BOARD MEETING DATE: January 9, 2009
AGENDA NO. 3

PROPOSAL:

Appropriate Funds from Undesignated Fund Balance to Science and Technology Advancement FY 2008-09 Budget for Expanded PM2.5 Monitoring and Other Ongoing Enhanced Activities

SYNOPSIS:

The next AQMP, due in 2011, will address attainment of the new 24-hour PM2.5 standard. Staff has determined that an expanded PM2.5 speciation monitoring network for calendar year 2009 will improve AQMP modeling estimates of PM2.5 source contributions. Furthermore, staff has recently been involved with several enhanced activities related to community-based special monitoring projects and contracts administration. These ongoing activities require substantial after-hour and weekend staff time that was not anticipated in the FY 2008-09 Budget. Therefore, this action is to appropriate funds in the amount of $355,000 from the Undesignated Fund balance to the Science and Technology Advancement FY 2008-09 Budget to conduct these enhanced activities.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, December 12, 2008, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Appropriate $160,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Services & Supplies Major Object in the Science and Technology Advancement FY 2008-09 Budget: $135,000 to the Temporary Agency Services account, $20,000 to the Maintenance of Equipment account, and $5,000 to the Laboratory Supplies account.
    
2. Appropriate $195,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Salaries & Employee Benefits Major Object, Overtime Account, in the Science and Technology Advancement FY 2008-09 Budget.
    

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The next Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) will address attainment of the new 24-hour PM2.5 standard, as well as provide updates to the annual PM2.5 standard and 8-hour ozone standards. As in previous AQMPs, chemical transport models are the primary tool to assess the effects of planned control strategies on air quality and thus demonstrate compliance with future attainment deadlines. Measurements from the AQMD air monitoring network are used to calibrate and refine the models and establish baseline conditions. CY 2009 will be a key modeling year for the AQMP efforts towards the 24-hour PM2.5 standard. Given the complexities of modeling 24-hour PM2.5 episodes, staff has identified the need for enhanced PM2.5 speciation monitoring to improve the modeling estimates and projections. The proposed enhanced monitoring will expand the current AQMD permanent speciation network at four locations to seven locations, and also increase sampling frequency from one-in-six days to one-in-three days.

Staff has recently been involved with several enhanced activities related to community-based special monitoring projects and contracts administration. These ongoing activities have required and will continue to require substantial after-hour and weekend staff time that was not originally anticipated in the FY 2008-09 Budget. The hexavalent chromium monitoring program in western Riverside and San Bernardino counties related to emissions from cement manufacturing requires significant staff resources and weekend work to achieve the desired sampling schedule. Likewise, the high ambient lead levels measured near a battery recycling facility in Vernon have required weekend staff time. Various other community monitoring projects have also required weekend set-up and sample collection over the past several months, and many will continue for months to come. Furthermore, due to the expanding contract activities in the contracts administration, temporary clerical support is necessary to address the increasing workload. The extent and timing of these projects were not known at the time of submittal and adoption of the FY 2008-09 Budget.
 

Proposal

In order to provide the resources and flexibility needed to carry out the enhanced PM2.5 speciation network and continue the special monitoring activities, this action is to appropriate funds in the amount of $355,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Science and Technology Advancement FY 2008-09 Budget. A total of $142,000 is proposed for the first six months of the enhanced PM2.5 speciation network in CY 2009. Expenditures for the remainder of the year will be included as part of the FY 2009-10 Budget. Of the total $142,000, the amount of $117,000 is requested for temporary staff in the laboratory and field, and $25,000 is requested for laboratory supplies and equipment maintenance. A total of $18,000 is requested for temporary clerical support for the contracts administration. A total of $195,000 is requested for the Overtime account to cover projected overtime expenditures for the remainder of the Fiscal Year.
 

Resource Impacts

Funds are available from the General Fund, Undesignated Fund Balance.