BOARD MEETING DATE: August 1, 2003
AGENDA NO. 7

Execute Contract to Cost Share Demonstration of Technologies to Reduce PM Emissions From Airport Ground Support Equipment in South Coast Basin

SYNOPSIS:

Airport ground support equipment (GSE) contribute significantly to airport NOx, PM, and toxics emissions. On December 6, 2002, the Board approved issuance of an RFP to solicit proposals for developing and demonstrating control technologies for GSE to reduce particulate matter emissions at airports. Staff proposes to award a contract to Engine Control Systems, Ltd. for an amount not to exceed $778,552. The contract funding for this demonstration program will be equally cost shared by the Air Transport Association.

COMMITTEE:

Technology, July 25, 2003, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Recognize $389,276 from the Air Transport Association (ATA) and place it in the State Emissions Mitigation Fund.
    
2. Authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with Engine Control Systems for an amount not to exceed $778,552 from the State Emissions Mitigation Fund contingent upon receiving $389,276 in matching funds from the ATA.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

Airport ground support equipment (GSE) are a significant source of NOx, PM, and toxics emissions at airports. As such, under a Memorandum of Agreement between ATA, CARB, and U.S. EPA, ATA agreed to reduce emissions from GSEs through electrification of existing equipment. In addition, ATA agreed to conduct a feasibility demonstration of particulate matter control technologies on certain GSEs.

In June 2002, CARB awarded a $500,000 grant to the AQMD to demonstrate the feasibility of developing PM control technologies for diesel-fueled airport GSE under the State Emissions Mitigation Program. CARB's agreement with AQMD requires ATA to contribute equally in match funds.

The objective of this program is to develop and install GSE PM controls encompassing technologies that can achieve an 85% PM emission reduction or reduction of PM emissions to 0.01 g/bhp-hr. The demonstration program is divided into two phases - Phase 1 includes the actual manufacturing and installation of the retrofit technology, and Phase 2 encompasses testing and demonstration requirements.

On December 6, 2002, the Board approved the release of a $1,000,000 RFP (RFP #2003-18) to solicit cost-shared proposals to demonstrate viable PM control technologies for airport GSE. In response to this RFP, the AQMD received four proposals.

Outreach

In accordance with the AQMD’s consulting and contracting policies, a public notice advertising the RFP and inviting bids was published in the following publications:
 

1.	Angeles Mesa Wave, The	11.	Inland Valley Daily Bulletin	21.	Palm Springs Desert Sun
2.	Antelope Valley Press	12.	Korea Central Daily	22.	Philippine News
3.	Black Voice News	13.	La Opinion	23.	Precinct Reporter
4.	Central News Wave	14	La Prensa	24.	Rafu Shimpo
5.	Chinese Daily News	15.	La Voz	25.	Press Enterprise
6.	Eastern Group Publications	16.	Los Angeles Daily News	26.	San Bernardino Sun
7.	El Chicano	17.	Los Angeles Sentinel	27.	Santa Clarita Signal
8	El Informador	18.	Los Angeles Times	28.	The Wave
9.	Excelsior, The	19.	M/W/DVBE Source	29.	State of California Contracts
10.	Inland Empire Hispanic News	20.	Orange County Register		Register

Additionally, potential bidders were notified utilizing the Los Angeles County MTA and Cal Trans Directories of Certified Minority, Women, Disadvantaged and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprises; the Inland Area Opportunity Pages Ethnic/Women Business & Professional Directory; AQMD’s own electronic listing of certified minority vendors; and AQMD Purchasing’s mailing list. Notice of the RFP was mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations; and placed on the Internet at AQMD’s Web site [http://www.aqmd.gov, "Business and Job Opportunities" icon] and AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.

Bid Evaluation

Four proposals were received from Engine Control Systems (ECS), CleanAir Engine Services, Mirenco, and Ironman Parts/Airco. The proposals were evaluated by a panel consisting of representatives from CARB, AQMD, ATA, and ATA’s consultant Ashworth Leininger Group (ALG). The panel consisted of two Asians, one Asian-Indian and three Caucasians; three female and three male.

The proposal evaluation results are summarized in Table 1. In order for a Research and Development (R & D) project to qualify for a contract award, the proposal must receive at least 56 out of 70 points based on technical criteria. The results of the panel’s scoring reflect that the proposal submitted by Engine Control Systems is the only proposal that meets the minimum passing score to be technically qualified for funding consideration.

Proposal

The ECS proposal adheres to the tasks described in the RFP’s work statement and satisfies the requirements of the RFP technical and cost sharing criteria. Prior to the demonstration phase at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), ECS will data log five GSEs in order to develop a database and understand the operating parameters (i.e., exhaust temperature, back pressure, etc.) of the equipment so that an appropriate diesel particulate filter (DPF) can be fabricated and matched with the candidate equipment.

As a result of the data logging activities, a mix of 12 GSEs will be selected for the installation of the Combifilter DPF with the option of installing diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs), if necessary. All retrofitted GSEs will be required to operate on low-sulfur diesel fuel, and achieve a minimum PM emission reduction of 85%. The minimum GSE demonstration period for data collection is 1,000 hours, which is expected to end on or before December 31, 2005.

Subsequently, four of the engines will be removed from the GSEs and shipped along with the installed Combifilters to the West Virginia University test facility where the engines and the particulate matter filter systems will undergo engine dynamometer testing to verify emission reductions. ECS will submit a final project report to AQMD documenting engine performance and PM emission reductions from the Combifilter installations on the GSE.

The total CARB/AQMD/ATA project cost as stated in ECS’s above proposal is $778,552, which will be equally shared by CARB/AQMD and ATA funds.

Benefits to AQMD

The successful implementation of this program will demonstrate the potential to reduce particulate matter produced by airport GSE. Such projects will also produce concurrent toxic compound emission reductions, which is an additional benefit. Finally, administration of this demonstration program will help to advance the technological expertise in controlling emissions from airline operations. Insight gained in such an endeavor may encourage manufacturers of such emission control technology to pursue commercialization opportunities more expeditiously, which will ultimately contribute to the progress AQMD makes in achieving clean air goals.

Resource Impacts

The total project cost of $778,552 will be funded under the State Emissions Mitigation Fund, and will be shared by CARB/AQMD and ATA equally, which amounts to $389,276 per party.

Attachment

Table 1: Evaluation Summary of Responses to RFP #2003-18

Attachment

Table 1

Evaluation Summary of Responses to RFP #2003-18

Step 1: Technical Criteria (56 points minimum, 70 points maximum)
 

Step 2: Cost and Other Factors
 

	Engine Control Systems
Cost and Cost Leveraging; Panel Average (30 points maximum)	26
Small Business, DVBE, and Local Business; Panel Average (10 points maximum)	0
Total	26

Total Score (110 points maximum)
 

	Engine Control Systems
Step 1	61
Step 2	26
Total	87

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