The goal of the workshop is to identify data gaps that hinder informed decision making aimed at improving air quality and public health in the greater NYC urban area, as well as in downwind areas affected by emissions from this region. You have been identified as an important participant who can contribute to this effort. A key deliverable of the workshop will be to identify research needs that NYSERDA can use in setting its agenda for energy-related air quality and health effects research. Topics are expected to include data gaps that present challenges for air quality planning in the New York City metro region as well as a discussion of energy programs underway or planned in New York City and State.
Workshop Steering Committee
Ellen Burkhard, NYSERDA
Arlene Fiore, Columbia University
Daniel Jacob, Harvard University
Iyad Kheirbek, NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene
Paul Miller, NESCAUM
Rob Sliwinski, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Max Zhang, Cornell University
Context of the Workshop
While air pollution levels have dropped markedly over the years across much of the United States, the New York City (NYC) area continues to persistently exceed both past and recently revised federal health-based air quality standards for ground -level ozone. In addition, fine particle and air toxic “hot-spots” lead to high public exposure to these health-damaging pollutants due to close proximity to high-density traffic and other local air pollution sources. These air quality problems afflict the health and well-being of over 20 million people living in the urbanized area comprised of NYC and surrounding counties in NY State, northern NJ, western CT and northeastern PA, as well as additional populations in downwind coastal areas of CT, RI, and MA.
The location of New York City proper relative to Long Island Sound, the density of its air pollution sources, and the southwest to northeast air pollution transport flow makes this region unique. It is therefore somewhat surprising in light of the region’s large population and persistent air pollution problems that it has received relatively little research attention compared to other parts of the U.S. This workshop is to initiate a more comprehensive discussion to identify knowledge gaps along with the tools that can help address these gaps, as well as explore the changes anticipated as renewable energy and energy efficiency policies are implemented.
Why attend?
Help to develop recommendations for NYSERDA’s research agenda. In addition, your participation will help contribute to identifying research needs and tools for a tri-state comprehensive regional plan to improve air quality in the NYC metro area, and how NYC and state energy planning activities can interface with on-going air quality planning challenges.
Who will be attending?
Attendees are anticipated to include representatives from federal, state and local energy, air quality and public health agencies, researchers with expertise spanning energy, health, and air quality, and industry supporting research activities in the NYC metro area.
Posters
There will be the opportunity on the evening of May 24th for presenting posters that can help inform meeting participants and NYSERDA of your research or related activities that can address key data gaps in the NYC metro region. If you are interested in presenting a poster, contact Kara Murphy at NESCAUM (kmurphy@nescaum.org) for details.
Hotel
A room block is available at the Holiday Inn Orangeburg at a rate of $103 a night. Guests can make their reservations by calling the front desk (845) 359-7000 or online via the group block booking link. Reservations can be made by mentioning NESCAUM / NYSERDA at Lamont or the three letter code LDC. The room block deadline is May, 20th 2017.
Transportation
The Holiday Inn Orangeburg will be providing a free shuttle service running to and from the Lamont Observatory on days of the workshop. Please ask the front desk for more information upon check-in.
If traveling directly to the Lamont Observatory from NYC or NYC airports, we recommend using the Frontier Limousine car service for Lamont-Doherty. Car service rates to and from the Lamont Observatory are included below. Please note that these rates do not include parking, tolls, tax or gratuity. Drivers will meet respective passengers inside airport terminals in the arrival area.
Rates
Newark, NJ - $84
JFK, NY - $108
LGA, NY - $98
NYC, NY - $92 Uptown, $98 Downtown
Contact
To make reservations please call David at (845) 222 - 6196
Office numbers: (845) 222 - 6196 or (201) 257 - 2291
Toll Free: (888) 394 - 3407
e-mail: Frontierlimo@gmail.com
For more information on making travel arrangements, please contact Kara Murphy at kmurphy@nescaum.org
DRAFT AGENDA
The workshop will be held in the Monell Auditorium on the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Campus
May 24, 2017, Day 1 – Filling Data Gaps to Track Energy Shifts and Air Pollution in Metro NYC
8:00 am Registration/continental breakfast
8:45 am Workshop Welcome, Overview, and Goals
9:00 am Background of the metro NYC air pollution
- Geraldine Kelpin, NYC DEP
- NYC air quality: progress made, challenges remaining, and visions for the future - Jared Snyder, NYS DEC
9:30 am “Big picture” energy transformation topic, i.e., New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision- Carl Mas, NYSERDA
- Overview of energy programs and implications for future emissions
10:10 am Summary of morning sessions as groundwork for afternoon discussion
10:15 am Break
10:30 am Investigation approaches
- Chesapeake Bay and lessons for Long Island Sound – Russ Dickerson, University of Maryland
- Characterizing the Troposphere and Downwind of New York and New England during ICARTT 2004 study - Michael Trainer, NOAA
- US EPA Involvement in the Lake Michigan Ozone Study, May - June 2017 – Luke Valin, EPA/NASA
Noon Innovative ways to measure NO2 – Ron Cohen, University of California, Berkeley
12:30 pm Lunch (provided)
1:30 pm Assessing air quality impacts of airport emissions from local to regional scales - Sarav Arunachalam, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2:00 pm Emerging opportunities for gathering air quality and related data
- Regulatory Monitoring for Ozone and Ozone Precursors – Dirk Felton, NYS DEC
- Meteorology from NYS Mesonet network – Everette Joseph, ASRC
- Remote Sensing of Air Quality – Fred Moshary, CCNY
3:00 pm Break
3:15 pm Investigating NOx
- NOy Speciation at the Queens College Air Quality Measurements Site – James Schwab, University at Albany, SUNY
- Assessing Current Gaps in Transportation Emissions and Modeling their Effects on Air Quality – Brian McDonald NOAA-Boulder
- Distributed electricity generation – Max Zhang, Cornell University
4:15 pm Brainstorming session for NYC metro region
- Panel of air quality regulators
5:00 pm Summary and wrap-up Day 1
5:15 pm Poster session
6:00 - 7:30 pm Dinner (on site)
May 25, 2017, Day 2 – Connecting Energy with Air Quality, Climate, and Public Health
8:30 am Registration/coffee/pastries
9:00 am New York City's NYC’s Roadmap to 80x50 – Cathy Pasion, City of New York Mayor's Office of Sustainability
9:30 am Model-Based Assessment of the Air Quality and Public Health Benefits of New York City's 80 X 50 Plan – Jay Haney, ICF
10:00 am New York State's Volkswagen Settlement NOx Mitigation Trust - Robert Waterfall, NYS DEC
10:30 am Break
10:45 am Air quality, public health, and energy at the “micro-level” in NYC area
- NYC bicycle commuter air pollution exposure study – Darby Jack, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
- New York Community Air Survey: 2009-2015 – Iyad Kheirbek, NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Spatial Variation of PM2.5 Elemental Concentrations in New York City – Kaz Ito, NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene
12:30 pm Lunch (provided)
1:30 pm Trends in distributed generation
- Developing a Database To Estimate the Stock of Smaller Scale Distributed Energy Generators in New York City and New York State - Tom Bourgeois, Pace Energy and Climate Center / US DOE Northeast CHP Technical Assistance Partnership
- The Need for Granular Data - Opportunities for improving existing AQ modeling and the potential benefits - Rory Christian, Environmental Defense Fund
- Con Edison's work at the intersection of resiliency, efficiency and air quality - Bill Slade and Kai Wu, Consolidated Edison of New York
2:30 pm Brainstorming discussion Day 2
3:30 pm Wrap-up and adjourn
