BOARD MEETING DATE: February 5, 2010
AGENDA NO. 32
PROPOSAL:
Technology Committee
SYNOPSIS:
The Technology Committee met on January 22, 2010. Major topics included Technology Advancement items reflected in the regular Board Agenda for the February Board meeting. A summary of these topics with the Committee's comments is provided. The next Technology Committee meeting will be on February 19, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. in CC-8.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive and file.
Josie Gonzales
Technology Committee Chair
Background
Attendance: Committee Members Marion Ashley, Miguel Pulido (arrived at 12:15 p.m.), and Tonia Reyes Uranga participated by video-teleconference. Committee Chair Josie Gonzales and Committee Member Dennis Yates were in attendance at District headquarters. Committee Member William Burke was absent due to a conflict with his schedule.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
- Update on Port Drayage Truck Replacement Program
Staff provided a brief update of the implementation of the Port Drayage Truck Replacement Program with funding from Prop 1B Goods Movement Program, the two ports, as well as federal sources.
- Hydrogen Station Incident Report
Staff provided a review and update of the hydrogen station incident that disabled the station on January 7, 2010.
Staff provided a briefing on the energy release from the hydrogen flow control panel that occurred on January 7, 2010. Staff is working with the station equipment provider to determine the root cause of the failure and will conduct a full system safety analysis before bringing the station back on-line. Mayor Yates commented that some regulatory authority should be tasked with ensuring that all equipment are up-to-date referring to the current designs which incorporate venting and hydrogen sensors. Supervisor Gonzales suggested that a scheduled inspection or otherwise timed inspections be conducted by this same authority.
Staff agreed to explore these Committee recommendations.
MARCH BOARD AGENDA ITEMS
- Issue RFP to Develop Prototype Natural-Gas-Fired, Fan-Type Central Furnaces with Reduced NOx Emissions
The Amendment to Rule 1111 approved in November 2009, substantially lowered the NOx emission limit for natural-gas-fired, fan-type central furnaces beginning October 1, 2014. These furnaces, which are used mainly for residential heating, have been meeting a NOx limit of 40 nanograms per Joule of useful heat since 1984, and the new limit is 14 nanograms per Joule of useful heat. This action to issue an RFP will assist industry in developing compliant products before the new NOx limit takes effect. The RFP will provide up to $1 million of funding for up to four projects to develop furnaces that can meet this new limit.
Mayor Yates asked since we are funding the development of this new technology, to what extent would AQMD have ownership of intellectual property rights. Barbara Baird answered that this had been discussed with General Counsel Kurt Wiese; and the conclusion was that since AQMD is mandating the emission reduction that will require the use of this technology, we should not be involved in ownership of the intellectual property rights.
Mayor Yates commented that with Southern California Gas Companys (SCG) plan to import LNG into the natural gas distribution pipeline, would this new technology be designed and tested on this Hot Gas to make sure it will operate in compliance with the future Rule 1111 limits?
Chung Liu answered that although SCG does intend to import LNG, currently there is no LNG flowing into our area. We do expect LNG imports to begin within one to two years. It is not known to what extent the Hot Gas will affect this new technology; however, we will be looking into the requirements for this technology to be able to operate in compliance with the future rule limits on natural gas with higher Wobbe index.
Moved (Supervisor Ashley), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and unanimously recommended for approval.
- Approve Additional Funds and Amend Grants for School Bus Replacement Awards
At its December 5, 2008 and July 10, 2009 meetings, the Board approved Proposition 1B awards to public school districts to replace pre-1987 school buses with new alternative fuel school buses. Under CARBs program guidelines, school districts are required to provide a local match of $25,000 for each new school bus purchased. Due to the economic downturn and school budget cuts, school districts are unable to provide their local match funds. To help alleviate this burden, these actions are to provide an additional $10,000 per bus as local match to public school districts, in an amount not to exceed $2.85 million from the Carl Moyer Program AB 923 Fund; and also to allow the Los Angeles Unified School District to use up to $2.6 million of its CNG infrastructure funds awarded on December 5, 2008, towards the required match funds for school bus purchases.
Supervisor Gonzales stated that in the future staff should also look at the average and the distribution of ages of families belonging to each school district. Staff agreed and also mentioned that each county has its own allocation of funds. This helps by reducing competition among large and small school districts, in addition to at least fifty percent of funds being allocated in disproportionately impacted areas.
Moved (Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and unanimously recommended for approval.
- Execute Contracts for FY 2008-09 Year 11 Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program and Surplus Off-Road Opt-In for NOx Provision of State In-Use Off-Road Vehicle Regulation
On November 6 and 20, 2009, proposals were received in response to the program announcements that were issued for the SOON Provision of the State In-Use Off-Road Vehicle Regulation and the Year 11 Carl Moyer Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, respectively. These actions are to execute contracts under the Carl Moyer Program and the SOON Provision in an amount not to exceed $7,855,537 from the Carl Moyer Program Fund.
Supervisors Ashley and Gonzales recused themselves from this item due to campaign contributions from Robertsons Ready Mix within the past 12 months.
Moved (Mayor Yates), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and recommended for approval.
- Adopt Resolution Recognizing Funds and Accepting Terms and Conditions for FY 2009-10 Carl Moyer Program Award and Issue Carl Moyer Program Announcement for FY 2009-10
These actions are to adopt a resolution recognizing $34,315,441 in Carl Moyer Program grant awards from CARB under SB 1107 with its terms and conditions for FY 2009-10 and to approve the release of a Program Announcement to provide incentive funding for low-emitting on- and off-road vehicles and equipment for the FY 2009-10 Year 12 Carl Moyer Program.
Moved (Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and unanimously recommended for approval.
- Execute Contracts with Clean Cities Coalitions for Outreach and Education Activities in Support of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Awards Received by AQMD
AQMD was the recipient of two American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Awards which contain provisions for education and outreach activities. This action is to enter into contracts with the five local Clean Cities Coalitions, and the Eastern Sierra Regional Clean Cities Coalition in Nevada to conduct education and outreach activities in support of: 1) an award for replacement of 180 heavy-duty natural gas drayage trucks in the South Coast Air Basin in an amount not to exceed $250,000; and 2) an award to complete a 700-mile LNG fueling corridor across the southwest United States in an amount not to exceed $150,000. The LNG fueling corridor will be along one of the nations most heavily traveled goods movement truck routes between Southern California and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Moved (Mayor Yates), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and unanimously recommended for approval.
- Execute Contract to Develop Truck Outreach Centers and Execute Sole Source Contract to Implement Education Component of Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Drayage Truck Replacement Program
As part of the Chairmans Helping Hand Initiative, the Board issued an RFP in September to develop two education and outreach centers for truck owners/operators to provide information regarding advanced engine technologies and fuel efficiency. This action is to execute a contract with Gladstein, Neandross & Associates in an amount not to exceed $150,000 from the Clean Fuels Fund. In addition, the AQMD has been successful in receiving a grant from DOE for Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Drayage Truck Replacement Program for trucks at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. As part of the award, $250,000 has been allocated towards implementation of an education component and materials for the education and outreach centers for truck owners/operators. This action is to execute a sole source contract with the Advanced Transportation Technology & Energy Network of the California Community Colleges for the education component of this program in an amount not to exceed $250,000.
Supervisor Gonzales inquired about the timeline for the truckstop centers. Staff indicated that the funding award up to $150,000 was only for the first year, and the contractor would seek other sources of funding to sustain operation beyond the first year. Supervisor Gonzales indicated that she would like to be provided the toll free hotline number to assess the usefulness of the information provided when available. In addition, Supervisor Gonzales indicated that it would be good to continue the centers beyond the first year.
Moved (Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and unanimously recommended for approval.
- Execute Contracts and Transfer Funds for Voucher Incentive Program
In May 2009, the Board recognized $3.4 million from CARB to implement the Carl Moyer On-Road Heavy-Duty Vehicle Voucher Incentive Program. As required, the AQMD identified an equal amount of local match, the largest portion from the AB 923 account. This action is to modify seven existing contracts and execute two new contracts with the dealerships to provide the reimbursements, and grant Executive Officer authority to redistribute the funds among the dealerships based on demand. The final action is to reimburse $35,000 from the SB 1107 Fund to the Executive Office Professional Services account for a previous voucher payment.
Moved (Mayor Pulido), seconded (Supervisor Ashley), and unanimously recommended for approval.
- Amend Contract and Execute Contract for Locomotive NOx Control Equipment Demonstration Project
In 2006, the Board approved a locomotive emissions control project with Engine, Fuel, and Emissions Engineering, Inc. (EF&EE) which successfully demonstrated a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system with substantial NOx and PM reductions. Additional work is required to enhance system durability. This action is to redirect a previously allocated and unused $100,000 U.S. EPA grant to this SCR project, modify the EF&EE SCR project contract, and execute a contract with a technical expert to provide assistance to EF&EE for enhancing the durability of the technology.
Moved (Supervisor Ashley), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and unanimously recommended for approval.
- Amend Contract for Off-Road Emissions Reduction Showcase Program
On October 5, 2007, the Board approved a $1.2 million project to retrofit selective catalytic reduction systems and diesel particulate filters on off-road construction equipment owned by multiple fleet operators as part of an Off-Road Emissions Reduction Showcase Program. Two of the Board-approved fleet operators will not be able to participate in the Program as a result of the recent economic downturn. This action is to modify the project to expand the number of projects with the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County for a total amount not to exceed $196,150 from the Clean Fuels Fund. Additionally, this action requests to provide the Executive Officer the authority to reallocate funding amongst the Board-approved fleet operators in the Program, should there be further changes in their participation.
Supervisor Gonzales noted that staffs proposal was to rescind the two contracts and use the funds to expand the number of projects at the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. The Supervisor asked staff had they considered other fleets as well as the Sanitation Districts fleet. Staff informed Supervisor Gonzales that they had contacted the other fleets in the program and that most were experiencing similar problems in that their equipment hours were too low to participate in the program due to the economy. The Sanitation Districts fleet is not as dramatically affected by the economic recession and could supply additional vehicles with sufficient hours of operation as required by the Showcase program.
Moved (Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga), seconded (Mayor Pulido), and unanimously recommended for approval.
Mayor Pulido left at 1:15 p.m.
- Issue Purchase Order for Condensation Particle Counters to Conduct Additional Ultrafine Particle Measurements at Airports
Recent studies by AQMD and others have identified jet aircraft as a major source of ultrafine particles to communities immediately downwind from airports. Given the very high levels of ultrafines that have been detected in these studies, existing AQMD equipment is not capable of accurately measuring ultrafine particles at these elevated concentrations. In order to better assess the extent and levels of ultrafines from different jet aircraft, three new condensation particle counters are needed. This action is to issue a sole source purchase order for three condensation particle counters in an amount not to exceed $100,000.
Moved (Mayor Yates), seconded (Supervisor Ashley), and unanimously recommended for approval.
ITEM FOR COMMITTEE ACTION OR DISCUSSION
- AQMD Diamond Bar Facility Electric Energy Self-Sufficiency Plan
Staff will provide an overview of an initial analysis to incorporate multiple renewable and distributed generation technologies at the AQMD Diamond Bar Headquarters to enable full electrical energy self-sufficiency for the facility.
Supervisor Gonzales asked at what occupancy level were the electrical power demand readings taken for AQMD headquarters building? Staff answered these demand levels reflect summertime power demands with the current occupancy.
Supervisor Gonzales stated that future building occupancy should be taken into account for future on-site energy generation. Staff agreed.
Board member Dr. Joseph Lyous assistant, Ms. Nicole Nishimura, asked if staff had considered installing a geothermal heat pump as a means to assist the building cooling system requirements? Staff answered that that technology was not part of the initial proposal, but will be reviewed as a potential future technology.
Moved (Mayor Yates), seconded (Supervisor Ashley), and unanimously recommended for approval.
Other Business There was no other business.
Public Comment Period - There was no public comment.
The next meeting will be February 19. The meeting was adjourned.
Attachment (DOC, 30k)
A - Attendance