In This Issue

In this issue, you’ll find articles about the Air District Board’s appointment of a new interim executive officer and district counsel, about an Air District Hearing Board abatement order to shut down diesel generators at a local facility, and about the agency’s participation in a lawsuit to stop USPS from replacing the bulk of their fleet with fossil-fuel-powered vehicles. Other articles cover the Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program, the Air District’s denunciation of a recent Supreme Court decision limiting the U.S. EPA’s regulatory authority, and the 2022 Spare the Air Leadership Award. Current grant opportunities are also summarized.

The Air District’s Board of Directors has voted to retain Sharon Landers as the interim executive officer, beginning Monday, May 23, for a nine-month contract. 

Ms. Landers will serve as the Air District’s interim executive officer while the Air District Board begins its search for a candidate to permanently fill the role.

Over the past 24 years, Ms. Landers has served at the executive management level in a variety of public agencies, including transportation authorities, redevelopment agencies and cities. She has extensive experience in government operations, including transportation, sustainability and social equity, as well as a background in public sector law.

Ms. Landers has a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Psychology from the State University of New York, and a J.D. from Albany Law School.

The Air District has appointed Alexander “Sandy” Crockett as the new district counsel, effective May 23. 

Mr. Crockett will serve as chief attorney for the Air District and manage the agency’s Legal Division. He has served as an assistant district counsel at the Air District for the past 18 years, representing the agency in high profile cases involving air quality regulations and policy, CEQA and other environmental litigation. 

Prior to joining the Air District, Mr. Crockett practiced environmental law at various Washington, D.C., and San Francisco law firms, where he worked on a diverse set of cases. More recently, Mr. Crockett was temporarily appointed to the role of acting executive officer of the Air District, prior to the appointment of Sharon Landers as a longer-term interim executive officer who will preside until the search for a permanent executive officer is finalized.

Mr. Crockett received a B.A. with Honors in English Literature and Natural Sciences from Cambridge University in England, a Master of Science Degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and his J.D. with High Honors from The George Washington University Law School.

The Air District’s Legal Division gives legal advice and representation to Air District staff, the Board of Directors, Board committees, the executive officer and the Advisory Council. The Legal Division also represents the Air District in litigation and in matters before the Hearing Board. 

On July 13, the Air District announced that the agency’s independent Hearing Board had granted an abatement order request to shut down nine diesel generators at the Green Sage cannabis facilities in East Oakland, effective immediately. This order applied to Green Sage Management, the property owners and two state-licensed cannabis cultivators within the complex. 

The Air District issued a Notice of Violation to Green Sage on February 16, 2022, for operating without a permit. The Air District then sought to shut down Green Sage’s diesel generators for ongoing violations at their Oakland Tinnery and Oakland Cannery facilities.

Abatement orders and cases brought before the Hearing Board allow for transparency, as facts and evidence are presented in an open forum while providing an opportunity for public comment. The public can sign up for Hearing Board updates on the Air District’s Sign Up for Information web page.

In April, the Air District joined the State of California’s lawsuit against the United States Postal Service to stop the agency from replacing 90 percent of its delivery fleet with fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.

More than a dozen other states, the District of Columbia and the City of New York have also joined the lawsuit filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit asserts that the Postal Service was obligated to follow a process mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, but failed to do so.

The Postal Service has been presented with a tremendous opportunity to electrify its delivery fleet to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases, but has chosen a fossil-fuel future instead. The Postal Service’s current path sustains real and lasting health impacts for local communities – many of whom are communities of color that are already overburdened by air pollution. In this lawsuit, the State of California, the Air District and its partners are seeking to enforce the Postal Service’s obligation to follow processes mandated by federal law.

Tailpipe emissions from the 5.3 million vehicles in the Bay Area account for approximately 28 percent of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions and a significant portion of other pollutants – including 31 percent of carbon monoxide and 12 percent of nitrogen oxides.

As of the end of 2020, the Bay Area was home to more than 214,000 zero-emission vehicles and more than 29,000 public or shared electric vehicle charging stations.

California has set a goal of five million electric vehicles sold by 2030, with the sale of new gasoline-powered conventional light-duty vehicles phased out by 2035. The Air District’s target for the Bay Area is for 90 percent of vehicles on the road to be zero emission by 2050, with an interim target of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles by 2030.  These goals will be critical in helping California achieve its long-term target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.

As employees throughout the Bay Area make plans to return to the workplace, the Air District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission encourage businesses to review their Commuter Benefits Program registration and update it with new commute options. 

In the Bay Area, companies with 50 or more full-time employees are required to register for, provide and promote commuter benefits to their workforce. Employers can review their commuter benefits registration and update their company’s commute offerings to include remote work, carpooling or other commute options.

Flexible commute options can help employers attract and retain valued staff, improve employee health and productivity, as well as reduce stress, traffic and air pollution.

Employers subject to the Commuter Benefits Program are required to offer one of the following options:

• Pre-tax benefit: Allows employees to exclude transit or vanpool expenses from their taxable income
• Employer subsidy: Provides a subsidy to reduce or cover monthly transit or vanpool costs
• Employer-provided transit: Provides a free or low-cost transit service for employees, such as a bus, shuttle or vanpool service
• Alternative benefit: Provides a commuter benefit that is as effective in reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips as one of the three options above
• Remote work: A company-wide policy allowing remote work one or more days a week for employees whose work can be performed remotely

Transportation is the largest source of air pollution and greenhouse gases in the Bay Area. Taking public transit, carpooling, biking, walking and remote work are sustainable choices Bay Area employers can actively promote to their workforce.

The Air District’s Flex Your Commute program provides messaging and links to information to drive employees toward sustainable commuting. Studies have shown employees are more willing to make commute changes when actively encouraged by their employers.

Together, the Commuter Benefits Program and the Flex Your Commute Program encourage sustainable, stress-free commute choices as the Bay Area transitions back to the workplace. 

In July, the Air District’s Interim Executive Officer, Sharon Landers, issued a statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision that restricts the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

“Today’s West Virginia vs. EPA Supreme Court decision, which limits the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions, comes at a time when climate change impacts are increasingly felt and obvious to all. An ‘all hands on deck’ approach is critical to help solve the climate crisis, and today’s Supreme Court decision is an unnecessary hurdle that delays much-needed progress. This decision significantly threatens regulations that address coal power plant emissions. Emissions from the power sector and other fossil fuel emissions contribute to a deteriorating global climate, leading to more extreme weather, catastrophic wildfires, harmful air pollution and public health impacts. In response to this ill-considered decision, the Air District will work with the EPA to pursue effective methodologies to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector that benefit the global climate and Bay Area communities. We will also increase our efforts to work with local communities in our combined pursuit of significant and impactful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a better, healthier and thriving Bay Area for all.”

The Air District has awarded the 2022 Spare the Air Leadership Award to MCE for their Low-Income Families and Tenants, or LIFT, program, which has already given over $1 million in rebates to 680 homes, saving over 7,800 kilowatt-hours of energy per year.

MCE’s LIFT Program targets owners of low-income multifamily properties and underserved residents. This group is often overlooked by grant retrofit programs, especially for newer technologies. MCE works with both tenants and property owners to help navigate the process of installing appropriate appliances to lower emissions, reduce utility costs and improve indoor air quality. Rebates from MCE finance the installation of energy efficient air filtration systems, as well as space and water heaters. The program is directed at low-income property owners and tenants in MCE’s service area, which includes Contra Costa, Marin, Napa and Solano counties.

Decarbonization of buildings and energy systems is a challenging yet critical carbon and greenhouse gas reduction strategy. Residents of low-income multifamily housing often face barriers to participation in energy efficiency programs, due to challenges in working with property owners, concerns about sharing personal information, the potential for immigration enforcement and financial constraints. 

MCE’s LIFT program addresses these concerns by directly assisting tenants and property owners with application and site evaluation. The LIFT program helps traditionally underserved communities benefit from the cost savings and indoor air quality improvements made possible by clean energy retrofits.

The Spare the Air Leadership award recognizes MCE for designing a program that targets energy usage reductions, improves indoor air quality, and serves as a replicable blueprint for other grant programs throughout the Bay Area.

MCE is a not-for-profit, public agency that provides electricity service and innovative programs to more than one million residents and businesses in 37 member communities across four Bay Area counties: Contra Costa, Marin, Napa and Solano. 

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:

• Heavy-Duty Mobile and Stationary Equipment Replacement and Zero-Emission Infrastructure Program (Opening Fall 2022) – Over $70M* in funding will be 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
  • Transit buses, school buses, and shuttles
  • Off-road construction, industrial, and agricultural equipment, for example: dozers, forklifts, tractors, loaders, 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
  This funding is also available for the installation of refueling infrastructure that supports zero-emission vehicles, including battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Projects must operate in the Bay Area and at least 50 percent of program funds are reserved for projects that operate in or that benefit 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. Visit the program web page at www.baaqmd.gov/moyer and sign up to the notification list to receive program updates.
  *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 Health Protection Program, Transportation Fund for Clean Air, Mobile Source Incentive Fund, and Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) program.
• Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program (Opening Fall 2022) – Up to $20 million will be available for projects that replace (upgrade) equipment used in freight movement activities in California with zero-emissions technology. Eligible project categories include, but are not limited to, replacements of:
  • Cargo-handling equipment such as forklifts, yard trucks, and rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTG)
  • Transportation refrigeration units (TRU) and insulated cold-storage trailers at retail grocery stores
  • Freight locomotives
  Goods movement funding is also available for the installation of hydrogen fueling/battery-charging infrastructure, electric power plug to assist owners of freight movement equipment to incorporate zero- or near-zero-emissions equipment into their fleet, and for berth electrification and emissions capture and control equipment at ports. Visit the program web pages at www.baaqmd.gov/goods and sign up to the notification list to receive program updates.
• VW Zero-Emission Freight and Marine Program (Opening Fall 2022) – Up to $30 million in funding is available for eligible project categories including, but not limited to:
  • Airport ground support equipment 
  • Heavy-lift forklifts (> 8,000 lbs of lift capacity)
  • Cargo handling equipment (must be located at a port) 
  • Ferry, tugboat, and towboat engines 
  This program also offers funding for the installation of one portside shore power system at berths for use by unregulated oceangoing vessels. Projects must operate in California and at least 75 percent of funding is reserved for projects that reduce emissions in California’s disadvantaged and low-income communities. Visit the VW Zero-Emission Freight and Marine Program website and sign up to the notification list to receive program updates.
• VW Zero-Emission Class 8 Freight and Port Drayage Trucks (Opening Soon) – Approximately $9 million in funding is available to support the expansion of zero-emission truck availability in the heaviest weight class that typically relies on diesel technologies. Vehicles eligible for replacement include Class 8 freight trucks (including drayage, waste haulers, dump trucks, and concrete mixers) 2012 model year and older that are compliant with current regulations. This solicitation is anticipated to open in August 2022 and will accept applications on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are fully allocated. https://xappprod.aqmd.gov/vw/zero-emission.html
• Loan Guarantees and Low-Interest Financing: Climate Tech Finance Program – Subsidized financing is available to support the development and purchase of climate technologies. Companies can apply for loan guarantees of up to 90 percent to grow their business. Public facilities can apply for loans up to $30 million over 30 years. This program is open and accepting applications now.  www.baaqmd.gov/ctf
• Charge! Program for electric vehicle (EV) charging projects is currently closed but will reopen in late 2022. Charge! is a grant program that helps offset up to 85 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing new publicly available charging stations at qualifying facilities and private charging stations to serve multi-unit dwelling locations within the Air District’s jurisdiction.  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 all income-qualified Bay Area residents in qualifying zip-codes. The program provides varying incentives (up to $9,500) to retire older, high-polluting vehicles and replace them with newer, cleaner vehicles or with alternative transportation options (e.g., Clipper card). Eligible vehicles for purchase or lease include hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid, or electric vehicles. www.baaqmd.gov/cleancarsforall

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

August

Sonoma County Fair – Sonoma
August 4-14 (closed August 8)

Silicon Valley Bike Coalition Bike Summit – Milbrae
August 18

Festival of India – Fremont
August 20-21

Sunday Streets, SOMA – San Francisco
August 21

September

SF Transit Month – San Francisco
September 1-30
(Pending final confirmation)

National First Responders Fund Stair Climb – San Francisco
September 10
(Pending final confirmation)

Mountain View Art & Wine Festival – Mountain View
September 10-11

Los Gatos Art & Wine (Fiesta de Artes) – Los Gatos
September 17-18
(Pending final confirmation)

Sunday Streets, Western Addition – San Francisco
September 18

Viva Calle SJ – San Jose
September 18

Silicon Valley Fall Festival – Cupertino
September 24
(Pending final confirmation) 

October

Day on the Bay – Alviso
October 8

Napa County Bike Coalition – Walk & Roll to School Day – Napa County
October 12
(Pending final confirmation)

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival – Half Moon Bay
October 15-16

Sunday Streets, Phoenix Day – San Francisco
October 16

Dia de los Muertos – Oakland
October 30
(Pending final confirmation)