The Mobile Source Committee met on Friday, July 17, 1998. Presentations were made on the following items: Legislative Update; Report on SB 836, SB 432 and Rule 2202 Activities; Rule 2202 AQIP Proposal of Recommendations for First Quarter 1998; Proposed Amendments to Rule 1902 – Transportation Conformity; Report on AB 2766 Coordination Between AQMD, ARB, and Cities; ARB LEV II Proposal; 1998 Ozone Measurements to Date; and Reports on Environmental Justice Initiatives #2, 4, and 7. The next meeting is August 28, 1998 at 9:30 a.m., in Conference Room CC-8.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive and file this report.
Nell Soto, Chair
Mobile Source Committee
ATTENDANCE: Present: Committee Chair Nell Soto, Committee Members Norma Glover (left at 11:00 a.m.), Jon Mikels and Mee Hae Lee. Also present was Committee Vice Chair Roy Wilson who participated by video conference. Absent: Committee Member Ronald Loveridge. Attachment 1 is an attendance roster.
MOBILE SOURCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION ITEMS
Legislative Update No final action has been taken by the legislature on AB 2194 (Washington). Staff expressed the hope that action would be taken on the bill before the legislature adjourned for the summer recess.
Status of SB 836/SB 432/Rule 2202 Activities A check in the amount of $1.5 million has been issued to SCAG on behalf of the Regional Transportation Agencies' Coalition (RTAC). SCAG administers the funds after the project invoices submitted by the transportation commissions have been reviewed and approved by the RTAC. The amount represents the 1998 payment from AQMD.
SB 432 (Lewis), which exempts employer worksites with 100 to 249 employees from Rule 2202, became law on June 19, 1998. The AQMD has issued an RFP to survey exempt employers and a sampling of the employee population to determine the shortfall in emission reductions as a result of the exemption of those employers during 1998. A task force is being formed to study strategies that could be used to cover the shortfall. Committee Chair Soto expressed the need for local government to be fully represented on the task force.
Rule 2202 - AQIP Proposal of Recommendations for First Quarter 1998 AQMD received 27 funding requests from seven companies for the first quarter of 1998. Staff recommended two contracts be awarded: Pick Your Part Auto Wrecking to receive $165,000 for old-vehicle scrapping, and OceanAir Environmental to receive $330,000 to repower a pusher tugboat with clean diesel engines. The tugboat will be operating in the Long Beach and Los Angeles port areas. The Committee approved the staff recommendations.
Proposed Amendments to Rule 1902 - Transportation Conformity EPA had four remaining issues with the proposed amendments to Rule 1902. These issues had to do with obtaining new signatures for the Transportation Conformity Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), eliminating references to the Regional Transportation Improvement Plan (RTIP) in the MOU, specifying a TCM implementation schedule in the MOU, and establishing (or defining) conflict resolution procedures between the ARB and Caltrans. The only unresolved issue at this time is the ARB/Caltrans conflict resolution procedures.
Status Report/Update on AB 2766 Coordination Between AQMD, ARB and the Cities There is an ongoing coordination among AQMD, ARB and the local governments relating to AB 2766 projects. The cities are being encouraged to keep detailed documentation on project implementation and expenditures so as to be able to determine the cost-effectiveness of the projects more accurately.
ARB LEV II Proposal Paul Hughes of CARB presented a summary of the proposed "LEV II" regulation, which is to be considered by the CARB Governing Board in November 1998. The LEV II regulation calls for further emission reductions from passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles, in response to emission reductions commitments assigned for Control Measure M2 in the 1997 AQMP. The emission reductions which are expected to be generated by the LEV II proposal are based on requiring manufacturers to sell vehicles in California that meet more stringent tailpipe and evaporative emission standards, over the 2004 through 2010 time period. A public workshop to explain the proposal and obtain public comment is scheduled for July 22, 1998 in El Monte.
1998 Ozone Measurements to Date Staff described the impact that El Niño has had on weather and air quality in the air basin. Although air quality in the Basin has improved considerably over the years with the number of health advisories issued declining from 44 in 1994 to 18 in 1997, and the number of Stage 1 alerts also declining from 15 in 1994 to one in 1997, five Stage 1 alerts have been issued in the Basin so far this year. Staff further commented about the impact of La Niña which is expected to affect the Basin in 1998/99.
Monthly Report on Environmental Justice Initiatives
Initiative #4 (b) CEQA Document Commenting: Staff distributed a report which lists the CEQA documents received and reviewed during the period of June 2, 1998 through July 1, 1998. During this period, the AQMD received 54 documents. Staff is maintaining a 90 percent response (commenting) rate. (This report is included in the July 1998 Board package as Attachment A-C to agenda item "Lead Agency Projects and Environmental Documents Received by the AQMD.")
Initiative #4 (a) CEQA Handbook Revision: The Working Group had not met since the last meeting of the Mobile Source Committee so there was nothing to report. The next meeting of the Working Group is scheduled for Thursday, July 30, 1998.
Monthly Report on Environmental Justice Initiatives: Initiative #2 - Ambient Monitoring of Air: Eight of the ten monitoring stations are in operation. The platforms deployed at the two remaining stations, Compton and Wilmington, are awaiting power hook-ups. (This report is included in the July 1998 Board package as an attachment to agenda item "Technology Committee Report.")
Initiative #7 - Cleanup Incentives for Diesel: The Leadership Cities Workshop was held in Tustin on July 1, 1998. The workshop addressed the availability of alternative fuels technologies, and the experiences that agencies have had with same. (This report is included in the July 1998 Board package as an attachment to agenda item "Technology Committee Report.")
Update on the Mobile Source Measures in the SIP Written report submitted, no comments.
Rule 2202 Activity Report/Upcoming Events Written report submitted, no comments.
Other Business Staff informed the Committee that in response to a motion by Committee Member Mikels at the Committee's June meeting, staff has sent a letter to SCAG, proposing that SCAG consider the promotion of lighter color materials in planning documents for future construction of surface streets. The proposal derives from studies and reports that have shown that light-colored asphalt reduces ambient temperature levels and thereby offsets some of the associated energy demand and air pollution. Staff commented that this proposal was too late for SCAG to consider for this year's RTP update, and would have to wait until SCAG's next RTP update two years from now.
Public Comment There were no public comments. The meeting was adjourned at 11:26 a.m.
