BOARD MEETING DATE: February 1, 2002
AGENDA NO. 14

Administrative Committee

SYNOPSIS: 

The Administrative Committee met Friday, January 18, 2002, and reviewed the proposed agenda for the February 1, 2002, Board meeting. The Committee also discussed various issues detailed in the Committee report. The next Administrative Committee meeting is Friday, February 8, 2002, at 9:30 a.m. in Conference Room CC-8.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.

Norma J. Glover, Chair
Administrative Committee

Attendance: Present were Committee Chair Norma Glover, Members Ronald Loveridge and Roy Wilson (via videoteleconference). Also in attendance was Board Member Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta. Absent were Committee Vice Chair Hal Bernson and Members William Burke and Beatrice LaPisto-Kirtley.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

1. Board Members’ Concerns: Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer, mentioned that staff will poll the Governing Board Members to determine if they would prefer to attend a May or June Board retreat to be held off-site.
   
   
2. Chairman’s Report of Approved Travel: Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer, stated that travel requests were approved for Board Member Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta to attend the California Fuel Cell Collaborative meeting held in San Francisco on January 7-9; Dr. Burke to meet with Assemblymember Herb Wesson; Leonard Paulitz and Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta to attend the California Fuel Cell Steering Committee meeting to be held in Sacramento on January 28-30; Chair Glover to meet with Department of Energy Secretary Abrams on January 27-30 in Washington, DC; and Chair Glover to meet with legislative staff on February 11-13 in Washington DC.
   
   
3. Approval of Compensation for Board Member Assistant(s): None.
   
   
4. Out-of-Country Travel: None.
   
   
5. Status Report on Outreach Program: Marilyn Solomon, DEO/Public Affairs and Transportation Programs, stated that the consultants have been provided with their first task orders and a planning session has been scheduled for January 23 with staff members and three members of ECAG in attendance to discuss outreach programs for FY 2002-03.
   
   
6. Response to Board Member Request Regarding Monthly Cell Phone Allowance for Board Assistants: Rick Pearce, Chief Financial Officer, explained that at last month’s Administrative Committee meeting Dr. Burke requested staff to review the policy for reimbursing Board Assistants for incoming calls on their cell phones. Staff is recommending that a trial program be established to allow Board Assistants to claim up to the same dollar amount each month for incoming calls as the identified business-related outgoing calls, capping the reimbursement at $75 per month, and track reimbursements for a six-month period to be reported back to the Administrative Committee. Mrs. Glover commented that it is very difficult to ascertain which incoming calls are business related and that the public may have a concern regarding reimbursing these types of calls. Dr. Wallerstein stated that when outgoing calls are being reimbursed it is paid from the consultant’s stipend. Mrs. Glover stated that further consideration would be made regarding this issue.

Mayor Loveridge arrived at 9:47 a.m. Supervisor Wilson joined the meeting via videoteleconference at 9:48 a.m.

FEBRUARY AGENDA ITEMS:

7. Execute Contracts for AQIP Proposals Received During Third Quarter of 2001: Dr. Wallerstein stated that this item would usually be brought to the Mobile Source Committee but since the schedule for the Board meeting did not provide enough time, it was being submitted for recommendation to this Committee. Shashi Singeetham, Transportation Specialist, made a presentation explaining that several proposals had been reviewed, and staff was recommending two contracts be authorized through AQIP, for the third quarter of 2001, to achieve mobile source emission reductions that would otherwise have been achieved by implementing a rideshare program. In addition, staff is recommending that the Board’s action to allocate AQIP funds toward the purchase of alternative-fueled vehicles for taxicab services be revised to reflect final purchase requests from five taxicab organizations and the requested funding levels be consistent with Rule 1194. Dr. Wallerstein stated that because we are offsetting ridesharing, this quarter’s projects were chosen to reduce VOCs, NOx, and CO, in excess of AQMD targets. This item was recommended for approval by the Administrative Committee.
   
   
8. Establish Classification and Add and Delete Positions: Eudora Tharp, Assistant DEO/Administrative and Human Resources, explained that since the DEO of Public Affairs has assumed the responsibilities of the Public Advisor’s functions, staff is recommending that the position of Public Advisor be replaced by a senior manager classification to provide day-to-day assistance for the DEO and Assistant DEO positions with operations and communications. Appropriate secretarial support would also be provided to this position at a joint cost savings of $9,516. Dr. Wallerstein stated this is also consistent with the outside auditor’s recommendation to downsize the contract executive positions at AQMD. Moved by Loveridge, seconded by Wilson, and unanimously recommended for approval.
   
   
9. Authorize Purchase of Natural Gas Crown Victoria Vehicles for AQMD Fleet: Henry Hogo, Assistant DEO/Science & Technology Advancement, stated that this action would authorize staff to purchase 32 natural gas vehicles to replace the highest mileage vehicles currently in AQMD’s fleet. Mr. Hogo stated that various rebates from Ford and The California Energy Commission (CEC) are being taken advantage of to reduce the cost of the purchases. Mayor Loveridge asked why Camrys were not being purchased as previously done, and Dr. Wallerstein answered that Toyota is no longer producing natural gas vehicles and because Ford only produces a limited amount of these vehicles, the order needs to be placed immediately. Mrs. Glover added that regarding implementation of the fleet rules, vehicle platform work by manufacturers needs to be encouraged. Ms. Verdugo-Peralta stated that at recent California Fuel Cell Partnership meetings, vehicle manufacturers have stated that the current focus will be on hybrid vehicles. Moved by Glover, seconded by Wilson, and unanimously recommended for approval.
   
   
10. Report of RFPs and RFQs Scheduled for Release in February: RFQs for Commercial Off-the-Shelf Equipment—Purchase Telemetry System Data Loggers and Replace Auditorium Video Projector. Moved by Glover, seconded by Loveridge, and unanimously recommended for approval.
    
    
11. Ethnic Community Advisory Group Minutes for November 14, 2001: Attached for information is the Ethnic Community Advisory Group minutes for the November 14, 2001 meeting.
    
    
12. Review February 1, 2002, Governing Board Agenda: This item was approved by the Committee.
    
    
13. Other Business: None.
    
    
14. Public Comment: John Billheimer, Small Business Coalition of Southern California, complimented staff in working with industry regarding development of Rule 1137 – PM10 Emissions from Woodworking Operations, but stated that it would be desirable to clarify issues regarding small businesses.

Meeting adjourned at 10:18 a.m.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2001
MEETING MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Paul Avila, Latino Caucus
Paul Choe, Asian-Pacific Islanders Caucus
Fernando Del Rio, Latino Caucus, Co-Chair
Stan Lee, African-American Caucus
Rose Montoya-Lona, Latino Caucus
Anastacio Medina, Latino Caucus
Satoshi Nitta, Asian Pacific-Islanders Caucus
Edgar Perez, African-American Caucus
Tod Short, African-American Caucus
Leslie Spencer, African-American Caucus

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Thomas Chang, Asian-Pacific Islanders Caucus
John Harris, African-American Caucus
Harold Martinez, Latino Caucus
Stephen Sheng, Asian-Pacific Islanders Caucus, Co-Chair
Ericka Smith, Latino Caucus, Co-Chair
Mike Stevens, African-American Caucus

OTHERS PRESENT:

Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta, AQMD Board Member and ECAG Chairperson
Marilyn F. Solomon, Deputy Executive Officer, AQMD
Gloria White-Brown, Sr., Deputy District Counsel, AQMD
Julia Lester, Program Supervisor, AQMD
Lourdes Cordova Martinez, Community Outreach Manager, AQMD
Alene Taber, Planning & Rules Manager, AQMD
Jill Whynot, Planning & Rules Manager, AQMD
Sue Lieu, Program Supervisor, AQMD
Mike Laybourn, Air Quality Specialist, AQMD
Rhonda Reyes, Board Assistant to Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta

Agenda Item #1 – Call to Order/Opening Remarks

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson/Governing Board Member Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta at 1:15 p.m. Ms. Verdugo-Peralta welcomed everyone in attendance. She also requested that the two newest members, Anastacio G. Medina and Tod Short, introduce themselves.

Mr. Medina grew up in Zacatecas, Mexico. He stated that he has 30 plus years of experience in the regulatory aspect of hazardous materials at the county level with health and fire departments. He has been retired for nine years. He stated that he enjoys his retirement by being a member of many committees that deal with environmental issues and the health of people. He hopes that his background will be of assistance to the group. He has been affiliated with the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County for over 25 years, and is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Board. He feels that the Hispanic community needs to become more involved, more aware and better educated as it relates to the air we breathe and the health of adults and children and that is why he is interested in this group. Mr. Medina also serves on the LAUSD's Indoor Air Quality Advisory Board and AQMD’s Children’s Air Quality Advisory Group with Board Member Verdugo-Peralta.

Tod Short stated that he grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, mostly in Pasadena, and that he has his own consulting firm. He works with many firms including Waste Management, Inc. and American Remedial Technologies. He wanted to join this group due to the fact that he wanted to work to improve the air quality. He stated that he has a nephew who is a star running back in Valencia who has asthma. He wants to make sure that his nephew can continue to run and feel better when he is playing.

Agenda Item #2 – Approval of October 10, 2001 Meeting Minutes and Review of Follow-up Action Items

The minutes of the October 5, 2001 meeting were reviewed.

ON MOTION BY STAN LEE AND DULY SECONDED BY PAUL CHOE THE COMMITTEE APPROVED THE OCTOBER 10, 2001 MINUTES AS SUBMITTED.

Lourdes Cordova Martinez went over the action items. All of the listed items were completed.

Fernando Del Rio had a question regarding the use of the term ‘‘inactive member’’ as opposed to ‘‘term ended,’’ with regard to Marilyn F. Solomon. Ms. Martinez replied that Ms. Solomon's term did not actually expire; she resigned due to the fact that she was hired as AQMD’s Deputy Executive Officer for Transportation and Public Affairs.

Agenda Item #3 – Proposed Rule 1133 — Emission Reductions from Composting Operations Update

Ms. Alene Taber, Planning and Rules Manager, gave the group a presentation on Proposed Rule 1133. She stated that this rule is still in the early stages of rule development and is not set to go before the Governing Board for several months. She also stated that there will be many opportunities for review and comment by ECAG, as well as other groups, prior to presenting this rule to the Board. Staff has drafted two proposals to date based on public comments that they have received.

Ms. Taber said that this rule will affect composting operations, as well as chipping & grinding operations. The main concern is nuisance complaints, but also that our region is a nonattainment area, and composting is a source of VOCs as well as ammonia, which mixes with NOx to create fine particulate matter.

She stated the objective of this rule is to reduce emissions. However, it should be in a cost-effective manner, while recognizing other societal needs. She stated that one of those needs is to deal with solid waste through composting, as an alternative to placing these materials in a landfill. Numerous site visits have been conducted and staff is engaged in ongoing consultation with various agency and private industry experts.

Staff also found that there are a number of simple practices that could be put into place, i.e., a misting system or watering the chipping & grinding process. This would keep the dust emissions down.

For the composting operations, Ms. Taber mentioned that about 30 composting operations have enclosed their operations. They have piping underneath, drawing the emissions down into a control device. Typically, a biofilter device will remove the ammonia, as well as the VOCs. In the AQMD's region, there is only one site that meets this standard. She stated that the rest of the operations in this region are "open windrow" operations (i.e., non-enclosed, with rows of composted material).

Ms. Taber stated that there are three facilities which are planned to be built in this region that will be state of the art. That is, they will have enclosures that will capture emissions and control them. There will still be approximately 14-15 facilities remaining that will not have any controls on them.

Ms. Taber stressed that for chipping & grinding operations there is no enclosure required. Composting operations would put in similar "best management practices," including more monitoring of the shape of their piles, making sure that they are not over-watering the piles. In the interim, they need to employ a state of the art process, which would include enclosure, capture of emissions, and some type of control device. This is scheduled to occur by 2004.

Staff received comments and concerns that the initial rule proposal treated green waste similarly to putrescible waste. Ms. Taber said that staff and stakeholders are in the process of performing additional source tests to measure emissions from a green-waste-only facility for comparison purposes. The rule would not require any cover for landfill alternative daily cover (ADC) operations.

Board Member Verdugo-Peralta stated that she has received several letters from various cities such as Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Carson, and Inglewood; the commenters were concerned about being out of compliance with AB 939. Board Member Verdugo-Peralta asked if we are in the process of working this out with them. Ms. Taber replied yes.

Ms. Taber stated that they have received comments from people who believed that somehow this rule will negatively impact AB 939 compliance. Staff researched these concerns and spoke with the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB). CIWMB has looked at what people are doing in the area of green waste to get credit for their diversion. The vast majority of Southern California cities are acquiring or receiving their AB 939 credits through the ADC; the second way is by having the landscape materials chipped, ground up and then sent to a waste-to-energy facility; and the third way is composting.

Ms. Taber said that the rule could be a benefit to AB 939. By having the facilities enclosed and the emissions captured and treated for odors, the potential for odors or fugitive dust is essentially eliminated. Therefore, people might be less opposed to having this type of operation go into their neighborhoods. Ms. Taber said that a number of composting operators have commented that siting a composting facility is almost as difficult as trying to cite a landfill near a residential area, because of the strong public opposition.

Ms. Taber stated that the next step is to obtain additional comments regarding the proposed rule. Based upon comments received, staff will be revising the proposed rule and conducting workshops and working groups; they will also conduct additional testing of green waste emissions.

There will be a pre-hearing report presented to the Governing Board in February 2002. Based on the direction given by the Governing Board at that time, the rule schedule and associated public hearing(s) would be set accordingly.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta asked if we are contacting cities directly so that they understand that we are trying to make sure that they are not out of AB 939 compliance. Ms. Taber replied that there is a line of communication with all of the cities. She stated that they have all been invited to participate in the working group meetings. She further stated that AQMD staff has offered to go out and talk to them individually about it. They have also been working with the CIWMB to identify any direct impacts, so that staff can make changes to the proposed rule if needed, but no information has been received from the CIWMB at this time.

Mr. Medina asked the locations of the proposed facilities. Ms. Taber replied that three facilities are proposed for the Inland Empire: Colton, the Chino area, and Rancho Cucamonga. Mr. Medina asked with the proposed facilities being enclosed, what would the health effects be for the workers? Ms. Taber said that this issue had been raised and addressed in current enclosure designs.

Mr. Del Rio asked if this affects only commercial ventures. Ms. Taber said that the rule does not affect a nursery or farm. Any operation which sells the compost would need to comply with this rule.

Mr. Edgar Perez asked about public works operations, where they cut down trees — does that waste go to some of these facilities? Ms. Taber also said that if they are chipping & grinding and the chipped and ground material goes into the truck, that aspect of the process is not covered by this rule. However, if they take this material to another site and chip & grind the material again to go into compost, then that part of the operation would be covered by the rule.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta asked why trucks that are hired by the utility companies to trim trees in the neighborhoods are exempt. Ms. Taber replied that the primary type of control involves water, which cannot be used in a mobile operation. Also, such short-duration trimming activities are only occurring, say, twice a year at that location whereas at the chipping & grinding operation they are doing it every single day.

Mr. Medina expressed a concern with the emission of hydrogen sulfide, which he stated can affect health in people in very minute concentrations. Ms. Taber replied that they were speaking to some experts today and do not yet have the answer on that.

In response to a question by Ms. Martinez, Ms. Taber said that when staff is aware of a neighborhood organization (and at this time they do know of one active neighborhood organization that is out by one of the sites), that they are in contact with them. Ms. Martinez noted that if Public Affairs could have the city and major cross streets, then staff could identify applicable town hall meeting or community meeting comments; she stated that these comment databases already exist.

Dr. Lester mentioned that when staff was creating this rule they realized that sometimes the traditional means of outreach to affected communities was problematic when applied to this more-complex source category. To address this potential problem, Public Affairs had helped set up focus groups to talk to community members about composting issues and what their major concerns were, so that staff could hear the voice of nearby site residents in addition to more traditional industry voices.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta stated that we should include the group that has been at the Board meetings with regard to Omnitrans.

ACTION ITEMS:

1. Follow-up with staff on Rule 1133 Outreach to ensure that cities are receiving information concerning this rule. Also, ensure that staff has informed community organizations which are near the proposed facilities.
   
   
2. Lourdes Cordova Martinez to provide Alene Taber with the name of the group that has come to Board meetings with regard to Omnitrans.

Agenda Item #4 – Proposed Rule 1137 — Emission Reductions from Woodworking Operations (PM10) Update

Ms. Taber mentioned this rule is also in progress and that staff welcomes ECAG’s comments. This rule is another PM10 rule, which will affect small businesses as well.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta stated that bringing these proposed rules to the group ahead of time will enable the members to notify their constituents, discuss it with them, and suggest workshops.

Dr. Julia Lester, Planning Supervisor, gave a presentation on the proposed rule. This is the last remaining control measure for primary PM10 outlined in the 1997 AQMP, which stated that there were approximately 7.5 tons per day of emissions coming from woodworking facilities, with an expected growth to about 9.1 tons by 2006.

The control measure envisioned 95% control of those emissions, mostly through baghouse systems and improved housekeeping at the facilities, resulting in less than 0.5 ton per day of emissions from all woodworking facilities in 2006.

Dr. Lester stated that staff has done a number of source tests at representative sites throughout the Basin in cooperation with the affected industry. Staff has also conducted numerous site visits, focus group meetings, industry presentations, and a review of regulations enacted by other agencies.

Dr. Lester stated that results of their work so far indicate that there are fewer woodworking facilities than previously estimated in the 1997 AQMP. They have also looked at quantifying sawdust transfer emissions. Control equipment is typically in place at all of these facilities already, in response to standards set by OSHA for workers' health and also fire department and city permitting requirements. Also, the industry is going more and more toward controlling the emissions within their facilities because it reduces their housekeeping activities.

All of the large facilities that staff has looked at (operations with greater than 100 employees) already have baghouse systems, which are considered best available control technology (BACT). She said that they have revised the draft inventory and are looking at approximately 1.0 to 1.2 tons per day which is significantly less than the 7.5 which was previously estimated in the 1997 AQMP.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta asked whether or not any of the control equipment includes ionizers. Dr. Lester replied no.

Dr. Lester said that many of these facilities are already under other AQMD regulations because they also have coating operations. She said that other air districts in Southern California, San Joaquin Valley, and Arizona (Phoenix) require permits for facilities with uncontrolled emissions greater than 2 to 3 pounds per day. In North Carolina, dust collectors are required on any facility unless they can demonstrate that there are no exceedances beyond the property line. In Texas and New Jersey there is a general permit for facilities that install a baghouse.

Dr. Lester said staff would like to claim State Implementation Plan (SIP) reductions through the revised inventory. She stated that they wanted to be sure they are consistent in following other air districts’ programs because South Coast is a serious non-attainment area for PM10 and has legal requirements to meet or exceed all of the control programs in the country. She said that staff is looking at requiring BACT (which is baghouse) for new or expanded sources.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta requested staff explain to the group what a "baghouse" is. Mike Laybourn, Air Quality Specialist, explained that it is a system that draws air through the facility collecting dust along the way from the individual machines and then it filters out the particulate matter. Essentially, it is like a vacuum cleaner in reverse, and the material accumulates on the outside of the bags as it is less likely for fine material to penetrate the bag; the material drops out and clean air is vented out the top.

The rule requirements would only cover facilities with a less than ducted disposal system and Dr. Lester noted that this would pretty much eliminate all facilities with 10 employees or less. She said that seeing "no visible stack emissions" basically means the control equipment is running effectively. From what staff has have seen from reviewing complaint files and performing site visits, almost all of the facilities within the Basin are going to meet this. Under this rule, if they have visible emissions they either need to fix their control equipment or upgrade it. This will also eliminate the nuisance problems that we have had at a few facilities that have been difficult to address previously.

Also, as of July 2002, a baghouse will be required for new or expanded facilities that meet the same standards of no visible emissions from that equipment. She said that they are also looking at improved housekeeping during waste disposal.

Mr. Avila questioned whether baghouse technology is readily available. Dr. Lester replied yes, that this technology is very mature and that it is used in a variety of different industries. It is based on simple engineering, with control effectiveness of 90-95%. She said that when it stops working, that is when you get the visible emissions.

Mr. Medina had a question with regard to the "Purpose" and "Applicability" of Proposed Rule 1137, which seeks to establish performance standards and asked if visibility is a performance standard. Dr. Lester replied that yes, visibility is a performance standard. He then asked what would happen if the dust color changes. Dr. Lester replied that staff would use the same opacity training that all of the inspectors must go through that certifies them to determine the opacity from this and other sources before they can write a notice to comply or notice of violation.

Mr. Medina stated that in his view, a more scientific approach would have to determine by weight (i.e., so many grams per cubic inch of air gets into the baghouse). He also wanted to know if there is any consideration in the rule for the capture of the velocity at the point of the dust generation of the machinery; in other words how fast air must go into the collection system. She said that Mr. Medina made a good technical point using opacity, rather than a measurement, as a performance standard. She said that staff has faced this in a couple of other rules and they have talked to the industry, and the tradeoff is: if one goes with a more technical or scientific description, then one has the additional cost, time, and effort of having to do source test monitoring. She said that because of the size of these sources and their minimal impact compared to other ones and the success that they have had with using opacity standards (such as that in Rule 403), staff felt that they should go with the opacity standard.

Mr. Perez asked Dr. Lester what were some of the major elements that they used in the socioeconomic impact assessment. Dr. Lester stated that there is a facility-filing requirement, which would be a way of getting the information necessary to do enforcement without having to bring facilities into the permitting system.

Dr. Lester said that staff had held a workshop, that was well attended, with over 50 people; however, there were relatively few comments. She said that staff has now compiled needed information about the basic rule concepts. The draft rule is available and staff has compiled emission inventories based on facility sizes, which will be used to develop the socioeconomic report.

Ms. Taber said staff will conduct the normal socioeconomic analysis, which would look at job impacts, cost in compliance, etc. In addition, an affordability analysis will be conducted with BBC Consulting. She also said that this rule is one of two rules that was selected to conduct the additional analysis.

Mr. Medina said that in the report it is stated that affected facilities are lumberyards, cabinet making facilities, and other product manufacturing operations. He questioned about large housing developments (e.g., 5,000-home project). He said that commercial lumber is cut every day at such construction sites and asked, how are they covered? Dr. Lester said that such activity would be exempted, because they produce coarse sawdust, which is a larger particulate than the finer particles that can get into our airways.

Mr. Medina asked why there was a change in the number of the facilities being reported and he wanted to know if this was this due to facilities closing or relocating.

Dr. Lester stated that when the 1997 report was conducted they had looked at standard industrial classification (SIC) codes and they had only looked at two-digit codes or anything with the word "wood" in it. At that time, AQMD had 2,000 such facilities; staff multiplied that number by the emission factor and came up with the emissions. Dr. Lester said that as the rule team took over the control measures, they worked with four- and six-digit SICs, and conducted an industry survey. She said that inapplicable codes were removed and thus the remaining inventory was reduced to approximately 750 facilities.

Agenda Item #5 – Proposed Rule 1421 — Control of Perchloroethylene Emissions from Dry Cleaning Systems Update

Ms. Jill Whynot, Planning and Rules Manager, informed the group that this rulemaking is still "in progress." Staff has been working for a year or so with various dry cleaning associations and other parties to try to develop a way to further reduce air toxics emissions from dry cleaning.

Perchloroethylene (Perc) is the primary solvent that is being used by this industry to clean customers’ clothing. At this point, the rule is scheduled to go to the Governing Board for consideration in March 2002.

Ms. Whynot said that the reason that this industry is being looked at is because the AQMD and CARB conducted a one-year ambient air monitoring study on air toxics exposure (MATES-II), with Perc being one of the compounds studied. From the MATES-II study, AQMD developed a draft Air Toxics Control Plan which was then approved by the Governing Board. She said that the plan included a variety of measures to reduce toxics, including evaluating Rule 1421 for additional emission reductions.

Ms. Whynot said that under AB 2588 (the state’s toxics hot spots program), dry cleaners are included as an industry-wide category. She also stated that there are related rules such as Rule 1402 - Control of Toxic Air Contaminants from Existing Sources. She said that these are all factors that are bringing staff to look at a potential amendment.

Ms. Whynot said that when you look at the emissions from Perc there are approximately 15 tons a day of Perc in the emissions inventory, with dry cleaners contributing about one-half of those emissions. Various degreasing operations contribute approximately 28%; film cleaning and printing represents approximately 1%; and there are other miscellaneous uses of Perc which together represent approximately 13%.

Ms. Spencer wanted to know who was at risk for exposure; the people who handle film cleaning, the people who work at the dry cleaners or who have their clothes cleaned, or people who are just walking down the street near a dry cleaning operation.

Ms. Whynot explained that when AQMD staff looks at risk, they look at the risk to the surrounding community, outside of the facilities. She stated that, for example, with film cleaning there was a concentration of facilities in the Hollywood/Burbank area (where a lot of major film studios are) and they were able to reduce a significant level of pollutants that were concentrated in those neighborhoods. She went on to say that, yes, there are some worker exposure limits, and there are OSHA requirements to keep those to a certain level.

Ms. Whynot stated that there are approximately 2,100 cleaners that have AQMD permits, and there are probably hundreds more out there. Only the cleaners that actually do the cleaning on the premises are required to have AQMD permits. She said that the cleaners are predominately small businesses, with a small number of employees, or are family owned. She said that there are a very large contingent of ethnic Korean shop owners as well as other ethnic minority shop owners.

There are regulations for dry cleaning at the federal, state, and local level and dry cleaners have significantly reduced the amount of Perc. She said that one of the comments that they have been receiving is "Haven’t you done enough to us? Leave us alone." She said that the problem is that the remaining emissions, even though there has been a decrease, can still pose a relatively high risk to the community.

She said that when you talk about cancer in terms of increased risk per million people, there is a useful basis for comparison, even if the precise numbers cannot be known. The main factor that affects risk is the chemical being considered. For example, with chromium a few ounces can cause a high cancer risk, while with Perc, you would be talking about many gallons. Perc is one of the compounds that the state has said can potentially cause cancer. She said that location, as well as the distance between the facility and its neighbors or other businesses, are key factors in cancer risk.

Staff has come out with two draft proposals. The initial proposal was more stringent than the more recent one. The basic concept is that AQMD seeks to transition dry cleaners from using Perc. There are a variety of potential alternatives, including one that uses hydrocarbons. There is also a wet cleaning method, and there is an emerging technology that uses carbon dioxide.

There is a general mistrust among dry cleaning professionals that these newer cleaning methods are not proven to clean as well as Perc because Perc is a more aggressive solvent. The original staff proposal was to give a 10-year life to existing equipment before the transition. One of the overwhelming comments staff heard was that we really need to be sensitive to the economic impacts on this industry. They said operators typically use the Perc equipment for longer than 10 years; some people use it for 25 or more years. Staff finds that 12 to 15 years is average. The current staff proposal is to look at requiring retirement of this equipment and a transition to the new equipment in 15 years, depending on the age of the equipment. Staff has also been asked to look at the effectiveness of the newest Perc machines. In some cases it might be appropriate to let someone go from their existing Perc machine to a newer, lower-emitting Perc machine; this alternative would not get down to the same end point, but that is under evaluation.

Ms. Whynot said that they did not know at this point what the staff's revised proposal will be. She said that they are certainly considering all of these different things to balance the economic issues with the protection of health. Also, staff is considering the ability of the cleaners to meet their customers’ time and quality demands.

There are some concerns about whether or not the alternative machines will clean as well and how long the equipment will last. Some of them cost about the same as a Perc machine, some cost a little more, and the CO2 machines cost a lot more. Staff has been working with the California Cleaners Association and the Korean Dry Cleaners Association. Many groups have been involved in rule development to come up with a proposal that will significantly reduce the Perc in a fairly quick time frame and be more protective of public health.

Ms. Whynot said AQMD has conducted on-site visits. Staff has gone out and looked at all kinds of different Perc machines of various ages and is sampling the sludge, or the waste, that comes out of the machines.

Three consultation meetings have been held to date. The first meeting was at AQMD during the day and approximately 350 participants attended for several hours. She also said that they have had two evening meetings to accommodate the schedules of the cleaners. They have also had several focus group meetings in the evenings.

Ms. Whynot stated that AQMD has contracted with BBC Consulting and they are using the dry cleaning industry as a case study to look at facility-specific economic impacts. As part of the rule development process, she said, staff will conduct socioeconomic and environmental impact reports.

AQMD has a variety of ongoing Small Business Assistance programs acting in partnership with the Technology Advancement Office to demonstrate wet cleaning. She said that AQMD is paying cleaners part of the incremental cost to offset the purchase of the wet cleaning machines and then they become demonstration sites where they can host people to come and look at the machines. Ms. Whynot said that the wet cleaning method may not be popular with a vast majority of the cleaners because it takes longer to press and finish the garments.

Staff is also looking at doing a demonstration at Southern California Edison’s CTAC facility where they would like to get different types of machines so people can come in and either bring clothes in or see clothes being cleaned. AQMD has an ongoing Small Business Assistance Loan program, and there are a couple of potential tax incentive bills. She said that the Small Business Assistance staff also provides technical help.

Ms. Whynot also said that they have set up a toll-free number for Korean-speaking people who have questions regarding this rule.

Mr. Lee asked if existing equipment could be retrofitted to use a different solvent.

Ms. Whynot said yes, theoretically one could change the machine by changing the seals and materials but it is not recommended. The cleaning with the hydrocarbons is a process very similar to Perc; while wet cleaning is actually a whole different way of doing the cleaning. There is a lot more training involved and it is a different type of equipment.

Mr. Lee asked if the Perc machines were considered the standard, compared to other technologies.

Ms. Whynot said they were. Right now there are about three dozen hydrocarbon cleaners that have been operating in the South Coast area, some of them for several years. There have been about a half-dozen wet cleaning operations for a few years, but a lot of them are just getting started. Presently there is only one CO2 operation in the Basin.

Ms. Whynot reported the emissions for the CO2-type cleaning technology are basically zero. The emissions from some of the alternative solvent machines are zero, and depending on the solvents, they can have small amounts of organics emitted. She said that they are looking at a tradeoff of over 1,000 tons of Perc a year for up to half a ton of volatile organics. VOCs do contribute to ozone, but the tradeoff is not having the toxic impact. These are all things that will be considered in the rule development.

Mr. Lee, referring to the hydrocarbon machines, asked if they used petroleum oxides.

Ms. Whynot said it was not naphtha. Naphtha was used before Perc. She indicated that they use a variety of chemicals, so there are some VOCs, but nothing like the old Stoddard solvents that were high-VOC solvents.

Agenda Item #6 – BBC Research & Consulting Update

Ms. Sue Lieu, Planning Supervisor, said that ECAG has helped from the beginning by evaluating the proposals and also participating in several discussion sessions relative to the subjects in the BBC Research and Contracting contract. This is the second time an update on the contract has been given to ECAG. Ms. Lieu stated that staff wanted to use this contractual process to help AQMD refine the socioeconomic assessments in two areas. One is the facility-based analysis, the other is the post-rule assessment.

She said that there are seven tasks set up in the contract, and thus far the first three tasks have been completed. Task one was literature review and interviewing various agencies with experience in this area; the second task was stakeholder interviews; and the third task was a wrapup of results from tasks one and two. She said that the consultants are moving into tasks four and five.

BBC Consulting came in late September and used the Rule 1421 Working Group process to ask the participants questions regarding the dry cleaning industry. Working group members were asked about future market demand for dry cleaning, competitive environment, and new versus existing dry cleaning shops. Based on the participants’ input, staff felt that the best way to classify dry cleaning operations is by employment size. Most operations have five or fewer employees, while some have from six to nine staff members. Very rarely are there dry cleaners with more than 25 employees.

Working Group members said that the most common dry cleaning shop’s monthly revenue is about $10,000 to $15,000, with maybe two employees plus an owner. These operations, they said, face very high rent, utility expenses of about six percent of revenue, and mortgage bills for the machines, as well as other costs. Working Group members said that the typical profit margin is about five to ten percent of revenue.

Paul Avila asked if the employees work eight hours, or if they work part time.

Ms. Lieu said it is a mixture of the two. She asked Mr. Choe if he observed anything different. He believed most work part-time, and said that less than five percent of the dry cleaners have full time employees.

With regard to PR1137, Ms. Lieu reported that the woodworking industry, including the wood, lumber product, and furniture industry, is very much influenced by general economic conditions, especially by the housing market. She indicated that she thought the home remodeling boom has also boosted this industry.

This industry is subject to a lot of foreign competition. In the early 1990s when the South Coast area was in a recession, this industry suffered as well. During this period this industry did not perform very well compared to the rest of the United States. However, after coming out of recession, this particular sector has out-performed its U.S. counterparts. Staff continues to be watchful since most forecasts say the national economy is heading towards, or is in, recession.

The facility-based socioeconomic assessment of PR 1137 focuses on eight particular four-digit SIC codes. Firms in these eight SIC codes would comprise 70% of the total firms that would be subject to PR 1137. Staff took out the firms with ten or fewer employees because those firms probably won’t be subject to this rule. This rule would not affect firms with employees of 100 or above because they already have the required systems in place.

BBC Consulting was able to compile financial statistics from the national data. Ms. Lieu emphasized that the report is based on national statistics. This is where the stakeholders’ feedback role will be important. Staff will take this data to the stakeholders and have them review the statistics to see whether local statistics will differ significantly from national statistics. So far staff has developed the industry and firm profiles and will move to impact assessments next.

Agenda Item #7 – City of Commerce Town Hall Meeting Debriefing

Ms. Lourdes Martinez, AQMD Community Outreach Manager, provided the group with a summary of the meeting held on October 25. There were about 60 people who attended. A majority of the concerns from the residents of the City of Commerce, neighboring East Los Angeles and unincorporated L.A. county primarily dealt with truck traffic, neighboring train yards abutting residential areas, and odor & nuisance complaints concerning neighboring facilities. Attendees were interested in learning more about how they could call in to complain about facilities. Staff explained the 1-800-CUT-SMOG phone line program, which offers both English and Spanish lines. Ms. Martinez said that staff is looking forward to working with the community group that is working near Eastman Elementary School off of Olympic and Eastern, regarding environmental issues.

Agenda Item #8 – Ethnic Community Outreach Update

Ms. Marilyn Solomon, DEO of Public Affairs, will meet with each of the advisory groups and share the survey outcomes with them.

Ms. Solomon stated that AQMD had contracted with a consultant to perform the survey, which comprised about 1,000 individuals contacted by telephone, averaging about 20 minutes each. The survey asked about relatively complex questions (such as VOC and NOx awareness), as well as about issues related to overall air quality. One interesting early finding was that 80-85% of the people who answered the questions identified themselves as churchgoers. "If we are going to be looking at how we get to people where they are, we have to go to where the people gather," she said. She said that her goal is to use the data to do a campaign to change social behavior for the good of public health. She also stated that they have produced, and should have available at the next meeting, a new brochure that includes the new tag line "Cleaning the Air We Breathe." The agency is moving away from the prior line of "Clean Air is Every Body’s Business."

Mr. Medina reported that some of the best results achieved by the American Lung Association have been efforts that were held in conjunction with churches, synagogues, and other faith-based entities. He said one of the things AQMD is missing is the credibility faith-based entities usually enjoy. "If they get the message we are trying to deliver from an organization that they have faith in, they are going to believe it more than if you and I just went to the corner. I think we should take that seriously."

Ms. Solomon also pointed out another interesting piece of data that indicated that the bulk of the people interviewed said they were registered voters. At some point, she said, staff will be coming to ECAG members and asking, What is happening in your community that you would like for us to take a look at? - - so that staff can pass it on to the consultants in terms of followup tasks for them to perform.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta stated that the four contracted outreach consultants were chosen based on their understanding and ability to outreach to individual ethnic communities, since this Basin is now "majority minority" in demographic terms.

Agenda Item #9 – Year 2002 Goals and Objectives

Ms. Martinez passed out a copy of the 2000-2001 Goals and Objectives and issues. Ms. Verdugo-Peralta wanted the group members to review it and make sure the group was on track and to elicit suggestions for changes and/or improvements. She asked for their feedback on the matter, emphasizing that the ECAG annual workplan belonged to them and that the goals and objectives were not something being dictated by AQMD or the Board.

Chairperson Verdugo-Peralta indicated that one of the things she wanted to do was to make sure something is done in a community at least once a calendar quarter. She wants to target the four counties within the Basin. She encouraged members to think of activities that would be good in a specific county and let her know how the group and the agency can help the communities. She asked them to find out what AQMD is not doing and if there is some piece of communication that is missing. She also wants to know if AQMD is missing whole groups. She suggested events could dovetail onto a local Town Hall meeting or something of that nature.

She applauded the members for their spectacular work at the International Conference. She reported on the numerous positive comments she had received from industry, regulatory personnel, and international guests.

Agenda Item #10 – International Conference Subcommittee

Ms. Rose Montoya-Lona, of the Latino Caucus, indicated that Mr. Del Rio requested that she ask why AQMD staff was reimbursed for parking and mileage but the volunteers were not being reimbursed. He felt it was not fair and that it should be reconsidered as a matter of principle.

Ms. Montoya-Lona thanked everyone who attended the meetings, staffed the booth, including Paul Choe, Jason Do, Fernando Del Rio, Paul Avila; also, Stan Lee was a standby, ready to come in any time. She gave a special thanks to Harold Martinez who was there Monday from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. She thanked Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta for obtaining all the AQMD approvals to get the work done, and thanked AQMD staff for their assistance.

Agenda Item #11 – Ethnic Media Outreach

There was no comment on this item.

Agenda Item #12 – Discussion on Energy Issues

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta stated that Southern California Edison (SCE) is going to be doing a huge marketing program toward small businesses throughout their service territory including this Basin. SCE is again offering free energy audits targeting small businesses. Edison will also be offering rebates for installation of more efficient lighting, air conditioning, and refrigeration equipment.

A group member asked for the definition of small business. Ms. Verdugo-Peralta stated SCE is using the one that follows the federal guidelines; however, they are going all the way up to 500 KW and 10,000 square feet and rarely, to some GS1 and GS2 accounts, so it is large accounts as well. Industrial accounts are not included.

Agenda Item #13 – Discussion on Governing Board Agenda Items Relevant to ECAG

No discussion was held on this item.

Agenda Item #14 – Other Business

No comments were received.

Agenda Item #15 – Public Comment Period

Chairperson Verdugo-Peralta asked if there were any public comments. No public comments were received.

Agenda Item #16 – Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:07 p.m.

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