1. What are the specifics surrounding the statistical confidence interval?

2. What methods should be used for sampling, preparation, and analysis of coal?

3. What analyses are required and what must be reported or provided?

4. Do you have to submit hard-copy information to satisfy Part II, Questions 5-11, or will the Web site be set up to accept this type of data/information, too?

5. How do you report "Amount received, dry basis, tons" for the sampling of stockpiled coal in the months when no shipments are received?

6. In question 3 of part II (Amount received, dry basis, tons), what moisture content should be used to convert tonnages to a dry basis?

7. In question 4 of Part II (Total amount of coal represented by sample, tons), what total is EPA referring to?

8. Important EPA policy change for units getting only 1 or 2 shipments of coal a month.

9. When is data due and where should I send it?

10. How do I account for fuel type in my records of shipments?

11. I am taking as-fired samples from my coal pile. Therefore, I can not match my shipments received with a specific analysis. How do I address this discrepancy?

12. If the 90 percent confidence interval about the mean of my mercury contents is not +/-30 percent of the mean, when must I increase my coal sampling/analysis frequency?

13. My plant gets 6 or fewer shipments a month and the 90 percent confidence interval about the mean of my mercury contents will exceed +/-30 percent of the mean this quarter, how frequently must I do my coal sampling/analysis next quarter?

14. Our plant receives shipments of coal from Venezuela (or some other country). How do I record this on the website?

15. If I entered an NR (not reported) for my mercury concentration of a coal/fuel sample, how should I incorporate this value into the statistical equation? Should I use zero?

16. We have two labs analyzing the same sample. One for short proximate and one for the mercury/chlorine analysis. Which one do I list in the "Laboratory" part of the analysis?

17. The example spreadsheet for reporting analysis results lists "text" under the columns Obtain, Prepare, Analysis, Accuracy and Notes. Where should this text information be reported?

18. I get coal/fuel from numerous suppliers in a single shipment; which supplier do I record in the supplier fields of this single days shipment?

19. In the guidelines for the statistical evaluation it states: If two quarterly evaluations back-to -back (i.e., total over a 6-month period) meet target, then analyses may be relaxed to every twelfth shipment. Assume that they have 3 analysis per quarter. When I do this computation, do I do two separate computations, one for each quarter, using 3 data points, or do I do just one computation using all 6 data points?

20. EPA's response to the question 4 in Part I of EPA's FAQ (referring to question 9 in Part I of EPA's ICR) states that EPA is only going to require mercury and chlorine analysis for coal. So analysis is not required for tire derived fuel?

21. What analyses do I need to provide if I co-fire coal with another fuel?

22. Why do I have to sample and analyze my petroleum coke and tires?

23. When will the fuel usage portion of the webpage be available for data entry?

24. We have just finished the second quarter coal mercury data statistical evaluation and passed. At this time, we have two quarterly evaluations back-to-back that meet the target and we are considering relaxing the analyses frequency to every twelfth shipment. However, it is not feasible, since the guideline states that there should never be fewer than three analyses per month. Can we analyze the third quarter's coal on a compromised schedule of every tenth shipment which will meet all the requirements?

25. One of my plants units didn't burn any fuel during a certain month. How do I handle this in the Fuel Usage page?

26. Will the requirements of the mercury collection ICR (e.g., coal sampling and analyses, speciated mercury testing) continue in calendar year 2000?

OMB Control Number 2060-0396
Last Update: 11 April 2001
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