Minutes

The regular meeting of the Air Pollution Control Board of Jefferson County was called to order September 19, 2001, at 9:10 a.m. in the Board Room of the Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky, by the Chairman, Dr. Robert W. Powell. Joseph Vibbert, Lewis Hammond, Karen Cassidy, and Michael Hesse were present. A quorum was present.

The following staff were present: Art Williams, Jon Trout, Jess Goldsmith, Gayle Ballard, Diane Hazellief, Art Chang, Martha Gammons, Bruce Gaylord, Chris Bryant, Terri Phelps, Rebecca Stutsman, Tom Pinto, Deborah Donaldson, Phyllis Fitzgerald, T. J. Jessie, and Helen Harman.

The following guests were present: Brad Dillon, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald; Robert Gioffre, Gordon-Darby; Pat Moran, Rohm and Haas; Mark Spaulding, SportPaint; Malcolm Winsper and Dave Newman, KY Motorcycle Association; Randy Simon, KIPDA; Regina Henry, Kosmos Cement; Steve Marks, G.E.; Caryl Pfeiffer, LG&E; David Zopff, Amec Earth & Environmental; Ray Pierce, Flowervale Leemont Pierce Neighborhood Association; and Martin Luther, KY Division for Air Quality.

Mr. Williams introduced T. J. Jessie, the new KAIRE Coordinator for the District.

Two corrections were made to the minutes: approval of minutes should be for the July 18 Board meeting instead of the August 15 Board meeting and on the second page at the top the word "project" should be the plural form "projects." The minutes of the Public Hearing and Board meeting of August 15, 2001, were approved as corrected.

Sherry Long, an attorney representing certain persons residing near LG&E’s Mill Creek Plant, told the Board of the residents’ complaints about damage to vehicles, siding, and outside furniture. This has been an ongoing problem for some time. About ten years ago LG&E reached a settlement with some of the neighbors. She said that if it is not a particulate matter problem, then no investigation is undertaken. She asked why if there is no evidence but there is a known problem in the area that complaints against LG&E are not pursued. She requested that the Board bring LG&E to task and asked for an investigation into this matter. Mr. Vibbert asked if the complainants have talked to LG&E. She said that some of the residents have and LG&E’s only response is to offer a free car wash.

Timothy Lingerfield spoke to the Board regarding complaints about LG&E. His vehicle has spots that will not come off, his back door is black and cannot be scrubbed, and his windows have yellowish rust spots. Mr. Vibbert asked what the distance is from the LG&E plant to his house. He replied that he lives north of Watson Lane within two miles of the plant.

The District recommended that the Board adopt the amendment to Regulation 2.08 identified as Version #19, Draft #3 - Proposed July 9, 2001.

ACTION: Mr. Vibbert moved the adoption of the amendment to Regulation 2.08 identified as Version #19, Draft #3 - Proposed July 9, 2001, as presented today.

The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Moran said that there was not a quorum at the meeting. The District updated the SIP Advisory Panel on several projects. Mr. Trout said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to issue final approval of the Kentucky and Indiana requests for redesignation of the Louisville area to attainment for the 1-hour ozone standard, the separate Kentucky and Indiana maintenance plans, and the regional motor vehicle emissions budgets in the early- to mid-October time frame. Two sets of comments regarding the proposed approval were received by the EPA. The EPA finalized the O₃Flex Guidelines. The SIP Advisory Panel members were given a copy to review. Randy Simon of the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency (KIPDA) discussed Horizon 2020, which is one of three public participation programs from KIPDA that develops projects for Horizon 2025, the area’s long range transportation plan. The purpose is to encourage the public to review and comment on the project list. Comments will be taken by KIPDA through Wednesday, October 31.

Mr. Williams said that he will look into the comments made today concerning LG&E and will review this with the District enforcement staff. He will report back to the Board at the October meeting. Mr. Vibbert asked about the age of the Mill Creek Plant. Mr. Goldsmith replied that it was built in early 1970. Ms. Caryl Pfeiffer from LG&E said numerous upgrades are being made to the Mill Creek Plant. Units 2 and 4 are the oldest units. The upgrades to Unit #2 have been completed. The upgrades to Unit #4 are expected to be completed by this Fall and the upgrades for the other units are expected to be completed by next spring. Mr. Hesse requested that the staff include the history with LG&E regarding this issue and the settlements in its report.

The Policy Committee has not met.

B. Strategy Committee

The Strategy Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 9, at 9:00 a.m. to review draft amendments to Regulations 8.01 Mobile Source Emissions Control Requirements and 8.02 Vehicle Emissions Testing Procedure. The amendments incorporate detailed procedures for on-board diagnostics (OBD) testing and delay the start of OBD testing from the January 2001 date that is in the current regulation to January 2002.

Staff Reports

Mr. Williams introduced Melissa Howell who is the Director of the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition. Ms. Howell told the Board that she was driving the electric Toyota Ram4 that was delivered to her last week. She has been given the use of this vehicle for one year. The vehicle is very quiet. She urged anyone interested in using the vehicle to contact her.

Mr. Williams said that there has been only one exceedance this year of the 1-hour ozone standard, that being on Monday, July 30, 2001, at the Shepherdsville monitor. As indicated earlier, this was the only 1-hour ozone standard exceedance that occurred on that day in the eastern half of the United States, and the other six monitors in the Louisville area were showing a decline in ozone concentrations during the time that the Shepherdsville monitor recorded this exceedance. The Kentucky Division for Air Quality’s audit of this monitor did not reveal any problems occurring with the equipment. There have been 13 exceedances on 9 days of the 8-hour ozone standard in the Louisville area.

Mr. Williams discussed the August 2001 PM_2.5 monthly average and year-to-date annual average summary. A copy is attached to the original minutes. The month of August averaged 27.4 µg/m³. The annual PM_2.5 standard is 15.0 µg/m³. During the past 32 months, the average summary was 17.7 µg/m³ .

Mr. Williams said that the District is entering into arbitration with Gordon-Darby on issues that were raised by Gordon-Darby. This is a result of the changes made to the VET program to comply with legislation enacted by the General Assembly during the 2000 session.

Mr. Williams said that a successful Title V Workshop was held Saturday, September 15. There were 22 participants. The District plans to put the Title V notebooks and disc on our website.

Mr. Williams said that the EPA had objections to the draft Title V permits of two companies, Noveon and PolyOne. The EPA notified each company that a federal permit application must be submitted. The District will continue to work with the companies and the EPA to resolve the issues of concern. Mr. Williams will keep the Board posted on this.

Mr. Williams said that upgrades were made to our website to describe the core functions of the District. This was Judge/Executive Jackson’s request to provide comprehensive information to the public for the upcoming merger.

Mr. Williams said the District has the first telecommuting pilot in Jefferson County Government. This is a six-month project. Dr. Ken Irwin was selected as the participant. Telecommuting has multiple benefits.

The Chairman said that this will be his last meeting because he is not being reappointed to the Board. He thanked the Board, District staff, and visitors for their help. He said that breathing is a privilege. This air pollution control agency and its citizen board has the responsibility and mission of controlling air pollution in a fair and evenhanded way. The facts should be correct and factual, the methods scientific and accurate, and the actions fair.

Mr. Williams acknowledged Dr. Powell for his tremendous leadership. Dr. Powell will be missed.

The VET Report for August 2001 was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.

The Enforcement Status Report dated September 10, 2001, was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.

The meeting adjourned at 10:06 a.m.

_________________________________
Joseph Vibbert
Chairman

/signed/
Jonathan L. Trout
Secretary-Treasurer