BOARD MEETING DATE: August 1, 2003
AGENDA NO. 30
Legislative Committee
SYNOPSIS:
The Legislative Committee considered agenda items including the following legislation for which the Board will consider approving a position:
SB 107 (Bowen) – Ultra-Clean, Low-Emission Distributed Generation Resources
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approve the position recommended below.
Jane Carney, Vice-Chair
Legislative Committee
Attendance
The Legislative Committee met on July 18, 2003. Present were Vice-Chair Jane Carney and by videoconference Committee Members Michael Antonovich and Roy Wilson. Committee Chair Beatrice LaPisto-Kirtley and Committee Member William Burke were unable to attend. [Attachment 1]
Washington Report/Update [Attachment 2]
Lynn Jacquez and, AQMD Federal Legislative Representative, reported that Congress was in the final week before its recess, and that Appropriations bills of interest to the AQMD, including Department of Defense bills, would not go to conference committees until after the August recess.
With regard to other legislation, Ms. Jacquez gave an update on the following three bills:
The Clear Skies Act of 2003 was heard for the first time in the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 8, 2003. It is unlikely that the bill will move through the Committee this year.
Senator Bill Frist ( R-Tenn.) intended that the Energy bill, which was pulled from the Senate floor in mid-June to pursue other legislative priorities, be taken up during the last week before the recess in the hopes of completing the bill. It is popular opinion, however, that the bill will not be completed in the near future.
The Transportation reauthorization bill is currently the subject of a committee strategy to introduce a bill before the August break that could include a Chairman’s mark of what a bill with $375 billion in funding would provide in the way of programs and Members’ projects. At this time it is not clear what type of bill will be "dropped" in, or whether a bill will be introduced before the break at all.
Sacramento Update [Attachment 3]
Allan Lind, AQMD State Legislative Representative, reported that the state still has not passed a Budget. The Senate and Assembly leadership and the Administration have been meeting to try and come to an agreement. Both leaderships have formally declared that the summer recess, which was due to begin July 18, is suspended until a Budget is approved.
Below is an update on legislation that the AQMD has been actively following:
AB 788 (Chavez), which would extend the current prohibition on CARB to adopt regulations pertaining to disinfectants from October 1, 2003, until January 1, 2005, has been held in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and is now a two-year bill.
AB 998 (Lowenthal), which places a fee on perchloroethylene to fund a transition grant program for dry cleaners, passed the Senate policy committee and has been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1090 (Longville) would change the eligibility requirements for the AQMD Board Member from San Bernardino County. The bill has passed the Senate policy committee and is now on the Senate floor for consideration. If passed, the bill would take affect immediately upon approval by the Governor.
AB 1394 (Levine), which would include in the Carl Moyer Program projects that reduce emissions of particulate matter, was held in the Senate Transportation Committee. This is now a two-year bill.
AB 1468 (Pavley), which would require a monthly leak test on negative air machines used in asbestos removal projects, has passed the Senate policy committee and has been referred to Senate Appropriations for consideration.
SB 288 (Sher), which would create the New Source Review Restoration Act of 2005, passed the Assembly policy committee and is currently scheduled for hearing in Assembly Appropriations on August 20.
Dr. Wallerstein added that SB 288 attempts to address the federal government’s rollback of New Source Review and ensure that through California law, the AQMD and air districts will be able to maintain an equally strong program as was in place on December 30, 2002. Pursuant to Board direction, staff pursued amendments that would give AQMD flexibility to alter its program but still maintain the same air quality benefit, and allow the AQMD the ability to negotiate with U.S. EPA an equivalency provision. The bill also contains provisions that would allow citizen suits. Staff was successful at removing language that would have allowed air districts to be sued, but discussions are continuing with the sponsors and author on the need to maintain any citizen suit provisions in the bill.
SB 352 (Escutia), which would affect the review process for schoolsites to ensure that they are not adversely affected by nearby traffic corridors and other emission sources, passed the Assembly policy committee and is currently scheduled for hearing in Assembly Appropriations on August 20.
SB 656 (Sher) would require CARB to identify all readily available, feasible and cost-effective measures that could be implemented to reduce Particulate Matter emissions from stationary sources and from mobile and stationary diesel engines. SB 656 has made its way to the Assembly floor. SB 656 is an important step forward to providing a blueprint for statewide management of Particulate Matter.
SB 700 (Florez), which addresses the current agricultural exemption in the California Clean Air Act, passed the Assembly policy committee and is currently scheduled for hearing in Assembly Appropriations on August 20.
CAPCOA has taken the lead on presenting air district concerns to the sponsors. The sponsors have been impressed with the logic of the CAPCOA presentation and have recognized a need to change the framework of the bill. Dr. Wallerstein added that air districts are under a sanction clock and the offset ratio for New Source Review will go from 1.1.2:1 to 2:1 in November, which staff believes will have a chilling effect on permitting and new business growth in southern California. SB 700 is currently the vehicle to rectify this matter and, therefore, as directed by the Committee and the Board, staff has placed a high priority on passage of this measure and signature by the Governor.
Staff believes some provisions in the bill are very good, such as requiring best available control measures for particulate control at agricultural sources. One remaining provision, however, would at one point subject virtually all farms to the New Source Review program. This provision would basically require that 1) a new farm obtain offsets; Particulate offsets in the South Coast Air Basin are $25,000 per pound, which, in essence, would mean no new farms; and 2) the AQMD would be put in the offset business and would have to ensure that offsets are real, quantifiable and permitted. Staff is unsure at this time how this issue would be handled for an industry that has not been previously permitted.
Through CAPCOA, there is now a provision in SB 700 that would require the largest agricultural operations to have an emissions mitigation plan issued through a permit that would require maximum feasible mitigation. This would affect about 50 agricultural operations in South Coast Air Basin. These operations who would then work with the AQMD to identify measures above and beyond what the AQMD would specify as generic Best Available Control Measures (BACM) that such operations could implement at their facilities, based on their individual circumstances.
Update on the California Budget and Funding of AQMD Programs
Mr. Lind reported that AQMD’s interest in the state budget has always been state subventions for local air districts and Carl Moyer funding. This year there are also the issues of a proposal to increase the stationary source fees by CARB and funding for the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Renewable Energy Program, which funds research and development of into alternative energy technologies with an emphasis on clean air technologies.
When Budget Conference Committee discussions stopped, air district subvention, Carl Moyer, and the CEC’s Renewable Energy program funding were stable and the CARB stationary source fee issue was unresolved. In the last 10 days, however, the Assembly and Senate Republican Caucuses have proposed alternative budgets. Both have kept air district subventions and Carl Moyer Program funding as is. Where they differ is that the Senate Republican Caucus has proposed to remove all stationary source fee authority from CARB and the Assembly Republican Caucus has proposed to remove only $10 million. Neither propose a backfill that with General Fund dollars, leaving CARB with a significant hole in its budget. Finally, the Senate Republican Caucus proposal maintains funding for the CEC’s Renewable Program but the Assembly Republican Caucus proposal deletes the funding.
It is unknown at this time which proposal will pass once agreement is reached.
Dr. Wallerstein stated that he and Supervisor Wilson attended the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB) Summer Issues Conference where there was considerable discussion about the high ozone levels that have been experienced this summer in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and the Santa Clarita Valley. The President of CCEEB offered a challenge to his members to work to find a permanent funding mechanism for something analogous to the Carl Moyer Program. This is a good opportunity for the AQMD to work with CCEEB to explore opportunities. Supervisor Wilson also offered a challenge to the Home Rule Working Group to work with the AQMD in this regard.
Additionally, the AQMD’s Clean Fuels Program sunsets at the end of 2004 unless reauthorized before January 1, 2005. Staff is looking for any possible opportunity to extend the current program. Staff believes the current ozone levels underscore the need for new technology and continuation of the Clean Fuels Program.
Recommended Position on Legislation
Staff provided an analysis and position recommendation on one legislative bill. A brief description of the bill is provided below. [Attachment 4]
| Bill/Title | Recommended Position |
| SB 107 (Bowen) – Ultra-Clean, Low-Emission
Distributed Generation Resources |
Support; work with author |
SB 107 (Bowen) would replace the Self-Generation Incentive Program established by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in 2001 with a new incentive program.
As a result of the summer of 2000 energy crisis, the Legislature passed several measures in an effort to ease the situation. One measure required the PUC to adopt incentives for energy conservation and demand side management. Pursuant to that, the PUC established a Self Generation Incentive Program to offer incentives for renewable and super clean distributed generation resources. The term "super clean" is not defined in state law. Last year, however, the PUC began offering special rate treatment to ultra-clean and low-emission distributed generation. That type of distributed generation is defined in statute as "technology that produces emissions equal to or less than the 2007 CARB emission limits."
SB 107 seeks to modify the existing Self Generation Incentive Program to provide incentives for ultra-clean and low-emission distributed generation rather than "super clean," consistent with CARB’s special rate treatment program. Staff recommends support and work with the author to ensure that the definition of ultra-clean and low-emission is cross-referenced in the bill and to include PUC consultation with air districts when reporting on the environmental impacts of the incentive program.
ACTION: The Legislative Committee adopted staff’s recommendation to support SB 107 and work with the author to include language described above.
Other Business
None.
Public Comment
John Billheimer, EnviroReality, stated that there is beginning to be ambiguity with regard to definitions of Particulate Matter. The focus used to be PM10, but now PM2.5 is also being looked into. Additionally, PM10 is now referred to as the “coarse” dust and PM2.5 as the “fine” dust. It could have been coarse, fine, and ultra fine. This ambiguity could lead to problems, especially in the food processing industry. The AQMD has established that it does not have the capability to determine from bulk processed materials whether the dust is larger than PM10 or in PM10. This is a problem the AQMD Laboratory may have to look into and it could lead to definitions of Particulate Matter at the legislative level. Given the way the AQMD rules are now written for PM10, the AQMD could put a permit requirement on every restaurant that mixes pancake batter.
- Attendance Roster
- 2003 Federal Legislative Status Report
- 2003 State Legislative Status Report
- Recommended Position on Legislation
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