Back

BOARD MEETING DATE: September 10, 1999 AGENDA NO. 40

PROPOSAL:

Amend Rule 1186 - PM₁₀ Emissions from Paved and Unpaved Roads, and Livestock Operations

SYNOPSIS:

As directed by the Governing Board, staff worked with local governments, and street sweeper manufacturers and contractors to resolve implementation issues arising from the February 1997 adoption of Rule 1186. Staff has completed a trial of the PM₁₀-efficient street sweeper test protocol and full-scale testing of a variety of sweeper designs. Based on this testing, staff recommends amending Rule 1186 to include the sweeper testing protocol, certification limits and procedures. Additional amendments are proposed to address local government and sweeper contractor issues. These amendments do not affect estimated emission reductions from Rule 1186 provisions.

COMMITTEE:

Mobile Source Committee, August 27, 1999, Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

1. Certify that proposed amendments to Rule 1186 - PM₁₀ Emissions from Paved and Unpaved Roads, and Livestock Operations, are exempt from the requirements of CEQA as proposed in accordance with the attached resolution.
   
   
2. Amend Rule 1186 - PM₁₀ Emissions from Paved and Unpaved Roads, and Livestock Operations.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The Board adopted Rule 1186 (PM₁₀ from Paved and Unpaved Roads and Livestock Operations) on February 14, 1997 to comply with the federal Clean Air Act requirements to implement Best Available Control Measures (BACM) for fugitive dust sources. The Board resolution directed staff to form a Rule 1186 Working Group to identify and resolve implementation issues, and assist impacted parties with the implementation of the rule.

Additionally, the Board resolution directed staff to provide a status report to the Governing Board on working group activities, outreach programs, funding opportunities, special studies, and other implementation progress by June 30, 1998, with interim semi-annual reports to the Local Government and Small Business Assistance Advisory Group. At its July 1998 Board Hearing, staff presented a status report on the implementation of Rule 1186. The Rule 1186 Working Group has continued discussing funding opportunities (including AB2766 funding), sweeper protocol development, sweeper certification procedures, and extended outreach / education programs.

The rule, as adopted in 1997, included a provision for the use of PM₁₀-efficient street sweepers, which were defined by design features that would prevent the venting of PM₁₀ from the sweepers. Comments by both local governments and manufacturers asked for a more specific definition of PM₁₀-efficient sweepers, based on objective testing and certification procedures. Certification of sweepers as PM₁₀-efficient implements the intent of the original rule. Staff has worked with all major street sweeper manufacturers and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to develop an agreed-upon testing protocol for PM₁₀-efficient street sweepers. In the fall of 1998, staff determined that additional time would be necessary to resolve the protocol and certification issues. At its December 1998 meeting, the Board adopted amendments to Rule 1186 that delayed the implementation date for procuring PM₁₀-efficient sweepers one year, until January 1, 2000. This allowed additional time for finalizing the testing protocol and establishing certification limits and procedures.

Staff has prepared proposed amendments to Rule 1186 to incorporate PM₁₀-efficient street sweeper certification requirements and clarifications based on Rule 1186 Working Group and public comments. See Attachment A for a summary of these proposed amendments. The development process for Rule 1186 amendments is described in Attachment B. Staff has worked with the affected industries and governments in developing the amendments to Rule 1186 (see Attachment C). Key issues that have arisen during rule development, along with staff responses, are included in Attachment D. The Governing Board resolution is in Attachment E, the Notice of Exemption is in Attachment F, and draft final rule language for Proposed Amended Rule 1186 is in Attachment G. The final staff report (see Attachment H) describes the results of the sweeper testing conducted this spring, proposed certification limits, and Rule 1186 Working Group activities, including programs for outreach and funding support.

Sweeper Evaluations

On January 8, 1999, the AQMD released an RFP for "PM₁₀-Efficient Street Sweeper Evaluations." After an open-bidding process, the University of California at Riverside College of Engineering - Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) was chosen to conduct street sweeper evaluations. Phase 1 of the evaluations consisted of a protocol trial with four sweepers. Phase 2 consisted of full-scale testing of at least fifteen sweepers. Based on information subsequently submitted by the manufacturers, additional sweepers with different designs were available for testing. At its May 1999 hearing, the Board amended the contract with CE-CERT to add one sweeper to the Phase 1 testing and allow the testing of up to four additional sweepers in Phase 2.

The Phase 1 protocol trial was conducted during mid-April 1999. Phase 1 results indicate that the testing protocol is technically sound and meets the goals for a Rule 1186 sweeper test protocol. Staff approved minor protocol changes that were recommended by the contractor, based on the Phase 1 results. Phase 2 testing was conducted from mid-May through early June on a variety of sweepers, including those provided by the manufacturers. Reports on the Phase 1 and Phase 2 testing can be found in the final staff report (Attachment H).

The testing results were used to establish proposed certification limits for pick-up efficiency and entrainment. Dual limits are necessary to meet the program’s goals of ensuring that certified sweepers both remove material from the ground (to prevent PM₁₀ entrainment from traffic) and reduce material entrained by the sweeping process itself. Staff is proposing a minimum 80% pick-up efficiency limit and a maximum 200 milligrams PM₁₀/meter entrainment limit for a sweeper to be certified. Seven out of the seventeen sweepers tested in Phase 2 would meet or exceed both limits. All seven sweepers had design features to reduce sweeper-entrained PM₁₀.

Outreach / Funding

Staff solicited suggestions from Working Group members on the most effective method for conducting the Rule 1186 outreach program. The outreach program, including information packets that were sent to all local governments and presentations to local public works staff, is described in the final staff report (see Attachment H). The AQMD has also recently formed an AB2766 Technical Assistance team to assist local governments in obtaining funding for their air quality improvement programs, including purchasing or contracting for certified sweepers. This team has sent letters to all local cities and counties (see final staff report) informing them of the opportunity to use AB2766 subvention funds to meet Rule 1186 requirements. Specifically, AB2766 subvention funds can be used to fund any cost difference between a certified sweeper and a traditional sweeper (c.f., ARB letter dated July 16, 1999, which is included in the final staff report.)

Proposal

Local governments intending to purchase or lease a street sweeper, or contract for street sweeping services, after January 1, 2000 must procure or contract for a PM₁₀-efficient sweeper. Proposed amendments to Rule 1186 would clarify the requirements for PM₁₀-efficient sweepers by requiring certified sweepers. The proposed amendments include definitions of certification requirements and procedures. To have their sweepers certified, manufacturers would have to have their sweepers tested according to the proposed sweeper testing protocol at an independent testing facility. The sweepers would have to meet the pick-up efficiency and entrainment limits, as described in the proposed amendments. Following the procedures established by the proposed amendments, the manufacturers could then request that the sweepers be certified by the AQMD.

Local governments or their contractors would be required to maintain and operate their certified sweepers according to the manufacturers specifications. They would also be required to maintain the operational and maintenance records and make them available to the AQMD upon request. Proposed amendments to Rule 1186 will also address implementation issues and requested rule clarifications brought forward by the Rule 1186 Working Group, contract street sweepers, and others.

Policy Issues

The key technical and policy issues and staff responses can be found in Attachment D. Originally, Rule 1186 defined PM₁₀-efficient street sweepers as those designed to prevent the venting of PM₁₀. After the rule was adopted, Rule 1186 Working Group members and the sweeper manufacturers asked for the development of a more objective definition. Since then, staff has worked with the street sweeper manufacturers to establish a sweeper testing protocol and sweeper certification limits. The sweeper evaluations demonstrated that sweepers could be tested for PM₁₀ efficiency. They also demonstrated that certain sweeper designs were more efficient than others, and that certification limits could be established. The proposed limits are consistent with the original requirement to use sweepers designed to prevent the venting of PM₁₀ (compared to traditional sweepers), without losing the pick-up efficiency that prevents entrainment of street loadings from traffic.

Local governments sweep for a variety of reasons (aesthetics, dust removal, litter removal, etc.). They are concerned that certified sweepers may not meet their other sweeping requirements, reducing or eliminating their choice of sweepers. In general, the original rule addresses this concern though the current (h)(4) exemption provisions [proposed amended rule (i)(3)], which allow the use of traditional sweepers if the dustiest roads are being swept by certified sweepers. Results of the testing indicate that a variety of sweeper designs are likely to be available, increasing the choice of sweepers. Staff believes that the choice of sweepers will increase, since sweeper manufacturers can test improved or new sweeper designs and petition for certification of these sweepers. Manufacturers have indicated that the establishment of a test protocol is an important tool for their research and development of more PM₁₀-efficient sweeper designs.

Under the current rule, contract street sweepers are required to provide certified sweepers to jurisdictions for contracts they initiate after January 1, 2000. (This assumes that the jurisdiction does not use the exemption provisions in the rule to reduce or eliminate the certified sweeper requirement.) Unlike jurisdictions, who do not need to purchase a certified sweeper until they need to replace a current sweeper, contract sweepers may immediately have to provide certified sweepers if they sign a new contract shortly after January 1, 2000. These amendments do not affect this requirement, but will allow them to identify approved sweepers. Although these amendments, in themselves, do not cause an additional impact, staff continues to work with the contract street sweepers and their client jurisdictions to reduce the impact of the rule’s provisions for new contracts. The rule amendments do clarify that contract extensions will be considered new contracts (in terms of Rule 1186 requirements). This implements the rule’s original intent that the street sweeper fleet be upgraded over time.

Based on June 1999 amendments to Rule 1158, coke, coal, or sulfur facilities using street sweepers to meet Rule 1158 requirements are now subject to Rule 1186 requirements for certified sweepers. If sweepers are purchased or contracted for after January 1, 2000, the street sweeper must be a PM₁₀ street sweeper, defined as being compliant with Rule 1186. If the facility contracts for its sweeping services, the contractor would need to provide a certified sweeper. Amendments to Rule 1186, which define certified street sweepers, would establish the PM₁₀ sweeper requirements for Rule 1158.

AQMP and Legal Mandates

The original PM₁₀-efficient sweeper requirement for routine street sweeping was estimated to reduce entrained paved road dust emissions by 7 percent (13.1 tons/day) in 2006 (full implementation). The proposed amendments provide an objective definition of PM₁₀-efficient sweepers, through the establishment of a sweeper testing protocol and certification limits. The amendments, which clarify the original definition of PM₁₀-efficient sweepers, do not change emission reductions required by the original rule. Thus, the proposed amendments for Rule 1186 do not interfere with federal Clean Air Act requirements.

CEQA

The AQMD has reviewed the project as proposed pursuant to state CEQA Guidelines §15002 (k)(1), the first step of a three-step process for deciding which document to prepare for a project subject to CEQA. Since it can be seen with certainty that the proposed project has no potential to adversely impact air quality or any other environmental area, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to state CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3) - Review for Exemption. A Notice of Exemption has been prepared pursuant to state CEQA Guidelines Section 15062 - Notice of Exemption, and included in final Board package.

Socioeconomic Assessment

The original socioeconomic assessment of Rule 1186 (February 1997) assumed that PM₁₀-efficient sweepers were up to $37,000 more expensive than a new traditional sweeper ($120,000). These amendments do not change any of the assumptions used in the original February 1997 rule adoption or the December 1998 rule amendment. The proposed amendments to Rule 1186 describe certification requirements for PM₁₀-efficient sweepers that were previously required by Rule 1186. Certification costs are insignificant compared to the costs associated with procurement of certified street sweepers that was already accounted for in the previous socioeconomic analysis. Therefore, few socioeconomic impacts are expected from the proposed amendments.

Resource Impact

Existing District resources will be sufficient to implement the proposed rule requirements with minimal impact on the budget.

Attachments

A. Summary of Proposed Requirements
B. Rule Development Flow Chart
C. Key Contact List
D. Key Issues and Responses
E. Resolution
F. Notice of Exemption
G. Draft Final Rule Language (PAR 1186)
H. Final Rule 1186 Staff Report (with response to public comment)

ATTACHMENT A

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED REQUIREMENTS

ATTACHMENT B

RULE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

PROPOSED AMENDED RULE 1186 - PM₁₀ Emissions from Paved
and Unpaved Roads and Livestock Operations

Development of
Draft Rule Language

January 1999 – July 1999

Rule 1186 Working Group: 8 meetings since November 1997
Street sweeper manufacturers: multiple meetings since August 1997
Local contract street sweepers: May 4, 1999

Public Workshop: June 30, 1999
Public Consultation Meeting: August 11, 1999
(1,700 notices mailed for each meeting)

Set Public Hearing: August 13, 1999
Public Hearing: September 10, 1999

Total Time Spent in Rule Development Pre-Board Hearing: 20 Months

(Note: Includes time to develop the testing protocol and certification procedures)

ATTACHMENT C

KEY CONTACT LIST

Rule 1186 Working Group

City of Fullerton
City of Los Angeles
City of Moreno Valley
City of Pasadena
City of Tustin
County of Orange
County Los Angeles
County of Riverside
County of San Bernardino
Los Angeles League of Cities
Orange County Council of Governments
San Bernardino County Association of Governments
Western Riverside Council of Governments
Society of Automotive Engineers – Street Sweeping Subcommittee

ATTACHMENT D

KEY ISSUES AND RESPONSES

/ / /