: Hong Zhang, P.Eng Jason Assam, M.Sc., Ana Booth, PhD, and Anthony Dickinson, P.Eng. SUITE 1000 840 HOWE STREET VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA V6Z 2M1 T: +1 604 685-9381 F: +1 604 683-8655 wsp.com WSP Canada Inc. LIST OF ACRONYMS AA Alberni Airshed BC British Columbia BRN Burning Reference Number CEEI Community Energy and Emission Inventory CmVRD Comox Valley Regional District CwVRD Cowichan Valley Regional District ECCC Environment and Climate Change Canada ECx Pollutant-specific Emission Control Factor EF Emission Factor EIIP Emission Inventory Improvement Program EPA Environmental Protection Agency FLNRO Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources GIS Geographic Information System GJ Gigajoule hr Hour ha Hectare hp Horsepower km Kilometre LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gases LTO Landing and takeoff MoE Ministry of Environment mg Milligram MMBTU One Million British Thermal Unit MV Metro Vancouver NG Natural Gas NPRI National Pollutant Release Inventory OFTS Open Fire Tracking System PEMs Predictive and Parametric Emissions Monitoring PM Particulate Matter PM2.5 Particulate Matter Less than 2.5 microns in Equivalent Diameter PM10 Particulate Matter Less than 10 microns in Equivalent Diameter t Metric tonne TPM Total Particulate Matter VKT Vehicle Kilometres Travelled yr Year SUITE 1000 840 HOWE STREET VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA V6Z 2M1 T: +1 604 685-9381 F: +1 604 683-8655 wsp.com WSP Canada Inc. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WSP Canada Inc. (WSP) was retained by British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (BCMOE) and the Alberni Air Quality Society (AAQS) to compile a particulate matter (PM) emissions inventory for the Alberni Airshed (AA) on Vancouver Island. The PM inventory is to support BCMOE and the AAQS in identifying the major contributing sources and prioritizing control and management actions. The AA emissions inventory was compiled for the following pollutants of interest: • Particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in equivalent diameter (PM2.5); • Particulate matter less than 10 microns in equivalent diameter (PM10); • Total particulate matter (TPM); The source categories included point sources (large industrial facilities), area sources (space heating, agricultural activities, open burning, and miscellaneous sources), mobile sources (on-road motor vehicles and off-road sources (including aircraft, marine vessels, construction equipment, plus lawn and garden equipment)), and fugitive dust. A summary of the emission inventory and emission trends for point, area, mobile, and fugitive dust sources are summarized in Table ES-1 below. Table ES-1 Particulate Matter Emissions by Source Sector at AA Emissions (tonnes per year) Emission sources TPM PM10 PM2.5 Point Subtotal - Industrial Sources 80.44 10.42 5.84 Natural Gas - Residential 0.45 0.45 0.45 Natural Gas - Commercial/Industrial 0.73 0.73 0.73 Propane 0.098 0.098 0.098 Space Heating Heating Oil 0.21 0.21 0.21 Wood 109.46 103.81 103.58 Subtotal - Space Heating 110.95 105.30 105.07 Livestock 0.48 0.14 0.021 Synthetic Fertilizer 0.00013 0.00006 0.00002 Pesticide Application 0.022 0.011 0.0030 Tilling 7.30 1.53 0.31 Agricultural Harvesting 0.53 0.24 0.08 Area Wind Erosion 7.14 3.57 1.07 Agricultural Crop Residue Burning 0.18 0.18 0.18 Subtotal - Agricultural 15.66 5.68 1.66 Open Burning Class A Piles 565.90 401.27 349.83 Open Burning Class B Piles 12.32 9.13 7.76 Open Burning Class C Piles 9.59 7.46 6.34 Open Burning - Area 188.89 146.28 133.50 Open Burning Municipally Regulated - Pile N/A N/A N/A Backyard burns 11.0 11.0 11.0 Wildfire 8.39 6.35 5.98 Recreational fires N/A N/A N/A Subtotal - Open burning 796.07 581.48 514.39 Page i Emissions (tonnes per year) Emission sources TPM PM10 PM2.5 Meat cooking 1.39 1.39 1.39 Cigarettes 1.10 1.10 1.10 Crematorium 0.027 0.018 0.012 Miscellaneous Structure and other Fires 0.16 0.16 0.15 Vehicle Fires 0.01 0.01 0.01 Subtotal - Miscellaneous 2.70 2.69 2.66 Subtotal - Area 925.38 695.14 623.79 Light-duty 9.10 9.10 2.86 On-road Heavy-duty vehicles 2.15 2.15 1.05 Off-road vehicles 9.76 9.63 9.31 Mobile Marine Vessels 4.78 4.59 4.22 Aircraft 5.42 5.42 4.97 Subtotal - Mobile 31.22 30.90 22.41 Construction 1.80 1.80 0.36 Fugitive Dust Landfills 3.61 1.30 0.36 Subtotal - Fugitive Dust 5.41 3.10 0.72 Total (no Road Dust) 1042.45 739.56 652.76 Fugitive Dust – Paved and Unpaved Roads 2,498.4 621.7 118.3 Total (with Road Dust) 3,540.8 1,361.3 771.1 Among all PM emission sources, fugitive road dust accounts for 71%, 46%, and 15% of regional TPM, PM10, and PM2.5, respectively. When road dust emissions are excluded from the emission inventory, the largest contributor to particulate emissions is open burning (~76%), followed by space heating with wood (>10%). The AA emissions were also compared with two other emission inventories at a regional level, namely Comox Valley Regional District (CmVRD) and Cowichan Valley Regional District (CwVRD). Results indicate that area sources are the largest contributor for all three regional level emission inventories when road dust emissions are excluded. A further breakdown of area sources indicates that open burning is the largest source of particulate matter emissions.