1999 Accomplishments and Priorities

Air Resources Board

The Air Resources Board (ARB) promotes and protects public health, welfare and ecological resources through the effective and efficient reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering the effects on the economy of the State.

Accomplishments during Second Half of 1999

1. Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Phase Out/Phase III Cleaner-Burning Gasoline. In December, the Board took two actions to implement Governor Davis’ Executive Order calling for the phase-out of MTBE, a commonly used additive, from gasoline no later than December 31, 2002. The Board approved Phase III cleaner-burning gasoline regulations to enable refiners to produce MTBE-free gasoline while preserving the air quality benefits of currently used gasoline. The Board also approved an assessment of the potential air quality and health impacts of using ethanol in fuel, which found no significant adverse environmental impacts from ethanol blends compared to today’s gasoline. The Governor’s Executive Order directed Cal/EPA to evaluate the fate and transport of ethanol in the environment prior to its increased use in gasoline to replace MTBE. In January 2000, Cal/EPA’s Environmental Policy Council (EPC) considered and approved the comprehensive evaluation of ethanol, including water impacts. As with air quality, the EPC determined it does not anticipate any significant water quality problems from the substitution of ethanol for MTBE.

2. Portable Fuel Container Control Measure. In September, the Board approved a regulation requiring that new portable fuel containers be spill-proof beginning in 2001. These new containers, used to refuel lawn and garden equipment, motorcycles, and watercraft, will employ an automatic shut-off feature to eliminate spillage. This control measure is expected to provide about 75 tons per day of emission reductions statewide in 2010 – a 75 percent reduction in uncontrolled refueling emissions.

3. Consumer Products Control Measures. In October, the Board approved a regulation that adds emission limits for two new categories and tightens emission limits for 15 categories of consumer products such as hair spray, nail polish, and cleaning products. The new limits will become effective between 2002 and 2004 depending on product category. This measure is expected to provide about 23 tons per day of emission reductions statewide in 2010.

4. Advanced Technology Symposium/Launch of Program to Further Reduce Diesel Emissions. In October, the Board hosted its second biennial Symposium on Exploring New Technologies for Clean Air to identify technologies capable of achieving zero and near-zero emissions. The symposium served as the backdrop for ARB Chairman Alan Lloyd to announce a comprehensive effort to reduce emissions from new diesel engines by an additional 75 percent beginning in 2007.

5. Guidelines for Power Plant Siting. In July, the Board approved guidelines for major power plant permits. The guidelines are intended to ensure that air districts require power plants to use the cleanest emissions control technology currently available. Districts will also be expected to require newer, cleaner control technology as it becomes available. With deregulation of the electric utility industry, 35 new power plants are currently proposed or anticipated.

6. Carl Moyer Incentive Program. The ARB continues to implement the Carl Moyer Heavy-Duty Vehicle Incentive Program, which provides funding to reduce emissions from diesel-powered engines. In June, the Board distributed about $25 million to air districts that administer the program at the local level. About 70 percent of those funds have already been obligated toward projects. This year’s budget allocates an additional $23 million for the program ($19 million to the ARB and $4 million for the California Energy Commission). The program provides grants for private companies or public agencies operating heavy-duty engines in California to cover part of the cost of cleaner on-road, off-road, marine, and locomotive engines.

7. Community Exposure. The ARB is continuing its program to evaluate the impact that industrial sources of air toxics may have on nearby neighborhoods. In 1999, ARB Chairman Alan Lloyd appointed a Community Health Advisor who is focusing on issues that concern local communities, such as children’s exposure to harmful pollutants, air toxic hot spots, and environmental equity. In October, the Board began a community exposure monitoring program in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego. Residents of the community believe they are being adversely impacted by pollution from industrial sources in and around the neighborhood.

8. California Regional PM10/PM2.5 Air Quality Study. In December, the ARB began a 14-month field study to better understand the nature and causes of particle pollution in central and northern California as part of the California Regional PM10-PM2.5 Air Quality Study. This effort will provide the information to support future plans and strategies to meet federal PM10 standards, state PM10 standards, and any new federal particulate matter standards.

9. Mexican Border Issues. The ARB continues to work with Mexican environmental agencies and U.S. EPA to address emissions from Mexican sources that impact air quality in California. Last summer, the Board completed a study to collect air emissions data on Mexican-registered vehicles crossing the border into California to better understand the emissions contribution of Mexican vehicles in the region. We are also continuing to implement the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program in the border region. This program is designed to reduce excessive emissions from trucks and buses due to poor maintenance and tampering. The ARB has conducted over 1,100 inspections at border crossings and found about 150 vehicles in violation. Discussions are underway to develop a border plan that would protect and improve the environmental conditions along the California-Mexico border.

Priorities for First Half of 2000

1. MTBE Phase Out. The ARB is continuing to work with the oil industry and other parties to implement Governor Davis’ Executive Order calling for the phase out of MTBE from California gasoline as soon as possible but not later than the end of 2002. The Board will provide updates every six months on the progress in phasing out MTBE. The first update is scheduled for June or July. In the first half of 2000, the ARB will work on additional minor improvements to its cleaner-burning gasoline program to facilitate the phase out. The Board will consider these changes in October. The ARB is also continuing to provide technical and policy support for the state's request to U.S. EPA for a waiver from the federal mandate requiring oxygenates in reformulated gasoline.

2. New Mobile Source Emission Standards. Early this year, the Board will consider lower emission standards for off-road diesel engines and transit buses to fulfill commitments in California’s Ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP) and reduce public exposure to toxic particulates in diesel exhaust. Under terms of a 1996 agreement between ARB, U.S. EPA, and engine manufacturers, emission standards for off-road diesel engines will phase-in beginning in 2000 – several years earlier than expected in the SIP. The proposed transit bus regulation would provide both immediate and long-term emission reductions and would require the introduction of zero-emission buses into the fleet by the end of the decade.

3. Enhanced Vapor Recovery Program. Current vapor recovery systems have substantially reduced emissions from vehicles refueling at service stations. Yet vehicle refueling remains a significant source of ozone-forming hydrocarbons across the state. The ARB believes further emission reductions are possible by improving performance and reliability. The Board will propose revisions to make stations’ vapor recovery systems compatible with newer vehicles and to require new computerized equipment that will self-diagnose when repairs are needed. The Board will consider these changes in March.

4. Improvements to Smoke Management Program. The ARB is developing changes to improve California agricultural burning regulations that govern growers who burn agricultural waste as well as land managers who use prescribed burning on range lands and forests. The Board is proposing a locally controlled program that would consider the cumulative effects of all types of burning when districts decide how many acres can be burned each day. The Board is scheduled to consider the proposal in March.

5. Asbestos Control Measure. The ARB is updating its asbestos airborne toxic control measure, which limits the amount of naturally occurring asbestos used in surfacing material. The Board is considering lowering the allowable asbestos content from 5 percent to one percent or lower and adding requirements to minimize the release of asbestos fibers from construction activities and quarrying-mining operations. The Board will consider the proposal in July.

6. Chlorinated Toxics Control Measure. The ARB is proposing a new control measure to limit the emissions of perchloroethylene, methylene chloride, and trichloroethylene in automotive consumer products. The Board has identified these compounds as toxic air contaminants. Products affected include brake cleaners, carburetor cleaners, engine degreasers, and general purpose degreasers. The Board will consider the proposal in April.

7. Architectural Coatings Measure. In April, the Board will consider changes to the ARB’s suggested control measure for architectural coatings, which would lower the emission limits for some categories based on the most stringent standards in place. The measure will be used as a model for districts when they adopt and amend their local architectural coatings rules.

8. Control Technology Guidance for Stationary Internal Combustion Engines. In June, the Board will consider proposed guidelines on reasonably available control technology and best available retrofit control technology to reduce emissions from existing stationary internal combustion engines. The guidelines would assist districts in establishing effective, consistent emission standards for these engines. The California Clean Air Act requires areas that do not attain the state ozone standard to apply either reasonably available or best available retrofit control technology to stationary sources.

9. Health Research – Vulnerable Populations Program. As part of the ARB's ongoing research on the health effects of air pollution, the Board is pursuing a new program to better understand how pollution affects the most vulnerable segments of the state's population. In January, the Board will consider funding for one of the first parts of this effort – a study of how children with asthma respond to air pollution. The study will be done in Fresno.

10. New Mobile Source Emissions Model. In March, the Board will consider a new model, EMFAC 2000, for estimating motor vehicle emissions. Preliminary results from the new model indicate that the ARB has been underestimating emissions from cars and trucks. The ARB plans to use EMFAC 2000 to update the Board's motor vehicle control strategy in the 2000 – 2001 time frame.

11. Diesel Risk Management. After the Board identified particulate exhaust from diesel engines as a toxic air contaminant in 1998, the ARB initiated the risk management phase of its air toxics program. As part of this process, the Board is assessing the need for additional measures and opportunities to reduce public exposure to toxics from diesel engines and developing guidelines to assist risk managers evaluate the health impacts of diesel particulate. The Board has convened an advisory committee to assist with these activities. Developing both the needs assessment and risk management guidelines is a high priority for the first half of 2000. A Board hearing is anticipated in September.

12. California Fuel Cell Partnership. The ARB is continuing to work with the California Fuel Cell Partnership to place about 50 fuel cell powered cars and buses on the road in 2000-2003 and to test them under real world driving conditions. In the first half of 2000, the Board expects to start construction on a facility to test the demonstration vehicles. The first test vehicles are expected by the end of 2000.

13. Central California Ozone Study. In summer of 2000, the ARB will conduct a major field program as part of the Central California Ozone Study. The field study will cover nearly all of northern and central California. Data from this study will improve understanding of pollution transport and support the next round of state and federal ozone attainment plans.

14. South Coast Ozone Plan. In January, the Board approved a targeted revision to the South Coast’s SIP to meet the federal one-hour ozone standard. The revision strengthens the District’s control strategy, providing additional near-term emission reductions by accelerating the rulemaking schedule for a number of rules and reflecting the District’s adoption of over 150 tons per day of new emission reductions since the 1994 SIP. The revision is an interim step before a comprehensive revision to state and local control strategies planned for early 2001.

15. Air Quality and Agriculture Forum. This spring, the ARB will host a public forum in Fresno on Air Quality and Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities. The purpose of the forum is to discuss voluntary strategies to reduce air pollution from agricultural operations.

16. Local Elected Officials Conference. In May, the ARB will hold its second air quality conference for California’s local elected officials. The conference provides an opportunity to share information on emerging air quality issues and the role of local officials in improving California’s air quality. The dialog will also help strengthen the state and local partnership needed to attain mutual clean air goals.

Back to Report of Accomplishments & Priorities