BOARD MEETING DATE: March 6, 2009
AGENDA NO. 29

REPORT:

California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting

SYNOPSIS:

The California Air Resources Board met on February 26, 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) February meeting was held in Sacramento. Key meeting items are summarized below.

1.  Health Update: Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Indicators of Adverse Health Effects in Adults with Heart Disease
ARB staff presented the results of a recent study examining the relationship between exposure to ambient particulate matter and indicators of cardiopulmonary health. Epidemiological research has shown that elevated concentrations of particulate matter (PM) are a cause of increased mortality from heart attacks, but the physiological mechanism causing this outcome has not been satisfactorily identified. To further explore this, relationships between three biomarkers of cardiac stress in residents of two retirement facilities in Southern California were compared to characteristics of particulate matter in outdoor and indoor air to which the residents were exposed. Increases in biomarker levels were consistently associated with:

• ultrafine PM (< 0.25 µm),
• primary combustion PM (elemental and organic carbon),
• particle number, and
• PM_2.5 components originating outdoors.

This study supports the conclusion that traffic-related components of PM may lead to acute adverse health outcomes in elderly people with cardiovascular disease.
 

2.  Climate Change Scoping Plan Implementation Update and Appointment of Replacement Members to the Economic and Technical Advancement Advisory Committee
The Board heard an update on the implementation of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, and appointed six members of the Economic and Technical Advancement Advisory Committee. Staff identified the following highlights in ARB actions taken to implement AB 32:

• the Board’s designation, in October 2007, of nine Discrete Early Actions for adoption and enforcement by January 1, 2010, and 35 Early Actions for adoption between 2007 and 2012.
• the Board’s adoption of the Scoping Plan in December 2008.
• the Board’s request for a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) that would allow the State to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new light duty vehicles. On March 5, U.S.EPA will hold a hearing to reconsider its prior denial of the waiver request.
• the Board’s appointment of a Regional Targets Advisory Committee, the first step in the development of regional land use GHG reduction targets required under SB 375 (Steinberg, 2008).
• the re-evaluation of the Scoping Plan economic impact analysis requested by the Board, which is now underway. Staff expects to complete an expanded economic analysis by the end of this year.

With adoption of the Scoping Plan, the Economic and Technical Advancement Advisory Committee has started its development of recommendations for implementing the Plan. Several vacancies exist on the Committee, and staff recommended that a seat be added to the Committee for a representative of labor. The Board approved the following appointments to the Committee:

• Mr. Dan Adler, California Clean Energy Fund.
• Dr. Chris Busch, Center for Resource Solutions.
• Mr. Roland Hwang, Natural Resources Defense Council.
• Mr. Ralph Moran, BP America.
• Mr. Hank Ryan, Small Business California.
• Mr. Jim Beno, California Labor Federation.
   

3.  Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Semiconductor Operations
The Board adopted a regulation to reduce GHG emissions from semiconductor manufacturing operations. Because the specialized gases used in wafer manufacturing have very high global warming potentials (GWP), a regulation to reduce emissions from this sector was identified as an Early Action measure. The regulation imposes facility-wide GHG emission limits per unit of wafer production within three different annual wafer production ranges. GHG emission reductions can be achieved through reduced gas use in wafer treatment chambers, the use of lower GWP gases, and the installation of additional control devices on chamber vents. The Board also directed staff to consider, in the development of future GHG emission reduction rules, the inclusion of provisions that would automatically reduce emission limits if other nations adopt more restrictive control measures for the same category of sources.
 

4.  Control of Sulfur Hexafluoride Emissions from Non-Semiconductor and Non-Utility Applications
The Board adopted an Early Action regulation to reduce emissions of sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) from sources other than semiconductor manufacturing and electrical utility facilities. With an impact 23,900 times greater than directly emitted carbon dioxide, SF₆ is the most potent global warming gas. The major uses of SF₆ covered by this regulation include airflow testing, magnesium casting, and eye surgery. Under the adopted regulation, SF₆ use in these fields would be banned after January 1, 2013. The regulation allows exemptions to be considered on a case-by-case basis where (1) continued use of SF₆ would result in reduced emissions of GHG with greater global warming potential, or (2) no viable alternative to the use of SF₆ is available. The regulation also requires all sales and use of SF₆ in California to be reported annually to ARB beginning in 2010.

The Board also adopted a regulation restricting the use of SF₆ and other high GWP gasses used in the semiconductor industry as noted in the previous item. The use of SF₆ in the electrical utility industry will be the subject of a regulation to be brought to the Board later this spring.
 

5.  Nonattainment Area Recommendations for the Revised Federal 8-Hour Ozone Standard
ARB staff reported to the Board on its recommendations to U.S. EPA for areas to be designated nonattainment for the revised federal 8-hour ozone standard. The current fourteen ozone nonattainment areas continue to violate the revised standard and no changes in those boundaries are recommended. ARB is recommending that six additional areas be designated nonattainment based on the last three years of monitoring data. ARB staff’s analysis indicates that all of the new proposed nonattainment areas are rural areas impacted by upwind emissions.

The rural areas recommended for redesignation to nonattainment under the revised federal 8-hour ozone standard are:

• Tuscan Buttes portion of Tehama County.
• Pinnacles National Monument in San Benito County.
• Eastern San Luis Obispo County.
• Southern Inyo County.
• Indian Wells Valley portion of Eastern Kern County.
• Northeast San Bernardino County.

The federal Clean Air Act requires the states to submit recommendations for area designations and boundaries to U.S. EPA. This item did not require Board action.
 

6.  New Grants Under the Innovative Clean Air Technologies (ICAT) Program
The Board approved three new grants under the Innovative Clean Air Technologies (ICAT) Program and received a report from staff on the potential for royalty paybacks. The new grants provide a total of $710,000 to three pilot projects that will cost a total of $1.6 million. The approved grants support projects that will assess the feasibility of:

• scrubbing and combusting dairy digester gas in an internal combustion engine to produce electricity.
• using an active control surface device at the rear of an on-highway cargo trailer to reduce drag and increase fuel mileage.
• using a hybrid hydraulic drive train in a delivery truck to reduce fuel consumption.

The staff also responded to a prior request from the Board to explore the feasibility of recovering grant costs through royalties paid from the sales of successful technologies that have received ICAT funding. ARB staff found that it would not be feasible to pursue royalty payback requirements in grant awards because 1) imposing such requirements would reduce interest in applying for ICAT grants, 2) the required legislation to return royalty funds to the ICAT program would require 18 months or more to adopt and implement, and 3) the accounting for royalty payments received over extended periods may cost more than the funds received. The Board accepted this report and took no further action.
 

Attachment (DOC, 66k)

CARB February 26, 2009 Meeting Agenda