BOARD MEETING DATE: June 1, 2007
AGENDA NO. 7

PROPOSAL:

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Recognize $150,000 from the California Air Resources Board and authorize the Chairman to enter into agreement to receive $150,000 from CARB to partially fund the HEROS program database development.
2. Upon receipt, place CARB’s $150,000 into the Carl Moyer Fund, AB 923 account to be used toward the administrative costs of the HEROS program.
3. Authorize the Chairman to amend the contract with FCCC to reflect the reduction in AQMD funding by $150,000 and the addition of $150,000 in CARB funding for Database development.
4.  Authorize the Chairman to amend the contract with Environmental Systems Products to apply $150,000 from the Carl Moyer Fund, AB 923 account to fund a third remote sensing device team to expand remote sensing device monitoring and improve high emitter vehicle identification.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The AQMD has a long history of implementing programs to reduce mobile source related emissions, including programs that encourage the use of low-emission vehicles for purposes of achieving state and federal ambient air quality standards. The Board has adopted several programs to reduce emissions from on-road and off-road vehicles, as well as emissions from other equipment, including the School Bus Incentive Program and the Carl Moyer Program.

On September 23, 2004, the Governor signed AB 923 (Firebaugh) which resulted in a significant increase in funding for programs that achieve emission reductions from vehicular sources and off-road engines. At its February 2005 meeting, the Board established the AB 923 special revenue account under the Carl Moyer Fund to receive and administer funds authorized under provisions of AB 923. The Board also approved the allocation of $4 million for the first-of-its-kind light-duty vehicle high emitter repair or scrap (HEROS) pilot program under AB 923. In the HEROS program, remote sensing technology is used to measure the on-road emissions of light and medium duty vehicles to identify the highest emitting vehicles in the fleet. The owners of these high emitting vehicles will be encouraged to voluntarily participate in the program through incentives such as free emissions testing and repairs or incentive monies to retire their vehicle.

Approximately 3 million vehicles will pass the remote sensing equipment and have their emissions measured. Emissions measurements and other vehicle information such as vehicle type, age, make, etc., will need to be recorded and stored in a database as well as analyzed to determine emission reduction benefits associated with the repair and retirement of up to 6,000 vehicles. CARB requires detailed and accurate information to be documented and stored for each vehicle measured, repaired, and retired which can only be efficiently accomplished through the development of a database specifically for this first-of-its-kind program. The database development to store and manage the large amount of information will be performed by the Foundation for California Community Colleges through a sole source contract that was approved by the Governing Board on September 9, 2005 at an estimated cost of $300,000. CARB has offered $150,000 to provide half of the costs of developing the HEROS program database since it is expected that the database will prove useful to other districts in the state who might want to run a similar program.

Proposal

Staff is requesting that the Board enter into an agreement with CARB to receive $150,000 to fund half of the development costs for the database developed to track the necessary information to implement and operate the HEROS program and to place these funds into the Carl Moyer AB923 account. In return for the funding, CARB will receive a copy of the database and associated documentation for possible use by other districts throughout the state. CARB hopes to avoid duplication of this effort by other districts if they choose to pursue similar programs.

Staff also requests Board approval to allocate $150,000 from the Carl Moyer AB 923 account to fund a third remote sensing team through the contract award to Environmental System Products Holdings, Inc. (ESP) to expand high emitter vehicle monitoring capability and identification.

Benefits to AQMD

As emission contributions from stationary sources become a smaller component of California’s emissions inventory, the focus has been primarily directed at mobile source emissions. Mobile source emissions represent a major category of the emissions of both ozone and fine particulate matter forming pollutants and studies show that at least half of the ozone forming emissions from the light duty fleet is from the highest emitting 10% of the fleet. The HEROS program will demonstrate that ensuring that this portion of the fleet is repaired or retired is a very efficient and cost effective method to significantly reduce emissions in the South Coast Air Basin, assisting in attaining the air quality standards. The additional monies from CARB will aid in developing the database necessary to accurately track and document the emission reductions achieved by the HEROS program and the additional remote sensing device team will allow greater monitoring and identification of high emitting vehicles operating within the AQMD.

Resource Impacts

The $150,000 provided by CARB for database development by FCCC and the $150,000 applied to a third Remote Sensing Device monitoring team under contract with ESP will offset one another and result in a no net cost increase associated with the AQMD’s Carl Moyer AB 923 program.