BOARD MEETING DATE: October 3, 2008
AGENDA NO. 9

PROPOSAL:

Execute Contract to Fund Air Quality and Public Health Related Project from Valero Penalty/Settlement

SYNOPSIS:

On April 4, 2008, the Board authorized release of an RFP to seek projects for funding consideration in the areas of air quality mitigation, public health education, and public health treatment in communities within a 10-mile radius of the Valero Wilmington Refinery. Seven proposals were received and reviewed. This action is to execute a contract with IQAIR North America in an amount not to exceed $1.125 million for providing air filtration devices to schools in the Long Beach School District and Los Angeles Unified School District impacted by the refinery and other diesel-combustion sources.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, September 12, 2008, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Appropriate $1.125 million from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Science and Technology Advancement FY 2008-09 Budget, Services and Supplies Major Object, Professional and Special Services Account.
2. Authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with IQAIR North America for the design, installation and monitoring of high-efficiency air filtration technologies for indoor building air space at schools in the Long Beach and Los Angeles Unified School Districts, in an amount not to exceed $1.125 million.
    

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

AQMD recently collected liquidated damages from Valero Wilmington Refinery for breach of a Memorandum of Understanding agreement totaling $1.125 million. The Valero refinery is located in a highly-impacted area surrounded by low-income communities of color, who suffer health effects from poor air quality and localized exposure to air toxics. RFP #2008-21 was issued to seek projects for funding consideration in the areas of air quality mitigation, public health education, and public health treatment in communities within a 10-mile radius of the Valero Wilmington Refinery.
 

Proposal

Seven proposals were received in response to the RFP, with one based on air purification technology, four for providing health services, and two for outreach and education. They were reviewed and scored by a panel of three subject experts. Staff is recommending for funding, the highest scored proposal.

As provided in Attachment 1, IQAIR is the highest ranked proposal. IQAIR is proposing to provide high efficiency HVAC filters and other stand-alone filtration devices to eight schools in the West Long Beach area. However, the applicant did not propose to deploy filters at any of the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District that are located near the Valero facility. While the schools proposed by IQAIR to receive the air filtration technologies are bounded by the 405 freeway on the north, the 710 freeway on the east, Highway 1 on the south, and the Terminal Island freeway on the west, staff believes that several schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District are also within a 10-mile radius of the Wilmington refinery and have similar air quality impacts. As such, staff is recommending that the Board award a contract to IQAIR to deploy filters and stand-alone filtration devices at a cost not to exceed $1.125 million. In addition, staff will work with the Long Beach Unified School District and Los Angeles Unified School District to identify those schools which are most impacted by the refinery and other diesel-combustion sources and develop a work plan for deployment. Staff will develop the work plan within 90 days and provide the work plan to the Stationary Source Committee for review prior to deployment of the filters.

IQAIR is a leading manufacturer of high efficiency air filtration units, with expertise in finding advanced air cleaning solutions for a variety of applications, including clean rooms, hospitals and schools. Given IQAIR’s past experience and expertise in air filtration technologies, they were selected by AQMD in the past for a pilot study investigating the effectiveness of different air cleaning approaches in classrooms at three elementary schools. The study is ongoing. However, preliminary results indicate that low-cost, high-efficiency HVAC filters are very effective in removing particulates. IQAIR is proposing to provide these filters for those classrooms that have existing HVAC systems and stand-alone devices for classrooms that do not have an existing HVAC system. IQAIR have demonstrated their expertise in designing the classroom air filtration systems to meet the stringent requirements of the school districts.

In addition, staff recommends that the four health services projects be considered for funding as part of the BP Benefits Program by the BP Oversight Committee when the next round of funding is considered ($3 million annually). These are more in line with projects that have been funded as part of that program, and will represent a continuation of that work.
 

Outreach

In accordance with AQMD’s Procurement Policy and Procedure, a public notice advertising the RFP/RFQ and inviting bids was published in the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, the San Bernardino Sun, and Riverside County Press Enterprise newspapers to leverage the most cost-effective method of outreach to the entire South Coast Basin.

Additionally, potential bidders may have been notified utilizing AQMD’s own electronic listing of certified minority vendors. Notice of the RFP/RFQ has been mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations, the State of California Contracts Register website, and placed on the Internet at AQMD’s Web site http://www.aqmd.gov. Information was also available on AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.
 

Bid Evaluation

Copies of the RFP were downloaded from the AQMD web site, mailed and emailed in response to requests and six bids were received in response to the RFP by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on May 8, 2008. Proposals were limited to communities within a 10-mile radius of the Valero Wilmington Refinery. For this program, the term “community” was defined as any person, business, school, governmental entity or non-profit organization living or located within a 10-mile radius of the Valero Wilmington power plant.

Attachment 1 reflects the evaluation of the proposals. Using the prescribed evaluation criteria to consider cost, technical qualifications and minority/small/local business status, the following proposal was selected for funding at this time: IQAIR North America.
 

Panel Composition

The proposal evaluation panel consisted of one Assistant Deputy Executive Officer and one Health Effects Officer from AQMD; and one Environmental Justice Advocate; one Asian/Pacific Islander, one Caucasian and one Latino; three male.
 

Resource Impacts

Funding is available from the General Fund, Undesignated Fund Balance.
 

Attachment

1 - Evaluation of Respondent to RFP #2008-21 (DOC, 37k)