BOARD MEETING DATE: March 2, 2007
AGENDA NO. 24

Mobile Source Committee

SYNOPSIS:

The Mobile Source Committee met Friday, February 23, 2007.
Following is a summary of that meeting.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file the attached report.

Ronald O. Loveridge, Chair
Mobile Source Committee

Attendance

The meeting started at 9:09 a.m.  Present were Committee Chair Ronald Loveridge, and Committee Members Jane Carney and Gary Ovitt.  Committee Member Jan Perry participated by video teleconference.  The following items were presented:

INFORMATION ITEMS:

1)        Report on Draft Final 2007 AQMP

Dr. Laki Tisopulos, Assistant Deputy Executive Officer with the Office of Planning, Rule Development and Area Sources gave the staff presentation.  Staff is in the process of finalizing revisions to the Draft 2007 AQMP.  The revisions will incorporate the portion of the State’s Mobile Source Strategy applicable to the Basin released on January 31, revisions to the attainment strategy, emissions inventory and emission reductions, updated air quality model simulations and revised control measures, as well as responses and revisions reflecting public comments received.  Revised documents are expected to be released by early March.  Staff’s intent is to release a combined PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone attainment strategy. 

With the mobile source control measures proposed by District staff to supplement the CARB’s control strategy, the revised plan is able to demonstrate attainment with the federal PM2.5 standard by 2015.  The AQMP also demonstrates attainment with the federal 8-hour ozone standard by 2023 but must rely on the use of 182(e)(5) or the so called “black box” measures.  As a result, the revised draft 2007 AQMP will include a chapter that formally requests U.S. EPA to bump up the non-attainment classification of the Basin from severe-17 to extreme non-attainment.  The revised attainment strategy and most recent modeling demonstrations indicate that the Coachella Valley, an area with a “serious” non-attainment status and is predominantly impacted by transport from the Basin, will also need additional time beyond 2013 to attain the federal standard.  As a result, the revised draft will be requesting U.S. EPA to bump up the Coachella Valley portion of the Salton Sea Air Basin from “serious” to “severe-17” and extend its attainment date by five years to 2018.  The size of the “black box” for the Basin is estimated at 28 tons per day for VOCs and 179 tons per day for NOx emissions. 

The revised AQMP will also re-establish conformity budgets for the one-hour ozone standard, in addition to the PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone standards.  Significant reductions in all pollutants are needed to demonstrate compliance with the federal PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone standards.  For example, by 2014, NOx, VOC, SOx and PM2.5 emissions will have to be reduced by 31%, 11%, 57%, and 14%, respectively, beyond what is anticipated by the already adopted rules and regulations in order to attain the federal PM2.5 standard.  By 2023, NOx and VOC emissions will have to be reduced by an additional 76% and 22%, respectively, beyond the baseline emissions, in order to attain the federal 8-hour ozone standard.   While the proposed 2007 AQMP relies on a NOx-heavy strategy to demonstrate attainment with the PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone standard, as part of the CEQA analysis, staff will evaluate alternative attainment scenarios that rely more heavily on VOC reductions as well.

Dr.Tisopulos briefly summarized CARB’s control strategy as well as the control measures proposed by District staff to supplement CARB measures.  He also indicated CARB’s desire to bifurcate the submittal of the 8-hour ozone attainment plan which is due to U.S. EPA by June 2007 from the PM2.5 attainment plan, which is due to U.S. EPA by April 2008.  District staff strongly opposes the bifurcation since the two attainment strategies are intertwined and a delay in the submittal of the PM2.5 attainment strategy will result in the loss of precious time by inevitably delaying the adoption and implementation of many of the mobile source control measures which heavily rely on fleet turnover and retrofits.  Reaching the fleet turnover rates necessary to demonstrate attainment by 2015 is already challenging and any further delays in the implementation of the mobile source strategy will further exacerbate the problem condemning Southern Californians to unhealthful air beyond 2015.  The control strategy included in the revised AQMP attributes 2% of the NOx reduction commitments and 16% of the VOC reduction commitments by 2023 to the District while the remainder is attributed to CARB and U.S. EPA.

2)        Rule 2202 Activity Report

            Written report submitted.  No comments.

3)        Monthly Report on Environmental Justice Initiatives – CEQA Document
           Commenting Update.

Written report submitted.  No comments.

4)        Report on Scientific, Technical & Modeling Peer Review Group

            Written report submitted.  No comments.

5)        Other Business

Committee Member Jane Carney asked that an item regarding an overview of plug-in hybrid technology be placed on the agenda at a future Mobile Source Committee meeting.

6)       Public Comment

None.

The meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m.

Attachment

Attendance Roster

SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
MOBILE SOURCE COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
ATTENDANCE ROSTER