State of California
AIR RESOURCES BOARD
State Building
Auditorium, Room 1138
107 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA
October 25, 1984
10:00 a.m.
AGENDA
Page
84-14-1 Public hearing to Consider Amendments to 001
Regulations Regarding Ambient Air Quality Standards.
84-14-2 An Oral Presentation on the Role of Methanol as
a Fuel to Improve Air Quality.
84-14-3 A Status Report on Proposed Revisions to Exemption 022
Testing Procedures for Aftermarket Motor Vehicle
Parts.
84-14-4 A Status Report on Achieving Diesel Engine Emission 044
Reductions Through Modification of Motor Vehicle
Diesel Fuel Specifications.
84-14-5 A Status Report on Revisions Being Prepared to 272
the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for NO2 in the
South Coast Air Basin.
84-14-6 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 274
c. Delegations to Executive Officer
FOR FURTHER INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT THE BOARD SECRETARY:
Harold Holmes
1102 Q' Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 322-5594
SMOKING NOT PERMITTED AT MEETINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES
BOARD.
ITEM NO.: 84-14-1
Minor Editorial and Explanatory Changes to Definitions and Policy
Statement for Standards (AB 1111).
RECOMMENDATION
Staff is recommending that the Board make a number of minor
changes to the sections of Title 17 that deal with ambient air
quality standards. The following types of changes are proposed:
(1) Update measurement methods to reflect current practice.
(2) Legally define certain air pollutants more fully.
(3) Improve the clarity of the standards tables.
(4) Minor rewording of the policy statement.
(5) Change the review interval for standards from one year to
five years.
(6) Correct misspellings.
(7) Allow TSP measurement to be "converted" to PM10 measurements
if PM10 data is not available.
DISCUSSION
These changes are proposed by staff and the Board as a result of
the AB 1111 and the later regulatory reform reviews of Title 17.
Some of the changes are a result of public comments. The changes
recommended as a result of the AB 1111 review were submitted to
the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) in July, 1982. OAL
approval is pending the result of litigation before the
California Supreme Court.
Because public comment was solicited as part of both the AB 1111
and regulatory reform reviews, most of the major issues involved
have undergone extensive public review. In addition, the Board
has previously approved both the AB 1111 and the regulatory
reform changes at public meetings.
SUMMARY AND IMPACTS OF PROPOSED BOARD ACTION
The adoption of the proposed changes is expected to have little
impact.
ITEM NO.: 84-14-4
Status Report: Diesel Engine Emission Reductions through
Modification of Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel Specifications.
RECOMMENDATION
This is a status report. The staff is not making a
recommendation.
DISCUSSION
The staff has been investigating the feasibility of reducing
motor vehicle diesel emissions by modifications to diesel fuel.
This investigation is one of three strategies being investigated
by the staff for reducing diesel emissions. These strategies are
(1) the modification of diesel fuel specifications; (2) the
inclusion of diesels in the smog-check program; and (3) heavy-duty
diesel particulate emission limits. The staff's report was
prepared after two consultation meetings with interested parties,
refiner and vehicle manufacturer surveys, and meetings with
individual parties when such meetings were requested.
The staff investigated six option for reducing particulates
smaller than 10 microns (PM10) by modifying diesel fuel. The
first option was a limitation of the sulfur content of diesel
fuel. While this option would not reduce the soot emissions to
the atmosphere, it was found to be the most cost-effective option
because it would reduce secondary particles (sulfates) formed by
chemical reactions of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. The
remaining options dealt with varying the aromatics content and
the volatility of the fuel. The staff found that the refinery
processing that would be used to achieve these modifications
will, in most cases, also reduce the sulfur content of diesel
fuel. Overall, the staff found that information on the
relationship between changes in diesel emissions and fuel
properties is limited and that additional studies are in
progress.
Motor vehicle diesel fuel produced by large refiners in the South
Coast Air Basin (SCAB) and Ventura County will be subject to a
0.05 percent sulfur limitation beginning January 1, 1985.
However, small refiners are eligible for exemptions from that
requirement. The cost-effectiveness value of extending the
regulation to small refiners is about $1.70 per pound of PM10
reduced in the SCAB. For the other fuel modifications
investigated by the staff, the cost-effectiveness rations range
from $4.55 to $14.14 per pound of PM10 reduced in the SCAB.
The staff will conduct a more detailed cost and benefit
evaluation of the feasiblity of extending the 0.05 percent sulfur
regulation to small refiners in the SCAB and Ventura County and
provide a recommendation to the Board in mid-1985. The staff
will defer further investigation of the feasibility of
controlling the aromatic content and volatility of diesel fuel
until additional studies are completed. The staff will also
defer investigation of the feasibility of extending the 0.05
percent sulfur regulations statewide. The extension of this
regulation statewide will be one of many control strategies
considered when California develops a statewide PM10 State
Implementation Plan.
ITEM NO.: 84-14-5
A Status Report on Revisions Being Prepared in the State
Implementation Plan (SIP) for NO2 in the South Coast Air Basin.
RECOMMENDATION
No recommendation. This is a status report.
DISCUSSION
On April 26, 1984, and July 26, 1984, we reported to the Board on
the status of the Environmental Protection Agency's requirement
for a new ozone control strategy for Kern County and a new
nitrogen dioxide control strategy for the South Coast Air Basin
(SCAB). New strategies are required by EPA because earlier
strategies failed to attain the standards by the statutory
deadline of December 31, 1982. The EPA Administrator asked the
State to submit revised plans for Kern County and the SCAB by
February 24, 1985, demonstrating attainment of the ozone and
nitrogen dioxide standards, respectively, as expeditiously as
practicable. However, EPA had agreed to give the South Coast Air
Quality Management District (SCAQMD) an extension to August 24,
1985, to submit a final plan. The EPA also indicated it had
reason to believe that the existing State Implementation Plan
(SIP) for nitrogen dioxide in the SCAB has not been fully
implemented pursuant to requirements of the Clean Air Act.