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Policy FAQ

bullet Why is there a charge to use AERMOD-HPCS when it is based on a publicly available model developed with tax-payer dollars?
bullet Why does HiCLAS1 not distribute the source code for AERMOD-HPCS?

 

Why is there a charge to use AERMOD-HPCS when it is based on a publicly available model developed with tax-payer dollars?

HiCLAS1 started with the publicly available source code for the AERMOD. This has the features typical of legacy code, but has the added problem that it was developed on personal computer technology that is a decade-and-a-half old. At HICLAS1 the code was  progressively transformed to better enable compilers to match it to modern commodity hardware architectures. All such HiCLAS1 source modifications are annotated as “proprietary” and, as such, are not available in the public distribution.  With the HiCLAS1 modification great care was taken to do nothing that would change the science behind the model and a stringent QA process was followed to ensure this. The work invested at HiCLAS1 in enhancing the performance of the AERMOD model is labor intensive and non-trivial. At HiCLAS1 all work on AERMOD-HPCS was done out of overhead and the cost recovery model chosen was to charge a license fee. This was a necessary decision since no Government funding was received for the work so far completed (or in progress) to enhance AERMOD's performance. The freedom to pursue this business model was investigated with the U.S. EPA Office of Legal Council and no objections to it were raised. In this context it is important to note that HiCLAS1 does not redistribute source code and does not "resell" (or repackage) the U.S. EPA's AERMOD source code. Back to top of page.

Why does HiCLAS1 not distribute the source code for AERMOD-HPCS?

HiCLAS1 policy is not to distribute the source code for AERMOD-HPC because:

bulletThe HPC performance modifications of the U.S. EPA AERMOD source are treated as proprietary,
bulletHiCLAS1 does not wish to accept the responsibility of maintaining a publicly distributed source
bulletThere are no changes to the science behind the AERMOD regulatory model
bulletIt is deemed to be the business of the U.S. EPA to determine science content and act as sole arbiter of the model content of the computer source code. Back to top of page.

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Last modified:  04/15/2009