In December, the Air District committed to undertake an ambitious and far-reaching refinery emissions reduction strategy, designed to protect public health by further reducing emissions from local refineries.

This Bay Area Refinery Emissions Reduction Strategy is an element that was called for in the Air District’s groundbreaking Refinery Emissions Reduction Resolution, passed on October 15, 2014, which set a goal of reducing refinery emissions by 20 percent or as much as feasible in the next five years.

In developing the strategy, Air District staff evaluated a range of emission-reduction approaches using a variety of factors in order to determine the best way to further reduce refinery emissions.   These factors included reductions of “criteria pollutants” (pollutants for which air quality standards have been established) and toxic air contaminants and greenhouse gases, as well as impacts on neighboring communities. 

The final strategy sets an overall goal of achieving a 20 percent reduction in criteria pollutants from refineries in the next five years, as well as a 20 percent reduction in health risk to local communities. 

The reductions in criteria pollutants will be achieved through a series of rule amendments and new rules targeting particular sources at the refineries, such as fluid catalytic cracking units. 

The reduction in health risk will be achieved through a process with three components: (1) additional rule amendments to immediately address known sources of toxic air contaminants for which control technologies are readily available, (2) site-wide health risk assessments using the latest science to calculate emissions and estimate risk, and (3) additional rulemaking to further reduce emissions from the refinery sources that are identified by the health risk assessments as the biggest contributors to public health risk from toxic air contaminants. 

The other components of the strategy include a program to ensure continuous improvement of pollution control at the refineries and an evaluation of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the state’s Cap and Trade program in order to identify further potential opportunities for reductions.

The Air District will implement the Bay Area Refinery Emissions Reduction Strategy by developing a package of rules in 2015.  The agency will work with communities and refineries to prepare these proposed rules.

As part of the strategy, the Air District will continue to develop its Petroleum Refining Emissions Tracking rule, which will require updated health risk assessments and add further fence-line and neighborhood monitoring capacity, as well as mandate the compilation of an annual emission inventory.  The Air District will also continue to prepare a companion rule to set emissions thresholds and mitigate potential increases at refineries.  These rules are projected to be presented to the Board for adoption in 2015.

The Bay Area has five major oil refineries that produce air pollution and greenhouse gases in the region.  These facilities are already subject to some of the most stringent petroleum refining regulations in the country, and their overall emissions have been steadily decreasing.

The Air District is sponsoring no-charge chipping services to dispose of agricultural waste material in lieu of open burning, and is encouraging qualifying agricultural operations located within the Bay Area to apply. 

Chipping materials from orchards, vineyards and other agricultural enterprises reduces unhealthy fine particle emissions that would occur if the materials were burned.

Open burning is used by farmers as an agricultural management technique. It is the traditional way for farmers to remove waste materials produced from growing and harvesting crops. It is also used to control crop pests and prevent disease. 

Under state law, agricultural burning is regulated in order to reduce air quality impacts.  Burning can only be done by qualifying agricultural operations and fire agencies, and only on Permissive Burn Days when weather conditions are forecast to be optimal to prevent smoke buildup.

In many instances, chipping is a viable, cleaner alternative to burning agricultural waste. To qualify for the Air District-sponsored free chipping program:

- The material to be chipped must otherwise be allowed to be burned as either an orchard pruning and attrition fire or a crop replacement fire in accordance with the agricultural burning requirements found in Air District regulations, and in accordance with state law. Materials to be chipped are limited to periodic prunings, attrition losses, qualifying crop waste or natural growth.

- The material must be generated from a commercial agricultural operation (see Air District Regulation 5, Section 204, Gainful Occupation for more information).

- Materials to be chipped must also be prepared and stacked according to chipping program guidelines.

The program will run from January 27 until December 31, 2015, or until funds are exhausted, whichever occurs first.  The program budget is $150,000.

To apply for free chipping services:

Visit the Air District website at: www.baaqmd.gov/chipping and complete a Chipping Program Application Form and submit it for approval. For questions, please contact Senior Air Quality Specialist Douglas Tolar at 415 749-5118.

In November, the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association recognized the outstanding accomplishments of Bay Area Air District inspector Naomi Bernardo by honoring her with the 2014 Rodney Swartzendruber Outstanding Inspector Award. 

The award is given each year by CAPCOA’s Enforcement Managers Committee to three inspectors who work for the state’s 35 air quality management districts.  It recognizes inspectors who consistently demonstrate outstanding performance and who make significant contributions that benefit air pollution control efforts in an exemplary way. 

Bernardo, an Air District employee for 41 years and a resident of Daly City, was recognized for her dedication to public service and her key role in the Air District’s efforts to educate and provide outreach to the public and the regulated community.  As an air quality inspector, her assignments have included nine years with the agency’s asbestos program and, most recently, eight years as an industrial area inspector covering the San Francisco / mid-Peninsula region, which includes the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco.

Bernardo has been recognized for contributing to the Air District’s enforcement efforts through her invaluable bilingual skills, translating numerous compliance advisories, conducting hundreds of inspections, and providing necessary outreach to the Spanish-speaking community in the Bay Area.  Her work has garnered much appreciation from the community and overwhelming respect from her peers and the businesses she inspects. 

The Rodney Swartzendruber Award honors an air quality inspector who gave his life in the line of duty, and is presented to nominated inspectors who display exemplary dedication and performance in the pursuit of clean air.

As the result of a persistent high-pressure system that trapped pollution at elevated levels, the Air District issued eleven consecutive Winter Spare the Air Alerts from January 2 through January 12 of this year.  That ties the record of eleven in a row called last year in late December.

Overall, there have been 22 Winter Spare the Air Alerts as we go to press at the end of January, which compares with a total of 30 called in the 2013-2014 season.

The Air District issues Winter Spare the Air Alerts when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy in the Bay Area.  The Air District’s Wood Burning Rule bans wood burning throughout the region when Winter Spare the Air Alerts are in effect.  Wood burning is the single largest source of hazardous fine particle pollution in the winter.  Fine particle pollution shares many of the same characteristics as cigarette smoke, and has been linked with a host of respiratory and cardiovascular problems, as well as increased mortality rates.

This spring, the Air District will begin formally revisiting its Wood Burning Rule in order to consider potential updates and enhancements that will make it more protective of human health.  This public rulemaking process will address issues relating to exemption status and enforceability, and will include an examination of wood-burning regulations throughout the country to determine whether they contain options that might apply to the Bay Area.  

As an integral part of this process, a series of workshops will be held to solicit public input.  The Air District’s goal is to adopt any proposed amendments in the summer of 2015.

In December, the U.S. EPA released a new draft revised ambient air quality standard for ozone.  

The agency is proposing that the standard be set in a range between 65-70 parts per billion averaged over eight hours.  Comment will be accepted on levels as low as 60 ppb and as high as 75 ppb, which is the current standard that was adopted in 2008.

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to review the health standards of certain pollutants every five years.  As part of the process, the EPA convenes a group of independent scientific advisors, who review the latest health research.  These advisors determined that the current ozone standard is not fully protective of public health.

Ozone is the main ingredient in smog, and is formed when chemicals emitted by combustion sources like automobiles and industrial facilities interact with sunlight.  In the Bay Area, ozone is primarily a problem in summertime, and motor vehicles are the major source of ozone-forming pollution.

Ground-level ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, and throat irritation, and can worsen respiratory conditions like bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. It can also reduce overall lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs.  Children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions are the most sensitive to ozone pollution.

After the draft standard is published, the EPA will take public comment and release a final standard in the fall of 2015.  At that point state and local air agencies will review their air quality data to determine if they are in attainment of the new standard.  If not, they will be required to create a plan for coming into compliance with the new standard that must be approved by EPA.

The Bay Area Air District is officially designated in non-attainment of the current ozone standard.  The region will likely remain in non-attainment under the new proposed standard.

In November, the Air District announced that Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company agreed to pay a $260,000 civil penalty to settle air quality violations at its Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez.

The settlement covered 23 notices of violation that the Air District issued for incidents that occurred in 2011.  The violations included excess emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, visible emissions, tank leaks, flaring excesses, and reporting and monitoring violations.

Several violations were self-disclosed by Tesoro.  All violations have been corrected by the facility in accordance with Air District requirements.

The Air District issues notices of violation when facilities violate a specific air quality regulation or rule.  Violators are generally required to respond to the notice within ten days and submit a description of the actions they will take to correct the problem.  These actions can include shutting down operations immediately, or changing operations or equipment to come into compliance.

Carl Moyer Program - Funding available for diesel trucks, off-road and marine equipment, locomotives or agricultural equipment.  www.baaqmd.gov/moyer

Voucher Incentive Program - Funding available for non-port diesel truck replacement and retrofits.  www.baaqmd.gov/VIP 

Lower-Emission School Bus Program - Funding available for school bus retrofits, public school CNG tank replacements and public school bus replacements.  www.baaqmd.gov/LESBP

Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) Rebate Program for Public Agencies - Funding available to public agencies who purchase or lease zero- and partial zero-emissions vehicles including light-duty cars, neighborhood electric vehicles and motorcycles.  The application deadline is April 6, 2015.

Bicycle Parking (Racks and Electronic Lockers) - Funding available to public agencies that purchase and install new bicycle racks (application deadline is March 17, 2015) and new electronic lockers (application deadline is February 9, 2015).

COMING SOON! 

Funding for other project types will be available later this year including: 

• Alternative fuel infrastructure for hydrogen and compressed-natural-gas stations;
• Zero-emission light, medium and heavy duty vehicles for commercial and public entities;
• Electric vehicle charging infrastructure.  
 
See www.baaqmd.gov/grants for details on these and other funding opportunities.

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