Cost Analysis Models/Tools for Air Pollution Regulations
EPA develops and applies methodologies for estimating the costs of air pollution regulations. Products include cost methodology manuals, spreadsheets for estimating costs, control strategy software, databases of emission control measures, and other useful information related to air pollution control costs. Provided on this page are the cost-related models and tools maintained by EPA.
On this page:
EPA Air Pollution Control Cost Manual
The EPA Air Pollution Control Cost Manual provides guidance for the development of accurate and consistent costs for air pollution control devices. The Control Cost Manual focuses on point source and stationary area source air pollution controls for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and some acid gases (primarily SO2 and HCl). More information on the Control Cost Manual is available at Cost Reports and Guidance.
Control Strategy Tool
The Control Strategy Tool (CoST), developed in 2008, is part of EPA's Emissions Modeling Framework (EMF). CoST is used to estimate emissions reductions and engineering costs associated with control strategies applied to point and area sources of air pollutant emissions to support the analyses of air pollution policies and regulations. CoST accomplishes this by matching control measures to emissions units/sources in the emissions inventory using source classification codes. Control strategy results can be exported or viewed in a table that supports sorting and filtering. CoST has the following capabilities:
- the ability to insert emissions inventories from the Emissions Modeling Framework (EMF);
- the ability to insert new control measure data; and
- the ability for users to track their analyses and create summary reports and output files.
Information on control efficiencies and engineering costs is contained in the Control Measures Database (CMDB), which currently focuses on criteria pollutants.
The CoST software (version 4.1) is available for download. Documentation for the tool is included on this web site. Contact Brian Keaveny at keaveny.brian@epa.gov for general information about CoST.
Access to the CoST Software and Training Manual/User's Guide
EPA's Control Strategy Tool (CoST) version 4.1 is available on the Community Modeling and Analysis System (CMAS) website. From the CMAS website, you can access both the Java code that is used to build the server and client applications, and files with SQL statements to create and update the database tables and stored procedures. You can also access the CoST Training Manual and User's Guide which contains installation instructions and exercises for applying the tool.
| CoST Software and Training Manual/User's Guide on CMAS | |
|---|---|
| CoST Version 4.1 Software | 11-2022 |
| CoST User's Guide (HTML) | 11-2019 |
Additional CoST Documentation and Control Measures Data
A link to additional CoST documentation is available, as well as a link to the CoST Control Measures Database (CMDB) files. The following listed files listed are in PDF format unless noted otherwise and can be downloaded by clicking on the links.
CoST was peer reviewed in 2013. For a summary of the reviewers' comments and EPA's responses, please contact Brian Keaveny at keaveny.brian@epa.gov.
| CoST Documentation and Data | |
|---|---|
| CoST Development Document (pdf) (113 pp, 1 MB) | 02-2016 |
| CoST Cost Equations Documentation (pdf) (41 pp, 531 KB) | 09-2023 |
| CMDB Technical Support Document - 2023 Updates (pdf) (23 pp, 478 KB) | 09-2023 |
| CMDB for Stationary Sources (zip) | 02-2025 |
EPA updates the engineering cost equations in CoST as needed. Historical versions of the CoST Cost Equations Documentation are available here.