BOARD MEETING DATE: February 6, 2009
AGENDA NO. 27

REPORT:

Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee

SYNOPSIS:

Below is a summary of key issues addressed at the MSRC’s special meeting on December 18, 2008, and their regularly scheduled meeting on January 22, 2009. The MSRC’s next meeting is Thursday, February 19, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. in Room CC8

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.
 

Michael D. Antonovich
AQMD Representative on MSRC

Mountain Area CNG School Bus Demonstration Program

On December 18, 2008, the MSRC conducted a special meeting primarily via teleconference, with staff and one MSRC member attending in person in Room CC8. The meeting was held to discuss an urgent item. An element of the FY 2007-08 Work Program funded the demonstration of natural gas school buses in a mountain school district to demonstrate their viability in mountainous areas including steep grades and winter driving conditions. Bear Valley Unified School District is the participating school, and was provided with two CNG Thomas school buses leased from BusWest and a temporary alternative fuel refueling station provided by S-W Compressors. While the school buses have been operating successfully for approximately two months, the temporary CNG refueling station has experienced multiple recurrent issues and was recently shut down by Bear Valley. To ensure continuation of the demonstration project, especially during these winter months, the MSRC decided the best recourse would be to contract with a different CNG station provider Gas Equipment Systems and install a substitute station with Fuelmaker-brand components at a maximum cost of $30,000. The AQMD Board approved this sole-source contract at its January 9, 2009 meeting. At the MSRC’s regularly scheduled meeting on January 22, 2009, they approved the minutes from this special December 18, 2008 meeting (Attachment 1). They also received an update on this program. The new contractor recommends the substitute temporary refueling station should be installed following similar guidelines and regulations as a permanent station for liability reasons, but stresses the approval and permitting process could take as long as four months. Since the school year ends in late June and the bus leases expire in September, this could prevent the program from going forward. Staff presented several options for the MSRC’s consideration, but the MSRC decided to postpone action until next month after additional information was gathered.
 

Additional Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives for Public Schools

The MSRC’s Alternative Fuel School Bus Program is administered by two vendors, A-Z Bus Sales and BusWest, and provides up to $60,000 for full-size CNG school buses and $40,000 for propane school buses. The MSRC’s FY 2008-09 Program allocated $3 million for public school buses. A-Z Bus Sales was allocated an initial allocation of $600,000, all of which has subsequently been committed to schools. Additional funds are to be distributed to the two vendors based on performance. A-Z Bus Sales recently received new purchase orders from Desert Sands Unified School District for four full-size CNG school buses, and therefore requests a contract increase of $240,000 to fulfill the incentives for this order. At its January 22, 2009 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved this contract increase to A-Z Bus Sales as part of the FY 2008-09 Work Program. The AQMD Board will consider this contract modification at its February 6, 2009 meeting.
 

Additional CNG School Bus Incentives for Private Pupil Transportation Providers

Under the FY 2006-07 Work Program, the MSRC set aside $4 million for CNG school bus incentives for private pupil transportation providers. The AQMD administers the Program on behalf of the MSRC on a first-come, first-served basis to ensure successful implementation of the Rule 1186 fleet rule. Student Transportation of America (STA) has been contracted by the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide school buses for their student transportation needs in the upcoming school year. Consequently, STA requests incentives for 79 propane school buses to fulfill this contract. Propane was chosen over CNG because they can be constructed and delivered within the necessary timeframe. At its January 22, 2009 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved a $1,924,706 contract to STA. This equates to less than $24,364 per bus in comparison to the $40,000 per propane bus that public schools are eligible for. This award will use the remaining funds allocated to this Program. The AQMD Board will consider this contract award at its February 6, 2009 meeting.
 

Approval of FY 2008-09 Work Program Element

The MSRC previously allocated $12.4 million from its FY 2008-09 Work Program to fund backup lists from its FY 2007-08 Work Program. At its November 20, 2008 meeting, the MSRC adopted the remaining three elements of its FY 2008-09 Work Program. One of these items was a set aside of $3 million for a Local Government Match Program, with parameters to be deliberated over the next few weeks and a Program Announcement developed for consideration in January 2009. At its January 22, 2009 meeting, the MSRC considered the Local Government Match Program Announcement. Eligible categories within the Match Program include incentives for:

1. heavy-duty alternative fuel vehicles;
2. alternative fuel infrastructure;
3. remote diagnostic systems to improve emission control system performance;
4. Re-powers and retrofits of diesel-fueled emergency response vehicles;
5. Re-powers and retrofits of off-road heavy-duty diesel equipment; and
6. Multi-jurisdictional traffic signal synchronization projects.

Funding for local governments will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis with a geographic minimum per county of $375,000. The Program Announcement will have an open application period from March 24 through May 29, 2009. The AQMD Board will consider release of the Program Announcement at its February 6, 2009 meeting.
 

Received and Approved Final Reports

The MSRC received and approved five final reports at its January 22, 2009 meeting, as follows:

1. City of Cathedral City Contract #MS03031, which provided $79,036 for PM10 mitigation strategies;
2. Orange County Transportation Authority Contract #MS06045, which provided $200,000 towards a new CNG refueling station and maintenance facility;
3. Hemet Unified School District Contract #MS06047, which provided $125,000 towards a new CNG refueling station
4. Coachella Valley Association of Governments Contracts #MS07006, which provided $400,000 for a Coachella Valley PM10 Street Sweeping Program; and
5. Los Angeles World Airports Contract #MS07007, which provided $420,000 towards the purchase of 21 CNG transit buses.

All final reports are filed in the AQMD's library and a two-page summary of each closed project can be viewed in the electronic library on the MSRC's website at http://www.cleantransportationfunding.org.
 

Contract Modification Requests

At its January 22, 2009 meeting, the MSRC considered three contract modification requests and took unanimous action, as follows:

1. For County of Los Angeles Contract #ML05009, which originally had provided $198,333 to install seven propane refueling stations, approval to eliminate five of the seven stations, reduce the contract value to $56,666, and extend the term 13 months;
2. For Atlantic Express Contract #PT05064, which originally had provided $965,250 to install diesel exhaust after-treatment devices, approval to extend the installation deadline 26 months, substitute 10 vehicles for retrofit, and eliminate 133 vehicles and reduce the contract value to $67,500; and
3. For City of Inglewood Contract #ML06039, which originally had provided $50,000 to modify a maintenance facility to accommodate natural gas vehicles, approval to extend the term another one year.
    

Contracts Administrator’s Report

The MSRC's AB 2766 Contracts Administrator provides a written status report on all open contracts from FY 2002-03 through the present. The Contracts Administrator’s Report for January 2009 is attached for your information.
 

Attachments (EXE, 277k)

1) Approved Minutes for 12/18/08 Special Meeting
2) Contracts Administrator’s Report