                            State of California

                            AIR RESOURCES BOARD



                         Summary of Board Meeting

                             January 23, 1997



                            Air Resources Board

                      Board Hearing Room, Lower Level

                              2020 "L" Street

                          Sacramento, California











MEMBERS PRESENT:                        

                        Hons. John D. Dunlap, III, Chairman

                        Joseph C. Calhoun, P.E.

                        Lynne T. Edgerton, Esq.

                        William F. Friedman, M.D.

                        M. Patricia Hilligoss

                        Jack C. Parnell

                        Barbara Riordan

                        Ron Roberts

                        James W. Silva







AGENDA ITEM #



97-1-1      Public Meeting to Consider the Approval of the

            South Coast Air Quality Management District's 1997

            Air Quality Management Plan



            SUMMARY OF AGENDA ITEM:



            On November 15, 1996, the South Coast Air Quality

            Management District (District) adopted its 1997 Air

            Quality Management Plan (AQMP).  The 1997 AQMP is

            an update to the District s 1994 AQMP, which was

            incorporated, with revisions, into California's

            1994 ozone SIP.  The 1994 ozone SIP was approved by

            the United States Environmental Protection Agency

            (U.S. EPA) on September 25, 1996. 



            The primary new element of  the 1997 AQMP is an

            attainment demonstration for the federal PM10

            standards.  This attainment plan is due to the

            U.S. EPA by February 8, 1997.  The 1997 AQMP also

            updates the District's ozone attainment

            demonstrations, post-1996 rate-of-progress

            demonstrations, and emissions budgets used for

            federal conformity purposes.  In addition, the 1997

            AQMP updates the District's carbon monoxide

            attainment demonstration and conformity emission

            budgets.  Since the District is requesting

            redesignation to attainment for the federal

            nitrogen dioxide standard, the 1997 AQMP will serve

            as the District's maintenance plan for nitrogen

            dioxide.



            Now that the 1997 AQMP has been approved by the

            Board, it will be forwarded as a SIP revision to

            the U.S. EPA to meet the requirement for submittal

            of the PM10 attainment plan.  The 1997 AQMP ozone,

            carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide revisions,

            while not required, will update the SIP elements

            for these pollutants to be consistent with the more

            recent emission inventory data and control strategy

            used in the PM10 plan.  The 1997 AQMP s control

            strategy is based on the control strategy in the

            approved 1994 ozone SIP, along with District

            fugitive dust measures.  Some District ozone

            measures have been revised, delayed, or eliminated

            based on updated ozone modeling.  The state and

            federal ozone strategies  in the approved 1994

            ozone SIP were not affected by the Board s approval

            of the 1997 AQMP.



            Testimony from environmental groups urged the Board

            not to approve the 1997 AQMP, because they believe

            that the changes to the ozone control strategy,

            especially the removal of some near-term control

            measures, are significant.  Staff discussed the

            impacts of the inventory and rulemaking changes on

            projected emission levels in the South Coast over

            the next decade.  With the combination of changes,

            emission levels are expected to be very close to

            the levels projected in the 1994 SIP.  



            Representatives from the regulated communities

            urged approval of the 1997 AQMP, or had concerns

            with specific control measures.  The Board directed

            ARB staff to work with District staff to resolve

            these specific concerns as the measures now move

            into the rulemaking process. 

        

            ORAL TESTIMONY:



            Gail Ruderman Feuer         NRDC



            V. John White               Sierra Club



            Tim Carmichael              Coalition for Clean Air



            Scott Kuhn                  Communities for a Better

                                        Environment



            Ron Wilkniss                WSPA



            John Billheimer             Private Consultant



            Steven Douglas              AAMA



            FORMAL BOARD ACTION:  



            Approved Resolution 97-1 by a vote of 8-1.



            RESPONSIBLE DIVISION:  EO/OAQTP



            STAFF REPORT: Yes (23 pages)





97-1-2      Public Meeting to Consider the Economic Assessment Program



            SUMMARY OF AGENDA ITEM:



            As an important part of Governor Wilson's

            Regulatory Reform Initiative, the Legislature

            passed bills in 1993 that expanded economic

            analysis requirements of proposed regulations.  For

            a consistent implementation of the mandates,

            Cal/EPA issued a policy document to all Cal/EPA

            Boards and Departments in December 1996 which

            explains the Legislative requirements and adds its

            policy on a comprehensive economic analyses of

            proposed regulations.  The 1996-97 Budget Act

            created an economics unit housed at the Air

            Resources Board (ARB) to help implement the

            Legislative mandates and the Cal/EPA policies. 



            The ARB has been in the forefront of economic

            analysis of proposed regulations for many years. 

            The ARB has performed in-house and extramural

            research on regulatory costs, cost-effectiveness,

            and impacts of regulations on jobs and businesses. 

            For example, the 1994 State Implementation Plan was

            analyzed for its impacts on the California economy. 

            Air quality regulation impacts on businesses'

            decisions to locate or expand in California were

            also studied.  To comply with the mandates, the

            staff will continue to research regulatory impacts

            and provide the Board with economic analyses of

            proposed regulations regarding: creation,

            elimination or expansion of businesses and jobs in

            California; highly cost-effective alternatives;

            risks and benefits of regulations; and costs or

            savings to local and state governments.



            ORAL TESTIMONY:  None.

            

            FORMAL BOARD ACTION:  None.



            RESPONSIBLE DIVISION: RD



            STAFF REPORT:  None.





97-1-3      Consideration of Research Proposals



            Resolution 97-2 was withdrawn pending further

            information on the costs of the overhead rate. 

            Resolution 97-3, 97-4, 97-5, 97-6, 97-7, 97-8,

            97-10, 97-11, 97-12 and 97-13 were approved by a

            unanimous vote.  Resolution 97-9 was approved by a

            vote of 7-1, with one abstention.

