ITEP Web Training - Tribal Emission Inventory Software Solution (TEISS)

The way TEISS stores information is based on a framework that was set up by the U.S. EPA for the National Emission Inventory (NEI) database. Both TEISS and the NEI require that the information stored in them be classified by numerical codes. In TEISS, many of the codes are in the background and you will not see them. There are two important kinds of codes that are used in EIs that you'll need to know about because you will need to assign these codes to the sources in your project. The Source Classification Codes (SCC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes must be applied to each source that you inventory on your reservation.

Databases are most efficient when they store information by numbers, instead of long text descriptions. Codes also standardize descriptions of things. For example:

The state of Colorado can be written in any of these ways - CO, Co, Colo., Colorado. A computer does not know if CO means Colorado or carbon monoxide, that's why databases include tables of codes that must be used to avoid confusion.

The NEI and TEISS use the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes to identify states. The FIPS code for Colorado is the number "08." If the number 08 is entered into a state identification field in TEISS or the NEI, the databases know the meaning is the "the state of Colorado." In TEISS, the FIPS codes are included in the background, where the user doesn't see them. TEISS will provide a blank field with a drop down box that lists the states by name. You select the name, TEISS stores that state's FIPS code in its database.

Source Classification Codes (SCC)
There are approximately 10,000 SCCs that are the primary identifying data element in EPA's National Emission Inventory and in most other regional or state EI databases in the U.S. The master list of SCCs is maintained and categorized by the U.S. EPA. The codes are 8 or 10 characters long, depending on what basic source type you are identifying.

Point Sources => 8-characters
Area, Non-Road, On-Road, and Biogenic Sources => 10-characters

EVERY SOURCE you enter into TEISS has to have an SCC!
Used as a primary identifying data element in EPA's National Emission Inventory (NEI)

Because SCCs are so long, 8 to 10 numbers long, they can be hard to search through and find the one that best identifies the source on your reservation that you want to include in your inventory. Here, we'll show you how SCCs are put together. Knowing how the codes are set up can make it easier for you to search for them.

Point Source Example: 30200501
3-02-005-01 = 8-characters
For each point source SCC, there are four levels of descriptions:
SCC 1 Description (3): Industrial Processes
SCC 3 Description (3-02): Food and Agriculture
SCC 6 Description (3-02-005): Feed and Grain Terminal Elevators
SCC 8 Description (3-02-005-01): Shipping and Receiving
If you have a wheat elevator on your reservation and you search for "wheat elevator" the TEISS SCC search engine may not find the code you are looking for. You could then scroll through the "Food and Agriculture" codes until you came to the SCC6 of "Feed and Grain Terminal Elevators" Once you've found those codes, you could look to see what kinds of processes have SCC codes at grain terminal elevators and pick the one that best describes the emissions producing process you are including in your EI. In this example it is "Shipping and Receiving."

Area Source Example: 2610030000
26-10-030-000 = 10-characters
The 10-character SCCs are used for Area, Non-Road, On-Road, and Biogenic sources
For each area source SCC, there are four levels of descriptions:
SCC 2 Description (26): Waste Disposal, Treatment, and Recovery
SCC 4 Description (26-10): Open Burning
SCC 7 Description (26-10-030): Residential
SCC 10 Description (26-10-030-000): Household Waste
You want to include home burn barrels as an emission source in your EI, but when you search for "burn barrels" nothing comes up in the TEISS SCC search engine. You could then quickly scroll to the "Waste Disposal, Treatment, and Recovery" codes, then scroll through those until "Open Burning" catches your eye. Within the "Open Burning" codes, you would look at the SCC 7 and 10 descriptions to find the exact code to use for people burning their residential household trash.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes
You must assign a NAICS code to EVERY POINT SOURCE you enter into TEISS!
NAICS codes were designed to describe economic sectors of business types. NAICS organizes the business categories on a production/process-oriented basis. The NEI requires that all point sources include this code. When the EPA proposes new emissions regulations or controls, they use the NAICS code assigned to each source to help estimate what the economic impact of the regulations or controls will be.

Prior to 1997, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes were used. Although NAICS replaced the SIC, many people still use the SCC and TEISS allows you to assign both codes if you wish.

Exercise: Finding SCC codes for your reservation sources in using the TEISS search functions.
Open your TEISS project. Click on View, then SCC Codes in the menu to open the SCC searchable database.

Find the SCC code for a lumber mill, a point source.
Make sure you are on the Point tab of the SCC viewing window. You first try typing "lumber" or "lumber mill" into the Text to Search box, then click on the binoculars or hit enter. The search comes up with nothing for "lumber" and a long list of apparently unrelated codes for "lumber mill." You need to think of another word to type in to find the right code. Next you try searching for "wood" or "wood products." For the word "wood", the top of the search result list contains a couple of codes for which wood is the fuel listed in the SCC 6 description. However, if you scroll down through the results a little further, you'll see "Pulp and Paper and Wood Products" in the SCC 3 description. Now you're getting closer. Keep scrolling until you see "Sawmill Operations" in the SCC 6 description. You've found the codes you need. Use the SCC 8 descriptions to select the exact activities that occur at your reservation's lumber mill.

TURN IN 2a: Find the SCC code for one point source and one area source on your reservation. If you have no point sources, find codes for two area sources. Write down the code and the full description for each. When searching for Area source SCCs make sure you are on the Area tab of the SCC viewing window.