BOARD MEETING DATE: September 10, 2010
AGENDA NO. 35
REPORT:
California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting
SYNOPSIS:
The California Air Resources Board met on July 22, 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) July meeting was held in Sacramento. Key meeting items are summarized below.
Status Report on New United States Environmental Protection Agency Requirements for Near-Roadway Monitoring of Nitrogen Dioxide
ARB staff presented a status report on the air quality monitoring requirements for the new federal 1-hour NO2 ambient air quality standard. The new requirements call for the placement of near-roadway monitors, located within 165 feet of heavily trafficked freeways and interchanges that are in or adjacent to heavily populated neighborhoods, in all regions with more than 500,000 residents. ARB staff estimates that a total of 16 near-roadway NO2 monitors will be needed in the following air districts: South Coast (four monitors), San Joaquin Valley (four), Bay Area (three), San Diego (two), Sacramento (two), and Ventura (one). Monitoring must start by January 2013. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has initially designated the entire State as “unclassifiable” for the revised 1-hour NO2 standard because of a lack of neighborhood-level monitoring data. Data from the near-roadway monitors will be used to re-evaluate NO2 attainment status in these regions, with re-designation expected in 2016 or 2017. ARB staff estimates set-up costs of approximately $100,000 per monitoring site. Federal funding assistance may be available for some monitors that are deployed early for testing purposes.
Adoption of a Proposed Regulation for Energy Efficiency and Co-Benefits Assessment of Large Industrial Facilities
The Board adopted a regulation requiring large industrial facilities to conduct a one-time energy efficiency assessment, and to identify projects to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and demonstrate other pollutant co-benefits. The new requirement applies to facilities that emit 0.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or more annually. ARB staff estimates that approximately 60 facilities statewide, including oil and gas refineries, electrical generation facilities, and cement plants, will be subject to the new regulations. Together, these facilities are responsible for about 45 percent of GHG emissions from the industrial sector. Under the regulation each facility must submit a report that identifies opportunities for improving energy efficiency and reducing GHG, criteria pollutant, and toxic air contaminant emissions to ARB by December 15, 2011. ARB staff will prepare a summary report of preliminary findings, hold one or more public workshops to discuss the data, and post facility assessment reports online by April 30, 2012. ARB’s public discussions and postings will protect any confidential information that may be included in the reports. Emission benefits will be achieved as facilities implement cost-effective energy efficiency projects identified through this process.
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Update on the Western Climate Initiative
Michael Gibbs, California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) Deputy Secretary for Climate Change, presented an update on the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) to the Board. The WCI consists of seven western states (including California) and four Canadian provinces. The participating provinces represent three-fourths of Canada’s population and economic output; the participating states and provinces together account for one-fourth of the combined population and gross domestic product of the U.S. and Canada. The WCI’s regional GHG reduction goal – to reduce GHG emissions to a level 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 – calls for approximately the same level of GHG reduction that California must achieve under AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. An economic analysis released in July shows that the WCI emission reduction goal can be met, with modest cost savings, through the implementation of a cap-and-trade program combined with complimentary programs. Deputy Secretary Gibbs, one of two WCI co-chairs, noted that the coordination allows the development of a more effective cap-and-trade program and gives the partnership more influence in national climate change policy discussions.
Attachment (DOC, 50k)
CARB July 22, 2010 Meeting Agenda