BOARD MEETING DATE: April 4, 2003
AGENDA NO. 31

Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee

SYNOPSIS: 

Below is a summary of key issues addressed at the MSRC’s February 27, 2003 meeting. The MSRC's next meeting is their annual offsite retreat, which will be conducted on Monday, March 31, 2003, at 12:30 p.m. at Ayres Suites in Diamond Bar.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.

Michael D. Antonovich
AQMD Representative on MSRC

Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the June 27, 2002, September 25, 2002, and January 23, 2003 meetings were unanimously approved. All three minutes are attached for your information (Attachment 1).

Approval of FY 2002-03 Work Program Awards

On October 4, 2002 the Board approved the MSRC’s FY 2002-03 Work Program in Concept totaling $14.95 million. Included within the Work Program was a $2.45 million Local Government Match Program Announcement and Application to provide co-funding for alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure projects. At its January 2003 meeting the MSRC unanimously approved ten applications totaling $933,300. Subsequently, on February 27, 2003, the MSRC unanimously approved two more applications totaling $143,585. The Work Program also included $1 million for a Coachella Valley PM10 Reduction Program Announcement and Application to provide co-funding for qualifying particulate matter reduction projects, focusing on the early implementation of Most Stringent Measures. At its January 2003 meeting the MSRC unanimously approved ten applications totaling $670,413.69. Subsequently, on February 27, 2003, the MSRC unanimously approved two more applications totaling $303,777. Both PAs remain open until April 8, 2003.

The Work Program also included $2 million respectively for alternative fuels transit bus and on-/off-road heavy-duty vehicles diesel reduction elements. At its February 27, 2003 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved four contracts totaling the full $2 million target under the alternative fuels transit bus element and eight contracts also totaling the full $2 million target under the heavy-duty vehicles element. These program solicitations have closed and the AQMD Board approved the contract awards on March 7, 2003.

At its February 27, 2003 meeting the MSRC also approved one $440,200 contract to TransVironmental Services to develop, implement and administer the Regional Commuter Vanpool Program. The conceptual Work Program had allocated $500,000 for this element and TransVironmental Services was awarded the contract after a competitive bid process. The AQMD Board also approved this contract award on March 7, 2003.

Release of New Freeway Service Patrols RFP

The FY 2002-03 Work Program in Concept also included $1.5 million for an RFP to reduce traffic emissions by implementing new or expanded Freeway Service Patrols (FSP). At its September 26, 2002 meeting, the MSRC established a geographic funding minimum of $375,000 for each of the four transportation agencies--LACMTA, OCTA, RCTC and SANBAG. If one or more agencies did not apply for funding, the unallocated monies would be distributed amongst the applicants based on their ranking through the State's Tier II FSP Program. Due to the complexities of this program, the MSRC chose not to adopt its own evaluation criteria, but to use the State's Tier II criteria and ranking. An RFP was released with a proposal receipt period beginning on December 1, 2002 and ending on April 8, 2003.

Subsequent to MSRC's September 26, 2002 action, the MSRC was informed that State funding was not available for the Tier II FSP Program. Consequently, at its February 27, 2003 meeting, the MSRC voted to rescind the current RFP and release a new FSP RFP, #P2003-27, that would reflect revised evaluation criteria, decrease the geographic minimum to $200,000 per county, and follow the statewide FSP guidelines using a formula based on population, traffic congestion and urban freeway miles to award the remaining $700,000. If a transportation agency does not apply for all or part of their geographic minimum, the unallocated monies would again be distributed using the state's formula. The AQMD Board unanimously approved release of the new FSP RFP on March 7, 2003, as part of the MSRC's FY 2002-03 Work Program.

Prior Work Program Contract Issue

On its February 27, 2003 agenda, under the Consent Calendar, the MSRC approved the Contract Administrator Report which included an item regarding the MSRC's heavy-duty program in a prior work program. Specifically, a FY 2000-01 MSRC contract with Sysco Food Services included $200,000 in funding from the State Emissions Mitigation (SEM) Program. Recently, the CARB decided not to fund infrastructure costs under the SEM Program. Therefore, staff reported to the MSRC the need to reallocate $200,000 from the State Emissions Mitigation Program Fund from the FY 2000-01 Sysco Food Services infrastructure project to a FY 1998-99 Albertson's dual fueled LNG truck project. The AQMD Board also approved this action on March 7, 2003

Final Reports Received and Approved

The MSRC unanimously received and approved three final reports for: 1) California Energy Commission Contract #00002, which provided $200,000 for a neighborhood EV demonstration program; 2) Stater Brother Markets Contract #00015, which provided $600,000 for the purchase of 20 LNG vehicles; and 3) Los Angeles World Airports Contract #00035, which provided $70,644 for the purchase of LNG/CNG vehicles. All final reports are filed in the AQMD's library and a two-page summary of each closed project can be viewed in the electronic library on the MSRC's Web site at http://www.msrc-cleanair.org.

Contract Modification Requests

The MSRC unanimously approved the following contract modifications:

1. A one-year extension on the project timeline through June 2005 because of technical problems for Waste Management of Moreno Valley unexecuted contract, #02013, which provides $165,000 for the purchase of ten CNG refuse trucks, facility modifications and mechanic training;
   
   
2. A one-year extension on the project timeline through June 2005 because of technical problems for Waste Management of Corona unexecuted contract, #02014, which provides $165,000 for the purchase of ten LNG refuse trucks, facility modifications and mechanic training; and
   
   
3. A six-month contractual term extension through December 2005 because of delays in the delivery date for the LNG prototype bus for Orange County Transportation Authority Contract #01011, which provides $531,250 for the purchase of 27 LNG transit buses.

Contract Administrator Report

The MSRC's AB 2766 Contract Administrator provided a written status report on all open contracts from FY 1995-96 through the present. This Contract Administrator Report is attached for your information (Attachment 2).

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Approved 6/27/02, 09/25/02 and 01/23/03 MSRC Minutes
Attachment 2 - Contract Administrator Report

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