BOARD MEETING DATE: April 12, 1996

AGENDA NO. 33 continued from March 8, 1996

Proposal:

Regulatory Reform Initiative - "Green Carpet" Priority Permitting Service

Synopsis:

During the last two years, the AQMD has worked closely with a number of companies to expedite permitting for certain large, complex projects. This experience has been very successful. The Board's Regulatory Reform Initiative offers a similar service to projects that meet certain environmental, technology or job creation criteria. A pilot project is proposed to evaluate implementation of this concept. The details of the pilot project have been developed in collaboration with the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB).

Committee:

Stationary Source, January 19, 1996, Recommended for Approval.

Recommended Action:

Approve the proposal and direct the Executive Officer to report back to the Board upon completion of one year of program operation with the results of the pilot study.

James M. Lents, Ph.D.
Executive Officer

PL:CC:DES:eg

Background

Over the last two years, the AQMD has successfully provided priority permitting for several large projects. The success was due to a high level of preliminary discussion between the applicant and staff, the involvement of very competent consultants, a thorough and complete submittal by the applicant of the necessary permitting and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) information, and the development of an agreed-upon critical path schedule for the permitting of the project.

Last April the Governing Board adopted the Business Clean Air Partnership. This year the Governing Board is pursuing Regulatory Reform Initiatives. Part of these plans call for AQMD to give priority to permits for:

• Companies that meet or exceed Year 2010 emission standards (referred to as "Three Star" facilities); and/or

• Companies that provide high employment (more than 500 jobs) and low emissions (achieve half of the reductions required by Year 2010). These companies are referred to as High Employment, Low Pollution (HELP) Manufacturers.

The California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB) has expressed great interest in this proposal. They seek to provide shorter processing time at a lower cost to their members. They also believe that this program can advance economic development opportunities in the region and, accordingly, have offered to help advertise the service to their members and their customers.

During the last few months, staff has been working with CCEEB to develop the details of this proposal. A few key recommendations to enhance the program have emerged from these discussions, namely:

• Expand eligible projects to include "Major Capital Projects" as defined in the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) Methodology Report.
• Name the program "Green Carpet" Priority Permitting Service and develop advertising and application forms accordingly.
• Establish a project-specific "Green Team" and establish schedules and application standards that support the "Priority Permitting Service."
• Assess cost savings and report back to the Governing Board.

The Green Team Proposal

The AQMD will provide "Green Carpet" Priority Permitting Service designed to implement the Board's Business Clean Air Partnership and Regulatory Reform Initiative. The permitting of a Green Team project will be given priority in order to advance clean air and job creation opportunities in the region.

Applicability
Projects will be eligible for "Green Carpet" Priority Permitting Service if they meet any one of the following criteria:

1. The project shall be a "Three Star" project. Borrowing a definition from the Business Clean Air Partnership, these projects shall be defined as the installation or modification of any source designed to meet or exceed the Year 2010 air emission standards.

2. The project shall be a HELP Project. Again, borrowing a definition from the Business Clean Air Partnership, a HELP Project is defined as any installation or modification of a source that creates more than 500 jobs and produces half the emissions per employee allowed under the Year 2010 goal for that industry.

3. The project shall be a Major Capital Project. These sources are defined in the BACT guidelines as:
   • Project capital cost greater than $10 million;
   • Project engineering and construction time exceeding one year each;
   • Standard design projects only, no unconventional or novel projects;
   • Design criteria specified sufficient for design engineering; and,
   • No multi-phase projects.
4. The project shall be an air quality technology advancement project and shall comply with the requirements of Rule 441 - Research Operations which include:
   • The purpose of the operation is to permit investigation, experiment or research to advance the state of knowledge or the state of the art of air quality technology;
   • The AQMD has given written prior approval which shall include limitation of time; and
   • The AQMD shall grant approval only if the operation is conducted in a manner to minimize emissions into the atmosphere.

• The AQMD shall assign Senior Managers from the Stationary Source Compliance Division to expedite the permitting of eligible projects.
• Once a project has been accepted for priority permitting service, the AQMD will commit to a service plan for the expected project permitting and CEQA review (see Exhibit A).
• The applicant shall manage its representatives and the scheduling of the project.
• The AQMD shall:
  • advise and assist with permitting issues;
  • provide technical assistance on air pollution control equipment and post-operation air quality or rule interpretation training (if needed);
    
  • provide assistance with BACT and rule requirements;
    
  • provide the applicant with a written service plan consistent with the Green Team Time Clock (see Exhibits B and C).

• When the project has been accepted for Green Team action, the applicant's representatives shall provide the following:
  • air quality permit analysis that will include, but will not be limited to, facility background information, process description, emissions quantification, relevant AQMD rule compliance and proposed permit conditions;
    
  • CEQA analysis and documentation (the applicant is responsible for the timely submittal and approval of necessary documents to satisfy the State requirements for CEQA review);
    
  • final plans regarding construction schedules, consultants, and timing for permitting decisions.
• The AQMD will evaluate the submittals described above and will provide a preliminary response within 30 days. An additional 15 days will be needed to review any necessary corrections to these submittals.
• An additional 30-45 days will be allowed for public review for the CEQA document. If needed, this period will also be used for public review of the permitting activities.

• An additional 30-45 days will be allowed to respond to public comments and to submit the necessary permit and CEQA documentation to the Executive Officer for review, consideration and an approval determination.

Implementation

Upon approval by the Governing Board, the service described above shall undergo a pilot study. This study for priority permitting service shall be announced in the AQMD Advisor and shall:

• Establish Green Team schedules and applications.
• Establish guidance for completeness of Green Team submittals to reduce the need for time-consuming engineering evaluations.
• Evaluate interface with the Certified Permitting Professional program.
• Evaluate the permitting costs for each Green Team project.
• Examine the AQMD fee structure and consider adding a "time and materials" section for Green Team projects.
• Assess schedule coordination options for Title V permits.
• Report back to the AQMD Governing Board after one year of program operation.

Attachment (Down Load self-extracting compressed attachment package for this letter in M.S. Office 4.2. You may need to hold SHIFT key down while chicking on "Attachment")

Exhibit A - "Green Carpet" Priority Permitting Service Program
Exhibit B - Green Team Time Clock (AQMD is the lead CEQA agency)
Exhibit C - Green Team Time Clock (AQMD is not the lead CEQA agency)