Environmental assessment section on physical resources, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Table 3-2

Summary of Dominant Wind Direction, Average Speed, and PGU in New York (LaGuardia) by Month January-April ■September, October- , December^ Direction: NW Direction: South Direction: NE Direction: WNW- NW Average Speed: 14 Average Speed: 11 Average Speed: 11 Average Speed: 13 mph mph mph mph Average PGU: 63 Average PGU: 58 Average PGU: 64 Average PGU: 72 Source: National Weather Service

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency establishes National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the protection of public health and welfare. Six pollutants have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being of national concern: carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM) less than 10 microns in diameter (PMio), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and lead (Pb). With the removal of lead from gasoline, the primary pollutant emissions from automobiles are CO, hydrocarbons (HC), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Concentrations of NOx are influenced by both mobile and stationary sources, while levels of inhalable PMio and SO2 are directly associated with stationary sources.

In New York, the Division of Air Resources (DAR) of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) is responsible for carrying out both the federal and state regulations for controlling air pollution. These regulations’can be found at Parts 200-317, Chapter IE, Title 6 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rilles and Regulations of the State of New York. The New York State and NAAQS for criteria pollutants are the same. Under New York law, permits are required for facilities that emit pollutants into the air. The DAR is responsible for issuing both federal and state permits. The project site is located in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut Air Quality Control Region (AQCR) and within the Metropolitan Air Quality Control Region of DEC Region 2 for air quality monitoring purposes.

All of the New York City metropolitan area is designated NAAQS non-attamment for the pollutant ozone; in addition, Manhattan is designated NAAQS non-attainment for the pollutants CO and PMio (a.k.a., “inhalable PM”).

The contaminants NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) combine to form ozone. Elevated ozone levels are often found many miles downwind of the source of these precursor pollutants. Transportation and construction projects can affect levels of VOCs and NOx pollutants by changing and increasing automobile, truck, and construction equipment use. Contaminants that would be generated during construction of any of the proposed alternatives would likely include hydrocarbons (VOCs), PM, and CO.

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