BOARD MEETING DATE: March 6, 2009
AGENDA NO. 25

REPORT:

Mobile Source Committee

SYNOPSIS:

The Mobile Source Committee met Friday, January 23, 2009.
Following is a summary of that meeting.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

Receive and file the attached report.
 

Roy Wilson, Vice-Chair
Mobile Source Committee

Attendance

Vice-Chair Roy Wilson (via videoconference) called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Present were Committee Member Jane Carney, and Committee Member Bill Campbell (via videoconference). Committee Member Jan Perry joined the meeting at 9:10 a.m. (via videoconference). Chair Ronald Loveridge was absent. The following items were presented:

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:

1. Federal Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) Program Update
   Staff presented an overview of the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) program administered through the U.S. EPA. The program funding is split 70% for competitively bid national projects and 30% for state applications. The national projects are administered through the regional U.S. EPA offices (in our case, Region IX). DERA has garnered much attention due to $300M being identified in the Economic Stimulus package, subject to the same 70-30% split, recently signed by the President. AQMD staff has experience in expeditiously utilizing DERA funds, and will be meeting with EPA next week in Washington to discuss how AQMD can assist in encumbering stimulus funding quickly.
    
2. Status Report on Senate Bill (SB) 375 Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC)
   The purpose of this report is to provide a status of the Senate Bill (SB) 375 Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC). SB 375 states that “No later than January 31, 2009, the state board shall appoint a Regional Targets Advisory Committee to recommend factors to be considered and methodologies to be used for setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the affected regions.” These emission reduction targets will apply to local governments as a component of their greenhouse gas programs and policies. Legislative language further states, “The committee shall be composed of representatives of the metropolitan planning organizations, affected air districts, the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties, local transportation agencies, and members of the public, including homebuilders, environmental organization, planning organizations, environmental justice organizations, affordable housing organizations, and others.” Twenty one executive level representatives were appointed by CARB to fulfill the RTAC composition mandate. Southern California is represented by 6 members including Dr. Barry Wallerstein, AQMD Executive Officer, who is representing all California air districts.
   
   The RTAC is to provide their recommendation for emission targets to the CARB by September 30, 2009, a relatively short time frame. CARB will then evaluate the proposal and release their draft targets by June 30, 2010; with final target setting action to take place by September 30, 2010. The RTAC plans to meet on a monthly basis and held their first meeting on February 3, 2009. At this meeting, factors and methodologies for setting targets relating to passenger vehicle usage were discussed. One of the key issues is that the bill targets the reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from the implementation of local measures, but recent budget cuts severely impacted funding for transportation projects that would potentially reduce VMTs. At the request of Dr. Wallerstein, a meeting of the RTAC Staff Workgroup was held on February 19, 2009 to discuss the current Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) modeling capability and to identify areas of improvements that are needed. He made this request after determining that CARB currently has no technical modeling tools for SB375 implementation tracking. Therefore, a review of which models are utilized and whether they could be used for this effort needs to be determined. There is not sufficient time to develop a new model that will meet legislative timelines.
   
   Supervisor Campbell questioned whether decisions to change land use patterns will meet the greenhouse gas reductions time frames needed, in light of the fact that it may take 10 to 15 years to see these decisions take effect. Dr. Wallerstein responded that this is a valid point and that it will be important to determine how to assign appropriate numeric values to various actions that local governments take. As the process unfolds, Dr. Wallerstein plans to keep Committee members apprised of the discussion and will seek Board direction as needed.
    
3. Port Clean Air Action Plan
   Staff provided an update on the implementation of the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP). The CAAP was adopted by the Commissioners of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in November 2006. The CAAP, a 5-year plan with annual updates, provides for 12 measures to be implemented by the ports to reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucks, ocean-going vessels, cargo-handling equipment, harbor craft, and locomotives. In addition, the plan provides for a Technology Advancement Program as well as developing standards for toxics and other air quality-related parameters. Other measures of the plan call for emission reductions related to construction activities and operational efficiency improvements. The plan includes a monitoring element that will track emission reductions over time. The estimated cost to implement the plan is approximately $2 Billion over the 5 year period.
   
   Of the 12 CAAP measures, the heavy-duty truck measure has been the most discussed. The Ports adopted the Clean Truck Program in December 2007 to implement the CAAP heavy-duty truck measure. The Clean Truck Program provides for the cleanup of existing diesel trucks through a progressive ban of certain model year trucks from operating in and out of the Ports. The first phase of the progressive ban occurred on October 1, 2008 with the ban of pre-1989 trucks. The second phase of the ban will start on January 1, 2010 with the ban of pre-1994 trucks and model year 1994 to 2003 trucks that have not been retrofitted. Beginning January 1, 2012, any pre-2007 truck that does not meet 2007 emissions standards would not be allowed to operate at the Ports. As part of the Clean Truck Program, the Commissioners committed to a goal of having at least 50 percent of the new trucks be alternative fueled. The Ports adopted a “Clean Truck” fee to provide revenues that will assist truck operators in replacing their existing pre-2007 trucks with 2007 or newer trucks. The fee applies to containers entering or leaving the ports with a fee of $35 per 20 foot or smaller container or $70 for any container larger than 20 feet. The fee would be collected from the beneficial cargo owner and not from the truck operator. The fee was to be in effect October 1, 2008. However, due to litigation, the Ports delayed the fee collection to February 18, 2009. The third element of the Clean Truck Program is the “Concession” agreement for truck operators. For the Port of Los Angeles, only employer/employee companies are allowed to move containers in and out of the Port. However, the Port of Long Beach allows independent owner/operators to provide drayage service. There are other elements of the Concession Agreement that differ between the two Ports. Regardless, the two Ports are moving forward with the Program at this time. AQMD staff has been in on-going discussions with the Ports to ensure that the cleanest trucks are deployed and that the Ports meet their 50% goal for deployment of alternative fueled trucks.
   
   Supervisor Campbell asked a question regarding the truck fee as to the rationale of assessing fees on beneficial cargo owners rather than truck operators, and whether the fees are used to improve infrastructure. Staff indicated that the Ports believed that the cost should be borne by the beneficial cargo owners since the truck operators can not recover the cost. Staff also indicated that the Clean Truck fee is used only for the purchase of trucks. The fee that would be used for infrastructure improvements was the bill authored by Senator Lowenthal and was vetoed last year by the Governor.
   
   There are five measures relative to ocean-going vessels: vessel speed reduction, shore-side power while at berth, use of low-sulfur content marine fuels in auxiliary and main propulsion engines, and a “green ship” program to install emissions control devices on new vessels or retrofitting existing vessels. The Ports have a voluntary program for vessel speed reduction to 12 knots when the vessel is within 20 km of the Ports. The participation rate is currently over 90%. In addition, the Ports are providing an incentive to vessel operators to use a 0.2% sulfur content marine fuel. Lastly, the Ports are implementing shore-side power through lease renewals.
   
   While the Ports have provided a list of available control technologies for marine engines, there have not been any commitments for new ship builds to include such technologies at this time. Staff commented on the importance of the recent IMO emissions standards and the need for the U.S. to apply to the IMO to establish “emissions control areas” along U.S. coastal waters. Establishing emissions control areas would require ocean-going vessels to be cleaner and the use of low sulfur content marine fuels.
   
   Lastly, staff commented on the implementation of the three locomotive-related measures in the CAAP. The Ports have completed the conversion of the 16 switch locomotives operated by Pacific Harbor Lines to Tier 2 emissions levels. The Ports and the AQMD are working on a demonstration of diesel particulate filters for the Tier 2 locomotives to further reduce particulate emissions. Relative to clean up of line haul locomotives and emissions reductions at existing and future railyards, staff indicated that the Ports initial discussions with the Class I railroads have not resulted in any progress.
   
   Staff concluded with a discussion regarding the next steps for the CAAP, which are to establish regional emissions standards and local air toxic risk standards as part of the next CAAP update.
   
   Councilwoman Jan Perry left the meeting at 10:00 a.m. and Supervisor Bill Campbell left the meeting at 10:10 a.m.
    
4. Status Report on AQMD Fleet Rule Implementation
   Staff provided a report on the implementation of the seven on-road fleet vehicle rules adopted in 2000 and 2001. Staff indicated that the settlement with the plaintiffs on the fleet rule litigation was signed by the Court in February 2008. Staff has been implementing the fleet rules based on July 20, 2005 Advisory Notice, which requires affected public fleets to meet the provisions of the applicable fleet rules and certain private fleets based on their contractual arrangements with public entities. Staff is continuing to encourage affected fleets to apply for public funding assistance in purchasing rule compliant vehicles. Staff indicated that since the last update on fleet rule implementation to the Committee in March 2008, over 420 rule compliant vehicles (primarily alternative-fueled vehicles) have been purchased. Staff also provided statistics regarding the number of vehicle exemption requests that have been approved or denied. A majority of the requests are from private school bus transportation providers in anticipation of a request for school bus services must apply for exemption of school buses if no funding is available. The actual number of exempted school buses is far smaller compared to the total exemptions approved (6 compared to 47 potential exemptions). Besides the school bus exemptions, public fleets have been applying for exemptions for vocational vehicles where rule compliant engines cannot be used. Staff indicated that during the year, an entity applied for exemption under Rule 1191 for 26 medium-duty SUVs. However, Rule 1191 allows for such purchases if the additional SULEVs or ZEVs are purchased to offset the emissions from the non-rule compliant vehicles. This has occurred in the past and typically, the fleet operator does not need to make a formal request for exemption.
   
   Staff also provided a discussion on the availability of rule-compliant engines. Staff indicated that since the adoption of the fleet rules, there are now natural gas engines certified at the 2010 on-road heavy-duty emissions standard. In addition, there is a large natural gas engine (15 liters in displacement) offered for Class 8 (or line-haul) truck applications. In addition to natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or propane) powered engines are being certified to levels below the 2007 average emissions standard. Lastly, there is a potential for many of the alternative-fueled engines to operate in hybrid systems, which further reduce emissions and provide additional environmental benefits.
   
   Staff discussed the various emissions certification levels of diesel, natural gas, gasoline, and propane engines during 2008. Staff indicated that relative to particulate matter that all engines must meet a much tighter standard of 0.01 g/bhp-hr. At these very low emission levels, there is essentially no difference in the particulate matter emissions. However, the some of the natural gas and propane engines are six times cleaner in NOx emissions compared to diesel engines.
   
   Staff concluded the update on the fleet rules describing future activities, which include continued implementation of the fleet rules, working with engine manufacturers to offer more commercial rule-compliant engines, and potential amendments to Rule 1193 to clarify implementation of the rule consistent with the Supreme Court decision.
   
   Supervisor Wilson asked how tour buses are affected by the fleet rules and indicated that tour buses tend to idle for a significant amount of time. Staff responded that tour buses are exempted from the fleet rules. In addition, with the Supreme Court decision, tour buses would not be subject to the fleet rules since they are generally contracted by private entities. However, tour bus idling is subject to CARB regulation that is enforceable either by the local air district or the local jurisdiction.
    
5. Rule 2202 Activity Report
   Written report submitted. No comments.
    
6. Monthly Report on Environmental Justice Initiatives – CEQA Document Commenting Update
   Written report submitted. No comments.
    
7. Other Business
   None
   
8. Public Comment
   None
    

The meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m.

Attachment (DOC, 50k)

Attendance Roster