The regular meeting of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board was called to order February 18, 2004, at 9:04 a.m. in the Board Room of the Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky, by the Chair, Karen Cassidy. {Lee Howard, Lewis Hammond, Barbara Sexton Smith, Sandra Withers, Nadir Al-Shami, and Carolyn Embry were present. A quorum was present.
The following Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) staff members were present: Art Williams, Jon Trout, Lauren Anderson, Jesse Goldsmith, Eva Addison, Terri Phelps, Cynthia Lee, Arthur Chang, Marty Layman, Martha Gammons, Diane Hazellief, Phyllis Fitzgerald, Bob Dorzback, Barry Zalph, Dee Lynch, Doug Spillman, and Irene Stephenson. Shannon Tivitt, Assistant Secretary, Cabinet for Community Development, was also present.
The following guests were present: Paige Mosser Theriac and Mike DeBusschere, Kentuckiana Engineering Company, Inc.; Rich Robinson, John Tully, Athene Karis, and Frank Kennedy, American Synthetic Rubber Company; The Reverend Janice Saltsman, Riverside Gardens and Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT); The Reverend Fred Withers, Lee Withers, Tim Duncan, and Roosevelt and Dorothy Roberts, REACT; Dave Newman, Kentucky Motorcycle Association; Jonathan D. Miller, DuPont Dow Elastomers LLC; Brad Dillon, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald; Rachael Hamilton and Dennis Conniff, Frost, Brown, Todd L.L.C.; Don Haynes, ERM-SE; Matthew Wells, Alcoa/Reynolds Metals; Pat Moran, Stites & Harbison; Cheryl Bersaglia, Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards recipient representing Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation; Jane DeBusschere, Catherine Bruning, Krista Harris, Kasey Unterreiner, and Jenna Richards, Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards recipients representing St. Pius X School; Winnie Hepler, Justice Resource Center and REACT; and Lisa Chapman, Citizen.
Ms. Fitzgerald noted that three schools, Goldsmith Elementary, St. Pius X School, and Seneca High School, received Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards this month. She presented a Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Award to Cheryl Bersaglia of the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District. Ms. Fitzgerald also presented a Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Award to Jane DeBusschere, St. Pius X School, and students Catherine Bruning, Krista Harris, Kasey Unterreiner, and Jenna Richards. The St. Pius X School’s project was funded by a $10,000 Toyota Tapestry Grant and involved naturalizing the banks along 6,000 feet on both sides of Beargrass Creek that runs through the school’s property. The grant application had been developed by Cheryl Bersaglia and Jane DeBusschere.
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 21, 2004, were approved as distributed.
The Reverend Janice Saltsman, a resident of Riverside Gardens and member of REACT, asked for the Board’s help in enforcing stricter laws and penalties on the Rubbertown chemical plants.
The Reverend Fred Withers, REACT, who lives close to the Zeon Chemicals plant, asked for the Board’s help in enforcing stricter laws on the Rubbertown chemical plants.
Mr. Williams said that the District anticipates completion of the agreements for voluntary reductions of 1,3-butadiene and chloroprene later today. When final agreements are reached, a public notice will be published in The Courier-Journal and a copy of the agreements will be sent by e-mail to the Board members. The public will have an opportunity for input to the Board before the District makes a final recommendation for action at the next Board meeting.
Mr. Trout said that the Strategy Committee will be meeting immediately following the Board meeting to continue discussions on the issues involved in developing a toxics program.
Mr. Trout provided a summary of the inaugural meeting of the Air Quality Task Force, which was opened by Mayor Jerry Abramson. A written summary of this meeting is attached to the original minutes. Mr. Trout said that the Task Force has established the 4th Friday of each month, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., as the standard meeting time.
Mr. Trout said that the District will put all documents from each Task Force meeting that are available electronically on the District’s website.
Mr. Williams noted that the District continues to wait for the first component of the 8-hour ozone implementation rule to be released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This first component is expected to identify how nonattainment areas will be classified, and, more importantly, whether the EPA has decided to subject areas such as Louisville to the less prescriptive Subpart 1 ozone nonattainment area requirements or the more prescriptive Subpart 2 requirements. The most recent information is that the EPA expects to finalize this first 8-hour ozone implementation rule component sometime between mid-March and mid-April. Mr. Williams said that it is still expected that the EPA will, pursuant to a federal court consent decree, make final attainment/nonattainment designations by April 15th. The complete 8-hour ozone implementation rule is now expected to be completed no earlier than June.
Mr. Williams said that we are close to the beginning of the ozone season, which technically starts March 1st. Even though the ozone monitors are required to be operated starting March 1st, the Louisville area generally does not experience significant ozone readings until later in the summer, typically June, July, and August.
Mr. Williams provided an update on the litigation in federal court regarding closing the Vehicle Emissions Testing (VET) Program. The District is required to submit by March 1st a proposed schedule of tasks and activities that would need to be followed if the court were to order the VET Program to be reinstated. Mr. Williams said that the District will meet this date. The next hearing on this issue is set for March 8th. As encouraged by the federal court, the District has had discussions with the EPA regarding resolution of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) issue of closing the VET Program.
Mr. Williams said that the District will, within the next few days, start the formal process to amend the initial SIP revision request by making enforceable equivalent emission reductions. The District will provide a 30-day public comment period and schedule a public hearing and special Board meeting on several options for equivalent emission reductions. These reductions would primarily be industrial emissions reductions that have occurred recently or will occur in the near future. Mr. Williams said that Mayor Abramson will be meeting tomorrow with the EPA Region 4 Administrator in Atlanta to discuss this proposed SIP revision and seek the Administrator’s agreement to immediately begin an expedited, parallel review process of this SIP revision proposal.
Ms. Embry commented that she was disappointed in Jefferson County’s response to the federal court order. She said that she had hoped that the benefits of the VET Program would have been emphasized. All parties know full well that there will be an increase in emissions as a result of ending the VET Program. Ms. Embry said that she would have preferred that the County offer an alternative VET Program consistent with modifications Judge Jackson proposed to the General Assembly a couple of sessions ago. She said that it is a disservice to the community to not offer some real and meaningful actual reductions that would make our air cleaner this year than what it was this time last year.
Mr. Williams said that he did appreciate and understand Ms. Embry’s concern. Mr. Williams noted that last year the District had recommended that the Board rescind the VET Program regulations and revise the SIP to remove the VET Program as an active program in the 1-hour ozone maintenance plan because all of the requirements relating to maintenance plans were met. The EPA has now effectively agreed that the 1-hour ozone maintenance plan requirements were met, but raised a new issue regarding the future implementation of the 8-hour ozone standard.
Mr. Williams explained that the final decision on reinstatement of the VET Program may revolve around whether the Louisville area will be required, pursuant to the 8-hour ozone implementation rules, to have a vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program. Mr. Williams indicated that if the Louisville area is not required to have an I/M program, then it is expected that the EPA would approve an amended SIP revision package that contains emission reductions to compensate for ending the VET Program.
Mr. Williams said that, as part of the EPA Region 4 proposed year-long work plan, several EPA staff members recently reviewed District permit files for several Title V companies in the Rubbertown area. The EPA is preparing for many activities in the Louisville area, such as multi-media inspections and various informational workshops. Mr. Williams said that the EPA does appear to be fully engaged in implementing a very ambitious work plan to address the level of compliance by the Jefferson County industries and to address the performance of the District in the area of toxics.
Mr. Williams noted that progress had been made regarding identification of the sources of air toxics emissions. This includes listing the companies in the District’s emission inventories, starting in 1996, that identified emissions of any of the 18 chemicals identified in the Risk Assessment that were monitored at levels above the target risk levels. Developing a detailed emissions inventory is the first step necessary to effect emission reductions of these chemicals.
Mr. Williams said that a proposal was received from Sciences International, Inc., the company that did the Risk Assessment on the 2000-2001 monitoring data, to provide spatial and temporal analysis of that original data and to perform a risk assessment of the new data from the monitoring that the University of Louisville has performed since 2001. This proposal has been shared with the West Jefferson County Community Task Force, and the Task Force has expressed support for this additional analysis. Mr. Williams said that District funds would have to be used to pay for the roughly $75,000 proposal.
Mr. Williams said that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is reviewing the West Louisville Air Toxics Study Risk Assessment and will be performing a health assessment. He said that the EPA has indicated that ATSDR will finish this health assessment within the next few weeks.
Mr. Williams said that the West Jefferson County Community Task Force and the District are going to apply for a $300,000, 3-year grant to provide focussed information to the community about the environmental laws that relate to pollution in a community. Another grant opportunity, in the range of $500,000 - $600,000, would provide additional resources to install and operate air toxics monitors in other parts of the County to provide a more complete profile of the levels of air toxics in the County. One of the goals of the Task Force is to broaden its focus beyond the West County area.
Mr. Williams indicated that yesterday’s edition of The Courier-Journal included an article on the February 15th deadline for the state Governors to submit recommendations to the EPA on nonattainment designations for the new PM2.5 (fine particulate) National Ambient Air Quality Standard. He said that the Commonwealth of Kentucky did not meet this deadline, but the submittal is expected to be made later this week. It is expected that Jefferson County will be recommended to be designated nonattainment for the fine particulate standard. Mr. Williams said that Indiana recommended Clark County be designated nonattainment for the fine particulate standard. The EPA’s guidance has changed just recently regarding what counties in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) that includes a nonattainment county should be included in the nonattainment area. Final designations are expected by the end of the year. As with the new 8-hour ozone standard, the EPA is behind schedule in adopting implementation rules for the fine particulate standard.
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 APCD Enforcement Status 2/10/2004 report was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.
The meeting adjourned at 10:09 a.m.
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Karen Cassidy
Chair
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Jonathan L. Trout
Secretary-Treasurer