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AQS Web Application Change Log

 

AQS User,

A software patch will be installed tomorrow morning, August 12, 2010 before normal business hours.

The following bugs were corrected with this patch.
1. Browse Annual Summary - The Browse Annual Summary module was updated to display the pollutant standard description for displayed records. This revision had been omitted when the 2008 Exceptional Event Rule was implemented.

2. Maintain Raw Data - The maintain raw data module was updated to correct the following problems: (1) The event creation capability was not operational when a sample value had multiple qualifier codes in addition to a request exclusion code. (2) The security restriction for querying data with a screening group assigned did not restrict data from a monitor owned by a different screening group. (3) The query did not retrieve all production status data when in the read only mode.

3. Maintain Composite Data - The query did not retrieve all production status data when in the read only mode.

4. Raw Data Load - The raw data load processing was modified to reject sample values with flow units The flow units are included in a valid protocol to allow submission of precision & accuracy data.

5. Maintain Monitor - The processing was modified to copy the CSA or CBSA information with the monitoring objective when the button "Duplicate Monitor" is clicked.

6. Load precision transaction - The load was modified to create an error message for a transaction where a "null" data code was reported in place of a value instead of failing without any processing.

7. Batch Job submission - The screen was modified to display a meaningful error message if a user accidentally submitted two batch jobs at the same time. Currently, a meaningless Oracle message is displayed.

8. Current data/Old data Update - The software was modified to correct problems when updating old data (pre 1993). This will simplify updating old data but will still require special processing by NADG staff.

Also, a new QA flag has been defined: "SS - Value substituted from secondary monitor". This QA flag has been assigned to sulfur dioxide to allow this condition to be flagged in AQS as required by the new NAAQS regulations promulgated on June 22, 2010.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Jake Summers
National Air Data Group
OID/OAQPS/OAR/EPA
C339-04
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
(919) 541-5695 (Phone)
(919) 541-7674 (Fax)
summers.jake@epa.gov

 

 

Changes to AQS based on the 2008 Lead NAAQS Standard –

Software Release Notes for July 15, 2010

 

The 2008 Lead NAAQS requirements have now been fully implemented in the Air Quality System (AQS).

 

The AQS changes are a result of the revision to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead that became effective November 12, 2008.  The standards are defined in 40 CFR Parts 50, 51, 53, and 58 and the enhancements to AQS are based on the analysis of 40 CFR Part 50, Appendix R Interpretation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead.

 

Changes are as follows:

 

 

The 2008 Lead NAAQS calculations are based on site-level summaries, similar to the PM2.5 NAAQS standard.  This allows samples missing from the primary monitor to be replaced by a sample reported by a collocated monitor, ie, the site-level combination of daily data. Therefore, when creating a new lead monitor using the parameter codes for reference or equivalent methods (ie, 14129 or 85129), there is an additional site-level requirement: a primary monitor must be designated for every lead monitor using “Maintain Site” within AQS, even though there may not be a collocated sampler.

 

The 1978 lead NAAQS was based on calendar quarters; the 2008 lead NAAQS is based on “rolling” 3-month averages.  AQS now computes the summary statistics, including monthly means and 3-month means, at the combined site-level for the new lead parameters.

 

 

 

 

                               

 

Software Release Notes for May 14, 2010 –
Changes to AQS

The Design Values Report is now available under Standard Reports in AQS!
There are also a number of other fixes. Here’s the list:

General

· Changing Primary Monitor Period did not resummarize site daily values for Lead. Corrected.
A change to the Primary Monitor Period will trigger a resummarization.
· Conditions for Losing the Certification Flag on Data - Data Certification flag (if there is
one present) is lost only when the reported sample measurement or its units code is updated.
(The bug was that only a change to the actual sample measurement lost Certification.)
The Certification flag is not lost for any other changes.
· AMP350 – The Raw Data report was showing some PM10 values as exceedences when
they were not. (Quicklook was doing it correctly.) This has been corrected.
· Pre-1993 Summaries missing method codes and counts. Instead of a method code,
"ERR" was displayed on report and stored in the work file. Annual Summary records had
method counts of “0” for pre-1993 data. Problems corrected.

Maintain Site – Form bugs

· There was an error in the Maintain Site form: It was possible for a user to update the
Status Indicator field of a Site record after duplicating the record. Fixed. The Status Indicator
field is disabled while in update mode.
· Error when a user updated fields in the “User Coordinates” section. The alert "Do you
want to save the changes” appeared when trying to exit the form. If the user clicked on
'Yes', then received the message "Changes to User coordinates were not saved either
because Geography lookup was not performed or changes were not committed. The
“User Coordinate” changes had been saved, so these were erroneous messages. This is
fixed.
· Screening group/monitor ownership bugs fixed. User logged in as EPA_HQ (from a
screening group that does not own a monitor at the site) is only allowed to update
HQ_EVAL_DATE; similarly, logged in as REGIONAL_ADMIN only allowed to update REGIONAL_
EVAL_DATE.
· Bug on the Agency Roles tab: “Insert Record” button took you to Basic Site Data tab, but
now correctly stays on the Agency Roles tab
· Processing for standard coordinate conversion has been corrected to blank out the original
values for city and urban area codes.
· Maintain Accuracy – Form problems if the user executed a query and the query didn't return
any records. If the user clicked on the enter query button from the toolbar again,
then the error "Function keys are not allowed" was displayed. Rollback record did not
clear the form if there was an error in the updated record (Indicated and
Actual Values only). And, finally, when user tried to create a new Accuracy audit record
and clicked on “Save”, then the message '"No changes to save" message appeared; the
record was not saved to the database. This is fixed.

Internal

· Patch to correct Site Daily Values truncation – the truncation was hard-coded and is now
table-driven to make any future changes easier.
Design Value Report (AMP480)
Users had requested a report that would generate the statistics used for NAAQS determinations.
Report also allows 1) the assessment of the effect of exceptional event flagging on Design
Values, and 2) the assessment of attainment issues based on partial data.

Three “parts”:
1. Formatted report for each pollutant with 3-Year Design Values (Ozone, PM 2.5, PM 10)
2. Workfile available so users can import data into spreadsheets
3. Data accessible via Discoverer - “folders” for each pollutant with 3-Year Design Values

The selection criteria for the report include:
· Data Selection
o Any Geographical Selection
o Parameter Code
o Screening Group
o Year Range
o Monitor Type
o Land Use
o PQAO
· Sorting: Fixed sort order
o Page Breaks on: Parameter Code, Design Value Year
o Within page: Tribal Code, State Code, County Code, Site Number, POC
· Options
o Each row is for a specific site or monitor. User selectable metadata: {Street Address,
Local Site ID, Local Site Name, County Name, City Name, CBSA Name, Urbanized
Area}.
o Include quarterly statistics in workfile for PM 2.5 and PM 10
o Standard Exceptional Data Type Selection
o Standard Pollutant Standard Selection (e.g. 1997 Ozone vs 2008 Ozone)
o User selectable workfile delimiter; either ‘|’ or ‘,’

Usage Notes:
1. Each row on the report, workfile, or Discoverer folder is a summary of 3 years of data, the
last of which is the “Design Value Year”. So, if you select a single year, then for each
site-monitor, you will get one row of output that summarizes that year and the two prior
years. If you select multiple years, you will get multiple pages of output with each design
value year on a separate set of pages.
2. If you request a workfile, the system will always return a zip archive containing multiple
files, as follows:
a) A PDF - the cover page showing your report criteria, and/or a formatted report
b) A file ending in -0.txt that contains the Ozone data. (empty if no ozone data)
c) A file ending in -1.txt that contains the PM 2.5 data. (empty if no PM2.5 data)
d) A file ending in -2.txt that contains the PM 10 data. (empty if no PM10 data)

Caveats and Limitations
· If two different AQS sites are judged “equivalent” and the second site starts data collection
at the same time that the first site stops data collection, then the EPA may combine
data from both sites for NAAQS determinations. AQS does not have this capability.
· The CFR discusses spatial averaging, and computing spatially averaged design values.
AQS does not have this capability.
· If no ozone data is selected, or no ozone data is found meeting the user’s criteria, then
the first page of the report will be blank. (limitation of tool)
· The workfile for PM10 has a quarterly field for “Schedule Samples” (i.e. number of
samples scheduled in the quarter, based on Required Collection Frequency). This field is
not yet populated.

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From: Angie Shatas/RTP/USEPA

To: AQS Users 1, AQS Users 2, AQS Tribal Users 2

Date: 04/15/2010

Subject: AQS Patches - April 15, 2010

AQS Users -

Fixes were deployed last night for the following:

1) When the Raw Data Summary Report was run from the batch screen after a POST, the report showed that duplicate PM2.5 data records had been created.  No duplicate records were actually created.  It was a just a "join" problem on the report, and this has been fixed.

2)  In Standard Reports, an error could occur when running a report that had the Applicable Standards field,   For the report, the user selected the geographic selection and the parameter, and then moved to "Report Options."  If the user moved back to "Monitor Selection" to change the parameter, then the "Applicable Standards" field was not being repopulated with the correct parameter information.

This has been fixed.

3)  AMP450NC report was not reporting ozone 1-hour summaries.

This has been fixed.

4)  AMP255 now correctly shows the number of flow rate verification audits, and the confidence limits for semi-annual flow rate audits.

5)  AMP355 was not presenting the quarterly and annual statistics according to the event exclusion option selected (i.e., "Events Included" or "Events Excluded" or "Events with Regional Office Concurrence Excluded.")

This has been fixed.

6)  AMP470 was not supporting the Tribal Mode, and the report was not providing monitor information with the Tribal code.

This has been fixed.

 

Regards,

Angie Shatas
US EPA
919-541-5454
shatas.angie@epa.gov

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From: Angie Shatas/RTP/USEPA

To: AQS Users 1, AQS Users 2, AQS Tribal Users 2

Date: 04/08/2010

Subject: AQS Patches Deployed April 7 & 8 2010

 

AQS Users -

Fixes were deployed  for the following two bugs noticed after the March 15 implementation:

1)  Unintentional loss of certification when a reported value had not changed.

This fix was deployed on April 7, 2010.  Certification should be lost if, and only if, the reported sample value is changed.

2)  Standard values for PM10 data had not been recomputed to use truncation instead of rounding.

This fix was deployed on April 8, 2010.  Standard values for PM10 were recomputed using truncation, not rounding.

Regards,

Angie Shatas
US EPA
919-541-5454
shatas.angie@epa.gov

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Web Aplication Set-Up Page

02 Apr 2010:  J2SE 5.0 reached its End of Service Life (EOSL) on November 3, 2009, which is the date of the final publicly available update of version 5.0 (J2SE 5.0 Update 22). This means that Sun Java version 5.0 Update 9 (below) is no longer supported by Sun. We recommend migrating to a newer JRE version, and have tested Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) 6.0 Update 17. (Note that the latest JRE offered is now JRE 6 Update 19. No problems have been reported using Update 19; we just haven't tested this version ourselves. Versions later than 1.6 Update 3 should work fine.)

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AQS Exceptional Event Tutorial
March 15, 2010

Table of Contents

 

  1. Exceptional Event Rule – background
  1. Exceptional Event Rule - implementation in AQS

 

2.1   Flagging a sample value with an exceptional event qualifier – State/local/Tribal user

      2.1.1     Flagging a sample value via on-line forms

2.1.2     Flagging a sample value via batch transactions

    1. Defining an Exceptional Event - State/local/Tribal user

 

      1. Defining an Exceptional Event via Maintain Exceptional Events
      1. Defining an Exceptional Event for each Sample Value via Maintain Raw Data

 

2.3    Add concurrence flag – Regional Office user

2.4    New Standard Report – AMP360 Raw Data Qualifier

2.5    Standard Reports – exceptional event selection criteria for each report – all users

THE AQS EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS TUTORIAL

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Dear AQS User,

This morning (February 4, 2010) before 7:00 AM, a software modification was added to AQSPROD.

The modification involved two changes in the processing to create/update monitors:
1. The “Required Collection Frequency” (RCF) is now mandatory for the new lead parameters 14129 and 85129. Without this information, the monitor record will remain at status = “F”. When creating a monitor for one of these parameters with Load, if the RCF information is missing, a “Warning” message will appear in the job status (if this is the only problem) and a warning message will appear in the email summary for the load process. In Maintain Monitor, the monitor record will remain at status = “F” until the RCF is added.

2. The process in now in production to allow monitors to be designated as “NCORE”. The process limits the designation to “NCORE” to headquarters users with the appropriate security role. This designation will be updated when requested by the Ambient Air Monitoring Group after the individual monitors are operational.

Please contact me if there are any problems with this new processing.

Angie Shatas
US EPA
919-541-5454
shatas.angie@epa.gov

 

 

"The raw data freeze date has been changed and only raw data from 2006 to 2009 data is available for update. This still allows access to latest 3 years that are used for design values and other analysis."

Angie Shatas - December 16, 2009

 

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Changes in the AQS AMP255 report

Jonathan Miller
June 9, 2009

Appearance & Format

A new printable PDF version of the report is available.  This was intended to address the issue that many users had with the spreadsheet download of the report.  The same information is in the PDF version and the Excel spreadsheets.

The number of workfiles produced by the report has been reduced from 38 to 8.  In addition, the AMP255.xls will produce only one workbook (instead of 7).  The one workbook will have 8 worksheets within it (one corresponding to each of the 8 workfiles generated).  The intent of the reorganization of the report was to provide a different worksheet for each of the types of evaluations that are specified in 40 CFR Part 58 Appendix A:

Changes in Calculations

Several of the calculations and the details of the calculations also changed.  Major changes include:

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Software Release Notes for April 24, 2009 –
Changes to AQS based on the Revised PM 2.5 Standard

Software changes were implemented in AQS this past weekend.  These changes were based on 40 CFR Part 50 Appendix N – Interpretation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5.

Due to the revised PM2.5 standard, the AQS PM2.5 data summarization process had to be updated.  This affects monitor-level 24-hour block averages, site-level daily summaries, site-level quarterly summaries, and site-level annual summaries.  For PM2.5, monitor-level statistics have been combined to the site-level.

Site daily value records were created for all PM2.5 data in AQS, regardless of sample date.    Site daily values for PM2.5 are from a site’s primary monitor, and are combined with the values from that same site’s collocated monitors for any days when the primary monitor is missing data.  (Note that the designation of the primary monitor was done previously, and any QA your agency had done on the primary monitor designation does not need to be repeated.)  Default primary monitor periods were established for all PM2.5 sites based on the monitor with the minimum required collection frequency for a period of operation.

All quarterly and annual completeness calculations ignore the effect of exceptional event exclusions.

The percent completeness calculation includes exceptional events, but exceptional events are excluded from the summary data for arithmetic means and the 98th percentile calculations.

All PM2.5 summaries were computed based on the new 24-hour standard (35 µg/cm instead of 65 µg/cm).  (The standard is met when the 24-hour design value is less than or equal to 35 µg/cm. The design value is based on 3 consecutive, complete years of air quality data and is calculated by taking the average of the 98th percentile value for each of the 3 years. The 98th percentile is the daily value out of a year of PM2.5 monitoring data below which 98 percent of all daily values fall.)

A new report, Combined Site Sample Values (AMP355), was added.  It is currently available for PM2.5, and is intended only for combinable pollutants (e.g., PM2.5 and, in the future, lead.)  For PM2.5, the report will display combined sites sample values in an annual format.  All values returned for a specific site for a year will be shown on one page. The values for each month will include the total number of values, the max value, and the mean value. Also on the report page are quarterly (total number of samples, max value, mean value, creditable days and % observations) and annual statistics (creditable days, % observations, weighted mean and 98th percentile.)   Note: The default report option is to display an "*" to mark values from collocated monitors.

Discoverer users.  The following new tables are available:
Primary Monitor Periods V
Site Daily Values V
Site Annual Summaries
Site Quarterly Summaries

 

Sample Day BETWEEN ‘Begin Date’ and ‘End Date’ or
Sample Day >= ‘Begin Date’ and ‘End Date” IS NULL

 

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From: Jake Summers/RTP/USEPA/US
To: AQS Users 1, AQS Users 2
Date: 05/20/2008 08:43 AM
Subject: New Ozone Standard/System Outage

AQS Users,

The National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone was revised earlier this year and as a result of this modification, the data is AQS has been modified for all years to reflect this new NAAQS. The data modifications include: (1) recomputing the 8-hour averages where there was not enough data values to satisfy the original completeness criteria, (2) recalculating the air quality index values for all data to reflect the new break points, and (3) recomputing the annual summary statistics to count values above the new standard for 8-hour ozone averages. These calculations were completed and loaded into AQSPROD on May 17, 2008.

The National Computer Center has notified us that the servers and communications network that support AQSPROD will be unavailable from Saturday May 21, 2008 at 5:00AM to Sunday June 1, 2008 at 3:00AM EST. This down time is necessary to upgrade the Agency's network to meet the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) mandate, which requires all federal agency networks to have IPv6 compliant devices by June 30, 2008.

We apologize for this outage but hope that this early notification will allow you to make necessary adjustments to your schedule.

Thanks,
Jake Summers
National Air Data Group
OID/OAQPS/OAR/EPA
C339-04
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
(919) 541-5695 (Phone)
(919) 541-7674 (Fax)
summers.jake@epa.gov

Date: June 5, 2009

Changes to the AMP255 implemented in late May.

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MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT:  AQS Software Deployment Release Memo for September 27, 2008

FROM:  Angie Shatas
            U.S. EPA, OAR/OAQPS/OID/National Air Data Group

TO:  AQS Users

 

Dear AQS User,

On September 27, 2008, several modifications will be made to AQS.  AQS will not be available Saturday, September 27 from 12 am (midnight) to Monday, September 29 at 6 am EST.

These modifications address several different areas:
The combination of missing data for primary PM2.5 samplers with data from collocated monitors
The implementation of Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) and combined Statistical Area (CSA)
The correction of miscellaneous software, including the login form, Quick Look report, Maintain Monitor, and Quick Look PM2.5 work file format.

The documentation for these modifications is the "Software Release Notes for September 27, 2008" which can be found on the AQS website under "Manuals and Guides."
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/airs/airsaqs/manuals/

Please contact me with any questions.

Regards,

Angie Shatas
US EPA, AQS Team
919-541-5454
shatas.angie@epa.gov

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AQS Software Release Notes for September 27, 2008 Installation

 

Combination of Missing Data for Primary PM2.5 Samplers with Data from Collocated Monitors

The October, 2006 revisions to the PM2.5 NAAQS required the daily values for a site to be created by combining any collocated daily sample values.  This is the process that had been done outside of AQS when developing design values.   The following rules now define how AQS performs this combination:

 To implement the combining process, the following system/software modifications were performed:

 

 

 

fig 1
Figure 1:  Primary Monitor Periods

 

                                          

monitor periods.  Any required corrections will be made using Maintain Site.  These corrections will update the combined site sample values.
Implementation of Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) and Combined Statistical Area (CSA)

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established new standards for Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.  These definitions are being added to AQS because the older definitions (MSA and CMSA) will not be updated as populations change.  The new standard created a CBSA as either Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area, and a CSA as a combination of CBSAs.

Although the CMSA is being replaced by CSA and the MSA by CBSA, the MSA and CMSA codes will remain in the database (ie, accessible through the “Objectives” tab) in case any analysis with the old codes is necessary.  The ability to group by MSA (for the AMP410 report) will still be available as an option on the “Report Options” tab for backwards compatibility.  Otherwise, the CMSA and MSA codes will not be supported by standard reports.

These new geographical areas are easily implemented because their boundaries follow county boundaries.  The new CSA and CBSA codes will be derived from the county in which the site is located.  Reference tables (in Excel format) containing the new CSA and CBSA codes are available on the AQS website.

Implementing the new codes impacted the following two processes:

I.  Monitor Objective
Monitor Objective currently requires entry of urbanized area, MSA, or CMSA with each monitoring objective.  The area used should be the one best represented by the monitoring objective.  The MSA and CMSA codes will be replaced by CBSA and CSA codes.
These changes to the monitor objective include the following changes in load, correction, and maintenance processes:
           

fig 2
Figure 2: Maintain Monitor Objective

 

II.  Standard Report Processing
The standard reports processing was modified to replace CMSA and MSA with CSA and CBSA.  (Note: CBSA and CSA selects based on site location, not on what users have specified on the Monitor “Objective” tab.)  Each specific part of the process is discussed below:

fig 3
Figure 3:  Area Selection Screen

 

 


Miscellaneous Software Fixes

 

 

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Chuck Isbell/RTP/USEPA/US
11/28/07 13:10

To:  AQS Users 1, AQS Users 2

Subject AQS Software Upgrade Installed Today (11/28/07)

AQS User,
This email is to inform you that a software upgrade was installed this morning. The primary purpose of this upgrade was to correct the problem with report AMP460 (Raw Data Workfile Parameters by Time) and to make a new report AMP470 (Raw Values By Year) available for users.

The correction to AMP460 is adding back a capability that was inadvertently removed during an earlier upgrade. The program now creates a workfile that can have different formats based on the selection criteria with (1) a format listing multiple parameters sorted in site date time order with the multiple parameter values listed in individual columns and (2) a format listing single parameters for multiple monitors that is sorted by date time with the individual monitor IDs and data values listed in different columns. The second single parameter format has just been restored. This format makes it easy to compare sample values for the same date time easily for multiple sites for the same parameter to facilitate reviewing data for consistent concentrations.

The new report, AMP470 Raw Values By Year, only creates a workfile for raw data. This workfile was designed specifically to provide an easy method to create the input files for BenMAP. Since it was developed to meet an existing need, the specifics are as follows. The workfile contains a complete year of data and is comma delimited. The date is not in the file so the workfile naming convention needs to include the year. The sample values are always in standard units because the unit code is not included. Since the format is dependent on duration, limiting each file to only one duration is recommended. The only option is to include or omit data values flagged as exceptional events. The workfile contains a short header record and the format is documented in the help files for the system.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Best regards,
Chuck
Chuck Isbell
National Air Data Group
OAR/OAQPS/OID (C339-04)
US EPA (919) 541-5448

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Release Memo
Date:  August 28, 2007

This release memo is to announce the availability of products related to the enhancements implemented on August 11, 2007 and to correct some resulting software bugs.

The products available related to the enhancements include:

1. New versions of the AQS Data Coding Manual and AQS Data Dictionary have been posted to the AQS TTN website: ttp://www.epa.gov/ttn/airs/airsaqs/manuals/manuals.htm

2. The AQS Oracle Discoverer business area "Sites V" has been updated to make available the following new site fields: standard horizontal datum, standard latitude, and standard longitude. These new fields can be added to previously saved criteria at any time.

3. The original release notes referenced a process to assist in populating the new standard horizontal datum, standard latitude, and standard longitude. This process "Procedure to Populate Standard Coordinates" was distributed to all users this morning via Jake Summers' email "Populating Site Standard Coordination Fields" (August 28, 2007 8:50 AM). The paper may also be found on the AQS webpage: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/airs/airsaqs/memos/memos.htm. (Note: the Discoverer query (site geo spatial.dis) that Jake mentioned in his memo is now available as a public query within AQS Discoverer.)

Software bug corrections:

1. Monitor remaining at status = "F" (Passed Field-level Edits) with no errors can now be changed to status = "P" (Production).

To perform this process, the monitor must be retrieved with Maintain Monitor, a field updated, and a save performed. A field must be updated even though the "Check Completeness" does not identify any errors because the form will not perform a save if nothing changed. Attached is a list of all monitors at status = "F". Any monitors created after the August 11, 2007 software enhancement may need to be processed to correct the problem ("F" to "P"), although data deficiencies may actually be the cause of the monitor being at status = "F". Several monitors, included in the attached list, were created in previous years and are still at Status = "F". These older monitors may just need to be deleted using Maintain Monitor.

2. Closing inactive monitors can now be easily done without error.

The enhancement, New PQAO Agency Role, created a new monitor agency role for all monitors active as of January 1, 2007. As a result of the enhancement, an error condition did occur if a user tried to close one of these monitors before January 1, 2007 and the error could not be corrected by the user. The Close Date on the Maintain Monitor, Monitor Basic tab must be used to enter the close date. There is now a Close Monitor process that looks at all monitor subordinate records that have a date and deletes any that have a date after the close date.

3. The AMP450 QuickLook workfile (coordinates were blank) and the AMP250 P&A Raw Data Report (not displaying the correct coordinates) have been fixed.

Part of the "Enhancement to the Site Registration Process" was to update reports to display the standard coordinate information. If the standard coordinates have been derived, they will be displayed for all reports. If the standard coordinates are missing, then both sets of the original coordinates (Lat/Long and UTM) will continue to be displayed. For any AMP450 QuickLook workfile created between 8/11/2007 and 8/28/2007, the coordinates were blank. In addition, AMP250 P&A Raw Data Report was not displaying the correct coordinates.

4. The AMP450 QuickLook Report (some were executing much too long and retrieving more records than expected) and the AMP240 P&A Reporting Organization Summary Report (retrieving more records than expected) have been corrected.

Several reports had a problem performing queries using primary quality assurance organization (PQAO). Some (e.g., AMP450), ran much too long but finally retrieved the correct data while others (AMP450 & AMP240) retrieved more records than expected.

5. The AMP430 Data Completeness Report has been corrected.

The AMP430 Data Completeness Report was not retrieving data when more that one sampling period was defined during the date range requested. The monitor was being reported as "Not Reporting" for the entire date range requested.

Release Memo
Date:  August 10, 2007      UPDATE August 28, 2007:  E-Mail Memo with procedure for populating geospatial info

An enhancement to the Air Quality System (AQS) was deployed on Saturday, August 11, 2007. This enhancement included: (1) an enhancement to the site registration process, (2) the implementation of the Primary Quality Assurance Organization (PQAO) that was enacted by the revisions to Part 58 Appendix A in October 2006, and (3) some minor fixes and enhancements to some AQS software. The Data Coding Manual and the Data Dictionary are being modified to reflect these changes and will posted during the week of August 13th on the AQS TTN webpage ( http://www.epa.gov/ttn/airs/airsaqs/manuals/).

Enhancement to the Site Registration Process

This enhancement is described in detail in the document “AQS Geospatial Doc” that was distributed to State/local/tribal agencies in March for comment. Minor comments were received and addressed as part of this implementation. The document described a plan that our office would follow to populate the standard latitude, standard longitude, and standard datum of WGS84. The process for doing this population has been changed to have it done by the agencies that own the sites and will be distributed to users after August 11. Below is a sample of the new layout of the “Maintain Site” form:

Specific changes to AQS components are as follows:

1. Maintain Site

a. The layout of the form has been changed to allow each code field, such as state code, to have a description field displayed with the meaning of the code.

b. The form now displays both “User Coordinates” (in either Latitude and Longitude or UTM) and the “Standard Coordinates” (in Latitude and Longitude with Horizontal Datum WGS84).

c. Lookup Geography: A new button is provided to look up geographical information from the EPA master geospatial database (Envirofacts), based on the location specified by the user. For registering a new site, after the user coordinates and horizontal datum are entered, clicking on “Lookup Geography” will result in a short pause (with the hour glass displayed) while the software derives the standard coordinates and also looks up: City, Urbanized Area, Census tract and block, Congressional District, and Zip code. Additionally, the location is verified to be in the state and county specified for the site. (In tribal mode, the state and county will also be looked up from the location.) Note: Fields that are looked up from the master database are set to read-only on the form and cannot be changed by the user. In order to change these fields, you must re-query the records and change the values. The standards coordinate values cannot be changed.

d. Check Completeness Button: A new button has been added to verify every field associated with the site and display all of the errors to the user at once. For a new site, after Lookup Geography has been executed and all required fields have been entered, “Check Completeness” will identify any problems that will prevent a record from being created. For site updates, errors will be reported for any new or changed fields, and warnings will be generated for any fields that are not being changed, but that do not meet the present business rules. Errors will prevent the changes from being saved, but warnings will not.

e. Windows popup help is used to display the meaning of any field on the form, rather than the meaning being displayed in the bottom of the window when the user clicks on the field. (This allows the meaning of a field to be displayed even if it is protected against entry.)

2. Batch Site Load Process

a. Load Site has been re-written to derive geographical information (the set of fields listed above) from the EPA master geospatial database.

b. All fields that can be derived are now optional. If any of these fields are supplied by the user, their value will be compared against the derived values and a warning will be produced if the values differ, but the insert or update will be allowed and written to the database.

c. When a Site insert or update transaction is submitted, all site fields are checked for compliance with the business rules, and all errors and/or warnings are provided for the user. If an error occurs on the transaction, all errors and warnings will be displayed in the Edit-Detail-Report. If only warnings occur, they will only be displayed in the job log emailed to the user.

d. Note: For updates, the above means that if an existing field for the site does not comply with the business rules, such as an inactive code, if that field is not changed by the update transaction, the update to other fields will be allowed, but the job log will contain the warning about the previously existing field. For example, if an update transaction is submitted that does not contain Vertical Datum, but the database contains a value of “Unknown” for the vertical datum, then the update will be processed but a warning message will be generated in the job log.

e. The validation routines have been modified to prevent the updating of “Support Agency” for the site through the batch process. In reality, this capability was never supported through the batch process. The load procedures would simply ignore the request. Now the user will receive a warning message that the Support role cannot be changed through the batch process.

To further simplify the selection of the “Horizontal Collection Method” for data input, duplicative codes have been changed to inactive. The original code set included very specific codes beginning with “0” which many users had difficulty in knowing which to select and general codes beginning with “1” to define a general category that includes each specific code category. The specific codes have been made inactive.

An example of this is that codes “001” to “007” specified “Address matching” with different specific procedures while “101” is the general “Address Matching”

New PQAO (Primary Quality Assurance Organization) Agency Role

1. All monitors that were in operation as of January 1, 2007 or later must have a PQAO role assigned. PQAO assignments are not allowed before January 1, 2007.

2. Criteria monitors are no longer required to have a Reporting Organization role assigned (although they will still be allowed). However, for maintenance purposes, all criteria monitors must have a reporting organization defined through December 31, 2006. Reporting Organization roles can still be assigned for any monitor. The only difference now is that it is no longer required for the criteria monitors.

3. All existing monitors in the database now have a PQAO role assigned. The agency code assigned to a monitor is based on the first rule that applies:

a. If an agency has requested to be “combined” with another agency, the new combined agency code is used.

b. Use the Reporting agency role assignment, if it was previously assigned.

c. Use the unique Reporting agency used at the site if there was only one assigned by the screening group.

d. If none of the above conditions apply, assign an agency code of “9999” (Interim PQAO Agency). Once converted, lists of these monitors will be created and distributed to users for corrections.

4. Precision and Accuracy Summaries.

a. Precision and accuracy summaries of any type are no longer computed for data with dates after December 31, 2006. (But monitor and Reporting Organization summaries will continue to be computed for data with precision and/or accuracy dates prior to January 1, 2007)

b. For time periods after January 1, 2007, Precision and Accuracy summaries are only available with the AMP255 – P&A Quality Indicator Summary report.

5. Load and Maintain Monitor

a. Both Load and Maintain Monitor now support the assignment of PQAO agency roles.

b. The Monitor completeness rules will require a PQAO role to be assigned for all monitors before they are relationally complete and set to production status. (i.e. before raw data can be loaded.)

6. Standard Reports

a. All references to “Reporting Organization” (and its abbreviations such as “RO”) have been replaced with PQAO. This includes both labels on the Standard Report form (R31) and the labels on the reports themselves.

b. All queries by PQAO will use monitor reporting agency assignments for time periods before January 1, 2007 and PQAO assignments starting January 1, 2007.

Minor Fixes/Enhancements

1. Login Form has several changes/improvements:

a. The login form now displays the required EPA security warning. (This will allow users to bookmark the URL and go directly there without going to a separate security warning page first.)

b. The login form now has a default database ID so users do not have to type it in every time.

c. The login form now detects if a user’s password has expired and will allow the user to update their own password rather than having to call user support. Once your password has expired, you will see this screen:

2. AMP450 – Quick Look: The report format for PM10 has been modified to increase the size of the field “Est_Days_GT_Std” to allow the display of larger numbers.

3. AMP430 – Data Completeness Report: The report was enhanced to support new monitor type, “SUPPLMNTL SPECIATION”. The report was failing because the monitor type title was the maximum defined length which caused a problem.

Release Memo
Date:  May 24, 2007

This memo is being sent to provide the release notes for the AQS upgrades installed this past Monday morning May 21, 2007. The install occurred between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM EST.

1. Duration X (24 hour) NAAQS Averages will now be computed for the new parameter codes 88500, 88501, 88502, and 88503. Daily summaries and AQI will be computed for 88502.

2. Required collection frequency code '7' (for every 12th day) was not being allowed for PM2.5. The software has been changed to allow this RCF for PM 2.5.

3. The test for Maximum Accuracy Percent Difference, performed whenever accuracy data is inserted or updated, was not using the correct field from the Parameters table. This has been fixed.

4. The AMP460 Standard Report (Raw Data Parameter by time workfile) now has the option to include Blanks Data (Lab, Field, and Trip).

5. This update will allow the AQS data extract reports (AMP500. 501, 502, and 503) to generate XML output documents in the new Version 2 of AQS XML Submission Schema.

In addition to the release notes, please note the following two items:

1) The data correction that is required to update (a) the old Duration X (24 hour) NAAQS averages, (b) the daily summaries, and (c) the AQI as a result of the software enhancement (described in item #1 of the Release Notes) will be completed next week.

2) As a result of the software upgrade last Monday, a new bug was introduced within Maintain Monitor. Errors are now being produced on the Required Frequency field when creating a new monitor using the Duplicate Monitor. Actually, a number of pop-up error windows are generated. The good news is....... after one closes out all the error message windows and deletes the Required Frequency Record (using the Remove Record icon in the tool bar), the new monitor may be saved. This new bug is being addressed and should be resolved in the near future.

Release Memo
Date:  February 14, 2007

This email is to update you on the status of the recent retrieval problems and what has been done to upgrade the AQS report server to enhance throughput and prevent future problems.

Problems with the reports & retrievals have persisted since the EPA National Computer Center (NCC) upgraded our AQS Oracle Application Server to OAS 10g Release 2 (10.1.2.0.2). Some of the reported problems have been as follows: (1) taking too long for reports to begin execution, (2) taking longer than normal for reports to complete execution, (3) reports hanging up and not completing once the job is running, (4) reports generating large work files not completing, and (5) not being able to cancel report jobs in execution.

To address these problems, the AQS reports/retrievals environment was enhanced this past weekend (February 10 - 11, 2007) utilizing a new feature of Oracle's OAS 10g Release 2 called Report Engines. The Report Engines feature provides the technology to have multiple execution queues and the ability to control the number of concurrently executing report jobs within each of those queues (e.g., the ability to tune the throughput and efficiency of reports & retrievals).

Separate report servers were installed for AQS. One server for on-line reports and the other for batch reports (destined to Email or CDX). On-line reports include standard reports with "Run Online" selected, as well as reports run from the Batch Process screen (Edit/Load Summary, Scan Report, etc), are intended to be short reports to be run while the user waits; whereas batch reports are intended for large reports that will require significant processing time. The on-line report server will support up to six reports at the same time; if more than six are submitted, the reports are queued on a first-come-first-served basis. The batch reports server will execute up to four reports at the same time and will queue any above that number. If a report has been queued, its status will be "Awaiting Execution." Jobs may be cancelled at any time by the user via the cancel button on the reports progress bar, or the cancel button on the "Retrieve Reports" form.

Please note... the problem identified last week with the AMP450 Quick Look has not been resolved. The AMP450 is not completing execution when generating a large work file, such as a national retrieval.

Release Memo
Date:  November 3, 2006

This memo is being sent to provide the release notes for the AQS upgrades being done Friday morning November 3, 2006. AQS will be taken off-line at 2:30 AM Eastern Time, to perform a database backup prior to the software installation. The install will occur between the hours of 6:00 AM and 12:00 noon ET.

1. Load Raw Data Redesign

This is the primary update in this deployment and is a re-design to the process of loading raw measurement transactions (Types RB, RC, and RD). This implementation of the Load Raw Data redesign completes the move of AQS software to the new servers at the National Computer Center (NCC), which began in the spring of 2005. Because of the NCC requirement to shift to the new hardware, the load process has been reengineered to execute on the database server, as opposed to an application server. This change will have minimal visibility to the user community, but a significant performance improvement is expected for batch load jobs that do not have errors. Another improvement includes a logic change so when a monitor or protocol is not registered, only the first record will be listed with the appropriate error.

In addition, with this redesign, “LAB” blanks will be supported by the application (in addition to types TRIP and FIELD),

The User Coding Manual will be updated to reflect the new blanks type "LAB".

2. New Interface for Batch Job Submissions

The previous interface for submitting batch jobs and reports was changed to use a web service to correct a security issue.  The only change that should be visible to users is in the email sent to the users when a batch job completes (i.e., emails will be from “Oracle User <oracle@quarter.rtpnc.epa.gov>“).

3. The following software modifications were made to correct bugs reported by users:

A. The following three fixes were made to the Standard Reports User Interface (R31) Screens:

a. Form now recognizing Tribal Mode menu selection. Once again, users will have the ability, as documented in the AQS Retrievals Manual, to turn on and off Tribal Mode from within their session (via the drop-down Action Menu). If turned on, then the Standard Reports User Interface (R31) screens will display "Tribal Mode" in the screen label and display the Tribal Code column in addition to the State and County columns.
b. Label overlap was corrected on Standard Reports User Interface (R31) Screens. This mod corrects some of the screen labels where they were overlaying other labels.  For example, the Geographical Criteria label on the Area Criteria selection screen was overlaying the column headings for City and AQCR Code.
c. Reports that terminated with error can now be deleted by the submitter. This fix enables the user to delete report jobs listed on the Retrieve Reports screen that had not completed normally.

B. Label Overlap on the POST Form was removed for the “Critical Review Raw Data” and “Comparison Date” and “Error Description”. This mod corrects the screen label overlays that were occurring on the POST form. 

4. Latitude/Longitude Conversion to UTM

This change only affects site inserts and updates. During the last AQS conference, a user identified a problem with this conversion process. The conversion between Latitude/Longitude and UTM was found to be correct (to a high degree of precision) only for the Horizontal Datum, NAD27. With this change, UTM coordinates will only be accepted with a Horizontal Datum of NAD27, and Latitude and Longitude coordinates will only be converted to UTM for NAD27. For all other Horizontal Datums, inputs in UTM coordinates will be rejected, and inputs in Latitude/Longitude coordinates will not be converted to UTM (i.e. the Site UTM coordinates will be null).

This is an interim change to eliminate the creation of incorrect UTM coordinates. A permanent solution for Lat/Long/UTM conversions will be implemented in the March/April 2007 timeframe. This conversion process will be implemented using a geospatial process using a database operated by the EPA Office of Environmental Information. Additional information and instructions for correcting existing UTM (non NAD27) coordinates will be provided in 2007.

5. Monitor Last Sampling Date

Previously, when all of the Raw Data for a monitor was deleted, its Last Sampling_Date was incorrectly set to January 1, 1957. With this software enhancement, it will be set to null.

Addendum (additions) to the original Release Notes (November 8, 2006):

1. The Release Notes (item #1 - Load Raw Data Redesign):

a. As a result of the redesign the Edit/Load Summary Report, that is generated from the Load File and Submit Correct Data functions, now shows the counts for all transaction types, not just the transaction types that were submitted via the Load (i.e., the summary shows zeros for those transaction types not present in the Load). This is a known issue and the Edit/Load Summary Report will be modified to only report summaries for those transaction types present in the Load.

 b. Users will now see a pop-up window with an informational message saying, "Your Job was successfully submitted".  This pop-up is displayed after clicking on any of the eight batch load processes or reports located on the Batch Process Screen (i.e., Load File, Submit Correct Data, Edit/Load Summary, Edit Error Details, Scan Report, etc.).

c. A new Session Status = "WARNING" was added to the Batch Process Screen.  The user can cross-reference the Session Status (i.e., ACTIVE, COMPLETED, ERROR, WARNING) located on the Batch Process Screen with the email message created by either the Load File or Submit Correct Data functions.  If the Session Status = "WARNING", then there were no errors but the email message created by the either the Load File or Submit Correct