BOARD MEETING DATE: June 13, 1997 AGENDA NO. 9
Proposal:
Public Advisor’s Report
Synopsis:
This report highlights the Public Advisor, Local Government, Small Business Assistance and Economic Development activities for the month of April, 1997. Comprehensive reports on these efforts are set forth below in Sections I, II, III and IV, respectively.
Committee:
Not applicable.
Recommended Action:
Receive and file this report.
James M. Lents, Ph.D.
Executive Officer
SECTION I - PUBLIC ADVISOR ACTIVITIES
Staff participated in the activities, programs and events listed below. A statistical report of these activities also is included.
Contact: La Ronda V. Bowen, Public Advisor, 909.396.3235
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
EARTH DAY ‘97
AQMD participated in 29 Earth Day related events throughout the basin in April. Ten events were staffed by AQMD employees and volunteers. Another 19 events were supplied with information for distribution to the public on the impact of air quality on health. The sites staffed for Earth Day included: Chino Basin Water Conservation District in Montclair; Methodist Hospital in Arcadia; Cal Poly Pomona; Cal State San Bernardino: Placentia Linda Hospital: Alpha Therapeutic Corp. in Long Beach: 68th Street School in Los Angeles: Boeing Aircraft in Downey: and College of the Desert in Palm Desert. Among sites provided materials were: City of Anaheim; Huntington East Valley Hospital in Glendora; McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach; Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles; Pomona Valley Hospital; Bank of America branches in Los Angeles, Brea, Santa Ana, Cypress, Garden Grove, La Palma, and Ontario; Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles; Rockwell in Seal Beach; City of Orange; St. Anthony School in San Gabriel; Sparks Elementary School in La Puente; City of Santa Monica; and March Air Force Base in Riverside County.
SMOGBUSTERS CLUB EVENT
AQMD held its second annual Smogbusters Club event on April 26, 1997. It was hosted by Walmart in the City of Industry and held in their parking lot. Over 500 members of AQMD’s Club for children were in attendance. Smogbusters is a free club for children sponsored by the AQMD. It promotes the voluntary reduction of air pollution through education and information. Displays and exhibits at the event included electric cars, solar powered vehicles, and information booths providing air quality, environmental, health and safety information.. Organizations that participated as exhibitors included: The California Highway Patrol; Children’s Miracle Network; Foothill Transit; Hacienda Heights Library, Kaiser Permanente, Kinder Care Learning Center, L.A. County Fire Dept. #118, Metrolink, Puente Hills Mall Kids Club, RCTC Commuter Exchange, Saturn of West Covina, See’s Candies, South El Monte Solar Bike Team, The Solis Group Environmental Projects, The Lions Club - City of Industry, The Gas Company, and Wildwings of California. Event co-sponsors included: Bank of America, Health Net, Kaiser Permanente, and McDonald’s. Food, prizes, and other items were donated by: The Auto Club of Southern California, Cruise Makers, Sizzler Restaurants, Smart and Final, Snak King, and Trees for Life.
BUSINESS OUTREACH
AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE COUNCIL MEETINGS (RULE 1171 OUTREACH)
In response to letters the AQMD sent to the 13 local chapters of the Automotive Service Councils of California, twelve have called to request a speaker on the new Rule 1171 requirements. During April, staff spoke with a group of auto repair shop owners from the South Orange County Chapter. The goal of these meetings is to obtain input from automotive repair shop owners on the best way to inform this area’s more than 10,000 auto repair shops of the revision to Rule 1171. It requires the switch from petroleum solvents to water-based solvents for automotive parts washing tanks by January, 1999.
CAPCOA PUBLIC OUTREACH TRAINING FOR ENGINEERING MANAGERS
AQMD staff conducted training sessions on public notification and customer service for a group of air quality engineering managers from air pollution control districts throughout the state (the California Air Pollution Control Officer’s Association). The training was part of an annual meeting of engineering managers, and provided them with specific help on how to write effective, understandable public notices, and how to improve customer service in their agencies.
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PUBLIC ADVISOR’S MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORT 1997 | |||||||||||||
|
OUTREACH |
JAN |
FEB |
MAR |
APR |
MAY |
JUN |
JUL |
AUG |
SEP |
OCT |
NOV |
DEC |
TOTAL |
|
Speakers Bureau | |||||||||||||
|
Presentations (PADV staff) |
4 |
18 |
11 |
12 | |||||||||
|
Presentations coordinated |
7 |
12 |
10 |
14 | |||||||||
|
Delegations Hosted |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 | |||||||||
|
District Tours |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 | |||||||||
|
Events\Conferences | |||||||||||||
|
Sponsored\Hosted |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 | |||||||||
|
Participated\Attended |
10 |
2 |
5 |
29 | |||||||||
|
Meetings | |||||||||||||
|
Chamber\Business Meetings |
8 |
11 |
9 |
1 | |||||||||
|
Community Meetings |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2 | |||||||||
|
Interagency Meetings |
5 |
4 |
5 |
6 | |||||||||
|
Public Notification | |||||||||||||
|
Public Workshops |
0 |
4 |
9 |
6 | |||||||||
|
Public Notices |
4 |
3 |
9 |
2 | |||||||||
|
Customer Service | |||||||||||||
|
Fee Review Requests |
0 |
8 |
5 |
7 | |||||||||
|
Customer Surveys |
23 |
36 |
22 |
28 | |||||||||
|
Public Info. Center | |||||||||||||
|
Material Requests Filled |
976 |
322 |
440 |
543 | |||||||||
|
Total Calls Received * |
19596 |
13245 |
8815 |
7943 | |||||||||
|
Avg. Calls Per Day |
632 |
473 |
284 | ||||||||||
* The District uses an automated phone system that provides callers with self-service access to information on meetings, workshops, air quality readings and forecasts by simply entering their zip codes. Callers can also request rules or publications, obtain updates on District programs or speak to a public information representative (during regular business hours). The system is operational 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week.
SECTION III - LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
Highlights of the activities of this reporting period are listed below.
Contact: Larry Rhinehart, Intergovernmental Affairs Director, 909.396.2898
Oscar Abarca, Intergovernmental Affairs Director, 909.396.3242
Lourdes Cordova Martinez, Intergovernmental Affairs Representative, 909.396.3214 or Raul Gutierrez, Intergovernmental Affairs Representative, 909.396.2950
LEGISLATIVE OUTREACH
Intergovernmental Affairs Directors met or had contact with the following legislators and/or their staffs regarding air quality related issues:
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OUTREACH
Intergovernmental Affairs Directors made presentations on AQMD programs to the following city councils, and attended/participated in meetings with the following governmental organizations:
LOS ANGELES COUNTY - WESTERN REGION
LOS ANGELES COUNTY - EASTERN REGION
ORANGE COUNTY
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
OTHER
As a result of their interaction with the organizations listed above, the Intergovernmental Affairs Directors communicated with the following officials by phone or in person:
LOS ANGELES COUNTY - WESTERN REGION
LOS ANGELES COUNTY - EASTERN REGION
ORANGE COUNTY
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
OTHER
Intergovernmental Affairs Directors also met or had contact with the following local and state agency, business and community representatives regarding air quality related issues:
The Intergovernmental Affairs Directors continued to provide administrative oversight for the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund and Subvention Fund programs. The IGA Directors also attended/ participated in the following activities:
SECTION III - SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES
Highlights of April’s activities are presented below. The statistical report of all staff activities for April is also attached.
Contact Lee Lockie, Director, 909.396.2390
Automated Forms Project
The Small Business Assistance Office provides air quality technical and financial assistance to businesses subject to AQMD rules. Staff also regularly visits city and county offices responsible for plan review and occupancy permits to inform them of general AQMD permitting requirements.
Small Business Assistance Office and Information Management staff installed and began test use of the automated tracking system for service requests. This system will help staff see trends more readily, track the types of services most frequently requested geographically, and will help in planning future SBAO activities.
Permit Assistance Center Activity
The Small Business Assistance Office recently increased outreach efforts to city and county building and safety departments and regional economic development organizations. Staff advised them of air quality requirements and small business assistance programs. Our efforts served to remind cities of the legislative requirement for businesses to complete an air quality checklist prior to obtaining their occupancy permit. We informed them of our assistance programs such as our Technical Consultation Service and Loan Guarantee Program. When appropriate, we also supplied them with literature and suppliers’ lists pertaining to water-based cleaners since many of the cities’ customers will have to switch from solvent cleaning operations in the future. During the month of April, SBAO staff visited 21 city offices, seven economic development organizations, and two other government agencies.
SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE OFFICE ACTIVITY
NOTE: The numbers above each bar depict the total number of service requests and not the total number of businesses assisted in each service category.
Definitions
Rule Interpretations - assistance in interpreting whether permits are necessary and/or whether a business is operating in compliance with AQMD rules.
Permit Applications - assistance in completing permit applications and calculating fees.
Clearance Letters - state law prohibits Building Departments from issuing a final certificate of occupancy unless all requirements of the local air quality agency are met.
On-site Consultations - technical consultation provided at one’s place of business.
Financial Assistance - screening businesses planning to purchase air pollution control equipment to determine eligibility for loan guaranties.
New Business Roundtables - attending multi-agency meetings with new or expanding businesses.
Outreach activities - participating in meetings/conferences on small business concerns (includes Chambers of Commerce, local governments, technical seminars). This includes assisting businesses to become involved in rule development.
Bilingual Assistance - providing all or part of our services in languages other than English.
SECTION IV -
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & BUSINESS RETENTION (EDBR) ACTIVITIES
Highlights of the activities conducted during this reporting period are described below.
Contact: La Ronda Bowen, Public Advisor, 909.396.3235
Larry Watkins, EDBR, 909.396.3246
Roberta Rigg, EDBR, 909.396.2659.
ACTIVITIES
Activities during this reporting period included participation in 2 Red Team meetings with Fibre Foam and McDonnell Douglas. Assistance was provided to various facilities wanting to expand or consolidate their operations. Companies were informed of emerging new pollution reduction technologies as well as technology transfer opportunities. EDBR staff also participated in 4 public outreach meetings by making a presentation and providing information to interested parties. The total number of participants reached through these meetings exceeded 870 people.
Open Items (business development and retention efforts in process) 31
Completed Items (decision to stay, expand, etc.) 2
(This represents 100 jobs/jobs retained in California)
Outreach and meetings with companies 3
POLLUTION PREVENTION
Staff participated in a Pollution Prevention conference with over 550 worldwide attendees. All businesses in attendance use materials or processes that generate wastes. Improperly disposed of wastes, which represent money and/or resources that were inefficiently used, can pollute the air, land and water. In the past, businesses focused on the management of waste after it is generated. At present, business people are recognizing the benefits of preventing and minimizing pollution at the beginning of the manufacturing process. By proper waste management, one can reduce operating costs, reduce disposal or treatment costs, reduce potential liabilities, face fewer regulations and possibly decrease or eliminate the need for permits, monitoring and reporting. Pollution prevention also represents an increase in productivity and improved worker safety. Businesses that adopt and practice pollution prevention principles can be considered "green" and are generally viewed favorably by consumers. As a result, profits may increase by marketing the adoption of pollution prevention or "green" practices. As part of its normal technology transfer services, EDBR is now identifying pollution prevention techniques and practices that can be employed by the local business community helping them to become more profitable and environmentally friendly.
HALOGENATED SOLVENTS
EDBR cosponsored a conference on Alternatives to Halogenated Solvents that had a total of 90 attendees. Solvent alternatives were discussed along with compliance to New Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) requirements. Other information included a discussion on the Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP) in which Section 612 of the CAAA authorizes EPA to develop a program to evaluate alternatives to ozone depleting substances. EPA will also publish a list of acceptable/unacceptable substitutes and set up a clearinghouse of alternative chemicals. District Rule 1122 will be amended to incorporate the NESHAP and a public workshop will be held at the District on June 12, 1997.
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