• Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta Appointed to Board
• First Fleet Rules Set for Hearing on June 16
• Board Approves Fiscal 2000-01 Budget, Fees
• Board Approves Carl Moyer Funding for Refuse Trucks
• Incentives Approved for Wet Cleaning

In Other Action/News

• Children's Health and Air Quality Conference Set for May 31

Yorba Linda resident Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta has been appointed to the AQMD Governing Board as Gov. Gray Davis’ new appointee. She replaces Paul Woodruff, who left the Board in 1998.

A resident of Yorba Linda since 1984, Vedugo-Peralta is president of the Professional Hispanics in Energy, a non-profit organization that provides energy and environmental information to the Latino community. She also is founder and president of VPC Energy Inc., an energy-efficiency and environmental outreach firm. In addition, she is the small business program manager for ADVANCE, a non-profit community and economic development organization.

For seven years, Verdugo-Peralta has been a member of AQMD’s Ethnic Community Advisory Group, which she has co-chaired since 1996. She also is a past recipient of AQMD’s Clean Air Award for Excellence in Promoting Environmental Stewardship.

The Board set two fleet rules for hearing on June 16:

• Proposed Rule 1192 – Clean On-Road Transit Buses would require transit operators with 15 or more buses to purchase alternative fuel transit buses when adding or replacing vehicles; and
• Proposed Rule 1193 – Clean On-Road Residential and Commercial Refuse Collection Vehicles would require public and private refuse fleet operators with 15 or more vehicles to purchase alternative fuel trucks when adding or replacing equipment.

In March, the Board set proposed Rule 1191 – Clean On-Road Light- and Medium-Duty Public Fleet Vehicles for public hearing on June 16.

The Governing Board adopted a budget of $86.9 million for fiscal year 2000-01, a reduction of about $341,000 from this year’s budget.

To compensate for declining emission fee revenues, the budget includes the following fee increases:

• A 2.9% across-the-board increase in fees including permit processing and annual permit renewals, equal to the change in the Consumer Price Index;
• An additional 8.1% increase in emission fee rates, which are paid only by the region’s 1,700 largest sources, bringing the total increase in emission fees to 11% including the cost-of-living increase; and
• An increase of about $14 per-gas-pump-nozzle, for a total compliance fee of about $25 per nozzle, to fund 10 additional staff to enforce new standards for gas stations.

Voluntary and mandatory emission reductions over the past several years have helped clean the air, but also have resulted in significantly reduced emission fees for AQMD. From 1991-92 to 1998-99, fees collected from businesses dropped 25% from $66.8 million to $50.2 million. Fees paid by businesses no longer cover the total costs for clean air programs such as permitting and enforcement.

Although emission fees will increase, businesses on average will not pay more next year compared to this year because their emissions are declining.

AQMD has not raised emission fees beyond the Consumer Price Index since 1990. Since 1991-92, AQMD has cut its staff by 34%, program costs by 23%, or $26.2 million, and budget by 40%, when adjusted for inflation.

AQMD has increasingly relied on its budget reserves to cover the shortfall between revenues and program costs. In an effort to balance its budget, the agency last year supported the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association’s proposal to double the $7.5 million that local air pollution agencies receive annually from the state. This amount has not increased in 20 years despite tremendous growth in population and resulting exposure to air pollution. The state Legislature approved the increase but Gov. Davis vetoed it, citing AQMD’s ability to raise fees.

AQMD will continue to work with the Air Pollution Control Officer’s Association to increase state funding. In addition, AQMD will make recommendations next year based on a 1999 fee study to change area source and permit processing fees to cover associated costs.

The Board approved $3.4 million from the Carl Moyer Air Quality Standards Attainment Program to help purchase or convert 91 heavy-duty refuse trucks to clean fuels. The awards are as follows:

The Board will consider Moyer awards later this year to co-fund clean fuel infrastructure, transit buses, off-road equipment and marine vessels. The Carl Moyer Program, named for the late clean fuel scientist, is a statewide initiative aimed at reducing air pollution by replacing heavy-duty diesel engines with lower-emitting or alternative fuel equipment. The California Air Resources Board allocated $11.3 million in fiscal year 1998-99 to AQMD and $8.3 million for fiscal year 1999-00 for the Moyer program.

For more information, see the Board item or contact Cindy Sullivan at (909) 396-3249.

The Board approved $242,798 to provide incentives to convert up to eight Southern California dry cleaners to a non-toxic process known as professional wet cleaning.

The wet cleaning shops will also serve as demonstrations to encourage other dry cleaners in the region to make the switch.

The project, to be carried out by the Pollution Prevention Education and Research Center at Occidental College, will provide training, technical support and a total of $100,000 in matching funds for dry cleaners to buy wet cleaning equipment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Occidental College, California Wellness Foundation and Liberty Hill will contribute a total of $89,000 to the project.

Dry cleaning traditionally uses perchloroethylene or "perc," a toxic and probable cancer-causing solvent, to clean clothing. Although modern equipment substantially reduces emissions, the region’s 3,000 dry cleaners still emit a total of 4.2 tons of perc per day.

Wet cleaning completely eliminates perc and instead uses a water-based process in computer-controlled washers that can handle delicate fabrics such as wool, silk and rayon.

So far, two cleaners in the region – Cleaner by Nature in Santa Monica and Cypress Plaza Cleaners in Cypress – use wet cleaning on all of their garments.

For more information, see the Board item or call Abid Latif at (909) 396-3132.

The Board also approved the following clean technology contracts:

• Up to $100,000 for the University of California, Riverside, College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology to test emission-reduction technologies such as fuel additives and add-on devices;
• $40,000 over the next two years to support the University of California, Davis, Fuel Cell Vehicle Center;
• $50,000 to co-fund a feasibility study by CALSTART of using electric and hybrid shuttles from Los Angeles International Airport to nearby hotels;
• $200,000 to co-fund development of a training curriculum for maintenance and repair of alternative-fuel transit buses;
• $7,200 to co-fund a pilot study with the City of Claremont Police Department to use battery-operated roadside emergency lights instead of chemical flares;
• $63,000 to co-fund development of standardized safe design practices for compressed natural gas heavy-duty trucks;
• Up to $300,000 to complete a contract to demonstrate a 1-kilowatt fuel cell fueled directly by methanol; and
• Up to $30,000 to provide technical support to organizations installing compressed natural gas fueling facilities.

• Amended Rule 216 – Appeals to conform to recent changes in state law;

• Amended Rule 219 – Equipment Not Requiring a Permit to clarify requirements for cleaning, combustion, food processing, powder coating, dip coating, electrolytic plating and anodizing equipment;

• Appointed to the AQMD Hearing Board, to terms ending June 30, 2003:

  • Edward Camarena, current engineer member, and his alternate Michael K. Chang; and

  • Laurine E. Tuleja, current attorney member, and her alternate Stuart Miller;

Approved $57,000 to co-sponsor American Lung Association of Los Angeles County educational programs including an "A is for Asthma" video and a Clean Air Kids Club; and

Executed a contract with National Pediatric Support Services, Inc. for management of the AQMD Childcare Center for a period ending Aug. 31, 2002. Under terms of the contract, the childcare provider will pay annual rent of about $34,000 and direct operating costs such as utilities. Currently, AQMD does not charge the childcare center operator for rent or operating expenses.

A group of leading physicians in the field of air pollution and human health will discuss the health effects of pollution on developing children at a half-day conference on Wednesday, May 31, 2000, at Loma Linda University.

The conference -- "Children's Health and Air Quality: Inland Empire Medical Practice Perspectives" -- is sponsored by AQMD and Loma Linda University School of Medicine, with support from the American Lung Association of the Inland Counties.

It will be at the Wong Kerlee International Conference Center on the Loma Linda University campus in Loma Linda from 8 a.m. to noon. The conference is free to the public. Course fees are $45 for physicians and others desiring CME credit for attending the accredited conference and $15 for nurses and allied health professionals desiring continuing education credit.

For more information call Holly Noel at (909) 396-2250.

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