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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12021997 - SD3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS E,...._...._ FROM: SUPERVISORS MARK DESAULNIER AND GAYLE B. UILKEMA = , Contra o Costa DATE: November 11, 1997 ���- ._ ST'9 COVR. County SUBJECT: LETTER TO UNITED STATES EPA REQUESTING THAT THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA NOT BE REDISIGNATED AS A MODERATE OZONE NON-ATTAINMENT AREA UNDER THE FEDERAL CLEAN AIR ACT SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: Recommend that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors authorize the Chair to sign the attached letter in support of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's request NOT to be redesignated as a Moderate Ozone Non-Attainment Area under the Federal Clean Air Act. BACKGROUND: As stated in the attached letter from Ellen Garvey, Air Pollution Control Officer of BAAQMD, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District did not experience a single exceedance of the current one-hour ozone standard during the 1997 ozone season. The Air District believes the results of this year's ozone season supports the contention that a redesignation of the Bay Area to a Moderate Non-Attainment Area is unnecessary, The San Francisco Bay Area Air District should not be required to divert limited resources away from real emission- reducing activities and put those resources toward a planning process which will soon become obsolete once the new national ambient air quality standards become effective. A redesignation action by the EPA will trigger a diversion of limited resources from implementing effective programs which are currently in place to prepare and adopt a new plan which will soon be outdated. A Fact Sheet is attached regarding the 1997 ozone season. BAAQMD has been requested to have a staff person present at the Board of Supervisor's meeting to answer questions. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE: MARK DESAULNIER GAYLE B.UILKEMA ACTION OF BOARD ON December 2,1997 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER x CONTINUED this matter to the December 16, 1997, Board meeting. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ------------- ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED December 2 1997 i 1 lor,Clerk o e B rd of isors and CoLfrity i r or Contact Person: Christi ne W mp1 er CC: County Administrator Supervisor District 2 Ellen Garvey, BAAQMD, 939 Ellis St.,San Francisco,CA 94109 DRAFT LETTER TO EPA Ms. Carol Browner, Administrator U. S. Environmental Protection Agency 401 M Street, S.W. —W1200 Washington, D.C. 20460 Dear Ms. Browner, am writing to express the opposition. of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors to the proposed redesignation of the San Francisco Bay Area to a Moderate Ozone Nonattainment Area for the one-hour ozone standard and to request that you refrain from publishing a Federal Register notice proposing such a redesignation. The Board of Supervisors objects to proposed redesignation for the following reasons: • The redesignation is not required by law. • Redesignation would have no practical public health benefit. • The region did not experience a single exceedance of the current one-hour ozone standard this year. • The region did not experience a single exceedance of the more stringent eight-hour ozone standard. There were a number of factors that contributed to the reduction in exceedances from 11 in 1995 to zero just two years later. The return to more normal weather patterns helps a great deal, however, the cumulative emission reducing efforts of the community at large have resulted in a continual decline in the emissions of ozone precursors. The evolving nature and ongoing effects of existing air pollution control plans cannot be underestimated. in 1996 alone, there were 27 percent fewer exceedances than in 1995. The 1997 ozone season is further evidence that the federal and state plans are achieving their intended goal. These recent developments indicate that the Bay Area Region can quickly return to attainment levels without the economic, political and administrative complexities of a redesignation process. SD. 3 The Board of Supervisors realizes that there can be significant variations in weather that produce significant variations in air quality—even with declining emission.- When resulting problems are temporary and self-correcting, as was the case in the San Francisco Bay Area, this variability must be accommodated without resort to costly administrative burdens. Please consider the information which has been submitted in your review of the proposed redesignation of the San Francisco Bay Area. We ask that you refrain from publishing the proposal in the Federal Register which would begin the redesignation process. Sincerely, Mark DeSaulnier, Chair Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors .«.,.�4. BAY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT h¢Hi ALAMEDA COUNTY Scott Haggerty November 5, 1997 Greg Harper RECEIVED (Vice-Chairperson) Mary King The Honorable Gayle Uilkema Ben C.Tarver Supervisor- Contra Costa County F ®v — 7 1997 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 651 Pine Stree,Room 108-A Paul L.Cooper Martinez,CA 94553 Ur ER JIS� UILKEI`J4A, Mark DeSaulnier Gayle Uilkema MARIN COUNTY Dear Director Uilkema: Harold C.Brown,Jr. NAPA COUNTY I am writing to solicit the assistance of your County Board of Supervisors in persuading the Vince Ferriole United States Environmental Protection Agency to refrain from redesignating the San SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY Francisco Bay Area as a Moderate Ozone Non-Attainment Area under the federal Clean Air Susan Leal Act. Mabel Teng SAN MATEO COUNTY Jerry Hill The Bay Area Air Quality Management District(Air District)did not experienced a single Michael D. Nevin exceedance of the current one-hour ozone standard during the 1997 ozone season. The Air (Secretary) District believes the results of this year's ozone season supports our contention that a SANTA CLARA COUNTY redesignation of the Bay Area to a Moderate Non-Attainment Area is unnecessary. Randy Attaway Don Gage Trixie Johnson The cumulative effect of the contingency measures contained in the Air District's federal Gillian Moran maintenance plan,the control measures in the Air District's state attainment plan, and the SOLANO COUNTY return to more normal weather patterns have made the San Francisco Bay Area one of the William Carroll cleanest metropolitan regions in the nation. No other area can boast a better exceedance COUNTY James Harberson record in 1997 then the San Francisco Bay Area. James (Chairperson) Patricia Hilligoss With this in mind,why should the San Francisco Bay Area be required to divert limited resources away from real emission-reducing activities and put them toward a planning Ellen Garvey process that will soon become obsolete once the new national ambient air quality standards Air Pollution Control Officer become effective? I have attached a fact sheet explains the Air District's position in greater detail. I hope that once you review this information you will ask your Board of Supervisors to write a letter to EPA Administrator Carol Browner, expressing your County's opposition to the proposed redesignation. I have included a sample letter that you may use as you feel appropriate. If you have any questions or require additional information, please feel free to contact me at 415/749-4970. Sincerely, Ellen y Air Pollution Control Officer attachments 939 ELLIS STREET • SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94109 • (415) 771-6000 FAX (415) 928-8560 ���RECYCLED PAPER SD.3 BAY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT p.M... ALAMEDA COUNTY RECEIVED Scott Haggerty November 4, 1997 Greg Harper (Vice-Chairperson) The Honorable Gayle Uilkema NOV5 i9�7 Mary Ben C.Tarver Supervisor-Contra Costa County CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 651 Pine Stree, Room 108-A SUPERVISOR UILKEI4�,4 Paul L.Cooper Martinez, CA 94553 Mark DeSaulnier Gayle Uilkema Dear Director Uilkema: MARIN COUNTY Harold C.Brown,Jr. I am forwarding to you a report of the staff of the Bay Area Air Quality Management NAPA COUNTY District evaluating and summarizing the summer ozone seasons of 1995 through 1997. Vince Ferriole SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY The 1997 summer was the cleanest on record in the San Francisco Bay Area with no Susan Leal exceedances of the national ozone standard. This exceptionally good year for air pollution Mabel Teng follows two of the most severe years of ozone concentrations in the Bay Area since 1987. SAN MATED COUNTY Jerry Hill The attached report concludes that while there were a number of factors that resulted in the Michael D.Nevin unusually high ozone concentrations in 1995 and 1996, unusual weather patterns played a (Secretary) singularly important role. SANTA CLARA COUNTY Randy Attaway Meteorological conditions can greatly affect ozone concentrations. Hot, stagnant days are Don Gage much more conducive to ozone formation than are cool days with breezy conditions. Trixie Johnson Gillian Moran Weather conditions in the summers of 1995 and 1996 were unusually conducive to ozone SOLANO COUNTY exceedances. Years with as great a meteorological potential to produce high ozone may William Carroll recur approximately once every 10 years. It is highly unusual for two such years to occur SONOMA COUNTY consecutively. James Harberson (Chairperson) It must be noted that despite a second year of unusually ozone-conducive weather in 1996, Patricia Hilligoss there was a 27 percent reduction in exceedances from 1995. It is our belief that the state's Clean Burning Fuels program greatly contributed to this decrease. Ellen Garvey Air Pollution Control Officer The report notes that total emissions are declining and that the ozone-forming potential of emissions in the Bay Area has decreased. Now that there is a return to more non-nal weather patterns, we see a marked improvement in air pollution in the Bay Area. It is our.belief that the return to more nonnal weather patterns, coupled with the continuing downward trend in emissions in the Bay Area, will substantially reduce exceedances in the next five to ten years. Furthermore, in the event we experience weather patterns similar to 1995 and 1996, we are convinced that the Clean Burning Fuels program, the turnover of motor vehicles, and the control strategies adopted and implemented by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will ensure that the resulting ozone concentration will be substantially lower. Sincerely, ?_" &ElleiI4rvey Air Pollution Control Officer Attaclunent EG:JB:Itn 939 ELLIS STREET • SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94109 • (415) 771-6000 • FAX (415) 928-8560 `•RECYCLED PAPER BAY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT FACTSHEET THE 1997 OZONE SEASON AND THE PROPOSED REDESIGNATION BACKGROUND The San Francisco Bay Area was designated in attainment of the nation ozone standard in June, 1995, following five consecutive years of clean air data. This means that from 1990 through 1994 the region experienced ozone concentrations below the levels set in the federal Clean Air Act(CAA). The five years of clear air data were two m!C!re years than the three years which are actually required under the CAA in order to designate a region in attainment of the federal standards. Unfortunately, unusually hot weather in the summers of 1995 and 1996 resulted in a greater than normal number of exceedances of the national ozone standard compared to the previous five years. This occurred in spite of the fact that emissions of ozone precursors actually declined in 1995 and 1996 due to state and local air pollution control programs, including the cleaner burning fuels program and regulations on Bay Area industries. The actual number of exceedances were 1 I in 1995 and 8 in 1996. It should be noted that the vast majority of these exceedances lasted only one or two hours, and, in 1996 seven of the eight exceedances occurred at only one monitoring station. RESULTS OF 1997 OZONE SEASON- ZERO EXCEEDANCES The 1997 ozone season has officially ended and the Bay Area has not experienced a single exceedance of the current one-hour ozone standard --nor has the region experienced a single exceedance of the more stringent eight-hour standard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently promulgated. This achievement demonstrates the accomplishments that can be achieved through collaborative efforts among all stakeholders. THE ATTAINMENT/MAINTENANCE PROCESS IN CAA WORKS -- ON-GOING EFFECTS OF EXISTING PROGRAMS AND PLANS DO THE JOB The past eight summers prove that the attainment/maintenance process established in the federal Clean Air Act works. As noted above, soon after EPA officially recognized that the Bay Area attained the national ozone standards in 1995,the region experienced several exceedances. Since it is the mission of the Bay Area Air Quality Management SD. 3 District(Air District) to protect the quality of the air that residents of this region breath, the excesses caused a great deal of disappointment. However, as part of the attainment process, the Air District,with the guidance of EPA, planned for such a situation and developed a maintenance plan containing contingency elements to ensure continuing emission reductions -- even in the event that the region experienced exceedances of the standard. It also should be noted that at the time of redesignation, we were aware of the expected emissions reductions associated with the state's clean fuels program that was scheduled to be implemented in 1996. Therefore,going into the 1996 ozone season, we hoped that the measures contained in our State Implementation Plan and the state's clean fuels program would improve the Bay Area's ozone situation. This hope was realized, in 1996 when there was a 27 percent reduction in the number of exceedances from 1995. This brings us to today. At this writing,the Bay Area ozone season has ended. Elements of our contingency plan are being implemented and many of the programs contained in our more stringent state Clean Air Plan are operational. The results? Not a single exceedance of the current one-hour federal ozone standard, and not a single exceedance of the newly promulgated eight-hour federal ozone standard. RETURN TO MORE NORMAL WEATHER PATTERNS AND CUMULATIVE EFFORTS There were several factors which led to our success in realizing a continual reduction in exceedances from 11 to zero in three short years. The return to more normal weather patterns helped a great deal. However,this success also took a collaborative effort on the part of all stakeholders. This success took the diligent pressure of the environmental community to ensure that the Air District continued with rigorous compliance programs. This success took the persistence of EPA to ensure that the Air District implemented all feasible measure to cut emissions in the quickest way possible. This success took the willingness of Bay Area citizens to make the individual sacrifices necessary to reduce their own emissions. Finally, this success took the regulated industry to realized that it was in their-- and their employees'--interest to redouble their efforts to ensure that they were in compliance with all air pollution rules and regulations. BAY AREA IS A MODEL THAT STANDARDS ARE ATTAINABLE Through these combined efforts the Bay Area is a proving ground demonstrating that the national ambient air quality standards are achievable. Far too many opponents of a new air pollution control rule or regulation have argued that the adoption of the rule or regulation would be futile as the national standards were not attainable. The Bay Area has proven that the standards are attainable. Furthermore, we have also proven that the flexibility of the federal Clean Air works as intended. We have proven that an area deemed to be in attainment that subsequently experiences adverse air pollution can rely on their continuing programs and contingency plan to come back into compliance. Most importantly, the region has proven that a region can quickly come back into attainment without the economic,political and administrative complexity of a redesignation process. PRECEDENCE FOR DEALING WITH AREAS THAT"FLIP-FLOP" IN AND OUT OF ATTAINMENT Because weather conditions can change from year to year, and affect pollutant concentrations significantly,EPA should apply sensible policies to accommodate these natural fluctuations. The Air District's March 7, 1997 comment letter on the proposed new national ambient air quality standards addressed the potential for regions to "flip- flop" in and out of attainment. The Air District would argue that it is not in anyone's best interest to require redesignation and new planning cycles when new exceedances can be eliminated by programs already in place. Although the Bay Area's experience is of immediate interest, we can predict that this problem will arise more frequently in the future. Many additional areas will be designated nonattainment for the new standards but will become attainment areas in the near future. All of these areas will be subject to the risks of"flip-flopping" in and out of attainment. They should be treated with practical and sensible EPA policies that promote clean air,but minimize administrative burdens. REQUEST TO SPEAR FORM THREE 3 MINUTE LIMIT / Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. Name: GLS[: 1��-5 /�f. Phone: Address: City: I I am speaking for myself or organization: `�l �]� �l44 (� (name of organization) CHECK ONE: i �-- &Q.(f-` , c _� t2 I wish to speak on Agenda Item # Date: My comments will be: general for against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider: REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. Name: Ln 1. - Phone: t Address: I am speaking for myself or organization: (name of organization) CHECK ONE: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # �� Date: My comments will be: general for against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider: