BOARD MEETING DATE: April 1, 2005
AGENDA NO. 27

Annual Report on AB 2588 Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Program

SYNOPSIS:

The Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987 requires local air pollution districts to prepare an annual report. Highlights for last year include: (1) prioritization of over 600 facilities and subsequently requiring 47 of the facilities to prepare HRAs; (2) maintaining back-log-free HRA evaluation; (3) development of an expanded program to allow greater public access to the AB2588 database; (4) community outreach on HRA evaluation and responding to community concerns; (5) development of toxic emissions and preliminary risk assessments from retail gasoline stations in support of rule implementation and the state Community Health Air Pollution Information System (CHAPIS) program; and (6) development of a 2002 toxics inventory for point sources in the SCAQMD. The inventory will be used for MATES-III and will be available to CARB for their CHAPIS web site.

COMMITTEE:

Stationary Source, March 25, 2005, Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

Under the requirements of the California Air Toxic "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987 (AB 2588), the AQMD approves facility emission inventories, determines which facilities must prepare HRAs and ensures that HRAs are prepared according to state and AQMD guidelines; and, when needed, conducts public notification meetings or announcements and requires risk reduction. An additional requirement of the Act is for local air districts to provide an annual report of risk assessments and air toxics rulemaking.

Accomplishments

The attached report provides a summary of major program activities during the calendar years 2003 and 2004 and anticipated activities during 2005. To date, SCAQMD staff has reviewed nearly 300 facility HRAs and has eliminated the HRA back-log. Twenty facilities were required to reduce risks per Rule 1402 and eighteen of them have fully implemented their risk reduction plans with residual risks generally much below the Rule 1402 action risk levels. During this reporting period, staff has prioritized over 600 facilities and has initiated the HRA process for 47 facilities.

In 2004, an AB 2588 web site was developed which (1) describes key components of the program, (2) provides numerous resources associated with the program, (3) lists risks from facilities in the program, and (4) updates facility risk reduction efforts. In support of the CARB Community Health Air Pollution Information System (or CHAPIS) and in response to various Environmental Justice Initiatives, staff has (1) developed a 2002 point source inventory, which will be used in the air quality modeling for MATES-III and the 2006 Air Quality Management Plan and (2) developed a VOC inventory for retail gasoline service stations in the SCAQMD.

Future Activities

Over the upcoming year, the staff plans to:

• Prioritize 289 facility toxic inventories;
• Review and approve the inventories and HRAs for the 47 facilities recently required to prepare risk assessments;
• Seek Board approval for industry-wide notification procedures for retail gasoline service stations and perchloroethylene dry cleaners;
• Launch a web-based tool for displaying criteria and toxic emissions from facilities in the Annual Emission Reporting and AB 2588 programs;
• Support CARB’s CHAPIS web site by providing the 2003 point source inventory of criteria and toxic emissions and by providing an inventory of perchloroethylene dry cleaners;
• Develop a work plan and initiate the incorporation of diesel particulate into the AB 2588 program; and
• Provide risk assessment assistance for permit applications, CEQA projects, and other special studies (e.g., MATES-III).

The annual report will be distributed to county boards of supervisors, city councils, and local health officers and will also be available on the AB 2588 web site.

Attachment

Annual Report on AB 2588 Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Program

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