1.
Solution to AERMOD/PRIME
Overpredictions for Extremely
Short, Long, and Wide Buildings
Guideline on Air Quality Models: The Changes
Chapel Hill, NC
Sergio A. Guerra, Ron Petersen; CPP Inc.
Steve Nelson; Coal Creek Environmental
John S. Kirkpatrick; Basic American Foods
November 15, 2017
COAL CREEK ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSOCIATES

2.
BAF Customers

3.
Basic American Foods (BAF)
Overview
• Family owned and operated since 1933
– Ongoing innovation (40+ patents)
– Shelf-stable potatoes and beans
• Food Service
• Limited Retail – Hungry Jack
• Facility Locations
– Idaho
• Blackfoot
• Shelley
• Rexburg
– Washington
• Moses Lake

4.
BAF Blackfoot Facility

5.
BAF Blackfoot Facility

6.
Baseline Case (with BPIP values)

7.
Permitting and Modeling Challenges
• BAF is updating a PM10 compliance demonstration
• No clear path to show needed reductions in PM10 impacts
(needed 80% reduc8ons in impacts)
̵ Modeling op8ons exhausted
̵ No apparent treatment options (most of the PM10 is non-filterable
material)
̵ Stack height increases unfeasible
• Wind tunnel analysis of downwash appeared promising

8.
BPIPPRM Derived Values
Flow Wind BUILDHGT BUILDWID BUILDLEN
Vector Direction Hb W L Hs/Hb W/Hb L/Hb
(Deg.) (Deg.) (m) (m) (m)
10 190 7.92 61.66 35.92 2.1 7.8 4.5
20 200 7.92 62.29 44.07 2.1 7.9 5.6
180 360 7.92 59.22 26.93 2.1 7.5 3.4
StackEU_13BPIP DimensionsDiagnostic
Aspect Ratio

9.
Downwash Screening – Stack CXX

10.
Downwash Screening – Stack EU_15

11.
Equivalent Building Dimension
Method for Downwash

12.
Model Design and Construction
• Obtain source/site data
• Specify test wind speeds and directions
• Compute model operating conditions
• Construct scale model

13.
Phase 1 Testing: Flakers

14.
Phase 2 Testing: Dehydrators

15.
Measure Ground-level Concentrations
Data taken until good fit and max obtained Automated Max GL Concentration Mapper

16.
Identify Wind Tunnel Determined
EBD that Match Dispersion with Site
Structures Present

17.
Sample Result Plot

18.
Baseline Case (with BPIP values)

19.
WT EBD values for Flakers and Dehys
Max PM10 H6H = 82 ug/m3

20.
Dehy
area
Flaker area

21.
Conclusions
• EPA provided technical assistance to IDEQ in reviewing
the EBD study
• IDEQ has accepted the results of the EBD study
• BAF has resubmitted the Alternate Compliance Plan
using the EBD study results
• This study demonstrated the applicability of EBD
method to shorter buildings and stacks
• Case study provides an opportunity to revisit the use of
wind tunnel testing for regulatory purposes

22.
Questions?