BOARD MEETING DATE: May 6, 2005
AGENDA NO. 41
Approve Request for Additional Resources to Conduct MATES-III Monitoring for Additional Year
SYNOPSIS:
The Board has allocated funds to conduct the Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study (MATES-III) for an 18 month period which includes a one year air toxics monitoring element slated to end in April 2005. Due to the unusually high levels of rainfall this winter, air toxics monitoring data collected to-date indicate a much cleaner year than normal. As such, staff believes that extending the MATES-III air toxics monitoring element by an additional year will provide valuable information regarding the variation in air toxics levels from year to year and an indication of what current levels are in a more normal meteorological year. To conduct the additional year of measurements, staff has identified additional resource needs including retaining temporary staff services and extending external studies to better quantify diesel emission contributions. This action is to request the Board's approval for $835,000 from the Clean Fuels Fund to conduct the additional year of measurements.
COMMITTEE:
Technology, April 22, 2005, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Transfer $835,000 from the Clean Fuels Fund to the FY 2005-06 (upon approval by the Board of the FY 2005-06 Budget) Science and Technology Advancement Budget as set forth in Attachment 1 of this letter.
Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer
Background
In February 2004, the Board approved a budget to conduct a third Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study (MATES-III). MATES-III field measurements were to be conducted over a one-year period at ten fixed sites (the same sites selected for MATES-II) to show the trend in air toxic levels. In addition, shorter-term measurements were conducted at various locations to assess localized impacts. The field measurements began in April 2004 at the ten sites and air toxics data has been collected on a one-in-three day basis. The field measurement at the ten sites was slated to end in April 2005. Typically, the highest air toxics levels are measured during the fall and winter seasons as seen in MATES-II. However, due to the unusual meteorological conditions this winter resulting in the second highest annual rainfall recorded, most of the field measurements collected this winter are near zero or unusually low in concentration. As such, staff believes that extending MATES-III for an additional year of field measurements to the end of March 2006 will provide valuable information in characterizing current air toxic levels under more normal meteorological conditions and will provide an understanding of the variability in air toxic levels from year to year. Staff is requesting additional funds from the Clean Fuels Program in order to complete the additional field measurements.
Proposal
Staff is requesting the Board’s approval to retain temporary staff to conduct field sampling and laboratory analysis, purchase laboratory supplies, and cover maintenance of laboratory and field equipment for the extension of the field measurement element of MATES-III to the end of March 2006. In addition, staff is requesting the Board to extend an existing Board-approved contract with Desert Research Institute (DRI) to analyze the additional field samples of particulate matter to determine if diesel emission contributions could be quantified. Should the Board approve staff’s request for the additional funding, staff will bring to the Board at a future meeting a recommendation to extend the analysis based on results reported from DRI for the first year set of particulate matter samples analyzed.
A list of the funding requests is shown in Attachment 1 to this letter. The total cost to conduct the additional field measurements is estimated to be $835,000. Staff estimates that there are sufficient funds in the existing FY 2004-05 Budget to cover the first three months of the extended measurement program (to the end of June 2005). The estimated $835,000 needed to complete the field measurements would cover the remaining nine months of the program. As such, staff recommends that the Board approve the additional funds from the Clean Fuels Fund to Science and Technology Advancement’s FY 2005-06 Budget as provided in Attachment 1 upon the Board’s approval of the AQMD’s overall FY 2005-06 Budget.
Resource Impacts and Justification
Staff is requesting that a total of $835,000 from the Clean Fuels Fund be used to cover the cost of the additional resources shown in Attachment 1. Section 40448.5(e) of the California Health and Safety Code provides that "when considering which clean fuels projects to promote, the south coast district shall consider, among other factors … potential effects on public health, ambient air quality, visibility within the region, and other factors determined to be relevant by the south coast district." MATES III will help establish an emissions baseline for mobile sources, from which the benefits of clean fuel programs can be calculated.
Results from MATES-II indicate that mobile sources contribute over 85 percent of the potential cancer risk from air toxics in the South Coast Air Basin. A significant percentage of the mobile source contributions are estimated to be from diesel combustion sources. The activities paid for by these funds are all related to mobile sources. A significant portion of the funding request will go towards the analysis of field samples of particulate matter to help quantify diesel emission contributions to ambient air toxic levels. The remaining requested funds will be used to conduct the core MATES-III sampling and analysis of which over 80 percent is related to mobile sources.
MATES-III will provide an update on the impact of mobile emission sources on air toxic exposure. The study will provide additional information for the staff to promote clean fuel projects that will advance the commercialization of mobile source emissions control technologies.
Attachment 1 – Proposed Funding for the Extension of the MATES-III Field Measurement Program
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