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PROPOSAL:

Amend Contract to Cost-Share Project to Refine Fuel-Cycle Emissions Analyses

SYNOPSIS:

At the March 1998 meeting, the Board authorized a $75,000 contract with the ARB to co-sponsor a $150,000 contract, entitled, "Refinement of Selected Fuel-Cycle Emissions Analyses," between the ARB and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Recently, the university indicated that it would be unable to complete this project. ARCADIS Geraghty and Miller has submitted a proposal to ARB for a sole-source award to complete the project. It is recommended that the agreement between AQMD and ARB be modified to specify that ARB will contract with ARCADIS Geraghty and Miller for completion of this project.

COMMITTEE:

Technology, October 22, 1999, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Authorize the Chairman to amend an existing $75,000 contract with ARB to specify that ARB will contract with ARCADIS Geraghty and Miller, rather than California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, for completion of a $148,537 project for refinement of selected fuel cycle emissions analyses.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

In November 1998, the ARB adopted amendments to its Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards. The LEV II standards include a new passenger car and light truck emissions standard category—Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV). A variety of vehicle technologies can reduce emissions to meet SULEV levels, including those powered by fuel cells, hybrid electric drive trains, or advanced internal combustion engines. In addition, the LEV II program proposes partial ZEV credits for very clean technologies (e.g., fuel cell vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles).

The partial ZEV credits will include an allowance for vehicles with very low fuel cycle emissions. The fuel cycle emissions for a particular fuel are the total emissions associated with the production, marketing, and distribution in grams per unit of fuel.

In 1996, Acurex Environmental, since renamed ARCADIS Geraghty & Miller, completed a study for ARB, entitled, Evaluation of Fuel-Cycle Emissions on a Reactivity Basis. At its March 13, 1998 meeting, the Governing Board authorized AQMD co-funding of $75,000 for a $150,000 ARB interagency agreement with California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) to refine fuel-cycle emissions estimates for some of the fuels evaluated in the 1996 Acurex study. In March 1999, citing difficulties in completing the project, Cal Poly Pomona requested termination of its contract with ARB.

Proposal

ARCADIS Geraghty & Miller (ARCADIS), has expressed interest in completing the project in place of Cal Poly Pomona. ARCADIS has submitted a written proposal to ARB for a sole source award to develop estimates of the mass emissions on a per-vehicle-mile basis for selected vehicle fuels for the fuel production and energy conversion portions of the total fuel-cycle, including fuel acquisition and refining, distribution and refueling.

Consistent with the Cal Poly Pomona scope of work, the selected vehicle fuels to be considered are diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas for internal combustion engine-equipped vehicles and methanol for fuel-cell-powered vehicles. These fuel-cycle emissions will also be compared to those from electricity generation for electric vehicles. The mass emissions of NO_x, NMOG, methane, CO, CO₂, and air toxics will be quantified for each fuel and for each phase of the fuel cycle. Speciation of the NMOG will be developed. Emission estimates will be made for 1996 as a base year and for 2010 based on two different projection scenarios for each fuel, one pessimistic and one optimistic. The uncertainty associated with emissions from every step of each fuel cycle will be estimated and those uncertainties will be propagated to develop an overall uncertainty for each fuel.

It is proposed that the existing agreement between AQMD and ARB for this project be amended to specify that ARCADIS will be completing the study, rather than Cal Poly Pomona.

Benefits to AQMD

The proposed project is included in the November 1998 Update of the Technology Advancement Plan under category 98T3-1, "Advanced Transportation Systems Research, Development and Demonstration." The major anticipated benefit of the proposed study is that it will result in life-cycle emissions estimates for transport fuels likely to be used in the future, which in turn, could assist in updating Basin emissions inventories.

Sole Source Justification

Section VIII.B.2 of the Procurement Policy and Procedure identifies four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. This request for a sole source award is made under provision B.2.d.: Other circumstances exist which in the determination of the Executive Officer require such waiver in the best interests of the AQMD, specifically: (1) ARB will cost share this project and serve with AQMD as overall manager for the resulting contract. (2) Since the ARB may be interested in using information from this project in upcoming regulatory efforts related to the LEV program, it is important that the project be re-initiated and completed as quickly as possible. A competitive solicitation would delay completion of the analysis. (3) A sole source award is justified due to ARCADIS’s extensive prior experience with fuel-cycle emissions analyses, as demonstrated by its 1996 study for the ARB.

Resource Impacts

Total cost to the AQMD for the proposed project is the existing $75,000 commitment only and ARB is contributing an additional $73,537. Total project cost is $148,537. Sufficient funds are available from the Clean Fuels Program Fund, established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code Sections 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code Section 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.

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