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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08101993 - 1.55 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - � Contra FROM: HARVEY E. BRAGDON , Costa DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT County DATE: JULY 28, 1993 SUBJECT: INTERNAL PROCEDURES FOR "SPARE THE AIR" ALERTS SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS Adopt procedures for County participation in the "Spare the Air" Program (Exhibit=A.)•. FISCAL IMPACT None. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS "Spare the Air" is a voluntary program directed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) designed to alert large employers of days forecasted to exceed state air quality standards. The program, which runs for 10 weeks, August 2 through October 15, calls for employee coordinators to alert other employees of anticipated "Spare the Air" days, in order to facilitate employee ridesharing and other environmentally-responsible activities. For more detailed information about the program refer to Exhibit B. The County participated in the "Spare the Air" Program in 1992 and has agreed to participate again in 1993 . The Bay Area Air Quality Management District encourages the use of the program as part of the Employee TDM Program and Trip Reduction Plan. On March 2 , 1993, the Board approved the designation of County Departmental TDM Coordinators for all departments in County buildings with 100 or more employees. The Board also requested the Director of the Community Development Department to provide guidance for designated coordinators and establish duties. One of the duties of the Departmental TDM Coordinator is to participate in special events such as "Beat the Back Up Day" and "Spare the Air" days. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: xx YES SIGNATU ACTION OF BOARD ON o / 9y3 APPROVED AS RECOMMEN E �_ OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A AI-UNANIMOUS (ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact: Ernie Vovakis (510/646-2131) ATTESTED /O /99-3 cc: Community Development Department (CDD) PHIL B CHELOR, CLERK OF Departmental TDM Coordinators (via CDD) THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR EV\CO'B tdm\bo\SpareAir.8-9 BY , DEPUTY Internal Procedures for "Spare the Air" Alerts Continued - Page 2 The proposed guidelines provide for a communications chain from the BAAQMD to the Community Development Department to Departmental Coordinators to County employees. Building coordinators and employees have received a description of the program so that they are prepared to respond to "Spare the Air" alerts. EV\CO'B tdm\bo\SpareAir.8-9 Exhibit A PROCEDURES FOR COUNTY "SPARE THE AIR" PROGRAM 1. The Community Development Department will inform Departmental TDM Coordinators about the "Spare the Air" Program. General information was sent to all coordinators in late July. Departmental TDM Coordinators will inform employees about the program. 2. On the day before an anticipated "Spare the Air" day, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will contact the Community Development Department via fax no later than 2: 30 pm. 3 . The "Spare the Air" Program Coordinator for the County will inform each of the Departmental TDM Coordinators the same afternoon via fax. . 4. Departmental TDM Coordinators will then inform the employees of their department that a "Spare the Air" day has been forecasted for the next day. This information will be released through the use of office flyers, fax, voicemail, posters/banners, or personal messages. 5. Information and materials about the "Spare the Air" Program, including incentive ideas to promote employee ridesharing and other non-polluting activities, will be made available to Departmental TDM Coordinators by the Community Development Department and RIDES for Bay Area Commuters. t m:sQ.rAir.ExA Exhibit B BAY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICPS SPARE THEAIR PROGRAM program Description: On days(during late summer and early fall),when the Air District forecasts an excess of the state standard for ozone,the District will ask employees to Spare the Air by voluntarily curtailing pollution-causing activities—particularly to limit automobile travel by taking public transit,carpooling/vanpooling,biking to work,or walking where possible. Employees can also be educated about the other things they can do to help clean the air,including:limiting use of oil-based paint,gasoline-powered lawnmowers and leaf blowers,and aerosol sprays. How it Works. Starting at 2:00pm on the day before a Spare the Air day,the Air District will contact participating employers and ask them to notify employees. This year,the Air District will be using a simultaneous fax,so that all participating employers should receive their faxes by 2:30pm. The Air District will also contact news reporters and meteorologists at radio and TV stations for broadcast. Timing of the Program: Although days that exceed the state standard for ozone have been known to occur as early as April, the majority of them occur in late summer and early fall. For the purpose of making the Spare the Au program focused and effective,it will be scheduled for the ten-week period from the beginnuig of August through mid-October. (Last year,the Bay Area exceeded the state ozone standard 16 times during that ten-week period.) Employee education and preparation can occur throughout the year. Who is Involved: All employers with Bay Area employees are encouraged to participate. Employers will be designated as"participating employers"if they do the following(at minimum): 1. employee education(e.g.,mailing to employees,articles in employee newsletter,showing the 'Clear Choices for Clean"'video—all these materials are available free from the Air District) 2. informing employees about the Spare the Air days during the ten-week period(e.g.,posting signs at exits,using e-mail or voice mail). Employers may also designate a certain group of employees(drawn from volunteers) to participate in the program. All participating employers will receive the following: 1. a"how-to"packet that describes options and helpful tips for participating in the Spare the Air program; 2. an invitation to a kickoff training workshop this summer,hosted by RIDES for Bay Area Commuters and Commuter Network of Santa Clara County;and 3. publicity—lice last year,all participating employers will be featured in publicity materials sent to Bay Area media. For more information,contact Grier McCurdyat Community Focus, 170 Columbus, #200,San Francisco,CA 94133,415/956-1811.