• Board Sets Clean Fleet Rules for Street Sweepers, Airports
• Adopt-a-School Bus Non-Profit Corporation to be Formed
• Board Authorizes Refuse Truck Loan Program
• Carl Moyer Contracts Approved
• AB2766 Work Program Approved
• Board Simplifies Record Keeping
• Board Approved Timothy Brown as New AQMD Public Advisor

• Community Meeting on LAX-Area Pollution Set

Over the next two years, clean-fueled street sweepers and shuttle buses and limousines at airports will begin making inroads under new clean fleet rules adopted today by the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board.

Beginning July 1, 2002, Rule 1186.1 will require public agencies, such as cities, and private firms under contract to clean public streets, to purchase or lease only clean-fueled street sweepers.

The rule is expected to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 110 tons a year and diesel soot by almost 11 tons a year.

The Board also approved parts of Rule 1194. The provisions adopted today will require operators of shuttle van and limousine fleets serving airports throughout the region to purchase only ultra-low emissions vehicles. The requirement would be phased in beginning July 1, 2001, and become completely effective July 1, 2002.

The Board agreed to hold consideration of Rule 1194’s provisions covering the taxi cab fleets serving airports until it’s Oct. 20 meeting.

When fully adopted, Rule 1194 would reduce annual emissions of hydrocarbons by 8 tons, nitrogen oxides by 92 tons, carbon monoxide by 288 tons and particulate matter by 6 tons.

The rules are the fourth and fifth in a series of eight proposed regulations designed to shift the region’s public service fleets to low emissions and clean-fueled vehicles. In June the Board adopted rules covering public fleets of passenger vehicles, transit buses, and trash trucks. Later this year, the staff will ask the Board to consider rules covering school buses, fleets of heavy-duty trucks and other diesel vehicles, and sale of cleaner diesel fuel in the region.

Operators of public fleets of fewer than 15 vehicles are exempt from the rules.

For further information, see the street sweeper and airport ground access Board items, or contact Jack Broadbent at (909) 396-3789.

A non-profit corporation to administer the Adopt-A-School-Bus program proposed by AQMD Chairman William Burke will be formed in the months ahead under a directive by the Governing Board today.

Burke proposed the Adopt-A-School-Bus program as a way to help pay for reducing cancer-causing diesel emissions from Southland school buses.

Under the program, individuals, businesses, and other organizations would be able to make tax-deductible contributions to pay for retrofitting diesel school buses to cleaner technologies or to purchase new clean-fueled buses.

The non-profit corporation will be formed in the months ahead.

For further information, see the Board item or contact Lupe Valdez at (909) 396-3780.

Cities and waste management firms can try out alternative fuel refuse trucks under a unique loan program approved by the Board.

Under the two-year program, two liquefied natural gas-powered refuse trucks will be available to allow cities and private firms to gain first-hand experience in driving, operating and fueling the vehicles. Trucks will be loaned for one to two weeks at a time.

One truck will have a dual-fueled liquefied natural gas powered engine and the other will have a dedicated LNG-powered engine. AQMD will contribute $100,000 to the project; Power Systems Associates, $51,750; Mack, $140,000, and PACCAR, the technical development arm of Peterbuilt, $30,000, for a total project cost of $321,750.

Under AQMD's rule 1193, adopted in June, public and private refuse fleets with more than 15 vehicles are required to purchase alternative fuel trucks after July 1, 2001 when buying new vehicles.

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

The Board approved the following contracts totaling $7,115,618 under the Carl Moyer Program:

• $2,402,037 for 56 natural gas-powered refuse trucks;
• $1,529,136 for 26 lower-emission diesel marine engines;
• $1,480,000 for nine natural gas fueling stations;
• $1,148,260 for 21 natural gas-powered street sweepers;
• $374,189 for 39 electric forklifts; and
• $181,996 for other trucks, off-road and agricultural engines.

These contracts represent the third and final group of Moyer awards for the 1999-00 fiscal year, totaling $13.5 million for 64 projects. Over their lifetime, the projects will reduce a total of 4,225 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions.

The Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program aims to reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions in the state. It covers the cost difference between a standard diesel engine or vehicle and an alternative fuel or lower emissions model.

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

The Board approved in concept a $14.5 million work program and issuing several requests for proposals for fiscal year 2000/01 for the AB2766 vehicle emissions reduction program.

The program, administered by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, will include:

• $1 million for ridesharing projects, traveler information services, incentives for purchasing bicycles for commuting to work and a land use program;
• $4.25 million for alternative fuel bus purchase incentives;
• $3.25 million for alternative fueled heavy-duty on- and off-road vehicle purchase incentives;
• $2 million for incentives to purchase low- and zero-emissions passenger vehicles;
• $3 million to provide a 50% to 70% match to cities and counties using AB2766 subvention funds to install alternative fueling stations or purchase medium- or heavy-duty alternative fuel vehicles; and
• $1 million reserve for potential future use for incentives to buy up to 50 natural gas-powered school buses.

For information, see the Board item or call (909) 396-3058.

In an effort to reduce the administrative burden of air quality rules on local business, AQMD’s Governing Board today amended record keeping requirements for a wide variety of businesses that use petroleum-based solvents.

AQMD regulates use of solvents because they are major contributors to air pollution in the region, particularly unhealthful levels of ozone. To make sure that businesses do not use more solvents than their air pollution control permits allow, firms have been required to keep daily records of solvent usage. However, businesses have found this requirement is often an administrative and financial burden.

To respond to this concern, last year AQMD’s Board formed a Monitoring, Record keeping and Reporting Task Force that included both AQMD and industry representatives to examine how these paperwork requirements could be streamlined. The amendments to Rule 109 (Record keeping for Volatile Organic Compound Emissions) incorporate one of the panel’s chief recommendations.

Under amended Rule 109, businesses will be able to keep records of solvent usage on a monthly rather than daily basis, as long as they:

• Are not subject to daily emissions limits;
• Do not use air pollution control equipment; and
• Use solvents that meet AQMD volatile organic compound limits.

While seemingly simple, this change relieves many small businesses, such as printers, wood product makers, auto body repair shops and aerospace firms from time consuming daily record keeping. In addition, the amendments simplify requirements for businesses still required to keep daily records.

For more information, see the Board item.

Timothy O. Brown will become AQMD’s new Public Advisor next month. Brown, appointed by the Board today, replaces long-time Public Advisor LaRonda Bowen, who resigned last month.

Brown is former city manager of Seaside, CA, in the Monterey Bay area and has had 20 years of experience in municipal government administration dealing with a wide variety of issues, including economic development and environmental programs.

As Public Advisor, he will direct AQMD community outreach and small business assistance programs.

Brown holds a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of La Verne and before working in Seaside was a long-time resident of Southern California.

AQMD will hold a community meeting to unveil the results of its study on air pollution problems around Los Angeles International Airport at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 20.

Representatives of the airport and other agencies will be on hand to discuss the environmental impacts of the airport expansion plan.

The meeting will be held at Faithful Central Bible Church, 400 W. Florence Ave. in Inglewood.

Beginning at 2:30 p.m. up until the start of the meeting, Charles R. Drew University and the King/Drew Medical Center will be at the church to provide free health screenings for prostrate and breast cancer, asthma, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, and bone marrow donors.

For further information, contact Natalia Porche at (909) 396-3218.

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This page updated: August 19, 2004
URL: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/Governing_Board/Bs8_18_00