BOARD MEETING DATE: September 5, 2008
AGENDA NO. 37
REPORT: California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting
SYNOPSIS: The California Air Resources Board met on July
24, 2008.
The following is a summary of this meeting.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Receive and file.
Ronald O. Loveridge, Member
SCAQMD Governing Board
The Air Resources Board’s (ARB or Board) July meeting was held in Sacramento. Key meeting items are summarized below.
1. Health Update on Short-Term Health Effects Associated with Exposure to Air Pollution During Exercise
ARB staff presented the results of a recent study conducted in London that compared lung function declines in exercising adults exposed to diesel PM. Individuals with mild or moderate asthma walking adjacent to heavily traveled roads experienced three times the lung function decline than those exercising in areas with no traffic. ARB is currently studying how ultrafine PM affects the lung functions of commuting cyclists, and is proposing to study what the ultrafine PM exposures are to commuters under different modes. Past studies show that exercise in general offers significant health benefits, including increased clearance of inhaled pollutants and increased production of anti-oxidants. Ways of avoiding exposure during outdoor exercise were reviewed, and means of identifying air quality levels, such as through the South Coast school flag program, were summarized. Board members noted that the London walkers suffering higher lung function declines were exposed to 28 µg/m3 of PM2.5 while the federal 24-hour health-based standard was set in 2006 by USEPA at 35 µg/m3, suggesting that a lower standard may be needed to adequately protect sensitive populations.
2. Adoption of Fuel Sulfur and Other Operational Requirements for Ocean-Going Vessels Within California Waters and 24 Nautical Miles of the California Baseline
The Board conditionally approved a regulation that will reduce emissions of particulate matter, diesel particulate matter, and oxides of nitrogen from ocean-going vessels visiting California ports. This regulation limits emissions from main engines, auxiliary engines, and boilers on these ships through enforcement of cleaner fuel standards. The regulation follows upon a fuel standard for auxiliary engines that the Board adopted in 2005, but which was stayed from implementation by a court decision requiring a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Staff indicated that this rule was designed to avoid the need for a U.S. EPA waiver. The regulation is scheduled to be implemented in two phases. The sulfur content of fuels consumed within 25 nautical miles of the California coast would drop to 0.3% to 0.5% in mid-2009, and to 0.1% by early 2012. By comparison, the sulfur level in fuels currently used by ocean-going vessels averages 2.5%. Implementation of this regulation would reduce PM10 emissions from ocean-going vessels within the control zone by 83%, and SO2 emissions by 95%, in 2012. Ocean-going vessel emissions were responsible for 1,100 premature deaths and 31,000 cases of asthma-related or other lower respiratory symptoms in California in 2005. Because revision of the proposed amendments were requested by staff subsequent to public release, the Board delegated final approval of the regulation to the Executive Officer after review and consideration of comments received during a 15-day comment period. Additionally, the Board requested staff to conduct a supplemental environmental analysis to evaluate the potential for increases in emissions occurring outside the 24-nautical mile coastal zone if ships travel west of the Santa Barbara Channel to avoid the reach of the regulation.
3. Amendments to the Spark-Ignition Marine Engine Regulations
The Board conditionally approved amendments to gasoline marine engine regulations that will allow manufacturers of high performance engines to comply without having to install catalytic convertors. These amendments were made necessary by the failure of these manufacturers to find catalytic convertors that meet durability requirements over typical high performance marine engine duty cycles. A relaxation of tailpipe standards from 5.0 to 16.0 grams per kilowatt-hour of combined hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen emissions will be offset by requiring additional fuel system evaporative control equipment on these boats. Staff requests for revision of the proposed amendments subsequent to public release will require the recirculation of amendments for a 15-day comment period prior to finalization by the Executive Officer.
4. International Carbon Action Partnership
The Board received presentations on international efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Iain Morrow, on loan to ARB from the European Union (EU), described the history and achievements of the European emission trading system. Europe’s challenges are somewhat different from California’s because per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Europe are approximately 75% of those in California. This difference is due almost entirely to transportation sector emissions in Europe being one third of the GHG emissions per capita than in California. As a result, the EU is not as focused on reducing transportation emissions as much as California is. With respect to other emission sectors, the EU embarked on an emission trading system (ETS) program before developing an emission inventory of the level of detail undertaken in the AB 32 1990 emission inventory, which has led to an over-allocation of credits. Subsequent corrections have put the EU on course to reduce GHG emission by 4% by 2012 through their ETS system. The EU is also developing a Clean Development Mechanism, an international emission offset program, in keeping with the Kyoto Protocol.
ARB staff presented information on California’s participation in the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP). ICAP is an association of countries and regions that are actively pursuing GHG emissions trading programs in support of United Nations goals. The basic goals of ICAP are to contribute to the establishment of a well-functioning global cap-and-trade carbon market and to share information and expertise on the use of market mechanisms to effectively reduce GHG emissions. Participation in ICAP helps coordinate California’s emerging program with other worldwide efforts and satisfies a requirement of AB 32 regarding the use of all relevant information in the design of the California program.
5. Update on AB 32 Implementation: Western Climate Initiative
ARB staff presented information on the history, activities, and goals of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) to the Board. WCI is a regional collaboration of eleven western states and Canadian provinces committed to the development of GHG emission reduction programs. Members of WCI have committed to the setting of regional emission reduction goals and the design of a regional multi-sector mechanism for achieving these goals. Benefits to California from participation include the leveraging of significantly more GHG emission reductions than are required by AB 32, the reduction of potential emissions “leakage” resulting from the purchase of out-of-state electricity from non-regulated power plants, and a broader carbon market to increase the opportunities for finding low cost GHG reductions. Participation in WCI was one of the recommendations of the draft AB 32 Scoping Plan reviewed by the Board at its June meeting.
6. Green Chemistry Initiative Overview
Staff of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) made a presentation to the Board on the Green Chemistry Initiative under development by that agency. Green Chemistry is a strategy to reduce the use of toxic substances so that they do not harm the public or contaminate the environment. The Green Chemistry Initiative is intended to reduce the use of harmful chemicals, generate less waste, and use less energy in the production of articles of commerce. The Initiative, which grew from several legislative initiatives and a directive from CalEPA Secretary Linda Adams, commenced activity with the development of an extensive list of potential measures offered by the public, business, and the academic community. A report on this Phase I work product is available at: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/PollutionPrevention/GreenChemistryInitiative/KeyDocs.cfm. In a second phase, a select group of researchers, including Board Member Dr. John Balmes, refined the initial measure list into a set of 38 recommended initiatives for consideration by DTSC. DTSC is currently using this second list to formulate recommendations for a policy framework.
Attachment (DOC, 23k)
CARB July 24, 2008 Meeting Agenda