BOARD MEETING DATE: February 6, 2009
AGENDA NO. 28

REPORT:

California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting

SYNOPSIS:

The California Air Resources Board met on January 22 and 23, 2009. The following is a summary of this meeting.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

Receive and File.
 

Ronald O. Loveridge, Member
SCAQMD Governing Board

The Air Resources Board’s (ARB or Board) January meeting was held in Sacramento. Key meeting items are summarized below.

1. Air Resources Board’s Program Priorities for 2009
   ARB Executive Officer James Goldstene summarized 2009 priorities in a brief presentation to the Board. The priorities for 2009 build on the Board’s prior actions to attain ambient air quality standards, reduce diesel particulate emissions, and implement the requirements of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. ARB staff is developing regulations to reduce criteria pollutants and precursors from several categories of sources, including consumer products, agricultural equipment, and gasoline station hoses, for the Board’s consideration this year, and will work with air districts on the technical underpinnings of State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions for the new federal standards. In the global warming arena, the Board will be asked to consider the Nation’s first low carbon fuel standard and well as Early Action Plan regulations addressing tire inflation, landfill methane capture, and reflective automobile paints, and staff will provide updates on its progress in the development of a cap-and-trade system. ARB’s executive staff is also developing contingency plans to implement work furloughs and adjust work priorities in consideration of the State’s fiscal status.
    
2. Health Update: Potential Health Impacts of Fireplace Emissions
   ARB staff presented the results of recent studies examining the health effects of exposure to residential fireplace emissions. Residential wood combustion (RWC) emissions consist of a combination of fine particulate and toxic constituents of low temperature combustion, and can contribute up to 80% of wintertime ambient fine particulates (PM2.5) in impacted communities. Exposure chamber studies show decreased lung function among children and increased lung inflammation in adults following exposure to RWC emissions. Epidemiological research shows increased hospitalizations for asthmatic episodes in children, and respiratory and cardiovascular distress in seniors during periods of increased fireplace use and agricultural burning activity. Ongoing research, including studies funded by ARB, will focus on respiratory responses to RWC emissions in both healthy and asthmatic adults; indoor exposures in residences heated with wood; public health changes in the San Joaquin Valley following the implementation of episodic wood burning limits; and comparisons of emissions from different wood-burning devices.
    
3. Adoption of a Proposed Regulation for Small Containers of Automotive Refrigerant
   ARB adopted an AB 32 (the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) Discrete Early Action regulation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from do-it-yourself motor vehicle air conditioning system recharging. This regulation will apply to the smaller cans of refrigerant typically used by consumers. It requires the use of a self-sealing valve on refrigerant containers sold for home use, improved labeling instructions, a container deposit and return program, reclamation of the refrigerant remaining the used container, and recycling of the container. The regulation also calls for an education program that emphasizes best practice techniques for vehicle recharging and highlights the environmental risks associated with the product. The effective date of January 1, 2010 will allow existing inventories of non-compliant product to be sold before ARB starts enforcing the new requirements.
    
4. Evaluation Procedures for Aftermarket Emissions Critical Equipment for On-Highway Motorcycles
   Newer motorcycles are often equipped with catalysts that are a critical to keeping the motorcycles’ emissions within the emission standards – these catalysts are often incorporated into the exhaust system. California law prohibits replacing or tampering with emission systems during the vehicle’s emission control compliance period. However, motorcycle enthusiasts often customize their bikes. This involves replacing parts of the exhaust system with systems crafted by someone other than the original manufacturer of the motorcycle. At its January meeting, the Board adopted regulations that establish an exemption procedure allowing motorcycle aftermarket parts manufacturers to demonstrate that their replacement parts and systems will not increase emissions. The procedures require the aftermarket part manufacturer to demonstrate that the replacement parts are equivalent to the originally certified emission control parts in durability, functionality, and emissions compliance characteristics. The regulation also establishes defects reporting, audit testing, and in-use recalls requirements.
    
5. Report on the Impacts of the Particulate Matter Performance Standards of the In-Use On-Road Vehicle Regulation in Oxides of Nitrogen Attainment Areas
   ARB staff presented its findings on the impacts of delaying the effective dates for particulate matter performance standards in the In-Use On-Road Vehicle Regulation adopted in December, 2008. During the original adoption hearing, the Board directed ARB staff to further investigate the need to require diesel particulate matter (DPM) controls on equipment, such as logging trucks, that operates exclusively in remote areas of the State.
   
   In response to the Board’s request, staff reviewed the areas that are in attainment of the state ambient air quality standard for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and conducted a risk assessment of heavy duty truck traffic in the Eureka-Arcata area. The staff’s review indicated that most of the two million people in NOx attainment areas live in fairly urban settings, and that many live near freeways and busy roadways. The risk assessment indicated that increased cancer risks at residences near state highways would reach 50-in-a-million in 2014 under the adopted regulation. The Board accepted the report and took no action.
    
6. Amendments to the Regulation for In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets and an Update on the Status of Implementation of the Regulation
   The Board received a progress report from staff on implementation of the In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets regulation, and adopted amendments to extend the deadline for receiving credit for the early installation of verified diesel emission control strategies (VDECS). Since rule adoption in July 2007, significant progress has been make in notifying affected equipment owners of the requirements, setting up an industry advisory committee, conducting numerous information and training seminars, and establishing an online database for registering compliant equipment and receiving unique equipment identification numbers.
   
   The regulation allows fleet operators to earn early introduction credits by retrofitting equipment prior to regulatory deadlines; equipment owners can use these credits to reduce compliance costs for NOx and PM emission reductions. As part of its update, staff recommended that the early credit deadline be extended because exhaust retrofits are being verified at a slower rate than anticipated. The Board adopted the proposed amendments, extending the deadline for qualifying for early credits to January 1, 2010. In adopting the amendments, the Board also requested staff to determine how to give additional credits to the industry in recognition of the current economic downturn.
    
7. California Regional Haze Plan
   ARB adopted a Regional Haze Plan as required by Section 169A of the federal Clean Air Act. The Plan establishes current and natural visibility levels, frames a control strategy for the reduction of visibility-reducing emissions, determines Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) requirements for stationary sources, and sets visibility improvement goals 2018, for the first milestone year specified in the Act. Current visibility levels are best in the northern Sierra Nevada and far northern California; they are lowest in the Southern Sierra Nevada areas downwind of the San Joaquin Valley, and in Southern California areas downwind of coastal urban regions. The control strategy relies heavily on adopted and proposed regulations contained in ARB’s Goods Movement Plan, Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, and the adopted State Implementation Plan (SIP). BART requirements will apply only to a single Northern California facility. The goals of the Plan are to reach visibility levels equivalent to those produced by natural sources alone on the 20% worst days in 2064.
    
8. Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Test Procedure Amendments and Aftermarket Parts Certification Requirements
   The Board adopted modifications to existing exhaust and evaporative test procedures for light- and medium-duty vehicles to address operating characteristics of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Test procedure modifications would provide accurate assessment of emissions for PHEVs. The Board also adopted technical amendments to the fuel cell range determination procedures.
   
   The Board also directed staff to return in three months with a recommended certification process that would allow a limited number of conversions to be sold with minimal requirements, and then ramp up to the procedure originally proposed by staff.
    
9. Appointment of Members to the Regional Targets Advisory Committee Under Senate Bill 375
   The Board appointed nineteen members to the Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg, 2008) Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC). The RTAC is responsible for recommending factors to be considered and methodologies to be used by ARB in the setting of regional targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles in 2020 and 2035. The RTAC is required to return recommendations to ARB by September 30, 2009. South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Executive Officer Barry Wallerstein is one of seven RTAC members that represent local governments, agencies, or non-governmental organizations located within the SCAQMD region. The other members are:

• Andrew Chesley, Executive Director, San Joaquin Council of Governments
• Stuart Cohen, Executive Director, TransForm
• Greg Devereaux, City Manager, City of Ontario
• Roger Dickinson, Supervisor, County of Sacramento
• Stephen Doyle, President, Brookfield San Diego Builders, Inc.
• Amanda Eaken, Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Gary Gallegos, Executive Director, San Diego Association of Governments
• Steve Heminger, Executive Director, Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission
• Richard Katz, Board Member, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Mike McKeever, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments
• Arthur Leahy, Chief Executive Officer, Orange County Transportation Authority
• Shari Libicki, Principal, Environ Environmental Consultants
• Pete Parkinson, Vice President of Policy and Legislation, American Planning Association, California Chapter
• Linda Parks, Ventura County Supervisor and Member, SCAG Regional Council
• Manuel Pastor, Professor of Geography and American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California
• Mike Rawson, Co-Director, Public Interest Law Project
• Jerry Walters, Principal, Fehr and Peers Transportation Consultants
• Carol Whiteside, Founder and President Emeritus, Great Valley Center
• Michael Woo, Los Angeles City Planning Commissioner
• Jim Wunderman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bay Area Council
   

Attachment  (DOC,70k)

CARB January 22 & 23, 2009 Meeting Agenda