Notice having been duly given, the regular meeting of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board was held at District Headquarters, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California. Members present:
Dr. William Burke, Vice Chairman
Speaker of the Assembly Appointee
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich (arrived at 10:33 a.m.; left at 12:42 p.m.)
County of Los Angeles
Councilman Marvin Braude
Cities of Los Angeles County - Western Region
Mayor Candace Haggard
Cities of Orange County
Ms. Mee H. Lee
Senate Rules Committee Appointee
Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge
Cities of Riverside County
Councilman Leonard Paulitz
Cities of San Bernardino County
Supervisor James W. Silva (left at 1:10 p.m.)
County of Orange
Supervisor S. Roy Wilson, Ed.D.
County of Riverside
Councilwoman Nell Soto
Cities of Los Angeles County - Eastern Region
Vacant:
Governor's Appointee
The meeting was called to order at 9:50 a.m. by Chairman Mikels.
James M. Lents, Ph.D., Executive Officer. Noted that subsequent to distribution of Agenda Item No. 14, staff discovered several errors in the tables contained in the report. Copies of the corrected pages were distributed to Board members.
Chairman Mikels announced that a districtwide legislative summit will be held at AQMD Headquarters on Friday, January 31, 1997. The theme of the summit is "Focus on the Future: The Road Ahead For Clean Air", and its purpose is to bring legislators from across the District together with community, business and environmental representatives and discuss openly with the Board a collaborative approach in forging clean air policies. An ad hoc committee comprised of Chairman Mikels, Dr. Burke, Ms. Haggard, Ms. Lee and Ms. Soto has been working on implementation of administrative alternatives to legislation that was forthcoming (AB 3248 - Napolitano), and those issues will be included in the discussion at the legislative summit.
Chairman Mikels commented that he sent a letter to the Advisory Council members inviting them to attend the Board meeting and provide more detail with regard to the issues that lead to the resignations of 9 of the 11 members of the Advisory Council. Dr. Nick Hazelwood, the Chairman of the Advisory Council, and Ms. Carla Walecka were in attendance and prepared to address the Board on this item. Unfortunately, the 8 members who jointly tendered their resignations in a letter to Chairman Mikels would not be attending the meeting.
Dr. Hazelwood commented that he is reasonably comfortable with the predictions contained in the Draft 1997 AQMP, with respect to ozone attainment. Because there is less independent and published information about the PM10 modeling process, he is less confident about those predictions. His recommendation, and that of Bill Carter, the other remaining member of the Advisory Council, is that there be an independent peer review of the modeling process; and that the peer review be conducted by people who are not current contractors or consultants to the AQMD, nor in some regulatory oversight role for approval of AQMD plans. The benefit of the peer review is that it would respond to the criticisms that have been raised about the modeling process. It will also give AQMD staff useful input to help them do a better job and to help the Board validate its actions regarding the AQMP.
With respect to the resignations, Dr. Hazelwood expressed his belief that the Council members resigned out of frustration because they were sometimes asked for advice, and the advice ignored--often not even acknowledged--and advice was sometimes not sought when the Advisory Council was available. He has indicated to Chairman Mikels his willingness to postpone his planned retirement from the Advisory Council to help in organizing a new council, and believes this can be done by the beginning of 1997. However, the Board needs to define what kind of council it wants and needs--its composition, how members are nominated and selected, and the ethical requirements for membership. He suggested the Board decide to make frequent and productive use of whatever type of advisory council it creates. (Submitted Written Comments)
At Mr. Loveridge’s suggestion, Chairman Mikels directed that the recommendation for a peer review of the AQMP modeling process be placed on the agenda for consideration by the Administrative Committee at its next meeting, and brought back to the Board at its October 11, 1996 meeting.
Ms. Walecka highlighted the three main points in her written statement to the Board, dated August 27, 1996, clarifying her reasons for resigning from the Advisory Council. 1) She did not resign from the Council in protest of the 1997 AQMP. She believes the Plan is heading in the right direction. 2) She resigned from the Council because she felt it was underused, and that it was not as effective as it should be; and that included a lack of coherent input on the AQMP.
3) She had wanted to resign from the Council for some time because she shared the frustration that Dr. Hazelwood pointed out. She acted on her intention when she did because she wanted to make clear that she was not part of any faction within or without the Advisory Council. (Submitted Written Comments)
In response to Mr. Braude, Ms. Walecka strongly recommended that there be a constant infusion of new people into any new advisory council the Board might form. She suggested the Board consider staggering terms for the members to insure that there is both continuity and new voices on the Council, and perhaps limiting terms and/or number of reappointments. She also suggested that the Board examine how the Council relates to all of the special purpose or single issue advisory groups that the AQMD has started up over the last several years, because she felt there was dilution of the Council’s input on the AQMP and other issues, when given to other advisory groups. Lastly, she did not believe that semi-annual breakfasts were the best means of accomplishing communication between the Board and the Advisory Council. She suggested the Advisory Council periodically provide written products to the Board on topics of interest to the Board.
Chairman Mikels indicated that discussion regarding the composition and role of the Advisory Council will be initiated at the next Administrative Committee meeting, and he welcomed comments from Dr. Hazelwood and Ms. Walecka with regard to their ideas on how changes could be implemented. Mr. Loveridge suggested that the Administrative Committee include in their discussion the idea of quarterly presentations--not just written reports--from the Advisory Council to the Board.
The following individuals addressed the Board to comment on the Advisory Council:
HUGO MORRIS, Joint Council of Teamsters No. 42
RAY WHITMER, Teamsters Local No. 911
Commented that a copy of the resignation letter of the 8 Advisory Council members and ballots were circulated to the approximately 400 AQMD employees represented by Teamsters. Ninety-six percent of the members who responded to the ballot generally agreed with the concerns expressed in the resignation letter. In support of this position, Mr. Whitmer urged the Board to consider establishing a dialogue with the enforcement employees of AQMD represented by Teamsters; and requested that a committee of designated Board members and AQMD management meet with them to discuss and resolve the employee concerns about the ongoing clean air effort at the AQMD.
MARIA SCHWIETERMAN, AQMD Employee
Read a letter which was submitted to the managing editor of the Riverside Press Enterprise in rebuttal to a recent article authored by Gary Polakovic. The article alluded to high numbers of AQMD employees having low morale and disbelieving in staff’s technical expertise or executive management’s leadership and ability to construct an AQMP for 1997 that meets the intended goals.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Agenda Items Nos. 2, 3, 10, 11 and 17(A) were held for discussion.
Written comments opposing Agenda Item No. 4 were submitted by Michael D. Wang of Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA).
At Mr. Silva’s request, staff agreed to inform him prior to the public hearing on Proposed Rule 1605 how staff will solve any overlapping or duplication the proposed rule has with remote sensing under the Bureau of Automotive Repair’s Smog Check Program.
3. Set Public Hearing October 11, 1996 to Amend Rule 1113 - Architectural Coatings
Curtis Coleman, Attorney, addressed the Board on behalf of Sherwin-Williams Company to express concern that Rule 1113 provisions related to flats, lacquers and emissions averaging are not ready for public hearing because of significant issues which need to be discussed further and resolved. He referred to the letter submitted to the Board from Robert Wendoll of EL RAP (Environmental Legislative & Regulatory Advocacy Program of the Southern California Paint & Coatings Association), raising the same concerns and requesting that no action be taken on those items at the October 11 public hearing.
Written Comments Submitted by:
Robert Wendoll, EL RAP
10. Modify Employee Relations Agreements Pertaining to Management and Confidential Employees
Mr. A.F. "Ric" Riccardi, San Bernardino Public Employees Association, addressed the Board on behalf of the AQMD employees in the Professional Bargaining Unit (PBU) to express support for staff’s recommendation on this item, and to express their confidence that the management negotiating team will in the near future bring a recommendation to the Board for approval of a reasonable increase in benefits for PBU employees, as recommended for management and confidential employees.
(Mr. Antonovich arrived at 10:33 a.m.)
11. Issue RFP to Provide Temporary Engineering Services
Don Hopps, AQMD Air Quality Engineer, addressed the Board to speak in opposition to staff’s recommendation to create a list of pre-qualified environmental firms that could process AQMD permit applications, when necessary due to schedule spikes. He questioned whether the intent is to look at dispensing with full time engineers altogether; and urged the Board to direct management to honor the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and discuss alternatives with employee representatives.
Carol Coy, Assistant DEO of Stationary Source Compliance, responded that because of the 1,700 permit applications brought in by the recent Amnesty Program and permitting of the first 500 companies under the Title V Program, the proposed augmentation of staff may be necessary in the next year to meet EPA deadlines on permit issuance. With respect to the MOU issue, Technical Support Services DEO Nick Nikkila responded that management has met its obligation to advise, inform and discuss this item with the union.
17(A) Establish the Office of Public Affairs & Local Government Assistance; Add a Designated Deputy Position to Serve as Deputy Executive Officer for the Office; Create a Local Government & Small Business Assistance Committee; Enhance the AQMD's Outreach Program; and Establish a Policy Regarding Performance Objectives
Chairman Mikels commented that this item is an outline proposal for the creation of a new committee and a new office and DEO position for that office. There are still many details that need to be worked out, which will be discussed by the Administrative Committee and brought back to the Board prior to implementation.
Indicating his reluctance to approve this item without seeing the details referred to by Chairman Mikels, Dr. Wilson expressed his concern that AQMD may have to cut back its clean air efforts if funds are going to continually be taken out of AQMD’s budget--$185,000, in this instance--in responding to legislative wishes.
Chairman Mikels responded that this item is a reiteration of a proposal that the Board approved, in concept, at its June 14, 1996 meeting. With interim legislative hearings scheduled to be held later in September, he thought it was important for the Board to reiterate its approval of the proposal, at least in concept, to give an indication that the Board would like to work with the legislature and, to the extent possible, integrate their concerns in areas where there is agreement, and not diminish or create inconsistencies with the Board’s pursuit of AQMD’s mission. He assured Dr. Wilson that the Board will not be fully committed to this proposal until the details are brought back to the Board for approval.
Mr. Paulitz pointed out that the Board’s June 14 approval of this proposal in concept was conditioned upon the withdrawal of AB 3248 by Assemblywoman Napolitano; and the bill has as yet not been withdrawn.
BOARD CALENDAR
ON MOTION OF DR. WILSON, SECONDED BY MS. LEE, A UNANIMOUS VOTE WAS CAST BY THE BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT (Absent: Soto), APPROVING RECEIPT AND FILE OF AGENDA ITEMS 24 THROUGH 31, AS RECOMMENDED.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Note: A verbatim transcript of the public hearings on Agenda Items Nos. 32 and 33 has been prepared and is available for public review in the AQMD Library.
32. Amend Rule 1176 - VOC Emissions from Wastewater Systems
Mohsen Nazemi, Senior Air Quality Engineering Manager, presented the staff report. Staff distributed to Board members two revisions to PAR 1176, which staff recommended be incorporated into the proposed amended rule:
(2) revisions to Subparagraphs (c)(8)(A), (d)(2)(C) and (f)(1)(A)(ii) proposed by WSPA to reduce the monitoring frequency of (i) drain system components that have been demonstrated for 24 months to be non-emitting and (ii) low-emitting drain system components from facilities that have demonstrated 99.5 percent or more of all their drain system components to have not emitted excess emissions for the most recent 12 months.
Copies of the proposed revisions were also made available to the public. The public hearing was opened, and the Board heard testimony from the following individuals in support of PAR 1176 as recommended by staff:
RON WILKNISS, Western States Petroleum Association
LEE WALLACE, Southern California Gas Company
GAIL RUDERMAN FEUER, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
TIM CARMICHAEL, Coalition for Clean Air
There being no further public testimony, the hearing was closed. Staff distributed to Board members copies of a Revised Resolution for PAR 1176 which incorporated the two revisions recommended.
ON MOTION OF MR. LOVERIDGE, SECONDED BY MR. BRAUDE, A UNANIMOUS VOTE WAS CAST BY THE BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT (Absent: Soto), ADOPTING RESOLUTION NO. 96-17, CERTIFYING THE FINAL SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND AMENDING RULE 1176, AS RECOMMENDED AND REVISED BY STAFF TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
(1) revisions to Subparagraphs (c)(16) and (i)(5)(F) proposed by staff to clarify the meaning of non-contact water and the exempted equipment subject to Rule 1173 (Fugitive Emissions of VOCs), respectively; and
(2) revisions to Subparagraphs (c)(8)(A), (d)(2)(C) and (f)(1)(A)(ii) proposed by WSPA to reduce the monitoring frequency of (I) drain system components that have been demonstrated for 24 months to be non-emitting and (ii) low-emitting drain system components from facilities that have demonstrated 99.5 percent or more of all their drain system components to have not emitted excess emissions for the most recent 12 months.
33. Amend Rule 1171 - Solvent Cleaning Operations
Anupom Ganguli, Planning and Rules Manager, presented the staff report. Pat Leyden, DEO of Stationary Source Compliance read into the record excerpts from the following correspondence received by staff:
Ms. Leyden brought attention to additional information on the socioeconomic assessment, which was distributed to Board members and made available to the public, and pointed out minor corrections to the cover page for that addition. Board members were also provided copies of: (i) an Addendum to the Resolution for PAR 1171, which contained a commitment by staff to work with the California Trucking Association on a study of the implementation of the Rule; and (ii) an expanded set of minutes from the August 23, 1996 Stationary Source Committee meeting, at which time demonstrations of a number of aqueous cleaning technologies were presented.
The public hearing was opened, and the Board heard testimony from the following individuals:
STEPHANIE WILLIAMS, California Trucking Association (CTA)
Commented that because CTA learned about PAR 1171 late in the process, it has not yet been reviewed by their environmental policy committee. Therefore, CTA will remain neutral on the proposed amended rule until after the study is completed.
The following individuals commented in support of PAR 1171:
GERRY BONETTO, Printing Industries of California
JOHN BEAVER, Containment Corporation
TIM CARMICHAEL, Coalition for Clean Air
BILL SHEAFFER, Mirachem
*ROBERT SHEPHERD, Shepherd Machinery Company
BRUCE HAGEMAN and DR. STEVEN ALLEN BOLKAN, Church & Dwight Company
GAIL RUDERMAN FEUER, Natural Resources Defense Council
STEWART JENKINS, EEMCO
CLIFFORD A. McAULIFFE, W. R. Grace
TONY NELIPOVICH, SAS Equipment, Inc.
UMESH MURTHY, Chino Basin Municipal Water District
GREG ADAMS, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
TODD McINTYRE, Long Beach Transit
CARY SIEGFRIED, Roto-Jet of America Company, Inc.
GROVER HAVENS, Equipment Manufacturing Corporation
GERALD SMITH, Charles Caine Company
TRACI MINAMIDE, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
KENT REECE, Kentec
ADRIANA RENESCU, County Sanitation Districts of Orange County
ERNEST PELTZ, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
GALENA KATZ, IPAX
FRED FRIEDHEIM, PDQ Precision
BART SIMMONS and STEPHEN LAVINGER,
Cal-EPA Department of Toxic Substances Control
*Submitted Written Comments
In summary, testimony was presented that safe, non-toxic aqueous industrial cleaners for parts and equipment have been available for many years. These cleaners generate significantly less bulk waste than solvent-based cleaners, and are more cost effective. Also automatic cleaners are less labor intensive than cleaning by hand, and can therefore reduce costs. Aqueous cleaning is a viable alternative to solvent cleaning, however it requires a more complex process, which includes education of the enduser on how to use these products to avoid such things as corrosion and to deal with appropriate wastewater treatment. There are a variety of different filtration systems available, including high quality cleaners equipped with rust inhibitors. These systems can reduce non-hazardous waste generated by up to 99 percent. Printing Industries of California indicated their agreement to fund a study, to be performed by the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, regarding the viability of using acetone in blending with cleanup solvents.
Representatives for the water and sanitation districts expressed concern that there could be a negative impact on water quality and the local cities’ ability to meet discharge limits caused by the discharging of aqueous cleaners into the sewer, the quantity and quality of which has not yet been defined. They expressed support for the proposed amendments, with a commitment from AQMD and the Regional Water Quality Board to help mitigate any problems of wastewater impacts due to Rule 1171.
The following exemption was proposed by Shepherd Machinery, and agreed to by staff, for the cleaning of engines and associated equipment which is repaired in the field at customer sites:
The following individuals commented in opposition to PAR 1171:
LYNN MARIE NOWEL, concerned citizen
*ED LAIRD, Small Business Coalition
HANK HABICHT and *JOHN PAUL KUSZ, Safety-Kleen Corporation
MIKE CARROLL, Attorney, on behalf of Safety-Kleen Corporation
STEWART THOMPSON, California Motorcar Dealers Association
MARK ANIELLO, Environmental Consultant
DAVID GOODREAU, Small Manufacturers Association of California
SAM KELLY, Westates EHS Services Inc.
*Submitted Written Comments
In summary, the following concerns were expressed:
The Board recessed for lunch at 12:05 p.m, during which time the following closed session item was considered:
CLOSED SESSION
The Board recessed to closed session, pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6, to confer with its Labor Negotiators, Nick Nikkila and Charles Goldstein, regarding salaries and benefits of represented and unrepresented employees. Employee Organizations are San Bernardino Public Employees Association and Teamsters Local 911.
(Mr. Antonovich left at 12:42 a.m.)
The Board reconvened at 12:42, and resumed the public hearing on Agenda Item No. 33.
PUBLIC HEARINGS (Continued)
Public testimony continued, and there was strong opposition expressed by NRDC and industry representatives to the manufacturer’s bubble alternative proposed by Safety-Kleen Corporation, primarily because of the availability and proven effectiveness of aqueous cleaners for all types of applications and the successful use of these aqueous cleaners and alternatives by many companies.
(Mr. Silva left at 1:10 p.m.)
Mr. Carroll readdressed the Board to clarify Safety-Kleen’s position, and to bring attention to resolution language developed jointly by AQMD staff and Safety-Kleen that was provided to Board members. The proposed language provides for a manufacturer’s bubble that could be used by Safety-Kleen, or any other company, that would give them an allocation equivalent to the emission reductions sought in the staff report-- 2.8 tons per day, and would allow the companies to operate under that emissions cap, using aqueous solutions or solvent based solutions.
There being no further testimony, the public hearing was closed.
Written Comments Submitted by:
Michael Carney, Safety-Kleen Corporation
Michael P. Kenny, California Air Resources Board
David P. Howekamp, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Keith Olberg, Assemblymember, California Legislature
U.V. Rao, Ph.D., QEP
Petitions in Opposition to PAR 1171 signed by 333 individuals
Addition of the following clauses to Resolution No. 96-18:
"WHEREAS, the Governing Board finds that it is appropriate to reconfirm the applicability of low-VOC and aqueous cleaning technology that complies with the VOC limit of 50 g/l (effective January 1, 1999) in PAR 1171 for the repair and maintenance of heavy-duty trucks;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governing Board hereby directs staff to conduct an implementation study with the California Trucking Association to address their concern regarding aqueous cleaning systems for repair and maintenance of heavy-duty trucks, and report back to the Board no later than July 31, 1997."
Addition of the following subparagraph to Rule 1171:
"(h) Exemptions
(9) The requirements of clause (c)(1)(B)(i) shall not apply until January 1, 2001, for field handwipe cleaning operations, provided solvent cleaning products containing no more than 900 grams of VOCs per liter with a VOC composite partial pressure of 20 mm Hg @ 68 F are used for field handwipe cleaning operations until such time. Field handwipe cleaning operations means cleaning operations conducted in areas located at least 1,000 feet outside the operator’s facility boundary, for the repair of mobile equipment, non-road equipment, and other internal combustion engine driven equipment including, but not limited to buses, trucks, tractors, forklifts, pumps, and heavy duty construction equipment."
THE MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MR. PAULITZ.
Ms. Haggard questioned the reason for Board members not supporting inclusion of the amendments to Rule 1171 proposed by Safety-Kleen, given the fact that staff was amenable to including those amendments.
Chairman Mikels responded that among those who supported the proposed amended rule there was significant opposition expressed to any bubbling within the rule, in terms of its impact on energizing the aqueous or water-based cleaner industry.
AYES: Braude, Burke, Lee, Loveridge, Mikels, Paulitz and Wilson.
NOES: Haggard.
ABSENT: Antonovich, Silva and Soto.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD - (Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items, Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.3)
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by Chairman Mikels at 1:35 p.m.
The foregoing is a true statement of the proceedings held by the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board on September 13, 1996.
Respectfully Submitted,
SAUNDRA McDANIEL
Senior Deputy Clerk
Date Minutes Approved: ________________________
Jon D. Mikels, Chairman
ACRONYMS
AQMD = (South Coast) Air Quality Management District
AQMP = Air Quality Management Plan
ARB/CARB = California Air Resources Board
Cal-EPA/U.S. EPA = California/United States Environmental Protection Agency
CE-CERT = College of Engineering-Center for Environmenta Research and Technology
DEO = Deputy Executive Officer
FY = Fiscal Year
MSRC = Mobile Souurce (Air Pollution Reduction) Review Committee
PAR = Proposed Amended Rule
PM10 = Particulate Matters < 10 microns
RFP = Request for Proposals
SIP = State Implementation Plan
VOC = Volatile Organic Compound