BOARD MEETING DATE: January 4, 2008
AGENDA NO. 18

REPORT:

California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting

SYNOPSIS:

The California Air Resources Board met on December 6 and 7, 2007. The following is a summary of that meeting.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.

Ronald O. Loveridge, Member
SCAQMD Governing Board

The Air Resources Board’s (ARB or Board) December meeting was held in El Monte. Key items presented are summarized below.

ARB staff’s health update summarized recent studies examining the relationship between air pollution exposures and adverse effects on the brain. The results of these studies indicate that chronic exposure to air pollution may be associated with pre-inflammatory response in brain tissues. One set of studies, based on tissue samples from trauma victims in Mexico, found higher levels of inflammatory mediators in brains of residents of polluted areas compared to less polluted areas. A second study, conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California and the University of California at Irvine, examined the brains of laboratory mice exposed to fine and ultrafine particles and measured elevated levels of pro-inflammatory proteins. The findings from these studies indicate that the harmful effects from air pollution may be more far-reaching than previously recognized.

An increasing number of communities world-wide are implementing programs to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from municipal operations. ARB staff identified a number of examples of these programs – from the construction and operation of a 200 megaWatt fuel cell for community heat and power in Woking, Great Britain, to the nightly bathing of the Los Angeles City Hall in green light to raise climate change awareness. ARB staff is preparing a guidance document for consideration by the Board at its September 2008 meeting. The guidance document will include GHG emission and reduction estimation tools, climate action plan components, and examples of successful land use and transportation planning strategies.

The Board adopted a regulation to require the annual reporting of GHG emissions by the largest sources in California. Approximately 800 facilities statewide, producing 94 percent of all stationary source GHG emissions, will be initially included in the program. The number of reporting facilities will grow over time as protocols are developed for smaller emitters. Affected facilities will be required to commence annual reporting in 2009, and be in full compliance with verification requirements in 2010. Emissions generated outside the state by the production of electricity used within the state must be reported. Reported emissions will have to be certified by third party verifiers, which could include air districts and private contractors meeting accreditation criteria. Emission quantification and verification protocols will be consistent with those adopted by the California Climate Change Registry and other groups.

The Board approved a 1990 statewide GHG emission level of 427 million metric tones of carbon dioxide equivalent which under the terms of AB 32 (Nunez, 2006) becomes the 2020 target for statewide GHG emissions. The 1990 level is based on an extensive emission inventory originally compiled by the California Energy Commission, which was updated by ARB staff. The inventory was prepared in general conformance with international and national protocols. The 1990 GHG inventory is dominated by the transportation, electrical generation, and industrial sectors.

The Board amended the heavy-duty diesel truck in-use compliance regulation to establish measurement allowances for portable emissions monitoring systems used to certify compliance with the regulation’s emission standards. The allowances account for differences between engine dynamometer systems, historically used to measure emissions and set standards, and on-board monitoring systems, which are a new but much less costly approach to certifying compliance. The adopted measurement allowances were based on an intensive monitoring and statistical analysis program jointly funded by engine manufacturers and regulatory agencies.

The Board adopted regulations requiring the use of shore-based power by fleets whose ocean-going vessels make frequent calls to California ports. The regulations require the use of shore-based power for 50 percent of docked ships by 2014, and 80 percent by 2020. Power may be supplied from the grid or from portable generators maintaining emission limits achieved by natural gas engines. If shore power is made available at a port, all suitably equipped vessels must use it. Fleets are exempt from the regulation on a port-specific basis if their container ships log fewer than 25 visits to a single port, or fewer than 5 visits for passenger vessels. This regulation will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from ships at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles by 16.5 tons per day in 2014, and 30.8 tons per day in 2020.

The Board adopted a regulation requiring port trucks to comply with 2-tier standards for NOx and PM emissions at all ports and most railyards in California. By 2010, port truck engines will have to comply with 2004 – 2007 state and federal new emission standards, or be equipped with a 1994 or newer engines and level 3 PM control devices (85 percent control efficiency). By 2014, all port truck engines will be required to comply with 2007 or later state and federal engine standards. These standards will also apply to trucks hauling from all major railyards within 80 miles of a port.

ARB staff presented recommendations to the Board on proposed nonattainment areas for the revised federal PM2.5 24-hour standard. On December 18, 2006, U.S. EPA revised the 24-hour standard from 65 µg/m³ to 35 µg/m³ and required states to recommend nonattainment area boundaries by December 18, 2007. The recommended nonattainment areas include all of the South Coast, San Joaquin Valley, and San Francisco Bay Air Basins, the County of Sacramento, and the urbanized areas of Calexico, Marysville/Yuba City, and Chico. U.S. EPA is expected to publish its final designations, based on air monitoring data recorded between 2005 and 2007, in December, 2008. The deadline for submitting state implementation plans demonstrating attainment of the new standard to U.S. EPA is April, 2012.

Attachment (DOC 74kb)

CARB December 6 & 7, 2007 Meeting Agenda