Search Frequent Questions

Displaying 1 - 15 of 27 results

• What is the definition of “overburdened community” that is relevant for EPA Actions and Promising Practices?

  EPA Actions and Promising Practices apply the description of overburdened communities articulated in EPA’s Plan EJ 2014. The term is used to describe the minority, low‐income, tribal and indigenous populations or communities in the United States that potentially experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks due to exposures or cumulative impacts…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• Can MOVES Report Output in Terms of Fuel Consumption?

  See More Frequent Questions about MOVES and Related Models . Although gallons of fuel consumed are not reported by MOVES, the factors used to convert total energy consumption (a MOVES reporting option) to gallons of fuel are contained in the FuelSubtype table (energy content, reported in kilojoules per gram of…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• How do I use MOVES at Project Scale?

  See More Frequent Questions about MOVES and Related Models . The MOVES model can estimate emissions at national, county or project scale. Project scale is useful for estimating an individual transportation project like an intersection or transit project, but it requires detailed inputs that describing the vehicle population and activity…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• How Can I Determine the Effect of Speed on Vehicle Emissions?

  See More Frequent Questions about MOVES and Related Models . MOVES can be run in either “Inventory” or “Emission Rates” mode. With Emission Rates, MOVES reports emission rates for the 16 average speed bins used by MOVES for each hour of the day and additional emission rate output that may…

  • Last published: October 23, 2024

• Are permit applicants required to adopt the Promising Practices?

  EPA is not requiring permit applicants to adopt the Promising Practices. Promising Practices are simply that: good ideas in the form of suggestions to permit applicants. Permit applicants may benefit from applying these Promising Practices. EPA hopes that when permit applicants practice early and meaningful dialogue with the community, they…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• EPA Actions does not require EPA regional offices to prioritize the same types of permits and adopt the same outreach activities. Why doesn’t EPA require regional offices to always prioritize certain permits and always do certain outreach activities?

  EPA Actions strikes an important balance between national consistency and regional flexibility. The Agency‐wide guidelines establish national consistency by providing EPA’s expectations for the regional implementation plans. At the same time, EPA recognizes that the regional offices need the flexibility to take actions suited to the types of permits and…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• Does EPA Actions apply to permits that are jointly issued by EPA and a state, tribal, or local permitting authority with partially delegated permitting authority?

  EPA regional offices will decide whether a permit that EPA jointly issues with a state, tribal, or local permitting authority should be considered for prioritization for enhanced outreach as described in EPA Actions on a case‐by‐case basis. EPA will take into account its role and authority in issuing the specific…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• Why doesn’t EPA do enhanced outreach for every permit?

  Robust public outreach and engagement can consume a substantial amount of resources from all stakeholders in a permitting process and would not be warranted for every permit action. EPA recognizes that its regional offices cannot enhance engagement for every EPA‐issued permit and that overburdened communities might be overwhelmed with process…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• How will an EPA regional office determine whether a permitted activity may have significant public health or environmental impacts?

  Permit applications provide information on the proposed project consistent with the requirements of particular statutes and regulations. EPA may also do its own assessment of the environmental and public health impacts of a proposed project, using modeling and monitoring data for example. Such information would inform an EPA regional office’s…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• How will EPA Actions apply to EPA‐permitted activities that may impact multiple EPA regions?

  A permitted activity could potentially impact an area that straddles two or more EPA regions. The EPA region where the permitted activity is located usually has the lead for issuing the permit. EPA regions with the lead for issuing the permit routinely engage other regions impacted by the permitted activity…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• Does MOVES Incorporate Anticipated Improvements in VOC Emission Factors Resulting from Improved Fuel Economy?

  See More Frequent Questions about MOVES and Related Models . Changes in fuel consumption affect VOC emissions by reducing refueling vapor losses and spillage. Other emissions (such as sulfates) are also affected by fuel consumption. MOVES incorporates changes due to fuel economy requirements that were finalized as of the date…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• Can I use MOVES to Model Emissions from Vehicles in other Countries?

  See More Frequent Questions about MOVES and Related Models . The MOVES model was designed specifically to model the emissions from vehicles and equipment designed to meet emission standards in the United States. There are considerable challenges to adapting the MOVES framework to other nations, primarily around the need for…

  • Last published: October 10, 2024

• How can I run MOVES3 for the entire U.S or for an entire year?

  See More Frequent Questions about MOVES and Related Models . The most accurate national MOVES runs are done for every county and hour and then averaged together in the output, but, depending on your intended use of the results, it’s also possible to pre-aggregate the MOVES inputs to run the…

  • Last published: December 19, 2024

• Is the last date of sampling 12/31/2029?

  Yes, that is correct. The last date of sampling is 12/31/2029.

  • Last published: March 29, 2024

• Will EPA provide incentives to permit applicants who adopt Promising Practices, like an expedited permit process?

  EPA is not providing incentives to permit applicants who adopt the Promising Practices, such as an expedited permit process. Nevertheless, permit applicants should be aware of the many benefits that can accrue to them if they adopt the Promising Practices to create a constructive dialogue with the community in which…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024