FedEx Ground Shipping Hub Air Quality Study

Project Description

Paul Carpenter Associates, Inc. (PCA) was retained to perform an air quality assessment for the proposed FedEx Ground Shipping Hub in the City of Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana. The proposed facility was planned to be constructed on a 50-acre parcel northwest of the intersection of Gabel Road and Hesper Road and would include receiving, sorting and local distribution of FedEx packages. The facility would operate 24 hours per day, with local deliveries generally occurring during typical daytime hours.

The cumulative carbon monoxide (CO) levels as a result of vehicular traffic (mobile sources) traveling on project-affected roadways and entering/exiting site surface parking lots as well as interior emissions exhausted from building vents (stationary sources) were quantified. For comparative purposes, total CO concentrations were also predicted for a scenario in which a commercial business park with a site surface parking lot would instead be built on the 50-acre parcel. The air quality assessment was performed pursuant to methodologies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Air quality analyses were performed for three project-affected intersections utilizing approved and required USEPA models. Emission factors were determined and microscale CO modeling was performed. A Findings Report and expert testimony was provided to the Billings City Council.