CARB Pollution Mapping Tool
Sources in Your Community
Last updated Jun 9, 2017
CARB has released an updated version of the Pollution Mapping Tool (formerly known as the Integrated Emissions Visualization Tool). This tool provides an interactive platform that allows users to locate and view emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and criteria pollutants from large facilities in California. Users can select facilities by name, location, or industrial sector; view their reported emissions using maps, charts and tabular formats; and download data for later use.
What’s New
Major changes in this version include:
- GHG and criteria pollutant emissions data for 2015
- Updated facility information and criteria pollutant emissions data
- California geologic basins map layer
- Oil and gas fields map layer
- Enhanced markers and location details for oil and gas production operations
- CalEnviroScreen 3.0 layer
- Improved functionality
Caveats about Using Data in the Tool for Comparative Analyses
The criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data presented in the tool are collected through two different emissions reporting programs, each designed to meet specific goals. Therefore, users of the Pollution Mapping Tool must be aware of the differences in reporting requirements and other limitations of the available data.
Read more...Things to know about Oil and Gas Facilities
In most cases, facilities reporting GHG and criteria pollutant emissions have a one-to-one relationship between the two programs (i.e., a facility that reports GHGs under MRR corresponds exactly to the same facility that reports criteria pollutants into CARB’s CEIDARS database). However, this is not the case for onshore oil and natural gas production (oil and gas) facilities, because the definition of what constitutes a facility differs between the two programs.
In CEIDARS, an oil and gas facility is defined as a discrete, contiguous operation often described by a lease name or a collection of Township/Range/Sections that can be tracked down to the square mile. On the other hand, under MRR, an onshore oil and gas facility is defined as all of a company’s aggregated operations within a geologic basin, which may encompass multiple counties and operations. Because of this difference, most onshore oil and gas production facilities do not have a one-to-one relationship between CEIDARS and MRR data. ARB has developed a preliminary crosswalk to identify and associate CEIDARS oil and gas facilities to their respective MRR facilities.
Read more...Differences between GHG and Criteria Pollutant Reporting Programs
| GHG Emissions | Criteria Pollutants | |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting Requirements | Emissions data are collected under ARB’s Regulation for the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases (MRR) | Emissions data are collected under various State and federal mandates that include the California Health and Safety Code, the California Clean Air Act of 1988, the Federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the AERR |
| Reporting Mechanism | Facilities report their GHG emissions to ARB using ARB-designated quantification methods | Emissions data are reported to ARB by the local air districts, which obtain the information from the facilities in their jurisdiction. Estimation methods may vary from district to district |
| Reporting Thresholds and Frequency | Facilities emitting 10,000 metric tons or more of CO2equivalent emissions must report annually; facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2equivalent must have their emissions reviewed by an ARB-accredited verifier. | AERR requires facilities emitting 250 tons per year to report emissions annually and smaller facilities to report triennially; however, ARB guidelines set a much lower annual threshold (10 tons per year); furthermore, local air districts have the flexibility to set their own reporting thresholds |
| Storage Database | Data are stored in ARB’s MRR database, which was designed for this sole purpose | Criteria pollutant emissions data are stored in the California Emissions Inventory Development and Reporting System (CEIDARS), which serves as the main repository for emissions data used to develop air quality management plans to show attainment and maintenance of ambient air quality standards |
| Oil and Gas Production Facilities | Emissions for Oil and Gas facilities are reported as an aggregate of a company’s operations in a geologic basin that typically consists of a very large area covering one or more counties | Oil and Gas Production emissions are reported at the sub-facility level, which can be a point-source facility or a collection of smaller sources within a contiguous oil or natural gas lease. In order to present GHG and criteria pollutant emissions that can be appropriately compared, the sub-facility criteria pollutant emissions were aggregated to match the MRR facility definitions |
For more Information, contact pollution_map@arb.ca.gov
