BOARD MEETING DATE: November 5, 2010
AGENDA NO. 33

REPORT:

California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting

SYNOPSIS:

The California Air Resources Board met on October 21, 2010. 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) October meeting was held in Sacramento. Key items presented are summarized below.

1. Research Update: Air Pollution Research, Fiscal Year 2010-2011 

ARB approved the 2010-11 Annual Research Plan, allocating approximately
$6.5 million toward 25 projects in five general categories as shown in the following table.

The Research Plan also identifies four additional projects to be considered if additional funding becomes available; total recommended ARB support for these projects would be $1.3 million.

2. Legislative Update

ARB Legislative Director Rob Oglesby reviewed the fate of air quality legislation considered in the recently concluded 2009-2010 legislative session. The Legislature was focused on the State’s economy and introduced few air quality or climate change bills, although it did hold 13 special hearings on air quality topics ranging from AB 32 Climate Change program implementation to carpool lanes. Significantly, the Legislature rejected several bills designed to roll back or delay climate change and diesel emission reduction programs.

The Governor signed into law the following major air quality bills:

• AB 2289 (Eng), which will provide for faster, more effective, and less expensive smog checks for passenger vehicles equipped with advanced on-board diagnostic system (OBD II). Over 70 percent of cars subject to Smog Check are equipped with the OBD II on-board computer system, which was pioneered by ARB. The on-board computers provide detailed engine performance data that allow Smog Check technicians to better assess each vehicle’s emissions and diagnose emission system problems. AB 2289 will provide 70 tons per day emission reductions, equivalent to removing 800,000 vehicles from the road.

• AB 1500 (Lieu) and SB 535 (Yee), which extends high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane access for alternate fuel and hybrid vehicles.

• SB 1402 (Dutton), which requires ARB to provide written information on how ARB-imposed penalties are determined, and requires the Board to adopt a written penalty policy.

• SB 855, the Budget Trailer Bill, which requires each State agency implementing the AB 32 climate change program to prepare a zero-based AB 32 budget for fiscal year 2011-12, and to submit that budget to the Legislature by April 1, 2011.

• AB 1507 (Lieu), which expands the Carl Moyer emission reduction incentive program to include mobile source projects that provide greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits, provided the GHG controls do not reduce criteria pollutant benefits.

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 1405 (De Leon), which would have established the California Climate Change Community Benefits fund to distribute ten percent of the proceeds from any cap-and-trade program adopted by ARB to projects in environmental justice communities, noting that ARB is still designing the cap-and-trade program.

3. Report on the Implementation of the AB 32 Scoping Plan 

Staff provided an update to the Board on implementation of the AB 32 Climate Change Scoping Plan measures and other climate change program activities. With last month’s approval of the Renewable Electricity Standard and SB 375 regional GHG reduction targets, ARB and other State agencies have enacted measures that achieve over half of the reductions needed to meet the 2020 GHG emission reduction target established in AB 32. ARB staff is preparing two major regulations for the near-term consideration: the GHG cap-and-trade regulation and the Advanced Clean Cars program. These regulations are tentatively scheduled for Board consideration in December 2010 and January 2011, respectively. ARB staff is also evaluating the impact of the economic downturn on the GHG inventory and progress towards meeting the AB 32 GHG reduction goals.

Staff reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is developing GHG emission requirements for the largest industrial GHG emission sources. U.S. EPA staff is working on GHG requirements that would be incorporated into the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) and Title V reporting requirements, and would be phased in over several years. The NSR changes would mandate the use of best available control technology to reduce GHG emissions from new and significantly modified sources.

On the international front, Governor Schwarzenegger will co-host the third international Governors’ Global Climate Summit with the United Nations Development and Environment Program at U.C. Davis on November 15 and 16. Among other issues, attendees will discuss carbon trading market design issues with the goal of ensuring that markets are compatible across borders.

4. Update on Recent Federal and ARB Activities to Support Development of More Stringent Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Model Year 2017-2025 Passenger Vehicles 

Chief Deputy Executive Officer Tom Cackette summarized the findings of the

“Interim Joint Technical Assessment Report on Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for Model Years 2017-2025” that was developed jointly by U.S. EPA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and ARB. The technical assessment included meetings with stakeholders, studies to evaluate new technologies, and modeling to identify the costs, fuel savings and GHG emission reductions from various mixes of technologies. The proposed technologies include mass reduction, improved gasoline engines, increased numbers of hybrids (conventional and plug-in), and increased numbers of zero emission vehicles (battery and fuel cell). These advanced technology vehicles will cost more to purchase, but these costs will be offset by significant fuel savings. ARB is tentatively scheduled to present an Advanced Clean Cars regulation to the Board in early 2011. U.S. EPA and NHTSA are expected to release more stringent GHG emission standards for model year 2017- 2025 vehicles in early 2012. ARB staff will evaluate the federal standards at that time and consider harmonization with them.

5. Proposed Amendments to the Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Stationary Compression Ignition Engines

The Board approved proposed amendments to ARB’s Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) for Stationary Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engines, adopted in 2004, to align the requirements more closely with U.S. EPA’s New Source Performance Standards for this source category, promulgated in 2006. The amendments primarily affect the requirements for new diesel engines used on a stand-by basis in non-agricultural operations. These engines are typically operated for less than 30 hours per year. The amendment will save businesses and public agencies approximately $46 million through 2020 without significantly impacting the steep emission reductions provided by the ATCM. The ATCM also allows local air districts to establish more stringent requirements either through local rulemaking, or on a site-specific basis through the district permitting process.

6. Proposed Minor Amendments to the Periodic Smoke Inspection Program in Response to the Inclusion of Diesel Vehicles in Smog Check (Assembly Bill 1488, Mendoza 2007) 

ARB staff presented proposed revisions to ARB’s Periodic Smoke Inspection Program (PSIP) for diesel trucks that would remove some smoke inspection requirements for trucks that are also subject to the Diesel Smog Check program established by AB 1488 (Mendoza, 2008). The PSIP, which was implemented by the Board in 1998, requires truck fleets to perform annual smoke opacity inspections, and to repair or remove from service failing trucks. AB 1488 requires all 1998 and newer diesel trucks that weigh 14,000 pounds and less (generally light- and medium-duty pick-up trucks) to undergo biennial Smog Check inspections, including a visual tamper inspection, an OBD check, and a visual smoke test.

The ARB staff proposed to waive the PSIP smoke opacity inspections for trucks subject to the new Diesel Smog Check program during the years when the trucks are required to go through the Smog Check program. The Board elected to enact an alternative presented by staff, which would exempt trucks subject to the Diesel Smog Check program from the PSIP entirely. In aggregate the smaller diesel trucks that are subject to Diesel Smog Check requirements account for less than one percent of the particulate matter emissions from all diesel trucks; ARB staff estimated that eliminating the PSIP requirement for this class of trucks would increase diesel particulate matter emissions by 0.01 ton per day statewide. The amendment will save truck fleets an estimated $4.2 million per year.

Attachment (DOC, 56k)

CARB October 21, 2010 Meeting Agenda