Minutes
Regular Meeting
of the
Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board

December 15, 2004

The regular meeting of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board was called to order December 15, 2004, at 9:07 a.m. in the Board Room of the Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky, by the Chair, Karen Cassidy. Lewis Hammond, Barbara Sexton Smith, Dr. 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, Scott Wegenast, Terri Phelps, Cynthia Lee, Arthur Chang, Eva Addison, Stephen Taylor, Stacy Fritz, Ashley May, Marty Layman, Martha Gammons, Doug Spillman, Phyllis Fitzgerald, Chris Cunningham, T.J. Jessie, Dee Lynch, Tom Pinto, Sam Bate, and Irene Stephenson. Shannon Tivitt, Assistant Secretary of the Cabinet for Community Development, was also present.

The following guests were present: Mike Cunio, Amrit Bindra, and Jim Wade, Engelhard Corporation; Paige Mosser Theriac, Theriac Environmental Consultants; Charles Middleton, Cardinal Aluminum; Kathy Hayreves, Citizen; Sharon Dodson, Sarah Scheetz, and Jason Wilkerson, Louisville Gas and Electric Company; Eleanor Solf, Jodie Goldberg, Joan Lindop, and Joe Binags, Sierra Club; Pell Blakeman and David Newman, Kentucky Motorcycle Association; Joe Roehrig, Citizen; Paul Smith, Trinity Consultants; Kate Cunningham, Air Breathers; Ruben Pullian, Greta Smith, Fred Withers, Lu Withers, Tim Duncan, Gracie Lewis, Dorothy Roberts, Charles Pope, and Winnie Hepler, Rubbertown Emergency Action Education and Defense, Inc. (REACT); Rich Robinson and Ron Musgnug, American Synthetic Rubber Company; Greg Long, Ford - Louisville Assembly Plant; Mike DeBusschere, Kentuckiana Engineering Company; Sarah Lynn Cunningham, Public Health; Barbara Hall, Ford - Kentucky Truck Plant; Brad Dillon, Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald; Arnita Gadson, West Jefferson County Community Task Force/University of Louisville; and George Lee, Louisville Branch NAACP.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the November 17, 2004, Public Hearing and Board meeting were approved as distributed.

Public Comments

Greta Smith, REACT, said that she is convinced that the residents of Rubbertown have severe health problems caused by air pollution. She asked that the STAR Program be implemented.

Joe Roehrig, Church of Epiphany, noted that the air quality in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has improved over the years but that the air quality in Louisville has not improved. He said that air pollution is an issue that affects their entire community and indicated his support for the STAR Program.

Charles Pope, REACT, asked that the STAR Program be adopted because over the last 15 months the toxic air pollution has not been reduced. He said that the November monitoring readings showed that there are still high levels of chloroprene in the neighborhood.

Ruben Pullian, REACT, said that the STAR Program is not a radical program but is a balanced program supported by Mayor Abramson and Dr. Troutman. He said that it has been almost two months since the STAR Program was made public and there has been adequate opportunity for people to comment on the STAR Program.

The Reverend Fred Withers, REACT, speaking on behalf of REACT and the 1,500 members of his church, asked the Board to pass the STAR Program. He said that we need to provide clean air for our children and grandchildren and that Louisville would attract more businesses if the air were clean.

Gracie Lewis, REACT, expressed support for the STAR Program and said that clean air would increase business opportunities, not cause a loss of jobs. She expressed concern for the dangers posed by the rail cars bringing in toxic chemicals such as chloroprene, 1,3-butadiene, and acrylonitrile.

The Reverend Tim Duncan, REACT, noting that it was exactly a year ago that REACT began addressing the Board regarding the toxic air pollution problems in Rubbertown, said that he appreciates the Board members’ understanding of these problems and commitment to clean the air and protect the health of the people living near industries. He said that REACT has collected 2,041 signed cards asking that the Board approve the STAR Program before January 1, 2005, and pass a Board resolution recommending that local control over local air issues be maintained.

George Lee, Jr., 3rd Vice President of the Louisville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that the residents of the Rubbertown neighborhood deserve the right to breathe clean air. He urged the Board to pass the STAR Program as written in Draft Number 1.

New Business

1. Agreed Board Order with Louisville Gas and Electric Company

   Ms. Phelps said that the District recommends that the Board adopt the Agreed Board Order with Louisville Gas and Electric Company as proposed. This Order extends the deadline for testing and installation of a continuous opacity monitoring system on all four units at the Mill Creek Station and allows the Company to test two particulate matter continuous emissions monitoring systems.

   Motion:	Mr. Hammond moved to adopt the Agreed Board Order with Louisville Gas and Electric Company as recommended by the District. The motion passed unanimously.

2. Presentation by Engelhard - “Green Chemistry Award”

   Mr. Williams said that the Engelhard Company had received an award for its efforts to improve the environment and asked for the opportunity to make a presentation to the Board about this national award. Mr. Jim Wade, Environmental Manager with the Engelhard Company plant in Louisville, introduced the plant manager, Mike Cunio, and corporate Manager of Colors, Research and Development from Beachwood, Ohio, Dr. Amrit Bindra.

   Mr. Cunio said that the Engelhard Corporation purchased the Louisville facility in 1988. At that time, lead-based, chrome-based, and cadmium-based color pigments were manufactured. From 1988 to 2001, Engelhard began transitioning away from heavy metal-based pigments to organic pigments. The company is in the process of dismantling and decontaminating the manufacturing facilities associated with the heavy metal-based manufacturing processes.

   Mr. Bindra gave a brief presentation on some of the environmental highlights of the Engelhard corporation and then discussed the innovative work on developing organic pigments, for which Engelhard was the recipient of an EPA Green Chemistry Award. He noted that Engelhard was the first company to offer an organic pigment traffic yellow paint. The organic pigments use dyes that are very similar to the dyes used as food additives.

   Ms. Smith inquired whether the Engelhard food service catalytic converters were being used by the large national restaurant chains. Mr. Cunio responded that this is really a new technology and that he could not safely say for sure what companies have bought these devices. Mr. Bindra said that he will provide that information. Ms. Smith also asked for information on why restaurant companies would be reluctant to use these devices.

Committee Reports

1. Air Quality Task Force

   Mr. Trout reported that at the Air Quality Task Force meeting on November 19, 2004, he made a presentation on the 8-hour ozone modeling that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has done in support of some of the federal programs. The modeling shows that the Louisville area would attain the 8-hour standard with implementation of existing requirements, but the modeling would not be acceptable to use for an attainment demonstration. Similar results were demonstrated by initial modeling performed by the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO). Mr. Trout explained that the LADCO modeling domain includes the Louisville area, and District staff members have begun working with LADCO to plan an attainment demonstration.

   Mr. Trout also made a presentation on the Regional Air Quality Workshop sponsored by LADCO. Originally, LADCO was formed by the four states surrounding Lake Michigan (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin), to address ozone transport issues. Recently Ohio joined LADCO. Representatives of the various states made presentations on the activities that have taken place to develop emission reduction strategies.

   Mr. Trout said that Dr. Geoffrey Cobourn, University of Louisville, made a presentation on the model that he developed and improved over the years to forecast ozone concentrations. Dr. Cobourn also discussed the study of the effects of meteorology on the ozone concentrations of six Kentucky metropolitan areas. His conclusion was that in all six areas, if the effects of meteorology were eliminated, the concentrations of ozone declined over the five-year period of 1998 to 2002. Thus, the federal and local efforts to reduce emissions have had a beneficial effect on reducing ozone.

   Mr. Trout indicated that the Air Quality Task Force would not be meeting in December. The Task Force is planning a brainstorming session in February to address the issues of the appropriate vision and goals for air quality in Louisville. The Air Quality Task Force will establish committees to review the health effects of ozone and the 8-hour ozone modeling that has been done by the EPA and LADCO.

Staff Reports

1. Director

   Mr. Williams noted that one of the key items that the District has been waiting on for almost a year from EPA is the Phase II 8-hour ozone implementation rule. This second round of rule making would address such issues as new source review and what would be required for an attainment demonstration. The EPA’s current projection for finalization of the Phase II rules is February of 2005, although this may be further delayed because of the departure of Administrator Levitt from the EPA.

   Mr. Williams said that the monitored monthly average PM_2.5 concentrations for six of the first eleven months of this year have been the lowest monthly concentrations monitored for the six years that the District has operated PM_2.5 monitors. Unless the December monitored concentrations are significantly different than expected, the 2004 annual average should be approximately 13.1 µg/m³, under the federal standard of 15.0 µg/m³.

   Mr. Williams said that the District had received approximately 40 sets of comments on the draft Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) Program regulations. The District has participated in approximately 50 meetings attended by approximately 1,200 people. The STAR Program materials on the District’s website have been accessed over 2,000 times. The District has carefully reviewed the more than 500 separate comments and is in the process of finalizing responses to each comment and appropriate changes to the regulations. When this process is finished, the District will present the second draft of the regulations to the Board for the appropriate next steps.

   Ms. Embry thanked all the members of the public who came today to present comments and for their continued involvement and interest in the STAR Program. She acknowledged that it may be frustrating to those who have wanted these regulations to be adopted by the end of the year, the goal that was set earlier this year. In addition, she said that she appreciates the efforts of the District staff in reviewing the tremendous bulk of comments received, the thought given to each and every comment, and the tremendous effort needed to prepare the response-to-comments document.

   Ms. Embry suggested that the Board consider suspending its normal procedure, which would normally refer the package to the Strategy Committee for review and approval to start the formal public review process, and have the package brought to the entire Board for review and action. She said that this package of regulations constitutes a very special circumstance for the Board because of its magnitude, its importance, and its controversy. She said that she believes that it would be appropriate for all of the Board members to receive the detailed information and participate in the decisions made.

   Motion:	Ms. Embry moved that the Board, for the STAR Program regulations, suspend its normal procedure and have the full Board, instead of the Strategy Committee, review the second draft of the STAR Program regulatory package and determine the appropriate actions.

   Ms. Smith asked whether this change would put the Board in any type of violation should they forego the Strategy Committee and go to the full Board for this discussion as the motion has been made. Ms. Anderson responded that she believed that the Board is allowed to make this change.

   Ms. Smith asked when the District would be prepared for a presentation of the second draft of the STAR Program regulations. Mr. Williams responded that the District’s goal is the week of December 27.

   	The motion passed unanimously.

2. Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards

   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.

3. Air Quality Data

   The air quality monitoring reports were submitted for filing. A copy of each report is attached to the original minutes.

4. Enforcement Status

   The APCD Enforcement Status 12/03/2004  report was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.

5. Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction, and Emergency Report

   The Malfunctions, Emergencies, Startups and Shutdowns received 11/11/2004 through 12/06/2004  report was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m.  The next regular Board Meeting is Wednesday, January 19, 2005.