CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD
Lincoln Plaza
Auditorium, First Floor
400 "P" Street
Sacramento, CA
November 20, 1986
10:00 a.m.
AGENDA
Page
86-13-1 Revision to the State Implementation Plan for
Kern County: Consideration of Report of Board
Committee (Continued from October 23, 1986).
86-13-2 Western Oil and Gas Association Petition for
Reconsideration of Resolution 86-76 Amending
the State Implementation Plan for Kern County.
86-13-3 Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to 001
Regulations Regarding Certification of Federally-
Certified Light-Duty Motor Vehicles for Sale in
California.
86-13-4 Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to 047
Agricultural Burning Regulations.
86-13-5 Public Hearing to Consider Adoption of 069
Regulations Regarding Test Methods for Determining
Emissions from Nonvehicular Sources.
IN THE EVENT ANY OF THE AGENDA ITEMS CANNOT BE HEARD NOVEMBER 20,
1986, THE HEARING WILL BE RESUMED AT 8:30 A.M., NOVEMBER 21,
1986.
Other Business
a. Closed Session
1. Personnel (as authorized by State Agency Open Meeting
Act, Govt. Code Sec. 11126(a).).
2. Litigation (Pursuant to the attorney-client privilege,
Evidence Code Sec. 950-962, and Govt. Code Sec.
11126(q).).
b. Research Proposals
c. Delegations to Executive Officer
ITEM NO.: 86-13-3
Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to Regulations Regarding
Certification of Federally-Certified Light-Duty Motor Vehicles
for Sale in California.
RECOMMENDATION
The staff recommends that the Board amend its regulations
regarding the program for certification of federally-certified
light-duty vehicles for sale in California. The proposed
amendments would extend the existing program to cover 1988 and
subsequent model-year vehicles and change the NOx credit
withdrawal limits to reflect implementation of the amendments
approved by the Board April 24, 1986 related to the 0.4 g/mi NOx
standard.
DISCUSSION
In 1981 the Legislature enacted AB 965, which amended Section
43102 of the Health and Safety Code to require the Board to
establish a program allowing a limited number of federal vehicles
to be sold in California. The legislation mandated that the ARB
establish a program which allowed the sale of new federal vehicle
models which were unavailable in California, provided their
excess emissions were offset by California-certified vehicles
with emissions below the applicable standard. In response to the
legislation, the Board adopted a one year trial program for the
1983 model year. In July, 1983, the Board extended the program
through the 1987 model year. At the same time, the Board
requested that the staff report annually on the impacts and
usefulness of the program. The Board was particularly concerned
about potential adverse environmental impacts from the program.
The current program will expire with the end of the 1987 model-year.
To date, relatively small adverse environmental impacts
have occurred which could not feasibly be prevented without
violating the mandates of Section 43102 of the Health and Safety
Code. The program has been designed to minimize the adverse
emissions impact while providing vehicle manufacturers with the
option to market some low volume models in this state. The staff
believes that this situation should remain stable in the future.
The staff therefore recommends that the Board adopts amendments
to the Guidelines for Certification of Federally-Certified Light-Duty
Motor Vehicles for Sale in California. The proposed
amendments include an extension of the program to include the
1988 and subsequent model years, and adjustments to the NOx
credit withdrawal limits. The adjustments are necessary to
reflect the amendments related to the 0.4 g/mi NOx standard
recently approved by the Board. To develop the adjusted NOx
credit withdrawal limits, the staff has repeated the calculations
used for the original Guidelines with updated NOx emission
standards. The proposed amendments also include changes related
to vehicle weight specifications which reflect amendments made to
the new vehicle certification procedures approved in July 1986.
Additionally, a reference to an obsolete assembly-line testing
provision would be deleted.
IMPACTS OF PROPOSED REGULATORY CHANGES
The staff estimates that the program will result in emissions
increases of 0.2 tons per day of HC, 1.6 tons per day of CO and
1.7 tons per day of NOx, by the year 2000. These estimates
assume that the staff proposal causes program usage to be
maintained at current levels.
ITEM NO.: 86-13-4
Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to Agricultural Burning
Regulations.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff proposes that the Board amend the Agricultural Burning
Guidelines (the "Guidelines") to add provisions regarding
wildland vegetation management burning. The proposed amendments
include a definition of wildland vegetation management burning,
specific requirements for such burning, and a requirement for
districts to amend their agricultural burning implementation
plans to provide for regulation of wildland vegetation management
burning.
The Guidelines are contained in Title 17, California
Administrative Code, Sections 80100-80330.
DISCUSSION
Wildland vegetation management burning is conducted in California
by many public agencies to accomplish a variety of natural
resource management objectives such as wildlife habitat
improvement, watershed management, and forest improvement, as
well as the primary objective of preventing high intensity
wildland fires. Under the existing Guidelines, wildland
vegetation management burning may be classified and regulated as
either forest management or range improvement burning, depending
on the predominant purpose for which the particular project is
conducted. However, the requirements for forest management and
range improvement burning are not well tailored to wildland
vegetation management burning conducted by public agencies.
The proposed amendments would define wildland vegetation
management burning as the use of prescribed burning conducted by
a public agency, or through a cooperative agreement or contract
involving a public agency, to burn land predominantly covered
with chaparral, trees, grass or standing brush. District
regulations regarding wildland vegetation management burning
would have to require the use of approved ignition devices,
regulate the amount of material burned each day, require suitable
fuel condition and composition, and regulate burning or require
mitigation when necessary to protect air quality. In order to
facilitate the districts' review, certain information would have
to be submitted in advance for district review and approval when
a proposed wildland vegetation management burning project exceeds
a size specified by the district or is located in a zone
specified by the district. A permissive-burn or no-burn notice
for wildland vegetation management burning could be issued up to
48 hours prior to the date scheduled for the burn. Districts
would be required to submit conforming amendments to district
implementation plans by June 1, 1987.
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS OF PROPOSED BOARD ACTION
The Staff believes that there are no significant environmental or
cost impacts or issues of controversy regarding the proposed
adoption of these amendments. In preparing the proposal, staff
met with a wide variety of groups interested in wildland
vegetation management burning.
ITEM NO.: 86-13-5
Public Hearing to Consider Adoption of Regulations Regarding Test
Methods for Determining Emissions from Nonvehicular Sources.
RECOMMENDATION
The staff recommends that the Air Resources Board (ARB or Board)
adopt the seven proposed ARB test methods discussed below.
DISCUSSION
Determinations of gaseous and particulate matter emissions from
stationary sources ("source tests") are conducted, among other
reasons, to determine whether a source is complying with air
pollution control laws and regulations. The ARB is required, by
California Health and Safety Code Section 39607(d), to adopt
procedures ("test methods") by which source tests are conducted.
Since 1972, the ARB staff has developed and the Board has adopted
five test methods for a wide variety of other nonvehicular
emission types and sources. The ARB staff has continued to
develop new test methods and refinements to previously adopted
test methods.
The ARB staff is now proposing the adoption of seven new ARB test
methods. Four of these test methods were developed by the ARB
staff by combining standard sample collection, sample preparation
and analytical procedures. These four methods are listed below.
* Proposed ARB Test Method 421 - Determination of Hydrochloric
Acid Emissions from Stationary Sources.
* Proposed ARB Test Method 424 - Determination of Inorganic
Particulate and Gaseous Cadmium Emissions from Stationary
Sources.
* Proposed ARB Test Method 425 - Determination of Total
Chromium and Hexavalent Chromium Emissions from Stationary
Sources.
* Proposed ARB Test Method 426 - Determination of Cyanide
Emissions from Stationary Sources.
Two of the proposed test methods have been adopted by EPA as part
of EPA's National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants (NESHAPS) and New Source Performance Standard (NSPS)
programs. They are presented as:
* Proposed ARB Test Method 423 - Determination of Inorganic
Particulate and Gaseous Arsenic Emissions from Stationary
Sources.
* Proposed ARB Test Method 16A - Determination of Total
Reduced Sulfur Emissions from Stationary Sources (Impinger
Technique).
The seventh test method, shown below, is based on a proposed EPA
reference method.
* Proposed ARB Test Method 422 - Determination of Halogenated
Organics from Stationary Sources.
All of the proposed ARB test methods in this item were subject to
public comment at a workshop on August 19, 1986.
Adoption of standardized test methods promotes uniformity and
quality assurance in source testing activities. Through
uniformity and improved quality assurance, source testing
activities in California would help establish a uniform,
statewide, data base of air pollution information to which all
source testing participants would be contributing. The broadened
data base afforded by the standardized test methods would
increase the information input to such activities as emission
inventory, control method development, and modeling.
SUMMARY AND IMPACTS OF PROPOSED BOARD ACTION
Signifiant issues and public comments existing by the time of
the August 19, 1986 workshop have been addressed by subsequent
revisions in the test methods. The staff believes that there are
no significant adverse air quality, environmental, or economic
impacts if the Board acts on the staff's recommendation.