BOARD MEETING DATE: June 5, 2009
AGENDA NO. 35

REPORT:

California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting

SYNOPSIS:

The California Air Resources Board met on May 28, 2009. The following is a summary of this meeting.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and File.
 

Ronald O. Loveridge, Member
SCAQMD Governing Board

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

1. Health Update: Reductions in Fine Particulate Matter & Improvements in Life Expectancy
   
   ARB staff presented recent research findings linking increases in life expectancy to reductions in fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The research contrasted decreases in ambient PM2.5 levels between 1980 and 2000, in 51 cities across the country, with changes in life expectancy during the same period. In general, national average life expectancy increased by 2.7 years, due primarily to improvements in health care, lifestyle, and diet. Reductions of 10 µg/m³ annual average PM2.5 correlated with a 0.61 year (7.3 months) increase in life expectancy. This level of increased life expectancy is comparable to increases that other studies have attributed to the use of blood pressure and cholesterol medicines, and the use of early detection tests for breast and colon cancer. The California cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose were included in the study.
    
2. Research Update: Assessment of PM and NOx Retrofits for Diesel Control Program
   
   ARB staff summarized the findings to date of a study to measure and characterize tailpipe emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines controlled to meet the current emission standards, which came into effect in 2007; and the more stringent standards that will come into effect in 2010. The study focused on trucks that use retrofit controls to meet the standards. The 2007 emission standards reduced allowable levels of diesel particulate matter and can be met with the use of diesel particulate filters (DPFs). The 2010 standard add a nitrogen oxide gases (NOx) reduction requirement – all engine manufacturer `have indicated that they will supplement the DPFs with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) devices to meet the 2010 standards. The testing demonstrated that DPFs are 95 percent effective in reducing soot emissions, and that SCR systems reduce NOx emissions by 75 percent. DPFs were also found to be 99 percent effective in reducing emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a major toxic constituent of diesel engine exhaust. The study also found that the combination of DPFs and SCRs can produce sulfate ultrafine particles under certain operating conditions; however, sulfate ultrafine particles are suspected to be less toxic than carbonaceous ultrafine particles produced, at much higher levels, by uncontrolled engines. This study was conducted by ARB staff using a state-of-the-art truck dynamometer in ARB’s Heavy Duty Emission Laboratory in El Monte. It was jointly sponsored by ARB, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and the California Energy Commission.
    
3. Local Government Toolkit
   
   The Board approved a Local Government Toolkit as an Early Action Measure under the Global Warming Solution Act of 2006 (AB 32). The Toolkit is a website, www.CoolCalifornia.org, that provides a one-stop source for information on state-of-the-art greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and energy efficiency programs, services, and products. The Toolkit provides access to guidance materials and case studies, and information on financial resources available to support local government and small business GHG reduction programs. The Toolkit is expected to be a key component in efforts to meet the AB 32 Global Warming Scoping Plan’s goal of reducing GHG emissions from municipal buildings and operations by 15 percent by 2020. As part of the staff presentation, representatives of the Institute of Local Government and the California Energy Commission (CEC) discussed some of the other resources available to local government, including federal stimulus funding for planning and implementation available through a competitive grant program administered by the CEC (www.energy.ca.gov/recovery).
    
4. On-Board Diagnostic Requirements for Light, Medium, and Heavy Duty Engines and Vehicles, and Heavy Duty Vehicle On-Board Diagnostic Enforcement Program
   
   ARB adopted amendments to its on-board diagnostic (OBD) regulations for heavy-duty vehicles. In 2005, the Board adopted OBD requirements for heavy duty vehicles that are due to take effect in 2010. Most of the amendments address substantial changes that have occurred in the design of emission control systems since the adoption of the original regulation. The amendments also establish a program for assuring that the components of heavy-duty vehicle OBD systems meet long-term performance goals. In addition, the amendments harmonize the heavy-duty OBD regulation, to the extent possible, with requirements for OBD II installed in passenger cars and light duty trucks manufactured in 1996 and later.
    
5. Aftermarket Parts Certification for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
   
   The Board adopted a certification program for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that addresses the needs of small volume retrofit equipment manufacturers. At a meeting in January 2009, the Board adopted standards for testing plug-in retrofit systems to hybrid electric vehicles, and directed staff to return with recommendations for specific requirements for small volume manufacturers. The amendments are structured to impose increasing requirements on the basis of annual units sold. For manufacturers selling fewer than 50 units per year, no emissions testing is required and certification is based on engineering analysis provided by the manufacturer. For annuals sales of between 51 and 100 units, limited emissions testing and durability tracking are required. For units with sales above 100 per year, the more extensive testing and OBD compatibility requirements adopted in January would apply.
    
6. Update on Existing Grant Agreements for the Proposition 1B Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program and the Lower-Emission School Bus Program
   
   The Board approved changes to the guidelines for two key mobile source incentive programs: the Proposition 1B Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program and the Lower-Emission School Bus Program. Many of the changes were needed to address a hiatus in these programs caused by last winter’s state budget difficulties. Amendments include clauses relating to the availability of bond funding and extensions of application deadlines. The Board’s action also shifts some funds from low-demand categories to high-demand categories, and gives air quality management districts more flexibility to shift funds between categories. Regionally-specific changes transfer administration of the clean port truck program from the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach to the South Air Quality Management District, and reallocated a $4.2 million grant to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District from harbor craft to port truck replacement programs.
    

Attachment (DOC, 57k)

CARB May 28, 2009 Meeting Agenda