SUMMARY OF AGENDA ITEM:

The staff presented to the Board several amendments to the gasoline deposit control additive regulation to strengthen the requirements while minimizing the cost.

At the hearing, staff proposed three amendments affecting the performance standards for certifying gasolines containing deposit control additives. Staff indicated to the Board that the amendments were necessary to reflect substantial improvements in additive and gasoline technologies. One effect of these improvements has been a significant reduction in the amounts of combustion chamber deposits that are formed within the California vehicle fleet. Staff estimated that this reduction in combustion chamber deposits has resulted in at least five percent NOx emission reduction (about 50 tons per day).

To preserve the NOx benefit associated with reduced combustion chamber deposits, staff proposed to establish a new standard for combustion chamber deposit control, to cap the existing level of these deposits in the vehicle fleet. Staff also proposed a new vehicle test procedure to demonstrate compliance with the new combustion chamber deposit standard.

To further update the regulation, staff proposed to delete the port fuel injector clean-up performance standard, in combination with lowering the existing intake valve deposit performance standard to half the current standard (i.e. 50 mg/valve). As presented to the Board, these two amendments will significantly reduce the cost of gasoline certification testing and will ensure the use of the most effective additive packages for the commercial gasoline market.

Staff proposed two other amendments to the certification test gasoline requirements to include a 90 percent distillation temperature specification and to require information regarding the blending components used to produce the certification test gasoline. These amendments will help ensure that certification test gasolines are representative of commercial gasoline.

Finally, staff proposed to update the referenced intake valve deposit and port fuel injector deposit test procedures to reflect the latest American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) test methods. The updated ASTM test methods incorporate more detailed procedural instructions and address minor technical issues.

The Board heard testimony from a representative of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA), who testified that they supported staff's proposed amendments. The AAMA added that the ARB should continue to review data to consider tighter combustion chamber deposit control, in conjunction with future California cleaner- burning gasoline specifications.

ORAL TESTIMONY:

Steven Douglas
American Automobile Manufacturers Association

FORMAL BOARD ACTION:

The Board approved resolution 98-46 by a unanimous vote.

RESPONSIBLE DIVISION: Stationary Source Division

STAFF REPORT:

On August 7, 1998, staff made available to the public a report entitled, "Proposed Amendments to the California Regulation Requiring Deposit Control Additives in Motor Vehicle Gasoline." This report consisted of about 65 pages and included a discussion of the proposed amendments and their impacts.

The staff recommended that the Air Resources Board approve the proposed amendments to the designation criteria regulations and the (state standards) area designation regulations. At the meeting the staff modified some of the designations as proposed in the staff report; accordingly those modifications must be made available for public comment for a period of 15 days.

The amendments to the designation criteria do not add any new requirements to the existing criteria, but they clarify current practices, make the regulations easier to understand, and delete extraneous language and references.

The amendments to the area designations, as approved, include: the redesignation of Colusa County Air Pollution Control District as nonattainment-transitional for ozone (by operation of law); the redesignations of the Fresno Urbanized Area and El Dorado County (Lake Tahoe Air Basin portion) as attainment for carbon monoxide; and the redesignation of Lassen County as nonattainment for PM10.

ORAL TESTIMONY:

(None)

FORMAL BOARD ACTION:

Approved Resolution 98-47 by unanimous vote

RESPONSIBLE DIVISION: TSD

STAFF REPORT:

Yes (212 pages, including the main text and eight attachments)

SUMMARY OF AGENDA ITEM:

The Air Resources Board approved adoption of new regulations and amendments to existing regulations to update the administrative hearing procedures used by the Air Resources Board to address recently enacted legislative authority to assess and enforce administrative penalties for violations of fuel-related violations and recent amendments to the State Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Specifically, the rulemaking amends the heavy-duty vehicle smoke inspection citation hearing procedures to also cover less serious and complex fuel-related violations and adopts new hearing procedures to review the more serious and complex fuel-related violations. All of the hearing procedures, including new procedures for review of petitions to executive officer decisions, incorporate recent amendments to the State APA that assure greater due process protections.

ORAL TESTIMONY:

By American Automobile Manufacturers Association:

Kingsley Macomber
Sierra Research

John P. Dwyer
Professor of Law

Gregory L. Ogden
Professor

Gave testimony on behalf of the stakeholders directly affected by proposed regulations.

FORMAL BOARD ACTION:

Resolution 98-48 was voted approved by a unanimous voice vote of six of the seven members present. Member Calhoun was absent at the time of the vote.

RESPONSIBLE DIVISION:

Office of Legal Affairs/Administrative Hearing Office

STAFF REPORT:

Initial Statement of Reasons for Proposed Rulemaking: 39 pages.

Staff presented and the Board approved a resolution supporting the use of air quality related federal transportation dollars to purchase cleaner, alternative fueled school and transit buses. Replacing diesel-fueled school and transit buses with cleaner, alternative-fueled buses is a clean air strategy for meeting health-based air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter. This has the added benefit of reducing exposure to diesel particulate emissions which have been identified as a toxic air contaminant (TAC). The resolution was timely because of the recent passage of the federal Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21).

TEA-21 contains a substantial increase in the transportation-related funds designated for air quality improvement. For California, dollars under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program will double to $300 million per year statewide. There is a 50 percent increase in funds potentially available for bus purchases under the Transit Formula Grants Program (FTA). TEA-21 also contains other new grant programs for clean-fueled bus purchases. At present, none of these funds are used for school bus replacements, even though they are eligible, and only a portion of transit bus replacement funds are used for alternative-fueled vehicles.

California's school bus fleet is 70 percent diesel. Of these buses, 15 percent are pre-1977 diesel buses that emit three times more nitrogen oxides (NOx) and four times more fine particulates (PM10) than do compressed natural gas buses. There are also roughly 5,000 diesel transit buses statewide.

The resolution expresses the Board's support for efforts to replace diesel-fueled school and transit buses with cleaner, alternative-fueled buses. With respect to school buses, the resolution recommends that transportation funding agencies allocate $60 million annually in CMAQ funds for bus replacements. This is 20 percent of available CMAQ dollars under TEA-21. The resolution recommends that $8 million in matching funds be provided by air districts utilizing the Motor Vehicle Registration Fees Program. This level of funding would replace over 2,200 pre-1977 school buses in five years.

With respect to transit buses, the resolution recommends that funding agencies replace the entire diesel fleet with alternative-fueled vehicles by the year 2010. This can be done by continuing FTA funding levels at 25 percent and, CMAQ levels at 10 percent for transit bus replacements. The goal is $180 million annually in federal funding and $40 million in state and local matching funds. Staff acknowledged that meeting these goals would require the efforts of multiple agencies including air districts, the California Transportation Commission, Caltrans, transportation planning agencies, transit districts, and school districts. To support implementation it was recommended that community colleges provide alternative fuel mechanics training.

The California Association of School Transportation Officials and the Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency gave testimony in favor of the resolution.

ORAL TESTIMONY

Ken McCoy
Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency

Doug Snyder
California Association of School Transportation Officials

FORMAL BOARD ACTION:

Approved Resolution 98-49 by unanimous vote.

RESPONSIBLE DIVISION: OAQTP

STAFF REPORT: No