BOARD MEETING DATE: October 1, 2004
AGENDA NO. 28
Annual Report on Implementation of FY 2003-04 Environmental Justice Enhancements and Proposed FY 2004-05 Enhancements
SYNOPSIS:
Staff has implemented the FY 2003-04 Environmental Justice Enhancements as directed by the Board and as described in the attached report. In addition, staff circulated a draft Proposed FY 2004-05 Environmental Justice Workplan for a 60-day public review and is presenting it for Board approval.
COMMITTEE:
Administrative, September 10, 2004, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
- Receive and file the report on the FY 2003-04 Environmental Justice Enhancements, as per Attachment 1;
- Direct staff to proceed with the implementation of the Environmental Justice Enhancements for FY 2004-05 as detailed in Attachment 2, for completion no later than June 2005;
- Direct staff to make periodic status reports to the appropriate Advisory Groups and Board Committees, as detailed in Attachment 3.
Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer
Background
As part of the Strategic Alliance Initiatives approved by the Board in January 2002, AQMD staff committed to perform an annual review of AQMD’s Environmental Justice (EJ) program and to lay out proposed environmental justice related activities for the following fiscal year. The AQMD has been a leader in identifying and addressing community EJ concerns, particularly as raised by low income, ethnic minority communities who may be disproportionately impacted by localized emissions and mobile source pollutants.
The AQMD has formalized its Environmental Justice Program through periodic program review and the development of an annual Environmental Justice Workplan enhancement.
In addition to implementing the AQMD’s own program enhancements, staff continues to be actively involved with environmental justice efforts at the state level. Staff participates as a member of Cal/EPA Advisory Committee for Environmental Justice (SB 89-Escutia), and has also provided comments to Cal EPA’s Inter-Agency Working Group on Environmental Justice who have met to address the development of an intra-agency EJ strategy. Significant community support and air quality benefits have resulted from the Board’s focus on environmental justice over the last seven years.
FY 2003-04 Program Implementation
At its September 2003 meeting, the Board approved a set of 10 Environmental Justice Enhancements in the categories of Further Reduced Health Risks and Greater Community Access & Involvement, which were intended to further identify and address air quality concerns. Also, the enhancements were to serve as a basis for further outreach and problem-solving activities regarding short- and long-term environmental justice issues.
As an example, one of the 10 enhancements in the Workplan called for a review and update of the District’s Air Toxics Control Plan (ATCP). The ATCP was adopted in 2000, and is a comprehensive 10-year strategy for reducing toxic emissions. Under the ATCP, the Board has adopted rules to limit emissions of hexavalent chromium from metal plating and anodizing shops and the phase out of the toxic chemical perchloroethylene used at dry cleaners. An addendum to the ATCP was presented at the April 2004 Board meeting.
As part of the 2003-04 Workplan, the AQMD adopted Rule 1470 - Requirements for Stationary Diesel-fueled Internal Combustion and Other Compression Ignition Engines in April 2004. This rule implemented the Air Toxics Control Measure (ATCM) for stationary compression ignition engines, as adopted by CARB in February 2004. Rule 1470 also included more stringent requirements than the ATCM for engines located on school grounds or 100 meters or less from existing schools.
For some of the enhancements, such as MATES-III and Cumulative Impact Reduction Strategies, working groups were formed comprised of staff and key stakeholders. In addition, regular reports were made by staff to the advisory groups and Board committees. Board reports and other documents referenced in this report are available at AQMD’s web site – www.aqmd.gov.
Attachment 1 contains a detailed report on the status of implementation of the FY 2003-04 EJ Enhancements. Reports were also made to AQMD Board Advisory Groups and Committees at regular intervals during program implementation.
Proposed FY 2004-05 EJ Workplan Enhancements
Staff has prepared and circulated a draft FY 2004-05 EJ Enhancement to solicit feedback and suggestions from the public, industry representatives, and other stakeholders. A series of five Environmental Justice Workshops and two Public Consultation Meetings were held throughout the AQMD to solicit comments concerning the proposed program enhancements. In addition to these public meetings, presentations on the draft EJ Workplan were made before AQMD Board Advisory Groups and Committees, including the Ethnic Community Advisory Group, Local Government & Small Business Assistance Advisory Group, and Home Rule Advisory Group.
Attachment 2 contains the staff proposal for FY 2004-05 and consists of 3 elements under the category of Further Reduced Health Risks and 10 elements under the category of Greater Community Access & Involvement. As detailed in the attachment, these 13 enhancements, taken together with the existing work program, serve to further protect the community’s health and involve them in support of the Board’s air quality improvement initiatives.
For example, one of the enhancements for FY 2004-05 calls for the inclusion of emissions data for the AB 2588 program on the AQMD website for greater access and availability to residents. Another program enhancement is intended to improve the public’s knowledge and facilitate public participation in AQMD’s permitting process, consistent with current rules and regulations and Board policies.
A reporting calendar for the 13 enhancements has been developed with performance checkpoints and assignments to the designated lead staff in the respective divisions (Attachment 3).
Resource Impacts
A total of 2.0 FTEs is expected to be required to implement the 2004-05 EJ Enhancements, consistent with the current budget.
- Annual Program Review for FY 2003-04
- Proposed Environmental Justice Enhancements for FY 2004-05
- FY 2004-05 Reporting Commitment Calendar
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