BOARD MEETING DATE: October 7, 2005
AGENDA NO. 22

Mobile Source Committee

SYNOPSIS:

The Mobile Source Committee met Friday, September 23, 2005.
Following is a summary of that meeting.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.

Jane Carney, Chair
Mobile Source Committee

Attendance

The meeting started at 9:02 a.m. Present: Committee Chair Jane Carney, Committee Vice-Chair Roy Wilson (via videoconference), Committee Members Jan Perry (via videoconference), Ron Loveridge, Jim Silva and Gary Ovitt.

ACTION ITEMS:
 

1)

Issue Program Announcement for Production of Electric Lawn Mowers for AQMD’s Lawn Mower Incentive Program. Shashi Singeetham, Air Quality Specialist, gave a presentation on the release of the Program Announcement, PA2006-08. Report elements included: Summary of 2005 Lawn Mower Exchange event including pictorials of one of the events, proposed 2006 events, purpose of the Program Announcement, and the proposal requirements. There was a brief discussion about the usage of the units by commercial gardeners. Staff responded that they would further explore the possibilities of commercial use. Committee Member Ron Loveridge moved to recommend approval of this action item to the Governing Board and Committee Vice Chair Wilson seconded. The motion was passed unanimously.

INFORMATION ITEMS:
 

2)	Summary of Key Issues for PR3503 – Emissions Inventory and Health Risk Assessment for Railyards Susan Nakamura, Planning and Rules Manager, provided an update of Proposed Rule 3503. Proposed Rule 3503 will require Class I railroads and switching and terminal railroads to develop emissions inventories and a health risk assessment for 19 freight railyards in the Basin. The rule will also require that the railroads conduct public notifications if their health risk from the railyard exceeds a specified risk level. The AQMD staff had conducted a cost analysis and had estimated the average annual cost of implementing Proposed Rule 3503 to be $4.53 million per year from 2006 through 2020, with 84 percent of the cost attributed to the public notification cost. AQMD staff highlighted key issues the railroads have commented on: whether PR 3503 should be exempt from CEQA, the AQMD’s legal authority to adopt and implement PR 3503, the schedule for emissions inventories and health risk assessments, the HRA methodology, and whether PR 3503 duplicates requirements in the 2005 Railroad MOU with CARB.
3)	Discussion of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Technologies Dr. Chung Liu, DEO of Science and Technology Advancement, made a presentation at the request of Mayor Loveridge on the status of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Dr. Liu discussed the current hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) offered for sale, their increasing popularity, and the automobile manufacturers' comments to produce even more in the near future. Dr. Liu also discussed the technology and the difference between current hybrids, electric vehicles, and the plug-in hybrid concept. Descriptions of the current projects funded by the TAO were presented for both the heavy-duty and light-duty sectors. Finally, the challenges facing the agency in engaging the major automakers were presented with several proposed directions for implementing plug-in hybrid technology on a larger scale.
4)	Report on CARB’s Action on the State’s Proposed Fleet Rules for the South Coast Staff provided a brief summary of the CARB Board actions on the state proposed fleet rules for the South Coast district. On September 15, 2005, the CARB Board considered adoption of three proposed fleet rules that would apply in the South Coast district. The three fleet rule proposals cover school buses, urban transit buses, and solid waste collection vehicles. The CARB Board adopted their staff proposal for urban transit buses. However, the CARB Board did not adopt proposals for school buses or solid waste collection vehicles. The CARB Board did adopt a resolution supporting AQMD’s authority to adopt fleet rules as allowed under state law and the implementation of the adopted fleet rules as allowed under the recent U.S. District Court decision. Barbara Baird – Principal Deputy District Counsel, indicated that the U.S. District Court gave a decision on the current case on September 21, 2005, denying plaintiffs’ motion to enter judgment holding the rule invalid as applied to fleets operated by private and federal government entities. This ruling leaves open the opportunity for AQMD to argue that the rules may be enforced as against private companies under contract to state and local governments, or carrying out essential governmental functions, such as trash collection. Relative to the Urban Transit Bus Rule, the CARB Board approved placing six transit agencies operating in the South Coast district on the "alternative fuel" path. Prior to this action, these six agencies were under the "diesel" path; all other transit agencies in the District were already on the alternative fuel path. CARB Board’s adoption is consistent with AQMD Rule 1192 – Clean On-Road Transit Buses, which requires all transit agencies to purchase alternative fueled transit buses where feasible. The six transit agencies have been complying with Rule 1192 and are planning to purchase gasoline hybrid or compressed natural gas transit buses. Staff reported that a significant number of comments were provided on the school bus proposal. The issue of cost to school districts was raised given the limited financial resources available to school districts. Staff indicated that AQMD funding programs for cleaner school buses have provided opportunities to replace older diesel school buses much earlier. Mayor Loveridge commented that much of the cost concerns are with school districts having only a small number of natural gas buses. School districts that have a larger number of natural gas school buses are more able to save with the use of natural gas buses. He asked staff to investigate the possibility of awarding a larger number of school buses to a smaller number of school districts and what effect that may have. Staff indicated that this could be analyzed and then discussed at a future Committee meeting.
5)	CARB Response to AQMD Request for AB 2766 Guideline Clarification Staff presented this item as a follow-up to ongoing discussions by the Mobile Source Committee that have focused on the need to continuously raise the effectiveness of AB 2766 program expenditures by local governments. Over the past few years, staff has sent correspondence to CARB urging the modification of their 1998 Criteria and Guidelines for the Use of Motor Vehicle Registration Fees in order to highlight the program’s budgetary decision-making to the attention of local Councils of Government and Board of Supervisor members. Staff’s September 2004 correspondence to CARB requested that they expand their guidelines to 1) require specific approval of AB 2766 expenditures by City Council/Board of Supervisors; and 2) maximize investments in projects with quantifiable emission reductions. A copy of the letter, CARB’s Criteria and Guidelines, as well as CARB’s September 2005 response to AQMD was provided to the committee members. CARB’s response letter indicated that they believe that their Guidelines already address AQMD’s request. Staff’s comments and committee member discussion of this item reflected that the language in CARB’s guidelines do not address the concerns raised by AQMD. Committee member discussion concluded in further direction to staff to outline alternative actions that could heighten the program’s fund disbursements and project selection process to the attention of City Council and Board of Supervisors for specific review and action. Staff will report back to the Mobile Source Committee.

The meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m.

Attachment

Attendance Roster
 
 

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