CWSMB

Canada - Wide Standards - Manitoba

CANADA-WIDE STANDARDS FOR PM & OZONE

STATUS OF JURISDICTIONAL IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES "MANITOBA"

UPDATE - JANUARY 2003

I. INTRODUCTION

• Manitoba has only one Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) (i.e., Winnipeg with a population of 671,000 or about 60% of Manitoba’s population). The next largest community is Brandon with a CMA population of about 41,000 (3.6% of the total population).
• The provincial monitoring network has been expanded in recent years, but the available ambient data for PM2.5 are still limited to a few locations and a relatively limited time period; for ozone, data are available for Winnipeg since 1976.
• PM2.5:u Limited continuous monitoring data in Winnipeg at two sites (located in a downtown area since November 2000 and in a residential area since September 1997) and long-term non-continuous sampling at the downtown site indicate that Winnipeg is currently in compliance with the CWS.

Winnipeg

1999	2000	2001	2002
17	16	14	14

percentile ambient measurement annually, averaged over three consecutive years

Ozone: Based on long-term continuous monitoring at two urban sites in Winnipeg, the CWS is currently being achieved. The CWS is also being achieved at the monitoring location in a smaller community (i.e., Brandon).

Winnipeg

1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
59	55	55	56	56	56	58	58	62	58	55	51

Ozone CWS: 65 ppb as 8-hour average; 4th highest measurement annually, averaged over three consecutive years

 

The following table and figure provide an indication of the 4th highest daily maximum 8-hour average concentration of ozone for Winnipeg and Brandon for the years 2001 and 2002.

 

4th highest daily maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations (ppb)
Year			Winnipeg			Brandon
2001			52			56
2002			52			56

Ozone CWS: 65 ppb as 8-hour average; 4th highest measurement annually, averaged over three consecutive years

 

 

• Transboundary pollution and urban smog issues have historically not been of concern in Manitoba.
• Using the Guidance Document on Achievement Determination, jurisdictions are in the process of implementing and designating their monitoring stations and reporting areas for CWS achievement determination. The information presented above is strictly preliminary and should not be construed as achievement of the CWS. The CWS for particulate matter and ozone is to be achieved by 2010. A comprehensive report will be completed for the year 2005 and for every fifth year thereafter assessing progress on all provisions of the CWSs including assessment of ambient levels and trends and identification of communities where ambient levels are exceeding or approaching the CWS levels. Annual reporting on achievement of the CWSs begin in 2011.

II. AIR QUALITY OVERVIEW

• The most recent published information on the jurisdictional emissions of PM2.5, SOx, NOx and VOC’s is part of the 1995 national criteria air contaminant inventory. (For a review of this inventory information, see the May 2002 update for Manitoba.)

III. STATUS OF ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PM & OZONE IMPLEMENTATION

• Given the continuing compliance with both the PM2.5 and ozone CWS, the focus of Manitoba’s implementation plan will remain on "Keeping Clean Areas Clean".

• Since the May 2002 update, additional examples of actions taken by Manitoba Conservation which are likely to expand our knowledge or reduce ambient PM2.5 and ozone concentrations include:

• Continuing to provide funding (Manitoba Climate Change Action Fund) to support actions that respond to the issue of climate change;
• As part of the environmental licensing process, working with and encouraging significant provincial sources to reduce emissions of all pollutants. VOC reduction plans or source sampling has been required at various facilities including some which manufactured transit buses, hydraulic cylinders and pumps, composite stone from waste granite, and pharmaceuticals.
• Phasing out the wood waste conical combusters, in use at some sawmills in the province, on a case-by-case basis.

• Once the final reports from the MERS process have been received, Manitoba Conservation will be reviewing the recommendations for the various sectors. Those recommendations that are appropriate to Manitoba will be reviewed and, where feasible, incorporated into additional provincial actions.
• The government-appointed Ethanol Advisory Panel has completed public consultations on the Manitoba government’s proposal to expand the production and use of ethanol in gasoline. The Panel supports the mandate announced by the government that all gasoline sold as vehicle fuel in the province be blended with ethanol. The outcome of such a mandate would be reduced particulate matter and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the transportation sector.
• Many of the current and proposed programs in Manitoba’s Climate Change Action Plan have the potential to reduce particulate matter and VOC emissions from various sectors, in most cases by reducing the need for the combustion of fossil fuel. Examples of just a few of the programs include: the Wuskwatim Hydro Generation Project in Northern Manitoba (reducing the need for fossil fuel-fired thermal power generation); Manitoba Hydro’s Power Smart conservation programs; Manitoba Hydro’s landfill gas utilization study (reviewing the capture of landfill gas for potential heating and electrical generation) and wind monitoring study (assessing of wind resources and costs); City of Winnipeg’s demonstration project using ethanol-blended diesel fuel in 10 transit buses; amendments to the "Drilling and Production Regulation" under The Oil and Gas Act (reducing emissions of VOCs); and Red River College’s new downtown campus which incorporated improvements in energy efficiency.

 

IV. NEXT STEPS (Path Forward)

Manitoba is currently in compliance with the CWS for both PM2.5 and ozone. Consequently, Manitoba Conservation is focussing on "Keeping Clean Areas Clean" through:

• continuation of the initiatives and activities noted in Section III of this current update and the update of May 2002;
• development of new initiatives, where applicable, as information from the MERS becomes available; and
• continued cooperation with other provincial and federal Departments in addressing the PM2.5 and ozone issues.

 

Manitoba Conservation
January 10, 2003
Contact:

David Bezak, Manager, Air Quality Section
Manitoba Conservation
Tel: (204) 945-7046
Fax: (204) 948-2357

e-mail: dbezak@gov.mb.ca

Appendix A - The Canada-wide Standards Numeric Targets and Statistical Forms

The Canada-wide Standards (CWS) provisions include numeric targets for PM2.5 and ozone, and their associated statistical forms. The numeric targets are:

• PM2.5: 30 mg/m3, 24-hour (midnight to midnight) averaging time
  

• Ozone: 65 ppb, 8-hour averaging time

The statistical forms of the numeric targets are:

• PM2.5: 98th percentile ambient measurement annually, averaged over three consecutive years

• Ozone: 4th highest measurement annually, averaged over 3 consecutives years

   

To facilitate the communication and data presentation in relation to the statistical forms, the above statistical forms are referred to as the PM2.5 CWS metric and the ozone CWS metric respectively. Table A-1 below provides an outline of the computation procedure of the CWS metrics for a single site.

Jurisdictions are in the process of implementing and designating their monitoring stations for CWS achievement determination using the Guidance Document on Achievement Determination. As such, it should be noted that the ambient data presented in this Update is strictly preliminary and should not be construed as achievement of the CWS numeric level. Achievement reporting will require three years of data and is not required until 2010.

align="center"Table A-1: Sample calculations for the CWS metric.

 

Annual 98th percentile of the daily PM2.5 levels (µg/m3)			Value of the PM2.5 CWS metric for the year 2000 (µg/m3)
1998	1999	2000
35	25	40	33

 

Annual 4th highest of the daily maximum 8-hour ozone levels (ppb)			Value of the ozone CWS metric for the year 2000 (ppb)
1998	1999	2000
65	70	50	62