The MARAMA Technical group works with member agency staff and EPA to coordinate and enhance capabilities across the region to create needed technical products, develop agency technical abilities and respond to current issues impacting air quality. MARAMA began working with Northeastern Air Quality agencies over 20 years ago in response to the need for regional haze improvements and during this time has expanded its technical products and capabilities for use in planning to reduce ozone concentrations as well as other pollutants using a multi-pollutant approach.
Specifically, MARAMA has coordinated agency work to create emissions inventories for submission to the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) and use in a variety of planning and modeling applications. This work has been expanded to include development of inventory products including a model to estimate present and future impacts from electric generation (ERTAC EGU) and the Emissions Modeling Framework (EMF), for management and projection of emissions inventories.
Most recently MARAMA created a series of training sessions presented in a webinar format to expand member data analysis capabilities using the R Statistical Programming Language. MARAMA consistently presents technical workshops and webinars to further train member agency technical staff.
Finally, MARAMA assists member agencies in their responses to current issues including:
- the impact of transportation changes,
- dispersion modeling,
- oil and gas extraction,
- fumigation and emerging pollutant emissions,
- regulations and guidance.
MARAMA sponsors a number of technical workgroups intended to coordinate efforts, train staff, and disseminate information on air quality topics for members, the region, and the nation.
MJO MOVES Workgroup – The Multi-Jurisdictional Organization (MJO) MOVES Workgroup is a national monthly meeting focused on the development of mobile emissions data with EPA for national inventories as well as inputs for air quality models through improved MOVES inputs and better application of the MOVES model itself to produce better emissions estimates. Additionally, this group provides coordination among participating agencies concerning mobile topics.
The workgroup meets from 2 – 3:30 PM the third Thursday of each month; upcoming webinars are: August 19, September 16, October 21, November 18 and December 16, 2021. Contact Debbie Wilson for more information about this workgroup.
For the latest on the MOVES3 emission model, visit EPA MOVES3.
MARAMA Emerging Pollutants (EP) Workgroup – Our goal with this workgroup is to learn and share information that pertains to the monitoring, measuring and control of emerging pollutants along with gathering new information and gaining perspective from our neighboring state & local agencies. Some technical and regulatory issues discussed include ethylene oxide (EtO), used for sterilization, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), found in Teflon and fire-fighting foam, and other toxic air pollutants that emerge like 1-Bromopropane (1-BP) which is the first pollutant to be added to the EPA Hazardous Air Pollutants list. Contact Debbie Wilson or Jenny St. Clair for more information on joining this workgroup.
The next scheduled EP webinars in 2021 are Tuesday, September 14 and November 9 @ 1 PM Eastern.
For general information about, visit PFAS.
MARAMA Commercial Marine Vessels (CMV) Workgroup – The MARAMA CMV Workgroup is focused on the development of emissions data with EPA for national inventories. This workgroup is used to better understand Commercial Marine Vehicle (CMV) emissions in the MARAMA region. Conducting data analysis of the CMV data by temporal, spatial and vessel type. Sources will be evaluated to estimate emissions benefit, along with measuring the reduction of emissions by various control measures.
This workgroup meets 11 AM Eastern on the 3rd Wednesday every other month (next meeting webinars are scheduled on September 15 and November 17, 2021). Contact Debbie Wilson or Jenny St. Clair for more information on joining this workgroup.
To find out more about air quality around Ports, visit EPA Ports Initiative.
MARAMA AERMOD Workgroup – The purpose of this quarterly MARAMA workgroup is to learn and share information that pertains to the EPA AERMOD Model / Dispersion Modeling along with gathering new information and gaining perspective from our neighboring state & local agencies.
Upcoming webinars are scheduled for 10 AM Eastern on Wednesday, September 1 and December 1, 2021. Contact Debbie Wilson for more information on this workgroup.
The latest AERMOD Model (version 21112) may be downloaded from the EPA Air Quality Dispersion Modeling website.
MARAMA sponsors 2-3 workshops annually which are intended to allow seasoned state agency staff to meet and compare notes on current topics for the purpose of training and coordination. Workshop format are presentations by top agency staff concerning experience relevant to the whole region, followed by a panel responding to targeted questions, and general group discussion. Links for agendas and presentations are provided for each workshop.