Emissions Summary and Dispersion Modelling (ESDM) Reports
An Emissions Summary and Dispersion Modelling (ESDM) Report is a report that, as its name implies, covers an assessment of air pollution emissions from a facility, and how they disperse after they are released. An ESDM report must specifically include the content listed in, and use the methodologies described in, section 20 of O. Reg. 419/05. This regulation also lists when a facility is required to prepare an ESDM report.
Examples of when a facility may need to prepare an ESDM report include:
- The facility is preparing an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) Application for air emissions,
- It is a condition of an ECA with limited operational flexibility,
- The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) issues a notice requiring the facility to do so,
- The facility is included in a sector targeted by the MOE for annual ESDM report updates,
- The facility is requesting an alternate standard, and
- There is reason to believe emissions from the facility have exceeded an Upper Risk Threshold (URT).
Preparing an ESDM report involves compiling a facility-wide inventory of contaminants released to air and their sources, determining a worst-case release scenario, and quantifying a mass emission rate. A dispersion model, typically a complex computer program (such as the US EPA’s AERMOD), is then used to determine the concentrations of contaminants at compliance points which can be compared to the Ministry of the Environment’s limits.
ORTECH’s staff are experts at preparing emissions inventories for a wide range of industrial and commercial sources, and have extensive experience in using all approved dispersion models listed in O. Reg. 419/05 including:
- AERMOD
- SCREEN3
- ASHRAE Chapter 44 Method
- Appendix to Regulation 346 Models
ORTECH can assist you in preparing an ESDM report in a cost-effective and timely manner, ensuring that any applicable regulatory timelines are met.