BOARD MEETING DATE: November 7, 2008
AGENDA NO. 33

REPORT:

California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting

SYNOPSIS:

The California Air Resources Board met on October 23, 2008.
The following is a summary of this meeting.
 

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

Receive and file.
 

Ronald O. Loveridge, Member
SCAQMD Governing Board

Background

The Air Resources Board’s (ARB or Board) October meeting was held in Sacramento. Key meeting items are summarized below.

1.  Health Update on The Effect of Prenatal and Early Childhood Exposure to Air Pollution on Lung Function in Asthmatic Children

ARB staff presented the findings of a recent exploratory study in which researchers found a positive association between prenatal and early childhood exposure to three air pollutants and reduced lung function among asthmatic children living in Fresno. The pollutants studied were nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM10), and carbon monoxide. Although these results suggest that prenatal and early childhood exposure to air pollution can damage health, the findings must be confirmed by further research.
 

2.  Appointments to the Expanded Research Screening Committee

The Board approved the appointments of Dr. Suzanne Paulson and Dr. Matthew Kahn to the Research Screening Committee. Assembly Bill 2991 (Nunez, 2008) requires the expansion of the Committee from nine to eleven members, and requires that at least two members have demonstrated climate change experience. Dr. Kahn’s expertise and research focus is environmental and urban economics, and Dr. Paulson’s is atmospheric chemistry and the measurement of aerosols. Both are on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles.
 

3. Update on 2008 Air Quality Legislation

ARB staff presented a summary of air quality legislation considered during the second year of the 2007-2008 Legislative Session. Some of the more significant legislation signed into law that support ARB’s mission include:

• SB 375 (Steinberg) – requires ARB to adopt regional transportation targets for 2020 and 2035 and incentivizing the coordination of greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and transportation planning,
• SB 372 (Steinberg) – creates a Strategic Growth Council and providing $180M for planning and development of sustainable communities,
• AB 1338 (Budget Trailer Bill) – permits loans to be granted from Proposition 1B funds, allocating $48M to augment AB 118 for port and small fleet trucks, and requiring an annual GHG reduction report card,
• AB 1879 (Feuer) and SB 509 (Simitian) – creates a toxic risk reduction program for consumer products, and
• AB 2522 (Arambula) – authorizes motor vehicle registration surcharges of up to $30 in support of air quality improvement, and
• SB 1646 (Padilla) – extends indefinitely the South Coast AQMD authorization to collect a $1 vehicle registration fee in support of motor vehicle clean fuel programs.

Issues that were not resolved in this Legislative Session, but which may be revisited next year include port container fees, annual smog check for older vehicles, and climate change implementation issues, including the 33 percent renewable portfolio standard. At the federal level, climate change legislation is expected to rise in priority with the change in administrations.

4. Status Report on AB 32 Implementation and the Scoping Plan
 

ARB staff presented an update on the implementation of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Adoption of early action measures continues, and work on the Scoping Plan is nearing completion. The Draft Scoping Plan was released last June, accompanied by workshops and meetings that generated substantial comment. The Proposed Scoping Plan, released on October 15, will be the subject of a public hearing in November, and will be considered by the Board for adoption at its December meeting.

The Proposed Plan includes a mix of command-and-control regulations and market-based trading mechanisms. As proposed, the Plan recommends that all industrial, transportation fuel, electrical generation, and natural gas-fueled emission sectors be included in a cap-and-trade system that would be linked to that of the Western Climate Initiative, a coalition of eleven Western states and Canadian provinces. These source sectors account for 85 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California. Emission sectors outside the cap, that would be directly regulated, include agriculture, high global warming potential gases, and recycling and waste sectors. The overall goal of the Plan is to reduce greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
 

5. Report on Environmental Protection Indicators for California Project: Indicators of Climate Change in California

Staff of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) presented the findings of an upcoming report from the Environmental Protection Indicators for California Project. The Project, led by OEHHA, is responsible for developing and maintaining a set of indicators that track environmental conditions over time. The upcoming report will focus on a set of indicators that describe climate change and its impacts on the State. The 25 indicators covered in the report include climate, water cycle, and species population and range trends, among others. As more data become available, OEHHA expects to develop indicators relative to public health and mortality trends related to climate change, together with indicators that assess the impacts of climate change on environmental justice communities.
 

6. Status Report on the State Implementation Plan for the Sacramento 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area

ARB staff gave the Board an update on the status of State Implementation Plan development for the Sacramento 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. With the implementation of the adopted off-road equipment and proposed on-road truck regulations, the Sacramento region is projected to attain the 8-hour ozone standard by its 2018 attainment deadline. The hearing on the Sacramento SIP is tentatively scheduled for March 2009.
 

Attachment (DOC, 66k)

CARB October 23, 2008 Meeting Agenda