The purpose of the 1997 Revision to the Air Quality Management
Plan (AQMP or Plan) for the South Coast Air Basin (Basin) and
those portions of the Mojave Desert Air Basin and Salton Sea Air
Basin under the South Coast Air Quality Management District (District)
jurisdiction, is to set forth a comprehensive program that will
lead these areas into compliance with all federal and state air
quality planning requirements. Specifically, the 1997 AQMP Revision
is designed to satisfy: 1) the State Implementation Plan requirements
under Title I of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and 2) the California
Clean Air Act (CCAA). These federal and state requirements are
summarized briefly later in this chapter.
The 1997 AQMP sets forth programs which require the cooperation
of all levels of government: local, regional, state, and federal.
Each level is represented in the Plan by the appropriate agency
or jurisdiction that has the authority over specific emissions
sources. Accordingly, each agency or jurisdiction is assigned
specific planning and implementation responsibilities.
At the federal level, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is charged with regulation of on-road motor vehicle standards;
trains, airplanes, and ships; non-road engines; and off-shore
oil development. The Air Resources Board (ARB), representing the
state level, also oversees on-road vehicle emission standards,
fuel specifications, some off-road sources and consumer product
standards. At the regional level, the District is responsible
for stationary sources and some mobile sources. In addition, the
District has lead responsibility for the development and adoption
of the Plan. Lastly, at the local level, Associations of Governments
have a dual role of leader and coordinator. In their leadership
role, they, in cooperation with local jurisdictions and subregional
associations, develop strategies for these jurisdictions to implement;
as a coordinator, they facilitate the implementation of these
strategies. For the South Coast Air Basin, the Southern California
Association of Governments is the District's major partner in
the preparation of the AQMP. Interagency commitment and cooperation
are the keys to success of the AQMP.
Since air pollution physically transcends city and county boundaries,
it is a regional problem. No one agency can design or implement
the Plan alone, and the strategies in the Plan reflect this fact.
The District is faced with a number of constraints or confounding
circumstances to achieving clean air. These include the physical
and meteorological setting, the large pollutant emissions burden
of the Basin, and the rapid population growth of the area.
Setting
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has jurisdiction
over approximately 12,000 square miles consisting of the four-county
South Coast Air Basin and the Los Angeles county and Riverside
county portions of what used to be under state classification
the Southeast Desert Air Basin. Figure 1-1 shows the boundaries
of the District; also shown are the federally designated ozone
nonattainment areas. In May 1996, the boundaries of the South
Coast Air Basin were changed by ARB to include the Beaumont-Banning
area. In addition, the Southeast Desert Air Basin was separated
into two areas and renamed as the Mojave Desert Air Basin and
the Salton Sea Air Basin. The South Coast Air Basin is bounded
by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the San Gabriel, San Bernardino,
and San Jacinto Mountains to the north and east. It includes all
of Orange county and the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside,
and San Bernardino counties. The Los Angeles county portion of
the Mojave Desert Air Basin (known as North county or Antelope
Valley) is bounded by the San Gabriel Mountains to the south and
west, the Los Angeles/Kern county border to the north, and the
Los Angeles/San Bernardino county border to the east. In September
1996, AB 2666 (Knight) established the Antelope Valley Air Pollution
Control District (AVAPCD) to be effective on July 1, 1997. In
the interim, the Antelope Valley is considered part of the South
Coast Air Quality Management District. As such, the planning requirements
for the Antelope Valley are provided in this Plan. The Riverside
county portion of the Salton Sea Air Basin and the Mojave Desert
Air Basin is bounded by the San Jacinto Mountains in the west
and spans eastward up to the Palo Verde Valley (Blythe).
While the state action redrew the boundaries of the desert regions
of Southern California, the federal ozone nonattainment area is
still called the Southeast Desert Modified Ozone Nonattainment
Area and contains portions from all three air basins. The Salton
Sea Air Basin portion of Riverside County east of the South Coast
Air Basin (known as the Coachella Valley Planning Area) is bounded
by the San Jacinto Mountains to the west and the eastern boundary
of the Coachella Valley to the east.
The topography and climate of Southern California combine to make
the Basin an area of high air pollution potential, and constrain
the District's efforts to achieve clean air. During the summer
months, a warm air mass frequently descends over the cool, moist
marine layer produced by the interaction between the ocean's surface
and the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The warm upper layer forms
a cap over the cool marine layer and inhibits the pollutants in
the marine layer from dispersing upward. In addition, light winds
during the summer further limit ventilation. Furthermore, sunlight
triggers the photochemical reactions which produce ozone, and
this region experiences more days of sunlight than any other major
urban area in the nation except Phoenix.
FIGURE 1-1
Boundaries of the South Coast Air Quality Management District
and Federal Planning Areas
[Note: A New District (Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District)
was Formed in September 1996 and Will Be Effective on July 1,
1997.]
The Basin's economic base is diverse. Historically, the four counties
of the Basin have collectively comprised one of the fastest-growing
local economies in the United States. Until recently, the aerospace
and electronic industries accounted for about 20 percent of the
Basin's employment. Significant changes have occurred in the composition
of the industrial base of the region in the past ten years. As
in many areas of the country, a large segment of heavy manufacturing,
including steel and tire manufacturing and automobile assembly,
has been phased down. The aerospace and electronics industries
have been reduced in scale by cutbacks in defense spending. Small
service industries and businesses resulting from growth in shipping
and trade have replaced much of the heavy industry.
Both the Antelope Valley and the Coachella Valley Planning Area
are impacted by pollutant transport from the South Coast Air Basin.
In addition, pollutant transport occurs to the Mojave Desert,
Ventura county, and San Diego county. As part of this AQMP revision,
transport issues relative to the Antelope Valley and the Coachella
Planning Area are specifically addressed in Chapter 8 and Appendix
V.
In summary, the diverse geographical characteristics of the Southern
California region place a significant constraint on achieving
air quality standards.
Emission Sources
The pollution burden of the Basin is substantial. It has been
estimated from prior studies that emissions of volatile organic
compounds, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides,
and direct primary particulates in the South Coast Air Basin must
be reduced by over 50 percent to attain the federal air quality
standards.
Air pollution forms either directly or indirectly from pollutants
emitted from a variety of sources. These sources can be natural,
such as oil seeps, vegetation, or windblown dust. Emissions may
also result from combustion, as in automobile engines; from evaporation
of organic liquids, such as those used in coating and cleaning
processes; or through abrasion, such as from tires on roadways.
The air pollution control strategy in the AQMP is directed almost
entirely at controlling man-made sources. Where naturally occurring
emissions can be mitigated, such as through windbreaks, they are
included. Otherwise, natural emissions are accounted for in the
background and initial conditions data used for the air quality
modeling analysis described in Chapters 5 and 8 and Appendix V.
Population
Since the end of World War II, the Basin has experienced faster
population growth than the rest of the nation. Although growth
has slowed somewhat, the region's population is expected to increase
significantly towards the end of the century and through 2020.
Table 1-1 shows the projected growth based on SCAG's regional
growth forecast.
Although per-capita emissions have been brought down substantially
in the Basin through 40 years of implementing pollution controls,
increases in the population over that time have made overall emission
reductions more difficult. Many sources, such as automobiles,
have been significantly controlled. However, increases in the
number of sources, particularly those growing proportionally to
population, reduce the potential air quality benefits of new controls.
The net result is that unless significant steps are taken to further
control air pollution, growth will overwhelm much of the improvements
expected from the existing control program.
TABLE 1-1
Population Growth
Year Population Average Percent Increase
Per Year Over the Period
1950 4.8 million
1980 10.5 million 2.7
1990 13.0 million 2.2
2010 16.7 million 1.3
2020 18.9 million 1.2
History
The seriousness of the local air pollution problem was recognized
in the early 1940s. In 1946, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
established the first air pollution control district in the nation
to address the problems of industrial air pollution. In the mid-1950s,
California established the first state agency to control motor
vehicle emissions. Countywide or regional air pollution districts
were required throughout the state by 1970. Many of the controls,
originating in California, became the basis for the federal control
program which began in the 1960s.
Nearly all control programs developed to date have relied on the
development and application of cleaner technology and add-on emission
control devices. Industrial and vehicular sources have been significantly
affected by this technology. Only recently have preventive efforts
come to the forefront of the air pollution control program, [e.g.,
alternative materials, waste minimization, and maintenance procedures
for industrial sources].
In the 1970s, it became apparent at both the state and federal
levels that local programs were not enough to solve a problem
that was regional in nature and did not stay within jurisdictional
boundaries. Instead, air basins, defined by geographical boundaries,
became the basis for regulatory programs.
In 1976, the California Legislature adopted the Lewis Air Quality
Management Act which created the South Coast Air Quality Management
District from a voluntary association of air pollution control
districts in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino
counties. The new agency was charged with developing uniform plans
and programs for the region to attain federal standards by the
dates specified in federal law. The agency was also mandated to
meet state standards by the earliest date achievable, using reasonably
available control measures.
Rule development in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in dramatic improvement
in Basin air quality (see Appendix II). However, the effort to
impose incremental rule changes on the thousands of stationary
sources under District permits was laborious and time consuming.
The District concluded it was possible that the limits of the
command and control regulatory process were being reached. The
1991 AQMP introduced the concept of a Marketable Permits Program
and outlined the skeleton of an idea that was forerunner to what
is now known as the Regional Clean Air Incentives Market (RECLAIM).
A historical milestone occurred with the adoption of RECLAIM on
October 15, 1993. RECLAIM is an alternative means of achieving
further emission reductions from stationary sources, different
from the traditional source-specific regulatory program. RECLAIM
calls for declining mass emission limits on the total emissions
from all sources within a facility. The facility can choose from
a selection of methods for achieving the prescribed emission reductions:
add-on controls, use of reformulated products, changes in production,
purchase of excess emission reductions from other sources, and/or
any other methods that would be enforceable and quantifiable.
At the time of adoption, RECLAIM was estimated to affect approximately
390 and 41 of the largest emitters of oxides of nitrogen and oxides
of sulfur in the Basin and is designed to reduce emissions of
these pollutants by 80 and 14 tons/day, respectively, by July
1, 2004.1
Impact of Control
Past air quality programs have been effective in improving the
Basin's air quality. Ozone levels have been reduced in half over
the past 30 years, sulfur dioxide and lead standards have been
met, and other criteria pollutant concentrations have significantly
declined. And for the first time in 1992, the federal annual nitrogen
dioxide standard was not exceeded in the Basin. However, the Basin
still experiences exceedances of health-based standards for ozone,
carbon monoxide, and particulate matter under ten microns (PM10).
Air quality summaries and health effects in the Basin are briefly
discussed in Chapter 2; Appendix II provides an in-depth analysis
of air quality as measured within the District's jurisdiction.
In September 1994, the District and SCAG adopted an Air Quality
Management Plan for the Basin which revised the previous AQMPs.
The 1994 AQMP continued an aggressive emission control program
with primary emphasis on mobile sources. The control program consists
of short- and intermediate-term control measures and long-term
(or new technology) measures. The long-term control measures would
be implemented after 2000 to achieve the federal ozone air quality
standard by 2010. The 1994 AQMP proposed a comprehensive set of
control measures that included market incentive approaches for
stationary sources, introduction of market incentive concepts
that could replace indirect source control measures, and the use
of advanced technologies for stationary and mobile sources. The
need to build the infrastructure for new mobile source technologies
was also identified.
The 1994 AQMP addressed specific requirements of the 1990 federal
Clean Air Act and the state Clean Air Act. Specifically, the 1994
AQMP provided an ozone attainment demonstration as required in
the 1990 federal Clean Air Act and served as the triennial report
update for the South Coast Air Basin as required under state law.
Upon the adoption of the 1994 AQMP, the District Governing Board
requested that only those control measures necessary to the federal
ozone air quality standard be forwarded to the U.S. EPA as part
of the ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP).
State and Federal Approval Actions on the 1994 AQMP
Subsequent to the adoption of the 1994 AQMP, the California Air
Resources Board (ARB) took actions to approve the 1994 AQMP as
part of the California Ozone SIP. In November 1994, the ARB approved
the California Ozone SIP and replaced many of the AQMP mobile
source control measures with statewide mobile measures. In addition,
ARB replaced the AQMP consumer products and pesticide control
measures with statewide measures. All of the statewide measures
provide equivalent emission reductions to those replaced AQMP
measures. The California Ozone SIP was forwarded to the U.S. EPA
on November 15, 1994 and a completeness finding was made on April
18, 1995.
The U.S. EPA proposed two actions on the California Ozone SIP.
The first action on August 21, 1995, approved several of the long-term
new technology measures in the Ozone SIP and several of the statewide
mobile source control measures. On March 8, 1996, the U.S. EPA
proposed actions to approve the California Ozone SIP. The proposed
actions were finalized on September 26,1996 and will be effective
30 days after publication in the Federal Register. As part of
the final action, U.S. EPA will enter into a consultative process
to further develop the assignment of emission reductions to federal
transportation sources (locomotives, ships, and aircrafts) needed
to achieve the federal ozone air quality standard in the South
Coast Air Basin. The consultative process is anticipated to be
completed by the summer of 1997 and if necessary, a revised ozone
attainment demonstration would be submitted by the end of 1997.
Progress in Implementing the 1994 AQMP
Progress in implementing the 1994 AQMP can be measured by the
number of control measures that have been adopted as rules and
the resulting tons of pollutants targeted for reduction. Since
1994, nine control measures have been adopted by the District
through September 30, 1996. Table 1-2 lists the District stationary
and mobile source control measures from the 1994 AQMP that were
adopted through September 30, 1996.
The primary focus of the District's efforts had been the development
of the VOC RECLAIM program since 1994. The VOC RECLAIM control
measure (CTS-01) was put on hold by the District Governing Board
in October 1995 due to lack of consensus on major policy issues.
Concurrent actions by the Governing Board placed the substitution
measures identified in the 1994 AQMP as the primary regulatory
program. The District is currently developing regulations to implement
the substitution measures and these measures are discussed in
Chapters 4 and 7.
Additional rules have been adopted by the ARB to further reduce
emissions from mobile sources and consumer products. In addition,
the Phase 2 reformulated fuels program (known as California Cleaner
Burning Gasoline) began in the spring of 1996 and is projected
to further reduce Basin-wide emissions of volatile organic compounds,
oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and oxides of sulfur.1
TABLE 1-2
District Control Measures Adopted From
September 1994 Through September 1996
Control Measure Rule Pollutant Title
CTS-05 14122 VOC Further Emissions Reductions from
Perchloroethylene Dry Cleaning
Operations
FUG-01 462 VOC Emission Reductions from Organic
Liquid Transfer and Loading
FUG-02 1176 VOC Emission Reductions from
Wastewater Systems (formerly
titled "Emission Reductions from
Active Draining of Liquid
Products"
RFL-02 461 VOC Further Control of Emissions from
Gasoline Dispensing Facilities
CTS-C 1171 VOC Emission Reductions from Solvent
Cleaning Operations
MOF-03 1623 All Emission Reduction Credits for
Leaf Blowers
MOF-04 1620 All Off-Road Mobile Source Emission
Reduction Programs
MON-01 1612 All Emission Reduction Credits for
Low-Emissions Retrofit Fleet
Vehicles
MON-05 1612 All Emission Reduction Credits for
Heavy-Duty Buses
MON-06 1612 All Emission Reduction Credits for
Heavy-Duty Trucks
2 Perchloroethylene has been delisted as a VOC by the U.S. EPA
since the adoption of Rule 1412 and is no longer reported in the
VOC emissions inventory, however, it is still considered a toxic
air contaminant.
Local governments can play an active role in reducing mobile source
emissions through the implementation of specific actions. Since
1994, a task force jointly chaired by the District and SCAG has
been working on possible on-road pricing market incentive approaches.
The REACH (Reduce Emissions and Congestion on Highways) Task Force
has developed several such approaches for further analysis. The
status of the current efforts is discussed in Chapter 7 and in
Appendix IV.
The Southern California Economic Partnership (The Partnership)
was established in late 1994 and has been developing approaches
to initiate the development of various infrastructures needed
for alternative fuel programs. A discussion of the progress of
the Partnership is provided in Chapter 7.
Global Warming and Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Policy
On April 6, 1990, the District adopted a "Policy on Global
Warming and Stratospheric Ozone Depletion." The Policy commits
the District to consider global impacts in rulemaking and in drafting
revisions to the AQMP.
In March of 1992, the District's Governing Board reaffirmed this
policy and adopted amendments to the policy to include the following
directives:
- phase out the use and corresponding emissions of chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), methyl chloroform (1,1,1-trichloroethane or TCA), carbon
tetrachloride, and halons by December 1995;
- phase out the large quantity use and corresponding emissions
of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by the year 2000;
- develop recycling regulations for HCFCs;
- develop an emissions inventory and control strategy for methyl
bromide; and
- support for the adoption of a California greenhouse gas emission
reduction goal.
In support of these policies, the District Governing Board has
adopted several rules to reduce ozone depleting compounds. Several
other rules concurrently reduce global warming gases and criteria
pollutants. In the future, these policies will be further implemented
principally through federal actions.
Toxic Air Contaminant Control Programs
The District is also developing and implementing rules to control
Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). These control programs have been
designed to meet federal and state requirements. The District
is required to develop such programs under federal and state law.
At the federal level, Title III of the Clean Air Act provides
a program for the control of 189 HAPs. The first stage of the
program involves the promulgating of National Emission Standards
for HAPs (NESHAPs) to reduce HAP emissions from new and existing
sources. Major sources will be required to implement Maximum Available
Control Technology (MACT). Area sources will be required to implement
general achievable control technology (GACT). This will be followed
by a second phase in which residual risk will be evaluated and
further controls considered.
The District will implement the NESHAPs MACT (including the standards)
through its Title V permitting program for major sources or regular
permitting for area sources (EPA has deferred Title V permitting
for area sources for the next five years). The District continually
evaluates its existing rules to determine whether they need to
be amended to meet new MACT standards, or whether new rules need
to be developed.
At the state level, the California state legislature has enacted
several programs directed at toxic air contaminants (TACs). These
programs include the Tanner Toxics Act (AB 1807), Air Toxics Hot
Spots Assessment Program (AB 2588), Toxic Emissions Near Schools
Program (AB 3205), and Disposal Site Air Monitoring Program (AB
3374). These programs are currently being implemented by the District
either through the District rulemaking, permitting, monitoring
or AB 2588 program.
The AB 1807 program, in particular, requires ARB to adopt air
toxic control measures (ATCMs) to reduce levels of exposure and
the risks associated with those levels. At present, the District
has developed and is implementing eight rules that control emissions
from specific sources of TACs. These rules meet and in some instances
exceed the requirements set forth in the ATCM. The District will
continue to implement this program through new rulemaking as ARB
adopts additional ATCMs. Currently, under state law, the federal
NESHAPs becomes an ATCM, unless ARB has already adopted an ATCM
for the source category and the hazardous air pollutant(s).
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, this 1997 Revision to the
AQMP is designed to satisfy the planning requirements of both
the Federal Clean Air Act and the California Clean Air Act. The
1994 AQMP is the primary basis for the 1997 AQMP with many of
the 1994 AQMP control measures carried into the 1997 AQMP. A majority
of the 1994 AQMP control measures are updated in terms of the
proposed adoption and implementation schedule.
Federal Clean Air Act Planning Requirements
In November 1990, Congress enacted a series of amendments to the
Clean Air Act intended to intensify air pollution control efforts
across the nation. One of the primary goals of the 1990 Clean
Air Act Amendments was an overhaul of the planning provisions
for those areas not currently meeting National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS). The CAA identifies specific emission reduction
goals, requires both a demonstration of reasonable further progress
and an attainment demonstration, and incorporates more stringent
sanctions for failure to attain or to meet interim milestones.
The discussion that follows briefly presents the general planning
requirements of the CAA, lists previous State Implementation Plan
(SIP) submittals, and introduces CAA provisions that are addressed
in the 1997 AQMP.
General Requirements
In general, the federal CAA does not necessitate significant changes
in attainment planning for the Basin in 1997, except requiring
an attainment plan for PM10. The CAA requires plans to provide
for the implementation of all reasonably available control measures
"as expeditiously as practicable," including the adoption
of reasonably available control technology for reducing emissions
from existing sources. Emission control innovations in the form
of market-based approaches are explicitly encouraged by the CAA.
As mentioned earlier, the District is the first local agency in
the country to adopt a market-based approach for controlling stationary
source emissions of oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. The CAA also
requires plans to include standards for reasonable further progress,
which is defined as annual incremental reductions in emissions
of relevant air pollutants needed to ensure attainment of the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the applicable
date. A similar demonstration of progress was instituted in California
with the passage of the California Clean Air Act in 1988. This
is discussed further later in this chapter.
There are several sets of general planning requirements, both
for nonattainment areas [Section 172(c)] and for implementation
plans in general [Section 110(a)(2)]. These requirements are listed
and very briefly described in Tables 1-3 and 1-4, respectively.
The general provisions apply to all applicable pollutants unless
superseded by pollutant-specific requirements.
Section 110(a)(2)(A) requires reasonable and enforceable control
measures in plans. EPA has interpreted this requirement to imply
that control measures in a plan be in regulatory form (i.e., adopted
rules) at the time of the plan submittal. However, EPA has the
authority to conditionally approve a plan revision based on a
commitment to adopt specific enforceable measures by not later
than one year after the date of conditional approval of the plan
revision [Section 110(k)(4)].
TABLE 1-3
Nonattainment Plan Provisions [CAA Section 172(c)]
Requirement Description
Reasonably available Implementation of all reasonably available control
control measures measures as expeditiously as practicable.
Reasonable further Provision for reasonable further progress which is
progress defined as "such annual incremental reductions in
emissions of the relevant air pollutant as are required
. . . for the purpose of ensuring attainment of the
applicable national ambient air quality standard by the
applicable date."
Inventory Development and periodic revision of a comprehensive,
accurate, current inventory of actual emissions from all
sources.
Allowable emission Identification and quantification of allowable emission
levels levels for major new or modified stationary sources.
Permits for new and Permit requirements for the construction and operation of
modified stationary new or modified major stationary sources.
sources
Other measures Inclusion of all enforceable emission limitations and
control measures as may be necessary to attain the
standard by the applicable attainment deadline.
Contingency measures Implementation of contingency measures to be undertaken
in the event of failure to make reasonable further
progress or to attain the NAAQS.
TABLE 1-4
General Requirements for Implementation Plans
[CAA Sections 110(b)(2), 182(c)(5), 187, and 189]
Requirement Description
Ambient monitoring An ambient air quality monitoring program.
Enforcement and A program for the enforcement of adopted control measures
regulation and emission limitations and regulation of the
modification and construction of any stationary source to
assure that the NAAQS are achieved.
Interstate transport Adequate provisions to inhibit emissions that will
contribute to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance
of NAAQS or interfere with measures required to prevent
significant deterioration of air quality or to protect
visibility in any other state.
Adequate resources Assurances that adequate personnel, funding, and
authority are available to carry out the plan.
Source testing Requirements for emission monitoring and reporting by the
Monitoring source operators.
Plan revisions Provisions for revising the air quality plan to
incorporate changes in the standards or in the
availability of improved control methods.
Other CAA requirements Adequate provisions to meet applicable requirements
relating to consultation, notification, and prevention of
significant deterioration and visibility protection
contained in other sections of the CAA.
Impact assessment Appropriate air quality modeling to predict the effect of
new source emissions on ambient air quality.
Permit fees Provisions requiring major stationary sources to pay fees
to cover reasonable costs for reviewing and acting on
permit applications and for implementing and enforcing
the permit conditions.
Local government Provisions for consultation and participation by local
participation political subdivisions affected by the plan.
Transportation control Provisions requiring that serious and above nonattainment
measures areas submit an implementation plan that includes
transportation control measures considering at least the
measures listed in Section 108(f).
EPA guidance3 states that regulatory programs tend to be less
than 100 percent effective for many source categories. Rule effectiveness
reflects the ability of a regulatory program to achieve all the
emission reductions that could be achieved by full compliance
with the applicable regulations at all sources at all times. An
effectiveness factor of 80 percent is required by EPA for all
stationary source and non-tailpipe mobile source control measures
for the future controlled scenarios. EPA, however, does allow
exceptions to this rule if data exists to adequately demonstrate
that the "real world" control percentage is higher.
It should be noted that stationary point source controls are nearly
100 percent effective so an assumption of 80 percent rule effectiveness
underestimates the expected emission reductions.
The CAA requires that most submitted plans include information
on tracking plan implementation and milestone compliance. Requirements
for these elements are described in Section 182(g) and Section
187(d) for ozone and carbon monoxide, respectively. Chapter 7
addresses these issues.
EPA also requires a public hearing on many of the required elements
in SIP submittals before considering them officially submitted.
The 1997 AQMP adoption process includes a public hearing on all
of the required elements prior to submittal.
CAA Planning Requirements Addressed by the 1997 AQMP
Table 1-5 lists the CAA planning requirements addressed by the
1997 AQMP. The main submittal is a PM10 attainment demonstration
SIP which is due to the U.S. EPA by February 8, 1997. The table
lists the relevant CAA section and submittal deadline along with
the AQMP document or chapter where the submittal is discussed.
It may be used as a reference guide showing where each of the
CAA planning requirements is addressed.
Besides the CAA requirements due prior to this
plan revision (i.e., attainment demonstration plans for ozone,
carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide; 1996 Rate-of-Progress and
Post-1996 Rate-of-Progress for ozone; and Best Available Control
Measures (BACM) for PM10), the CAA requires the District to develop
a PM10 attainment demonstration, as given in Section 189.
As specified in Section 189(b)(1)(A) of the Act, the PM10 attainment
demonstration is due no later than four years after reclassification
of an area to "serious." The South Coast Air Basin and
the Coachella Valley were reclassified from "moderate"
to "serious" on February 8, 1993. As part of the attainment
demonstration, the plan must also contain emission reduction milestones
to be achieved every three years until the area is redesignated
attainment and the emission reductions must demonstrate reasonable
further progress as defined under Section 171(l) of the Act. The
1997 AQMP is designed to satisfy the requirements of the CAA provisions
for PM10.
TABLE 1-5
CAA SIP Revisions and Submittals in the 1997 AQMP
Submittal CAA Section 1997 AQMP
Reference
PM10 Attainment Demonstration (Basin) 189(b)(1)(A) Chapter 5
Appendix V
PM10 Attainment Demonstration/Maintenance 189(b)(1)(A) Chapter 8
Plan (Coachella Valley) Separate Cover
PM10 Reasonable Further Progress Milestones 189(c)(1) Chapter 6
Appendix V
Maintenance Plan for Nitrogen Dioxide 175A(a) and (d) Chapter 5 and 6
Appendix V
Revision to the Ozone Attainment 182(c)(2)(A) Chapter 5
Demonstration (Basin) Appendix V
Revision to the Ozone Attainment 182(c)(2)(A) Chapter 8
Demonstration, Mojave Desert Air Basin and Appendix V
Salton Sea Air Basin (under District
jurisdiction)
Revision to the Post-1996 Rate-of-Progress 182(c)(2)(B) Chapter 6
Demonstration Appendix V
Revision to the Carbon Monoxide Attainment 187(b)(1) Chapter 5
Demonstration Appendix V
Growth Factors -- Appendix III
Control Measure Documentation -- Appendix IV
PM10 monitoring data in the Coachella Valley indicate that (with
the exception of one measured PM10 exceedance due to a high-wind
natural event) the area has attained the federal PM10 air quality
standard. The U.S. EPA recently released a natural events policy
which exempts certain high wind events causing PM10 air quality
exceedances as being counted as a violation. In applying this
policy the Coachella Valley is now eligible for consideration
by U.S. EPA as having attained the federal PM10 air quality standards.
The Coachella Valley Maintenance Plan is provided under separate
cover and discussed in Chapter 8 of this document. Certain portions
of this 1997 AQMP will provide supporting documentation to that
maintenance plan.
With new technical information on emissions estimates, the future-year
baseline emissions projections changed, thereby requiring updates
to previous SIP submittals. In particular, the emission budgets
currently approved for federal conformity purposes must be updated
and the California Ozone SIP for the South Coast Air Basin must
be updated to reflect the best available technical information.
In addition, the Carbon Monoxide Attainment Demonstration Plan
must be revised. As such, the 1997 AQMP provides revisions to
the previous SIP submittals.
The South Coast Air Basin is the only area in nonattainment of
the federal nitrogen dioxide air quality standard and under the
federal Clean Air Act was to attain the federal air quality standard
by 1995. Monitoring data for the past three years have shown that
the federal nitrogen dioxide concentrations were below the federal
air quality standard. Accordingly, the 1997 AQMP will serve as
the maintenance plan for nitrogen dioxide. As required under Section
175A(a), the plan must provide for maintenance of the air quality
standard for at least 10 years after the area is redesignated
to attainment. In addition, the plan must contain contingency
measures to assure that any violations will be promptly corrected.
Section 181(a)(1) classifies the Basin as an extreme nonattainment
area and states that the Basin must achieve the federal ozone
standard by November 15, 2010. As such, an attainment demonstration
for ozone was provided as part of the 1994 AQMP and the ozone
portion of the 1994 AQMP is part of the 1994 California Ozone
SIP. The ozone attainment demonstration followed U.S. EPA and
ARB modeling guidelines and as such is based on the photochemical
grid model called the Urban Airshed Model (UAM). The model evaluation
and attainment demonstration are fully presented in Technical
Report V-B and Appendix V-A of the 1994 AQMP, respectively. Based
on new technical information, the 1994 AQMP ozone attainment demonstration
is revised as part of the 1997 AQMP revision and the attainment
demonstration is summarized in Chapters 5 and 6 and Appendix V.
According to Section 182(c)(2)(B), the District must demonstrate
how the Basin will achieve actual volatile organic compound emission
reductions of at least three percent per year averaged over each
consecutive three-year period beginning from November 15, 1996
and ending November 15, 2010 (i.e., the Basin's attainment date).
The rate-of-progress milestone years for the Basin are 1999, 2002,
2005, 2008, and 2010. Section 182(c)(9) requires that the post-1996
rate-of-progress demonstration must contain a set of contingency
measures, that is, additional control measures which would be
implemented in the event of a milestone or attainment failure.
Appendix V contains the detailed calculations of the post-1996
rate-of-progress demonstration. Chapter 6 provides an estimation
of the emission levels at each of the milestone years compared
to the CAA target levels. Contingency measures are given in Chapter
9.
State Law Requirements
The California Clean Air Act (CCAA) was signed into law on September
30, 1988, became effective on January 1, 1989, and was amended
in 1992. Also known as the Sher Bill (AB 2595), the CCAA established
a legal mandate to achieve health-based state air quality standards
at the earliest practicable date. The Lewis Presley Act provides
that the plan must also contain deadlines for compliance with
all state ambient air quality standards and the federally mandated
primary ambient air quality standards [Health and Safety Code
(H&SC) 40462(a)]. In September 1996, AB 3048 (Olberg) amended
Sections 40716, 40717.5, 40914, 40916, 40918, 40919, 40920, 40920.5,
and 44241, and repealed Sections 40457, 40717.1, 40925, and 44246
of the Health and Safety Code relating to air pollution. The amendments
to the Health and Safety Code will become effective January 1,
1997. As such, this plan revision reflects the new state planning
requirements as they pertain to the South Coast Air Quality Management
District. Through its many requirements, the CCAA serves as the
centerpiece of the Basin's attainment planning efforts since it
is generally more stringent than the federal Clean Air Act.
Based on pollutant levels, the CCAA divides nonattainment areas
into categories with progressively more stringent requirements
(H&SC 40918-40920). The categories are outlined in Table 1-6.
The state nonattainment designations are on a county basis. The
entire Basin is an extreme nonattainment area for ozone. Los Angeles
County is the only county considered as a serious nonattainment
area for carbon monoxide. Although PM10 is not explicitly addressed
in the CCAA, it is governed by the Lewis Presley Act. The plan
therefore provides achieving all federal ambient air quality standards
by their applicable date and state ambient air quality standards
as early as possible.
TABLE 1-6
California Clean Air Act Nonattainment
Area Classifications (H&SC 40921.5)
Concentration Level (ppm)
Category Ozone Carbon Monoxide
Moderate 0.09 to 0.12* 9.0 to 12.7*
Serious 0.13 to 0.15* > 12.7
Severe 0.16 to 0.20* --
Extreme > 0.20 --
* Inclusive range.
Serious and above nonattainment areas are required to revise their
air quality management plan to include specified emission reduction
strategies, and to meet milestones in implementing emission controls
and achieving more healthful air quality. The key planning requirements
are provided in Table 1-7. Some of these requirements are discussed
in further detail in the next section. Chapter 6 addresses how
these requirements are met in the Basin. The CCAA also includes
some additional requirements that can significantly affect control
strategy selection. These requirements are provided in Table 1-8.
All of these mandates have either already been met through District
regulations or are included/considered in the preparation of the
1997 AQMP.
Plan Effectiveness
The CCAA requires, beginning on December 31, 1994 and every three
years thereafter, that each district demonstrate the overall effectiveness
of its air quality program. For those areas that do not attain
state air quality standards by 2000, a comprehensive plan update
is required to be submitted by December 31, 1997. In addition,
Section 40925 of the Health and Safety Code requires that the
plan incorporate new data or projections including, but not limited
to, the quantity of emission reductions actually achieved in the
preceding three-year period and the rates of population-related,
industry-related, and vehicle-related emissions growth actually
experienced in the district and projected for the future. The
1997 AQMP serves as the comprehensive plan update for the South
Coast Air Basin.
TABLE 1-7
California Clean Air Act Planning Requirements
Requirement Description
Indirect and area source An indirect and area source control program
controls [H&SC 40918(a)(4)],
Best available retrofit Best available retrofit control technology (BARCT) for
control technology existing sources [H&SC 40918(a)(2))],
New source review A program to mitigate all emissions from new and
modified permitted sources [H&SC 40918(a)(1))],
Pollutant transport Assessment of relative upwind emissions contributions
to downwind ozone levels [H&SC 39610(b)],
Transportation control Transportation control measures as needed to meet plan
measures requirements [H&SC 40918(a)(3))], and
Clean fleet vehicle Significant use of low-emission vehicles by fleet
programs operators [H&SC 40919(a)(4)].
TABLE 1-8
California Clean Air Act Requirements for Control Strategy Development
Requirement Description
Rate-of-progress Reducing pollutants contributing to nonattainment by
five percent per year (H&SC 40914) or all feasible
control measures and an expeditious adoption schedule,
Public education programs Public education programs [H&SC 40918(a)(6)],
Per-capita exposure Reducing per-capita population exposure to severe
nonattainment pollutants according to a prescribed
schedule [H&SC 40920(c)],
Any other feasible Any of the feasible controls that can be implemented
controls or for which implementation can begin, within 10 years
of adoption date [H&SC 40920.5(c)], and
Control measure ranking Ranking control measures by cost-effectiveness and
implementation priority (H&SC 40922).
The Act suggests a number of air quality indicators, including
actual emission reductions, ozone and carbon monoxide design value
improvements, population exposure reductions, and pollutant concentration
hours. In Chapter 6, plan effectiveness is illustrated by trends
in the following indicators:
- volatile organic compound, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon
monoxide emissions,
- nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone air quality (i.e.,
exceedance days), and
- nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone populational
exposure above air quality standards.
Emission Reductions
According to the CCAA, districts must design their air quality
management plan to achieve a reduction in basinwide emissions
of five percent or more per year (or 15 percent or more in a three-year
period) for each nonattainment pollutant or its precursors (H&SC
40914). However, an air basin may use an alternative emission
reduction strategy which achieves a reduction of less than 5 percent
per year if it can be demonstrated that either of the following
applies:
- The alternative emission reduction strategy is equal to or
more effective than the 5 percent per year control approach in
improving air quality; or
- That despite the inclusion of every feasible measure, and
an expeditious adoption schedule, the air basin is unable to achieve
the 5 percent per year reduction in emissions.
For emission reduction accounting purposes, the ARB has established
a seven-year initial reporting period from January 1, 1988, to
December 31, 1994 (Section 70701 of the California Code of Regulations).
The reporting intervals after this initial period occur every
three years (i.e., 1997, 2000, etc.). Therefore, the 1997 AQMP
must seek to achieve a 35 percent emissions reduction for the
initial reporting period and a 15 percent additional reduction
for every subsequent interval.
Population Exposure
The CCAA also requires that the 1997 AQMP control measures reduce
overall population exposure to criteria pollutants. Specifically,
exposure to severe nonattainment pollutants above standards must
be reduced from 1986 through 1988 levels by at least 25 percent
by December 31, 1994; 40 percent by December 31, 1997; and 50
percent by December 31, 2000. Reductions are to be calculated
based on per-capita exposure and the severity of exceedances.
This provision is applicable to ozone, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen
dioxide in the Basin [H&SC 40920(c)]. The definition of exposure
is the number of persons exposed to a specific pollutant concentration
level above the state standard times the number of hours. The
per-capita exposure is the population exposure (units of pphm-persons-hours)
divided by the total population.
Control Measure Ranking
The CCAA requires the District Governing Board to determine that
the AQMP is a cost-effective strategy that will achieve attainment
of the state standards by the earliest practicable date (H&SC
40913). In addition, the Plan must include an assessment of the
cost-effectiveness of available and proposed measures and a list
of the measures ranked from the least cost-effective to the most
cost-effective [H&SC 40922(a)].
In addition to the relative cost-effectiveness of the measures,
the District must consider other factors as well in developing
an adoption and implementation schedule [H&SC 40922(b)]. The
other factors noted in the CCAA include technological feasibility,
emission reduction potential, rate of reduction, public acceptability,
and enforceability. Efficiency, equity, and legal authority have
also been included in the 1997 AQMP for prioritization purposes
because of their importance. The results of the prioritization
are given in Chapter 6.
Pollutant Transport
The South Coast Air Basin both transports to and receives air
pollutants from the coastal portions of Ventura and Santa Barbara
counties in the South Central Coast Air Basin. The South Coast
Air Basin also receives air pollutants from oil and gas development
operations on the outer continental shelf. The 1997 AQMP does
not specifically address the control requirements for these adjacent
areas. However, the control measures in this Plan meet both the
CAA and CCAA transport requirements and will assist downwind areas
in complying with the federal ozone air quality standard.
The Antelope Valley and the Coachella Valley are both classified
as "severe-17" ozone nonattainment areas under the CAA.
The San Bernardino county portion of the Mojave Desert is under
the jurisdiction of the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District
(MDAQMD) and is also classified as "severe-17." These
areas must comply with the federal ozone air quality standard
by 2007. The CAA requires separate attainment and post-1996 rate-of-progress
demonstrations for each severe air basin under the District's
jurisdiction. These were provided separately for the Antelope
Valley and the Coachella-San Jacinto Planning Area in the 1994
AQMP Appendices I-A and I-B, respectively. Revisions to the attainment
demonstration for these areas are provided in Chapter 8 and Appendix
V.
Areas upwind of the South Coast Air Basin (primarily Ventura county,
but also including Santa Barbara county and the outer continental
shelf) will need to reduce emissions to allow those areas to come
into compliance with all air quality standards. If the South Coast
Air Basin is to comply, sources in these upwind areas may need
to reduce emissions further (i.e., reduce emissions beyond what
may be required to achieve the standards in these areas).
This document is organized into eight chapters, each addressing
a specific topic. Each of the remaining chapters are summarized
below.
Chapter 2, "Air Quality and Health Effects," discusses
the Basin's air quality in comparison with the federal and state
air pollution standards.
Chapter 3, "Base Year and Future Emissions," summarizes
recent updates to the emissions inventories, estimates current
emissions by source and pollutant, and projects future emissions
with and without controls.
Chapter 4, "AQMP Control Strategy," presents the attainment
strategies.
Chapter 5, "Future Air Quality," describes the modeling
approach used in the AQMP and summarizes the Basin's future air
quality projections with and without controls.
Chapter 6, "Clean Air Act Requirements," discusses specific
federal and state requirements as they pertain to the 1997 AQMP.
Chapter 7, "Implementation," presents the implementation
schedule of the various control measures and delineates each agency's
area of responsibility.
Chapter 8, "Future Air Quality - Desert Nonattainment Areas,"
describes the future air quality in the Antelope Valley and the
Coachella Valley Planning Area.
Chapter 9, "Contingency Measures," presents contingency
measures as required by the federal CAA, and measures for further
consideration or deletion.
Chapter 10, "Looking Beyond Current Requirements", examines
the basis for and the implications of possible new federal standards
for ozone and particulate matter; and provides a first look at
an ozone air quality analysis for the year 2020. This chapter
also presents a discussion on uncertainties associated with the
technical analysis used to develop the 1997 AQMP, including air
quality modeling.
For convenience, a "Glossary" is provided at the end
of the document, presenting definitions of commonly used terms
found in the 1997 AQMP.
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