In This Issue

In this issue, you’ll find articles about the Air District’s Clean Air Center Program and the opening of the first California Clean Air Center in San Francisco, about the statewide expansion of the Climate Tech Finance Program, and about the first meeting of the East Oakland Community Emissions Reduction Plan Steering Committee. Other articles cover the Climate Tech Finance Program’s funding of a company that provides clean-energy solar lighting and security equipment, and a recent settlement with Newby Island Landfill. Current grant opportunities are also summarized.

The Air District, California Air Resources Board and San Francisco Department of Emergency Management recently announced the launch of the state’s first Clean Air Center in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco. 

In the coming weeks, more than 300 Clean Air Centers will become available throughout the Bay Area, for use when air quality is poor due to wildfires. More than 75 percent of Clean Air Centers in the Bay Area will benefit vulnerable communities most impacted by air pollution.

Clean Air Centers are locations where residents can find respite from wildfire smoke during episodes of poor air quality.

The Air District’s Clean Air Center Program provides funding for county agencies in the Bay Area to create a network of Clean Air Centers to mitigate the adverse public health impacts due to wildfires.  The program provides portable air cleaners or HVAC upgrades to schools and other buildings that can serve the public when air quality reaches unhealthy levels.

To better prepare for, respond to and build resiliency against catastrophic wildfires, the Air District worked with Assembly Member Buffy Wicks to sponsor Assembly Bill 836: Wildfire Smoke Clean Air Center Incentive Program for Vulnerable Populations. Governor Newson signed the bill in October 2019, and $3 million was allocated to the Air District for the nine-county Bay Area region through the California Air Resources Board for the development of this grant program.

This program supplements other Air District efforts and actions from local offices of emergency services and the Red Cross to create a comprehensive network of Clean Air Centers in the region.

For more information about the Clean Air Center Program, visit the Air District’s Clean Air Centers web page.

The Air District and California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, or IBank, have announced the statewide expansion of the Climate Tech Finance program.  

The Climate Tech Finance program has supported $20.7 million in loans to date with a focus on Bay Area companies and projects. By expanding the program statewide, entrepreneurs and small businesses across California will have access to the Air District's impact evaluation and IBank’s loan guarantee of up to 80 percent of the loan principal, or $5 million, whichever is less.

The Climate Tech Finance program is a first-of-its-kind finance partnership designed to accelerate the growth of small businesses working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As part of its goal of a post-carbon Bay Area by 2050, the Air District developed the program in partnership with IBank and the Northern California Financial Development Corporation in 2018. 

The Air District identifies climate entrepreneurs and small businesses, assesses the merits of the technologies and estimates greenhouse gas emission reductions and social impacts to ensure that proposed projects improve the climate and community in an equitable and sustainable way. 

IBank, a California state agency housed within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, provides loan guarantees that give lenders the confidence they need to lend to small businesses that otherwise struggle to access affordable financing.

The Air District, IBank and Financial Development Corporations are eager to support climate entrepreneurs, work with climate-oriented lenders and scale up much-needed solutions to the climate crisis across California. 

On September 15, the Air District, in partnership with Communities for a Better Environment and East Oakland community leaders, convened a virtual community steering committee kick-off meeting to begin the development of a Community Emissions Reduction Plan.

The community steering committee will meet monthly to develop this plan as part of the state Assembly Bill 617 program. This community-led plan will outline strategies for improving air quality and public health throughout the impacted communities of East Oakland.

The Air District partnered with Communities for a Better Environment to reach out to East Oakland residents, organizations and stakeholders to form the community steering committee.

This community-led process builds upon decades of work to address areas of concentrated air pollution, environmental racism and the cumulative impacts of poor air quality. The Community Emissions Reduction Plan will set forth innovative solutions that will lead to measurable improvements in air quality, community health and overall quality of life in East Oakland.

Through its Climate Tech Finance Program, the Air District has awarded a loan guarantee to King Solarman, a provider of smart solar generators in California. 

King Solarman’s products replace loud and aging diesel generators used for mobile light towers and surveillance stations. Their solar-powered, off-grid lights and generators provide security monitoring through sound and video footage that is stored on the cloud and can be monitored in real time. The units are often used on construction sites and other locations where there is no access to electricity and replace traditional fossil-fuel generators that would otherwise be used when power is unavailable. This technology has successfully been deployed in the Bay Area.

This loan guarantee is the most recent project under the Air District’s Climate Tech Finance program. In partnership with the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, or IBank, and the Northern California Financial Development Corporation, the Climate Tech Finance team led a technology qualification and social equity impact and greenhouse gas analysis that deemed King Solarman eligible for a multimillion-dollar loan guarantee. This loan guarantee supported King Solarman in securing a line of credit with Farmers & Merchants Bank, with financing arranged by Meridian Commercial Finance Consultants LLC.

The core value of the Climate Tech Finance program is to support innovative climate projects. The Air District’s associated greenhouse gas analysis ensures that these new technologies will reduce short- and long-term greenhouse gas emissions.

The Climate Tech Finance loan guarantee provides a credit enhancement that supports King Solarman’s manufacturing of solar-powered products to meet growing demand from customers in need of a reliable power solution. These products are estimated to potentially reduce 688 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year in California, by eliminating the use of diesel generators and thereby reducing harmful emissions of particulate matter.

In September, Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. and International Disposal Corp. of California, operators of the Newby Island Landfill, agreed to pay the Air District $210,000 to settle violations that occurred at the landfill located in Milpitas.

This settlement covers 30 Notices of Violation issued for non-compliance with air quality regulations at its operations that occurred between 2014 and 2020.

The various types of violations addressed in this settlement include:

• Numerous landfill gas surface leaks associated primarily with composting operations in 2014 and 2015
• Landfill wellhead positive pressure violations occurring between 2015 and 2019
• Landfill gas collection system shutdowns in 2019
• Notices of violation for public nuisance based on odor complaints received in 2014 through 2016

All the violations that led to this settlement have been corrected.

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 10 days and submit a description of the actions they will take to correct the problem. These actions can include shutting down certain operations immediately or changing operations or equipment to come into compliance.

All settlement funds will be used to fund Air District activities such as the inspection and enforcement activities that led to this settlement. 

The Air District administers a number of grant funding programs that offer incentives for clean air projects.

Grant Funding for Clean Air Projects

Grant programs for Bay Area businesses and public agencies:

• Grants for Heavy-Duty Mobile, Portable, and Stationary Equipment Replacement Projects and Installation of Zero-Emission Infrastructure – Over $100M* in funding is available for eligible projects that reduce toxic air emissions and ozone-forming pollutants through the scrap and replacement of older, high-polluting vehicles and equipment. Eligible project categories include, but are not limited to, upgrades or replacements of:
  • Trucks, emergency vehicles, and transportation refrigeration units (TRUs)
  • Transit buses, school buses, and shuttles
  • Off-road construction, industrial, and agricultural equipment, for example: dozers, forklifts, tractors, ag pumps, and portable or stationary engines
  • Off-road port and freight equipment, including cargo handling equipment and airport ground support equipment
  • Marine vessel engines and locomotives
  • Refueling infrastructure that supports zero-emission vehicles, including battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles
  *Available funding is based on the Air District’s current, best estimate for availability through 2023 and will be updated accordingly as funds are awarded and new funding sources are secured. Projects are funded by the Carl Moyer Program, Community Air Protection Program, Transportation Fund for Clean Air, Goods Movement, Mobile Source Incentive Fund, and Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) program.
  
  Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and at least 75 percent of funding will be awarded to projects that operate in or that benefit disadvantaged and low-income areas, and areas that are most highly impacted by air pollution, including the AB 617-identified communities of West Oakland, Richmond-San Pablo, East Oakland/San Leandro, Eastern San Francisco, Pittsburg-Bay Point area, San Jose, Tri-Valley area, and Vallejo. Apply at www.baaqmd.gov/funding-and-incentives. 

• Climate Tech Finance Loan Guarantee Program is available to support the development and purchase of climate technologies for small businesses in California. Climate entrepreneurs can apply for loan guarantees up to 80 percent of the loan principal or $5 million, whichever is less, to accelerate the growth and impact of their businesses. This program is open and accepting applications now. https://ctf.baaqmd.gov/

• OPENING November 15, 2022 - Charge! grant program helps offset the cost of purchasing and installing electric vehicle charging stations within the Air District’s jurisdiction, including new publicly available charging stations at qualifying facilities and new charging stations that serve multi-family housing facilities. The solicitation period will open and applications will be accepted beginning November 15, 2022, and the solicitation will be competitive, which means that all complete applications will be scored and ranked. There will be $5 million in funding available to qualified applicants. For more program details and information about the deadline to submit applications please visit: www.baaqmd.gov/charge

Grant programs available to Bay Area residents:

• Passenger Car and Light-Duty Truck Retirement – The Vehicle Buy Back Program pays Bay Area residents $1,200 per vehicle to turn in their operable, registered, model year 1998 and older passenger car or light-duty truck for scrapping. www.baaqmd.gov/vbb

• Clean Cars for All Program, Light-Duty Vehicle Replacement – The Clean Cars for All Program is open to income-qualified Bay Area residents in qualifying zip codes. The program provides grants of up to $9,500 to retire older, high-polluting vehicles and replace them with a new or used conventional hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fuel-cell, or electric vehicle. Residents that don’t want to purchase a replacement vehicle can receive $7,500 towards alternative mobility options (e.g. public transit or electric bicycles). www.baaqmd.gov/cleancarsforall

Other state-wide grant programs funded by Volkswagen NOx Mitigation Trust (only the first is administered by the Bay Area Air District):

• VW Zero-Emission Freight and Marine Program – Funding is available statewide to accelerate the replacement of older, higher polluting diesel engines with zero emission technology. Approximately $25 million in Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust funding is available for projects that do one or more of the following:
  • Scrap combustion-based airport ground support equipment and replace with all-electric,
  • Scrap combustion-based heavy-lift forklifts (> 8,000 pounds of lift capacity) and replace with all-electric,
  • Scrap combustion-based port cargo handling equipment and replace with all-electric,
  • Scrap combustion-based ferry, tugboat, or towboat engines and replace with all-electric, and/or
  • Install portside shore power systems at berths for use by unregulated oceangoing vessels.
  At least 75 percent of funding will be awarded to projects that reduce emissions in California’s disadvantaged and low-income communities.  This solicitation is open and accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are fully allocated. https://www.californiavwtrust.org/zero-freight-marine/ 

• VW Combustion Freight and Marine Projects – Funding is available statewide to accelerate the replacement of older, higher polluting diesel engines with the cleanest available technologies. Equipment eligible for replacement includes Class 7 and 8 freight trucks (including waste haulers, dump trucks, and concrete mixers) or their engines (2012 model year and older) that are compliant with current regulations; freight switcher locomotives or their engines (pre-Tier 1); and ferry, tugboat, and towboat engines (pre-Tier 3). This solicitation is open and accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are fully allocated. https://xappprod.aqmd.gov/vw/combustion.html

• VW Zero-Emission Class 8 Freight and Port Drayage Trucks - This category is intended to support the expansion of zero-emission truck availability in the heaviest weight class. Vehicles eligible for replacement include Class 8 freight trucks (including drayage trucks, waste haulers, dump trucks, and concrete mixers) or their engines (2012 model year and older). This solicitation is open and accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are fully allocated. https://xappprod.aqmd.gov/vw/zero-emission.html  

• VW Zero-Emission Transit and Shuttle Buses – The second installment of VW funding is available to owners of bus fleets that operate in California to support early adoption of zero-emission bus technologies to reduce harmful exposure for the state’s most sensitive populations. This program is administered by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. The zero-emission school bus bin is now oversubscribed. This solicitation is open and accepting applications for transit and shuttle buses on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are fully allocated. http://vwbusmoney.valleyair.org/

This winter, the Air District and Spare the Air will be participating in the following outreach events.

November

Viva Calle SJ - San Jose
November 13

November - January

Glowfari - Oakland
November 11 - January 29

Christmas in the Park - San Jose
November 25 - January 23

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