Dispersion Model Selection for AERIUS UK

Description

Background to Project The Inter-agency Air Pollution Group (IAPG; https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/inter-agency-air-pollution-group-iapg/), coordinated by JNCC, has been working on alignment and streamlining for risk assessment approaches addressing air pollution effects on ecosystems. This is part of wider country-specific work programmes to tackle the way they provide advice, and in some cases regulatory decisions, on new and existing proposals near protected areas. In some cases, this can require detailed modelling of pollutant dispersal to support the risk assessment process. Recent case law has increased attention on processes for risk assessment of air pollution effects on protected sites (eg Dutch Nitrogen Ruling and Wealden v SSCLG). The resulting uncertainty can lead to delays and requests for further detailed modelling or additional information which can be expensive. This extra assessment is estimated to cost UK agencies around £1m per annum in additional effort. As a result, JNCC is undertaking a project to implement a UK version of the Dutch risk assessment tool AERIUS. The project is called ITAPA - Integrating Tools for Air Pollution Assessment. A UK version of AERIUS will require a UK appropriate dispersion model. This contract supports the options appraisal, selection and incorporation of the chosen dispersion model. This project builds on previous work to determine whether there is a case for further developing AERIUS for the UK. JNCC led on introduction of the IAPG to the Dutch tool AERIUS which is used to implement the integrated approach to nitrogen in the Netherlands. At IAPG's behest, JNCC led pre-discovery/proof of concept work in 2016/17 to determine if the UK had suitable data to use with AERIUS. JNCC then completed an options appraisal and user needs assessment in 2017/18 to support a business case for funding a UK AERIUS. Further detail about the ITAPA project is available on JNCC webpages https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/itapa/ and the Resource Hub. For detail about the Dutch implementation of AERIUS and the suite of tools, visit https://www.aerius.nl/en. Project governance and advisory groups The successful contractor will work with the UK AERIUS Steering Group and UK experts to ensure that these adapted elements and the data required works within the UK version of AERIUS. In addition the successful contractor will work in tandem with teams in JNCC and the IAPG agencies bringing the necessary data together and contractors building the UK AERIUS Pilot tool (Invitation to tender: Reference C20-0443-1521; https://jncc.gov.uk/about-jncc/corporate-information/procurement/procurement-c20-0443-1521/).