BOARD MEETING DATE: March 2, 2006
AGENDA NO. 9

Approve Expenditures and Appropriate Funds Designated for Enhanced Compliance Activities to the FY 2006-07 AQMD Budget

SYNOPSIS:

As part of the FY 2006-07 AQMD Budget, a designation was included in the amount of $291,061 for enhanced compliance activities.  AQMD staff has prepared a proposal for the Board’s consideration and approval that would use a portion of these funds to remedy current equipment deficiencies.   This action is to request Board approval to authorize expenditure of $130,125 from this designation to acquire the necessary testing and safety-related monitoring equipment for field compliance staff.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, February 9, 2007, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

1. Approve the recommended expenditures itemized in Exhibit A.
2. Appropriate $130,125 from the General Fund, Designated for Enhanced Compliance Activities, to Engineering and Compliance’s FY 2006-07 budget as follows:  Capital Outlays Major Object, $95,500; Services and Supplies Major Object, Small Tools/Equipment account, $34,625.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

As part of the FY 2006-07 AQMD Budget, the Board approved $291,061 Designated for Enhanced Compliance Activities to augment existing resources as needed to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the field compliance program.

AQMD staff recently compiled a list of equipment resources that would be required to meet current program requirements and enhance compliance activities. A subsequent comparison of the list to existing equipment inventories identified a number of deficiencies that, left unchecked, could hinder staff’s ability to meet current and future commitments.

As a result of this review, staff has prepared a proposal for the Board’s consideration and approval that would remedy the identified equipment deficiencies and provide adequate resources to meet the current demands of the field compliance program.  

Proposal

Staff seeks the Board’s approval to appropriate $130,125 for the purchase of the following:

• Personal monitoring devices for the Refinery Compliance Team are needed to identify possible exposures to benzene and H₂S and to verify that workspace O₂ concentrations at refineries and related facilities fall within acceptable safety limits.  The total cost for these monitoring devices (8 benzene and 5 H₂S monitors) are expected to be about $17,250.
   
• Safety harnesses for Refinery and Energy inspectors to guard against accidental falls while conducting inspections from elevated platforms (man lifts) and to provide a means of extracting personnel in the event of an emergency while performing aboveground tank inspections at refineries and storage tank terminals.  The total cost of these devices (8 safety harnesses) is anticipated to be about $1,400.
   
• Various equipment is needed for the Service Station Compliance Team to conduct comprehensive testing of gasoline dispensing facility (GDF) vapor recovery systems.  With the introduction by CARB of periodic performance testing requirements to identify potential system defects and ensure the proper operation of the vapor control system, compliance determinations at GDF sources have demanded ever-increasing AQMD resources.  Over time, the test procedures and equipment needed to test these vapor control systems have changed as control technologies have continued to evolve. Most recently, CARB has mandated the installation of enhanced vapor recovery and in-station diagnostic (ISD) systems that are designed to further ensure the proper operation of these control systems in collecting and storing gasoline vapors. The introduction of these new technologies places additional responsibilities on compliance staff, due to the comprehensive testing that is required to fully assess the effectiveness of these vapor recovery systems.  At present, existing equipment resources are inadequate to conduct the required testing. In addition to the need for new testing equipment, an oversized truck is needed to accommodate the bulkier and heavier equipment required for these new tasks.  The total cost of all of these items is expected to be around $65,975.
   
• Global positioning system (GPS) units to be used by the Toxics Compliance Team in conjunction with existing analyzers to map for follow-up reinspections at the locations of excessive emission readings observed at the surface of landfills.  The total cost of these items is about $10,500.
   
• A field portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) system for the Area Sources Team to provide rapid, on-site metal contaminant measurement.  This instrument would allow field inspectors to quickly analyze arsenic content of waste grape stakes to help prevent non-compliant disposal through open burning.  The cost of this equipment is about $35,000.

Resource Impacts

The total cost of this action is estimated at $130,125, which will be appropriated from the Designated Fund for Enhanced Compliance Activities.

Attachment

Exhibit A – Recommendations to Acquire Monitoring & Safety-Related Equipment  

Exhibit A
Recommendations to Acquire Monitoring & Safety-Related Equipment