Minutes
Regular Meeting
of the
Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board

January 19, 2005

The regular meeting of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board was called to order January 19, 2005, at 9:07 a.m. in the Board Room of the Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky, by Vice-Chairman Lee Howard.  Lewis Hammond, Dr. Nadir Al-Shami, Sandra Withers, and Carolyn Embry were also 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, Jesse Goldsmith, Terri Phelps, Cynthia Lee, Eva Addison, Arthur Chang, Phyllis Fitzgerald, Stephen Taylor, Martha Gammons, Marty Layman, Chris Cunningham, Doug Spillman, Stacy Fritze, Ashley May, Amy Osborn, Michelle Stites, and Irene Stephenson.

The following guests were present: Sarah Scheetz, Louisville Gas and Electric Company; Paul Smith, Trinity Consultants; Tim Corrigan and Dennis Conniff, Greater Louisville, Inc.; Corinne Greenberg, LFI; Mike DeBusschere, Kentuckiana Engineering Company; Brad Dillon, Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald; Clarence Dykstra, DuPont Dow Elastomers; Cheryl Fisher, E.I. DuPont; K.A. Owens, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth; the Reverend Fred Withers, Alice Wade, the Reverend Wanda McIntyre, Gracie Lewis, and the Reverend Tim Duncan, Rubbertown Emergency Action Education and Defense, Inc. (REACT); Sister Joetta Venneman, Sisters of Charity; Jim Wade, Engelhard; Winnie Hepler, REACT and Justice Resource Center; and Tom Herman, Zeon Chemicals.

Introduction of New Staff Member

Mr. Williams introduced Michelle Stites who started work with the District yesterday. She is filling the Technical Coordinator position previously held by Barry Zalph, and will work in the areas of energy, transportation, and mobile source policy. She has an environmental science degree from Morehead State University and a combined master of public affairs and law degree from Indiana University.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the December 15, 2004, Public Hearing and Board meeting were approved as distributed

Public Comments

K.A. Owens, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, said there would never be a better time than now to build a solid foundation of regulations that would provide clean air for the citizens of this region. He encouraged the community to fully support the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) Program.

Wanda McIntyre, REACT and Women for Justice and Peace, said it is important that we clean up the air that we breathe because those in the West End of Louisville are suffering. Ms. McIntyre asked the Board to support Mayor Abramson and the STAR Program.

Alice Wade, REACT, said that this is strictly an environmental problem that we have dealt with for over 40 years. The companies in Rubbertown need to reduce their emissions so we can have a safe and healthy community.

Sister Joetta Venneman, Sisters of Charity in Nazareth, Kentucky, urged the Board to adopt the STAR Program.

The Reverend Fred Withers, REACT, asked the Board to adopt and enforce the STAR Program to protect the health of the people of the community. He said that emissions of toxic air contaminants have damaged his health to a point where he can’t work.

The Reverend Tim Duncan, REACT, thanked the Board for its vote last Thursday to begin the 30-day public comment period on the STAR program. This is an important and historic moment for our city. He said that the Houston Chronicle has been running a series of articles in the past two weeks on that city’s problems with toxic air pollution. Houston Mayor Bill White said that this is a moral and ethical issue and that they must clean up their air and pass stricter regulations to protect the health of the people of Houston. The Reverend Duncan added that a recent study in Great Britain showed that high levels of 1,3-butadiene exposure during pre-natal development were connected with later childhood cancer. He said that in December the air monitor at Cane Run Elementary showed the highest reading of 1,3-butadiene for last year.

Winnie Hepler, REACT, expressed her thanks and appreciation for the Board’s extraordinary efforts regarding the STAR Program. She said that she is pleased with the intention to address mobile sources of pollution and the airport’s sizable contribution to unhealthy air, but not with the idea of risk assessment exemptions for chemical plant operations because she sees no need for any flexibility in this matter.

Dennis Conniff, the new Chair of the Air Toxics Task Force of Greater Louisville, Inc. (GLI), thanked the District and the Board for the very significant efforts that were put into the roundtable process that was conducted for the draft STAR Program regulations. He stressed that this is a very complex program, involving now 20 regulations that are interrelated in various ways. He requested that the Board members take the time and effort to be certain that they understand what this program does, how it will apply, and what the consequences will be to both industry and to air quality. Mr. Conniff requested at least one additional roundtable involving the Board sitting as a Committee of the Whole to discuss the proposed program as revised. He also asked for an opportunity for GLI to present the modeling demonstration they prepared to the Committee of the Whole. This should help the Board members’ understanding of how the program will apply and what it may or may not achieve. Finally, he asked for the Board to consider extending the comment period for not more than 30 additional days. There is a significant difference between making formal and informal comments. Formal comments have to be much more detailed and substantiated.

Corinne Greenberg, Environmental Consultant with LFI, said her clients are industrial facilities that will be asked to comply with the STAR Regulations as well as all the other environmental regulations. She supports the request made by Mr. Conniff for a 30-day extension to the formal comment period. She said that an effective air toxics program is needed. An additional roundtable will allow industry an opportunity to dialogue with one another, with the Board, and with the public. All groups could raise their concerns and develop solutions. She said that her clients want to make sure that the program that is eventually adopted will be effective and workable.

New Business

1. Agreed Board Order with Cardinal Aluminum Company

   Ms. Phelps said that the District recommends that the Board adopt the Agreed Board Order with Cardinal Aluminum Company  as proposed. This Agreed Board Order fully resolves the Company’s violation of its operating permits resulting from the discharge of visible nitrogen oxide fumes into the atmosphere.

   Motion:	Mr. Hammond moved to adopt the Agreed Board Order with Cardinal Aluminum Company as recommended by the District. The motion passed unanimously.

Committee Reports

1. Committee of the Whole

   Mr. Trout said the Committee of the Whole met January 13, 2005. At that meeting, Mr. Williams identified the major changes from Draft #1 of the STAR Program regulations, including the addition of Regulation 5.30. Regulation 5.30 requires the District to develop a plan of action to assess and address other source categories. The Committee of the Whole approved the regulation package to proceed with the formal Public Review process. The legal notice was published on Friday, January 14. A correction was published on Saturday, January 15, identifying January 13 as the version date for Regulation 5.20 and 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 16, as the correct time for the public hearing. The written comment period runs until the close of business on February 14.

Staff Reports

1. Director

   Mr. Williams said that on January 3, 2005, the U.S. EPA proposed to approve the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision request to move the Vehicle Emissions Testing (VET) Program from the active portion of the SIP to a contingency measure and to replace the emission reduction benefits from the VET Program with reductions from Kosmos Cement. The Federal Register publication announced a 30-day comment period that closes February 2. After that, the EPA will be in a position to make a final decision.

   Mr. Williams said that this year’s monitored PM_2.5 concentrations were the lowest in the six years that the District operated PM_2.5 ambient monitors. Previously, on a three-year running average, the design value had gone from 17.1, to 17.3, to 16.8, and now it is at 15.7 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³). The standard is 15.0 µg/m³. If the 2005 PM_2.5 monitored concentrations are close to the levels for 2004, the Louisville area could achieve attainment of the PM_2.5 standard at the end of 2005. The single most significant factor that may have attributed to PM_2.5 reductions, other than weather, could be the installation and operation of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) devices on coal-fired power plants in the Midwest beginning in May 2004. However, there are still uncontrolled coal-fired utility units in the eastern United States. Under the NO_x SIP Call, utilities were required to meet only a system-wide average for NO_x emissions. There is debate at the national level about both extending the NO_x SIP Call to other utility units and requiring that the SCRs operate year round (under the current regulations they are required to operate only during the ozone season). This has potential significant benefits for increased reduction in PM_2.5.

   Ms. Embry asked whether the District could get a better handle on the number of fugitive emissions violations listed in the Enforcement Status report. Ms. Phelps responded that it may appear that there are more fugitive emissions violations than there actually are. These violations may be over-represented in this report because there are two or three companies that have a large number of fugitive emissions violations that have not resolved the violations with the District. The District may request and administrative hearing for the Louisville Paving violations. An Agreed Board Order will be entered into with Kosmos Cement to settle its violations. Ms. Embry asked whether the District could be more proactive regarding fugitive emissions. Ms. Phelps responded that the District is beginning to require dust control plans when a company is obtaining a permit to construct or expand a facility. Mr. Williams added that as the District continues to improve its enforcement capabilities with the addition of two new legal positions and by addressing the backlog, this will provide more of a deterrent and bring about better compliance than has occurred in the past.

   Ms. Embry asked whether the Malfunction Report would be shorter once the malfunction regulations go into effect. Mr. Williams responded that he hoped so. Malfunctions and excess emissions should receive much greater attention under the STAR Program as it is currently proposed.

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 01/12/2005  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 12/07/2004 through 01/09/2005  report was submitted for filing. A copy is attached to the original minutes.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 9:42 a.m.  The next regular Board Meeting is Wednesday, February 16, 2005, at 2:00 p.m.