The regular meeting of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board was called to order July 16, 2003, at 9:03 a.m. in the Board Room of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky, by the Chairman, Joe Vibbert. Karen Cassidy, Lewis Hammond, Lee Howard, and Barbara Sexton Smith were present. A quorum was present.
The following Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) staff members were present: Art Williams, Jon Trout, Jesse Goldsmith, Cynthia Lee, Terri Phelps, Diane Hazellief, Eva Addison, Arthur Chang, Rebecca Stutsman, Phyllis Fitzgerald, Marty Layman, Bob Dorzback, Doug Spillman, and Irene Stephenson.
The following guests were present: Jonathan D. Miller, DuPont Dow Elastomers, L.L.C.; Sarah Scheetz, Louisville Gas & Electric Company; Ray Pierce, Flowervale Lemont Pierce Neighborhood Association; Pat Moran, Stites & Harbison; Robert Gioffre, Gordon-Darby; Kraig Humbaugh, Louisville Metro Health Department; Carolyn Embry, American Lung Association of Kentucky; Brad Dillon, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald; Dave Newman, Kentucky Motorcycle Association; Tim Corrigan, Greater Louisville, Inc.; and Lois and Roy Hampton, Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards recipients.
Ms. Fitzgerald noted that over the last three years the District has presented over 325 Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards. Ms. Fitzgerald presented a Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Award to recipients Lois and Roy Hampton.
Mr. Williams introduced and welcomed Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, Director of the Louisville Metro Health Department. Dr. Humbaugh is a physician specializing in pediatrics. Mr. Williams noted that he serves on the Environmental Health Committee that address largely water quality issues. There have been ongoing discussions about how the District and the Health Department can forge closer relationships. First and foremost, the District’s mission is to protect public health. Dr. Humbaugh said that the Health Department looks forward to working more closely with the District on this important health issue for our community.
The minutes of the Public Hearing and Regular Meeting of June 18, 2003, were approved and filed as distributed.
Ray Pierce, President of the Flowervale Lemont Pierce Neighborhood Association, explained that a proposed development, called Valley Farms, Docket No. 9-20-03CV, would cover 76 acres and include 160 apartments, 256 condos, 48 patio homes, 51 single-family homes, and 1,455 parking spaces. He said that the proposed design would also include a 6' barrier between the development and the Meijer store. Building this barrier would require the more than 1,000 residents of the development to drive two miles to shop at Meijer. He said that his proposal to the developer, to put an access road across the railroad tracks into Meijer, would reduce air pollution from the vehicles of the development’s residents, because then a trip to Meijer would be much shorter and even within a reasonable walking distance. The developer said it was impossible because of the railroad tracks. Mr. Pierce requested that the Board consider his recommendation and try to get this development changed to provide this access route.
Mr. Trout said that the District is required to report annually to the Board on the amount of funds that are in the Air Quality Trust Fund. The balance as of June 31, 2003, the end of Fiscal Year 2003, is $25,654.39, which reflects the addition of the interest from Fiscal Year 2003 of $357.28. The District has received two checks of $500.00 apiece from American Synthetic Rubber to be donated to the Air Quality Trust Fund. These checks were posted to the Air Quality Trust Fund in Fiscal Year 2004.
Mr. Hammond announced that the Nominating Committee had met and recommended that Mr. Vibbert be reelected as Board Chairman and that Dr. Cassidy be reelected as Board Vice-Chair. Chairman Vibbert noted that the other members of the nominating committee were Mr. Howard and Ms. Smith.
There was no further nomination for either office, so Mr. Vibbert was elected Chairman by unanimous consent and Dr. Cassidy was elected Vice-Chair by unanimous consent. Their terms of office are for one year or until a successor is elected.
Mr. Trout said that as requested by the Board pursuant to Board Resolution Information Regarding Industry Voluntary Reductions adopted June 18, 2003, the District sent letters to 158 separate companies. Each company was required to submit by July 15 a description of any voluntary ozone precursor [volatile organic compound (VOC) or oxides of nitrogen (NOx)] emission reduction measures to be employed during the 2003 summer and an estimate, in pounds per summer day, of the resulting VOC and/or NOx emission reductions. Mr. Dorzback, District Pollution Prevention Coordinator, has reviewed the responses and developed a spreadsheet, titled Voluntary Emissions Reductions Reports, to summarize, by company, the measures to be taken and the expected emission reductions. As of the start of today’s Board meeting, the spreadsheet identified that 102 responses were received. This spreadsheet will be updated as additional responses are received. The District staff will be working with many of these companies to help determine the reductions that would result from the identified emission reduction measures.
Mr. Williams added that in addition to receiving questions on what emission reduction measures would be creditable and how emission reductions should be calculated, the District has received requests for a listing of what emission reduction measures are being implemented by other companies. Mr. Dorzback is in the process of developing a document listing these questions and the District’s responses and will post this document as well as the company-specific responses on the District’s website (www.apcd.org). Ms. Smith asked if the District could notify the 158 letter recipients of the District’s intent to put this information on its website. Mr. Williams responded that the District has an electronic mailing list of the 158 companies and could easily inform them of the posting on the District’s website.
Mr. Williams said that the District will be doing a follow-up letter to the companies that did not respond by the deadline to remind them of their obligation to submit the required information. Mr. Williams thanked Greater Louisville, Inc., for its leadership and focus on this initiative by making a special effort to communicate with the same group of 158 companies to encourage those companies to respond.
Dr. Cassidy suggested that the District develop a page on the District’s website that identifies innovative and best-practice emission reduction measures that are being implemented in Jefferson County. This would not only provide information to other Jefferson County companies but could also be a resource used by other companies and air pollution agencies across the country. Mr. Williams indicated that the District currently has a pollution prevention section on its website. Mr. Dorzback added that the pollution prevention portion of the website is being revised.
Mr. Williams said that there is an initiative under way by Ms. Stutsman, the District’s Public Information Specialist, to develop a District newsletter, with opportunities to obtain more information electronically. The newsletter could be another vehicle for making available information on best-practice emission reduction measures
Mr. Howard said that the Strategy Committee will meet today following the Board meeting to consider starting the formal process to repeal Regulations 8.01, 8.02, 8.03, and 8.04, all associated with the Vehicle Emissions Testing (VET) program.
Mr. Williams noted that a front-page article in today's edition of The Courier-Journal reported on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s submission to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of recommendations on county-by-county designations for the 8-hour ozone standard. The Louisville area, consisting of Jefferson, Bullitt, and Oldham Counties, is recommended to be designated as nonattainment. This is a change from the boundaries of the 1-hour ozone standard Louisville area, that included only a portion of Bullitt and Oldham Counties. The State of Indiana has recommended that Clark and Floyd Counties be included in the Louisville area and designated nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone standard. The other areas in the Commonwealth recommended to be designated nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone standard are Northern Kentucky, Ashland, Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, and Middlesborough. After receiving the 8-hour ozone standard designation recommendations from the states, the EPA will review the recommendations for consistency with the EPA’s guidance document, discuss any discrepancies with the affected states, propose area designations, and, by April 2004, make final designations.
Mr. Williams explained that the EPA has held several public hearings and received thousands of public comments regarding the proposed options for implementing the 8-hour ozone standard. The EPA, after reviewing these comments, will decide on a specific implementation plan and propose, by early fall, actual regulatory language for the 8-hour ozone standard implementation rule. The EPA intends to finalize the implementation rule by the end of this year.
Mr. Hammond inquired whether there is a specific provision in the proposed implementation plan that would directly affect the VET Program. Mr. Williams responded that the EPA is examining a provision of the Clean Air Act, contained in Section 110(l), that is referred to as an anti-backsliding provision. This provision would prohibit the EPA from removing a requirement from the State Implementation Plan (SIP) if doing so would “... interfere with ... any other applicable requirement of this Act.” The EPA may interpret “any other applicable requirement” as including meeting the new 8-hour ozone standard. The EPA is determining whether an attainment demonstration for the 8-hour ozone standard without the VET program would be required.
The Strategy Committee will meet immediately following the Board meeting to consider beginning the formal process to repeal the VET Regulations. If the draft repeal package is approved to undergo the formal repeal process, the EPA will have its first opportunity to formally comment on this issue during the 30-day public comment period. If repealed by the Board, the District would forward a SIP revision package to the Division for Air Quality for formal submission to the EPA. The EPA’s approval of this action would be required for the EPA to propose a revision to the SIP. If the EPA were to give final approval of removing the VET program from the active portion of the SIP, reinstituting a VET program would be added as a contingency measure for the Louisville area 1-hour ozone standard maintenance plan.
Mr. Williams noted that so far this year there have been eight exceedances of the 8-hour ozone standard on four different days. This year’s ozone season has had significantly fewer exceedances than last year’s ozone season, attributable in part to a cooler, wetter season. There are still the months of July, August, and part of September that comprise the normal ozone season. The District will provide monthly updates on the ozone monitoring data.
Mr. Williams mentioned that Mayor Abramson and a contingent from Greater Louisville, Inc. (GLI), were in Washington DC yesterday and today to discuss important community issues with the Louisville area congressional delegation. Air quality issues, including the needed resources to improve the area’s air quality, were on the agenda for discussion.
Mr. Williams indicated that there is continued progress being made on most of the Focus 2003 components. Ms. Fitzgerald referenced a robust response to the lawn mower rebate program. The voluntary tire pressure check program will begin on July 26 and 27 with a booth at the West Louisville Appreciation Days. Tire pressure gauges will be distributed and demonstrations will be made on how to test tire air pressure. There have been delays in establishing new procedures to transfer funds from our budget to the Police Department for the speed limit enforcement component and to the Public Works Department for the stop light synchronization component. It is hoped that the transfer of these funds will occur in the next few days. The District will continue to make monthly reports to the Board on the progress of the different elements of the Focus 2003.
Mr. Williams said that the 2002 annual VET report has been completed. The District will prepare a 2003 annual report to reflect the activities that occurred before the program was ended. With regards to the issue of testing volumes, during the month of May there was an increase of approximately 4,000 tests from the number of tests taken during May 2002. For June, the reverse happened; about 4,000 fewer tests were taken this year as opposed to June 2002. Mr. Williams indicated that the District believes that these changes are just the normal monthly variations that have historically occurred. Overall, there has not been a significant decrease in testing volumes. The District will continue to monitor this very closely.
Mr. Williams said the PM2.5 Monitoring Update Report for the month of June shows a monthly average of 18.6 µg/m3, which is a typical value for the month of June.
Mr. Williams said that the issue of toxic air pollutants has recently been the focus of several articles in The Courier-Journal. There was a special six-page supplement in Sunday’s edition and a two page follow-up on asthma on Monday. With respect to the West Louisville Air Toxics Study, the draft risk assessment report has been reviewed by the members of the Risk Assessment Work Group of the West Jefferson County Community Task Force. The consultant will review the comments from the Work Group members and is expected to have the final report completed within the next two to three weeks. The final report will be released to the public. Mr. Williams said that he didn’t believe that there would be significant changes to the basic conclusions of the report. The draft report had identified twenty-five chemicals of concern, the four most significant chemicals of concern being 1,3-butadiene, carbon tetrachloride, chromium, and acrylonitrile.
Mr. Williams stated that a number of outreach sessions will be scheduled over the next several months to explain to the public the findings of the final risk assessment report. Mayor Abramson has met with representatives from American Synthetic Rubber, Zeon Chemicals, and Rohm and Haas, the only three companies that have reported emissions of 1,3-butadiene. Representatives of these three companies will meet with Mayor Abramson on July 25 to discuss the short-term and long-term measures that the companies can implement to reduce emissions of 1,3-butadiene. The District will also be meeting with these company representatives on July 25.
Mr. Williams distributed to the Board a statement relating to climate change that was developed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Mayor Abramson had previously been president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and is once again very active at the national level with other U.S. Mayors. At their recent gathering, the mayors agreed that it is important for mayors to encourage actions at the local level to address the global warming problem. Mayor Abramson signed the mayor’s statement and has now joined numerous other mayors from around the country expressing his support. This effort was assisted strongly by the non-profit organization International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), which has its own program called Cities for Climate Protection. Our community participated in the ICLEI Cities for Climate Protection campaign. Originally the City of Louisville participated several years ago and, in August of last year, the Jefferson County Fiscal Court adopted a resolution, at our request and with strong community support, to have Jefferson County participate in this program. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government is now a full participant in the ICLEI Cities for Climate Protection program. Participating communities are requested to identify the sources and emission levels of greenhouse gases and explore strategies to reduce these emissions.
Mr. Williams announced that several high-level EPA Region 4 officials will be coming to Louisville during the next several weeks. Jimmy Palmer, the current EPA Region 4 Administrator and former Secretary of the Environment for the State of Mississippi, will be meeting with Mayor Abramson on July 29 to discuss a wide range of environmental issues of importance to the community, including air quality issues. On August 6, Beverly Bannister, Air Director for Region 4, and several of her staff members will be meeting with interested citizens and public officials. The District would like to schedule an opportunity for the Board members to meet with Ms. Bannister on August 6.
Dr. Cassidy requested that the District provide a status report on the public awareness efforts being made for the various Focus 2003 projects.
The list of this month’s Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Award recipients was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.
The air quality monitoring reports were submitted for filing. A copy of each report is attached to the original minutes.
The VET report was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.
The APCD Enforcement Status 07/03/2003 report was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.
The meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m.
_______/signed/_______
Joseph D. Vibbert
Chairman
_______/signed/_______
Jonathan L. Trout
Secretary-Treasurer