BOARD MEETING DATE: May 1, 2009
AGENDA NO. 33

REPORT:

California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting

SYNOPSIS:

The California Air Resources Board met on April 23 and 24, 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) April meeting was held in Sacramento. Key meeting items are summarized below.

1. Health Update: Traffic and the Onset of Asthma
   
   ARB staff presented recent research findings linking traffic-related air pollution exposure and newly diagnosed cases of asthma in children. The study, part of the Southern California Children’s Health Study, monitored NO₂ concentrations (as a marker for traffic) for four weeks per year outside the homes of children in 11 different southern California communities, and compared these levels to new asthma cases reported in annual questionnaires in an eight-year follow-up study. Researchers found a 30% higher risk of asthma onset in communities with higher NO₂. While the association between traffic-related air pollution and worsening of asthma symptoms is well-documented, this study is among the first to tie traffic-related pollution to new cases of asthma.
    
2. Research Proposals
   
   The Board approved funding for the following projects.

• Personal, Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Air Pollution and Heart Rate Variability in Elderly Subjects with Coronary Artery Disease (University of California, Irvine)
• Central Nervous System Effects of Ambient particulate Matter: The Role of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation (University of California, Irvine)
• Foundation of Secondary Aerosols: Chamber Study and Model Development (University of California, Riverside)
• A Field Experiment to Assess the Impact of Information Provision on Household Electricity Consumption (University of California, Los Angeles)
   

3. Changes to the Research Screening Committee Membership
   
   The Board appointed Dr. Dan Costa to the Research Screening Committee to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Dr. Robert Devlin. Dr. Costa is the National Research Program Director at U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development, holds faculty appointments at two North Carolina universities, and has significant expertise in toxicology and the physiological effects of air pollution.
    
4. Low Carbon Fuel Standard
   
   The Board adopted a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a Discrete Early Action under the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). The Board’s action responds to an Executive Order issued by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2007, which called on ARB to adopt a regulation, by 2010, to reduce GHG emissions from motor vehicle fuel by ten percent by 2020. Implementation of this regulation will reduce GHG emissions in 2020 by 16 million metric tons of
   
   CO₂-equivalent gasses, which is 9% of the AB 32 reduction goal of 169 million metric tons.
   
   The Board established “carbon intensity” as the metric that will be used to measure compliance with the LCFS. The carbon intensity of each fuel is measured on a lifecycle basis, and represents the GHG emitted from each stage of producing, transporting, and using each fuel in a motor vehicle, per unit of fuel energy content. The rule allows fuel providers to use a variety of fuel types, including currently approved California gasoline and diesel blends, compressed or liquefied natural gas or hydrogen, bio-diesel, ethanol, and electricity. Carbon intensity can vary by fuel type. The allowable average carbon intensity of transportation fuels decreases each year, starting in 2011, until the carbon intensities of gasoline and diesel transportation fuels in 2020 are each reduced by 10 percent relative to 2010.
    
5. Status Report on Implementation of 2007 State Strategy for Meeting the Federal 8-Hour Ozone and PM_2.5 Standards and Administration Revision to the 2007 State Implementation Plan
   
   ARB staff reported on the status of efforts to fulfill ARB’s 2007 State Implementation Plan (SIP) State Strategy commitments. The presentation included an assessment of anticipated emissions reductions from adopted SIP measures, and the additional reductions needed to satisfy near-term SIP commitments in the South Coast and San Joaquin Valley Air Basins. U.S. EPA has requested a quantification of emissions benefits from adopted measures as a condition of approving the 2007 SIP, as well as a second update in 2010. ARB adopted a resolution directing staff to submit the requested information to U.S. EPA as a SIP revision.
    
6. Small Business Toolkit for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
   
   ARB staff briefed the Board on the development of tools designed to help small businesses achieve and track voluntary greenhouse gas emission reductions. The tools include a carbon emissions calculator, links to programs providing funding opportunities, a checklist of easy ways for small businesses to reduce emissions, and a list of ways to save money by cutting energy use. The tools are available online at CoolCalifornia.org. Board members offered ideas for outreach to the business community and suggested information gathering approaches to help refine the website.
    
7. AB 118 Air Quality Improvement Program Guidelines and FY 2009-2010 Funding Plan
   The Board adopted guidelines for the distribution of Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) grants established by AB 118 (Nunez, 2007), and approved a funding plan for Fiscal Year 2009/2010. ARB’s portion of the AB 118 program is designed to provide financial support for low emission vehicle and equipment purchases that are not eligible for funding support under the Carl Moyer, Proposition 1B Goods Movement Emission Reduction, or Lower Emission School Bus Programs. The program guidelines adopted by the Board utilize lessons learned in the other incentive programs to streamline the application and approval processes. The AQIP will employ different combinations of voucher programs, loan guarantees, and air district management to implement programs directed to different vehicle and equipment categories.
   
   The Board approved the following allocations for FY 2009-2010.

• Hybrid trucks and bus vouchers $25 million
• Zero-emission and plug-in hybrid light duty vehicle rebates  $5 million
• Lawn and garden equipment replacement  $2 million
• Zero-emission all-terrain agricultural work vehicle rebates $1.3 million
• Advanced technology demonstration  $9 million
   

Attachment (DOC, 70k)

CARB April 23 & 24, 2009 Meeting Agenda