State of California
AIR RESOURCES BOARD
Monterey City Hall
351 Madison - Room 5
Monterey, CA
December 6, 1972
9:30 a.m.
AGENDA
1. Approval of Minutes of November 21, 1972 Meeting.
2. Report from the Monterey-Santa Cruz County Unified Air
Pollution Control District.
3. Public Hearing on Regulations for Releasing Information by
ARB to the Public.
4. Report of the Committee on Non-Vehicular Emissions and
Control: NOx Emissions from Power Plants in the South Coast
Air Basin.
5. Report on the State Air Pollution Emergency Contingency
Plan.
6. Report on a Request for the Creation of a Mountain Counties
Air Basin.
7. Applications for Open Burning at Solid Waste Disposal Sites.
8. Other Business:
a. Research Committee Report.
b. Report on Definition of Infectious Wastes.
c. EPA's Regulations to Prevent Significant Deterioration
of Air Quality.
d. Other
9. Remarks from the Audience - End of Morning and Afternoon
Sessions.
ITEM
Agenda Item 2 to be presented at Board Meeting.
ITEM
Regulations for making records available to the public.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution 72-122.
DISCUSSION
The California Public Records Act (Government Code 6250 -
6260) makes most records of state agencies open for public
inspection. The exceptions are, for example, personnel matters,
specified financial information, and, most notably, trade
secrets. the Act authorizes agencies to adopt regulations
specifying procedures to be followed in making records available
to the public. The proposed regulations carry out this
provision.
ITEM
Report of Emissions and Control Committee
NOx EMISSIONS IN THE SOUTH COAST AIR BASIN: THE EFFECTS OF GAS
TURBINES AND OF EXTENDING EXISTING EMISSION LIMITS TO SMALL POWER
PLANTS.
SUMMARY
1. Emissions, on the basis of pounds per megawatt-hour, from
modern combined-cycle gas turbine plants are as low as those
from modern steam plants on gas fuel and lower on oil fuel.
2. Emissions from gas turbine peaking units are insignificant
because of the few hours of operation even during the July
to October smog season.
3. The proposed Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
rules for emissions from existing power plants, if applied
in the South Coast Basin (SCB), would not reduce the average
emissions. This results from the fact that emissions from
most of these plants already have been reduced by the
techniques considered as applicable by EPA.
4. The extension of limits on NOx emissions of 125 ppm on gas
and 225 ppm on oil down to 250 MBTU per hour would not
reduce average emissions in the SCB by a significant amount.
5. A reduction in electorial power demand about equal to the
power used by television sets, or air conditioners, would
permit all existing plants in the SCB to meet limits on NOx
emissions of 125 ppm on gas and 225 ppm on oil.
ITEM
State's Air Pollution Emergency Contingency Plan.
BACKGROUND
At the September 12, 1972 public hearing on the proposed Air
Pollution Emergency Contingency Plan, the Board asked the State
Department of public Health to convene an Ad-Hoc Medical Advisory
Committee to recommend episode stage criteria based on health
effects. The committee met and discussed the recommendations on
October 23, 1972. Dr. Timothy Crocker presented a draft of the
report of the Ad-Hoc Medical Advisory Committee at the November
8, 1972 meeting in Santa Barbara. The final report of this
Committee was submitted to the Board on November 22, 1972 and a
copy of this report is attached.
DISCUSSION
The Emergency Episode Contingency Plan as proposed August 10,
1972 was a control action abatement plan. The proposed plan was
developed in cooperation with local air pollution control
districts and the State Office of Emergency Services. Specified
abatement actions were mandatory after the pollutant
concentrations reached specified criteria levels, which were in
terms of instantaneous concentrations. The episode stage
criteria recommended by the Ad-Hoc Medical Advisory Committee are
in several averaging periods and include a level for health
warning. If these recommended levels are to be used as the basis
for emergency action, the plan will be different from the one
proposed for Board consideration on September 12, 1972.
ITEM
Request by seven mountain county air pollution control districts
for establishing a Mountain Counties Air Basin.
ISSUE
Should the Air Resources Board designate an air basin which
includes seven mountain counties?
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The proposal to create a Mountain Counties Air Basin
presents several technical, political and administrative
problems. As a result the Board should not create such a
basin at this time.
2. It is recommended that the staff prepare a report defining
possible zones for existing air basins based on geographical
considerations and need for differing regulations in these
zones. The staff would work with the Board's Nonvehicular
Emissions and Control Committee in the preparation of this
report.
ITEM
Staff Report on Program to Phase Out Open Burning on City and
County Waste Disposal Sites.
INTRODUCTION
Section 39296 of the State Health and Safety Code prohibits open
burning at waste disposal sites as of January 1, 1972. Section
39297.4 of the Health and Safety Code, however, directs the Air
Resources Board to permit a city, city and county, or county to
use open outdoor fires, for a limited time only, in its operation
of a solid waste dump, upon the finding that because of sparse
population in the geographical area and economic and technical
difficulties, the solid waste dump should be so operated.
There is no provision within the law to allow private, state or
federally owned and operated disposal sites to continue to burn
in the open after December 31, 1971.
Many cities and counties have requested time extensions to
continue open burning at waste disposal sites because of economic
and technical difficulties. The Board has granted 297 time
extensions ranging from 2 months to 2 years for city and county
dump sites since the enactment of this section of the Health and
Safety Code.
As of December 1, 1972, the Board has received requests for
additional extensions for open burning at 141 disposal sites.
Fifty-two of these requests were for periods of 6 months or less.
These will be acted upon by the Executive Officer under the
authority delegated to him by the Board. The remaining 89
requests however, are for periods greater than 6 months, and
therefore require Board action.
ITEM
Definition of Infectious Waste.
CONCLUSION
Emergency Regulations have been adopted by the State Department
of Public Health which relate to the disposal of infectious
waste. The definition of infectious waste is stated in the
regulations.
ITEM
EPA Regulations to prevent significant deterioration of air
quality.
ISSUE
For Board information.