BOARD MEETING DATE: November 7, 2003
AGENDA NO. 31

Adopt the Coachella Valley Portion of the Transportation Conformity Emission Budgets for Ozone Precursors for the Southeast Desert Modified Air Quality Management Area Ozone Non-attainment Area

SYNOPSIS:

To support SCAG in its conformity determinations, the AQMD has prepared the Coachella Valley portion (CV Ozone Budget Portion) of the transportation conformity emissions budgets for ozone precursors for the Southeast Desert Modified Air Quality Management Area ozone non-attainment area (SEDM area). This Board letter details the emissions inventory and CV Ozone Budget Portion for 2005 (the milestone year) and 2007 (the attainment year). The inventories and CV Ozone Budget Portion are based on the emissions models, methodologies and planning assumptions used in the 2003 AQMP ozone attainment demonstration for Coachella Valley.

COMMITTEE:

Mobile Source, October 24, 2003, Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Adopt the attached resolution:

1. Certifying the Notice of Exemption (NOE) for the CV Ozone Budget Portion,
    
2. Adopting the CV Ozone Budget Portion, and
    
3. Directing the Executive Officer to forward the CV Ozone Budget Portion, as well as the previously submitted attainment demonstration, and other Coachella Valley elements of the 2003 AQMP to CARB for its approval and submission to U.S. EPA.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The AQMD is the local agency responsible for air quality assessment and improvement in the Coachella Valley. Coachella Valley is a part of the Southeast Desert Modified Air Quality Management Area ozone non-attainment area (SEDM area). Other parts of SEDM area include the San Bernardino county portion of the Mojave Desert Air Basin (MDAB) under the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD) jurisdiction and the Antelope Valley portion of MDAB under the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) jurisdiction.

On August 1, 2003, the AQMD Governing Board adopted the 2003 AQMP for the South Coast Air Basin (Basin) and the Coachella Valley. The 2003 AQMP is based on the latest planning assumptions and motor vehicle emission factors contained in EMFAC 2002. The 2003 AQMP included an ozone attainment demonstration for the Coachella Valley by the attainment year 2007, rate-of-progress analysis and other elements related to the Coachella Valley. On-road motor vehicle emissions are the basis of the transportation conformity emission budgets for ozone. However, the 2003 AQMP did not explicitly present the CV Ozone Budget Portion. (Transportation conformity emission budgets for PM10 are included in the 2003 Coachella Valley PM10 SIP.) The following proposal presents the CV Ozone Budget Portion, based on the 2003 AQMP, to assist in current conformity determinations.

Proposal

The proposal explicitly describes the on-road motor vehicle emissions for ozone precursors (VOC and NOx) in the Coachella Valley, for subsequent use in the SEDM area transportation conformity budgets. The inventories and CV Budget Portion are based on the emissions models, methodologies and planning assumptions used in the 2003 AQMP ozone attainment demonstration for Coachella Valley. The CV Budget Portion represents the on-road motor vehicle emissions used in the milestone (2005) and attainment year (2007) modeling for the 2003 AQMP.

Coachella Valley Summer Planning Inventory
and Motor Vehicle Emissions Budget Portion: Ozone Precursors
(tons per day; EMFAC2002)
 

Subsequent to approval by the AQMD Governing Board, staff would forward the CV Ozone Budget Portion to CARB for review, approval, and inclusion in the SEDM area budgets. AQMD and CARB would request that U.S. EPA deem the SEDM area budgets adequate for conformity determinations in the Coachella Valley.

Policy Issues

SCAG needs SEDM area transportation emission budgets to demonstrate conformity with its plans. Unless U.S. EPA determines that these budgets are adequate, SCAG will be forced to use out-of-date mobile emission factors that could prevent conformity determinations. A public hearing on the transportation conformity emission budgets is required before they can be submitted to U.S. EPA.

CARB has indicated that they will not forward the Coachella Valley portion of the 2003 AQMP until the CV Ozone Budget Portion has been approved by the AQMD Governing Board and forwarded to them. SEDM area budgets cannot be submitted until budget portions for Coachella Valley and other represented areas have had a public hearing. The attached resolution (see Attachment A) requests that CARB forward all Coachella Valley portions of the 2003 AQMP and the CV Ozone Budget Portion of SEDM area budgets to U.S. EPA for their approval. The remaining Mojave and Antelope Valley portions of the SEDM area budgets are expected to be adopted by MDAQMD and AVAQMD, respectively.

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

Pursuant to CEQA, staff has prepared a Notice of Exemption (NOE) for the CV Ozone Budget Portion. The NOE was prepared in accordance with CEQA Guidelines §15002(k)(1) and §15061(b)(3) based on the determination that the proposed project is exempt since it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed project has the potential to have a significant adverse effect on the environment.

Attachments

1. Resolution
2. Notice of Exemption

/ / /