BOARD MEETING DATE: October 1, 2004
AGENDA NO. 8

Recognize, Appropriate and Reallocate Funds for PAMS and PM2.5 Programs, and National Air Toxics Programs

SYNPOSIS:

U.S. EPA has allocated funding for three programs: 1) Section 105 Grant funds of $1,247,903 for the 13th federal fiscal year (FFY 2004-05) of the PAMS program, 2) Section 103 Grant funds of $591,208 for the continuation of the PM2.5 monitoring program, and 3) Section 103 Grant funds of $495,242 for an ambient monitoring program to complement MATES III. This action is to (a) recognize $120,000 in unspent funds from the 12th year PAMS and appropriate the unspent funds to the FY 2004-05 Budget, and (b) recognize revenue upon receipt and appropriate funds to the FY 2004-05 Budget for the (1) 13th year PAMS program, (2) the continuation of the PM2.5 monitoring program, and (3) the National Air Toxics Monitoring program. These allocations were discussed with and accepted by U.S. EPA.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, September 10, 2004, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

1. Recognize revenue of $120,000 from U.S. EPA Section 105 grant funds for the 12th year PAMS program. Appropriate $120,000 from the Undesignated Fund balance to the Major Objects in Science and Technology Advancement’s and Planning, Rule Development and Area Source’s FY 2004-05 Budgets as set forth in Attachment 1 (sections that describe the 12th Year Carryover).
    
2. Upon receipt of the grant, recognize $1,247,903 in revenue from U.S. EPA Section 105 Grant funds for the 13th year PAMS program. Upon receipt, appropriate $1,247,903 from the Undesignated Fund balance to the FY 2004-05 Budget as set forth in Attachment 1.
    
3. Upon receipt of the grant, recognize $591,208 in revenue from U.S. EPA Section 103 Grant funds for the PM2.5 program. Upon receipt, appropriate $591,208 from the Undesignated Fund balance to the FY 2004-05 Budget as set forth in Attachment 2.
    
4. Upon receipt of the grant, recognize $495,242 in revenue from U.S. EPA Section 103 Grant funds for the National Air Toxics Monitoring program. Upon receipt, appropriate $495,242 from the Undesignated Fund balance to the FY 2004-05 Budget as set forth in Attachment 3.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

PAMS Program
In February 1993, the U.S. EPA promulgated the PAMS regulations for areas classified as serious, severe or extreme non-attainment. These regulations require AQMD to conduct monitoring for ozone precursors with enhanced monitoring equipment initially at one site, increasing to a total of seven sites. All seven sites are now operational. The PAMS program is also funding the meteorological upper air profilers sited at LAX and Ontario airports, the upper air site installed at Moreno Valley in Riverside County, and a new upper air site planned for Orange County. Since the onset of the PAMS program, U.S. EPA has annually allocated Section 105 supplemental grant funds in support of this requirement.

PM2.5 Program
Since 1998, U.S. EPA has been providing funds for a comprehensive PM2.5 air monitoring program under a Section 103 Grant, as part of the national program to enhance the monitoring network for PM2.5. To date, there are 17 ambient monitoring stations operating 19 PM2.5 samplers under the U.S. EPA funding. In addition, U.S. EPA has funded a supplemental grant to collect continuous particle size information, including ultra fine particles in conjunction with the CARB Children’s Health Study, at several sites within the South Coast Air Basin, and to purchase and operate an additional PM2.5 speciation sampler at the Downtown Los Angeles air monitoring station to allow for a comparison of speciated samples between the AQMD laboratory and a designated national laboratory. This augmentation substantially added to the fine particulate data which will help in the characterization of air quality conditions and health impacts.

National Air Toxics Monitoring Program
Pursuant to the U.S. EPA's solicitation for pilot demonstration projects under the National Air Toxics Monitoring Program - Community Assessments - Request for Applications (OAR-EMAD-03-08, Amendment 002), AQMD submitted a proposal to U.S. EPA to conduct a comprehensive community assessment program that would enhance MATES III, currently underway. The proposed project will consist of community studies to identify how emissions from industrial and transportation sources are dispersed into the surrounding community. These measurements will, in part, also address community exposure and risk issues within the Basin and assess model performance, as well as complement the MATES III regional exposure study.

U.S. EPA has notified AQMD that the submitted proposal will be funded under a U.S. EPA Section 103 grant at $495,242. The final award is pending.

Proposal

PAMS Program
U.S. EPA has advised AQMD staff that the PAMS program will be funded at $1,247,903, the same as the previous year. PAMS 12^th year funds for federal fiscal years (FFY) 2003-04 were awarded earlier this year and those funds covered expenditures and encumbrances incurred in FY 2003-04. Since the federal fiscal year ends in September, there will be unspent funds of $120,000 that staff is recommending be carried into FY 2004-05 to cover salaries and employee benefit expenditures and service and supplies expenditures during the last three months of the federal fiscal year (July, August and September) in Science & Technology Advancement and Planning, Rule Development & Area Sources.

The proposed allocation of the 13^th year PAMS funds is provided in Attachment 1. In addition to on-going support of the federal PAMS program, $45,000 of the 13th year PAMS funds are proposed for allocation to support MATES-III. The use of the PAMS funds to support projects that are important nationally as well as locally, but not necessarily directly PAMS related, has been discussed with U.S. EPA. Since this use of the PAMS funds for MATES III supports a project of significant importance both to the AQMD and the U.S. EPA, and the funds allocated to PAMS support will assure adequate data capture, the U.S. EPA concurs with this use of the PAMS funds.

The final award is pending.

PM2.5 Program
AQMD will be awarded U.S. EPA Section 103 Grant funds in the amount of $591,208 to continue support of the PM2.5 monitoring network. This action is to recognize and appropriate these funds to the Science & Technology Advancement FY 2004-05 Budget for the PM2.5 program and allocate those funds as set forth in Attachment 2. This allocation has been discussed with and accepted by U.S. EPA.

National Air Toxics Monitoring Program
As discussed earlier, the AQMD will receive a Section 103 grant award to conduct additional air toxics monitoring to complement MATES III. The U.S. EPA indicated that the award is pending and expects to fund the project as early as this month. This action is to recognize $495,242 and appropriate these funds to FY 2004-05 Budget and allocate these funds as set forth in Attachment 3.

Resource Impacts

U.S. EPA funding will support the 13^th year operation of the PAMS program and will further provide for equipment, temporary services, supplies and services, necessary to meet the objectives of the program.

The proposed funding levels will be provided by the U.S. EPA Section 103 grant to support the continuation of the PM2.5 Program and to conduct air toxics monitoring to complement MATES-III.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Proposed PAMS 13th Year Expenditure
Attachment 2 - Proposed PM2.5 Expenditure
Attachment 3 - Proposed National Air Toxics Monitoring Expenditure

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